Supernatural “Stuck in the Middle (With You)” was written by Davy Perez and was directed by Gabriel himself, Richard Speight, Jr. This episode is going to go down as one of my all time favorites simply based on its being a brilliant homage to all things Quentin Tarantino – my favorite director of all time. Credit has to go to writer, director, and actors for really pulling all the elements together. Speight is also a Tarantino fan – because who isn’t?
So let’s revel in all things Tarantino – in case you missed a couple. The diner scene at the beginning is straight out of the beginning of
Reservoir Dogs (which includes the famous discussions of what Madonna’s Like a Virgin means and whether or not you should tip your waitress). The group walking in formation from the diner is also the iconic shot from the same movie.
Castiel (Misha Collins) bleeding out dying mimics Mr Orange doing the same thing in
Reservoir Dogs. Mary (Samantha Smith) covered in blood from trying to help Cas is the same as Mr White trying to help Mr Orange. The title of the episode is a reference to the song of the same name that plays while Mr Black tortures the cop in
Reservoir Dogs – and that’s mimicked by the group keeping Ramiel (Jerry Trimble) in the circle of fire. Even Mary’s part as an undercover agent of the British Men of Letters is a direct lift of Mr Orange being an undercover cop.
The title cards are more of a reference to their use in
Pulp Fiction. The time jumps are a bit of a staple of Tarantino structure as we keep visiting the same scenes, gaining more information and insight each time. The colt in a glowing case is a reference to the glowing case picked up by Vince and Jules. And another bit of trivia? The combination on the case - leading many to speculate there was a soul in it - was 666. Mary ordering her breakfast “Steak and eggs. Bloody” mirrors how Mia orders her burger bloody in
Pulp Fiction.
The 70s vibe music is also a Tarantino favorite. Mexican standoffs can be found in
Reservoir Dogs,
Pulp Fiction (another diner scene!), and
Hateful Eight – just to name a few. Ramiel whistling is a nod to Elle Driver in
Kill Bill.
The opening scene in the diner is hysterical when Dean (Jensen Ackles) gets shut down by Mandy (Donna Benedicto) the waitress when he hits on her because she’s interested in Castiel. It was nice to see that Dean was philosophical about her turning him down and enthusiastically tried to help Castiel! Wally (Donavon Stinson) and Dean tell him that waitresses always smell like food – and Sam (Jared Padalecki) can’t see the attraction. They all talk over each other – see again Reservoir Dogs – until Mary jumps in like the typical mom – or in this case the Harvey Keitel – Mr White – in
Reservoir Dogs – and tells them screens down, eyes up, pay attention. And then Mary goes over the plan.
Kelly Kline is still in the wind. I loved how poor Wally thought that it had to be a joke. He was so totally over his head, Mary never should have included him. It was simply a given that he wasn’t going to make it out of that raid, even though Dean gave him what appeared to be the safest position on lookout. When Dean says “Ok Ramblers, let’s get rambling” that’s a reference to both
Reservoir Dogs and
From Dusk Til Dawn.
Ramiel’s entrance was a great moment. Dean’s demon bullets don’t work, he walks right through the Devil’s Trap, and the demon blade has no effect. He traps Mary and Castiel and she is utterly frozen when he shows his yellow eyes! Cas tackles Ramiel, but Ramiel pulls out the big guns – Michael’s lance. He clearly hates angels and stabs Cas – and at almost the same time, Wally is killed.
Mary saves Cas by hitting Ramiel with her car – another nod to Mr White and Mr Orange’s escape to a “safe” place to regroup with the rest of the gang in
Reservoir Dogs. Mary and Castiel head to an old barn.
As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Mary is completely responsible for Wally’s death – he didn’t call her, she brought him in so that Sam and Dean wouldn’t ask the wrong questions. Wally, like Sam and Dean, didn’t trust the British Men of Letters – and clearly with good reason.
There’s a very sweet scene between Mary and Sam. He asks her how she is – he knows she never wanted this life. She tells him, since when is this life about getting what you want. What does she want? Is she hoping that the British Men of Letters – hilariously saved in her contacts as Hobbits – can either clear out the monsters so that there’s no need of hunters or that it’s at least safer for her and her boys?
