Swap Meat (512)

[Madwelshboy]

Sam’s bodysnatched! — gary (guest star colton james), a teenage nerd, conjures up a body-switching spell and changes bodies with sam (jared padalecki). Thrilled by his new handsome and built body, gary (now sam) investigates a case with dean (jensen ackles) and takes advantage of his good looks and age by hitting on women and getting drunk. Meanwhile, sam is stuck in gary’s teenage body, dealing with intrusive parents and high school. Bob singer directed the episode written by julie siege with story by julie siege, rebecca dessertine and harvey fedor

Post viewing discussion only

[the fifth man]

This turned out to be a much better episode than I thought it was going to be. Really, I underestimated this one. What did you guys think?

[kennythewraith]

i liked it but i think it could have been much better honestly

[Jeffer]

i thought it was quite good when the demon said he just had to meet the boss i was like OH SNAP!!!!! where is he Detroit. but right after i was like that would be stupid if they did that

[starg8fans]

This turned out to be a much better episode than I thought it was going to be. Really, I underestimated this one. What did you guys think?

I agree. They didn't overdo the humorous aspect, and the way they played with the mirror images was really well done. Not a great one, but enjoyable enough.

i thought it was quite good when the demon said he just had to meet the boss i was like OH SNAP!!!!! where is he Detroit. but right after i was like that would be stupid if they did that

Yeah, that was a kind of wake-up call for me as well. And I think (or hope) it may be a lead-in into some more Apocalyptic stuff in the upcoming eps.

Okay, what I liked. A bit more back info on the boys growing up - always nice to have.

We finally saw what Sam eats. And Dean's obviously back on the high-cholesterol stuff. I thought he'd learned his lessen about clogged arteries in The Curious Case of D.W.

Gary crashing the Impala into those garbage bags - had me LOL

I liked how Sam would not even try to fit in or to be the person he appeared to be.

It was kinda heartbreaking to see the brothers bond more than we've seen it in ages, and to know it wasn't really Sam.

The fact that Gary's friends were in on it was a nice twist, as was the fact that there's a price on Dean's head now.

Okay, here's the whumpy fangirl in me talking, loved that there was at least a bit of blood, and then Dean was FINALLY spouting Latin again. Been waiting for that since Crossroad Blues. And how he messed up the last line - great stuff.

What kinda irked me...
- that Sam would spill what their Dad was doing at age 11 (if it was the summer before 6th grade). He should have been well trained in the 'don't tell' department at the time.
- wouldn't Dean have missed his phone? I can't believe he didn't notice not having it for almost 2 days
- if you are gluten intolerant it doesn't make you sick, it just builds up over time causing all kinds of problems
- why would Gary go off and order a banana daiquiry if he'd just had beer and shots with Dean?

Also something I noticed, in the scenes with Dean and the kids I just felt the lack of chemistry. I may be over-analyzing things, but somehow they just didn't have the same rapport which made it hard to believe that Dean was actually duped and thought he was with his brother.

[LoneStar1836]

I liked it...a little better than last week's...but yeah it could have been better in places.

[Crichiel]

Couple quick comments before I go off for the weekend to review in-depth

- if you are gluten intolerant it doesn't make you sick, it just builds up over time causing all kinds of problems

Actually, I've taken care of a kid that had Celiac and because she hadn't had wheat in so long, when she ate a few bites accidentally, she DID get sick right away. Not horribly so, but she got sick because her body had totally forgotten how to process it after complete abstinence.

- why would Gary go off and order a banana daiquiry if he'd just had beer and shots with Dean?

From the looks on Gary's face when he took those shots, he wasn't enjoying the taste too much. Maybe he wanted a sweet 'girly' drink to wash the taste out of his mouth

Also something I noticed, in the scenes with Dean and the kids I just felt the lack of chemistry. I may be over-analyzing things, but somehow they just didn't have the same rapport which made it hard to believe that Dean was actually duped and thought he was with his brother.

