Review – Supernatural episode 7.16 “Out With The Old”

Warning: contains spoilers.

“You see a Winchester, you don’t eat him! You tell me and I eat him!”

On first viewing I wasn’t sure what to make of “Out With The Old.” Admittedly I had a bit of a bad run with the watching. I was watching it on my laptop and it kept freezing and I missed a tiny bit at the beginning, like when the dancer’s feet exploded (neat!), so I decided not to make any judgements and try again. This time it was on my big screen TV, just how Dean’s meant to be watched, I mean just how Supernatural’s meant to be watched, and well, I dozed off! I didn’t hold this against the episode…I went out the night before and had a bit of a late, slightly boozy one and, well…the Winchesters are so dreamy they must have lulled me to sleep. Heh. Note to self…don’t lie on the couch to watch TV when feeling a bit, um, well, like Dean must feel many a morning (no, not hot). So take three and a great big coffee and I finally managed to watch the whole thing through! On third, but actually first real viewing, I discovered, I very much liked “Out With The Old.” It turned out to be the kind of Supernatural episode I particularly dig. Initially it had a fun vibe, there were some ominous undertones mixed in, a mystery was brewing and then it morphed into something completely unexpected. Like much of season seven it felt old school. I’d call it a strong outing. Since coming back from the Christmas hiatus I’ve felt this season has been particularly strong. If only it weren’t for all the damn breaks in the schedule trying to ruin our momentum….

“Out With The Old” had more turns than that ballet dancer with the cursed Pointe shoes. It kicked off with a nice bit of gore (yes..awesome) and moved into what looked like an amusing MOTW story complete with crazed cursed objects, including some vintage porn…"A vintage men's magazine sold to Peter Yanket, 27 Johnson Lane" (HA!!!) and the vision of Dean watching “Black Swan”…twice…and lovingly eyeing off a pair of pretty ballet shoes…in his size. Oh the vision in my head that created. I wonder how long before the fan art reveals itself. Then being the clever clogs hunter he is, Dean starts to get suspicious of the real estate dealings in town and with a bit of help from Frank, puts two and two together and discovers it adds up to Leviathan. I so love it when Dean’s all smart hunter…. All the while, Sam is slowly unravelling due to lack of sleep because his bunk-buddy Lucifer will not shut-up. Then during the showdown with the gooey Leviathan S.O.B’s, we are left with a rather startling revelation, the ‘Big Mouths’ are here to help. They’re going to cure cancer. W.T.F?

Of course the words pants on fire come to mind when thinking of what George told the boys, but still. Mind. Blown. Maybe we’re heading down the road of a philosophical conundrum. Can we turn a blind eye and sacrifice a few people as food for a cure that will help billions? Somehow I don’t think it’ll come to that. I’m sure the Leviathan plot is something nefarious. I really don’t see them as being a power for good. Remember what Chronos, the God of time said, “I know your future. It's covered in thick black ooze. It's everywhere. They're everywhere. Enjoy oblivion.” Yeah, see, that doesn’t sound real positive! Either George was lying or he doesn’t know the big picture plan. He seemed pretty far down the food chain, if you’ll pardon the pun. Cue the rather ominous but excellent use of “Bad Moon Rising” and we discover an empty, bloodied, trashed trailer and no cranky-pants Frank. Of course last time we heard “Bad Moon Rising” it signified one hell of an ending to “Devil’s Trap” and also a hospital visit and near, very near, death experience for one of our brothers. Knowing what’s coming next week, I totally adored that this song made another appearance. Every hair on my body stood up…. O-oh….

The thing about season seven is that so many episodes have been like this. Just when you think it’s going one way, it turns you on your head and goes another. I’m enjoying that. I feel like I’m being kept on my toes. It plays into the mystery. I like the fact that the Leviathan just randomly pop up. That feels right to me, because the whole idea of the Leviathan is that they’re supposed to be working their way into our society unseen. They aren’t banding together all in one place, plotting and scheming like some evil cult, they’re organised, they’re spread out across the country and presumably the globe, doing whatever it is they’re doing while passing as every day people. They could be anywhere. They could be anyone. It makes sense that the boys might accidentally bump into them. For those who don’t feel the Leviathan constitute a significant threat, think about that. Like Dean said in “Repo Man”, any minute the boys could walk into a crime scene and come face to face with a whole bunch of ‘Big Mouths’ because why not? They’ve infiltrated us as corporate highflyers and small town real estate agents, so who knows where they’ll turn up next. That’s the point and as far as I’m concerned that’s scary and interesting and cool. The other thing I thought about these nasty, gooey guys is; what better way to position yourself to conquer humanity than to offer to the world a remarkable gift? Say they do cure cancer. Say it’s then revealed to the world that it’s Dick Roman and his corporation that finally put an end to this awful disease. This would make him God like in the world’s eyes. Can you imagine the access that would afford him? He’d be welcomed with open arms in every country. He’d be able to meet and mix with, and then presumably have a ‘Big Mouth’ shift into and eat, our world leaders. This could make the Leviathan unstoppable and if taking over humanity is their goal (which I don’t know, but I’ve always assumed it is), then this one act of apparent good, could put them into a position of power and adulation where anything is possible. This is the direction my thinky thoughts have been going. Big, VERY BIG picture. Not just securing their food source. But securing their position in the world. Hmmmm. Do they seem dangerous enough now? Of course, it could simply be that they're allergic to cancer and to ensure their survival they have to eradicate it, but I like my other over thought out, random idea better and I think the writers should listen to me! Or you know, give me a job. Heeeee.

