‘Supernatural’ Pulls a ‘Ghost Whisperer’
Compassionate Sammy Reveals His Inner J. Love in a Most Moving Episode
After the grave disappointment that was the Lana-Lex nuptials in March 15′s Smallville, I was really counting on my Supernatural boys, Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki), to lift me out of my funk in their immediately following episode “Roadkill.” The setting was just right—a supremely spooky, deserted highway road just off an eerily dense, wooded area on a dark, rainy night—as was the principal guest star, none other than Battlestar Galactica‘s resident blonde Cylon babe, Number Six, aka Canadian actress Tricia Helfer, turned appropriately brunette for the creepier venue. Dean was up to the task, too, in his usually feisty, impatient mood, preferring to go straight for the jugular and the prey instead of wasting time getting all touchy-feely with everyone around.
Mild Spoilers Ahead—Proceed with Caution
Poor younger Sammy, however, is becoming sappier and sappier—and more and more adorable, of course—with each episode. Right about now, he’s so empathetic and in tune with his complex emotions, he could make the most sensitive guy a smidgen uncomfortable. At one point, Dean even jibed him about how much he was channeling “J. Love Hewitt” while attempting to reassure Helfer’s character Molly, distraught over her husband’s disappearance after a bizarre car accident with a bloodthirsty spirit.
I should’ve known then what was coming because, sure enough, the final 15 minutes of “Roadkill” were as close to an episode of Ghost Whisperer as I’ve ever seen, and that’s including in Jennifer Love Hewitt‘s horror-light CBS hit itself. Interestingly, Supernatural pulled the heartwrenching “goodbye into the bright white light” shtick off infinitely better, primarily due to the fact that the plot contained a compelling and genuinely macabre build-up to the final sobfest.
If Ghost Whisperer could find a better balance of frightening and poignant, as demonstrated in Supernatural‘s “Roadkill,” the series might manage to break out of its redundancy rut and regain its appeal to viewers who enjoy a few authentic scares before the waterworks come gushing on. But what do I know? Ghost Whisperer is making such a killing in the ratings during its regular Friday-night time slot, viewers must prefer the maudlin storylines. Cheers to Supernatural anyway for showing how to do “humane horror” right. Now let’s just keep a dry eye and hold off on any additional weepy episodes for a season or two, dudes.
Supernatural currently airs Thursdays on The CW at 9pm EST
Ghost Whisperer currently airs Fridays on CBS at 8pm EST
Supernatural photo courtesy of The CW
Ghost Whisperer photo courtesy of CBS