I LOVED the humour in this, because I thought that Jensen made a fantastic straight-man. And we aren't used to seeing that with him. His reactions were priceless. Did I believe that he would have been tricked for so long with 'Sam' acting so OOC? No. But I didn't care (just like you have to ignore that Dean was suddenly looking DOWN at Sam). It was funny so I let it slide.

Back on Monday! And I have a feeling this will be a long, point-by-point post because there were SO many little bits and quotes that I wanted to comment on!

[queen_hathor]

*runs in*

Really enjoyed this one! Back tomorrow when I've watched again!

*runs out*

[Jeffer]

It seems that the Demons are doing the same thing that the Angels did earlier this season using their followers to track down the brothers the thing i really liked was when we saw Sam but he was acting like Gary its nice to see the range

[LizzieAnne]

Just finished watching this one and, after my own week of hell, I was hoping for a really good ep and I wasn't disappointed. For me it's so much better than last weeks. I really enjoyed it.

I loved how both of the guys played out the humour.
I also liked how Gary hardly bothered to hide his own personality because he was so delighted to be a new person with a gorgeous body. I thought that it was going to be a bit of a fluff ep to be honest. It made it all the more shocking when he turned on Dean and tried to shoot him. That totally changed the flavour of the ep.

I agree. They didn't overdo the humorous aspect, and the way they played with the mirror images was really well done. Not a great one, but enjoyable enough.

Yeah, that was a kind of wake-up call for me as well. And I think (or hope) it may be a lead-in into some more Apocalyptic stuff in the upcoming eps.

I'm thinking that maybe we've been given a little clue here or a red herring!

Okay, what I liked. A bit more back info on the boys growing up - always nice to have.

We finally saw what Sam eats. And Dean's obviously back on the high-cholesterol stuff. I thought he'd learned his lessen about clogged arteries in The Curious Case of D.W.

Can't say I blame Dean for not caring about a few clogged arteries in the future...I don't suppose he thinks he's going to last that long. And Sam eating the healthy option LOL...He would need a lot of those to keep him a big boy!!

Gary crashing the Impala into those garbage bags - had me LOL

I liked how Sam would not even try to fit in or to be the person he appeared to be.

Really funny how Dean had to inspect his beloved Impala.

I liked that about Sam too.

It was kinda heartbreaking to see the brothers bond more than we've seen it in ages, and to know it wasn't really Sam.

And with the music in the car.....I get the feeling that Dean enjoys those differences between them...it binds them together more than if they agree on everything.

The fact that Gary's friends were in on it was a nice twist, as was the fact that there's a price on Dean's head now.

I liked that I didn't see that coming.....I suppose Gary could be a potential ally in the future.

Couple quick comments before I go off for the weekend to review in-depth

I LOVED the humour in this, because I thought that Jensen made a fantastic straight-man. And we aren't used to seeing that with him. His reactions were priceless. Did I believe that he would have been tricked for so long with 'Sam' acting so OOC? No. But I didn't care (just like you have to ignore that Dean was suddenly looking DOWN at Sam). It was funny so I let it slide.

I could believe that Dean would put up with Sam's weird behaviour for a while..after all, they've been through such a lot...but I think they stretched it a bit too far..but I didn't care either.

But I didn't like that Dean was looking down to Sam though...that was a glaringly obvious mistake. I kept thinking up excuses for it and that maybe it was part of the spell...

