I love the funnier episodes of Supernatural best.  (Of course when I get a tightly-plotted episode like last season’s Jus in Bello I say that I love those best.  I’m easy that way.  Just don’t tell Dean).

Here we get an episode that is both funny and smart as the writers break the fourth wall (and lovingly skewer fandom) by giving us a character that breaks the fourth wall.

The episode starts with Sam and Dean on a typical ghost hunt that takes a turn for the weird when they investigate a comics shop and are mistaken for hardcore LARPers playing Sam and Dean. (Although I would have guessed Agent Smith given the suits and ties) 

They are immediately pointed by the bemused comic store owner to a series of books (entitled Supernatural.  Go figure.) that sound incredibly familiar (although Fabio graces the cover as Sam.)  The series of novels enjoyed limited release by a small press (as someone who writes a series of novels for a small press, I’ve got to wonder how they afforded a Fabio cover?) and a cult following before the press went under. (Mystery solved.  They probably spent all their money on Fabio.)

As Sam and Dean explore the murky waters of Supernatural fandom we’re treated to their thoughts on Samgirls, Deangirls and slash. (Though the publishing house folded before they could touch on angel porn.)

The real mystery starts when they track down the author – Chuck Shirley (pen name Carver Edlund).  I can tell that Chuck is a real writer.  Firstly because he looks like he hasn’t bathed in days and secondly because he is writing in his bathrobe. (She says as she tightens her own robe around herself.)  Also? Long after his publishing house folded he is still writing his series.  (Writers can’t not write. It’s like a sick addiction we have.  One day you may see me standing on a street corner, jonsing for ink and paper.  Maybe I’ll be panhandling for nouns.) 

Once Sam and Dean convince him that they’re not crazed fans, they determine that he is psychic and dreaming of things that will happen to them. (On a side note: Sam and Dean had to take a Supernatural purity test to prove to Shirley’s publisher that they were true fans.  Now that I’ve noted that-- I’m going to back away from that statement as if it might potentially explode.  Because it just might.) 

His latest prediction: That Sam and Lillith are going to do the horizontal mambo in the Red Hotel while Dean drives the Impala around with the back window smashed out (Chuck is like Nostradamus.

  If Nostradamus was slightly less coherent and given to using purple prose.  He’s also as whiny as a talking Barbie circa 1992: Writing is hard.  Boo hoo, psychic boy.  Cry me a river.)

In a moment reminiscent of both Bad Day at Black Rock, and Mystery Spot (humor episodes from season three) Dean parks Sam at the toREaDor motel and then tries to park the impala – only to find that his attempts to counter the visions inadvertently put him in the path to fulfilling them. 

Dean prays for help and gets Castiel, who tells him that he can’t intervene because Chuck is a prophet.  He’s writing a new chapter for the Word of God – the book of Winchester. (I wonder what Castiel thinks of the books that aren’t canon.  Is the book of Enoch just holy fanfic?)  But (nudge nudge wink wink) if Chuck is in danger, an archangel will step in.

Dean grabs Chuck and hauls him back to the motel room in time to find that Sam and Lillith aren’t reenacting a porno, but instead Sam was trying to kill Lillith.  When confronted by Chuck, Lillith flees.  After Sam and Dean ride off, Chuck has another vision.  He’s about to call the brothers and warn them when Zacharias intervenes.  Something bad is coming, but they don’t want the brothers to know.  It’s apparently so bad that Chuck wants to kill himself – which Zacharias said is silly.  They would just resurrect him so that he can finish his work.  (Oh my Kripke! Zacharias is in the publishing industry!)

I really enjoyed this episode.  From the backhanded references to fandom to the winking acknowledgements that yes, Bugs was a bad episode. The story was clever – yet at the same time it advanced the plot and fit into the overall mythos of the show.

I also liked how the episode visually recalled earlier humor installments.  Yet in Mystery Spot the humor went sour abruptly, leaving me choking on my own laughter.  Here the episode seems to work better because the seriousness is woven in with the humor. 

In the end I walked away wondering at the episode’s title.  In The Monster at the End of this Book Starring Loveable, Furry old Grover, the titular Sesame Street character is afraid of reaching the end of the book, only to find that he is the monster at the end.  Here Dean is trying desperately to keep from reaching the end of his and Sam’s own story. 

Is the monster at the end Sam?  Is it Dean?  Is it Zacharias (who definitely didn’t come across benevolent)?  And if it is Sam (or Dean) is it a big deal?