Supernatural: You Can't Handle the Truth

Posted by: Kyle Tetarenko  •  November 2, 2010 @ 10:28pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

Whenever you ask for the truth, there is always a chance you might not like the answer. For Dean Winchester, the truth can be the difference between trusting the man behind you or getting stabbed in the back.

When the suicide rate in another small town takes a turn for the worse, the Winchesters decide to do some investigating to uncover the truth. To make matters worse, Dean still has his suspicions about who, or what, Sam is after his brother let him be turned into vampire last week. While Sam gathers information on why people in town are committing suicide after hearing the brutal truth from those around them, Dean turns to a higher power for answers about his brother's strange behaviour. Unfortunately for Dean, Castiel does not have the answers but knows for certain a heavenly weapon is not responsible for the deaths. It's only later when the brothers discover that Veritas, the goddess of truth, has cursed the town residents and inadvertently forces the truth out of Sam.

Though I hoped Supernatural would be better than last week's disaster of "Live Free or Twi-Hard", I was sorely disappointed with "You Can't Handle the Truth". It seems like Supernatural can't even come up with decent villain anymore when they take the goddess of truth and warp her into something evil. Will they eventually take the god of justice and turn that into a curse where people are taking deadly vengeance? It's tedious to talk about the lack of originality in the show as of late but when there is such a short supply, it's too obvious to ignore. When Supernatural has already dealt with God and Lucifer, another run of the mill god doesn't seem worthwhile when the Winchesters have killed quite a few already. I would rather see simpler stories told well with wendigos or another demon as opposed to a god without a story.

For the sake of continuity, why was Dean unaffected by the truth curse? Everyone else who was affected either killed themselves or someone they knew yet Dean used the truth to his advantage to have fun with Bobby and try to get some answers from Sam. It's a large plot hole in an episode when Dean is left unharmed by the curse because by depicting the curse in this manner, the town residents were murderous or suicidal by chance rather than by the work of Veritas.

I know that I have mentioned this before, but besides allowing Dean to be transformed into a vampire, what else has he done that was so evil? Dean has been on the phone with Bobby again and again saying that Sam was not the same person but we did not get to experience enough of that as an audience. Supernatural would rather we just take Dean's word as truth than go through the effort of having to justify the story they have come up with for the rest of the season. How is Sam making cold decisions in tough situations a sign of evil? Considering the Winchesters hunt demons for a living, it doesn't seem out of the ordinary to make the hard calls when necessary.

The only good part of the episode came in the closing moments when Dean ruthlessly beat Sam into unconsciousness. While it was surprising how swiftly Dean took action against Sam, his emotional reasoning wasn't. Sam had just admitted to lying to Dean and also cost him his relationship with Lisa, his only ticket out of the hunter's game and love interest (hardly). This was a strong scene because Dean reacted with violence rather than having his usual chick flick moment with Sam, making him a believable character for the first time this season. When characters begin to react to everything in one way, it weakens the illusion of the story because people's reactions are never identical; sometimes we get angry while other times we use humour. In previous seasons, Dean would laugh off his problems or drink them away before taking his frustrations out on the demons. While attacking Sam was unique, it made Dean authentic for a brief moment.

Maybe next week's "Family Matters" will be better but I have my doubts. Supernatural is on a strange path this season and off to a bad start but hopefully they will get better as the larger story begins to unfold.

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

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Original Comments Posted (3)

ladybug37 says...

I cannot stand it anymore. I have been reading these posts every week and it seems like you are not even watching the same story that I am. The only reason that they used another God was because only a God would have that kind of power to find out that Sam has been lying to Dean all along. Her story didn't matter. What mattered was finding out why Sam is acting aloof, distant and cold. The way that Dean would act, not SAM. Also, Dean was unaffected by the curse, because he knew he was CURSED. If you know, than it won't drive you CRAZY! Please, I hope that you read this and try to REALLY watch the next episode. Do not leave the room to go to the washroom or get a beer, watch it, and remember that there are little details that give hints on why they are doing things. But, I do agree, Lisa must go. No chemistry at all between her and Dean.

Nov 3, 2010 9:04am

Kyle Tetarenko says...

Hey ladybug37,

Thank you for reading my previous posts by the way.

You raise a good point that by Dean having the knowledge that he is cursed he did have the advantage but I have to disagree about the Veritas storyline. If her story did not matter, then why waste time with another case when all it took was Dean holding a knife to Sam? With only an hour long show, it's a waste to spend time on a antagonist with an underdeveloped story. In seasons one and two, the demons were the focus of the episode, rather than the distraction.

Don't worry about me missing anything of the next episode. I have seen every episode multiple times, own all of the seasons on DVD and never go to the washroom during Supernatural.

In the words of Bobby Singer, "I’ve never told anyone that, I don’t even know why I told you. Maybe because you’re my favourite."

Much love

Nov 3, 2010 8:41pm

ladybug37 says...

You do have a good point. Why waste such a powerful being on a weak storyline. But, maybe it is because the rumours are true and this is the last season. After all, they have already done every demon and God, plus the Devil, where do they go from there? I have always had a hunch that they were going to end this show with Dean having to take out Sam. But, who knows, money makes people do crazy things and they just might make this show go on forever. In which case, they'll probably make up some new demons to fight and hopefully get rid of the Angel and God storyline, once and for all. Anyways, thanks for commenting back and hopefully the next episode will be good enough for you to make a nice post. :-)

Nov 4, 2010 12:47pm

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