S06.E18: Frontierland

[Guest]

While searching for a way to defeat Eve, Dean stumbles upon Samuel Colt’s journal in the Campbell library. Realizing Samuel might have the answer to their problems, Sam and Dean ask Castiel to send them back in time so they can meet the man himself. While Sam is a bit reluctant to time travel, Dean is beside himself with excitement to return to the Wild, Wild West.

 

 

[DittyDotDot]

I really want to love this episode--I really do--but it settles in at just like for me. There's so much potential for them here that just feels wasted to me in the end.

 

First, it's a western and should fit perfectly in their wheelhouse since I've always thought the show was a western wearing an elaborate CW-horror disguise. But in the end it's just a string of Wild West jokes I've heard more times than I care to think about. And then there's Samuel Colt. What a perfect opportunity to tie the show back to S1 and delve into some of the mysteries they've left hanging over the years. My personal obsession I'd like to know about: how does the Colt work and how'd Samuel Colt learn how to make it? Oh, and the Phoenix is a big let down to me as well. Plus, the dead letter gag has been done to death and they didn't even try to find a particularly new angle on the idea.

 

So, in the end, I'm actually more interested in what Cass is up to than what's happening in the past with Sam and Dean. Which is saying something considering I've never been too interested in much of anything angelic since S4.

 

The good to end on: Nice to see Dean enjoying himself; Sam riding that horse will never not be funny to me and I did really like the opening shoot-out scene. Guy Bee did a nice job shooting (heh) the hell out of it.

[catrox14]

I love this episode with all my heart as my voting in  the survival game attested. It is my favorite episode of s6 and I think the best overall. 

 

I can find no flaws in the episode whatsoever. I thought it was a perfect homage to Westerns whilst being 'supernatural'.  I loved Finch.  I thought Dean had fun.  Sam met someone he admired. They worked together in the present and the past. 

 

Authenticity!

Edited December 7, 2014 by catrox14

[DittyDotDot]

I have no idea why I'm obsessed about The Colt--I don't even like guns--but the whole idea of it fascinates me. Anyhoo, I was thinking about why Samuel Colt made the gun to begin with and I was reminded of what John told Sam and Dean back in Dead Man's Blood when it was first introduced:

 

Back in 1835, when Halley's comet was overhead, the same night those men died at the Alamo. They say Samuel Colt made a gun. A special gun. He made it for a hunter, a man like us only on horseback. Story goes he made thirteen bullets, and this hunter used the gun a half dozen times before he disappeared, the gun along with him.

 

So, if Colt made the gun for a hunter on horseback, how'd Colt end up with the gun in the end?  I know it's just a story and may not be entirely true, but got me to thinking. It's too bad they didn't use the episode as a way to explore the genesis of the Colt or the making of the train track devil's track, I think it would've been a way to make this episode more personal to the show.

 

I also realize the main reason I don't love the episode--I do like it, though--is because I set a bunch of expectations that the show didn't live up to. Which is really my fault for not having realistic expectations in the first place.

 

I also wanted to mention that I think Guy Bee did a great job directing the episode. Even though he doesn't always get the most stellar scripts to work with, he always manages to capture good atmosphere and look of his episodes always feel right to me. Of the current crew of directors for this show, I think he's one of their best.

[catrox14]

My head!canon is that the gun was passed around by hunters as they killed off demons and that it ended up back with Samuel Colt because he put out the word that he wanted it back to hunt his own demons. So it got back to him via Pony Express. 

[lmdreamer]

I liked this episode but found it kind of sad.  The pheonix wasn't an outright evil character, he was simply getting revenge on the people who killed his human wife who was keeping him normal up until then.  I know in order to defeat eve he needed to die but couldn't the writer have made his character more of a black hat?

[Dobian]

A lot nods to Back to the Future in this one.  Dean giving his name as Clint Eastwood was out of Back to the Future 3, and the courier arriving with the package for Sam at the end was from the end of Back to the Future 2, even his line about the office pool whether Sam would actually be there to take the package.

Edit: Left one out.  Dean wears the poncho in the beginning like Michael J. Fox, until he gets ridiculed for it.  Also, it's kind of ironic they didn't use their real names, since Sam and Dean Winchester are perfect cowboy western names, lol. (though Clint Eastwood and Walker the Texas Ranger are funnier)

Edited May 12, 2016 by Dobian

[Hanahope]

This was a fun episode with the western theme.  Of course Dean would really be into westerns, costumes and all.  Dean finding out that whores in the wild west weren't all that pretty or disease-free.

I guess Colt must have followed Sam back to town after all, to be able to get the gun and the ashes.

Edited June 1, 2017 by Hanahope

[Katy M]

On ‎5‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 9:13 AM, Hanahope said:

This was a fun episode with the western theme.  Of course Dead would really be into westerns, costumes and all.  Dean finding out that whores in the wild west weren't all that pretty or disease-free.

I guess Colt must have followed Sam back to town after all, to be able to get the gun and the ashes.

