Recap / Supernatural S 06 E 15 The French Mistake

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Recap of Supernatural
Season 6, Episode 15

The French Mistake

Misha: You guys! You really punked me! I'm totally gonna tweet this one. "Hola, Misha-migos. J-Squared got me good. Really starting to feel like one of the guys."

Written by Ben Edlund.

Directed by Charles Beeson.

Air Date: February 25, 2011.

Balthazar arrives unexpectedly at Bobby Singer's home and proceeds to give the Winchesters a very hurried and incomplete explanation that he needs them to hide a key integral to Castiel's war effort. And then throws them through a window...

...right through the Fourth Wall as Dean and Sam land on crash pads on the set of Supernatural, a low-rated genre show in which they are actors playing the main characters. Hilarity Ensues.

Body Count:

For this episode = 6 humans.

For the series so far = At least 450 humans (of which 6 were witches), 77 demons, 34 ghosts, 26 vampires, 19 zombies, 14 gods, 11 angels, 9 hellhounds, 7 skinwalkers, 6 changelings, 5 shapeshifters, 4 ghouls, 3 djinn, 2 Arachnes, 2 dogs, 2 werewolves, 1 crocotta, 1 dragon, 1 fairy, 1 lamia, 1 okami, 1 rakshasa, 1 rawhead, 1 reaper, 1 rugaru, 1 shtriga, 1 siren, 1 wendigo, 1 whore of Babylon, and 1 wraith.

Tropes

• Adam Westing: Misha Collins as Misha Collins.
• Affectionate Parody: Of the actors' public personae.
• Alternate Universe: Not just a world where the boys' lives are a TV show, but it also counts as one in regards to our universe. The actual, non "French Mistake"-verse versions of Jared and Jensen are so damn close, it's astounding. Not to mention Misha Collins, Eric Kripke and Bob Singer are actually still alive.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Robert Singer: "You can't come to work on poppers and smuggle kidneys in from Mexico and make up your own lines as you go! You cannot make up your own lines!"
• As Himself: Quite a few.
• Badass Boast
• Bad "Bad Acting": Sam and Dean, so very much.
• Ballistic Discount: In a non-fatal version, Virgil simply pistol-whips the gun store owner. Then he actually shoots the next guy to walk in.
• Batman Gambit: The key Balthazar gives the Winchesters is a decoy. While Virgil is busy chasing them, Balthazar finds the real weapons stash and hands it to Castiel.
• Big Bad: Virgil and Raphael, who both want to retrieve the key to Heaven's weapon vault, and kill Sam and Dean.
• Big Fancy House: Apparently, Jared Padalecki lives in one. "Nice modest digs, Jay-Z."
• Big "NO!": Parodied, naturally.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Not so much breaking as pulverizing and tap-dancing in the ruins.
• Celebrity Paradox: Yeah...
• Crazy-Prepared: Among the things Bobby has in his house: Dead Sea brine, lamb's blood, and the bone of a lesser saint.
• Danger Takes A Back Seat: Lampshaded with a Tweet:
  Misha Collins: [tweeting on his phone] Ever. Get. The. Feeling. There's. Someone. In. The. Back. Seat? Frowny face.
• Dodge the Bullet: Serge does this casually, twice, while Virgil is shooting up the set. Apparently, the real-life Serge has a reputation for being perpetually calm and collected.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: Dean's reaction, word for word, when learning that Raphael's new host is a woman.
• Foreshadowing: A minor example, but "At least they're talking to each other..."
• Gotta Kill 'Em All: Virgil goes on a killing spree on the Supernatural set. Wherever the "real" Jared and Jensen went, they're going to be in for a shock when they get back.
• Hostility on the Set: In-universe (sort of), invoked, and Played for Laughs after Sam and Dean are sent to our real world to become the actors playing them on the show. Pretty much every person they interact with who works on the show with them will mutter "at least they're talking to each other."
• I Am Not Spock: In-Universe. Dean initially mistakes Misha for Castiel, but, as he thinks they're following a script, he goes along with it. He later calls Genevieve Padalecki "Ruby". Based on her reaction, Jensen does this a lot as well.
• I'm Not a Doctor, but I Play One on TV: Jensen Ackles — he's not a hunter, but he plays one on TV.
• In a World…: Used hilariously in the promo.
• Ironic Echo: The freeze frame.
• Jerkass:
  • Even by Angel standards, Virgil is an absolute dick. He kills Misha to use his blood to call upon Raphael, mocking him for being a human while doing so, and goes on a killing spree, murdering as many humans as he can for no other reason than out of contempt for mankind.
  • It's also implied that in the TV show universe, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki are pretty much egotistical dicks.
• Lampshade Hanging: Everywhere. From Soft Glass to Romance on the Set to Stunt Doubles.invoked
• Lost in Character: What Genevieve thinks is going on with "Jared":
  Genevieve: You have been Sam Winchester way too long.
• Mood Whiplash
• Never Heard That One Before: "Jensen" apparently has a habit of calling Genevieve Cortese "Ruby":
  Genevive: That one never gets old, Jensen.
• The Nth Doctor: Raphael has a new host.
• Old Shame: In-Universe; Jensen was on the soap opera Days of Our Lives as teen heartthrob Eric Brady. When Dean sees this, he wants to get out of this universe immediately.
• Other Me Annoys Me: Dean especially is peeved by his alter ego Jensen Ackles.
• Painting the Medium: Yes, you can do it while also Breaking the Fourth Wall, shut up. When Sam and Dean first meet Misha (believing he's Castiel), he says some lines that essentially summarize the plot of the episode.
• Reading the Stage Directions Out Loud: During the filming scene, Dean does this repeatedly.
• Real-World Episode/Refugee from TV Land
• Running Gag:
  • "At least they're talking to each other."
  • "Season SIX..."
• Self-Deprecation: Pretty much everyone gets a turn in the episode.
• Self-Parody: Misha Collins has a ball with it.
  Misha: [writing a tweet] R. O. T. F. L. M. A. O.
• Shout-Out:
  • The title comes from the musical number that the main characters of Blazing Saddles burst in on when they break out of the Western set.
  • Balthazar references the baptism murder scene from The Godfather.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Implied of both "Jensen Ackles" and "Jared Padalecki". Jared's absurdly large mansion is full of versions of famous paintings starring himself (the alpaca out back is his wife's). Meanwhile, Jensen has a three hundred gallon exotic aquarium in his trailer. And neither is talking to the other. And their ratings aren't very good.
• Soft Glass: After being pushed through a window in their own world, Sam and Dean land in an alternate world where the glass they were pushed through is specially made not to hurt them.
• Super Window Jump: Played straight, parodied and lampshaded.
• Tears of Fear: Misha, right before Virgil kills him.
• Troubled Production: invoked In this universe, during the filming of an episode of Supernatural, the two leads suddenly lose all talent they ever had before beating an extra half to death, and disappear altogether after a crazed gunman slits the throat of another co-star and goes on an on-set rampage, killing several crewmembers including the show creator.
• Unusual Pets for Unusual People: Jared and Gen have an alpaca. Jensen keeps a large tank of exotic fish in his trailer.
• We Need a Distraction: "HEY!"
• Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Dean seems to think so:
  Dean: Misha? Jensen? What's up with the names around here?
• Who Would Want to Watch Us?: Dean has no idea why anyone would want to watch him and Sam. Sam replies that according to the interviewer, not many people do.
• Who Writes This Crap?!: Sam's "acting" might suck, but he doesn't think much of what he's got to work with.
  Sam: Who wrote this? Nobody says "penultimate"!

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