{"id":4296,"date":"2014-12-18T13:00:15","date_gmt":"2014-12-18T21:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4296"},"modified":"2014-12-08T16:46:41","modified_gmt":"2014-12-09T00:46:41","slug":"mark-watches-supernatural-s07e18-party-on-garth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2014\/12\/mark-watches-supernatural-s07e18-party-on-garth\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Supernatural’: S07E18 – Party On, Garth"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eighteenth episode of the seventh season of\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>, a spirit that can only be seen while drunk. HONESTLY. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>.<\/p>\n

I was so ready to write a review thanking\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>for giving me an episode that was, largely, a break from the onslaught of emotional pain that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been season seven, BUT OH WELL. How have I not learned after all this time? If it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s funny, then SAD IS AROUND THE CORNER.<\/p>\n

For the most part, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Party On, Garth,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a much-needed exercise in silliness. The return of Garth is a lot of fun, especially since we continually learn what a fucking\u00c2\u00a0weirdo<\/i> he is. Well, a weirdo who GETS SHIT DONE, strangely! Who knew Mr. Fizzles would be so effective? Through Garth, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re given one of the most absurd premises in this show\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s history, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s saying a lot given that this is the same show that did \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Changing Channels.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not always a good thing, though. At times, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Party On, Garth\u00e2\u20ac\u009d does not carry the weight it\u00c2\u00a0should<\/i>. There are sequences where Garth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s usage feels underwhelming, particularly when the writers go for the easiest joke imaginable. The best scenes here are the ones that aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expected. I expect Garth to get drunk on one beer. I did not expect Mr. Fizzles to work. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a tiny, tiny nitpick, and DJ Qualls is an utter delight throughout this episode. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s frequently typecast as this kind of character, but you know what? It works in the\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i> world.<\/p>\n

As for the shojo\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 not so much. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mostly why this felt underwhelming at times. The idea of a creature you can only see when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re drunk is pretty damn funny, but for some reason, the show decided to make the shojo the girl from\u00c2\u00a0The Ring<\/i> and the girl from\u00c2\u00a0The Grudge<\/i>, all mashed into one. Her character design is such an obvious combination of cliches that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not particularly exciting to watch on the screen. (I was still jumpy, though, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m naturally a jumpy sort of person anyway. For real, my boyfriend can sometimes startle me\u00c2\u00a0if he<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s merely in the same bed as me<\/i>. He finds this endlessly entertaining and often collapses in laughter because I jumped due to him WALKING INTO A ROOM. Shut up.) The death scenes were fairly horrifying\u00c2\u00a0before<\/i> the shojo was revealed, but afterwards? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know, it just felt kind of lazy to me. The show engages with Japanese culture in such an artificial way, you know? The shojo barely makes sense (What does it want or need? Does it ever exist or act independent of the person who commands it? How did some white dude in Junction City, Kansas get ahold of something that\u00c2\u00a0literal<\/i> Japanese people still think is a myth?), it looks like other creations, and the only speaking Japanese character is largely there to assist someone else. (Though I will admit that I like the idea that\u00c2\u00a0this<\/i> is how Dean has to solve problems he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deal with himself. He just pays random people to do it for him.)<\/p>\n

But \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Party On, Garth\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is the first case that Dean and Sam work together post-hallucinations, and it is, in every respect but one, a traditional\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i> episode. I feel like that\u00c2\u00a0needed<\/i> to be the case, so it was nice to see the two of them hanging out like this. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, that scene where they get drunk in Jim\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s office is just SO BEAUTIFUL. If anything, I think this episode didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have nearly enough drunk scenes. NOT NEARLY ENOUGH.<\/p>\n

It did, however, have far too many feelings. There is something distinctly devastating about the reveal at the end of this episode, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the obvious one.\u00c2\u00a0Garth is the first hunter the Winchesters have worked with since Bobby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quick to point out the possibility that Bobby\u00c2\u00a0hasn<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> actually left them. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d picked up on the clues along the way, but what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so sad about how this episode unfolds is that we gradually start questioning whether or not they were clues to begin with. Garth seemed pretty convinced it was Bobby, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not until Sam contradicts him that I had to accept that maybe I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been biased by the show itself. As he points out, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re so used to supernatural explanations to everything that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to find them in this specific problem. They all want Bobby back, and this would be the next best thing.<\/p>\n

EXCEPT IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S TOTALLY NOT.\u00c2\u00a0IT<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S NOT<\/i>. That surprise reveal hurts so much because Bobby can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to properly communicate with Dean. I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deny that. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what that glimpse of Bobby implies that upsets me the most. Is he doomed to stay in our world? Will he get\u00c2\u00a0worse<\/i> if he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t break through to Sam and Dean? AND YOU KNOW WORSE MEANS, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153VENGEFUL SPIRIT\u00e2\u20ac\u009d IN THIS WORLD. When Bobby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reaper gave him the option to stay, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure Bobby didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this is how it would be. And yet? He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s stuck. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most likely going to become exactly what he used to hunt.<\/p>\n

Ouch, my heart was not ready for that.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Party On, Garth\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

– Mark Does Stuff is now on Facebook<\/a>! Feel free to Like the page, which I’m running myself, for updates and SILLINESS.
\n– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running, I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!<\/a>
\n– Please check out the MarkDoesStuff.com<\/a>. All Mark Watches videos for past shows\/season are now archived there!
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next two Double Features are now in the schedule! I will be watching <\/b>The Sarah Connor Chronicles<\/i><\/b> and then <\/b>Leverage<\/i><\/b>. <\/b>Commission away!
\n– I will be at quite a few conventions and will be hosting events throughout 2015, so check my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page<\/a> often to see if I’m coming to your city!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"