{"id":3005,"date":"2013-11-11T13:00:45","date_gmt":"2013-11-11T21:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=3005"},"modified":"2013-11-11T11:58:20","modified_gmt":"2013-11-11T19:58:20","slug":"mark-watches-supernatural-s01e06-skin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2013\/11\/mark-watches-supernatural-s01e06-skin\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Supernatural’: S01E06 – Skin"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixth episode of the first season of Supernatural<\/i>, the Winchesters combat a giant NOPE that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make a whole lot of sense, but is still scary as hell<\/i>. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Supernatural<\/i>.<\/p>\n

All right, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s split this up so I can attempt to deal with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Skin\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in a coherent way that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t involve this review descending into me just shrieking about Dean tearing his skin off like a wet t-shirt<\/i>. Gah. GAHHHHHHH.<\/p>\n

The Good<\/b><\/p>\n

This episode is fucked up and creepy<\/i>. And while that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s partially dampened by a couple of things I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll bring up in the second section, I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a neat way to use a familiar horror trope: THE MONSTER CAN BE ANYONE<\/i>. Any one of us could be infected! Oh, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of my favorites<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s used in disease thrillers, in monster movies, alien invasion tales, and body horror stories. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so fun! And lord, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Skin\u00e2\u20ac\u009d purposely fucks with the audience in this really neat way by not revealing the mode by which one person can be in two places at once until nearly halfway through the episode. Initially, this doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even seem like a supernatural case. Just because the cold open reveals that Dean was the one who tied up and tortured that woman doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s anything mystical here<\/i>. Plus, up to a point, all of this could have been explained by positing that Becky was lying to protect her friend Zach. It fits with the theme of friendship and loyalty that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brought up in this story, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not entirely far-fetched.<\/p>\n

And then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that sequence where \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Zach,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d who should be in jail<\/i>, is watching another house, and then Zach is another person<\/i>. And NOPE. NOPE. NOPE. It lives in the sewer<\/i>! Oh my god, have y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all not seen The X-Files <\/i>yet? NOTHING GOOD LIVES IN THE SEWER. NOTHING EVER<\/i>. OH MY GOD, YOU ARE LITERALLY FINDING PATCHES OF SKIN THAT THE CREATURE SHED OFF ITS BODY<\/i>. YOU SHOULD RUN THE OTHER DIRECTION AND NEVER COME BACK.<\/p>\n

Of course, they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, not only because that would defeat the purpose of the show, but because these are the Winchesters. They seek out danger because they want to eliminate said danger. (Though I would watch the fuck<\/i> out of a show with a reluctant supernatural detective, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. Kind of like Courage the Cowardly Dog<\/i> meets The X-Files<\/i>. Can someone get on this? I reserve the right to write it myself if the inspiration strikes me, though.) In this case, though, the writers (JOHN SHIBAN, WHO IS A VETERAN OF THE X-FILES<\/i> AHHHHH I LOVE HIM SO MUCH) make this about more than just saving humanity from the evil, supernatural weirdness of the world. I admit that every time this show finds a way to make the monster-of-the-week address the dynamics between the Winchesters, I feel all squishy inside. In particular, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Skin\u00e2\u20ac\u009d features Dean giving Sam advice about his social life: He shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have one<\/i>. I loved the idea that Sam was still keeping in touch with his friends at Stanford because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a neat bit of emotional continuity. It shows us that he hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fully committed to the lifestyle that Dean has lived for years.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s through Shapeshifter!Dean that Sam learns just how<\/i> resentful Dean is, though, and I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the best things I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen in the past six episodes of this show. Jensen Ackles gives us a hint of what he can do here, and I love<\/i> it. I WANT MORE. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so creepy because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how we learn that the shapeshifter doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just assume someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appearance; it can literally<\/i> become them, memories and personality together. So I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t doubt that what Shapeshifter!Dean says in this episode is the truth. Dean never got to go to college, to build up a network of friends, to have other people to be loyal to aside from his own family. No, he was left to help his father. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m interested to see if Sam will bring this up in a future episode, too! I mean, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kind of a big deal, right?<\/p>\n

Oh, right, Shapeshifter!Dean pulled his own skin off. Wow, I had no fucking idea this show was going to be that<\/i> gory. Bravo, Supernatural<\/i>, you made me actually turn away in horror.<\/p>\n

The Bad<\/b><\/p>\n

I feel like a broken record at this point, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m bored by Dean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s portrayal as the straightest straight man who was ever straight. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not even that this show has no queer characters to counter him! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only been six episodes of a show with nearly 200 episodes, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m biding my time. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just that\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 god, I want more depth<\/i>. I cannot even believe I am going to type this, but Dean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sexuality defines him so much at this point that I just don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to hear about it anymore. Oh god, what have I done<\/i>. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s usually something I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d say about gay characters, who are often defined by their gayness, except now it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a straight white dude. what have i become<\/i>.<\/p>\n

I just want more from his character aside from this weird sense that he needs to constantly posture his masculinity. I get it! He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s straight! He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t form connections with people because monsters!<\/p>\n

Actually, he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t form connections with women<\/i>, I should say. He views them as bonuses to his job as a hunter, and the show itself still hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really treated the women as anything more than victims or side characters to push the plot along. What did we learn about Becky here? How did her characterization affect the larger story? If you remove her from the plot, do we essentially have the same story? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m worried that this pattern isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to be broken for a while, especially since the very nature<\/i> of the show makes it so that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always just Sam and Dean. How do you ever factor in other characters?<\/p>\n

While \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Skin\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is super creepy, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also endlessly distracting<\/i>. Perhaps I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m coming into this show with the wrong mindset, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible that Supernatural<\/i> is not the type of show with neatly wrapped mysteries. Maybe all the supernatural things that the boys come across lack closure when it comes to the stories told, and I can<\/i> accept that, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to need a bit more confirmation that this is the case. Because y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, this episode doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make sense<\/i>. I was with it for so long, trying to guess the shapeshifter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s motives. I tried guessing why it was killing people as<\/i> their significant others. Little did I know that it didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter<\/i>. The details surrounding the shapeshifter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own logic are scant at best<\/i>, and largely nonexistent. So why the fuck<\/i> was it killing those people? Was that an entirely separate fetish or murderous desire completely unconnected to its biological ability? Was it just using<\/i> its shapeshifting power to murder because it wanted to? Is it able to shift into any identity of a person as long as they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re alive? Does it need to see them first? Why kidnap anyone<\/i> if you can become them without kidnapping them? (Remember, the shapeshifter assumed the identity of the Asian gentleman without holding him hostage.)<\/p>\n

I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T UNDERSTAND. I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T GET IT. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so distracting because \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Skin\u00e2\u20ac\u009d falls apart once you spend like five seconds thinking about it.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I did<\/i> have a good time watching this episode, flaws and all. So\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 technically, Dean is dead! That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kind of convenient for him, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? Now he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to ever pay taxes again! (Why is that the first<\/i> thing I thought of???) Except\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 what if he needs to be<\/i> Dean Winchester? Isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t he legally dead now? Okay, I need this to be addressed again some time in the future. Thanks.<\/p>\n

The video commission for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Skin\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded right here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

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