Supernatural 9.07 "Bad Boys" Review: Sometimes You Have to Choose Yourself

     This week’s episode of Supernatural, “Bad Boys,” was written by Adam Glass and directed by Kevin Parks. Both are no stranger to Supernatural and they delivered what I would argue is one of the best stand alone, monster-of-the-week episodes in four years. In fact, I would rank this episode near the top of any episode in the last four years and possibly top 10 for the run of the series. It had a great flashback to some of Dean’s (Jensen Ackles/Dylan Everett) teenage years and a great ghost story in the present. The effects were take your breath away good – I literally gasped at the spirit’s transformation. And we also got some tender moments between the brothers. This episode was simply the complete Supernatural package.

    Sometimes I think we take the effects on Supernatural for granted. We all expect a great splatter moment at the end of the opening teaser – and this was a classic as poor Jack (Tom McBeath) gets the ‘point’ about the spirit too late and we see the forks from the tractor come through the barn door dripping blood – delightfully gruesome. We see lots of breath fog as the temperature drops every time the ghost materializes. These elements are always so well done, we take them for granted. The scene with the rosary stuck in the lawnmower was obvious, but was just so excruciating as you’re waiting for it to happen. But the two scenes that really stand out are Ruth’s (Karin Konoval) death scene in the bathtub – just wow – and the transformation of Timmy’s mother. When her face transforms, it is just an outstanding effect and then as she lets go of her earthly connection, again, just wow. So a big shout out to the entire team: VFX Supervisor Mark Meloche, VFX Producer Grant Lindsay, VFX Coordinator Ryan Curtis, Lead Artist Christopher Richardson, and VFX I/O Coordinator Adam Williams – even so I’m still missing many members of the team.

    If you thought you recognized Ruth – you did. She also played Mrs Curry in season four’s “Family Remains.” According to Adam Glass, she is married in real life to Jack. McBeath was also in season two’s episode “Hunted.” Glass live tweeted some interesting tidbits throughout the episode. For instance, he grew up in the Catskills, one town over from the setting of Hurleyville. His highschool sweetheart was named Robin – and she tweeted him during the episode!

    While this episode is about an incident that helped to shape Dean’s life, it is at heart about the brothers and their relationship. It was one of the most touching moments in the series when Sam (Jared Padalecki) acknowledges what his brother has sacrificed for him and thanks him for always being there for him. The episode teases out Sam’s discovery of what being at the boys’ home had meant to his brother. Sam is a researcher and he’s smart. Both the brothers are trained to observe and make conclusions and that’s what Sam does. He sees that his brother really claimed his bed at the home by marking it; he sees his brother actually participated, successfully, in sports, even winning a championship; he sees his brother try to re-connect with a former love, and he sees how badly Dean is bothered when she apparently doesn’t remember him as well. Sam concludes that contrary to the months Dean spent there being the worst of Dean’s life, they were actually the best. Dean denies, of course, that it “was him,” that he would have liked to stay.

    However, Sam still misses one of the fundamental things about Dean. Dean needs to be a protector, and he’s not happy when he’s simply living for himself. It’s possible that is a factor of the childhood imposed upon him by John, but it is none-the-less arguably part of his character. The then montage at the beginning of the episode drives home how much looking after Sam has been an integral driving force of Dean’s life, right from the opening moments of the show when John placed baby Sam in Dean’s arms.

    I’m sure there will be a good deal of dissatisfaction over how John is portrayed in this episode. It’s easy to see him as an uncaring parent, willing to punish his son for his own failings in not being there to supervise his children or even insure they were provided with food. However, it’s possible that he had to wait until the charges against Dean were dropped before coming to get him. It’s also possible that Dean was an out of control teen who needed a little discipline and tough love. There are any of a number of other reasons why John couldn’t come for Dean before that – perhaps John was actually the one lost on a hunt? At the one month mark, Sonny says they can’t find John anywhere, after all. However, there is also the evidence of Dean’s distress at having been seemingly abandoned, and there’s the callous way John comes for him, not letting him stay just for the dance. However, the episode doesn’t fill in any of these blanks.

    It’s news to Sam that Dean was in a boys’ home. But Dean says that they’d told him a story about Dean being lost on a hunt. It’s clear that telling Sam a story instead of the truth to protect him was a regular occurrence. And not so very different from what is happening in the present with Zeke. I’m not entirely convinced that Dean is telling the truth that he lost the food money playing cards. As soon as Sam questions John leaving Dean at the home, Dean immediately defends John, implying that he deserved to be left at the home. Dean is still protecting John from Sam’s poor opinion.

