5x08 - Changing Channels

Ok, so, I definitely think that this was the best episode of the fifth season so far. So, thoughts.

Dean came off SO homoerotic in this episode! He was turned on by the hot nurse chick, yeah, but as soon as he saw Dr. Sexy, he got all nervous and girly, and it was adorable! I can't believe Kripke had him act like that!

LOVED the Japanese Nutcracker show. Though that was hilarious. Poor, poor Sam. He just never gets a break, does he? Kicked in the balls all the time. I can't remember, have we ever seen Dean get kicked in the balls? I enjoyed Dean speaking Japanese. Aw, poor Castiel, swept away.

Hee hee. Supernatural as a comedy. And may I just say, the opening sequence? Pure hilarity. Seriously, it made me so happy I could burst. Dean's enormous sandwich? And the bigger mouth jokes? I swear, when Sam said, "You're gonna need a bigger mouth", I immediately started having dirty thoughts.

Really enjoyed the boys as cops imitating CSI. Lol. The whole thing about only douchebags wear sunglasses at night? Priceless! And I gotta say, Sam did a great imitation of that one dude, from CSI, whose name I can never remember. Of course they didn't kill the trickster. I knew it couldn't be.

Heh. Sam as the Impala. Don't see what Dean was so upset about. It's a combination of his two favorite things! Of course, I'm sure Dean has a lot of reasons for wanting Sam to have opposable thumbs. ;-) . And I loved, loved, LOVED the part about Dean digging in Sam's 'trunk'.

The Trickster is Gabriel?? Oh my fucking god. I'm blown away. Seriously. Lol. I mean, of all the things I was expecting, that was the least of them.

I'm both surprised and relieved at how shrill Gabriel was. Once we found out who he was, it was like he stopped being all mysterious and wise and started being a little kid throwing a tantrum, which was a little disappointing, because I was always really fond of the Trickster. To find out that he's really just a whiney little angel? It's a bit of let down. I always kind of wanted the Trickster to remain wise and playful. Oh well.

Other than the whole Gabriel thing, we didn't really learn anything new. I mean, unless you count the whole thing being planned from the beginning. I really loved Dean's whole "Screw you angels and your destiny crap" attitude, because we really don't need to see Sam and Dean have it out again.

Overall, my impression of this episode is that Gabriel's probably gonna play a bigger role in the future. And that this episode? Really rocked.

I missed it last night because the stupid satellite cut off leaving me with only the country music video network. I will have to wait until the replay because I have dialup and can't download it.

I did however see a clip online that I'll post in case anybody wants to see it again. Sam has genital herpies I hope the rest of the episode is as hilarious as this was. I loved Sam's hesitant reaction to his lines. And he was pretty fucking cute in that basketball getup.

I have to say that I agree it is definitely one of the best episodes so far this season. The opening sequence was the great and the opening credits thing with them outside on the bike, motorbikes, and then playing football. How they just laughed at everything! Completely hilarious and a part of me wanted Bobby to pop in at some time too to even join it.

Poor Sam! Last week he gets the clap and this week he has gential herpes, gets hit in the balls, and slapped by a nurse! LOL. I loved the reference of the one doctor seeing the dead guy. That was so a shout out to JDM on Grey's Anatomy since Izzy saw Denny even though he was dead.

A part of me wanted Castiel to play the Japanese gameshow too but when they asked the question about "Would your mom and dad be dead of your brother were never born?" I actually laughed! I don't know why but I found it hilarious for some reason, probably because it's a gameshow and it's not like Dean even knew what he was answering. Haha.

Sam was actually making fun of Horatio Kane I think from CSI: Miami. I actually like Horatio but that is kind of how he acts and it's so hilarious!!

I was definitely shocked by the Trickster being an angel, yet alone the archangel Gabriel. It did kind of disappoint me a bit but at the same time you have to admit that he definitely is an angel with a sense of humor! Guess Uriel isn't the funniest one after all! LOL.

I was kind of bugged by the ending though with how the boys are just talking and Cas is like standing right there. I'm like wtf dude! Quit ignoring Cas!

First let me say I'm so sorry you missed out, Shane, it was a great episode and a really funny one too!

