Summary: The brothers investigate the murders of four men, each
killed only a few days after having affairs. Dean has a one night stand with a
woman in a bar. Unbeknownst to him, by the next day, the woman is fully
pregnant and gives birth to a daughter, Emma, who ages rapidly. The females are
part of a cult of Amazons, who use men for no purpose other than procreation. As
part of an initiation ritual, the child must kill her father. As Emma and Dean
face each other, Dean tries to persuade her to walk away from becoming a killer.
Sam arrives and shoots Emma when Dean hesitates. By the time the brothers
arrive at the cult’s headquarters, the remainder of the Amazons are gone.
Review: “The Slice Girls” went for an exciting idea when it introduced
the Amazons as the monsters of the week, but this episode’s writing ultimately comes
across as not well crafted. Its redeeming factors are the creation of new insight
into the effect of Bobby’s death on the Winchesters and a future plot
possibility. The writing of the episode contains an extensive amount of foreshadowing
that spoils its plot. Sticking out from the scene is the music choice, “You
Shook Me All Night Long,” which is utilized when Dean has sex with a woman from
the local bar, and as another male is being murdered by a supernatural female. While
the song is catchy, it feels odd and out of place. Nonetheless, the two scenes
are intertwined to the tune, which not only shows their simultaneousness, but also
a parallelism and blatant foreshadowing of what will happen to Dean. When Emma is
revealed to be Dean’s daughter, it is not a shock to the audience. Instead, it heightens
the episode’s unintended feeling of absurdity. Moments such as these, combined
with the lack of suspense and overall strangeness of Dean and Emma’s dynamic, make
“The Slice Girls” feel more along the lines of an episode in which the
Trickster would star.
In the face of these faults, “The
Slice Girls” proves itself a worthy insight into the boy’s coping methods when
it comes to the loss of Bobby Singer. The impact of Bobby on the boys’ lives
and psyches is made clear through the way in which they each try to cope with
his death. Dean seems to deal with the loss by honoring him, drinking out of
his old flask. Sam believes he is dealing with Bobby’s death rationally and
quickly, but this episode suggests that he is still quite emotional over the
loss and may be in denial of his feelings. When Dean questions the moving of
papers around the room and alludes to the possibility that Bobby might be
present as a ghost, Sam is angered and quickly shuts down the conversation. He
believes he is coping with the situation better than Dean, as seen in the last
line, in which he accuses Dean of being unready to hunt after Bobby’s death.
However, his anger and irritation throughout the episode underline the notion
that he himself may not be coming to terms with recent events. The loss of
Bobby is more keenly felt as the Winchesters are forced to rely on the
researching capabilities of a local professor to trace an ancient symbol back
to the Amazons. They are increasingly irked at having to settle for the scholar
over Bobby. Seeing how the brothers might have used a computer or another
resource to research the symbols as they do in other episodes, there seems no purpose
for the professor to be written into the episode other than to exemplify the
effect of the death of Bobby on the lives of Sam and Dean.
Along with this theme comes the
evaluation of Dean’s evolving sense of morality in regards to humans and
monsters. When Emma comes to his room, he does not kill her, even though he
knows she has come to kill him. Instead, he humors her as she pretends to ask
him for help. He only pulls out his gun when she is about to attack him, and
even then he does not shoot. Contrary to the reaction the audience expects from
Dean, he continues to talk with Emma, giving her many opportunities to change
her fate. He even states, “You haven’t killed anybody yet, Emma. Walk away.” Dean
is attempting to save her from both life in the Amazon cult and death, should
she try to attack him.
This episode leaves many questions
unanswered. Is Dean changing his perspective on monsters, believing that they
may not be inherently bad? Or is his hunting instinct impaired due to his emotions
and concept of fatherhood? Additionally, besides the fact that Dean having
fathered an Amazon (who was killed by Sam) seems quickly forgotten in the
series, the episode sets up a new plot possibility: will Bobby return as a
ghost?
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