Supernatural: Metamorphosis

Travis, You’re Thirty Years Too Late!
by Sylvia Bond
Supernatural Episode Review, Season Four – Episode Four
“Metamorphosis”

The plot of this ep centers around this guy (Jack) who is turning into a monster called a rougarou who likes to dine on human flesh. Apparently it’s genetic, and there’s only the most paper-thin wall of restraint keeping this guy from taking a bite out of someone and hulking out and going on a rampage. 30 years ago, Travis (a hunter) made the mistake of not killing the son of the last rougarou he encountered (or he lost track of him, whatever), so he’s hoping not to be too late to take care of the mess he left behind. Naturally he’s an extremist and doesn’t know how to temper hunting with mercy and therein lies the rub. (That is, either he’s too merciful or not merciful enough.) At any rate, I blame him, fully and completely, for the pickle the boys find themselves in this week.

The ep also provides a proving ground for the whole “will he, won’t he” question, which first shows up with regards to Jack. Sam, of course, is on the no-he-won’t side and wants the brothers to exercise restraint and allow Jack to prove himself worthy of remaining alive. Since this worthiness can only be substantiated or refuted when (and if) Jack kills someone, Dean naturally would like to err on the side of caution, and feels that they ought to do what Travis suggests and that is off Jack a.s.a.p. The corollary to this, neatly done by Show, is the mirror issue of Sam and his inner demon-blood-fed monster and whether he should be allowed to prove himself worthy of remaining alive. 

As we learned in the last ep, Dean has once again been charged with either saving or killing his little brother, and that, my fellow fans, is what we’re really interested in, isn’t it? Who cares about Jack? Oh, I know, I know, this is a horror show, but frankly for me, a True Fan, the MOW serves mainly, and, oh, hell, ONLY to bring the brothers’ relationship and issues into sharper focus. The better the MOW does this, the better I like it. I’d say that the MOW did a pretty good job this week, and there were lots of good scenes with the brothers together, doing brotherly things, and although it wasn’t as good an ep as last week, I enjoyed myself very well. 

We start off with Sam exorcising a demon out of a human. He does that thing he does, holding out his hand rather like he’s Moses about to part the Red Sea (or the Reed Sea, if you’ve been watching the History Channel), setting the human free while casting the demon into the pits of hell. (Lots of nice close-ups of Sam and his dark eyes here.) This makes him happy, it also makes that skank Ruby happy, and we see implications that she’s been training him long enough for Sam to incur no headaches when he exorcises. 

I think she’s leading him astray, helping him to do what he considers the right thing (saving people, doing good), which he will surely find out to be for the wrong reason. What makes this scene even more interesting is the fact that Dean is JUST outside, watching. Oh, man, this kind of discovery was exactly perfect because it implies that Dean was following Sam around trying to figure out where little bro was running off to in the middle of the night. When he comes into the room, Dean is furious, his voice breaking into a lovely burr as he tries to talk to Sam, and Sam, hopelessly mired in his own web of lies now brought to light, can hardly get a word out. 

Yeah, I liked that scene a lot, but it’s followed by an even better scene, wherein there is a Fight At The Motel. At first, Sam is bookishly cute, reading (or pretending to read in that paisley shirt he wears sometimes that I have an ongoing love/hate relationship with) at the little table next to the window. Dean stalks in, shoulders cutting through the air, and Sam is in SO much TROUBLE it’s not even funny. Dean starts packing to leave, though I believe it’s only to prove a point, since he could never, ever be the one to leave. And then he says that thing he does about how Sam should go hunt demons with that skank Ruby, which means, of course, as any fangirl can tell you, how HURT Dean is by Sam’s betrayal. 