OK, so starting from the top--how cute was it we just jumped into "Supernatural-the sitcom"? All that lime green decor, the "smeat" in the fridge, Sam coming in (so "Hi, honey, I'm home"!), and then the disapproving look Sam gave Dean when the girl came out of the bathroom? Oooo, so jealous!

The theme song and a credit sequence! The bit with the bike, the bit with the football and them falling down! All hilarious stuff! (I was already laughing so hard--Trickster episodes are always so funny!)

Dean watching "Dr. Sexy, M.D." and obviously loving it.

Interviewing the girl and her telling them that it was The Incredible Hulk who did it. :lol: Dean's "Bana or Norton?" and her saying it Lou Ferrigno--loved it!

Back to the motel, Sam coming in again normal style and Dean researching on the computer, very nice.

"You might say you wouldn't like him when he's angry." Heh.

Figuring out it's the Trickster and Dean saying "been wanting to gank that mother since Mystery Spot" (which totally sounded like he was talking about the episode to me! Anyone else?)

Sam, being Sam, wanting to make the Trickster an ally. "A bloody, violent monster and you wanna be Facebook friends with him?" (ah, we're long past the days when Dean didn't know what MySpace was, apparently.)

And this whole time when Sam was talking about ganking the Trickster I was thinking "wait, didn't Sam promise to leave him alone if he brought Dean back in Mystery Spot?" WTF?

Entering the warehouse and bam! Dr.'s Sam and Dean, Sam getting slapped (I think I would have thought that whole thing was funnier if I actually--you know--watched Grey's. I mean, I got some of it--the JDM/Denny reference, of course--but most of it?...).

Sam's theory that the "Trickster trapped us in TV Land" and Dean shooting it down immediately.

Dean's fangirling of "Dr. Sexy." Yeah, that was cute.

The transition to the Japanese game show...and poor Sam getting hit in the balls! (I don't remember Dean ever getting hit there, actually. Always seems to be Sam. I wonder if Jensen has it in his contract or something, or if Jared's just more game to go for it!)

Dean's expression when it happens, though. ANd his panic when he thinks he is next?

Cas! Loved his entrance and then seeing him getting zipped out? Pretty cool (loved the old style effect on that).

Dean speaking Japanese. And then, oh and then the Herpes commercial! I had to pause it, I was laughing so hard! (I wonder if that was sparked by Jared's "I think that midget stripper gave me herpes" line from the Season 1 gag reel?!)

The return to the sitcom, Cas returns but is bounced, the talk with the Trickster and the possibility that he's not what he seems. Interesting.

Then, the CSI parody.

"I am wearing sunglasses at night. Know who does that? No talent douchbags." OMFG! :lol: :lol:

When they cross under the tape, I gotta admit the boys looked awesome and sexy as hell. Those suits really worked on them! And yeah, Sam was great, riffing on Horatio/David Caruso.

Anyone else totally figure that they had not killed the Trickster? *raises hand*

And then....ooooo and then! When Dean was calling Sam and then Sam's voice and I was all "they didn't! Sam in the Impala?" and then to see that screen and Sam as KITT!!! (That was something I had not seen in any of the spoilers so that was a total surprise for me!) I think I might have screamed a bit, actually. In between laughing. The Impala as KITT (please, KITT wishes he was as cool as the Impala!). And then Dean rummaging around in the trunk and I totally saw that joke coming but laughed anyway when Sam said--
"Dean? That, uh, that feels really uncomfortable." And "Ow." (And Sam as the Impala--is. now. canon.)

(BTW, if Sam was KITT then that meant Dean was the Hoff--fitting 'eh?)

OK, the revelation that the Trickster was an angel, was Gabriel. Totally didn't see that coming (and it left me a little confused--so has the Trickster been Gabriel all along? Even back in Tall Tales and Mystery Spot?).

This bit here:
"This isn't about a war. This about two brothers that loved each other and betrayed each other. You'd think you'd be able to relate."

And then the revelations that they've been the intended vessels since Creation and that one is destined to kill the other (which, I'm sorry, but not very big surprises to me--anyone else?).

