Supernatural - Review 7.20 "The Girl With The Dungeons And Dragons Tattoo"

Warning: Contain episode spoilers

“She’s kinda like the little sister I never wanted” 

Well that was fun! Kinda Supernatural meets Ocean’s 11 or Leverage even. A caper comedy! Complete with gadgetry and split screens! I don’t think we’ve seen them do a caper style episode before. After so much angst it’s always good to get a bit of lighter fare. Though we can’t be completely angst free now can we? We still have the “Bobby issue” to contend with, just so we don’t get too happy. This is Supernatural after all. 

I thoroughly enjoyed “The Girl With The Dungeons And Dragons Tattoo”. It was a geek-gasam the like of which I haven’t had since I went to see Joss Whedon talk at the Opera House. It was geeky reference after geeky reference. Star Wars, The Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter, Wargames, Star Trek, Dungeons And Dragons, Comic Con, Batman and Wonder Woman mugs and the pièce de résistance…Veronica Mars. Veronica Mars! I screamed.

Let’s start at the beginning. Exposition anyone? That was like, the biggest explainer ever….and…. a little on the late side, because the regular viewer was already a few episodes ahead on the ‘what’s the Leviathan up to’ question. Yep, eating the world. Yummy. But still, it was good to get the whole evil master plan lain out on the table like that, moving things forward, at a great rate of knots. Man, this was a fast paced episode. Bobby’s the one who finally filled in the gaps for the boys. Seems he remembers what was on the blueprints he saw in Dick’s office before he got ‘Lincolned’ and that the plant being built, in the field where the numbers led, is for the purpose of farming humans. Oh those crazy Leviathan and their people eating ways. They’ve also bought out a whole bunch of fast food outlets (might explain why I always feel sleepy after MacDonalds) and now they’re going to feed the world….but not in that great 80’s song way. I’m not seeing Bono and Sting singing about this plan. As all this is unfolding up pops an email from the missing Frank Devereaux and it ain’t good news. 1. He’s most likely dead and 2. His stolen hard-drive is about to get hacked and on that hard drive is the most precious of information….where Baby is stashed! Someone go rescue her quick! Then for God’s sake drive her already. Geesh. Sorry…digressed…. Of course the hard-drive in question is being held captive at Richard Roman Enterprises…or as Dean so perfectly puts it, at the heart of the Death Star. My geek-girl cup runneth over…I had visions of Sam and Dean whizzing through those canals on the Death Star, shooting rounds into a 2 by 2 metre hole…just like when they used to shoot womp rats in their T-16 back..……. Wait. Anyhoo, so our heroes zoom away to rescue the hard-drive with a rather unhappy ghost in tow. I will get to that unhappy ghost later.

Cue Charlie Bradbury dancing to Walking On The Sunshine.

Ok I think I might have a girl-crush on Charlie. Which she’d probably be cool with, seeing as she’s a lesbian. I thought Charlie was pretty awesome. She was smart and funny, super geeky and tough enough to realise she could do her bit to help stop world annihilation. Also, her desk kind of looked like mine, except mines covered in movie character Mr Potato Heads. She thought Hermione should have ended up with Harry….I love Ron and all but.… (or was she going to say the wrong Weasley?)....and drank coffee from a Wonder Woman mug, mine says Bitch/Jerk. One thing that always astonishes me is how blazé everyone seems when the boys start talking monsters! No one blinks an eye. I mean, if the Winchesters came to me and said “Hey guess what, there’s monsters and we need your help” I’d….well actually this whole scenario is flawed because I’m not sure I’d hear anything they said, as there would be a wall of the words OMG THEY’RE SO HOT screaming in my head…then I’d probably just mindlessly follow them because I’m shallow that way. Of course Charlie wouldn’t be affected by their manly wiles, which I thought was kinda of cool. Writing her as gay removed that whole ‘there’s a chick working with the Winchesters where’s this going’ thing. Even Sheriff Mills fell foul to fan-talk about her having on-screen chemistry with Sam. But that’s not going to happen with Charlie. Yay.

I totally dug the boy’s engagement with Charlie’s character. I loved how when she said she’d never broken in to anywhere, Dean asked if she had Bluetooth and then they launched into their speciality, how to break into anywhere. Sam talking her through her sudden fear with Hermione inspiration was, well, inspired, as was Dean’s “Dumbledork”. Then Dean having his Cyrano moment and talking Charlie through flirting with the security guard was sheer brilliance. I always knew Dean could flirt his way out of or into any situation. Sam giggling next to him just made the whole thing even more perfect. That had to be one of my favourite moments in a while. Very nice interaction between the boys. Their dialogue was spot on. Seriously though….can I come back to Dean and the flirting? His voice was like velvety sex! Distracting! I adored Charlie’s Vulcan sign, “Peace out bitches” too! I really hope they renege on their hand-shake deal and contact her again!

