Like last episode (when he was playing doped up Sam in the psychiatric hospital), Jared was having far too much fun in this episode. As soon as he greeted the amusingly sarcastic bartender with "Evening, barkeep.", you knew something was up. Not too hard to figure out what was going on. Everything from him agreeing with the woman at the bar about his own good looks to him saying "I would love to have the sex with you!" was amusing.
What was with Dean asking if Sam ever thought he wanted a wife, kids etc? Of course he wanted that! That's why he'd been shopping for engagement rings and was going to ask Jessica to marry him, remember? Or did the show forget that? I guess his "No, not my thing anymore." was supposed to let us know that he gave up any thoughts of anything like that after Jess's death, but really...Dean should have known better than to ask.
Sam's reaction (in Gary's body) to the mother hugging him was good, as was everything else in the scene. Even more amusing was the kid, in Sam's body, checking himself out in the mirror (Jared's arms sure get vein-y when he flexes). I've said many times that Jared gives great facial expressions in this show, and I don't mean to say that Jensen *doesn't*, it's just that usually Dean's the one cracking the one liners and Sam's the one providing lots of amusement just from his looks that he gives. This episode, however, Jensen was getting to have some fun reaction moments (to "Sam"/Gary in Sam's body). The shot of Gary/Sam walking past the car, apologising for crashing it, then Dean walking past the car in the other direction and his delivery of "Shutup" was great. I loved Dean's voice-mail ("This is Dean's other other self...") on his phone as well as Sam adding to his message that "I think I've got asthma". Sam on the phone, with Gary's reflection in the mirror, was very well shot/well shot. They played it perfectly and everything matched up correctly/was in sync. I liked Jared's delivery of "Virgin." (in reference to Gary, upon seeing the Star Wars shirt) and then his added "Frustrated virgin." upon seeing the kid's reading material. Also liked him calling Gary a "little satanic bastard". Funnier still was his "Leave me alone." when the mother called out to him, then Jared really gave a great delivery with "I'm coming!". I also loved him talking back to the dad (coupled with the sister's reaction).
Can't believe the kid was about to shoot Dean. The creepy ghost girl looked just like every other rabid-looking ghost girl we've seen (come up with a new look for them, show). Was glad that Gary hung around (and didn't run off like I thought he had) and burnt the ghost's body. Gary's friends shooting Sam (and that slow-mo reaction again) - coupled with the look on Jared's face as he collapsed forward - was hilarious.
I liked Gary and Dean's getting drunk together scene. So sad that the only time Dean gets to hear the words "You're a good guy." come from his brother's mouth is when his brother isn't *actually* his brother. The young actor playing Gary was quite good, especially with his delivery of "We're gonna do it!" when he left with the blonde woman. While I liked Dean's reaction, it's kind of frustrating that it took him so long to really realise something was seriously wrong with his "brother" (considering that they always claim to know each other better than anyone).
The actress playing Nora (then possessed Nora) did a pretty decent job and her, "Yep, tastes like moron." line was great. The kid playing Gary really *did* sound like Sam/Jared with his delivery of "Damnit!" when he was tied up. I enjoyed Dean and Gary/Sam's back and forth Latining to exorcise the demon (along with Dean's "Adios, bitch."). Heh, I liked the fake-out of Sam seemingly delivering this nice speech to Gary, only for him to admit to Dean that he totally lied and "the kid's life sucked ass". And Dean's final line to Sam was a good way to end the episode ("Welcome back, Kotter.").
A lot of shows have done body swap episodes, and admittedly, quite a few have done them better than this. I like that the episode played into various themes regarding Sam's character, and also that it continued the Sam saying yes to Lucifer plot line, but I was sorely disappointed that we did not get treated to Sam and Dean switching bodies at all. I'd thought for sure this would happen, and had been hoping for it since the show first began. I think both Jared and Jensen know each other well enough by now to play each other's characters/nail each other's roles and characteristics. I would have given this episode a 9, but I'm deducting a star for the lack of Sam/Dean body swapping. Otherwise, this was a pretty good episode.
What was with Dean asking if Sam ever thought he wanted a wife, kids etc? Of course he wanted that! That's why he'd been shopping for engagement rings and was going to ask Jessica to marry him, remember? Or did the show forget that? I guess his "No, not my thing anymore." was supposed to let us know that he gave up any thoughts of anything like that after Jess's death, but really...Dean should have known better than to ask.
Sam's reaction (in Gary's body) to the mother hugging him was good, as was everything else in the scene. Even more amusing was the kid, in Sam's body, checking himself out in the mirror (Jared's arms sure get vein-y when he flexes). I've said many times that Jared gives great facial expressions in this show, and I don't mean to say that Jensen *doesn't*, it's just that usually Dean's the one cracking the one liners and Sam's the one providing lots of amusement just from his looks that he gives. This episode, however, Jensen was getting to have some fun reaction moments (to "Sam"/Gary in Sam's body). The shot of Gary/Sam walking past the car, apologising for crashing it, then Dean walking past the car in the other direction and his delivery of "Shutup" was great. I loved Dean's voice-mail ("This is Dean's other other self...") on his phone as well as Sam adding to his message that "I think I've got asthma". Sam on the phone, with Gary's reflection in the mirror, was very well shot/well shot. They played it perfectly and everything matched up correctly/was in sync. I liked Jared's delivery of "Virgin." (in reference to Gary, upon seeing the Star Wars shirt) and then his added "Frustrated virgin." upon seeing the kid's reading material. Also liked him calling Gary a "little satanic bastard". Funnier still was his "Leave me alone." when the mother called out to him, then Jared really gave a great delivery with "I'm coming!". I also loved him talking back to the dad (coupled with the sister's reaction).
Can't believe the kid was about to shoot Dean. The creepy ghost girl looked just like every other rabid-looking ghost girl we've seen (come up with a new look for them, show). Was glad that Gary hung around (and didn't run off like I thought he had) and burnt the ghost's body. Gary's friends shooting Sam (and that slow-mo reaction again) - coupled with the look on Jared's face as he collapsed forward - was hilarious.
I liked Gary and Dean's getting drunk together scene. So sad that the only time Dean gets to hear the words "You're a good guy." come from his brother's mouth is when his brother isn't *actually* his brother. The young actor playing Gary was quite good, especially with his delivery of "We're gonna do it!" when he left with the blonde woman. While I liked Dean's reaction, it's kind of frustrating that it took him so long to really realise something was seriously wrong with his "brother" (considering that they always claim to know each other better than anyone).
The actress playing Nora (then possessed Nora) did a pretty decent job and her, "Yep, tastes like moron." line was great. The kid playing Gary really *did* sound like Sam/Jared with his delivery of "Damnit!" when he was tied up. I enjoyed Dean and Gary/Sam's back and forth Latining to exorcise the demon (along with Dean's "Adios, bitch."). Heh, I liked the fake-out of Sam seemingly delivering this nice speech to Gary, only for him to admit to Dean that he totally lied and "the kid's life sucked ass". And Dean's final line to Sam was a good way to end the episode ("Welcome back, Kotter.").
A lot of shows have done body swap episodes, and admittedly, quite a few have done them better than this. I like that the episode played into various themes regarding Sam's character, and also that it continued the Sam saying yes to Lucifer plot line, but I was sorely disappointed that we did not get treated to Sam and Dean switching bodies at all. I'd thought for sure this would happen, and had been hoping for it since the show first began. I think both Jared and Jensen know each other well enough by now to play each other's characters/nail each other's roles and characteristics. I would have given this episode a 9, but I'm deducting a star for the lack of Sam/Dean body swapping. Otherwise, this was a pretty good episode.