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Supernatural Season 8 Episode 2

What's Up, Tiger Mommy?

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AIRED: Oct 10, 2012

8.8

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Episode Summary

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Crowley takes Kevin's mother hostage in an attempt to recover Kevin as he searches for the tablet. The Winchesters help Kevin rescue her, only to discover that she insists on joining them on their quest.

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104

Supernatural “What’s Up, Tiger Mommy” Review: SOULED!

By MaryAnn Sleasman, Oct 11, 2012

Fan Episode Reviews (13)

LISTEN TO MOOSE, SQUIRREL

9.5

By pootato, Oct 16, 2012

Crowley is so sassy it is great! But when he was talking about the Winchesters causing people to die h seemed personally offended...

Also Alfie was the bug kid from S1.
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Wait a minute I thought only he who was worthy could pick up Thor's hammer?

7.5

By trans8010, Oct 13, 2012

While not perfect this episode still was entertaining and had a lot of heart. The boys really wernt the total focus and the writers decided to expand on Kevin's character more. Hmmmm interesting that all the male characters have their stories expanded and the women just fade into the background or die, but that's a rant that I dare not start here.

Sam and Dean, along with their new sidekick prophet Kevin discover upon an auction that sells otherwordly items like Thor's hammer (chuckle) and of course the "Word of God" tablet. This has the attention of our boys as they need it to close the gates of Hell forever. Before all that happens we find out Kevin's mother may be in danger from Demons so our dynamic duo race towards her house and of course the demon army is there. The two make quick work dispatching the grunts and bring her along on their merry quest to retrieve the tablet that Kevin stashed in a train station locker except oh no it's missing.

It turns out after some thief emptied the contents of the locker he hocked the merch at a pawn shop who then sold it. (Hmmmm how long did Kevin have this tablet? I ask because all items sold to a pawn shop is held for at least 30 days it's law, but whatever.) So the boys track down the hot item at the local creature auction, where there are a few interested buyers including *Shocker Shocker* the king of Hell himself, Mr. Crowley.

Once Kevin is discovered at the run down warehouse his own person is put up on the block cause what's a tablet without a profit who could read it's contents. Crowley in a desperate attempt bids his own soul to retrieve it. Silly Crowley but Demons have no souls. Tiger Mommy is all the while upset with this decision While there where she does the unexpected (or expected depending on how well you follow the show), she sells her soul for the tabletand wins, and of course the end result after some *yawn* demon possessing and more demon slaying by Sam and Dean has her catatonic. However what really irks me here is picking up Thor's hammer! All throughout the episode demons and other guttertrash have been seen picking up the hammer. Only a god or someone worthy could be able to use it much less lift it. Now maybe the hammer could be used by Sam, or perhaps he was chosen but that lil perv who Sam kills with it I doubt he would be worthy if so that's one strange screening process going on at Asgard.

Kevin blames Sam and Dean for the following events going so far as to curse the boys Dean especially with rambling whatever you touch dies nonsense. Now had Mrs Tran been dragged through the mud forced to accompany the boys on this quest it wouldnt be much of a problem but the problem is Mrs. Tran VOLUNTEERED to accompany them! Even so the Word of God would have been discovered by Leviathan regardless if the brothers had interfered and also, KEVIN WAS PREDESTINED FOR THIS! Blaming the boys for labotomizing his mom is out of line. Anywho he disappears and now Sam and Dean are alone again as per the status quo.

So despite the overall holes in the storytelling the overall theme of a parent sacrificing her own safety for that of a child is strong and one that this show has shown repeatedly to tie it's characters together, and even though it would seem tiring by season 8 to reuse this plotline the acting and overall mood of the episode really strengthen it. Then there's the flashback which Dean betrays Cas after Cas runs out on him and other than some really odd facial hair growth on Cas it was a really deep tragic moment that really defines the strained relationship of the two characters.moreless
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I bid Alaska!

9.0

By firlefanz10, Oct 13, 2012

Palin?! .... And a bridge to nowhere?! No, thanks!

PRICELESS! :D

I'm wondering though why a greek god was so easily killed with a wooden stake. I'm pretty damn sure it wasn't the giants rip bone. So what gives?

Also I have a strong feeling we're about to see more of Mjolnir...
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Supernatural continues to impress

9.0

By angim350, Oct 13, 2012

Any of you Doctor Who fans? I certainly am. It's a show that's been on for 49 years, which such a massive mythology and history to be referenced to and used to write new episodes in 2012. Recent years have seen it do just that; tap into the established mythology and use it to tell new stories, while developing old ideas to make new ones. The reason I bring up DW is I feel a show is at its best when it realizes the weapons it has in its arsenal, and uses them to full effect. It seems that, finally, Supernatural is realizing the incredible mythology it has, and is using it to its full advantage.