What follows is among one of the BEST fight scenes EVER, full of lovely tense goodness, despair, and close-ups. Oh, I live for these kinds of scenes, I do. I loved this so well, I watched it over about four times, trying to pick up every little nuance and twitch. Dean starts in with some punching, and Sam snaps back like a punching bag, and then Dean starts taking his anger out on the furnishings, namely a lamp, which will never be the same again. Dean’s got all the best lines in this ep, one among them being, “If I didn’t know you, I would want to hunt you.” To which Sam reacts like he’s been shot through the heart, with the most contrite expression you’ve ever seen, his sad look in place that is, simply, perfection. He’s got dark eyes, and unshed tears, and that droopy, pouty, bloodstained mouth. Everything a Samgirl wants, even though I know it’s kind of whacked to like it when he gets like that. 

Show also cleverly remembers that punches are how Dean expresses himself, and that Sam never ever punches back. Sure, he’s aimed a gun at his brother a time or two, but no, he’s not going to punch back. As for Dean, I’m afraid that all I notice, beside the fact that he’s Very Angry, is how his green shirt brings out the color of his eyes. (I know, I know. My vision gets limited sometimes, okay?) Still, Dean’s worry is also on the surface, glittering in his eyes; I think he’s really truly hurt to his core that Sam lied to him. Sam the one person he trusted above all others, counted on more than anyone else, this person has been lying to him for ages and he never knew. I think this is breaking Dean more than hell ever could. 

When Dean pointed to the ceiling to tell Sam that God wants him to stop, I was uncomfortably reminded of televangelists. I mean, does Dean believe in angels and God now? You’d think that one angel does not a Holy Firmament make, but Dean seems to have been completely transmogrified by the soap angel, or perhaps it’s just the ammo he’s using on his brother during this scene. It was also strange that he called the angel “Cas,” like they were good friends and all. Which they’re, um, not. NOT. How could they be? 

In the midst of this comes a phone call from some guy named Travis, which seemed a bit ill-timed because if the conversation was as intense as it WAS, then Sam would have ignored it. Right? Although I loved, loved, loved, Sam’s tortured answering of the phone call. I don’t know what it is, but when he winces and clenches his teeth and pinches the bridge of his nose? It brings back the Old Days, when Sam used to have visions and collapse to his knees, and brother Dean would rush to his side, offering succor and a surcease to the pain. I also have a special fondness for the moment when Sam hangs up the phone and stands there with his head tipped forward so that his long, dark forelock hangs low over his forehead. Dean, meanwhile, has tears sparking in eyes, and they’re both so beautiful like that, I just want to freeze that moment forever. It’s scenes like this that make me fall in love with both Ackles and Padalecki at the same time, ALL over again.

Then the boys drive and dither, which makes me pretty happy, plus Dean’s been telling Sam about his trip into the past. Now, I understand that Show has to move it along and save screen time for other things, but it would have been kind of nice not to be brought in on the tail end of this particular conversation. Sam asks about The Mom, Dean tells him it all ended with the YED and that’s pretty much it. Not only is Sam swallowing the whole time travel story, his reaction seems very understated, and to me, disappointing. 

Yeah, okay, given what the brothers know about how powerful angels are, I can see him going along with the former. But as for the latter, is this character that detached from the family history? I don’t think so.

Plus, Sam lets it slip about having ingested demon blood when he was a baby. Given the weight of this particular secret, Dean’s pissed, yes, but considering how BIG that time bomb is and considering how LONG Sam’s kept it to himself? Yeah, I would have expected Dean to blow another gasket, pull the car over to the side of the road in a screeching halt, get out, and walk over the passenger door to haul Sam out for another punch in the face. In the rain. I would have liked that scene very much. As it was, I had to be satisfied with Dean’s tightly controlled, sarcastic remarks to Sam, and Sam’s dismissive “whatever” response.

Sam and Dean stop to spy on the MOW who is eating leftover chicken, and, ug, raw meat. They’re using binoculars to do this spying, and it’s really quite funny, though I don’t think it was meant to be, because there’s no way Dean, from where he was sitting, could have seen through Sam’s luxurious head of hair. Inside the house, it gets gross. The grey and silver tones of the filming of the scenes with the MOW set off the color of blood nicely, thanks. I almost lost my dinner and I hadn’t even eaten yet. 

