Supernatural – Dude! You just got wailed on by Paris Hilton!

It’s that time of the year again kids. If you’ve been following along with Supernatural over the years, you know what I mean. The setup for the season has been done, and we’ve all started shuffling pieces around the table trying to fit this crazy apocalyptic puzzle together. And then, out of nowhere, we’re off on a sidetrip that just barely touches on that bigger picture story. It happens every season, more than once, so it wasn’t unexpected. Thankfully, Kripke and his team have proven over the years that they can pull this off. And, despite early reservations about a certain casting choice, they did it again.

The obvious place to start is with Paris Hilton, as Leshii. I remember when word of the casting leaked out. My immediate reaction was something along the lines of “WTF?” Then, I quickly reminded myself that the 1st rule of Supernatural is you always trust Kripke. So, I came into the episode with an open mind, and I thought it all worked out rather well. Given the story, casting Paris made sense, and did open the door for Sam’s teasing line, “Dude! You just got wailed on by Paris Hilton!” Plus, she looked really good. Skinny. And fast.

I will add that Paris actually had the one part of the episode that I wasn’t completely crazy about. Leshii’s little Bond-villain-esque speech explaining how he had moved to celebrities might have gone a little far, reaching something of a glass-houses moment. After all, you can make a pretty good case that the reason Supernatural has lasted all these years, despite all the obstacles put in front of it, is exactly that kind of devotion from fans.

Still, that amounted to just one short line, and I may be over-analyzing it. Other than that, this side-trip was a whole lot of fun. They did a great job picking the other celebrities in the mix, and each brought a shining moment. The story of James Dean and Little Bastard is a fascinating one, and Dean didn’t even cover half of it in his summation for Sam. The highlight with the car, though, had to be Dean getting the engine number (or the involvement of Paul McGillion, if you’re a Stargate fan).

With Lincoln, there was the great line, and resulting look, where the housekeeper proclaimed that El Presidente Lincoln killed Mr. Hill.  I was also rather excited that they cast Bruce Harwood (The Lone Gunmen!) to be killed by Lincoln. Think about it. Byers, killed by Lincoln? And with Gandhi, it was Dean’s reaction to seeing Sam being attacked. “Is that Gandhi? Dude is squirrely.” Well, that or the fruitarian exchange.

The point being, of course, that while we didn’t get any progress with Lucifer, and Castiel was notably absent, it was a lot of fun. And that’s enough. They even managed to work in an Animal House reference as Sam asked dean how long he was going to be on double secret probation.

Meanwhile … back at the apocalypse … we also got a short little peek at the bigger picture as Sam and Dean continue to find their footing in this latest chapter of their relationship. If the hatchet isn’t buried, they are at least kicking dirt in its general direction. Like Mike & Mike, Sam and Dean are back, and better than ever. I like the way it played out, with both of them giving in, and accepting their responsibility in the situation. Dean’s speech at the end was especially good.

And so, there we are. The first standalone of the season is in the books, and it was a success. Now we can put our heads down and really get into the bigger story. If the coming soon trailer is any indication, it’s shaping up to be a heck of a ride. It also left me wondering … If Leshii was coming after you, in what form would that be? For me, I suspect it would be as a murderous Mr. Neal Stephenson. Finally, next week we are going to have our first go at a Supernatural chat. See you then.

Clacked by Brett Love
on Oct 09, 2009 @ 07:18 EST5EDT