{"id":4483,"date":"2015-03-02T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-02T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4483"},"modified":"2015-02-06T14:19:32","modified_gmt":"2015-02-06T22:19:32","slug":"mark-watches-supernatural-s08e20-pac-man-fever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/03\/mark-watches-supernatural-s08e20-pac-man-fever\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Supernatural’: S08E20 – Pac-Man Fever"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the twentieth episode of the eighth season of\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>, I AM FINISHED. Intrigued? Then it is time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For death\/grief.<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m serious: this show needs to find a way to bring Charlie in full-time, because every single episode she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in ends up being the best thing imaginable. Jesus, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, this is a monster of an episode, one that does everything I could possibly love with ALL of these characters. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a Charlie-centric episode that delves into her past, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a necessary chance to Sam and Dean to reflect on their role in the coming Third Trial. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S JUST SO GOOD.<\/p>\n

The Third Trial<\/b><\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, the second trial hit Sam a lot harder than the first one. And as much as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve talked about how stubborn Dean can be, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also admit that Sam is pretty damn stubborn himself. Despite that he knows his physical condition is not up to his normal par, he refuses to stay home. I get it. I get wanting to surround yourself with work in the midst of a horrible thing happening. But Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s condition is not just a mere inconvenience; there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a high chance that he might not be able to hunt. He might actually be a hindrance, not a help, and Dean was more than willing to handle the bulk of this case with Charlie. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something that Sam has to accept in some manner. If Dean is leaving the trials to him, then Sam has to let Dean do his own thing, even if that means taking a necessary NAP. JUST TAKE A NAP, SAM WINCHESTER. When do you ever get the chance to do this? TAKE THE CHANCE WHILE YOU STILL HAVE IT.<\/p>\n

That same message applies to Dean, though. While he largely serves to help Charlie deal with her own grief and guilt, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an incredible moment tucked into the end of this episode. Let me first repeat what I said in the video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Pac-Man Fever\u00e2\u20ac\u009d: Every time Charlie is around, she seems to get Dean to open up without hesitation. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S AMAZING TO WATCH. So I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m crediting her role in this episode with Dean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s epiphany. After guiding Charlie into letting go of her mother, he realizes that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been hung up on not being able to appreciate her one last time. Without that closure, she became obsessive. Dean, however, still has his brother in his life. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still here! So to me, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what that hug meant. It was a sign of appreciation. It was a sign of\u00c2\u00a0love<\/i>, one that would communicate to Sam that he does care about him deeply, no matter what happens between them.<\/p>\n

BROMENT.<\/p>\n

Charlie<\/b><\/p>\n

JUST\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 OKAY. OKAY. Again, with Charlie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appearance, this show brings up fandom in a way that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t condescending or cruel. Instead, the love of nerdy things plays intimately into Charlie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s growth here. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mostly used as humor at first, especially since it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s UNBEARABLY FUNNY to watch her as Dean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sidekick and hunter-in-training. All the roleplaying in the world has not prepared her for most of what she has to do here. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so satisfying to see Dean willing to teach Charlie and get her used to what hunting is really like. (Seriously, how is she not just\u00c2\u00a0on<\/i> this show??? EVERYTHING SHE DOES IS A GIFT.)<\/p>\n

Thankfully, though, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Pac-Man Fever\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is not an episode that exists merely for the joke, though like many classic\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>episodes, it follows that whole \u00e2\u20ac\u0153so-funny-it-becomes-unbearably-sad\u00e2\u20ac\u009d pattern. When it becomes clear that Charlie brought this case to the Winchesters because of some unspoken reason, the writers use this opportunity to give us more of Charlie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story\u00c2\u00a0before<\/i> she became a part of the show. I had assumed that the djinn had been summoned by Charlie and that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d lied about not knowing what it was, but technically, she never\u00c2\u00a0had<\/i> lied to the Winchesters about this. No, she was in town for an entirely different reason: her mother. So much of Charlie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s characterization in this season and the last can be explained both by her desire to run away from her past and to reconcile it. Truthfully, she could never\u00c2\u00a0fully<\/i> run away from what had happened to her; she still paid for her mother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s medical care. She still visited her from time to time, all so she could return the same gift that her mother had given her.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure that there are a lot of us who could trace our fandom loves back to a specific person. I know that my introduction to science fiction was through my parents, who gave me\u00c2\u00a0Star Wars<\/i> when I was very young. In Charlie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, her mother read her\u00c2\u00a0The Hobbit<\/i> before bed, and that proved to be a gateway for her into science fiction and fantasy. How could she\u00c2\u00a0not<\/i> feel an affinity for her mother after being given something like that? How could she not obsess about a world that reminded her of happier times? And how could she ever let her mother go after the accident that killed her father and left her mother unresponsive for\u00c2\u00a0sixteen years<\/i>?<\/p>\n

That ends up being the key to the djinn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dream: Charlie has to let go. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s terrified of few things in the world than losing her mother, even though the sad truth of it is that she lost her long, long ago. I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help tearing up throughout this because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all have read a number of pieces from me talking about loss and grief. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the worst things to go through. So Charlie clung to all of this \u00e2\u20ac\u201c her nerdiness, her books, and her mother \u00e2\u20ac\u201c because it was easier than coping loss.<\/p>\n

Point blank: This is, like every other Charlie episode, one of the best things\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i> has ever done. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s beautiful, evocative, and a testament to the kind of storytelling this show is capable of.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Pac-Man Fever\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 Double Features will be\u00c2\u00a0The Legend of Korra<\/i>, seasons 2 – 4, series 8 of\u00c2\u00a0Doctor Who<\/i>, and Kings<\/i>.<\/b>
\n– The 2015 Mark Does Stuff tour is being announced!!! Check my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page<\/a> often to see if I’m coming to your city!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"