And then he gave the gun to Elkins, there were 13 bullets left, and Elkins used 7 or 6.  I forget.  Then it got passed down all the way to Daniel Elkins.  I love how they tied the Colt story from Dead Man's Blood into this episode just by having the bartender's name be Elkins. Although, he didn't really seem like a hunter.

I just can't believe that package actually got delivered, though.  In real life, it would have been lost long ago. Marty McFly also would never have gotten that letter from Doc either.

[catrox14]

7 hours ago, Katy M said:

And then he gave the gun to Elkins, there were 13 bullets left, and Elkins used 7 or 6.  I forget.  Then it got passed down all the way to Daniel Elkins.  I love how they tied the Colt story from Dead Man's Blood into this episode just by having the bartender's name be Elkins. Although, he didn't really seem like a hunter.

I just can't believe that package actually got delivered, though.  In real life, it would have been lost long ago. Marty McFly also would never have gotten that letter from Doc either.

I dunno. Human beings are funny. Like if I were worked at that delivery company and there had been this package floating around with a time, place and date of delivery,  I might be tempted to keep it just to see what happens. And then it kind of becomes a game or a running bit and so it just keeps getting passed around.

[Katy M]

9 minutes ago, catrox14 said:

I dunno. Human beings are funny. Like if I were worked at that delivery company and there had been this package floating around with a time, place and date of delivery,  I might be tempted to keep it just to see what happens. And then it kind of becomes a game or a running bit and so it just keeps getting passed around.

But, it's 1861 or 2, are you going to care what happens in 2011?  Then it gets to be 1899.  It's in the way.  The delivery company goes out of business.  There's a fire.  A flood.  I'm just saying, 150 years is a long time to keep a package safe.

[catrox14]

5 minutes ago, Katy M said:

But, it's 1861 or 2, are you going to care what happens in 2011?  Then it gets to be 1899.  It's in the way.  The delivery company goes out of business.  There's a fire.  A flood.  I'm just saying, 150 years is a long time to keep a package safe.

Me? I would. If there is one of me who is curious about why Samuel F'ing Colt wanted a package kept safe, there is probably another person who would too. But most likely, Samuel Colt probably paid couriers to keep it safe knowing it would be important. Other hunters even, maybe it became "am important box to protect because Samuel F'ing Colt wanted it kept safe" As the years go by, it becomes like a folk lore thing and then the newer generations just think it's kind of a funny thing.

I seriously never had one problem with the idea that the package was passed from courier to courier and ended up back with Sam.

[bettername2come]

I love the boys' joy at finding Samuel Colt's journal. Cas didn't like Rachel talking to his friends like that. "The answer to your question can best be expressed as a series of partial differential equations." "Yeah, aim lower" with Bobby's nod towards Sam, like it's only for Sam's benefit. It's nice to see the boys time traveling as a team. I know Dean's the more experienced time traveler, but I'd love if they switched things up at some point and had Sam time travel by himself. The dead angel shots always look so cool. I love that Colt calls Sam a "giant from the future." And "I'm either too drunk or not drunk enough" is a quality quote for life. "What gun?" "The gun." "Oh, that gun."  Samuel Colt's great. I wanna see him again. The phoenix is probably one of the top ten most sympathetic monsters we've seen. Heh. Bobby said Deadwood. Dangit, Sam, you gotta sign for the package so the guy can win his bet. This is my favorite episode of the season. The kind that pull me back from the brink of not watching. 

This is like the highest concentration of pop culture references from Dean ever. 

[RulerofallIsurvey]

I like the Old West/Bonanza opening.  In general, I like how they used to switch up the title card/credits to fit the theme of the episode more often.  

That scene where they were opening the Campbell library?  I'm just going to say this: I wish Sam was my plumber.  

I must be in a real shallow mood tonight, because other than the nice PlumberSam flash, all I can really recall about the episode (which I just finished watching) was how nice Sam looked standing in the cemetery after they found the Phoenix's grave.  I also did like all his expressions when Dean was getting hit on by the bar gal.  Okay, I'm remembering more now that I think about it.  Sam gave Sam Colt his Blackberry.  That's kind of funny.  I don't know why, but it was.  

Agree with most other commenting about the Phoenix being a sympathetic "monster".  I really don't consider him a monster at all.  Too bad he had to die.  I also liked Sam Colt.  I'd like to hear/see more of his adventures and what he hunted and how - how he got into it and how he figured out how to make the Colt and how to build the devil's gate in the first place.  

Felt bad for Rachel too.  

I liked the package from the past gag.  Yes, it's been done.  But it's Supernatural, after all - so of course it would work.  ;)

[Iju]

"You know what that is?"

"Yeah, it's horse-"

"Authenticity." 

clever writers. also, the scene with dean letting sam go after samuel was great to me, since he was more worried on how sam would work out the horse than anything else. i don't know, it was small, but him just trusting sam to do his job without a "be careful" or anything like that was refreshing. 

was a bit sad to see the phoenix go but all monsters can't be "monsters" i guess. 

when my mother saw bobby tell cass to use his soul, she said "REALLY, the things these guys do for each other! Are they mothers?!?" my poor mother has lucked out on familial love when she was a kid. she doesn't understand.

dean's nodding of his hat was my favourite part of the episode. dean and sam even have western-time looking faces. 