The other highlight of this episode was that we got lots of Dick. We finally got a good helping of Dick Roman and I really liked it. Dick’s kinda awesome in that, he’s completely evil and he’s going to kill everyone, way. His snarky dialogue and smarmy presence is exactly how this style of über villain should be. He’s a villain of this century, even though he’s the most ancient one we’ve faced. His “Good talk”, W1nn1ng computer password and shifty asides about making a meal of things were all a treat as was his frustration with not only humanity and the fact that he can’t really clone us all as he thought he could, but with the stupidity and failings of his underlings. Why waste a good meal indeed! I love that they went this direction with the big bad this season, what with all the paranoia about monopolies and global industrial dominance. He’s a true corporate monster. He’s someone we’ve all either seen in operation or have read about. I know this is wrong, but I enjoyed him so much in “The Girl With The Dungeons And Dragons Tattoo” that I don’t really want them to off him just yet! I was the same with Lucifer. I loved him too. I know Dick’s got to go…but damn, he’s so much fun!

Which I guess brings me to Bobby who’s having no fun at all. Look, I think the boys were a little harsh on Bobby in this episode. But I totally understand it. They thought he was gone for good, now he suddenly there. They know what happens to spirits who hang around. They’ve seen it and Dean’s been told about it by Tessa the Reaper. They’re scared for him and I’d say a little scared of him. He’s a ghost, something they’ve been raised to not trust and to kill. What a place to be in. They’re trying to get their heads around Bobby still being with them, trying to get their heads around what he’s done and terrified as to what that means for him and most likely, full of dread as to what they’re going to end up having to do about it. So I forgive them for not noticing that without Bobby, they may not have been able to get in to the building to rescue Charlie, at least not so epically….commando dive roll through the glass FTW….and they may not have been able to escape quite so unscathed had Bobby not kept Dick at bay. But I understand that from where they stood, Bobby must have looked downright frightening and you’ve got to wonder, if it were someone other than Dick he was up against, would Bobby have acted quite so violently, probably not. I’m worried for Bobby. But here’s the thing, telling him that he can’t help and making him feel alone and isolated in his ghostly state is not going to help that vengeful spirit vibe one iota. Like I said, I totally get it, the whole thing must be wigging them out and it’s going to take time for them to not be constantly giving each other sideways glances every time Bobby says something they don’t like, but I don’t think any of this is helping the situation. I was really pleased to see Dean jump to his defence in relation to Charlie’s broken arm being an accident and it seems that he’s not in a hurry to figure out what to do, going with the let’s just do our job first and work out the Bobby thing later, strategy but boy-howdy, do I feel for the boys being faced with this and do I feel for Bobby who thought he was doing the right thing and now feels like it’s not been appreciated. Boooo all around. I have absolutely zero clue how this is going to turn out but 2 things I don’t want…the brothers to have to take action against Bobby in anyway and Bobby to go vengeful or actually, 3 things…I don’t want Bobby to be a ghost at all…wait make that 4 things….I don’t want the boys to have to say goodbye to him again. Oh yeah, me no likey. Everything about this situation stinks up the joint.

The main reason “The Girl With The Dungeons And Dragons Tattoo” was so sharp and wonderful was the script. Robbie Thompson, you sure as hell better be signed on for season 8! His 3 episodes this season have been absolute standouts. He writes insightful witty dialogue and he nails the brothers. He really seems to get them as individuals and as a partnership. I love that he makes them smart. Think Sam’s note in “Time After Time” or the brilliant suitcase switcheroo in this episode…complete with awesome Sam and Dean disguises. I really loved the disguises! And the Borax bomb! He also balanced the comedy and the pathos, created a lovely new character and propelled the mythology. Robbie is a keeper…I sure hope they kept him. I’ll also mention director Johnny MacCarthy and his neat use of split screens to set the tone for this episode. They worked well for me and he managed to get the pacing pitch perfect.

“The Girl With The Dungeons And Dragons Tattoo” was definitely one of the more fun outings for a while, but still managed to bring into play the serious issues that the Winchesters have been dealing with in season 7, the Leviathan and loss and grieving. Their renewed ability to rely on each other and operate as a unit is something that was once again on show and is something I’m enjoying immensely. I have no clue what that chunk of clay is or what it’s going to do. Is something in it, on it? What on earth? No pun intended. The rip-roaring pace of “The Girl With The Dungeons And Dragons Tattoo” is exactly where we should be at this point in the season, so I really hope they keep that energy up. Next week is a Ben Edlund special, so I have high hopes for more awesomeness….plus the promo looked amazing! 3 episodes left…. Boooo. That makes me sad!

What did you think of the episode? 

Thanks for reading! See you next week for Edlund-palooza! Here's the promo!

-Amy

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