In short, this episode was funny as hell and made me laugh so hard I was gasping for breath but the 'destiny' stuff was kinda boring (and seemed rather pointless).

I loved how Sam was so much like Horatio on CSI:Miami. I used to watch that show so when he pulled it off, I was laughing so hard. "Jackpot!" LMAO.

Also, on some other Supernatural forums that I'm on, they have this thread called Ask the Impala and they answer how they think the Impala would answer and now I can just picture Sam for that and that's it. Haha.

Also, I think that The Trickster has always been Gabriel. What I got from it is that he might have created The Trickster persona to cover his own identity all those years because with the powers he has, they are god-like and technically the Trickster is a pagan god so you never know. I would like to think that he is both and that really The Trickster is an angel then.

If that is the case, then the boys came in contact with an angel since season 2, and that story has been starting since season 2. I don't mind that The Trickster is Gabriel, but I'm not sure how I feel about it at the same time. It kind of ruins the whole Trickster persona for me.

What bothers me more is that sometimes I feel like this season the writers have been pulling stuff out of their ass or using stuff from old seasons and acting like they've had it planned all along. I don't think The Trickster was planned on being Gabriel. I think they threw that in there.

Just like at the beginning of this season we learned that Dean is Michael's vessel and Sam is Lucifer's vessel. Did Kripke really have that planned from the beginning? No! He even said in an interview that if there hadn't been the writer's strike in season 3 that Sam would have used his powers to stop Dean from going to hell so therefore the angel storyline wasn't originally planned from the sounds of it so none of this would be happening. Even if some of it was planned, I don't think it was planned like this.

They've been hinting at one brothe killing the other since season 2, but like this? I don't know. I don't mind the mytharc, and the Apocalypse, but sometimes it gets kind of annoying.

Then there are the episodes that make fun of the fans, which are funny to an extent but are getting kind of old. Like this coming week is the one about the convention. Well....another episode to make fun of fans in my opinion. It was okay when it started with Monster at the End of this Book, but then I think they've gradually gotten too carried away with it. It's like I don't mind but at the same time episodes that have to do with the fandom really don't have anything to do with the Apocalypse and main mytharc storyline.

I've been talking to other fans and there is so much confusion over this now. I think that at the upcoming Con someone needs to ask about this...

And I've been seeing a lot of similar type reaction like this too. Which I agree with.

This also something I'm seeing a lot of fans talking about. It was funny for a while but now it just feels like Kripke's beating a dead horse. Breaking the fourth wall too much. (and a lot of fans are worried he's going to make us look crazy. Or stupid. Or both.)

For me fandom needs to stay pretty seperate from canon (this show pretty much taught me that, especially recently). I used to love "crossing the line" but yeah...it's getting old.

It's kind of like having too much of a good thing. I think that Monster at the End of This Book was hilarious, and refreshing because it hadn't been done before. To make fun of the fans is probably something most shows don't dare to do in fear that they might piss fans off so on that level I liked it and I wish that the Winchester Gospels were real books I could read!

My problem is that they keep doing this stuff. Becky in episode 5.1 with being the number one Supernatural fan and touching Sam. Then now there is an episode about a convention coming up this week. On top of that, there have been other hints here and there and it just gets to the point that I get the first time you did it, it turned out well, but enough is enough. You can have too much of a good thing and I think that's what is going on, or possibly because it's the last season, they're trying to throw shout outs to us or they just don't care.

I would say that in Changing Channels, having the sitcom version of Supernatural was kind of a fandom thing too. It's hard to explain but I guess that's the way I see it.

I think what bothers me more is that making fun of the fans of wincest was funny at first, but after awhile it's kind of annoying and rude. I don't mind wincest but I'm not exactly like a heavy fan of it either, but at the same time, I think it's kind of rude to the fans that are like really into it. I'm somewhat for it, more into Dean/Cas but still. Some people are offended by it and even if they don't like it, or the boys don't like it, it's out there and this site is proof of it and yet they think it's funny to make fun of those fans? I don't know.

There is a huge Dean/Cas following now and yet I don't see them making fun of that so maybe they prefer that following compared to the wincest following.

