I appreciated this episode more the second time I saw it. Possibly because of Stephen King's "It," I find clowns pretty scary. So, the first time through, I was preoccupied with being creeped out. After seeing the rest of the season, though, you can see all the stuff "Everybody Loves a Clown" sets up. First off, this is the episode that introduces Jo, Ellen and the Hunter bar "The Roadhouse." It turns out that there are a lot of Hunters roaming around the countryside and a lot of them have heard of the Winchesters. Secondly, it shows the trauma that Dean has gone through at the loss of his father. He isn't dealing with it well and he's trying to hide his rage and sorrow behind behind his usual tough guy mask. It also sets Sam up in more of a protective role. Last season Dean was the one shielding Sam most of the time. Now, Sam's saying that he doesn't want to go back to Stanford, partly because he thinks John would want him to keep Hunting and partly because Sam sees that Dean is spinning out of control. Sam is worried about Dean and trying to get him to talk about his problems rather than keep than buried under his "I don't give a d*nm" smirk, something that will come up again in season three. All in all, you shouldn't skip this episode.
"Everybody Loves a Clown" revolves around a monster, dressed as a clown, killing people. It works it's way into homes by befriending children and then killing the parents. Sam and Dean are staying at Bobby's after John's death. The two boys burned their father Darth Vader style, but they're still not handling his passing very well. Dean is burying himself in fixing the Impala. While Sam is lobbying for the boys to take on other jobs and devote themselves to carrying out John's legacy. He also wants to find the YED and he'd like Dean to open up with him about his feelings more. Getting a message from an old friend of John's, Ellen, the boys head to the bar. She and her daughter Jo specialize in Hunter clientèle and the have a computer expert named Ash on hand, to help the boys decipher John's notes on the YED.
Since they're in town anyway, the boys begin investigating the clown killings. They get jobs at the carnival where the killings have been traced, too. They save one little girl from being clown food, but they're distracted by their own feelings of guilt and grief. Meanwhile, Ellen's daughter Jo is interested in Dean. He finds he attractive, but he's too depressed to put too much effort into a seduction. The brothers finally figure out what's doing the killings, a monster disguised as a blind knife thrower. They stop him, then Sam finally tell Dean that neither of them are dealing with John's death well and that they'll have to deal with it. Dean response is to beat the Impala with a crowbar.
There are some great parts to this episode. I really like Sam's fear of clowns. It's just so funny and random and gives Dean an opportunity to really tease him. "What's a matter Sammy? Sounds like you just saw a clown." And "You used to cry when Ronald McDonald came on the TV." When Sam fights back reminding Dean of fear of flying, Dean's retorts "Planes Crash!" Sam's response "And apparently clowns kill!" just cracks me up. And the clown in this episode is really terrifying. It's so creepy, standing out on front lawns and waving at kids. **shudder** And I like Ash a lot. His stupid hair cut hides a surprisingly smart guy. And I think it's cute that the boys move in with Bobby as they try to deal with John's death. Bobby is turning into a surrogate father for them. Of course, he gives them that "soccer mom" van to drive around, which Dean doesn't necessarily appreciate. But with the Impala out of commission, he doesn't have much of a choice. And speaking of the Impala, I think last episode Sam was seeing it as representing his brother. Like Dean, it had been damaged and needed to be fixed. In "Everybody Loves a Clown" I think that Dean is seeing the Impala as representing John. He's obsessed with fixing it and won't even talk to Sam about much else for the week after John died. But, at the end, after Sam's speech finally gets through to him a bit, Dean takes a crow bar to the Impala. Giving into his sorrow as he beats the car in an almost blind rage, over John making that deal and leaving him. It's a very powerful scene.
A lot of this episode is about people not quite fitting in and trying to find a place to belong. There's the Road House, which caters to Hunters, who have nowhere else to belong. The carnival workers are living the same, transient lifestyle. The carnival owner even tells the boys that they should go back to their old lives of school and normalcy. But Sam dismisses that, saying it's not what they want. The brothers go to Bobby's, but that's not exactly where they belong, either. Really Sam & Dean are struggling to find somewhere to fit in. Mixed in with this is the image of a clown, something childlike twisted into something evil. Sam & Dean have lost their own father, and with him the last bits of the childhood. They're on their own now, in a world filled with evil things.