    Blake Gibbons is fantastic as Sonny. He’s completely believable as someone who Dean could look up to and who would dedicate his life to helping rehabilitate kids. I loved the scenes he had with both young and current Dean. I had to wonder if he’s the one who taught Dean to pick handcuffs as he so handily picks the ones the sheriff leaves on Dean. Another question left unanswered by the episode are the bruises on Dean’s arms that Sonny so astutely notices. Was it the sheriff? John? Or a werewolf that left those marks? Or was there some other explanation? One that possibly explained where the food money went?

    It’s easy to see how much it means to Dean when Sonny tells Dean he’s proud of him. Sonny is not a stupid guy, and he sees that Dean is sacrificing himself for his family. He sees something in Dean and worries that he’s not being true to himself. The way he says ‘so this is Sam’ when he meets Sam makes me wonder if Sonny knew that that was why Dean left.

    My biggest praise for this episode has to go to Dylan Everett who played teen-Dean. This will be the third young actor to play a young Dean. When I heard what the storyline for the episode was to be, my first reservation was over the actor who would fill this role. Everett, however, did an amazing job. According to Glass, he watched 5 seasons of the show in the week before he came to set and then watched Ackles to get his rhythm. It certainly paid off, because he nailed Ackles body language and delivery. Glass also revealed that in the script it said Dean was 14 but when they saw Everett on screen they increased the age to 16.

    Ackles is fantastic in this episode, particularly in the scenes with Timmy (Radek Hewson) and the other boys. I loved the scene in which he teaches Timmy how to shake like a man and then the scene in which he saves him from the bullies. It very much reminded me of the scene in season three’s “The Kids Are Alright” when he teaches Ben Braedon to stand up to bullies too. Deans is obviously crushed when Robin (Erin Karpluk) doesn’t remember him. Sam is obviously taken by surprise at just how upset Dean is when he not only gets embarrassed, he rushes out of the restaurant. As an aside, Karpluk was also in an earlier episode, season one’s “Salvation.”

    The scenes between young Dean and young Robin (Sarah Desjardins) are also really revealing. We learn that Dean didn’t always want to join the family business. He gets all excited about the possibility of being a mechanic because they are like a puzzle, but once you fix them you can simply walk away and you’re no longer responsible for them. I had to wonder if the bruises Dean got were a result of a hunt gone wrong that made Dean reassess whether he wanted to hunt? I loved Everett in this scene as he gets all flustered after Robin kisses him – he nailed Ackles mannerisms in this scene.

    The hunt is a nice mostly traditional ghost story with a salt ‘n burn – even though it didn’t work. According to Glass, it was debated for hours in the writers’ room whether the spirit could actually be attached to Timmy. I thought it worked. The episode nicely built the relationship between Timmy and Dean so that Timmy was ready to stand on his own and send his mother on. Dean’s words to Timmy resonate with Dean’s entire life and reflect what Sonny had tried to tell Dean: “Sometimes you have to do what’s best for you, even if it’s gonna hurt the ones you love.” It remains to be seen whether letting Zeke possess Sam was for Sam or for Dean. This has always been Dean’s blindspot when it comes to Sam, letting him make his own decisions, even if that means having to let him go. Deep down, I think Dean knows that letting Zeke possess Sam was really best for Dean. Timmy runs into Dean’s arms after his mother disappears. Dean is clearly affected by having to take the boy’s mother away from him a second time. A boy losing his mother to fire was guaranteed to strike a chord with Dean in particular.

    As always, both Padalecki and Ackles knock the last scene out of the park. Sam tells Dean thank you. Sam isn’t stupid and it’s a nice moment when he acknowledges everything he’s learned about his brother into that moment. He knows he can only push his brother so far in an emo-moment, and in typical Dean fashion, he does shrug it off, but you can see the emotions so transparently on both actors’ faces in the scene. I thought it was a terrific touch that Sam leaves the door to the Impala open as he tells his brother how he feels – preventing him from being able to simply drive off without listening or letting Sam finish.

    Nitpick of the episode? “Dad was on a Rugaru hunt.” They had never heard of a Rugaru until season four’s episode “Metamorphosis.” C’mon guys! I’m betting I’m not the only one who that bothered, right? However, overall, I loved this episode! Great hunt, terrific characters and guest actors, some meaningful backstory, terrific effects, and some wonderful brother moments. What did you think? What was your favorite part? Let me know in the comments below!