This was a very solid episode, once again tying together several plot points that will hopefully continue to develop as the season progresses. We had a very welcome return of Castiel, who for some unexplained but thankful reason is no longer a mini-hippy crazy person. We were told that he was being hunted in Purgatory by Leviathons, meaning that the producers haven't entirely forgotten about them. Let me be frank. I'd love to see them again if done properly. One of my biggest problems with season 7 was the massive wasted potential of these monsters, who are quite fascinating. We also saw the brilliant Crowley once again, which also opened up an entire new class of demon. So far, they have deliberately avoided giving him black eyes, or white for that matter. This time, we finally saw him demon out proper, and his eyes are an exceedingly cool red. Plus... red smoke? Even uber-demons Lillith and Azazel didn't have different smoke! Sure, it can throw up quite a few questions about established demon mythology, but it looked so fricking cool I'm going to put it down to him being the King of Hell and move on. Finally, we had a nice return of an Angel, keeping us up to date with the goings on of Heaven. Such a massive plot point of previous seasons, the fact that all Angels simply vanished in season 7 did grate a bit. Thankfully, it seems that this year we may be seeing a bit more of our winged friends.

So, overall this episode seemed like a massive celebration of the past 7 years, taking elements from the show's history to create an entirely new story, which I loved! But what about this new story? How is it shaping up so far?

In short... I'm enjoying it! Sure, the opening episodes of season 7 were a hell of a lot more action packed, but this is focusing on story... and it's intriguing. I literally have no idea where they are taking any of it. The Word of God, Kevin, Benny... and I'm loving this! I really, really hope they don't go off and have 6 or 7 stand alone episodes now. I know Supernatural is at its heart a Monster of the Week show, but can they please move on from that now? It's just so superior when it sticks to an overriding arc! Thankfully, this episode threw in many new plot points to point towards them doing this. What actually happened to Castiel? Have the boys just gained a very new and powerful weapon in the Hammer of Thor (and will Chris Hemsworth be turning up demanding it back for Avengers 2?) Just what are the motivations of Benny, and how does he fit into all of this?

And, call it a hunch... how they going to bring back Bobby?moreless
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Going Twice

8.0

By Neksmater, Oct 13, 2012

The cold open was a a little weird with a guy claiming the bone contents of a "number one" safety deposit box and splattering a bank clerk. Kevin convinces the Brothers to visit his mother to check up on her after having been in hiding for a year. Dean warns him that his mom will surely be surrounded by demons under the orders of Crowley. Sam and Dean gank the demons there and Kevin is reunited with mommy dearest. They tell her the whole story and about the tablet and she insists that she come along for Kevin's safety and the brothers hesitantly agree. The condition is that she and Kevin gets tats that will keep demons out of their bodies and she had an awesome reaction of, "You think this is my first tattoo." Seeing Kevin cry over the pain of the needle and Mrs. Tran's icy calm while getting it done was comic to represent where he gets his fieriness from. The boys search where Kevin stashed the tablet in a bus depot locker of sorts and follow the trail of the duty guard who stole it and pawned it off. It leads to a dead end motel where the boys are approached by Friday, an emissary of Plutus (the Greek God of wealth) who informs them of an auction where the tablet will be being sold. They are told it is neutral ground so no weapons and they agree. Crowley is there but he obviously can't try any funny business either because of all of the sigils and ancient wards kept in the building the auction is taking place in. The brothers plan is to Kevin to read the tablet about the banishing all demons forever without having to buy it but it's encased so that the engravings can't be seen through the glass. They pool all of their cash together for the purchase of the tablet which is 2,000 dollars and a Costco membership card. Crowley offers Plutus the Moon and seeing how much this goes with Kevin Mrs. Tran offers up her soul for the tablet. Crowley offers hundreds of souls but Plutus thinks that it is much more admirable that Mrs. Tran is giving up all that she can. When Crowley offers up his own soul Plutus glibly tells him that he doesn't have one. Funniest moment of the episode was when Dean tried to find the tablet and just take it and goes into the crowded room filled with Plutus's guards and he says, "This isn't the men's room." Before Mrs. Tran gets her soul taken by Plutus Friday makes a deal with Crowley and they burn the tattoo off of her arm and Crowley possesses her to get his hands on the tablet. A note about the Angel Samandriel who was awesomely using a vessel of a teen who worked at Weiner Hut and seeing an angelic friend was a good thing to see since angels dont' pop up that often now after the war in Season 6. His stance on Heaven protecting souls and not trading them for the Word and his wanting to be there to protect Kevin and making an offer to watch over him and the tablet while Mrs. Tran brings up that it didn't stop the Leviathans from killing off the last two angels who tried to watch out for Kevin. Crowley, in Mrs. Tran's body, grabs the tablet and kills off Plutus and a few of his guards with a wooden stake. The guy who splattered the bank clerk has Thor's hammer which he bought and Sam uses to kill Friday with and then realizes that the guy killed a human when he offered five-eighths of a virgin earlier. He doesn't get to take Kevin but settles for the tablet while Dean grabs Ruby's knife and almost cuts Mrs. Tran's throat before Crowley slips out of the vessel into his own form. Also, Crowley's shrouded self is red, very cool. Crowley gets away and Mrs. Tran is left catatonic. Crowley may have escaped but not before planting a few seeds of doubt about sticking with the Winchesters into Kevin's head. Not unwise seeing as Dean said he would've ended Mrs. Tran if it meant ganking Crowley too. Kevin asks for a minute with his catatonic mother and disappears and leaves to the brothers saying that he will be ok. So now the brothers are on their own again and Kevin is in the wind presumably with his mother. I wonder when we will learn what happened to Meg after being captured last year, if at all. The flashbacks to Castiel being found after Dean tortured and killed monster in Purgatory were some of the highlights of the overall episode. Castiel candidly admitting that he left Dean to die and his admitting that he is an angel among scum like Leviathans and his efforts to keep monsters away from Dean being why he's kept his distance were good enough but doesn't justify his cowardice in that moment just turning tail and running. But Dean saying he wouldn't leave there without him and Cass agreeing to go with along with the ending flashback of the episode where Cass begs for Dean's help lead a long timeline to fill in before Dean sprung himself out of Purgatory. Anyway, looks like we're back to a monster of the week format next week which isn't a bad thing. I like those as much as the season arc ones.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Jared Padalecki	Sam Winchester
Jensen Ackles	Dean Winchester