This post has been edited by xxstaindrosesxx on Nov 10 2009, 06:31 AM

I agree with some of that sentiment...

TBH, I've really lost interest in SPN. I'm not a fan of the Angels storyline so I didn't enjoy the last season. Yes, it had it's moments but overall I wasn't keep on the whole storyarc.
This season seems to be struggling to keep my interest.

I haven't seen episodes 3 & 4 of this season. I only watched #2 coz I wanted to see Ellen & Jo again. Then I decided only to watch the stand-alone/MOTW episodes.
These ones this season have still be good and I have to say this episode was awesome!

BUT I do feel like the writers have changed the whole storyline and are trying to make us believe it was always meant to be this way. I seriously doubt that the Trickster was Gabriel all along... All these comments I've seen on other sites where people keep saying "I didn't see that coming"... You weren't supposed to coz they pulled it outta left field.


Best part: Sam as the Impala!!!

I absolutely loved this episode. Like Julia I think this is gonna be one of my favorites of this season. So funny!

I've lost count of the number of times I've watched and rewatched this sequence. So funny! And Teri, Jealous!Sammy is so cute!!

I don't have much to add on the actual episode except that I was laughing so hard I was crying. Which is a relief because the majority of episodes I watch I end up crying because they're so emotional with the scenes between the boys.

As far as the whole Gabriel/Trickster thing I didn't see it coming. But hopefully this means he'll be able to come back? I like Richard Speight Jr. He's got range. The way any decent actor should. Which I really enjoy watching. ;)

But as far as Dean once again insisting that he and Sam aren't going to go through this 'destiny' bullshit left me feeling as if they're fighting a losing battle. Don't like that feeling. :( And then after that I just felt numb. And trust me when I say I hope I'm wrong!!!

So I had to go back and rewatch all the hilarious parts of the episode to make myself feel better.

I agree (and I'm seeing many fans also say this), that enough is enough. It was cute for a while but now...? It's sort of like when you hear a cute, popular new saying or catchphrase and it's really cool for a while but then you just get so tired of it and it's no longer cute.

I know a lot of people (here and on other sites) who took the "homage" with Becky as a compliment but I was one of the few who didn't care for it. I get that he's referencing a big part of fandom but...we've always kept that separate (from teh guys, from the show, etc.). To quote (here I go again!) the Shanks: "Whatever floats your boat, whatever stirs your coffee. Just leave me out of it."

I totally know what you mean, Moria! It's like, the more they insist the more it seems like it really will happen. "You can't fight destiny, boys" and all that crap. Ugh. It makes me queasy in my tummy!

OK, I am now going to admit something I've only told my Mom--this season, my interest in SPN has been waning a bit. Not a lot, but a bit. I find myself sometimes putting off watching it (especially the episodes I'm not sure I really want to watch, like the Con one coming up) and just...not getting so excited about it, not as much as I was. At first I thought it was because this might be the last season and I figured I was dragging my feet that way but I went back and I looked at the list of episodes for Season 4 and, while there were some that I loved, a lot I didn't care for (or only liked parts of).

I am totally still watching (and episodes like this one? Remind me how super-fantastic this show can be!) but...my enthusiam is down a bit.
*sits and waits for lighting to strike me for the blasphemy*

I know what you mean. It's like when everyone went around saying, "That's hot." because Paris Hilton did it and now it's like no one does it. It's a trend and yet it fades after time but they're not getting that.

I thought that scene was funny but at the same time I don't really see it playing homage to the wincest fans. Becky was some psychotic acting fan who couldn't stop touching Sam. I know there are fans like that, but not all fans are like that, especially not all wincest fans. For the most part, I know most fans know their boundaries and wouldn't do something like that so they kind of portrayed her as a psychotic wincest obsessed fan which is actually being rude to wincest fans.

I know what you mean about losing interest. I haven't been trying to admit this but I have also. I actually loved season 4. I was really excited for it and loved the introduction of angels. I'm actually a huge Cas fan and then this season I've been kind of disappointed. Two episodes this season I haven't even cared for and that was the premiere and episode 6.

I think the mytharc has just thrown a lot of fans out of the loop and what not. It's kind of gotten me disappointed this season but I'm hanging in there because I want to see what they do with it.

