Supernatural (TV Series) Jump the Shark (2009) User Reviews

The Unknown Half-Brother

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 20 June 2010]

Sam and Dean receive a phone call from Windom, Minnesota, from a teenager that wants to contact John Winchester. They drive to meet Adam Milligan that claims to be John's son and he tells that his mother has been missing for three days. The Winchester brothers discover that their father had traveled to Minnesota in 1990 to investigate a case of missing bodies and the two next pages of his journal are torn out. Further, there are three corpses missing in the cemetery and the police believe that hooligans are the responsible. The skeptic Dean is cautious with Adam while Sam trusts on Adam and teaches how to hunt supernatural creatures. Dean leaves Sam protecting Adam while he follows a lead in a crypt and sooner he discovers that they are chasing ghouls.

"Jump the Shark" is another diversion in the mainstream of the Fourth Season. However the story of the unknown half-brother and the orphan ghouls is creepy and entertaining. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Irmão" ("The Brother")

He is a Winchester! He is already cursed.

[zombiehigh18 · 7/10 · 30 November 2011]

The first time I saw this episode I was like "WHAT? Kripke! we are only three episodes away from the finale, please focus man focus. How could they just decide now to give the boys a brother in the middle of every thing they are going through only to kill him off that easily? How could they do that to Dean, did the image of John need more cracks in his mind, NOW when every thing seems to falling apart around him, when he found out he can't trust his brother nor the angels!. Stop hurting the guy."

I was angry and I found it pointless. But relax and take a deep breath it's not what you think for I promise you that the Adam Milligan story line is not over, just wait and see.

This episode may not be the best but not that bad either, We get to see a new side of both the boys.

Dean naturally suspicious of Adam then angry, jealous and hurt to know that Adam shared with John things he was never able to experience. But then Dean, with his deep fatherly overprotective nature, announces that he respects his fathers will to keep the boy a secret. For Adam it is not too late, he doesn't have to live the life Dean and Sam are leading. Dean has accepted his fate but that doesn't mean he is happy about it, so he will not drag another kid to this kind of life. Eventually he comes to realize that he was nothing like John, He tried so hard to be like him but no matter what he did they were different and Dean seemed to accept that fact.

On the other hand there is Sam. He is more accepting of Adam but all the same jealous of the boy. He sees the boy as bait, as cursed and wants to teach him how to fight for himself giving him the "Cut all acquaintances and accept hunting as a life" speech, But beneath that act Sam's only just jealous because why would Adam get to live a normal life if he can't. Sam's behaviour shows how much he has been slowly changing over the years turning into his father loosing his humanity in the process.

And then there was John, I wonder what other secrets will be revealed about that man. Did he really wish for a normal life for his boys but it was too late for them or did his blind vengeance and his knowledge of Sam's fate lead him to subject them to that kind of life?

And finally Though the brothers were obviously growing apart I enjoyed how well they still knew each other how they are willing to protect each other and I enjoyed the Rock, paper, scissors moment, Dean will you ever learn?

OK to cut it short, I like to point out to two things:

1- when Dean was bashing the ghoul's head, did any one see how brutal he was? Was he just killing another monster that revealed a bad secret about his father? or was he venting all the anger he has been feeling since he met Adam?

2- The scene when the ghouls were slowly torturing Sam was massively disturbing but it was nice to point out that his blood tasted funny. I wonder with loosing all that much blood did he loose some of his powers through the process?

Revenge

[shwetafabm · 9/10 · 13 June 2020]

Another sympathetic monster, most of the monsters seem to be that way, connects with the ongoing story of revenge and family and Sam changing. It's definitely entertaining.

I wish Adam was included more

[CubsandCulture · 10/10 · 12 March 2020]

Re-watching this and seeing the Adam episode in season 15 makes me regret that they didn't do more with the other brother dynamic. This episode is really fun in how it upsets the the Winchester two hander and I think the material could have been mined for more pathos and laughs. Abel is the perfect guy to cast as the other Winchester and despite being in only a few episodes the character stays with you.

I simply ADORE the subversion of monster and family with the ghouls here. This blurring of the line between the two categories not only works for Sam's arch but sets up the 6th season more than people realize. The film's humanistic viewpoint comes through strongest when it blurs types like this.

Ironic title.