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Lauren Tom	Linda Tran	Guest Star
Jonathan Walker	Beau	Guest Star
Gerald Plunkett	Plutus	Guest Star
Osric Chau	Kevin Tran	Recurring Role
Misha Collins	Castiel	Recurring Role
Mark Sheppard	Crowley	Recurring Role

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Episode Photos

Jensen Ackles, Ty Olsson, and Misha Coll...

© 2012 The CW Television Network
Lauren Tom, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalec...

© 2012 The CW Television Network
Ty Olsson on Supernatural from "What's U...

© 2012 The CW Television Network
Lauren Tom and Osric Chau on Supernatura...

© 2012 The CW Television Network

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (0)
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QUOTES (5)
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- Dean: You smell it, Sammy?
  Sam: Burning flesh?
  Dean: Revenge. So close.
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- Beau: Oh, if you're worried about the safety of the Prophet, rest assured we have a strict "no casting, no cursing, no supernaturally flicking the two of you against the wall just for the fun of it" policy.
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- Crowley: Well, if you're gonna to make an omelet, sometimes you have to break some spines.
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- Linda: Stay away from my son!
  Crowley: Charming. Defiling her corpse has just made number one on my to-do list.
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- Dean: Plan "C" tanked.
  Crowley: Maybe you should try Plan "D" for dumbass.
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NOTES (3)
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- Music: The Devil's Chasing Me (Reverend Horton Heat)
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- Misha Collins is billed as Special Guest Star.
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- International Airdates:
  Canada: October 14, 2012 on SPACE
  Australia: October 19, 2012 on Eleven
  Norway: November 22, 2012 on FEM
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ALLUSIONS (5)
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- Title:
  Referencing the 1966 comedy movie What's Up, Tiger Lily? Director Woody Allen took the Japanese film International Secret Police: Key of Keys, rearranged the scenes, and overdubbed it with entirely new dialogue, turning it into a quest for an egg salad recipe.
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- Kevin: Have you ever seen The Exorcist?
  Referencing the 1973 movie The Exorcist, in which Linda Blair starred as a young girl possessed by a demon. During her exorcism, she "pukes" pea soup on the priest, her head somehow rotates a full 360 degrees, and she performs other horrific acts.
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- Sam: Agents Neil and Sixx.
  Referencing Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx, musicians with the band Motley Crue.
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- Dean: Well, thank you, Mr. Peanut!
  Referencing the Planters Peanuts advertising mascot since 1916. The anthropomorphic peanut is a man- yellow peanut with black stick legs and arms, a face at one end, and wears a top hat, monocle, and cane.
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- Crowley: Listen to Moose, Squirrel.
  Referencing the nicknames used by Boris Badanov in the animated programs Rocky and His Friends (1959-1961) and The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show (1961-1964). Boris always refers to Rocky (the flying squirrel) and Bullwinkle (the moose) as Moore and Squirrel, always in a bad Russian accent.
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