[Karhedron]

i thought it was quite good when the demon said he just had to meet the boss i was like OH SNAP!!!!! where is he Detroit. but right after i was like that would be stupid if they did that

Yeah this is especially cruel of TPTB. I am one, that likes to make up theories. So all this time I was thinking about what could make Sam say 'Yes'.....and now they tell us, that it is not even necessary, that Sam does it. Just who- or whatever is inside his body at the moment

[liljana]

Yeah this is especially cruel of TPTB. I am one, that likes to make up theories. So all this time I was thinking about what could make Sam say 'Yes'.....and now they tell us, that it is not even necessary, that Sam does it. Just who- or whatever is inside his body at the moment

Or maybe the demon was wrong. All she needs is a meat suit, but I doubt the same goes for Angels. Her daddy would be furious if she brought to him Sam's body w/out Sam. He got lucky in the end

I loved this episode. His friends were a nice twist, the comedy was great. I just don't like Sam ending up tied up in every episode. It becomes dull. And I miss Castiel. Got so used to him

[LizzieAnne]

Yeah this is especially cruel of TPTB. I am one, that likes to make up theories. So all this time I was thinking about what could make Sam say 'Yes'.....and now they tell us, that it is not even necessary, that Sam does it. Just who- or whatever is inside his body at the moment

That whole things is really interesting and it throws up a few questions. If Lucifer is allowed to get whoever is occupying Sam's body at the time to say yes..then you would have thought he would know this already. He must have access to some powerful demons/witches/warlocks who can use a spell to put whoever he wants inside Sam's body. So it seems a bit unlikely that he hasn't already done it by now. Or maybe Lucifer doesn't yet know that he can do that.

- why would Gary go off and order a banana daiquiry if he'd just had beer and shots with Dean?

Well, Dean had been buying the drinks and Gary was pretty drunk by then. He's a seventeen year old boy who, presumably, had never been able to legally buy a drink in a bar before and that's why he was making such a big deal with flashing his driver licence around and saying how old he was. He was just enjoying the freedom of being an adult for the first time. Staying with Dean would have stifled that and maybe he didn't want to spend too much time with him as he knew he was intending to kill him!

It seems that the Demons are doing the same thing that the Angels did earlier this season using their followers to track down the brothers the thing i really liked was when we saw Sam but he was acting like Gary its nice to see the range

I like that the demons are acting smart...I suppose it's because they've now got their Master walking amongst them. In a way, Lucifer now has the upper hand. Heaven is in disarray...God's gone missing. The boys have got one hell of a task to defeat him.
I liked that we saw Sam acting like Gary straight off. No idea what was going on at first!. And Jared certainly has a way with the comedy stuff. A wonderful expressive face he has.

[LtColCarter]

This turned out to be a much better episode than I thought it was going to be. Really, I underestimated this one. What did you guys think?

I agree! I was pleasantly surprised with the episode. Usually the body swap episodes are usually lame. However, this one wasn't lame! Another good SPN episode...

[Crichiel]

I'm back. Here's my point by point.

-I, too, like that it opened right away with Gary in Sam's body and no explanation. I could tell right away anyway, because I knew from the preview there was a body swap, but it was still fun to jump in. And without even a 'Then'. I really liked that aspect of it. While on the BIG episodes, it's nice to have the recap of what's important to know, I actually don't like them in the week to week episodes because they spoil a lot of surprises (e.g. Highlighting the Crossroads Demon in the episode where Dean makes a deal with a Crossroads Demon. Or showing all the Trickster clips at the beginning of a Trickster episode. Don't give that away before the episode even starts!).

-Ok, the other thing I loved about this opening bar scene is that it was one of the few parts of the episode where we got to see Jared acting like someone other than Sam. I say again, Jared has gotten really good at the comedy bits in the past few years. My favourite? His response to Crystal's comments on his looks, "I know! Right?!" That must have been so fun for Jared!

-To the haunted house. Interesting backstory on the boys. Especially the fact that John wasn't the complete delinquent in his parenting that some people accuse him of. He had a sitter keep an eye on the boys when Sam was 11, making Dean 15!

-Since I avoided spoilers, I was confused for much of this episode, and I liked it. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what Gary's agenda with Dean was. There was some great misdirect going on, where it seemed like this was all about Sam, and I was sure Gary was just trying to kill Dean just because he would never let Gary keep Sam's body. So you have scenes like the initial restaurant scene, where Gary is laser-focused on Sam. And the look on his face, to me, seemed more like, "Aha, I found a good RANDOM candidate for this body-switching plan." But the more you got into the story (until the actual reveal of what the plan was), the more questions I had.

