Supernatural Review: Season 9 Episode 5 "Dog Dean Afternoon"

By: Eric Charmelo & Nicole Snyder

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet seen this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

     Well, much as I am disgusted by the way this season seems to be squandering the promise of Sacrifice, this episode reminds me of just WHY I fell in love with this show in the first place. Dean gets turned into a dog. That premise alone should pique your interest and make you want to see the episode just because it will give you the chance to see Jensen Ackles act like a dog.

     Does the episode deliver on that premise though? Yes. It delivers beautifully and gives us one of the best episodes of Season 9. It's funny and gross and even a little bit scary in places. The story of the shaman-wanna-be was interesting and it was nice to have the boys on an honest-to-God monster hunt again with no higher power pulling the strings.  I also appreciate the way the vegan couple were NOT the culprits and that Dean comes to respect them enough to leave Colonel in their care...even though I was hoping the Winchesters would keep him because Sam needs a dog, darn it!

Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- No offence to taxidermists the world over (my former karate sensei dabbled in taxidermy) but that profession just creeps me out. Actually? I take it back. Taxidermy doesn't bother me. It's the results of taxidermy (the stuffed ducks and embalmed armadillos) that give me the proverbial chill up and down the spine. So whenever this episode opened in a taxidermy shop, I was just WAITING for something to possess the stuffed bear and go on a rampage...except that didn't happen. 

- Gotta love the taxidermist's reaction to the dude with the forked tongue (I'm going to call him Voldemort Jr. for now). If I saw someone like that I'd be running away as fast as I could, not asking what was wrong with him. Remember...the last person on this show with a forked tongue was Hallucifer.

- So Dean and Sam took Kevin out drinking and then force-feed him Buffalo milk to cure the resulting hangover? Ewww...I know their cure has everything in it EXCEPT the milk, but I really don't want to know what actually IS in it!

- Dean is being a mother hen is episode, nagging Sam about how much sleep he's been getting. "Yeah, but the last three nights straight, I had eight hours of shut-eye. For a hunter, that's like 20. Trust me, Dean. I feel good." Wonder if Zeke has been knocking Sam out for that long? If so, good for him. Neither Sam or Dean have slept well since Season 1.

- I really think that the SPN writers are trying to get someone from this show onto Game of Thrones. There have been more references to GoT in this season than there have been to X-Files in the rest of the show. Those dressed-up stuffed animals were just weird. I actually double-checked to make sure this isn't a Ben Edlund episode, as that touch practically reeked of his particular brand of humor.

- I liked the couple who ran the gluten-free vegan bakery. Props to the SPN writers too for not making them intolerable clichés just for the sake of a gag.

- "Always knew I'd find the source of all evil at a vegan bakery." Oh Dean...

- This episode was cruel to cats. Why did they have to show us the adorable little kitty getting swallowed whole like that? EW! Uncalled for!

- It's cool that they decide to use Colonel as a witness. One can only imagine Kevin's reaction whenever they called him and asked for a way to speak to a dog.

- Dean accuses Sam of having a 'delicate stomach' right before he down the spell that 'tastes like ass'. Thanks for that vivid description, Dean. Really appreciate that.

- You are a 34 year old hunter, Dean. 

- I love how the spell takes a while to work so Sam and Dean are just sitting there scarfing down their lunch whenever the dog objects rather strongly to Dean's taste in music. Needless to say, an argument ensues.

- Colonel made fun of Styx. He doesn't know good music when he hears it. It makes me laugh how Sam is just kind of sitting there watching his brother argue with a dog over music instead of getting down to the important information. He just has a look of utter bemusement on his face that always makes me giggle.

- Originally I thought that this was going to be a typical case where Sam and Dean find the baddie, hunt the baddie, and gank the baddie with the added advantage of their primary witness being a dog named Colonel. It was the moment when Dean did the mind meld, though, that this episode turned from typical to that very special brand of screwball absurdity and fascinating mythology that this show does so well. Y'see, Dean didn't just mind meld with Colonel, he absorbed some of the doggy-ness as well.