Then the boys head back to their motel where they find Travis drinking their beer. There’s a lot of nice bits in this scene though I have to ask, who is Travis? From the second he came on the screen, I thought he was creepy. There was something too normal in his eyes for a hunter, they were round and soft, and I’m not saying that in retrospect either. I know that in Show’s universe, someone that innocent looking and seeming could only turn out to be some sort of whack job, which he was. Plus, yeah, where did he come from? He says that he’s not seen the boys in ten years, which brings up some questions. 

First, if that’s true, why do the boys hug him? Wouldn’t a handshake do? Neither one is a hugger like that, especially with a man they’ve not seen in that long. Second, according to what is implied by canon, we’re completely led to believe that before the time Show started, The Dad and his boys mostly worked in isolation. It’s shown to us that neither of the boys had much exposure to other hunters besides Caleb, Pastor Jim, and Daniel Elkins. (Bobby is another issue; at the end of Season 1, only Dean seemed to know or recognize him, but because fans enjoyed him so much, they built him into the story, so we’ll just include him here for argument’s sake.)  

It isn’t till Season 2 that the boys meet the Roadhouse gang (and Gordon) and are quite shocked, it appears, to find that there is a whole network of hunters. At any rate, Show could have used a more logical method to introduce this random hunter dude who dies in the last reel. For example, instead of him coming out of the blue like he does, he could have been a never-before-met friend of Bobby’s who needed help because of his broken arm. Otherwise his introduction is completely inorganic and very hard to swallow. Especially with the hugs and all.  

As they say their hellos, Dean makes a pointed remark about how there’s “nothing more important than family,” which is a lovely way for him to dig the knife into Sam yet again what a lying liar he is. Throughout the ep Dean goes on in this vein, and I really enjoyed the continuation of  Dean’s anger. Every chance he gets, Dean reminds Sam how he’s messed up but good, so with rolls of the eyes, pointed remarks, yeah, he’s not going to be letting Sam forget this one any time soon. 

Travis tells the boys about the rougarou, which Dean thinks sounds made up, and he says so, very cutely. In addition, Dean absorbs the term “longpig” with the avidness of a three year old grabbing for candy, making it his word of the day. I like how Show doesn’t forget that while Dean’s not book savvy, he has a brain that soaks up information like a sponge. (And later, Sam pauses just at that point so that his brother can say the word longpig yet again, with the joy of a kid with a new toy. Wasn’t that nice of Sam?)

Show interrupts this fun scene with an interlude of the MOW. There’s so much of the MOW, why does there have to be a bar fight to prove what a good guy he is? We already know that he loves his wife, really, that’s enough Show. Luckily, Show takes us back to the motel room, where Travis and Dean are getting prepped for the battle by filling two hand-held blow torches. Dean working with a blow torch? Incendiary, man, cause he purses his lips in a certain way, and concentrates, and he’s just so manly and all, I completely forget why he’s working on the torch. 

Then there’s Sam, who walks into the room, talking about the research he’s been doing. Travis wants to off the MOW, but Sam always wants to do things the Sam Way, which is the kinder, gentler, way, the talking cure way, the collect-all-survivors-at-all-costs way. That’s how you loose the war, buddy, I want to tell him, even if at the same time I just want to give him a hug and a kiss for trying. (The blue and green plaid SO suits Sam. Plus I’m totally drawn to that wide, mobile mouth of his as he tries to explain his point of view, and those tender, sweet eyes that make him look all of ten years old. Padalecki has really grown into his bones, I’d say. And I enjoy watching him say “rougarou lore” rather more than I should.) 

Travis is patronizing to Sam, and I can see it in Dean’s eyes how torn he is between agreeing with Travis and not wanting to use his position about the MOW to score points against his brother, even if he is still mad about Sam lying. Because while he thinks Sam is sometimes wrong, like he does here, he always gives Sam a chance to explain his point of view. Plus the only person allowed to mock Sam for being so brainy is Dean, although Travis is hardly likely to know this. As for the KY reference, I’m sure you can imagine my Beevus and Butthead chortle that went on far too long for polite company.  

