In the eighth episode of the ninth season of Supernatural, the Winchesters and Jody Mills are certain they’re tracking down a dragon, and then EVERYTHING IS UNCOMFORTABLE FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Supernatural.
Trigger Warning: For talk of sex work, racism/racial stereotypes, sexism, consent.
There are parts of this episode I truly loved. (JODY MILLS IS NEARLY ALL OF THEM, I LOVE HER SO MUCH.) Others? Lord, sometimes this show feels like it can’t have any middle ground. It can either be spectacular or just utter garbage, and holy shit, y’all. THAT ONE SCENE IS SO AWFUL.
Let’s talk about things.
Born-Again Virgins
Now, look: I think there are a whole lot of issues surrounding the concept of virginity, the way this country talks about it, and how it is valued and devalued in others. I grew up with people who truly believed that you could become a born-again virgin, so there are aspects of “Rock and a Hard Place†that were EERILY real to me. Obviously, this juxtaposition is played for humor in Supernatural because there’s nothing more absurd than Dean willingly choosing to not have sex until marriage. So, because this is Supernatural, a real-life issue like virginity and religion is not done with a whole lot of nuance. None of these characters are taken seriously; they’re all the butt of a joke and not much more than that.
Of course, Suzy is the most egregious example of this. Her entire role here is… what? To be a sex fantasy for Dean? Once she serves that specific purpose, she has no other contribution to the plot aside from standing around. Like, I don’t know even know where to start with this character! If someone who did sex work of some sort is telling you that they’ve stopped and left that part of their life behind, that is not an invitation to keep trying to invalidate them. Like, that felt so universally gross to me!!! But let’s say that Suzy truly was conflicted by her role in the church, and that is what the show wanted to portray. The problem here is that the whole seduction scene plays out exactly like porn. EXACTLY. I get that it was probably the point of the gag, but that doesn’t make it seem any less sketchy and objectifying. Is Supernatural trying to say that sex workers or those who do porn just cannot separate their work and their personal lives? Maybe not, but this sure felt like it.
But as difficult as it may be to navigate that sort of story, I am absolutely certain of my feelings on the whole Casa Erotica joke: WHAT THE FUCK. Stereotypical “Latin†music? Like half those things DON’T EVEN BELONG IN THE SAME SONGS. Jokes about tacos in porn? Horrible Spanish? Look, y’all, I know that my connection to any sort of ethnic group is tenuous at best because of the billions of issues surrounding me being adopted, but this was so, so, so bad. The show does nothing but give us the most typical stereotypes imaginable, one after another, and it’s outrageously terrible. It’s not just one unfortunate racist trope; it’s like TEN OF THEM ALL AT ONCE.
No, thank you.
Sheriff Jody Mills
It’s always fascinating to me to see how characters in this show deal with the supernatural. From fear to humor to sarcasm, that reaction is varied and often says a lot about a character. Jody Mills intrigues me so much because Kim Rhodes imbues her performance of Jody with a combination of angst and curiosity. I love that the events of the season eight finale matter so much to her character here in “Rock and a Hard Place,†to the point that her growth since then totally relies on her near-death. That manifests in both a positive and negative sense, too, and I appreciate how complex that is in her.
For example, it’s clear that her interest in religion is her attempt to find a positive stability amidst the violent chaos of the world she now knows. Supernatural treats this with respect, even when we’re in the middle of a season-long arc about how angels are utter jerkbags. She’s not the butt of a joke here, and that scene she has with Sam is treated with a whole lot of respect. That doesn’t mean she’s closed herself off to the world, either. Jody’s got this wide-eyed excitement for the supernatural. At times, she’s shocked by other creatures revealed to be real, but she’s also constantly willing to tackle whatever fucked up thing that’s thrown at her. Why is that? Why not just give up? Why not turn an eye away from all of this and go back to a simpler world? Well, I don’t imagine Jody could do that if she wanted to, but she does contact the Winchesters about the mysterious disappearances, knowing full well she’s inviting more weirdness into her life.
She does it because she wants to help. She does it because she knows no one else will. And goddamn, I respect her for that.
Shouldn’t Be Alive
I really need to learn to stop falling for the misdirects provided by the “Previously On…†segments. This wasn’t dragons at all! It was… an old god continuing their work after most of their worshippers disappeared. As neat as Vesta was, this was a very repetitious story. It hadn’t even been that long since we’d had an episode about a disposed/forgotten god, and the framework of “Rock and a Hard Place†doesn’t deviate much from what we’ve seen before. However, Vesta’s purpose aside from providing the mystery here is to RUIN SAM WINCHESTER. Look, this is such a huge disaster that I just can’t feel anything but sadness for Sam anymore. I don’t even know if I can be frustrated at Dean because he’s gotten so far into this deception that there’s not a single easy way out of this. He honestly got so close to telling Sam the truth. Understandably so! Sam BLAMES HIMSELF for his physical health, and it’s gut-wrenching to watch.
But what would it have solved at this point? If Dean told Sam the truth, Sam almost certainly would have rejected Ezekiel and then died. He’s in such a bad state that a god wouldn’t even eat him. So what do you do now? It’s such a mess of consent and good intentions that the only option I see left is to wait it out and hope for the best, which is a pretty shitty option. Oh god, I honestly thought the truth would come out here, and I WAS SO NERVOUS. Now, I shall just remain nervous for all the subsequent episodes. That’s a good plan!
The video for “Rock and a Hard Place†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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