I’m not as into discussing the current seasons as the past seasons. No judgment! I personally just need a little time to think about things. Hence my absence around here (well, in these posts, anyway. I’ve actually been posting other stuff like a maniac). So there’s that, as well as writing assignments exploding every which way around me, sort of like time-traveling nuns emerging from each others’ backsides!
But I will say, that first there’s a Night of the Hunter reference and the next week’s episode was called The Bad Seed?? Another favorite movie. Oh, Rhoda (played by the absolutely brilliant Patty McCormack above, one of my favorite child performances of all time.) Rhoda, I get you, even if nobody else does. Yes, you are somewhat evil. But you just want to be left ALONE and you want people to stop under-estimating you or condescending to you just because you are a cute little girl.
Girl, I get it.
And yeah, “Bad Seed” was all exposition. But Ackles had some smooth camera shit going on, and murky colors, and some great angles. So I was happy.
I’ll be watching later on in the week. So carry on! Thanks, as always, for stopping by!
I . . . I don’t even have words. That was a delight from beginning to end. And the teaser for next week? It’s a Halloween gift.
‘House of whacks’. The CW has actually reached rock bottom. But Baby was, as you say, a delight.
‘House of whacks’. The CW has actually reached rock bottom. But Baby was, as you say, a delight.
House of Wacks… punny! http://youtu.be/N-qQAVQSvTo
So many great treats. I always wanted to hear Dean call his brother Samuel and I finally got my wish. It was also sweet to hear a bitch/jerk exchange. Also young!John! And Dean doing that 180 spin in Baby… it’s hot in here.
Yes, repeated fanning of myself.
That episode just skyrocketed to the top of my favourites list. Sheer perfection!
(not reading, avoiding spoilers)
I haven’t seen last week’s episode yet! I hope I can watch the 2 episodes tomorrow. I miss you guys! And, you know, i miss THEM.
I was like Meg Ryan in the restaurant in When Harry Met Sally, only I wasn’t faking it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdJm3DVg3EM
Bob freaking Seger!
Oh, Baby! Loved this episode. There were so many wishes fulfilled.
Paula, Paula, Paula,
We wished for the great God debate and someone heard us… I really liked that Dean was obviously set back to hear that Sam had prayed and even more so that he was infected, but he didn’t lose his cool. 2 points for the Aesop’s quote, Dean. Dean won this round, for now, but it was very satisfying. Clearly more to come. Yea!
Hate to say it, Sammy, but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t God masquerading as young John W. That was a season 6 Lucifer reference when he said, “I never could fool you, could I?” Obviously Dean isn’t the only one with a bond and Lucifer is able to somehow project his warning about the Darkness into Sam’s dream from inside the pit. Angels can do that right?
Yet more wish fulfillment. I’ll just say, “Yes, Sam, you really needed that.”
Very poignant discussions about normal childhoods and wanting something more than one nighters. Just enough without falling over into sentamentalism.
Dean’s ‘werepire’ & ‘ghoulpire’ efforts were reminiscent of a certain MEGA Coven.
Can we talk music cues? Not normally my strongsuit, but yeah. Firstly there was “Guitar Man”.
“Who’s gonna steal the show, you know, Baby…”
Then “Night Moves” duhh, but the singalong? Again Rowena echoes in my ears, “How about a wee sing-song?” It was magic.
So, “We’ve Got Tonight” reference – interesting that it comes from Dean and Sam makes the comment that everything is a Seger Lyric to Dean, but read the words:
“Deep in my soul, I’ve been so lonely
All of my hopes, fading away
I’ve longed for love, like everyone else does
I know I’ll keep searching, even after today
So there it is girl, I’ve said it all now
And here we are babe, what do you say?
We’ve got tonight, who needs tomorrow?
We’ve got tonight babe
Why don’t you stay?”
The lyrics are totally echoing what Sam is saying about wanting more.
So many wishes yet left with only a mental image of Dean washing Baby in shorts. I think we’ve only seen Dean in shorts in season 1 asleep. I think it’s the objectification scene you first wrote about, Sheila. Come to think of it we didn’t even get to see a single rippling Sam bicep in the back seat. Just a little objectifying wouldn’t hurt…
Oh, poor Baby! Even battered and bloodied she’ll carry our heroes away. Yes, Sam saving the world can wait one more day.
“After all… tomorrow is another day.”
Re Dean’s Seger reference: I guess it’s Dean’s way of expressing his “longings” but without the chick flick moment, because Seger is cool.
