Photo : CW
In the past five seasons, SUPERNATURAL has shown a certain amount of glee lampooning the show, its actors/creators, fan culture, and the entertainment industry in general. But this episode reaches a whole new level in fourth-wall tweaking.
By : TAMARA BROOKS
In the past five seasons, SUPERNATURAL has shown a certain amount of glee lampooning the show, its actors/creators, fan culture, and the entertainment industry in general. But this episode reaches a whole new level in fourth-wall tweaking.
The basic plot finds the Winchesters sent to an alternate world by Balthazar where they are the actors “Jensen Ackles” and “Jared Padalecki” working on series all about their lives. All the places they know are fake, all their hunting gear is fake, and there’s a bad-ass angelic hunter after them. And they don’t know if they can get home. So a little stranger than usual but not by much.
Photo : CW
There’s something about self-awareness that really lights up the series and “The French Mistake” is no exception. The Bizarro versions we see are a delightful mix of the actual actors’ lives and a number of preposterous quirks (wait until you see Alterna-Jared’s house). I dug Genevieve Padalecki’s (nee Cortese) brief turn as sort-of-herself but my favorite has to be Misha Collins’ “Misha.” Alterna-Misha will warm the sub-cockles of your heart. Not much of Alterna-Jensen’s life is featured but what little is shown is gold. Some of the crew also gets in on the act proving everyone who works on the show has a great sense of humor.
As fun as the episode is, there are heavier things at play. We once again are teased with info on the Angelic Civil War. There are big machinations in motion but we’re still only given so much. The revelations are quite interesting though. I still don’t know how this is all going to fit in with our new Big Bad but I’m itching to know more and, if it’s even half as big as I’m anticipating, oh it’s going to be good.
Overall I genuinely enjoyed the episode but I have one minor…thing. Through pretty much the whole episode there was this vibe of them not understanding how people could be interested in watching their lives. I found that odd since Dean and Sam have seemingly already made peace with that thanks to Carver Edlund and his book series. The whole plot of “The Real Ghostbusters” was based on them being at a convention surrounded by fans dressed like them, people they know, and monsters they’ve ganked. Granted, this meta-verse is trippier in a lot of ways but nothing can be weirder than being surrounded by people obsessed with you.
“The French Mistake” premieres on The CW Friday, February 25th at 9 PM ET.