P.S. is it just me or did dean's eyes look really brown this episode? aren't they a rainbow of colours?

[The Companion]

On 5/24/2015 at 10:02 PM, lmdreamer said:

I liked this episode but found it kind of sad.  The pheonix wasn't an outright evil character, he was simply getting revenge on the people who killed his human wife who was keeping him normal up until then.  I know in order to defeat eve he needed to die but couldn't the writer have made his character more of a black hat?

It was really sad. I always struggle with the "monsters" who don't feed on humans and who don't necessarily kill. Sure, this guy had the potential to kill and sought revenge for his wife, but he was otherwise harmless. Justifying it with: we need his ashes isn't much better than draining people for demon blood. 

Looking past that, apparently I needed some Dean in cowboy attire in my life. Who knew. 

I was really disappointed they killed off Rachel. I know this show doesn't have many female characters (I have heard the criticism before watching), but in the past three episodes we had two women killed and one re-killed. All three of them had potential to be interesting, in my opinion. I would at least have enjoyed a little exploration of the angel fighting this war and calling the guys out for distracting Castiel at critical times. It seems like a lot of wasted potential.

ETA: This came off more negative than I intended. There were some really good moments in this episode. Also, I loved the comparison of the fantasy and reality. 

Edited December 12, 2019 by The Companion

[Katy M]

8 hours ago, The Companion said:

t was really sad. I always struggle with the "monsters" who don't feed on humans and who don't necessarily kill. Sure, this guy had the potential to kill and sought revenge for his wife, but he was otherwise harmless. Justifying it with: we need his ashes isn't much better than draining people for demon blood. 

That's what bugged me about this episode.  If it hadn't been for the fact that they needed the ashes, they would have let this guy go.  He'd killed everyone he was going to kill.  What also bugged me was that there was nothing about the sheriff that made it look like he was the type of guy who would cover up a  murder for his deputy.  

8 hours ago, The Companion said:

I would at least have enjoyed a little exploration of the angel fighting this war and calling the guys out for distracting Castiel at critical times. It seems like a lot of wasted potential.

Don't worry.  You'll get more than your fill of angels by the time it's all over.

[gonzosgirrl]

I had to go to Superwiki to remember who Rachel was. o_O

Sometimes I envy you, Companion, watching for the first time. You will come to think of these as the glory days. Or maybe not. LOL.

Dean the possy magnet and his unadulterated glee at getting to be a cowboy make me smile whenever I think of this episode. And it gave us this.

[The Companion]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

Don't worry.  You'll get more than your fill of angels by the time it's all over.

Oh, I am sure. I just liked the concept of his lieutenant who was sick of these meddling kids. 

[S Cook Productions]

5 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

I had to go to Superwiki to remember who Rachel was. o_O

Sometimes I envy you, Companion, watching for the first time. You will come to think of these as the glory days. Or maybe not. LOL.

Dean the possy magnet and his unadulterated glee at getting to be a cowboy make me smile whenever I think of this episode. And it gave us this.

This is truly one of my fave eps of the whole series.  

[MagnusHex]

Yeah, this episode was kinda a dud for me, mostly because of its squandered potentials. The legendary Sam Colt was underused, the Phoenix doesn't rise from the ashes and is another boring CW-budget humanoid, and I also wish they spent more time pondering on whether the Phoenix's revenge spree was justified and whether he deserves to be spared (which is the kind of theme you'd expect to be explored on a western).

It's still a fun episode in parts. I also like that the plot with the Mother of All Monsters is finally moving with them finding the McGuffin they were searching for (instead of letting Dean's search be in vain and drag the plot on for several episodes). Also, this episode is pretty much Jared Padalecki's Texas Ranger audition tape, so that's neat. Dean geeking out on westerns is fun too, even if a little borrowed from Back to the Future 3.

Let's call it a 3/5.

[FlickChick]

Who doesn't love a Clint Eastwood serape in a spaghetti western? I enjoyed the episode for its costumes if nothing else. BTW, did you know that Clint Eastwood's name is an anagram of OLD WEST ACTION?

[DeeDee79]

I enjoyed this episode mostly because of how much fun Dean was having. Even though the old west didn't live up to his expectations, it was still a good time. I haven't (and I'm not going to) watch Walker so the brief mention doesn't usually stick with me.

Spoiler

Also, after seeing how the season ends there's some pretty good hints here that Castiel has been up to no good since the Apocalypse was averted. 

 

[Pondlass1]

Although his life was one of violence, loss, and dark tragedy… Dean still retained an almost childlike enthusiasm, wonder and joy (being a cowboy, the rainbow slinky, etc). 

It’s a trait I love the most about him and one I try to emulate as I navigate my own difficulties in life.