Lucifer as the messenger, intriguing! We know that he likes to take the form of others to be more persuasive.
and there were a lot of callbacks to the end of Season 5, too. I think you’re on to something, Melanie!
That scene was so good and they took their time with it, which I loved, and Dean not freaking out. Sam, Sam, Sam. Who would never fool you (or lie to you)? Who shows up in the guise of your loved ones in dreams (exactly Jessie!). And who is the “opposite of the Darkness”? I loved Dean’s snark about if God was trying to tell Sam something, he probably wouldn’t show up as Dad.
//Come to think of it we didn’t even get to see a single rippling Sam bicep in the back seat. // the second greatest fan service episode and we didn’t get this? WTH
Robbie Thompson, I love you.
Can we just have Robbie Thimpson and Robert Berens write all the episodes?
hi. so this was SUPERNATURAL for ADULTS. just brilliant. we had singing, we had humour, we had blood. somehow i did see more ” jared and jensen” than ” sam and dean”. tnank you supernatural.
And as a sixteen-year-old, I can confirm that this was SPN for, uh… everyone? Even IMDB liked it, for a change.
Yay! And you could tell the cast and crew were really excited about it too. Always a good sign.
wren, if you know about the clouds, and the bees and the seeds u are an ADULT.
Last week was everything I absolutely hate in one package. I was upset about it for days.But this episode was like taking a leisurely soak in a bubblebath of feelz. It was awesome.
Singing. Dreams. Visions. Music. Driving. Mom. Dad. God. Terrible puns. The Nachzehrer (a reference that gives me pleasure for reasons too longwindedly British to explain.) A podunk town with a dodgy deputy. Singing. A roadhouse. Girls. Longings. Yearnings. Memories. Singing. Baby. Baby-cam. Chiaroscuro. Neon. Smashed windscreens. Busted fender. Toy soldiers. Comedy-gold fighting. Did I mention singing?
Aaah. I feel better now.
the three of them just getting more and more battered as the episode went on was a delight to the senses, a delight to the goddamn senses!
Exactly! The escalating destruction of all three. The fight scene in and around the car was so well orchestrated.
I was laughing at the thought of them driving all the way from Oregon to Kansas like that. Bugs in the teeth time. Yech.
Paula, yes, the FIGHT SCENES. The fight scenes were all so funny! Getting rid of a head with windscreen wipers. Stomping that woman in the footwell while Sam flirts with the counter chick. Getting his legs pulled from under him. JA is so good with bringing a clownish physicality to all of it.
And beyond that, incredible choreography. I really, really loved how close, physical, brutal and purposeful all the fights were. So nice to have a change from people and things being thrown into walls. I would love to see more fights like this. They all felt like real people who were really getting hurt. The fights had STAKES.
Yes to all the praise for the fights in this ep. I’ve really missed the comedic quality to some of the great fights from the earlier series. All that wonderful pratfalling, keeling over with legs flying up in the air. I love that great fight – brutal – in the Benders with the cannibal family that ends with Dean being hit on the head with a frying pan and keeling over. One of my favourites. This reminded me of that.
Can we get back to the counter chick? I love how they drive up with blood drenching the passenger window and door. It’s facing her, not 20 feet away, yet she’s so blinded by Sam’s flirting that she doesn’t notice the death mobile. That’s some powers of distraction Sammy.
Helena – I loved that fight in The Benders! All the close-in hits and using whatever is on hand to fight, and Dean’s “I’m going to kick your ass. Then yours.”
Reminds me of my favorite Marvel fight scene. It is not one of the big blowout, special effects extravaganzas but the elevator scene in The Winter Soldier. Steve trapped in close proximity with a bunch of Hydra agents and only his shield and he says, “anyone want to get off now?”
// she’s so blinded by Sam’s flirting that she doesn’t notice the death mobile./
Sam was on a secret mission to wow the ladies this episode. It’s like he was emitting ‘bonk me now’ pheromones, or something.
I just can’t get over this show in terms of Sam and Dean fistfighting with women and children. It’s so funny to me to see Dean whaling on some middle aged woman and she is just giving it straight back because, surprise!, she isn’t really a middle aged woman. They must have so much fun with these scenes
My favourite has to be Cas monologuing away on the phone while Dean socked it out with the nachreewerfwsefwq whateveritwas.
What a delight! And I loved that whereas this was a one-of episode for us the viewers, they did a great job of making us feel that “this shit happens EVERYDAMNDAY in their lives.”
