‘Dog Dean Afternoon’ won’t go down in Supernatural history as one of the greatest episodes ever, but I liked it. Just about everyone in the fandom was well prepared for the way we were intended to view it – if you weren’t already spoiled for the comedic intent of an episode where Dean becomes a dog whisperer, then the montage of Supernatural’s greatest comedic moments should have clued you in. Which is good, because if you’d been prepared for a serious SPN ep, you might have been gobsmacked by this one.
It was silly. At times, it was so silly that it veered dangerously close to embarrassment squick for me – Dean lusting after an ultra-feminine pink-ribboned and coifed poodle, and Sam’s dubcon Yorkie petting come to mind — but something saved it. That something was Ackles and Padalecki, who in my humble opinion are comedy geniuses. Especially when they get to be funny together.