My biggest issue is they keep going back to everday stuff and then to the main storyline. I kind of wish they would focus on the storyline at times but other times I'm kind of thankful for the stand alone episodes. Sad that I actually liked Fallen Idols with Paris Hilton after having 4 episodes about the mytharc.

Okay, I'm getting the impression that everyone's a little tired of this season, and this show, and though I'm not, I think I understand why, because it's been frustrating me a little bit too. I think it has less to do with the story arc, and a lot more to do with the interaction between Sam and Dean. Sorry if anyone feels I'm overstepping my bounds here and generalizing, but I have noticed a significant lack of Sam/Dean subtext this season. It seems to have been replaced with funny jokes about Wincest and the Wincesters. Now, I'll admit, these shoutouts always make me squee when I'm watching the show, but afterwards, I'm left with a vaguely confused and discontented feeling, wondering if they're making fun of us or showing us that they love us. After Becky, though, I think that they're probably making fun of us. And they've really dialed down on the subtext. It's like they're doing everything they can to make Sam and Dean seem as platonic as possible. For instance, when Dean handed the car keys to Sam, their hands didn't even touch.

Now, I'm willing to think that this is possibly the writers trying to show the distance between Sam and Dean now, because of the betrayel, and if that's the case, presumably there will be more and more of Sam and Dean getting back to the old Sam and Dean, as in, the "Bitch, Jerk" days, and eyesex, which no longer happens.

Unfortunately, I'm beginning to worry that what's happened isn't really that. It might be something that I've been worried about for a while. It might be us. Now, I didn't want to be the first person to say this, but we're the ones who take every little touch and loving gestures between Sam and Dean as a sign that they secretly want to bang each other. I don't necessarily mean us specifically, but the louder fans, the ones who feel the need to make our presence known to Kripke and the actors. I think if we'd tried to stay hidden more, perhaps we would still be getting long looks between Sam and Dean and more hugs. But we don't anymore.

Again, it might just be the writers trying to show the distance between Sam and Dean, and I hope that's the case. On the other hand, I suspect us. I think maybe Kripke's gotten so paranoid about the Wincest thing that he's editing out everything that could possibly be seen as gay between them, and making fun of us in the process. Like, "Ha ha, these fans are so crazy, and see how gay they aren't?"

Anyway, that was just a roundabout way of me saying that what I think is causing people to lose interest is the lack of sexual tension between Sam and Dean.

Thoughts?

*Sidenote* Personally, I'm kind of looking forward to this week's episode in the (likely) vain hope that we'll see some people who are gay lovers imitating Sam and Dean. Because, whether it's a joke or not, that would be hilarious.

Oddly enough that was my first thought when I head about there being fans at the convention dressed as Sam and Dean... Can picture a gay couple RPGing as the two of them

It's so wrong but still seems right

I actually kinda really agree with this. I think I may be wrong, But I don't think Dean's even called Sam Sammy since Season 4. Maybe that's a stupid thing to get upset about but it kind of...Has a significence to me.

Julia, this is so well said here. I've seen this theory before actually (the whole "the boys are acting butch because there's too much Wincest speculation" but yeah, I think a lot of us are missing the Sam/Dean interaction (and not just Wincest fans, but just fans of the show. How many have said they miss the "brother moments"? Cause I've seen a lot of that.).

Granted we had some in this episode, the boys pulling together to fight the Trickster and their solidarity at the end, their determination to not 'fulfill their destiny' and end up fighting each other but it's been lacking lately.

And A LOT of fans love this show because of the relationship between the brothers (I once had a friend who said she got another friend of hers to watch it by saying "it's not a scary show, it's a drama about two brothers with ghosts thrown in"! LOL).

In a related note, it seems I'm seeing more and more AU Wincest fics (big time and little time AU) and actual just generally less fic lately. I think that's because we honestly haven't had a seriously slashy subtexty show in a while. (though, of course, to the pros, subtext can be found pretty much anywhere! :lol: )

And yeah, I do think that they would say "well, there's a distance between the boys now" but Kripke's been promising us he would fix it for a while and I just don't see it happening yet. Still to come?