I hadn’t realised how much I missed the everyday texture of their lives until this episode.
Just put a camera on these guys, my god! The shit they’ll give you. I can’t get over it.
//this episode was like taking a leisurely soak in a bubblebath of feelz. It was awesome// because we need to wash the stink off of last week’s episode. It was pretty awesome.
//we need to wash the stink off of last week’s episode//
Oh boy. Chalk that one down to ‘episodes that never happened’ category.
Girls. Longings. Yearnings.
They just need someone who understands.
I’ve been laughing for 5 straight minutes at that .gif.
Thank you.
//Last week was everything I absolutely hate in one package. I was upset about it for days.//
Oh, Helena, I totally agree. I was out of town visiting family last week. I excused myself for an hour to watch 11×03 up in our hotel room. And my nephew came with me, which was nice, except for how embarrassingly bad the episode was. The only good stuff came from the actors who were well-established in their characters. But it was the kind of good stuff that was not really accessible to anyone who doesn’t have a sense of their history. (Some of the shots were also interesting, thanks to JA’s directing, but that’s not the kind of thing that is easily discussed without a pause button.)
Although I assured my nephew that the show was usually better than that, I believe that bleh episode has permanently damaged my genre-show credibility in his eyes. (As a result, I’m afraid I’ve lost a lot of ground in our ongoing argument regarding Star Trek vs. Star Wars… )
When I got home the other day, I couldn’t even bring myself to be upset that my DVR failed to record last week’s ep while I was gone, despite my completist tendencies. The recording worked fine this week, even though I didn’t change any settings. (Maybe my recorder was looking after my best interests and mental health.)
Tonight’s episode was such a lovely gift after last week, for all the reasons everyone else has already listed. Plus Dean’s were-pires and ghoul-pires reminded me of vampirates which reminded me of Benny, which is also a lovely, if sad, gift.
//(Maybe my recorder was looking after my best interests and mental health.)//
I think so, too. Treasure that machine. It has good taste.
// Plus Dean’s were-pires and ghoul-pires reminded me of vampirates which reminded me of Benny, which is also a lovely, if sad, gift. //
Agreed. Bittersweet.
//The Nachzehrer (a reference that gives me pleasure for reasons too longwindedly British to explain.)//
Helena, As I am currently down a rabbit hole with Paula, please join us down here with your delightfully longwinded British explanation of that reference. It is just the pleasurable entertainment called for at our mad teaparty. Or Dean could just jump out of a cake in his red dodgeball shorts…
and what an honour, for me, personally, to be featured so prominently in what will surely go down as a top five episode of the show. I guess my only question is, how did Robbie Thompson know my real name is Deputy Dumbass?
Robbie Thompson seems to know what everyone wants but delivers what everybody neeeeeds, in a form that is full of surprise and delight.
Guy must be awesome in bed, just sayin’
I heard Robbie Thompson has the sexual prowess of Shaft, the charm of Newman and the high-kick of Minelli.
Too much TV. The first Newman that came to mind was the mailman on Seinfeld. Then I got recalibrated.
Lol nooooooooo!
Hahahahaha
All the mentions of their parents this episode. Also the ghoulpires/werepies were talking family. I wonder if that was foreshadowing as well. Are we in for a reworking of the creation myth? The birth of everything. I keep coming back to this thought of The Darkness represented as feminine and we’ve had God/Chuck referred to as masculine, and that perhaps Amara is a Gaia-like figure? Did Amara and Chuck have a mess divorce back in the day and he threw her out of the house so to speak?
//werepies //
Paula, I love this. Finally, SPN gets its own pie.
I’m picturing Gene Wilder saying “werepies?” and Marty Feldman pointing at a bakery and saying “there pies.”
I’m dying
//I keep coming back to this thought of The Darkness represented as feminine and we’ve had God/Chuck referred to as masculine, and that perhaps Amara is a Gaia-like figure?// Or perhaps the “begotten” child, “first creation” of God, the female personna Wisdom. Did He have to put his daughter in time out? Maybe she was trying to run away with a certain goodlooking, persuasive angel. He had to separate the Light from the Darkness… Oh, dear! I believe I’ve fallen down a Proverbial rabbit hole.
And grabbed my wrist and pulled me right over the edge with you
The naughty valet (a new fantasy, thanks SPN!) and the Pulp Fiction call out: “Spider’s caught a fly.” I think Baby enjoyed the ride. You knew that the lost purse was going to come in handy later in the episode. A woman with pennies in her purse that are older than she is.
