Supernatural: #Thinman

Posted by: Kyle Tetarenko  •  March 4, 2014 @ 9:58pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

Amidst the legends and sightings throughout the world, the Winchesters are about to face a monster only the internet could create.

Following the murder of a young girl in Springdale, Washington, the Winchesters on are the case. When the two of them speak with the victim's mother, she tells them how desperate she is for answers and how she accepted the help of a few "supernaturalists"; a clue that is only too obvious to Sam and Dean. The boys find the Ghostfacers, Harry and Ed, at a local diner and warn them to stay out of their way. Unwilling to budge from a good story, the Ghostfacers won't back down and even inform Sam and Dean that they aren't chasing a ghost but instead, an entity called Thinman. Dean doesn't want to buy into the folklore of a couple of hacks but the evidence is overwhelming when another murder is caught on a security camera. Now that the myth has proven to be more real than what they were prepared for, Ed is ready to let the Winchesters take over but Harry persists and goes searching for Thinman alone. It's at this point that Ed confesses to Sam and Dean that Thinman was his creation and that he made him up to keep the Ghostfacers together. Real or not, two people are dead and if they don't do something soon, more will be.

As the follow up to last week's episode, #Thinman was a solid story with its own set of flaws. The Ghostfacers, now down to just two members, made a welcome return. Their story served to parallel what has been happening between Sam and Dean and provided the brothers with some perspective. In turn, Sam had someone to relate to while Den got to see just how much his lies have hurt the relationship he has with his brother.

Though it was good to see the Ghostfacers again, their storyline was very heavy handed. From the beginning, their purpose was to double Sam and Dean's story. As an audience, this ended up feeling like the abbreviated version of what we have watched over the past fifteen episodes. It was well told but I question what it added to the story that wasn't already there.

While internet culture has certainly influenced Supernatural before, it has never done so to the extent of #Thinman. For starters, Thinman is obviously based on the the hit indie game, Slender Man, and bared more than just a passing resemblance character. The concept of the episode was reality imitating a twisted fantasy of two men that used the character to fulfil their own desires. Supernatural grounded the concept by using humans instead of ghosts and demons. It's always less personal when it's a monster motivated by instinct or a demon that is inherently evil but it being two people shows that we can be just monsters just the same.

Going forward we are still left to wonder how Sam and Dean will get past their latest road block and move forward and how they fit in the civil war with the angels and what Metatrons plans are. Maybe we will get a hint of what's to come in when Supernatural returns March 18th with Blade Runners.

Have a question or just want to talk Supernatural? Leave a comment below of reach me @Extra_Lives

Tags: Supernatural, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki

Related Posts

• Supernatural: A Farewell
• Supernatural: Carry On
• Supernatural: Inherit the Earth
• Supernatural: Despair
• Supernatural: Unity

Comments Posted ()