-Scene in the motel. Just great. 'Sam' playing with his impressive musculature. Too funny. Dean's anger being assuaged with a well-timed cheeseburger. Hee hee. The little grumblings from Dean ("Thanks. Don't know why it took you 2 hours, but thanks.") and his response to 'Sam' letting the maid in. That was great, because as soon as he said the word 'maid', I flashed back to Tall Tales. You don't let the maids in!!

-The little one's favourite part of the episode, in the Impala. I was laughing so hard at this. From Gary's complete glee, to Dean's looks of "WHY are you acting so giddy?". Then the best "Reverse." (calm) "Reverse!" (panicked) "It's in reverse." (gritting his teeth with an "I'm going to kill you!" overtone). And great camerawork in the next scene Mr. Singer. How we get just the Impala, Gary crosses one direction apologising profusely in his squeaky voice, and beat later, Dean crosses the other way with a "Shut up" growled. Hee hee

-Good stuff from Jared at Gary's house. I like his messages on Dean's phone. Particularly his little laugh after he says, "I think I'm in the wrong body." The quick look on his face when the motel guys says, "1 leather jacket, 1 sasquatch"

-Best part at the table: "Listen, buddy. No offence, but at the moment I could give a rat's ass about your plan." Like others have said, I like that he doesn't even try and fit in, either here or with Gary's friends. Shows the panic he is feeling because he is usually good at sliding into different parts, but here he just wants out.

-"Let me guess, I'm amazing at Latin." Nice setup for later.

-Another place where I was trying to figure out what exactly was going on if Gary, (as I thought), just randomly picked Sam. Why wasn't he thrown by Dean discussing digging up bodies? If he cast a spell, sure he knows magic is around, but you would think he would be a LITTLE thrown by the conversation. I love that I still hadn't figured this out!

-Turn the music up. Jensen's straight-man facial expressions again make the scene.

-"Check your friggin' voicemail" No kidding, Dean! What's with that?

-In the haunted house. Trying not to Jensen-gush too much here , but AGAIN, it's his looks to Gary's bizarre behaviour that provides the real laughs. And hello? Dean knows willow moss on-sight. Love it anytime Dean proves he isn't dumb (also continuity to Houses of the Holy, where he knew that plant.)

-Still under the impression that Gary just wants Dean out of the way because he could blow his cover. Especially when he changes his mind and saves Dean from Maggie Briggs. And this also confused me because after his initial fright "We still gotta burn the body, you idiot!", Gary was pretty good with the body burn under pressure. Shouldn't he be more scared? (I know. All these hints and I still had no clue! )

-A small mention, but at this point I needed the "Sam!!" yell from Dean when Gary got thrown into the wall. Because we, the viewers, are seeing Gary, I needed that concrete reminder that acting strange or not, Dean truly believes he is out hunting with Sam.

-Sam going down like a bigfoot with the tranquiliser darts. Hee hee. Though, how Nora and Trevor got away with that in broad daylight, I have no idea!

-The whole drinking scene with Dean and 'Sam'. Others have mentioned it, too. I thought this was a great scene, but you can't help feel sad that it wasn't really Sam saying those things to Dean. Best bits: "I can't be in a good mood?" "Yeah, I guess...no actually, it's not really your style.", Dean's look when Gary says, "I look like THIS!..." and "The bread alone" I was really slow all around on this episode and it took me until the second viewing to realise the joke there, with Gary being unable to eat bread in his own body.

-Sweetest part? "You're a good guy, Dean." "Oh, you ARE drunk."