//”Spider’s caught a fly.”// Pulp Fiction quote is perfect for how violent the episode was, as Jill said we had //Dean whaling on some middle aged woman// stomping her in the wheel well and the blood dripping down the window.
Is there is some crazy German philosophical word for something that is violent + adorable? We need that for Supernatural episodes. Heftigbezaubernd?
Dean didn’t get the Samurai sword, but that BFM ( the M is machete) is a good proxy. Was Deputy Dumbass’ head in the cooler a reasonable substitute for The Gimp in his cage?
hey mutecypher, the machete shoot was real cool but the head in the cooler, with the funny noise on and on… and now i know why demons say that dean is like chaotic. the machete thrown carelessly in the front seat, the clothes and himself soak in blood. he is very messy. honestly, i don’t know how he doesn’t get kill often.
//Heftigbezaubernd//
Necessary SPN vocabulary!
OMG I just realized that the villain, Fiske, in Daredevil (Netflix orig. series) cut off a guy’s head with a car door! And, Paula, if you say that the one-take hallway fight scene in Daredevil is one of your favorites then just quietly step out of my brain and we won’t speak of this again.
We will just continue to be sisters from another mother. I have not started Daredevil yet out of fear of another terrible binge watching addiction. It’s on my list once we finish X Files rewatch
Ha, ha, ha. It’s only one season. Barely registers on the binge scale. Just do it!
//The naughty valet (a new fantasy, thanks SPN!)…I think Baby enjoyed the ride.// Baby’s just havin’ a little fun with the girls.
I echo everyone’s comments. Sex, Fights.Singing. Glorious. Right up there with some of their best. Loved every minute even when I was totally grossed out.
hi. on top of everything, we get to know how baby smells… of pine.
there is a tag in the shape of a pine near the key ignition.
also, has anybody been near a chevrolet impala 67 to really swear under oath that there is all of that room under the seats ( could sam actually fit in there?)
jessie,( our jessie) such a lucky girl, you to got to ride baby!!!!!
you know I think I envy Heather (our Heather) even more, she got to ride something else entirely.
” i don’t understand that reference”
Dean mentions having a one-night-stand with a Heather, which is the name of one of the commenters here, who also COINCIDENTALLY??????????? just had a baby :-)
ok. there is our heather and her beautiful bundle of joy and a hunter name heather who brings joy to our joyless boys. got it. thanks for explaining the reference. sometimes i stare at the pc screen the same way castiel stares at dean with some “lost in translation” references. thank u
Hey Mercedes! I’ve been in a 67 Impala and yes the floor space in those cars are huge! Sam could definitely fit in there….now, 100% comfortably? Probably not.
I haven’t really been watching this season, but caught last night’s episode-LOVED it! The Bob Seger sing along, with Dean gesturing to Sam when singing “I was a little too tall, could’ve used a few pounds…”-adored the look on Dean’s face.
I…I loved it.
So much I ruined my link.
Sheila is rubbing off on me so I did some research on the director, Thomas Wright. I thought it was perhaps one of the older directors who might have directed season 1-2 JDM because the tight shots of Matt Cohen’s pores, I mean mouth, were so reminiscent of those early John Winchester shots. (More on that in a sec.) Wright has a long tv directing resume (NCIS, Millenium) going back decades, but, most interesting to me is that he got his start as as storyboard illustrator for Hitchcock. The first illustration in this article is a windshield with a rearview mirror framing a man’s eyes glancing sideways.
http://filmmakeriq.com/2010/11/hitchcocks-storyboards-from-13-classic-films/
No wonder he was selected to direct this episode. I now recognize that sort of off balance feeling, created by weird camera angles, that I got several times during the episode as very Hitchcockian (Shut up, Dean. I’m trying to be serious here). I had at first chalked it up to limited maneuvering space for the camera, but it was obviously much more purposeful. And, Helena, //you could tell the cast and crew were really excited about it too.// Their excitement was palpable. The lucky sound guy apparently had a seat mounted in the trunk and posted a video online of his “Baby” ride. Mercedes, you said //somehow i did see more ” jared and jensen”// I saw them come through in this excitement. Everyone really brought their A++++ game, but especially J&J.
As for Matt Cohen’s portrayal of John Winchester, I must confess that in his previous appearances I never felt he was really JW, not the John we came to know portrayed by JDM, not enough trauma etched into his face. This portrayal was really channelling JDM…that slow closeup smile. And after the Lucifer aha moment I totally saw him channelling Mark Pellegrino as well.