On the down side, I really don't like Jo very much.
My favorite part of the episode: Sam and Dean arriving at the carnivals owner's office and seeing two chairs. One ordinary office chair, one horrible looking clown chair. Watching the boys nearly knocking each other over, trying to get to the normal chair first is hilarious.
"Everybody Loves a Clown" revolves around a monster, dressed as a clown, killing people. It works it's way into homes by befriending children and then killing the parents. Sam and Dean are staying at Bobby's after John's death. The two boys burned their father Darth Vader style, but they're still not handling his passing very well. Dean is burying himself in fixing the Impala. While Sam is lobbying for the boys to take on other jobs and devote themselves to carrying out John's legacy. He also wants to find the YED and he'd like Dean to open up with him about his feelings more. Getting a message from an old friend of John's, Ellen, the boys head to the bar. She and her daughter Jo specialize in Hunter clientèle and the have a computer expert named Ash on hand, to help the boys decipher John's notes on the YED.
Since they're in town anyway, the boys begin investigating the clown killings. They get jobs at the carnival where the killings have been traced, too. They save one little girl from being clown food, but they're distracted by their own feelings of guilt and grief. Meanwhile, Ellen's daughter Jo is interested in Dean. He finds he attractive, but he's too depressed to put too much effort into a seduction. The brothers finally figure out what's doing the killings, a monster disguised as a blind knife thrower. They stop him, then Sam finally tell Dean that neither of them are dealing with John's death well and that they'll have to deal with it. Dean response is to beat the Impala with a crowbar.
There are some great parts to this episode. I really like Sam's fear of clowns. It's just so funny and random and gives Dean an opportunity to really tease him. "What's a matter Sammy? Sounds like you just saw a clown." And "You used to cry when Ronald McDonald came on the TV." When Sam fights back reminding Dean of fear of flying, Dean's retorts "Planes Crash!" Sam's response "And apparently clowns kill!" just cracks me up. And the clown in this episode is really terrifying. It's so creepy, standing out on front lawns and waving at kids. **shudder** And I like Ash a lot. His stupid hair cut hides a surprisingly smart guy. And I think it's cute that the boys move in with Bobby as they try to deal with John's death. Bobby is turning into a surrogate father for them. Of course, he gives them that "soccer mom" van to drive around, which Dean doesn't necessarily appreciate. But with the Impala out of commission, he doesn't have much of a choice. And speaking of the Impala, I think last episode Sam was seeing it as representing his brother. Like Dean, it had been damaged and needed to be fixed. In "Everybody Loves a Clown" I think that Dean is seeing the Impala as representing John. He's obsessed with fixing it and won't even talk to Sam about much else for the week after John died. But, at the end, after Sam's speech finally gets through to him a bit, Dean takes a crow bar to the Impala. Giving into his sorrow as he beats the car in an almost blind rage, over John making that deal and leaving him. It's a very powerful scene.
A lot of this episode is about people not quite fitting in and trying to find a place to belong. There's the Road House, which caters to Hunters, who have nowhere else to belong. The carnival workers are living the same, transient lifestyle. The carnival owner even tells the boys that they should go back to their old lives of school and normalcy. But Sam dismisses that, saying it's not what they want. The brothers go to Bobby's, but that's not exactly where they belong, either. Really Sam & Dean are struggling to find somewhere to fit in. Mixed in with this is the image of a clown, something childlike twisted into something evil. Sam & Dean have lost their own father, and with him the last bits of the childhood. They're on their own now, in a world filled with evil things.
On the down side, I really don't like Jo very much.
My favorite part of the episode: Sam and Dean arriving at the carnivals owner's office and seeing two chairs. One ordinary office chair, one horrible looking clown chair. Watching the boys nearly knocking each other over, trying to get to the normal chair first is hilarious.
