Supernatural: Dog Dean Afternoon (9x05)

I'm really scared about the next episode, because they just gave us two "funny" episodes in a row and I feel like they're just trying to prepare us for a major storm of angst. I'm very afraid, okay?

You could tell from the "previously on" that they were hoping this episode would go down as one of the great humor episodes in the show. We saw clips from "Changing Channels," "Yellow Fever," "Hunter Heroici" and a few of the other totally silly episodes from the past. And while "Dog Dean Afternoon" didn't completely tank, by any means, I don't think it's going to be making it in with the greats. There were quite a lot of things that fell flat. But let's slow down and look at the plot.

Basically, it's a case-of-the-week. Dean is worried about Sam working, but Sam says he feels fine. The two of them go to investigate a strange killing. A taxidermist has had the life squeezed out of him, as if a snake has constricted him. Initially, Sam and Dean investigate an animal rights group as potential suspects, but find them to be guilty of nothing more than tagging the taxidermist's building. Later, the same killer goes to an animal shelter and eats one of the cats. He then takes on cat-like abilities and kills a man working at the shelter.

While at the shelter, Sam and Dean meet Colonel, the taxidermist's dog. This dog was a witness to both of the murders, and possibly their best lead in the case. The brothers ask Kevin for some way to communicate with animals, and Dean drinks a potion that will allow him to mind meld with the dog. It works, but with side effects. Dean starts to act like a dog. Colonel and the other dogs at the shelter are able to help out in identifying the murderer. The clues lead them to a restaurant, where Sam and Dean find animal organs and a book, and they put together the truth. The murderer, Chef Leo, has been eating the organs of other animals to take on their powers. 

Sam and Dean try and track this bad guy down, which results in Sam getting injured by Leo. Ezekiel heals Sam, and Leo, amazed with these healing powers, decides he wants to eat Sam in order to get that ability. Dean discovers that Leo is dying of cancer, which is why he started doing all this shamanism in the first place. Dean sends the pack of dogs that he freed from the shelter to finish off Leo, who dies screaming. Ew. Dean then rushes back to an unconscious Sam, freaks out about that for a moment, and then Sam wakes up.

Sam questions why Leo wanted him, and what he meant when he said "what are you?" Dean lies, as is becoming his habit, and has a very telling speech about how Leo had something in him that he couldn't control, and that eventually, it destroyed him. This is a very clear parallel to the Ezekiel situation, and it only further emphasizes the fact that this is going to come back to bite Sam and Dean in a big way.

Alright, let me just do a pro/con thing with this one.

Pros:

- Jensen Ackles' acting. I know this is probably a given by now, but he just kills it every week. He took what sounds like a completely ridiculous premise and then makes it actually funny. I was cracking up during the inadvertent game of fetch he started playing with Sam. Jared's reactions to these things were amazing as well. Then there's the scene at the end, when Sam is unconscious and he won't wake up. Again, you can just feel the fear that Dean was going through. It seems to me like he was flashing back to Sam in the coma, wondering if Ezekiel was going to be able to come through yet again and save Sam. There was face cupping and desperation in his voice and a look of pure relief when Sam finally did wake up, and all of those things are of course fan-girl material. Jensen should just get an Emmy already.

- Mentioning Kevin. Now, the lovely Kevin freakin' Solo wasn't actually in this episode, but this season especially we're getting a lot of great continuity in terms of mentioning off-screen characters. I really appreciate that.

- The animal rights activists and the taxidermy shop. Supernatural doesn't shy away from discussing hot button topics, and I felt that they did a very balanced job of it here. The taxidermists and the activists alike were made fun of slightly, but still treated with basic human decency by the narrative. I loved the joke about wearing sunglasses inside making you a douche bag, and I also loved the Game of Thrones reference in the form of a stuffed mouse. In the end, the two activists adopt Colonel, the dog, showing them to be compassionate people, even if they take things a bit too far.

Cons:

- Sigh. The talking dogs. I can see what they were going for here, but the voices seemed way too cartoon-like for me to find any enjoyment in them. Jensen's performance was really subtle, and that's what made it funny. He wasn't getting down on all fours and barking, but he was getting irrationally upset about a bird, for example, which worked very well because it wasn't too over the top. The dogs' voices were. I guess I just wish they could have found a different way of doing this. Particularly jarring was the scene when Sam had to give a dog a belly rub in exchange for information. I was cringing through the whole thing.

- I can't believe I'm about to say this, but the moment when Dean frantically tries to revive Sam. Now, don't get me wrong, Jensen's acting was amazing, as I said above. And the fan girl part of me always likes to see clear evidence of the Winchester brother bond and their crazy codependency. But let's take a tally, shall we? In the first five episodes of this season, we've had Dean tearfully react to Sam's near death in episode one, Cas' death in episode three, Charlie's death in episode four, and now Sam again in episode five. Jensen's acting chops are up to the task, but eventually the urgency of these types of situations is going to wear off. Remember back in earlier days, when any hug or serious "I care about you" type speeches were a rare treat? Now we get them all the time. And, like I said, the fan girl in me cannot believe I'm complaining about this, but I think eventually the emotional gravitas of these scenes will be cheapened by the fact that they're coming along pretty much weekly.

- The poodle thing. It was the only one of the Dean-acts-like-a-dog jokes that fell flat for me. Fetch? Hilarious. Scratching? Great. Anger at a pigeon and at the mailman? I was laughing all the way. But finding a poodle attractive? Like, was that necessary to make the point? I don't know, it just made me roll my eyes.

Alright, there's probably more I could say about this episode if I felt like it, but I'll sign off with one final thought - I'm really hoping that Sam catches on to all of Dean's lies soon, and we can really get things going with the Ezekiel plot. It's amazing to see the way Dean is starting to sink further and further into these lies, and I just know the fallout is going to be one of the most intense things this show has ever had to offer. As for this episode, however, it gets low marks for humor. The general premise sounded too ridiculous to work, and while it wasn't as bad as it could have been, this episode will certainly not be joining the ranks of some of the comedic goldmines this show has produced in the past.

6.5/10