A Visual Review – “Two and A Half Men”
It’s time once again to take a look at some of the visuals for “Two and a Half Men.” John Showalter directed this episode, his second for Supernatural. His previous episode was “Dean Men Don’t Wear Plaid.” Because this episode wasn’t also saddled with setting up the premise for the new season, I think there was a little more room to play around with shots and things like that. So, in chronological order once again, here are some things I liked about “Two and a Half Men.”
1.
It kind of bugged me that Dean and Lisa and Ben moved so quickly, especially when the housing marked in the U.S. is so bad. But look! They are renting the house! That makes a whole lot more sense. It’s much easier to get out of a rented house than a house you bought.
2.
I love how quietly domestic this scene is. Ben is being a typical pre-teen, i.e. surly, and Dean and Lisa are unpacking the kitchen. Lovely. They’re all just kind of doing their thing, comfortable in each other’s presence. And Dean is once again wearing a T-shirt with a graphic on it. It just looks weird! Nice, but weird. I also love how the contents of the box are labeled: coffee, dishes, towels. The coffee is the most important part, of course. Dean definitely labeled that box.
3.
You may be thinking, “why did she include this cap? It’s just a house.” Which is true. But I included it because when I was going through the caps, I was sort of struck with a sense of foreboding. Before, Sam and Dean lived in the Impala and hotel rooms, so when we saw a house like this, we didn’t think twice. It was a victim’s house or whatnot. But now Dean lives in a house like this. So every time I see something bad happen in a house like this, I’m think I’m going to have a little anxiety about Lisa and Ben. I don’t know it that’s intentional or if that’s just an interesting side effect of of Dean’s domestic situation, but it is unsettling.
4.
This is just a really cool shot of Samuel with the light streaming in through the window. I really love light streaming through windows. It looks fantastic and really creates a gorgeous atmosphere in a scene. I hope this look sticks around for a while.
5.
In the last episode, a lot of the action felt like it happened in close quarters, so we never really had any scenes like this where there’s so much space. Which is a shame because look how pretty! Also, Sam has to just lean on the Charger because if he tried to sit on it, the car would collapse. It’s not nearly as sturdy as the Impala.
Hi Ardeospina
Love your choice of pictures/visuals.
I would take either house in a second, hell just for the Kitchen alone. I can only dream what it’s like to have one where two people are not a crowd.
Ha! Sam barely leaning against his car, like he’s going to break it, he looks so uncomfortable.
The way Bobby-John looks at Dean and his reaction is one of my favourites aswell. In fact that whole supermarket scene was priceless.
I too love seeing old buildings and equipment, imagining the events/history these places and things have had.
The only issue I have with the Alpha was not only did he know what the two Sam’s looked like but he knew exactly what they were wearing. Now granted he may of seen Sam when he was investigating the murders, but to know what he was wearing? Must have x-ray vision.
Jensen/Dean/Alpha look so natural with the baby(s). Definitely father material here.
I enjoyed your article – thanks you. 🙂 I like how you shed light (pun intended :P) on a sometimes neglected aspect (cinematography) of Supernatural.
Arde,
As usual you do a superb job with choosing little moments.
I like the Dean/Lisa shot also becasue it depicts something about characterizations. Dean has his shirt untucked (a change from Exile) showing he’s back in hunter mode but the real star here is Lisa. She’s in a bathrobe with bare feet holding a gun. She’s very feminine but also quite bada** in how she handles the weapon.
I read someone dissecting why Jo and Bela and Ruby didn’t work as much when Meg, Pamela and Ellen did and the idea behind the writer’s perspective was that the writers of the show were so busy trying to make these female characters bada** females when they should have simply made them strong characters and allow the actresses to bring the femininity (like Nicki Aycox did and Samantha Ferris and now Cindy Sampson is doing)
I hadn’t thought about the spook factor of something spying on the Campbell compound until your article but now…oooh, I see it. Thank you for that.
Yeah, that panic room could use a touch of Bobby but then again, he’s a character we’re meant to know and trust and the Campbells…not so much.
Great article. I’m so enjoying these visual moments. Thank you for doing them.
Flamey, just as you, I am a huge fan of the look of this show! I adore the lighting. Master Ladouceur is a genius when it comes to emphasize a scene with the right light, and so often is able to make our guys look incredibly adorable or downright despicable.
Especially with Sam’s ambiguity he’s done marvellous things. And, for instance, the way he lit Dean in Season One’s Water-episode, sigh, in that early diner scene, the man never looked better.
Whenever I watch films or tv shows, I pay a lot of attention to the look and the sound. Here it’s wonderfully done in both departments. The way music and sound effect is used, it leaves me repeatedly in awe.
You choices are also some of my favourites of the episode. This is a new approach to a recap or review to an episode of our show. These articles enrich our site even more. I salute you for the great idea!
Love Jas
I love the way you pick the best shots to highlight. I see them when I’m watching but don’t have the time to study and really appreciate them so thanks for giving me the time to do that. All pics were perfect but I agree a frame by frame of Dean setting the Impala free would have been heavenly bliss 😛
Heh … You were right about the squashability of Sam’s ( ex ) car …
I like tatty old rather than shiney new buildings too, so much more character ( and draughts and mice and leaks but never mind … )
Best shots for me were Big Daddy Shifter leaving with his sproglet and Dean’s smile right at the end when he de-dustcovers the Impala.