"Supernatural" Swap Meat (TV Episode 2010) Poster

(TV Series)

(2010)

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7/10
It's funny but it doesn't handle the plot well
CubsandCulture23 March 2020
Sure the basic premise of Sam and Gary switching bodies results in a few very funny scenes. "I would love to have the sex with you" is a classic line of the series. But the episode is one of those case within a case stories that shortchanges both. These two really are tonally discordant and they don't fit. More pressing I don't think the writers handle Gary well. The resolution to his story feels to slight and pat. It feels like a cheat that Sam and Dean only warned him.
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8/10
So, whatever happened to....
borlandfrank28 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Trevor's body? Nora decided to kill him (while she was a demon), but nothing else was said about it. Gary didn't ask either. I guess we won't know how Trevor's parents reacted when they found him in the basement dead. Gary and Nora will have to do some 'splainin' to do. If you think Gary's parents were the way they were before the murder, wait until the cops come over and want to talk to Gary.
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9/10
I Loved this Funny Episode
claudio_carvalho11 March 2012
In Massachusetts, the seventeen year-old nerd Gary uses witchcraft to swap body with Sam. Gary has lots of fun having sex with the sexy Crystal and following Dean that is hunting the witch Maggie Briggs.

Meanwhile Sam is trapped to the body of the teenager and trying to find how Gary had succeeded in the black magic and also trying to communicate with Dean. When Sam meets Gary's friends Trevor and Nora, he discovers that the intention of the teenagers that are playing a deadly game with the witchcraft.

"Body Switch" is one of the funniest episodes of "Supernatural". The witty happiness of Gary being older and doing things that he could never imagine and the despair of Sam sharing the life of Gary's family are hilarious. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Troca de Corpos" ("Bodies Swap")
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8/10
Come back baby, rock and roll never forgets...
Chalice_Of_Evil29 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
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.
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8/10
Friday the thirteenth
zombiehigh189 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
It is no surprise for a show as crazy as Supernatural to go all Friday the thirteenth and do a body swap episode. This may be not my favorite episode, since I either wanted a Sam\Dean body swap (I really don't think it would be of any service to the show but it still would be cool to watch) or I wanted to see Jared playing Gary pretending to be Sam. However Jared seemed to have fun playing Sam in the body of a frustrated 17 year old virgin, yet I can't say the same about Jensen. The writers failed to give Dean much to do except reacting to fake Sam's abnormal behavior, and it frustrated me that it took him that long to know there is something wrong with his brother. (OK I know he excluded daemon or angel possession because of the tattoo and the sigil but there are a dozen other entities that can take the shape of Sam, beside it only took Sam two minutes to know a shape shifter was pretending to be Dean back on the "Skin" episode) but I think Dean was too busy enjoying Sam's behavior and their sudden share of interests to notice that the real Sam might be in trouble.

Applaud to the casting crew for bringing in Sarah Drew, she was amazing in her part but I didn't like Colton James much.
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9/10
Meat suit swap
shwetafabm14 June 2020
Satanic teen or not? Fun episode, cute bits too, I liked Gary
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1/10
Ridiculous
janedoe530014 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
So we're just gonna go with this? This Gary kid dropping hint after hint after PAINFULLY obvious hint that he isn't Sam, and Dean just going along. In any other scenario Dean would have tested Sam with holy water, salt and whatever else he needed, the first time something was off, but no, I guess the writers really wanted to spin this one, so we just gotta sit back and enjoy 5 seasons of carefull character-building go right out the window, you know, to make the story work. I love funny and weird SPN episodes, but they have to remain within the rules established for the show, like for example in "Yellow Fever", it's believable, Dean is completely out of character but we find out why, and it's plausible in the shows context. This one was a giant misfire, and an even bigger waste of time. Skip it
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1/10
Completely ignores everything we know about Sam & Dean
vslothour-7953713 December 2023
This episode makes no sense. Unlike a shapeshifter, Gary the witch has zero insight into Sam's mind when he takes his body, so everything from his posture to the way he talks should give him away (and indeed, he says all kinds of things that Sam would never say in a million years, like "biz-atches"). If Dean were a civilian, he might shrug off Sam's sudden massive change in personality, preferences, & abilities for a day or so, but he's not. The second Gary picked up a gun, it should've been obvious that this nerdy, sheltered, 17-year-old civilian had never held a firearm, and all *sorts* of alarm bells should've been ringing in Dean's head. Even a halfway competent hunter should've caught Gary right off the bat.

I enjoy the silly episodes as much as anyone, but I watch the show for Sam & Dean. The Winchester brothers are smart guys with good instincts who live out of each other's pockets & know each other better than anyone. If we're just going to throw everything we know about these characters out the window for the sake of a cheap joke, we're not really watching Sam & Dean anymore.

(Also, frankly, Gary was definitely old enough to know that what he was ultimately planning was evil. It was annoying to watch the show treat his actions -- and seemingly lack of remorse -- so lightly. If Gary could've been tried in a court of law, the charge would've been attempted murder in the first degree.)

There's only 2 or 3 episodes in the whole 327-episode run that I tell people to skip. This is one of them.
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