The other thing going on in “Out With The Old” was all about Sammy. He’s falling apart at the seams. Slowly but surely being driven down the road to crazy town by his imaginary ‘friend’ Lucifer. What I like here is that Sam came clean about it. After we saw him get engulfed in a wall of flames at the end of “Repo Man”, I felt sure Sam was going to do his usual, keep-it-all-hidden-from-Dean act, but no. He told his brother he can’t sleep, he told him that Lucifer is yelling at him the whole time, or singing “Stairway To Heaven” over and over…oh how I would have loved to have seen that. He told Dean sleep deprivation is like torture. He’s agitated, crabby and distracted and he’s being honest. Honest to Dean. Praise Chuck. And Dean to his credit is obviously concerned, but not freaking out….yet. I read a few comments (I really shouldn’t) about how Dean is selfishly ignoring Sam’s plight, but on the contrary, I see him as being strong and steady for Sam and not being cloying and over protective with his younger brother. He's also not boozing on. Have you noticed that? Three episodes in a row now, no whiskey, no beer. I think this is also partly for Sam, because right now, Sam needs him not to be all broken and drowning his sorrows. He needs his brother to be clear and focused, because in Sam's current condition, he can't be. In my eyes, there’s been a definite shift in the Winchester’s relationship towards more of an equal partnership rather than the traditional older/young brother dynamic. This has been since Sam’s return from Hell. And it’s as it should be. Because these guys are both grown men. Dean is obviously concerned. He’s asking how Sam is, he’s trying to get him grab some sleep at every opportunity, he’s aware and watching, but he’s not forcing his will on Sam. It all seemed very grow’d up to me. Sure, he probably has no idea how bad it really is because though Sam is being honest, he’s also being flippant, probably for the same reason Dean isn’t being overbearing, so as not to totally freak his brother out. They both have had so much on their plates this season, I see them both treading gently with each other, for fear that one or both of them will become unglued….which of course is about to happen. When you love someone, you don’t necessarily give them the whole bad story, you let them know what’s happening, but more often than not, you also protect them somewhat from the complete truth. I think that’s what Sam is doing and in response I think Dean is trying to remain calm for Sam and to some degree, himself. Lord knows, Dean is the King of denial after all. The moment I loved the best was when Dean suggested Sam sleep in the car and that he’d find him a soft rock station because it, “Always knocks you right out.” Adorable. That was a big brother/little brother moment right there and it was also a history together moment and it made my heart all full of Winchestery brotherly love. I so adore these brothers…..why do they always hurt me so….

And then there was Frank and his bloodied, totalled trailer. Is he really dead? Eaten by the Leviathan? My bet is, nup. It could go three ways… 1. He’s faked it because he’s realised he’s got in too deep? I don’t see him walking out on the Winchesters though. As much as he’s a self-protecting, paranoid nutbag, he seems to have developed a bitchy accord with Dean and I don’t see him deserting Dean now. 2. The Leviathan have grabbed him to find out what he knows? Nah, if they shifted into him they’d find that out and then they could chow down on him too, so I can’t see that the Leviathan would gain anything from holding Frank hostage, unless it was to coax the boys into a situation where they had to save Frank. Possible. 3. The demons are finally getting back into the action? I’m waiting and waiting for the demons to come back into play. That serial-killer-coach demon said they’d be back “Back in black” and there’s no way on the face of this earth, that Crowley would have taken his muffin basket and faded into the background, so at some stage, I see him making a play to regain his former glory. Maybe they grabbed Frank to find out what he knows? Maybe they grabbed Frank to coax the Winchester brothers out. Or you know, I guess maybe Frank’s dead. What ever the outcome, Dean was right… “Not good.” There’s definitely a bad moon on the rise. YAY!

“Out With The Old” left me feeling all tingly for the end of this season. Not that I want it to finish…but I really want to see what happens next. I’m excited! We’ve got 7 episodes left and I feel like that’s a good amount of time to really get our teeth into this Leviathan arc (as before, no pun intended) and possibly resurrect a couple of loved ones… Yes…next week’s promo made me squee. I’ll admit right here and now in front of you all that, though I love Castiel, I haven’t found myself missing him or pining for him in the least, but, that promo for next week made me go “HELLZ YEAH!” I seriously can’t wait! Though I have a feeling, once again, my heart is going to shatter into a million pieces. But hey, if I didn’t like angst, I sure as hell wouldn’t be watching this show now would I?

What did you think of “Out With The Old.” I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for reading….see you all next week….if we survive….again….


Here's next week's promo....

And here's a sneak peek.... 

And please enjoy this cap of Dean with pie... :)