Let’s all talk about Jump the Shark (S4 E19)

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    • journalbookbinder
        August 24, 2022 at 1:41 pm #17779

        ADAM! Time to meet the 3rd Winchester brother. On first watch, I kinda groaned at the “secret brother” thing. Perhaps that’s why the title. It’s almost as bad as an “evil twin” trope. But I remember it to be a great and very sad episode as, if I remember right, Adam is never really alive, right? Ghoul victim all along? Anyway, I look forward to watching it again and I thought Jake Abel’s reappearance near the end of the series were some of the best episodes of that last season. He’s really good. They did it all in a way that made sense. John out on the road…and how heartbreaking (MORE heartbreak!) for Sam and Dean to realize that SOME kid got the dad they wished they had had.

        Eric Kripke has major father issues!

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      • journalbookbinder
          August 24, 2022 at 1:41 pm #18278

          I remembered how sad this one seemed on first watch. It is still very sad. Adam is never alive. Just a monster using his shape and memories that he got after feeding on his corpse. I wonder when Adam was killed? We see his mom die at the start of this episode (with the linger shot of John’s photo on her nightstand – she must have always carried a torch for him; there were a lot of photos of him around the house!), but I don’t know if Adam died before her or after? He was in a casket; so enough time to have a funeral before Sam and Dean showed up.

          Anyway, Jake Abel is such a great actor and he was truly one of the highlights of S15 when he came back.

          On rewatch, I found it interesting how they kind of flipped the brothers in a way. At the start, Dean is just burning up with anger that some random guy got to have HIS dad as more of a kindhearted, fun dad when he did not. He couldn’t be more of a dick to Adam at the start, but that blatant anger fits and I really felt for him. At first, Sam is very much “don’t shut him out, it’s not his fault” – seeming to be the brother who will welcome him in…and he does, but Dean ends up being the one that wants to fight for Adam’s independence and the chance to NOT get involved in hunting. Of course, yes, as Sam says, Adam’s already in it now with the way his mom was killed. But SAM turns into the one who’s a bit of a jerk in how forceful he is with Adam…wanting to teach him thing but seemingly not caring how that affects his psyche.

          Bizarrely, NONE of it matters because Adam isn’t really Adam! What matters is what it reveals about Sam and Dean…how dedicated to killing Lilith Sam still is at all costs and how Dean’s still trying to save people from the worst consequences.

          Even in such a dark episode, Jensen still managed some comedy when he’s stuck in the crypt alone – talking to himself.

          I can’t remember how, when Adam is later “brought back” as option #2 for Zachariah’s plan, does he know anything about this whole ghoul thing? He was dead then. He shouldn’t know unless the angels implant that in his head when they bring him back. Anyway, I’ll find out soon enough as we’re heading in to Season 5. I can’t quite remember how they explain that.

          But a weird and sad and pretty great episode.

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        • PigNaPoke
            PigNaPoke
            August 24, 2022 at 1:41 pm #20098

            I agree with all of your observations.

            It was an emotional tour de force for all brothers (until we find out that Adam isn’t Adam) to find out about another part of f-ed up family life for the Winchesters.

            I remember feeling mostly pissed with John on first watch as to me it felt hugely unfair to Sam and Dean that Adam had the perfect childhood with a mostly fun dad when they had lived the crap life on the road. But over time that has mellowed a lot for me as I am sure he didn’t plan on having another kid and (again) did the best he could in his inept way to keep THAT family safe and far away from anything supernatural as well. It really had nothing to do with Sam and Dean.

            The episode really does demonstrate how difficult the decision is between keeping a person equipped with knowledge about the dark forces out there versus trying to keep them happily ignorant.
            In the end I feel Sam is right in making sure Adam has at least marginal self-defense knowledge and to know that something is out there that can’t be taken care of by reporting it to the police.

            On the other side I do understand Dean’s annoyance at Sam’s “sudden” switch to John’s view. The scene with the conversation between Sam and Dean about quoting dad’s lines and giving the kid the company BS was GREAT. You can see how confused Dean is at Sam’s apparent change of attitude towards hunting. Especially when it conflicts weirdly in this particular instance with the way John tried to hide Adam from the same hard life.

            Tough one to watch because BOTH brothers are right in a way.

            I always thought the way the ghouls cut Sam to bleed him dry was a bit over dramatic because, I’m pretty sure Sam wouldn’t have made it… OR he would have had MAJOR scars from it and needed a pretty long time to recover. HAHA

            And I do not get why Dean went completely postal on Adam-ghoul and probably beat him to a pulp when he later wants to give him a hunter’s funeral?

            Jake Able IS great! He plays the clueless but eager younger brother very well and later is a great Michael. It’s a shame we didn’t get more from him. But of course killing a brother they didn’t even knew they had made for great drama.

            The very last scene at Adam’s pyre doesn’t sit well with me, though. Dean talking about how Sam was more like John than he will ever be – of course, we had heard the same from John in Season 1. Dean says it as if he is disappointed in that fact. Does he mean that John trying to have a normal life with the secondary family is like Sam running away? It didn’t make much sense to me and seems a little like the writers were just trying to create drama.

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        Let’s all talk about Jump the Shark (S4 E19)

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