Show treats me to another drive and dither scene by the boys, and I wish there was another way for me to let Show know how much I enjoy them than in these reviews. Naturally, the brothers are in disagreement about what should be done with the MOW. Dean’s not going to let it just lay there and it’s kind of an obsessive brotherly thing he does. Dean wants to know that when push comes, Sam’s going to shove. (Which, for some reason, sounds vaguely more pornographic perhaps than it should.) And bless my soul if Sam doesn’t have a melt down. Yeah, it’s good, very good. He insists that Dean pull over, and when Dean does? There’s yelling and stomping and manly arms being spread WIDE to express their respective displeasure and anger. (Oh, Sam. It’s so hard being the baby of the family, isn’t it. Believe me, I know.)

Really, true light filming is my very good friend. Could they be any more beautiful standing there amidst the verdant boughs and the eggshell thin, grey sky? Dean is stoic and impassive, beautifully befreckled while Sam rants and then he takes his turn. There Sam goes, bending his head again, so that his bangs are falling forward. It’s such a glorious Samhair moment, let’s all roll in it, shall we? Thank you, Show, for taking the time to set this scene up. 

The brothers go to talk to Jack, who is in his garden, doing garden stuff. Typically, Sam introduces them both, and then they start to explain what’s going on. In this scene, unlike the earlier one in the Impala, the technique of skipping through the already-known facts about the rougarou make sense and saves time. The talk, naturally, does no good, except to give me more lovely close-ups of the boys, again in natural light. There’s lots of Sam’s lovely skin, and his noble brow furred in concentration, as well as tons of Dean, with his five o’clock shadow and his bright, green eyes. Which, as I’m sure you’ll understand, rather distracted me away from the dialog, which, of course, was the point of the scene and stuff. 

Later, the brothers check up on Jack, who they follow to the place where Jack is watching some chick through a window. This is the where I must point out that while the wife wears a white nightie in the one scene, naturally the chick the MOW watches is wearing black lingerie. I want to bang my head against the wall in frustration and wonder why Show can’t ever figure it out, because women DO wear undergarments of other colors than black and white. Surely Show knows some women who would be willing to tell them this? However, I’m mollified by the boys breaking in to save the chick, who they are sure is going to be eaten by the MOW. Normally, this works like a treat, and maybe they’ll get a kiss after. This week, yeah, it’s fun because the MOW didn’t attack, and the boys are seen as perverts breaking in. They have to collect themselves and make an exit that kind of reminded me of the end of a WB cartoon, which was only missing the “Th-th-that’s all, folks!”

Travis, alas, takes it upon himself to capture both Jack and his wife, and plans to burn them to death. He’s going to end the cycle, see, but his methods seem mad, and then the MOW hulks out, just like Travis predicted. We’re obviously meant to wonder whether he would have hulked out had Travis not threatened to burn his wife alive, plus we find out that the wife is pregnant, so it looks like the cycle could start all over again. Still, Travis could have found another way to take care of the as yet unborn monster, but that’s really entering into territory better left to debate teams. 

Sam and Dean show up and there’s Sammy whumpage (which is always fun), and Sam gets locked in a closet, which is also fun. He’s got blood on his forehead, and his nose is bleeding, and he’s all on his own here trying to figure out what to do. So he starts talking to the MOW, which seems to be his preferred method du jour, but Sam’s soothing voice through the door is almost not enough and Dean is in PERIL, which drives Sam quite crazy. (But I like it like that!) The MOW is alert enough to keep the issue of the pregnant wife with the rougarou growing inside of her from Sam. This makes for an interesting lack of resolution, because if the boys have no idea that she’s pregnant, somewhere, 30 years on, another monster will walk the earth.

Outside the closet, Dean looks good unconscious. When he wakes up to see Sam torching the MOW (yeah, Sam picked the lock to free himself), he also looks good by the light of a propane powered flame thrower, which doesn’t surprise me, but instead delights me. Really, the boy is too beautiful for this earth. (I’d like to note it for the record that both boys had been bashed a bit during this ep. What I wouldn’t give for a decent first aid scene between the brothers. Truly. We had head wounds and busted lips, and no doubt, wrenched shoulders and headaches. C’mon, Show! Be kind and get out the bandages!)

