Supernatural Review, Season 7, Episode 20: “The Girl With the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo”
Written by Robbie Thompson
Directed by John MacCarthy
Airs Fridays at 9pm (ET) on the CW
This week, on Supernatural: Charlie’s walkin’ on sunshine, Dean’s a sweet talker, and Bobby gets angry
For many in the online community, Felicia Day is a polarizing figure. She is beloved for her web series, The Guild, as well as her many geek-friendly roles, such as her recent turn on Eureka, but there are those, perhaps a minority, but a vocal one if so, who find her overexposed and even feel she’s too frequently used as geek-bait stunt casting. With this episode so strongly centering around her exploits at Richard Roman Enterprises, one’s take on the episode hinges on Charlie and, by extension, Felicia Day. Luckily, she’s great.
Charlie is sunny, light-hearted, fun, and a breath of fresh air. Her (second) introduction, walking in to work and HappyDancing it out in the elevator is a striking reminder that while Sam and Dean are fighting tooth and nail for their survival, life for almost everyone else continues just as before. Day balances the right amount of sass with vulnerability and her scenes with James Patrick Stuart as Dick Roman work well. Dick has been almost entirely a snide cartoon villain all season and that doesn’t change here, but his over the top persona is tempered a bit by his fascination with Charlie.
Giving us somewhat of an answer about the Leviathan’s shapeshifting abilities is smart- putting a limitation on this ability is smarter. Obviously the Leviathans think of humans as little more than cattle, but Roman’s interest in Charlie and inability to quite label what makes her unique adds a layer of depth to this relationship. The “spark” he references is what many would describe as the soul and the notion that Leviathans can duplicate the body but not necessarily mimic the soul is interesting. Also interesting is his assertion that most humans are little more than drones, easily swapped out and replaced. Given Supernatural’s history with souls, this seems a bit contradictory, but perhaps this underestimation of humanity will spell Roman’s downfall.
Another significant element this week is Bobby’s progression. Sam and Dean’s concern is well written and played- by starting Bobby’s potential spiral into Vengeful Spirit-land with as deserving a foe as Roman, it’s easy to overlook the larger implications of his actions, but for someone who had a hard time last week even writing on a fogged mirror with his finger, Bobby certainly seems more powerful now. Who knows if he’ll be able to hold on to his identity, but if the information from the previous episode is correct, that to interact with the world Bobby must either get incredibly angry or incredibly zen, smart money’s on angry, and we’ve seen how that ends.
Notably absent this week, and previously, is any mention of Frank’s death, from the suspected perpetrators, or his body. With death an increasingly fleeting state on the series, the most likely scenario is that Frank has fled, faked his death, and gone underground, ready to return this season or the next, should the series get renewed. Charlie’s relative ease in hacking Frank’s hard drive may prove her as a better computer whiz, but between Felicia Day and Kevin McNally, McNally seems the safer bet to return.
Otherwise, things seem to be ticking along nicely and, as predicted, the return of Bobby has energized the Leviathan storyline. The ease with which he pushes around Dick, though it seems clear he’s aided by the surprise factor, is encouraging, and is the most we’ve seen anyone able to affect a Leviathan since the witches from “Shut Up, Dr. Phil”. There’s a clear endgame and our protagonists are at least starting to put together a few answers. Hopefully, this will continue in the final three episodes of the season. The Leviathans are far from the most compelling villains the show has had, but a strong final few episodes would go a long way towards bolstering the overall arc and salvaging a somewhat uneven season.
What did you think of the episode? Do you want Felicia Day to come back? How do you think the mysterious clay tablet plays in to everything? Post your thoughts below!
Kate Kulzick