Pure GOLD. ALL OF IT, TOP TO BOTTOM. GOLD.
Those story boards are amazing. Thanks for sharing this. I would have thought several of these were pulled directly from the episode we just watched instead of a Hitchcock movie. Perfect marriage of vision and director with a particular story.
I agree, Matt Cohen brought his A game to that one scene, reminiscent of JDM but with something alien to it like he was wearing a “John Winchester suit” with Mark Pellegrino’s slow lidded reptilian eyes. Creepy. Good. Kinda hot.
yes melanie, i have seen some footage of j2 conventions and this chapter has a lot of resemblances of their chemistry on stage. jensen sings and looks at jared the same way that dean looks at sam.
God, those story boards are amazing.
I loved that vision scene with Sam and John Winchester – the close-ups just got closer and closer. So unsettling and spooky. And yes, impressed with Matt Cohen too – evoking a real uncanny quality in his performance.
T.J Wright directed Reichenbach- one of the best-looking episodes of Season Ten- Cole’s nasty basement and the cuts back and forth from Dean fighting the bouncer. And Dean and Cole’s fight against all the graffiti. And he did Repo Man, which contained THIS wonderful shot- http://screencapped.net/tv/supernatural/displayimage.php?album=239&pid=1694009.
Wow. Good catch, Wren. So he actually directed some of the best Sam/Lucifer torment scenes.
What a coicidence. Just watched the Millenium episode of The X Files directed by Thomas J Wright. Great shot looking up from the grave at Mulder in the foreground on top of the casket and Scully at the top of the grave. Christmastime necromancy. Good times.
Watching Dean do that 180 spin in the car is dangerous to my blood pressure. It is so badass and sexy; it would practically be porn to have him do burnouts, doughnuts, that stupid Fast & Furious drift maneuver on a continuous loop.
Again, repeated fanning of myself. Dean is just so competent and capable, two of the sexiest things ever.
Weren’t we admiring Dean’s competent pizza handling/gun slinging skills just last season? A man of so many talents. *can’t get Virginia Slims jingle song out of head*
Smoky burnouts, gun slinging and pizza delivery. The look on that woman’s face while he’s pulling the 180 is priceless. Dean is calm, getting shit done, and she is thinking OMG, WHY AM I IN THIS CAR.
So, what’s the consensus on Sam’s vision – who do you think is talking to him?
My first thought was Lucifer, who is stirring in the cage because the Darkness is loose. But then, that got shot down because Luci never spoke to Sam before. Lucifer wouldn’t shut up in S9, being a dick and keeping Sam awake to the point of a psychotic break, so I if he was able to speak to Sam, he would have started long ago.
I gotta go with it’s God, but I hate that he’s not gonna make it easy for the boys to fight the darkness.
“I know you said it wouldn’t be any fun if it was easy, but does it have to be THIS much fun?” —Torque 2004
//not gonna make it easy// If it is God, he really is even more of a dick than his angels. With the vision being John, it might point towards God the father, or with Dean and John being Michael’s vessels, maybe it would be logical that it is Michael trying to communicate.
Ablemarle, if this was poker, I’d be going all in on Lucifer like I mentioned upthread (everybody on Sheila’s site must be rolling their eyes, oh good god, Paula is talking about Luci again. I THINK SHE HAS A THING. Yes, yes I do. Thank you very much). In addition to the three points I mentioned above, I was also thinking about the fact that John Winchester appeared in the drivers seat in Sam’s vision is important. Initially he thought it was Dean. Same position, same driving posture we always see with Dean, the right arm up on the wheel and glancing over his shoulder at Sam. Sam then thinks it’s dream Dad but very quickly realizes it’s someone else. This person/entity being is “in the drivers seat”, in control of their destination, of driving Sam, which to me sounds a lot like possession. Sam has to sit shotgun seat and wait it out, he may able to talk back but he “doesn’t have the wheel” so to speak. Who does he have that relationship with? Dean and Lucifer. I never thought there were parallels before with these two characters but they both carried the Mark, they both have healthy egos to believe they are doing the right thing (ok, Luci’s ego is gigantic but you know what I’m saying) and they both exhibit control over Sam’s life who is often the passenger I one way or another.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “when you hear hoofbeats behind you, think horses not zebras”? In this case, I may be hearing a herd of quaggas.
This is really an interesting breakdown, Paula! I think you’re on to something.
