The Winchesters Season 1 Episode 12 Review: The Tears of a Clown

There must be an unspoken rule that paranormal shows must devote at least one episode to a scary clown. The Winchesters Season 1 Episode 12, “The Tears of a Clown,” fulfills that quota.

Additionally, it does it well because Limbo is a scary addition to the show. Finally, we have a villain of the week that’s actually terrifying. His agenda is shaky, and he designs a plan that has many loopholes.

However, his clown makeup is definitely the stuff of nightmares.

He also gives off very creepy vibes when interacting with John. Limbo definitely fits the scary clown role well, and almost feels too dark for what we’ve seen on previous The Winchesters episodes.

If they want to give us nightmares, more creeps like Limbo, please.

At first, John’s consistent anger problems feel repetitive. However, they actually make The Winchesters feel more real. Problems such as anger issues don’t easily go away. It’s a constant battle.

John not instantly losing his anger issues makes him feel more human, more flawed, and more emotionally vulnerable. The same goes for Mary.

Mary is a very strong character. She fights demons as her career, but planning for the future scares her. Because she’s such a strong character, it makes her relatable and human to have fears just like everyone else. 

Clearly, neither of these characters has all the answers. We respect and like them because of it. No one wants a hero without flaws.

We want to watch them save the world in spite of their own problems or because of them. This episode very much reminds us that Mary and John are just young people still trying to figure it all out.

They are hunters second, and humans first.

Finally, Ada makes her big return to The Winchesters. It’s a great return as it brings Supernatural’s Rowena into the spinoff series.

We also learn that Ada may make a huge sacrifice in this battle against the Akrida. It’s nice to see her get so much focus as the person leading the subplot.

Additionally, it shows Ada’s potential as a witch. She could become a fascinating thread in The Winchesters if she continues to develop her powers.

Hopefully, Ada survives next week’s big season (or series) finale because I think her story has potential. It could be really interesting if given enough time to develop.

The Winchesters heads into the big showdown next week, and this episode does just enough to set it up.

Ada has the key to possibly stopping the queen. However, a lot of information remains unknown going into the finale, like Dean’s purpose in all this and the Akrida queen’s abilities.

Next week’s finale has a lot to do in under 60 minutes. Therefore, it may have been better to use this episode to lay more groundwork for the finale. Nevertheless, who knows how it all ends, everything may resolve itself in a satisfying and quick manner.

The stakes are very high for The Winchesters‘ upcoming finale. In terms of entertainment, “The Tears of a Clown” delivers. This gives me confidence that next week’s finale will at least be entertaining.

Can’t wait to see how it all ends.

Stray Thoughts

• Nida Khurshid delivers a hilarious performance during the entire clown attack scene.
• The Winchesters resolves John’s being wanted for murder a little too quickly. It makes it feel pointless if it only matters for two episodes.
• Those witches are just plain terrible. They give witches a bad reputation.
• It’s slightly worrying that The Winchesters has so much to do next week. The Season 1 finale may leave a lot of loose ends.
• Is John and Mary’s clown makeup somehow chic? Chic-clowns?
• The costumes and makeup on this episode didn’t match the decade. The witches give Roaring Twenties and the guys at the beginning of the episode have 1950s-style choices — at least from my limited knowledge of fashion of the decades. 

What did you think of this episode of The Winchesters? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Winchesters airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW. 

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