-To the basement. And how funny is Trevor when he emphasizes that his parents aren't home? What a dork! HERE is the plan, and WOW!!!! I LOVE this twist. I don't know why the demons hadn't thought of this sooner. There was mention in I Believe the Children Are Our Future, that Lucifer didn't care what happened to Dean, but to actually have a bounty on his head...put out to all witches and warlocks! Like Dean said in Jus in Bello, "That's kinda awesome." And as I've been saying this whole time, it TOTALLY threw me, I thought this ep was about Sam and Dean was just a bump in their plan. Cooooool

-"Oh no. Have you idiots been talking to demons?"

-The guest actors now. The kid playing Gary has been excellent throughout. The kids playing Trevor annoyed the living hell out of me...but I suppose I can't fault him for that, since he was kinda supposed to. So mission accomplished. I was thrilled when the greedy little jerk got killed. "Yum. Tastes like moron." The girl who played Nora was fine as Nora, but I thought she did an even better job as the demon.

-I like that the demon can recognise Sam in whatever meat he is wearing. And while I didn't get where she was going with the 'empty vessel' thing until she brought it up to Gary (TOLD you I was slow this week! ), once I got it, I thought that was a VERY interesting idea. Because like the rest of you, I was pretty sure it didn't work like that. To me it was more about Sam's soul and him as a whole person (why Lucifer was trying to feed his anger, to prep his entire being as a vessel). How easy would consent be to circumvent if we were just talking about the physical body? So, I guess in my mind, I choose to believe that she was wrong in thinking that Gary in Sam's body would have satisfied Lucifer.

-Bad-a$$ Dean coming up behind Gary with an awesome hit to the face, and Gary's "Ow!"

-While Dean is checking messages and then starts interrogating him. Love just how '17' Gary is. And Dean's response to finding out it's a kid.

-There was a good character-arc for Gary throughout this episode. From the start, we aren't given the impression that Gary is truly evil. More a misguided kid that is selfish, maybe bored. But then we see slowly throughout the episode how much he has come to like Dean, and how he is starting to question the plan. This culminates nicely when he first of all, turns down 'Nora' when she wants to take him to Lucifer, and even moreso when he has to watch her beat Dean, who he now truly admires. Finally, he is able to make good choices and starts my favourite DeanGirl squeally scene:

-DEAN LEARNED HIS LATIN!!!!!!! Good boy, Dean!! I am so proud of you!! I actually jumped out of my seat cheering and scared the dog! After both Sin City and then Jus in Bello, I was wondering what it would take to get him to study. And the way they tag-teamed the exorcism? Awesome! Plus, because it is Dean, you have to add the zinger at the end: "Adios, b----!" "Uh, it's adinos." Lovely lovely scene.

Few more notes and I'm done.

-Good that Sam and Dean didn't accept 'My bad.' for an excuse. As a childcare professional, that hit a chord with me because many kids, especially teenagers, think they can get away with murder (sometimes literally), just by saying, "Oops. Well, what are you going to do, I'm just a stupid kid." Irritates me to no end.

-End scene. Holy CRAP! I know they have time restraints when shooting, but they couldn't wait a couple hours for the HURRICANE to pass before filming this scene?

-Sam lying about Gary's life and then telling Dean he didn't want it was interesting. Interesting because I also thought it a little odd at the restaurant when Dean asked Sam if he still wanted a normal life and Sam said, "No." I suppose you could say at the time, Sam was sort of lost and confused about what he was doing with Ruby and wanted a way out, but just last year in Criss Angel is a Douchebag, SAM was still saying he wanted to stop hunting and live a long and happy life and DEAN was saying he just didn't see that in the cards for them. That's a big switch, but like I said, I suppose you could blame it on the last year's events.

-Nice add to the joke about the music's volume.

-And FINALLY . In a lighter episode I guess you want a lighter ending, or it might seem a little off-balance (or like last week's ep where the serious part seemed tacked on as an afterthought), but I would think they MIGHT want to mention the HUGENESS of the trouble they are in with a bounty on Dean's head! But I quibble. I am confident something that big will be brought up again.

Overall, a much more satisfying episode for me than last week. And very surprising, because I had pretty low expectations when I saw the preview.