I read a review by Hunter Bishop on TV Overmind that speaks to the imagery linking to the Cage, too–the language used struck me, so I’m going to quote a piece:
“Sam and Dean lie head to toe in the Impala, in Baby, and they sleep. Sam lies with his feet towards the audience, as if he were in a coffin. Dean lies with his head towards the audience, upside down. Sam wears red, and Dean wears blue. They are yin and yang in this scene; they are two sides of each other; they dream about the parent they knew least and were so desperate to be like, but Sam is his father and Dean is his mother, and they will never escape that.
Sam wore red, and Dean wore blue. Sam lay as if in a coffin, and Dean lay as if upside down. Sam is given visions about God helping them, as long as they help themselves. He gives Sam visions about the Cage.
Sam wore red, and Dean wore blue; Sam in a coffin, Dean hanging upside down. The Cage, The Cage, The Cage.”
Now, I didn’t have this ominous feeling when I watched that scene–but I can see what the author means. And it links to what you’re saying about Sam not being in the driver’s seat in his vision! Spooky—
Barb, that sounds so interesting- I’m hunting down that review now!
Barb – I read that review last night and loved it! It speaks to a lot of what we’ve said here,”I want the show to start over and be this. I want the minimalism AND the lore. I want the brutality and the emotional minutiae.”
The coffin analogy. This is another reason I love Robbie Thompson. Baby is an adorable episode but there are a lot of layers under the cute.
I apologize to everyone for saying “I love…” about 18 times in this thread. A little too enthusiastic.
Barb, I particularly like the yen yang imagry. I will also look this up and read it.
you know? sometimes i have the feeling that the writers come out with scripts right out of a spread of tarot decks. this is one of them.
// with Dean and John being Michael’s vessels, maybe it would be logical that it is Michael trying to communicate.//
You made me have a crazy thought, Paula. (Not sure why that surprises me since you’ve obviously been scrounging around in my brain.) The last time we, and more importantly Sam, saw this Young!John was when he was possessed by Michael. That was amazing and totally HOT!!! Anyhoo…What if…(Paula, cue the “Get Along Shirt”)… Michael AND Lucifer are working together to communicate? Whadda ya think? They’re so freaked by the Darkness that they put aside their differences to reach the only ones who can help – Sam and Dean, of course. (Adam is crumpled on the floor of the cage in a permanently vegetative state.)
Hahaha, GMTA.
so, anyone, a roadhouse is similar to a honky-tonk? so that rough look dean had about himself as he came out of it could it be, perhaps, due to the intake of a non – measurable strong liquour, gambling, country music and dancing girls?
As he said, “Mistakes were made.” But clearly he was not overly burdened by those mistakes. Good times, Dean.
Mercedes, a roadhouse could be a honkytonk, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s basically a word that means a bar situated outside of town and just off of a road–usually a backroad highway, and often feeling a bit in the middle of nowhere. Remember Ellen’s Roadhouse in s. 2? Not a dive, but definitely out of the way of most traffic.
But yeah, good times of the Dean variety were obviously had.
thank u barb. we have nothing like that in spain. i really liked the idea for a business.
With the visit from young!John and all the talk about the parents appearing in dreams, I hope that there will be more appearances from John and Mary. I loved all the actors who have played the Winchester parents, so seeing them again is a good thing, but I’m particular to Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
JDM said this year (at the Vegas convention) that he’d like to be on the show again and it would blow my mind to see him in a dream sequence talking to Dean about how to fight the Darkness. Even a bigger mind blower… JDM in the guise of God. John was a god in Dean’s eyes – it would make so much sense. However, not sure if my heart can take JA and JDM onscreen together again.
Upon a second, more attentive viewing, I have slightly more words now. I still can’t even talk about the “wishing for more than this” and “maybe with another hunter” stuff, though. I just can’t. My mind veers off into fan fiction territory when I try. Because I could go to oh so many places with that . . .
I’m pretty convinced at this point that it’s Lucifer answering Sam’s prayers, not God. Two reasons: the way “John” said “I never could fool you,” (or something along those lines; I don’t remember the exact line) was DEEPLY reminiscent of some of Mark Pellegrino’s line readings. Also, in the post dream/vision analysis between Sam and Dean, Sam acknowledged that maybe it’s not God answering his prayers, but the opposite of the Darkness, whatever that is. (Like, I don’t know, maybe light?) I do have questions, though, if it is Lucifer, because wasn’t he unable to reach out to Sam when he was in the cage the first time until Lilith opened it? And if he IS able to send visions from the cage, was he really taunting Sam back in season 7 when Sam was psychotic?
