Well, I thought last night’s episode was a hoot! There were so many oddball moments that happened that I can pick out several favorites:
When the devil spirits Sam to an expensive restaurant, plies him with wine and lobster and then disappears and sticks Sam with the check. I thought it was funny when Sam chugs the wine like Bud Light. That was a “dick” thing the devil did when he disappeared right before the check came.
Sock becomes obsessed when Gladys the demon from the DMV shows up at the Work Bench and buys some supplies. I thought it was a scream when Sock and Gladys were making out, about to go to the Promised Land, when Sock woke up, screaming and falling about. I thought Sock would have a stroke when Gladys hinted that she made Sock dream about their encounter. Did it really happen or did Sock just dream it did?
My favorite scene was when the devil invited Sam to beat him with the baseball bat in the stadium. Sam is beating him as hard as he can and the devil is just standing there, grinning. I thought I’d pee myself when the devil grins at Sam when he’s finished, saying, “I thought it was pretty classy of you, not going for my crotch”.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode and hope that the CW network stands behind it and gives it the time and attention to help it find its audience. I also hope that Ray Wise is given more screen time and more to do; he’s just hysterical.
I love this show now. It’s really taken a strange arc - the pilot episode was great. The second one was disappointing, and the third one even more so. I was all ready to give up on it, but kept watching - and it started getting better again. It’s gotten steadily better since, and now it’s one of my favorite shows.
“Chuck” followed the same arc - first episode great, second and third were just so-so. Then it started getting better, and now it’s really good.
Both shows should survive, btw. They’re getting decent ratings.
My 16-year-old son started watching both Chuck and Reaper. He’s lost interest in Chuck and Reaper is the only show he makes a point to see. I enjoy it too. I agree that the past 2 episodes have been the strongest by far.
They are adding the subplot that the devil is throwing temptation in Sam’s way which is an interesting arc. The villians are less Ghost Buster-esque, too.
Don’t know what you mean by “still no love?”. Not everybody liked What’s-his-face over Reaper. I always liked Reaper much better. So far, I’ve liked every ep.
Ray Wise makes Satan seem like such a nice guy, I am still shocked at how much of a dick he can be. (Super-Cop’s last collar.)
Balls in the air:[ul]
[li]Andi - I like her, but if she and Sam ever hook up, it’d be like Moonlighting.[/li][li]The Contract - What was on the page that Dad was ripping out?[/li][li]Dad - Why is it “not fair” that the Devil refuses to meet with him? I think he still has an unmet obligation.[/li][li]Get out of Hell Free Card - nice touch. I see it for a season/series finale.[/li][/ul]
Note to self: Never, ever enter into any agreement with Ray Wise.
I’d forgotten about the brother. We’ve barely seen any of Sam’s home life at all recently, have we?
I love this show, and I liked this episode quite a bit. They are breaking out of the formulaic rut that people were accusing the show of falling into in the second and third episodes.
Something I like about the show is that Sam and Andi can eventually get together without it destroying the show. Their “will they, won’t they” romance isn’t so integral that it can never be resolved, and there’s lots of potential in Andi becoming Sam’s girlfriend and eventually learning about all the Reaping.
The only reason Andi isn’t in on the secret right now is that in the first episode the other friend (not Sock) was hurt badly, and Sam has since refused to tell Andi in order to protect her from that danger (and sounding like a loon).
I seem to recall that The Devil specifically told Sam not to tell Andi. My personal theory is that the contract isn’t valid- as Ben said, you shouldn’t be able to sell someone else’s soul. Or, if it’s valid, it’s only valid for mom’s soul, and The Devil’s just using that as a pretense to keep Sam working for him. Anyway, I suspect that The Devil is trying to corrupt Sam, so that by the time Sam realizes that the contract isn’t valid, it’s too late- Sam’s already on his way to Hell.
That’s why The Devil wants to keep Andi out of it- she’s a good influence on Sam’s life. Along the same vein, I think the “Get Out of Hell Free” card is just another temptation, designed to get Sam to damn himself.
Maybe he means me. I never posted a Reaper thread, because before Tuesday night, I had never watched an episode. That also meant I couldn’t compare it to Chuck.
Well, now I’ve seen an episode of Reaper. I was expecting to come in here and see people complaining. If this was an example of a good episode, then this series isn’t for me. I tried. The rest of you, enjoy your show.
Are you sure the devil told him not to tell Andi? I figured he just wouldn’t want to involve her. “Hi, you wouldn’t believe the crush I have on you. And oh, by the way, I reap escaped souls from Hell 'cause my dad sold my soul to Satan.”
Yeah, I’m pretty certain that, a couple of episodes ago, Sam was agonizing over telling Andi about the job… and The Devil told him to not do it. I don’t think he out-and-out threatened Andi, but he certainly seemed to imply that Bad Things Could Happen.
Hmm, I’m a “she”. Well, not everyone will like Reaper, it’s nice that you gave it a chance.
Now that I think about it, what about Gladys’ home life? Like Sock said, what’s a demon doing with angel figurines? Why is she living in a suburban house instead of the depths of hell? What is hell?
I also think that the devil is discouraging Sam’s relationship with Andi because she seems to be the most intelligent person in Sam’s universe. If Andi found out about Sam’s predicament, she might figure out how Sam can get out of the deal.
Now that I think about it, I guess it was quite obvious. Nevertheless, I’m glad that secondary characters are having their roles expanded in unexpected ways. I just had an uncomfortable thought. How likely is it that Sam’s dad will sabotage Sam in even more dastardly ways than destroying pages out of his contract?