Let’s all talk about It’s a Terrible Life (S4 E17)
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Love this one. Not in my top 10, but so enjoyable to see them play different characters. Smith and Wesson. There are so many great cultural references in this one and I will never NOT laugh at Dean changing the classic rock station to NPR when he gets in the car.
For me, the fake hunt is weak (well, Zachariah said it was a real ghost, real hunt, just them with their memories wiped), but all the little touches are the best. The skewering of cubicle-corporate-world…Dean as a manager doing all the douchebag manager things like a mastercleanse. Loved it all.
Sam being so persistent is so touching to me, even though “Dean” keeps shooting him down.
It’s the first time we meet Zachariah which is one of the baddies on SPN I love to hate.
All the little touches make it wonderful. Sam caring about his co-workers. Sam having to figure things out. Sam not being afraid to go out on a limb and “overshare” in the elevator.
It was also fun to see Sam shocked when the security guard is cut in half. Regular Sam has seen so much that would hardly phase him.
And Dean is just too much fun in this one. Somehow he manages to be kind of a very like-able jerk of an upper manager! I LOVE that his parents are Bobby and Ellen and his sister is Jo. I can’t help but think that’s the family he would choose.
And Sam’s girlfriend (or ex-girlfriend) is Madison.
I also love that Dean is so very mouthy (and always will be) with angels. LOVE IT. He just gets angry at Zachariah for fucking with their lives. But now that Uriel went off the rails, Dean’s visited by the next level up of angel.
I enjoyed watching this one again.
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SUCH GENIUS MOVE to have this episode follow the HEAVY events of the last episode!
And absolute “WHAT THE HELL” beginning and story line. SO funny and well done. It’s like watching a completely different show from the colors and lighting to the clothes and even Sam and Dean’s speech patterns etc. Just awesome.
The opening sequence with DOUCHEBAG Dean going through the motions with a slightly detached demeanor is just great. The yuppy clothes, the cleanse, the PRIUS. ALL the things Dean wouldn’t be caught dead doing just piling on. Him changing the music in the car is the icing on the cake for me.
Sam’s job here is really HELL! It always makes me feel bad for our own IT guy! LOL. “Have you tried turning it off and then on?” YUP, it’s their favorite line.
The way the episode unravels is also really clever. So many great lines in this one!! “Where do we even get a gun?” “Gun store?” HEHE.
And the cameo of the Ghostfacers as Sam and Dean’s resource on how to deal with the ghost is freaking hilarious.
AND our first microwave “BING” death in this episode!
Plus a REALLY gruesome elevator death.
I love that Sam takes the lead here and is the first to figure some things out. And that Dean is Mr. Goody Two Shoe there for the most part, more apprehensive, a little more scared.
I love how proud they are when they first get rid of the ghost. How Sam won’t give up trying to convince Dean that this is what they are meant to do. And Dean is worried about health insurance. HAHA.
But once we know what is ACTUALLY happening their respective attitudes at the end of the hunt are very telling. Dean doesn’t want to get too deeply involved at that point, because that is the mindset he had just been in before the fake events of this episode. And Sam is gung-ho and set on going on because he just felt extra powerful at the end of the last episode.
And even if it’s all just a cruel joke or test on Zachariah’s part, I thoroughly enjoy the fact that it does prove that Sam and Dean ARE doing what they are meant to be doing and always find back to what they are best at doing. And no matter how hard it is or how many doubts Dean has on occasion about his own strength….he will NEVER give in and lay down for long.
Dean’s defiant snark at the end makes that very clear. LOL.
LOVE the bleaching of color when Zachariah switches reality back to normal. Everything going slightly darker.
Of course, it is really sad that Dean and Sam’s nature also play perfectly into what Zachariah and the angels actually are trying to accomplish by using them.It’s a really well-done episode and fun to watch, but also important milestone in the bigger picture.
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