TV Review – Supernatural Season 3, Episodes 1-5 (2007)

Click here to see my commentary on Episodes 6-10, 11-13 (Episode 13, “Ghostfacers,” includes an actual gay character), and 14-16.

3.1 The Magnificent Seven
Original Air Date. 4 October 2007

Overall 3.0 / 5.0
No Gay Content

Monster: Demons
Summary: Among those demons which escaped the Hell Gate at the end of Season Two are the Seven Deadly Sins (in demon form). Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) must track them down.

A so-so episode. Season 3 goes on to be a really strong season, but this ep is a weak opener. Frankly, I thought the portrayal of the Seven Deadly Sins as regular demons who can be exorcised was dumb.

It also reflects one of the worst aspects of an otherwise great show: poor treatment of minority characters, especially black men. I keep this blog because gay characters are frequently handled poorly in the media (TV, movies, etc). They tend to fall into one of two broad categories: if you’re gay, either bad things will happen to you, or you are bad. That’s true of the gay content on Supernatural. It’s also true for the black men on the show. All of the recurring black male characters, and many of the minor guest stars, are antagonists to the Winchester boys who also meet unpleasant ends.

The character in question is Isaac (Peter Macon), a hunter (so, a good guy) who doesn’t like the Winchesters (so, an antagonist, in a literal sense) who has a fatal run-in with the Seven Deadly Sins.

3.2 The Kids Are Alright
Original Air Date. 11 October 2007

Overall 4.0 / 5.0
No Gay Content

Monster: Changeling
Summary: Something’s up with the kids in a particular neighborhood. One of those kids happens to be the 8-year-old child of a woman with whom Dean had a one-night stand 8 years and 9 months (give or take) previously.

The season really gets going with this episode. In fact, after the misstep of the first episode (relatively speaking), the rest of the season is strong until the last few episodes.

It’s a great showcase for Dean, especially in his scenes with Ben (Nicholas Elia), who might be his son. The script comes on a little strong, especially in the beginning, in its attempts to create similarities between Dean and Ben.

Nevertheless, the two played off each other well, and seeing Dean in a paternal role cast his character in an entirely new light. Supernatural works not only because of smart storylines but thanks to the awesome characterization we find in episodes like this one.

3.3 Bad Day At Black Rock
Original Air Date. 18 October 2007

Overall 4.5 / 5.0
No Gay Content

Monster: Cursed object
Summary: Bela (Lauren Cohan), who deals in black market supernatural objects, wants to sell a cursed rabbit’s foot. The object gives the bearer the best of luck so long as s/he possesses it, but as soon as s/he loses it, the luck turns so sour death is guaranteed within a week. Naturally the boys find it, and then lose it. Meanwhile, an accomplice of Sam-nemesis Gordon (Sterling K. Brown) is after the boys.

Padalecki gets several opportunities in the third season to display his comic skills, especially physical comedy. This episode features several great, laugh-out-loud moments:

• The fight scene between the boys and the thieves
• When Sam falls off the curb outside the restaurant
• When he loses he shoe into the storm drain (the way he says “I lost my shoe” is priceless)

Episode 3.4 Sin City
Original Air Date. 25 October 2007

Overall 4.0 / 5.0
No Gay Content

Monster: Demons
Summary: A pair of demons team up with a profit-oriented human to create, well, a sin city. Their new town reminds me vaguely of Deadwood, a . The idea is not that the demons possess humans and make them do evil things. Rather, they simply cater to already existent vices in humans, and thereby create fertile ground for real sins (like murder) to take root.

This episode presents a really interesting premise: the idea that humans can be nudged. The episode doesn’t explicitly address, but it suggests at the accountability humans hold for the presence of evil in our lives (metaphorically represented in the show by demons).

There’s a political joke about Dick Cheney.

Casey: So you see? Is my kind really all that different from yours?
Dean Winchester: Well, except that, uh, you know, demons are evil.
Casey: And humans are such a lovable bunch? Dick Cheney.
Dean: He one of yours?
Casey: Not yet. But let’s just say he’s got a parking spot reserved for him downstairs.

I find myself thinking about our political situation, about the war in Iraq, America’s declining reputation in the world, the economy, and on and on, that this is what we voted for. No one knew what exactly we’d be getting with Bush, especially the first time, But we had a pretty good idea the second time, and we still elected him.

So here the show gives us a metaphor of the demons trying to create a hell on earth. But maybe it’s not as simple as “us versus them.” Maybe it’s a matter of “them because of us.” And why? Why would we choose them?

Food for thought. Unfortunately, the rest of the season drops this theme. Maybe if they hadn’t had the writer’s strike and lost 6 episodes, but alas.

The storyline itself is a bit humdrum. The ep scores most of its points from this thought-provoking theme, as well as the great interplay between Dean and the female demon (Sasha Barrese).

Episode 3.5 Bedtime Stories
Original Air Date. 1 November 2007

Overall 3.5 / 5.0
Gay Content 1.0 / 5.0 (a comment…)
Gay Positivity 0.0 / 5.0 (…that’s used as a slur)

Monster: Fairy tales come to life and gone bad
Summary: ‘Three Little Pigs,’ ‘Hansel and Gretel,’ ‘Cinderella,’ ‘Little Red Riding Hood,’ and ‘Snow White’ all come to life in New York. But these aren’t the Disney versions.

The best part of the episode is in the last 10 minutes, between Sam and the Crossroads Demon (Sandra McCoy) who made the deal with Dean at the end of Season Two. What Sam does is shocking and completely believable.

The fairy tale part of the show is interesting and quirky. I found myself really engaged just to see how they’d incorporate the next fairy tale.

Unfortunately, this episode also contains a gay slur.

Sam identifies one of the fairy tales playing out as Cinderella, and Dean is unimpressed with Sam’s knowledge.

Sam: You remember Cinderella?
Dean: …
Sam: The pumpkin that turns into a coach and the mice that become horses?
Dean: …Dude, could you be more gay?
Sam: [flustered] …
Dean: Don’t answer that.

I’ve heard responses to this which claim that the line is completely in character for Dean, but I disagree. The tone of the comment goes beyond teasing. It’s just hateful. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt: the writer (Cathryn Humphris) probably thought they were being cute and just inadvertently crossed a line. I have no doubt thoughtlessness (literally, not thinking a comment or storyline through) causes more inadvertent homophobia that outright hate.

Nevertheless, this kind of comment pisses me off. It’s worse than if Dean had called Sam a “faggot,” although it’s on par, because it poses as a statement that seems socially acceptable. Using “gay” as a synonym for “bad,” “weak,” or “stupid” just reinforces the false stereotype that gay is bad, weak, and stupid. I think it’s cheap and socially and morally irresponsible of the show to include an exchange like this when it could have easily substituted another, less hateful, less provocative tease.

I agree with Karla Peterson, who wrote,

“It was a lame crack that was beneath Dean’s smart-ass standards, delivered in a lame way by Ackles, who clearly knew he’d been saddled with a stink bomb. Fairy Tales equals Gay, which equals Bad? Aren’t we all supposed to be past that by now? Even metal-loving, car-fixing dudes who are really pissed at their brothers are past that by now. It made Dean look cruel (which he isn’t), and it made the show look stupid. Which is usually isn’t. What in the world were they thinking?” (1)

The scene with the slur:

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(1) Peterson, Karla, “Supernatural: ‘Bedtime Stories,’” SignOnSanDiego.com, 2 November 2007, http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/tvtracker/archives/015960.html (retrieved 16 September 2008).

Tags: Dean Winchester, Exploitive Gay Jokes, Gay Supernatural, Heterosexism, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Sam Winchester, Supernatural