- Instantly cue the humor, fueled by the impeccable comedic timing of Jensen Ackles. Dean unwittingly plays fetch, 'barks' at the mailman, scratches behind his ear, discovers that he can't eat chocolate, and presumably gets the urge to sniff butts as well. (Or at least that's what Colonel suggests and methinks Dean did protest too much.)

- And let's not forget about Dean vs. Pigeon...

- Sooo many doggie puns in this episode! They're SOOO corny, but in that hilariously bad kind of way. 

- Having Dean absorb some of the doggie tendencies was a stroke of genius and turns the episode from something mildly interesting to extremely fun and memorable. You'll notice that he reneged on his 'no dogs in the Impala' rule in order to accommodate Colonel.

- "Damn cataracts. And you know no one's going to pay for my surgery. Just another casualty of the system, I guess. I don't belong here, you know. I'm pedigreed." This is the scoop Dean gets from a lovely collie.

- It's interesting how the dogs seem to view the pound as a kind of orphanage/jail hybrid. Reminds me of Lady and the Tramp, actually. Was that a reference?

- Am I the only one who fell into incoherent giggles at the sight of the look of sheer ecstasy that little dog got while Sam was obligingly bribing it with a belly rub?

- Just a friendly reminder that Sam needs a dog. Just sayin'...

- It was funny that Dean (the man who has expressed dislike for dogs in the past) took the time to pause the case long enough to open up all of the pens in the pound and let the dogs free. Maybe this mind-meld thingy will finally help him get over his Hellhound trauma?

- "Honestly, who can afford to be closed on Monday these days?" "A homicidal maniac?"

- Those mice in the cage with their shrill little voices reminded me of something out of Beatrix Potter's stories...if Beatrix Potter wrote twisted cookbooks.

- Hannibal's fridge is just nasty. You'd have to be pretty desperate to eat the brain of an owl or the heart of a bear. How did he even get some of those animal organs? I'm pretty sure that cheetahs are not native to America...so did he smuggle the organs in? Seems an awful lot of work just to dabble in an ancient magic that could get you killed anyway. Did he have accomplices? I ask because I'm genuinely curious...especially about how he got hold of some part of a chameleon to eat.

- "Don't play coy. I want to know what you are. Oh, screw the sharktopus."  Gross, Chef Hannibal.

- It's interesting how Hannibal asks Sam 'what' he is. Poor Sam. We all know that he has a complex about being referred to as a 'monster' instead of a human. 

- I call the chef 'Hannibal' because, after seeing Zeke take over for a moment to heal Sam's slashed throat, Leo gets the marvelous idea that if he ate Sam's heart he would gain immortality and a cure for his cancer.

- This episode really exploits the 'you are what you eat' jokes and references...especially while Hannibal has Dean 'leashed' and tied to a pillar.

- "Your brother? What was your mom smoking when she had you two?" Hey! Just because Sam has angel wings and Dean smells of dog doesn't mean you have to be rude, Hannibal. Mary wasn't smoking anything before the boys were born and...I am so sorry. That was terrible.

- While this episode is a lot of fun, I think that where it breaks down is with the climax. While I like the band of dogs from the pound coming in to take out the chef and save the day, I do feel like Hannibal wasted a lot of time monologuing to Dean (Syndrome would be disappointed!) while preparing his dish of wolf-heart. Why didn't he just shoot Dean in the head? He had Dean's gun and was at point-blank range. Not that I WANT Dean to die...but that particular bit of tension just felt forced and stupid.

- The episode ends with the spell wearing off, Dean leaving the Colonel with the vegan couple, and Sam questioning Dean about what is wrong with him. He's starting to become suspicious about the hours of lost time and mysterious healings. Dean dissembles."He was possessed by – by something he couldn't control. It was...it was a – a matter of time before it completely took over. You can't reason with crazy, right?

         In a less-than-stellar Season 9, this episode is a blessed breath of fresh air and just a fun romp for both the boys that also sets up future events. Watching Dean act like a dog is hilarious and Chef Hannibal was a suitably creepy (albeit ultimately stupid) villain. The climax felt a bit forced, but was helped by Dean waking Sam up by threatening to lick his face. Dog Dean Afternoon is a 4/5.

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?