[m-47826 · 8/10 · 4 May 2021]

I know it was picked to prevent the backlash this episode might have had. But it's by far the less jump the shark moment, the show's ever had. It was logical to the loner hunter's life habits, and a nice way to keep viewers guessing. The ending twist, was a nice touch and I knew something like that might happen. From my previous watch. But I didn't remember if it was so early on the series, and if this new character would come back later. Also, it's one of the goriest and creepiest episodes, so it's not for the faint of heart.

Good episode but one thing..

[epicpsychoforce · 8/10 · 5 January 2022]

Dean should already know that he was dealing with ghouls.. But yeah more fighting is better. So they needed Sam to tell him after he took the first shot..

One of the better episodes.

[mm-39 · 8/10 · 27 April 2009]

One of the better episode. The Winchester brothers found out dad had another family, and a half brother. The story asks is the brother really who he say he is? The viewer, with the sub plot, finds out how harden Sam has become. Sam has evolved into his father. The show keeps the viewer interested with the plot twist where Dean and Sam find out there half brother and dad's love interest are really replicants of ghouls. The ghouls hated the Winchesters and wanted revenge over the death of their father. One asks the questions should John Winchester have left the ghouls alone in the first place? A very messy ending. I give Jump the Shark an eight out of ten. Worth watching!

Not that bad

[luisp1991 · 7/10 · 27 April 2009]

In this episode Sam and Dean meet with Adam, John's son, it explains exactly why their father was always missing. Sam and Dean gets a call from Adam and meet at a snack bar, dean gets jealous and thinks it's a trap, after a long chat they go to Adam's house and he reports his mother is missing, Dean finds out that she is probably dead. After talking to dean, Adam tells about experiences with his daddy that Dean never happened to have with John and that somehow burns the poor Dean. They decide let Adam join them in the investigation, and they find out that more people are missing and it is all connected to the grave robbery that happened and took place at the city few years ago which had John involved, so the brothers think it is a revenge. Dean goes to the grave yard and Sam is hit and tied up by Adam and his mother. Dean and Sammy find out that they are dealing with a ghoul. This episode is pretty boring in the beginning but it gets better in the end. The author caught us all by setting the ghoul there in the whole episode making the fool of us all

The Silent Enigma

[ttapola · 7/10 · 16 August 2011]

This episode is like a two-edged blade: On first viewing, it seems to make fun out of the TV shows that *did* jump the shark: see the diner's name and the poster right beside the door inside the diner. The 'Jumping the Shark' trope is defined as a show seemingly changing significantly but soon proving its actually run out of ideas. It's obvious that Supernatural does *not* jump the shark with this episode, but at its end it also seems that this episode serves no purpose whatsoever, *especially* considering the "Then" recap containing so many Mytharc moments. What relevance does this, in the end, have regarding the Mytharc?

The cleverness of this episode is, however, also its weak point. The writers are placing very subtle hints in the episode, making sure that they are not inadvertently placing spoilers, all of which sadly means that the episode is likely to feel like a filler, or worse, a spectacularly wasted opportunity. In retrospect, one is likely to realize that this was not a wasted opportunity, but a trick. The problem is, in order for the trick to work in the long run, characters *have* to act stupidly and that is just plain bad writing.

Sam and Dean are the *best* Hunters in the world. They have found out enough - they should be able to figure out what is going on. The revelations in this episode. That, in the previous episode, Lilith said to Sam that she will not survive the Apocalypse. That, at the end of #4.16, Castiel said Dean is supposed to be the one who stops Lucifer. The whole Sam - Dean - John dynamic. At the very least, Sam and Dean should be asking questions. But the trick *demands* that they don't. That is the flaw.

What the writers have given us viewers to work with (supposing we *want* to try to work with what they've given us): Something that Zachariah said in the previous episode. Something neither Sam nor Dean heard, but if the viewer *really* starts to piece the puzzle together, they should be able to figure out what will happen. Weren't it for the flaws, the trick would have been brilliant. Now it all amounts to just a 7/10.

Pointless Episode!

[MrsHectorBarbossa · 3/10 · 1 February 2011]

This episode could have been better. It's pointless and an episode filler, nothing more.

Spoilers ahead! The brothers find out they have a half brother named Adam. The reason I found this episode pointless was why bother bringing in Adam only to kill him off at the end? It's just...nonsense. And I also found the episode predictable. i knew Adam was dead the moment I saw him. The writing is shoddy and I didn't like the actor who played him. They could have cast someone who actually looked like a bit of Dean or Sam. I just didn't see any family resemblance.

I'm surprised this episode got higher ratings than it deserved.