Quick Take: Supernatural, "The Girl Next Door"
"New rule: you steal my baby, you get punched." - Dean
Review: Supernatural, "The Girl Next Door"
(S0703) Well, we can all breathe a sigh of relief, Supernatural is back to being generally mediocre. After a phenomenal premiere and an excellent follow-up, the third episode of Season Seven was altogether lackluster in comparison. Last week’s jaw-dropping cliffhanger was wrapped up before the title card flashed in what would ultimately prove to be the strongest aspect of the episode. One quick getaway in a stolen ambulance and it’s off to the first official monster-of-the-week story of the season.
Don’t get me wrong, I love monsters of the week. A quick romp through the cemetery with some lighter fluid and a canister of salt can be a much needed breather when the season-wide arch gets a little too heavy: season 5, anyone? However, interrupting a burgeoning plot just as it’s starting to take off seems misguided and poorly-planned. Save the run-of-the-mill monsters for when everyone is sick of Sam and Dean’s Bogus Journey.
At least we got some flashbacks. Colin Ford is always a welcome guest, and his most recent take as a 15-year-old Sam eased the pain of a migraine-inducing script. The one-sided conversations with an unseen Dean and his penchant for ordering triple-caffeinated beverages are so completely Sam. Ford’s uncanny resemblance to adult-Sam, Jared Padalecki, doesn’t hurt either.
To cut to the chase: once again, one of Sam’s old crushes turns out to be not so human. Literally. A newspaper headline brings back memories of a botched Kitsune hunt. Once again, Sam takes it upon himself to sneak out while Dean is sleeping/drunk (really, it’s all the same for the guy at this point) and once again, Dean tracks him down and punches him in the face. Literally. After burying their differences beneath several layers of resentment and whiskey, Dean takes it upon himself to stab Sam’s supernatural ladyfriend.
If you’re having traumatic flashbacks to season 4, I feel your pain.
Aside from rehashing that tired and wholly-unwanted storyline again, there were other, more glaring flaws:
