Supernatural: The French Mistake

Posted by: Kyle Tetarenko  •  February 28, 2011 @ 7:16pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

Just when the Winchesters have a slow night and a chance to catch their breath, Balthazar walks in. Raphael has sent an angel after him for helping Castiel and he is scrambling to get a spell cast when he hands Sam and Dean a key, moments before sending them into an alternate reality; where their world is about to be turned upside down in a way they never imagined.

When Raphael sent an angel to hunt Balthazar down, the Winchesters are the only people he can trust to keep something safe. Once the angel is storms into the next room, Balthazar sends Sam and Dean crashing through the window and into our reality where they are the actors Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. From here on in it is unfamiliar territory for the brothers as they suddenly have both fame and money, prop versions of the impala and trying to run lines to get through a scene while looking for a way back home in a world without magic. Unfortunately, after the Raphael's angel tracks them down the fun is over as Sam and Dean learn that even in a world without magic, angels are just as dangerous.

After a losing streak of episodes, Supernatural finally adds another into the win column. Though last week's preview wasn't terribly impressive, "The French Mistake" was quite a good episode. While so many episodes of Supernatural have missed the mark with the comedy, this week it was right on which resulted in a light hearted story and several treats for long time fans of the series. Most notably was the excellent use of humour which ranged from the clip of Jensen Ackles in Days of Our Lives to the wall sized image of Jared Padalecki in black and white and on horseback while Sam tried to search for clues on his laptop. Even Dean's stale one liners had more wit and vigour than they have had in quite a while, especially when he said "Oh crap, I'm a painted whore" as the makeup artist removed his makeup.

Another strong point of the episode were the performances from several actors. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki both delivered excellent performances of Dean and Sam portraying Jensen and Jared (I know it sounds confusing but bear with me here). The scene where Sam and Dean were trying to act on camera was hilarious; how uncomfortable the two of them were going through the scene was palpable. It's been a while since the Winchesters were funny as a pair rather than relying on Jensen Ackles to deliver one liners time and time again. Also, the guest star by Genevieve Cortese, Jared Padalecki's actual wife, was also a great touch. As they only knew her as Ruby, Sam and Dean's reaction to seeing her again was a both awkward and comical.

As strong as "The French Mistake" was, I was disappointed with a few aspects. Even after everything that has happened and the civil war between the angels rages on, we still don't know what is happening this season. While they do have a third of the season left it is getting late in the game just to let us know what is happening. Since Castiel killed Crowley this season has more or less been at a standstill and that still didn't change after Castiel and the latest incarnation of Raphael had another confrontation. An episode like "The French Mistake" is great every now and then but hopefully the story gets going soon. My other nitpick, and this is definitely a nitpick, was how Sam and Dean were in an alternate reality rather than just a glamour or spell over everyone. Supernatural constantly makes pop culture references and grounds itself in the real world and an alternate reality makes the show feel like a comic book reality.

All in all, "The French Mistake" was a great episode. Supernatural took a simple concept and made it funny with their unique twist for a quality show this season needed. Hopefully more quality episodes are on the way, starting with next week's "And Then There Were None".

Tags: Supernatural, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Ruby, Genevieve Cortese

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Original Comments Posted (2)

Kristy says...

I've watched this week supernatural season 6 episode 15. it was funny and crap me. it was good but not as good as last two episodes.

Mar 3, 2011 4:36am

Kyle Tetarenko says...

Hey Kristy,

Really? How so? I thought that last week's Mannequin 3: The Reckoning was easily the worst episode of the season.

Thanks for reading my Supernatural review!

Kyle

Mar 6, 2011 9:10pm

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