Thursday 7 February 2013

Supernatural 8.11 Review: LARP and the Real Girl


It's always a little worrying when Supernatural takes on a case involving geek culture, because despite being a part of it itself, the shows primary characters, Sam and Dean, have nothing to do with that sort of culture and know nothing about it. This often results in the characters, Dean in particular, making fun of such things; he basically thinks he's better than it. And in the start of the episode, it started off that way, a lot of raised eyebrows and knowing looks between the Winchester brothers. There was a lot of exposition too, because, you know, Sam and Dean are oblivious to the world of live action role playing, and so are most of the audience, so I guess this is understandable. Anyway, with the mysterious and gruesome deaths of two LARPers the pair are led to Moondoor, where four factions are 'fighting' to rule the land, and the current Queen is none other than Charlie Bradbury. While I enjoy it when Supernatural brings back recurring characters Charlie's second appearance left a lot to be desired, character wise. She was uncertain and afraid when we first meet her and apparently since then she's LARPed her way into a false sense of security, but hasn't really started living again. Regardless, when she is inevitably captured they learn that one of Charlie's subjects, Jerry, has summoned a fairy named Gilda under his control to hurt his fellow LARPers in an attempt win Charlie's affections. Too bad for him she's into the fairies. The plot was fairly sub-standard but there were enough red-herrings and twists to keep it entertaining overall. Dean's bizarre fascination with the Moondoor and its inhabitants provided the episodes most humorous moments, particularly the ending, without making too much fun of the LARPing community.
Rating: 3/5

No comments:

Post a Comment