How is Lucifer projecting when he couldn’t do it before? Maybe he and Michael are finally wearing God’s “get along shirt” and signal boosting each other. Lucifer standing on Michael’s shoulder, waving his arms and saying, “move a little to the left, Mike, I keep losing him”
What an unsettling thought, Natalie, that Hallucifer was real and just messing with Sam because “It’s not like we got HBO in the Pit”. Only Adam, laying in the corner, catatonic.
OK, Paula, you are seriously creeping me out now…
I solemnly swear to read all comments before writing down exactly what Melanie just wrote down. Just really freaky weird.
It is as much an issue of Sam’s words as “John’s”. Sam says, ” You’re not real.” In response we get the slow, beautifully creepy, smile in such tight close-up. We are meant to recall the many scenes of Sam pressing on the cut in his hand and repeating, “You’re not real.” Notice also how hostile Sam is to his visitor instinctively, “Don’t call me that (son).” It was way more than Sam’s Dad issues. IMHO It is clearly Lucifer, but Sam is still right – he’s not real. There is however the question you brought up, Albemarle and Natalie. Is Lucifer actually able to reach Sam from the cage and if he is then where has he been for 4 seasons? Was that ever really Lucifer or merely Sam’s madness brought on by his soul’s time in the cage. Why would God dredge up a veiled image from Sam’s tortured past? I have said since the 10 finale that I believe springing Lucifer and Michael from the cage is the answer to fighting the darkness. Obviously S&D are not going to come easily to that conclusion. I think God is answering Sam’s prayer and his heart’s prayer to return to saving people. See last week’s thread re: #RedeemLucifer #RedeemtheDarkness. I think He’s using the Sam/Lucifer bond and the Dean/Darkness bond to save the world. “So help me, Sam, if you say God works in mysterious ways…” ‘Faith’ is one of my favorite eps.
Just a quick drop that I saw on another site; more and more speculation is that the vision IS Lucifer. This theory is due to the fact that Lucifer is also known as the Light Bringer, so it follows that he’ll be needed to vanquish the Darkness.
Tumblr’s in agreement.
Yes to all of the above.
I’ll just add: THAT is the Castiel I love. Here but not too much, alien, doing his best but not quite in tune with what’s happening. Funny.
Those huge close up with fuzzy backgrounds, the use of silence — which lets us hear the engine — the openness between the brothers, awesome legs moments, flares, sex Baby having her own secret life away from Dean with the girls,… This was just so so great. I’m in love.
What an intimate episode, in every sense. For all the excitement and action going on, narrowing it down to Baby’s ‘perspective’ brought this great sense of unity and closeness, as well as incredible depth. The fact that our viewpoint as viewers was as limited as the Winchesters’ really reminded me of the early seasons, like going back to the roots, the essentials of Supernatural. Robbie Thompson has a real knack for this – his best episodes are like loveletters to the show itself.
The intimacy between them and between us and them — everything aligned so well. They seemed just as relieved as I felt to have an episode away from apocalyptic stakes — to turn it smaller and more personal. I felt like I shared their joy and freedom — so much laughing! No intrusive scoring, no rushed production schedule, no characters shoe-horned in for contractual reasons. Network television is an unforgiving beast.
Just like last year’s RT wonderfest it couldn’t have happened without the cumulative weight of all preceding years and what we as viewers want most dearly. What is very striking for me is a refusal of the domestication of the bunker — the bunker as a home in a way that is comprehensible to us. Something we’ve all been saying is very lovely. We don’t see it though, because a morning routine at home is very familiar, and very different from a morning routine on the road. It is really not good for you to sleep in cars and probably also a bit weird to be so personally satisfied that your brother put down a blanket (we’re all over-invested in Sam’s sex life I suppose). No wonder we feel so close to them when we get to see this stuff.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, they gave us back the highwayman romance of the show and it felt great, and I’ll be very curious to see what Carver et al take from the success of this episode and whether they try to/are able to integrate its minor and major triumphs.
Speaking of intimacy and things we shouldn’t want for people, greatest shot of the episode, or of the series?
Great pick, Jessie. Definitely, of the episode. Of the series – who knows? Something in season 22 might just top that!
by season 22 the meta episodes will just be an unbroken long shot of Misha Collins reading Sheila’s recaps while J2 linedance in the background.
FAV + RT
That shot’s basically Supernatural: a summary.
