Supernatural: The Chitters

Posted by: Kyle Tetarenko  •  April 27, 2016 @ 10:56pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

The Winchesters have a small window of time to stop a monster that returns once every twenty seven years before it can kill again.

It's been a week since Sam and Dean saw Castiel/Lucifer and Amara so as always, they need to get their minds off of saving the world with a case. Sam just happens to have one where Libby Strauss was reported to have been taken by a mutant creature with green eyes; when her friend found her, Libby has the same green eyes that she saw in the monster. After a quick drive, the boys arrive in Gunnison, Colorado and meet with the local sheriff. She tells them that something strange is happening since people have gone missing at almost the same time when people went missing, and were never found, twenty seven years ago. The boys question Libby's friend and she tells them that Libby had green eyes when she found her and made a strange sound like a rattle snake. When the boys head into the woods to search for Libby, Dean gets jumped by someone with green eyes making the chittering sounds when suddenly the monster's head gets cut off by a machete. As it happens, Dean was saved by Caesar and Jesse; two hunters that have been on the trail of the monsters for some time. Caesar and Jesse tell them that the monster is called a bisaan, similar to the secada in that they gestate for twenty seven years before they birth to reproduce again. Unfortunately, the bisaan can't reproduce on its own and needs a host, which is why they enter people through the mouth and take over. Jesse has a personal stake in making sure the bisaan are wiped out after losing his brother twenty seven years ago but time is running out before the bisaan go underground for another generation.

In a surprising turn, Supernatural managed to deliver a monster of the week episode with heart. Where The Chitters really managed to succeed was giving us a compelling back story between a young Jesse and Matty. Bringing an older Jesse into the mix gave the story an emotional connection to the victims that would have been lacking if Sam and Dean were investigating this any other case.

Speaking of other hunters, Jesse and Cesar being romantically involved and hunters was a fresh take on the company that the Winchesters usually encounter but not taken as far as it could have gone. When Dean split up with Sam to go with Cesar to search for the bisaan, their car ride was spent talking about hunters that have a need to get revenge for whatever happened to them. The revenge never truly ends but they need to help that person regardless. While that's an interesting outlook, I would have liked to see the two of then talk more about how Cesar met Jesse and what brought the two of them together as hunters and then as partners because that doesn't happen very often on this show. Cesar didn't carry the guilt that Jesse does so what was it that connected them years ago and set then unto their journey of killing monsters? It does have to be said that Lee Rumohr and Hugo Ateo had great chemistry and that their relationship never came across as needless. Cesar was there for Jesse when he finally found his brother Matty's body twenty seven years later and two hunters rarely get the opportunity to leave the life on their own terms.

Whereas Jesse desperately needed to confront the demons of his past (yep, I went there), Mr. Cochran thought it was best to leave them buried. Cochran told people that Jesse was crazy for seeing a green eyed monster but he knew the truth was corpses that were left in that cave, along with his own daughter's. His reasoning to leave them there, while ultimately selfish, was very easy to identify with. Why would people want to taint the memory of their loved ones by knowing that they were turned into monsters that tried to kill people? Cochran knew the answer because he was forced to kill his daughter when she turned on him. It was a heartfelt moment that Andy Maton nailed for how little time he had on screen.

One let down of the episode was how small of a role Kandyse McClure had in the episode. Known for her roles in Hemlock Grove and Battlestar Galactica, McClure is a talented actress and I was hoping to see more of her character throughout the episode but given how much time was spent on Jesse, Cesar and Cochran, the episode may have been too pressed for time to add another sheriff that gets caught up with the Winchesters. I also have to say that people under bisaan control looked ridiculous in full natural lighting. Supernatural needs to get back to the night shoots and understand that less is more on a small budget for a green eyed monster with sharp teeth...that also happens to be a bug.

Overall, The Chitters was a predictable but solid episode from Supernatural that was mostly carried by strong performances from guest stars. If the episode had spent a bit more time contrasting hope and revenge, it could have brought it up that extra few steps. We'll see what happens next week when Amara (And Chuck!) returns in Don't Call Me Shurley.

Tags: Supernatural, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padaleki, Lee Rumohr, Hugo Ateo, Andy Maton

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