Let’s all talk about Tall Tales (S2 E15)

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    • journalbookbinder
        August 30, 2021 at 10:06 am #9451

        I actually watched this one before creating the discussion. So I can already talk about it.

        Up to this point, this was WAS “out there” but they took us along for the ride; Sam and Dean just as confused about these weird occurrences as the viewer. There WAS a lot of humor. I enjoyed that. I always like the “story from two points of view” thing. X-Files did this very effectively with one episode years ago where Mulder and Scully were pretending to be a married couple in the suburbs when undercover (I think that was the one?) and the way each of the viewed each other in their own versions of the story was hilarious and this was almost identical to that.

        So funny how Sam sees Dean as this not-at-all-subtle party guy picking up questionable women like a kinda super-drunk party girl…and Dean sees himself as very suave picking up a classy grad student. All of the touches with the brothers were funny. Sam’s version has Dean eating every piece of candy in the dish at the professor’s office. I have always loved that both of them do not hesitate to do something funny or gross of make fun of their own characters and, a bit, themselves.

        The part between the brothers was the best part. Love how smart Bobby is. That he saw Sam and Dean’s behavior as the biggest clue. And why is it so much fun to see Sam and Dean yell at each other??? I mean, not like it is in the “you leave, you never come back” way of later episodes, but in this one, I loved watching them lose it with each other. They even apologized at the end, though, yes, Bobby is right; don’t stop and talk and apologize while you want to get out of there before the cops find the body of the Trickster!

        I like the Trickster’s gray areas. “Hoisted on their own petard” – a phrase Dean was obviously not familiar with. It’s a kind of old-fashioned phrase. I thought it meant “getting what’s coming to you” and it pretty much does; had to look it up to be sure: “The expression hoisted by one’s own petard is a way to say that someone tried to injure another person but only succeeded in injuring himself or herself with their own weapon (or other means of injury).” And continues to say that Shakespeare was one of the first ones to use it. I did have to look up what a “petard” was – apparently a small bomb set off to make a hole in a wall to break and enter. Anyway, the Trickster was kind of like the embodiment of “payback”. Punishing the hypocritical and the cruel. I like that Dean “liked” him. I do love these early seasons when they are learning just as much as we are on every case.

        Even the writing of the “confessions” was funny. The frat guy saying he was probed “Again, and again, and again…and again and again and then one more time.” That just made me laugh. Also Sam trying not to laugh but every time the guy glanced at him pulling the sad face. So good.

        All in all a solid episode if not one of my favorites. I could have watched an entire hour of Sam and Dean bickering.

        And damn is Richard Speight Jr. young in this one!!!!

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        • Mckicat
          August 30, 2021 at 10:06 am #9500

          I really wish the song the frat boy was dancing w/ the alien to was “Dancing in the moonlight “.

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          • kate38
              August 30, 2021 at 10:06 am #9524

              I really wish the song the frat boy was dancing w/ the alien to was “Dancing in the moonlight “.”

              Hiya, Mckicat! Welcome to our wiki 🙂

              I agree! “Dancing in the Moonlight” would’ve been funnier and more appropriate 🙂

              …or for even more fun, Sinatra “Fly Me to the Moon”?

              kate38

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          • kate38
              August 30, 2021 at 10:06 am #9525

              I’ve never been a giant fan of Gabriel/Trickster/Loki. He was fun for a short time, but I found him tedious after a few episodes. That said, this episode was probably the most fun I’ve had with that character in the whole series. I think I prefer Richard Speight, Jr. as a director (I really liked “Stuck in the Middle With You”) than as any of the characters he’s played in this series.

              RSJ aside, I kinda’ like the concept of a “Trickster”. A being that can manipulate reality, and seeks to punish evildoers and bullies would’ve been fun to explore further. I’m disappointed that in Supernatural canon, the Trickster never really existed aside from being a cover story for Gabriel.

              Plot armor alert: I’m sure Sam has seen plenty of alligators (wink, wink), so he could immediately identify a belly scale embedded in the remains of a dead guy. That scene would’ve had more credibility if Sam had recognized the object as some sort of reptile scale, and then later he researched it and realized it was from the belly of an alligator.