The ep finishes up with yet ANOTHER drive and dither, and I never get tired of them, never, because in the Impala, the truth always comes out. As Dean drives, Sam’s looking at his reflection in the window in the Impala. This mirrors (ha!) the time when in Mystery Spot we saw two Sams, one, the bloody hunter home from the hills, and the other, the reflection, head bent, hair spilling forward, jerking with reaction as the other Sam pulled out a bullet and stitched himself up. Which nicely portrays Sam as a divided soul, wouldn’t you agree?

Sam tells Dean that he’s decided to give it all up. Not because God told him to, but because that’s what’s best. Now, while I don’t doubt Sam’s sincerity at this point, I’m not quite clear how he came to this decision. I kinda get that it might have happened at the moment he set the MOW of the week on fire, but I’m completely lost on the mental gyrations, at least from Sam’s point of view. As a fangirl, I can make stuff up, sure, but as a viewer, I don’t think I should have to. Many complaints I have heard about Show’s seeming lack of interest into Sam’s inner workings, not only what goes on in that sassy, sexy head of his from day to day, but also, what the hell was he doing while Dean was in hell? The results of that we can see, but there’s four months unaccounted for there, four months of Sam angst that is being kept from us, cruelly, by Show. And thus the ep ends.

To conclude, I did have some problems with this episode, which pains me to say like you would not believe. Although the argument in the beginning of the ep ROCKED big time, and moments when the boys were on screen together sparkled from my TV like St. Elmo’s fire, there were moments where neither one was on screen and the ep limped brokenly along. In short, there seemed to be a dearth of boys. Yeah, I geeked out and timed it. Yeah, I know, and no, I’m not getting help for that. The MOW was onscreen without the boys, with our without other characters, for 16 minutes and 35 seconds. That’s WAY too much screen time for a character that’s going to be offed before the end of the ep. 

I did enjoy the MOW’s pathos and all, but it was rather like the lighting guys were getting behind the camera guys and throwing all their combined political weight in there so that the makeup guys could win an Emmy. I MEAN. All those close-ups? The MOW is suffering, we get it already. ENOUGH. Add in the plethora of unnecessary close-ups of Travis’ earnest and grizzled face, which I clocked at just under two minutes, and I found myself completely dismayed. Show’s length tends to go around 40 minutes, give or take, which means that the boys were onscreen by themselves for barely more than 50% of the time. Do you see the problem I’m having?

Also, when you start an episode on a high note like this one did, there’s really nowhere else for it to go but down. Which is what happened. The MOW was not enough to engage my senses for all that time (see above), and I kept waiting for more fallout from Sam’s secret. Not like Dean would hold a grudge forever, and I did enjoy him eyeing Sam askance every time little brother entered the room (see above), and his tightlipped, sarcastic comments, but I wanted MORE. Not just because I’m a greedy fangirl, which I am (and I admit it, and no, I’m not getting help for that, either), but also because there needed to be more. If Show had included more scenes of the same power as the original Fight At The Motel, then the dynamic tension to the ep would have had more symmetry to it, and would have made a whole lot more sense. And satisfied me, which, of course, is really what’s important here. 

Sylvia Bond is a ten-year technical writing veteran with too many degrees under her belt to count. She lives in Colorado, but does not ski, preferring instead to spend her money and time at the annual Great American Beer Festival, taking road trips across the United States, and reading historical fiction from the comfort of her fluffy green arm chair. She has been involved in fandom since 1993 and been writing fanfic since approximately 1993. What she finds most amazing about fandom (besides the open heartedness of fans and the sheer amount of creativity) is how visible fandom has become. “In my day,” she says, “we had to hide behind P.O. boxes to get fanfic. But nowadays, people wear t-shirts that shout their affiliation and share their shiny toys on the internet.” It’s a wonderful world.

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