It was pretty cool to see the picture of Michael slaying Lucifer again. Also cool? The safe cracker from the BML. I won’t deny that I was disappointed that Dean – Michael’s chosen vessel – wasn’t the one to use the lance to kill Ramiel.
Dean goes to Cas and tells him he looks like hammered crap – typical Dean deflection. Great effects for Cas’ infection from the blade. Cas admits to Dean that he thinks he’s dying. Dean then falls back on denial. It’ll just take time, Cas will heal the old-fashioned way. Loved him calling for Sam – and then switching to Sammy – a clear indication of Dean’s emotional distress. It’s also interesting that he calls for Sam and not Mary.
Crowley (Mark Sheppard) shows up – very much like Mr Wolf in
Pulp Fiction. I loved Mary telling him that if he touched her, she’d kill him. Crowley tells them they’re all going to die. He’s there to help clean up their mess – because he’s going to die if he doesn’t. He tells them that Ramiel is a Prince of Hell – and they’ve only told everyone the Princes were dead to keep people from looking.
Crowley had Michael’s lance – and found the colt just laying around – why did he not share the location of both of these in the campaign against Lucifer? Ramiel actually gives the throne of Hell to Crowley. We do find out that there are two more Princes (actually one male and one female) still kicking around. Future bad guys perhaps wanting revenge for Ramiel?
It’s clear that Crowley is upset to learn that Cas – who he adorably calls Feathers – was stabbed by the lance. He knows he’s going to die. Dean doesn’t want to hear Crowley’s defeat and tells him to help or get the Hell out. And it seems like he’s taken off. But Crowley does try to keep Ramiel out of the barn – though he denies they’re his friends. Every kingdom needs allies. He wants to make another deal – but Ramiel isn’t interested.
Cas knows he’s dying and tells the other to go and save themselves. He tells them that knowing them has been the best part of his life. The things they’ve shared have changed him, made him better. Collins is outstanding in this scene. He tells them that they’re his family and he loves them. He begs them not to let his last moments be watching him die. Sam insists they’re fighting for him, and Dean tells him, he’s family to them and they don’t leave family behind.
It was kind of fun getting to see Speight get to direct someone else in the ring of fire. Ramiel tells them that his sister Dagon has taken an interest in Lucifer’s baby – and that’s bad. Ramiel isn’t interested in who they are or anything else. But he can’t abide them stealing from him – a nice reference to Aldo Raine in
Inglorious Bastards and his being unable to abide Hans Landa getting off scott free – so he carves the swastika into his forehead.
Ramiel gives them 30 seconds to give back what they stole. Dean and Sam are completely at a loss. Mary says nothing and it looks like Cas may realizes that she’s hiding something. It’s interesting to remember how quickly John gave up the colt to save Dean’s life in “In My Time of Dying.”
It looks like Cas is dying – and poor Collins for once again having his mouth stuffed with black goo! Crowley saves the day – the magic is in the craftsmanship – or the runes in this case. By breaking the lance – which they now can’t use against the other Princes, Crowley saves Cas!
Cas is the only one to wonder about what Ramiel was talking about. Dean gathers the broken pieces of the lance.
Mary meets with Ketch (David Haydn-Jones). She is pissed and tells him that if anything like that happens again, she’ll burn them all down. She tells him it’s not a threat – it’s a promise. Ketch looks away first and admits that they made a mistake – and says he’s sorry. Ketch is like a little kid when he asks if he can see it – and of course, the big reveal is the colt. Mary reminds us that there are only 5 things that the colt can’t kill.
Crowley is desperate to get the gun back. And the other huge reveal, is that Crowley’s new favorite companion is Lucifer – who he’s keeping in the dog kennel – and JOY! We’ve got Mark Pellegrino back. Of course, he chooses to wear that visage in Hell, but if he leaves Hell, he’ll have to assume another vessel, and nobody plays Lucifer like Pellegrino!
What did you think of the episode? Did you love all the Tarantino love as much as I and Richard Speight Jr did? Is Crowley going to regret keeping his enemy so close? What do you think Sam and Dean will say when the inevitably find out about Mary working with the BML? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