              There are a few things I liked about this episode:

              I chuckle at the HILARIOUS differences in the stories the brothers are each telling Bobby from their own perspective. Of course, I’m sure the truth lies someplace in the middle, as if often does. But the fact that the brothers saw and interpreted those situations SO differently makes me chuckle every time.

              I LOVE how Bobby came to their rescue, and how he IMMEDIATELY figured out what the problem was.

              I enjoyed the chemistry between Jensen and Jared in this one, and the fun dynamic between the brothers. They’ve learned how to push each other’s buttons artfully! And being on the road together all the time MUST expose some of both brothers’ most annoying habits and quirks. I chuckle when Dean is eating chili fries on Sam’s bed! That scene always makes me want chili fries. (Dang! Just thinking about it makes me want chili fries. BALLS!)

              The wordless apology at the end was very sweet. The eye contact, the timing, the mutual (wordless) agreement to not make each other say the actual words. So adorable. And I LOVE Bobby’s response: “You guys are breaking my heart. Could we please just leave?” LOL!!

              I try to not take this episode too seriously. I think it was the writers having some fun. For that purpose, it was okay enough.

              kate

              • This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by kate38kate38.
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            • kate38
                August 30, 2021 at 10:06 am #9527

                “The part between the brothers was the best part. Love how smart Bobby is. That he saw Sam and Dean’s behavior as the biggest clue. And why is it so much fun to see Sam and Dean yell at each other??? I mean, not like it is in the “you leave, you never come back” way of later episodes, but in this one, I loved watching them lose it with each other. They even apologized at the end, though, yes, Bobby is right; don’t stop and talk and apologize while you want to get out of there before the cops find the body of the Trickster!”

                You’re right, JBB!
                Watching the brothers argue in this one was fun — for me it was because we knew there wouldn’t be any real consequences. As you said, it’s not like they’re gonna fight and separate or anything like that. This was harmless — maybe like the practical joke episode a while back.

                kate

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              • PigNaPoke
                  August 30, 2021 at 10:06 am #9569

                  I haven’t read any of your comments yet….

                  What great introduction to a character like the Trickster!! Even without anything we know now, on first watching it I loved the character’s twisted sense of humor using Urban Legends to punish his victims….it’s still genius!

                  GODS, the retelling of the bar scene from both Sam’s and Dean’s view is HILARIOUS even all these years later and after multiple rewatchings!!! Including Sam’s bitchy tone and the “blah blah blah”!! ALL of the fighting between them is perfectly funny and relatable – being on the road and stuck with each other could get annoying – and knowing that the truth is somewhere in the middle makes the whole thing so perfectly brotherly to me.

                  And the physical “fight scene” on the bed is SO not Winchester, it really looks like two little kids fighting instead of adult hunters.

                  LOVE Bobby’s implacable ways to let them retell the story and keep them on point and THEN tell them they’re IDJITS. He really feels like a dad here to me.

                  Poor Jensen having to stuff his cheeks like a chipmunk….impressive how much fits!

                  I also really enjoy that when it’s time to jump into action and actually face the monster, both Sam and Dean drop their crap and focus on what’s actually important.
                  There are a couple of slapstick tropes (like Dean’s face stuck between one of the girl’s boobs) I could have lived without, but as a whole the final confrontation with the Trickster is fun to watch, especially because HE doesn’t fight but only watches and makes things happen. It drives the point home squarely of how powerful he actually is when his illusions are strong enough to throw around a couple of impressively large humans…. And the twist in the end that the Winchesters and Bobby didn’t actually win was nicely surprising AND immediately left me wanting more from the Trickster character. (Of course, what we got next from him was BRUTAL, if funny).

                  And the almost apology between the brothers without actually using the words is PERFECT!

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                • PigNaPoke
                    August 30, 2021 at 10:06 am #9570

                    HAHA, ok – it seems we all agree on most parts. I really didn’t read your comments before posting mine, but mine read almost exactly like Kate’s.

                    PNP

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                Let’s all talk about Tall Tales (S2 E15)

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