Television: CW Gives Out an Advance Look at Supernatural S5.08 Changing Channels And It’s A Tricky Ride For Sam and Dean Winchester!

Supernatural on the CW had a good week last week with the airing of S5.07 The Curious Case of Dean Winchester
SUPERNATURAL Hits Season High in Adults 18-34 and Adults 18-49;
Delivers Second Largest Audience of the Season. At 9:00PM The CW’s SUPERNATURAL scared up another strong performance, matching its best ratings of the season in adults 18-34 (1.5/4) and adults 18-49 (1.4/3-tie) and delivering its second largest audience of the season (2.9 million).
I on the other hand had a bad week last week. So when I came home on Friday to find an invitation to see an advance viewing of Supernatural 5.08 Changing Channels waiting for me in my inbox I was more than happy to turn my attention towards it. By the middle of the episode I was laughing so hard and so often I was almost falling out of my chair! Yet that is not to say that Changing Channels doesn’t have its serious moments. I would venture to say that Changing Channels is actually one of the more pivotal episodes so far in season 5 in terms of bringing forth more information about the apocalypse and the roles that Sam and Dean Winchester have to play in it. Not to mention what other players there might be and what roles they could play as well.

Right of the bat and without giving away too much, I have to say that one thing this episode proves beyond any doubt is that both Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki can do comedy with the best of them. What was truly impressive was that they could do the sometimes over the top comedy that was asked of them and yet still keep their characters in character which is another testament to how gifted these two talented actors really are. Dean was channeling his inner ‘Jack Tripper’ to the max for the ‘Supernatural as a sitcom’ sequences, yet underneath it you could see Dean’s desperation and how ragged the edges of his patience was becoming. Jensen Ackles has an amazingly mobile face and can fall into the fine art of ‘mugging for the camera’ with ease and yet never lose touch with being Dean. Jared Padalecki once more proves that he is not only an accomplished mimic, but he is also adept at physical comedy. Both actors pull out all the stops to make this episode work and work it does.
The Trickster is never one to go easy on the Winchester Brothers and Changing Channels, which was written by Jeremy Carver and directed by Charles Beeson, is no exception. From the moment Sam and Dean find themselves living inside the world of Dean’s favorite medical drama, Dr. Sexy, M.D. to the horrors of being trapped inside of commercials for the prevention of Herpes, the two brothers are on a tricky ride that is both funny and at the same time darkly ominous. What is the Trickster up to this time and what is he trying to teach them?

I am always hesitant when I find out that the Trickster is going to be featured in an episode of Supernatural mainly because S2.15 Tall Tales is one of my two least favorite Supernatural episodes (the other episode being the S3.01 episode The Magnificent 7) and is one which I have never re-watched. I almost skipped over watching S3.11 Mystery Spot when I found out that it was going to be an episode about the Trickster. None of this has any bearing on Richard Speight Jr. in the role of The Trickster. He always does an outstanding job of bringing the character to life. For me it was the writing and over all characterizations of Sam and Dean in Tall Tales that I found made the episode one of my least favorites. Still, I gave Mystery Spot a chance because it was suppose to be pivotal to the storyline about Dean’s deal and Sam’s trying to save him from it. Mystery Spot turned out to be a decent episode.

Supernatural S5.08 Changing Channels also turned out to be a very well written; cleverly plotted episode and I enjoyed every minute of it. I have to say that overall my favorite part is the homage to Knight Rider. I just couldn’t stop laughing! And seeing one of favorite actors, Steve Bacic popping up in Supernatural was a real treat as well.
That’s not to say that the episode was perfect. Some sequences in Changing Channels I felt went on too long and became too absurd, but I have a feeling that was done so that the audience could get the same sense of impatience and frustration as Sam and Dean were feeling while the things they were trapped in dragged on.
It was interesting to see the Trickster return and to see Sam wanting to talk to him while Dean just wanted to kill him. Sam sees the Trickster as a potential ally in the struggle to stop the apocalypse and Dean reluctantly agrees to this. But as viewers, we have to wonder what the Trickster knew about the plans that Ruby had for Sam to get him to kill Lilith and unleash Lucifer. The last we saw of the Trickster he was trying to teach Sam a lesson about just leaving things alone and walking away. So much of what we saw in the episode Mystery Spot seemed to become symbolic or prophetic of things to come.

The Trickster told Sam that it would take all the blood in a human being to do the spell that would raise Dean from hell and in S4.22 Lucifer Rising we find out that Sam had to take the life an innocent woman and use all of her blood to be strong enough to kill Lilith and then her blood released Lucifer. What if Sam had paid attention to what the Trickster was trying to tell him back in Mystery Spot and that the real lesson was for him to just walk away and not become part of the events. That he didn’t have to ‘save Dean’ that a higher power would do it for him and things would in essence ‘reset’. That with Sam trying to ‘save the world’ he did more harm than good.
So what more might the Trickster know that Sam and Dean doesn’t? Tune into Changing Channels tomorrow night at 9PM EST on the CW Network and check it out. Supernatural stars Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles as Sam and Dean Winchester and Misha Collins as Castiel.

Source: http://eclipsemagazine.com/television/13242/