I am so intrigued by this wonderful yen yang shot. And you are right, Mercedes, it definitely has a tarot card look to it as well. But, Jesse, I found this particular gif to be really unsettling! I was trying to study the picture, but Dean won’t be still! I had to cover wiggly!Dean with my finger to really be able to concentrate on the rest of the shot. There is a feeling of the cage as if Sam & Dean are packed like 2 sardines into Baby’s steel cage. Sam’s completely peaceful, resting posture does not make that cage feel threatening, but rather protective. However, when I lift my finger revealing the squirming Dean, that peaceful, easy feeling is shattered. It took a moment to bring to the front of my mind what this was conjuring up – Houdini hanging upside down in a straight jacket trying to escape!
http://houdinihimself.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Tony-Curtis-USD.jpg
(For me of course, Tony Curtis is Houdini.)
This would seem to imply that in their unconscious minds it is Sam who is completely at ease in the hunter life while Dean struggles against it’s bonds, even Baby’s protective clutches, to be free…hmmm…because sometimes safety and familiarity are our strongest prisons. Wow! Tables turned! I’ll have to think on that for awhile…
It’s so satisfying to see Dean’s pure, boyish excitement for his brother’s…uhm, good fortune. I think its perfectly normal for brothers and sisters to be happy for their siblings, but it often comes with a little baggage, judgement, or at the very least a little thunder stealing. Certainly we would expect Sam to offer up some judgement if the roles were reversed. But Dean is just straight up happy. Did you see him peak in the back window after exiting the car? It didn’t feel creepy, just boyishly wanting to enjoy the moment. It reminds me (without the tragic aftermath) of his raised fist in ‘Heart’. Freakin’ season 2! They were just babies then, but even after all that’s gone down these guys remember who Sam and Dean Winchester are! Wow! I love this show!
Dear Paula,
Please don’t apologize for saying “I love…” many times in regards to this episode. I personally feel such enthusiasm is perfectly justifiable. ;-)
In fact, Helena pointed out: //Robbie Thompson has a real knack for this – his best episodes are like loveletters to the show itself.//
I wish all writers started off with “I love…” when working on their scripts. It could be “I love horror movies” or “I love family drama” or “I love buddy cop shows” or “I love fantasy” or “I love comedy” or even better, “I love horror-family drama-buddy cop-fantasy-comedy shows.” But the absolutely best scripts, to me, are the ones like “Baby” that say “I love the show I’m working on.”
I don’t mean to diminish the technical and artistic work of the actors, director, film-, stunt- and the whole production team. They really brought their A games for this one. Kudos to all involved. Even the best scripts can be messed up in the wrong hands, but these guys still care, and it shows every week.
But the talent level of the actors, director, etc. wasn’t the problem last week. It was the script. I love Robbie Thompson’s “Baby” script. I love it even more when it’s contrasted with last week’s.
Here’s just one example (out of many) of why I think it’s soooo much better than that one: the one-off side characters. Last week’s one-off characters were all barely sketched victims whose motivations could all be ascribed to: “I want more power and I don’t want to die.” Expected. Boring. Bleh. I think the only variations were in their wardrobe and scene partners. (I only watched it once, distractedly, so my antipathy is the most memorable thing about them to me at the moment.)
The one-off side characters this week were either Winchester-echoes in their motivations, like the family-oriented Deputy Dumbass & Mrs. Markham and the one-night-stand-seeking Piper. Or delightfully random Jess the parking attendant, who wanted to do donuts in an awesome car with her best friend. (Which, come to think of it, is also a Winchester motivation echo, so lump her in with the other group.) Robbie Thompson’s characters all had lives before the episode began, and most of them had lives after it, too.
Plus, this episode was the first time in a loooooooonnnnggg time that the love, respect and affection shown onscreen between the boys felt more than habitual, or worse, theoretical.
I feel like we haven’t seen this level of ease between them since before Purgatory. I love it when the JA and JP chemistry gets the screentime and conversational shifts to show off – or even just hint at – more sides and colors.
Baby really, really does equal home.
But since this is Supernatural and we can’t have nice things, I’m worried all over again.
Thanks a lot, Robbie Thompson, for getting me reinvested in them and their relationship and this show all over again. In season 11. Dammit.
//But since this is Supernatural and we can’t have nice things, I’m worried all over again.//
I’d second that. Thanks for an absolutely wonderful episode, Robbie Thompson, you utter b*st*rd.
//reinvested in them and their relationship and this show all over again. In season 11. Dammit.// so true