kind of a few things I want to complain about in terms of clumsy editing, clumsy dialogue, lame duck plot points and events. Those Freaking Robes. Being treated like a DUM DUM with the flashbacks (at least this week there was no establishing shot of the Golden Gate Bridge with “San Francisco” imposed on top).
However! Many lovely moments, several lovely legs!! shot in a very memorable way, some good jokes, some lovely closeups, the return of Jinkies. Contained the germ of a really fun and interesting bottle episode set in that diner that I suspect is what Perez was most interested in. And while everything to do with the mythology makes my heart sink in general, seeing the rift open at the end actually made me excited for the first time, and Dean walking through without Sam gave me an emotional jolt. I’m interested to see how it plays out!
I was surprised that they opened the rift, to be honest. I kinda thought they wouldn’t go through until the season finale. But hey–they’ve caught some of those bouncing plot balls in the same hand, so I’m happy!
I enjoyed this overall–it was both an entertaining Monster of the Week and a solid mythology episode. And for the first time, I thought that Asmodeus was actually menacing–the scene between him and Ketch was a standout for me.
Of course, the best line? “I enjoy looking at your face.” Mmm-hmm. You and every SPN fangirl and boy out there, sister.
I enjoyed it! I have three initial responses, and now that I’ve finished writing all that, I’m coming back to apologize for being so wordy!:
1. Hubris: I liked Asmodeus challenging Ketch about how he thinks he’s good (or at least not bad) because he follows his code while instead Asmodeus calls him the worst of the worst. I liked that Ketch got called on his pride. He’s been very smug and superior, but he’ll kill anyone for any reason, and he’ll rip away someone’s free will, torturing them until their mind is no longer their own (Mary). That’s reprehensible, and the longer he pretends he’s at least following his code, the longer he won’t be able to see how evil some of the things he’s done has been.
2. Redemption: How fascinating that Asmodeus saw “fear, regret, and pain” in Ketch. Demonic-like, however, he offers him no hope, saying instead that there is no redemption for either or them. It got me thinking about redemption and forgiveness. Who in the end is unforgivable? What acts drive a person beyond redemption? Is the very DESIRE for redemption the first step? So many characters in SPN have had a redemption arc despite the absolutely horrific things they did. (Thank HEAVENS that Ruby hasn’t, and, in the writers’ desire to highlight evil Alt Michael, I hope they don’t give Lucifer one.) But Meg did; the Trickster did (Ooooo, how I disliked what he did to Sam in Mystery Spot – that was so cruel); Crowley did. Benny, an evil vampire, got out of Purgatory with the determination to be good. Gadreel sought and found redemption. Dean and Sam have had their own arcs of forgiveness dealing with drinking human blood, being soulless, becoming demonic, and bearing the Mark of Cain. So who gets to be redeemed? In The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis, there is a group of quarreling dwarves who are destined to spend eternity miserable because they are trapped by their own perceptions, warped by the meanness of their personalities. They are actually no longer trapped in a dark stable with nothing to eat; they COULD be saved, but they WON’T be saved because they won’t open their eyes (mind). They won’t move beyond their hatred and selfishness. Asmodeus says there is no redemption, but he doesn’t want it. If you chose a different path, if you join a different side, are you asking for redemption? Are you taking the first step toward redemption?
3. Dean’s Portrayal: Dean finally seems to be back – he’s playful (playing pranks on Sam), determined, protective (I love his “Sammy?!” and “They took my brother. I’m going to get him back”), and a bit reckless. For those who find him peremptory and bossy, I don’t mind him telling Sam that he plans to go alone to Rift World. Sam is capable of saying, “No, you’re not,” and following him in there. Instead, Dean is reasonable about why: someone needs to take care of Gabriel and someone will need to be plan B if plan A (Dean and Ketch) falls through.
Something I noticed about Dean in tonight’s episode that I might not have picked up on if I hadn’t read all your reviews: Dean plays the part of the damsel in distress. The very slab Sandy was chained to is where he’s tied down as well. (That reminded me of the Stynes unsuccessfully strapping him down on an operating table back in season 10.) Beautiful, blonde Sandy, shackled down against her will waiting to be fed on by a monster, reminded me of Andromeda. No wonder the Winchesters were tricked – heroes have been saving beautiful women like her for millennia. Sheila, have you visited Chesterwood in the Berkshires and seen Daniel Chester French’s Andromeda? She’s amazing, helpless, provocative, alluring in her marble perfection. And THAT’S where Dean ends up. (I love that he’s a participant in his own rescue, btw, picking the lock and retrieving the Seal of Solomon.)
One last point: why WERE the Winchesters so blind to the danger the beautiful woman, unchanged for nearly 100 years, could be? Is it just the writers writing dumb Winchesters again, sacrificing characterization for plot? Or was it a different type of hubris, an assumption that the Men of Letters were librarians and chroniclers, good guys like their grandfather Henry, well-intentioned guardians of the lore that helped hunters survive? Did they just not think that the MoL could go so far off the rails as to perform what looked pretty much the equivalent of a satanic ritual in order to summon a god that CONSUMES UNIVERSES!!!!? I thought the British Men of Letters were extreme, not caring about collateral damage in their pursuit of “purity”, being willing to kill bystanders as well as anyone who opposed them because, in their pride of who they were and what they had done to rid the world of monsters, they had forgotten the “saving people” part of the deal. But now we see an entire chapter falling in with a charismatic leader who, so damaged by WWI, gave up on humanity and decided to call in a god from another dimension. Who do they think they are?! Talk about hubris! Did the Winchester brothers just not imagine that the MoL would go this far? Is that why they weren’t more suspicious of Sandy?
I agree with every point you make and I love the way you wrote it, except for your last point. I like to think, at least I hope, that the writers aren’t making the mistake of “dumbing down” the Winchesters. I think, though, as can happen in any large organization like the MoL, certain individuals in certain chapters can exert the kind of influence that leads to terrible things in the name of knowledge, truth, religion, whatever. It happens again and again. The Crusades, Waco, Jim Jones, Chairman Mao. What starts out as something that’s positive can so easily be perverted merely because one claims the power (or is given the power) by those less committed because of human nature being what it is. So I don’t think the Winchesters are necessarily stupid, but I think that they have to be constantly reminded that with great power comes great responsibility.
I think that we forget how powerful the MoL can be because Sam and Dean have never really explored that aspect. They use the MoL library has a research source. They think of it as a giant version of Dad’s journal. They probably haven’t explored the whole compound. Remember when they were surprised that they had a dungeon and a garage.
If I were the writers, I would use next season (which I’m assuming is going to be last season and I’m dreading it) to really explore the MoL universe in depth. The boys have done extensive research when necessary ( to get out of a locked bunker for example) but they haven’t really explored what the MoL can really do. I’m curious.
The fight scene with Dean was exciting — he was fierce and it was pretty brutal. I commend JA for being able to handle the stunts and fight choreography so well.
Carolyn, I agree with you on all points. But mostly, that season 14 is probably the last.
As for MofL, if the writers are smart, and they have always seemed to be (though they’ve gotten off track a few times), we don’t know what else they found in the East coast MofL lair. Did the boys empty it out? Did they simply shut the door and drive away? Are there other lairs to discover? AND does anyone think we’ve seen the last of the England MofL (I don’t think so)!
It was so nice to see the boys look excited to be there again. They always look fine, but this episode, they looked rested and interested in what was going on.
Just watched this. I am a bit behind in my viewing. I did like “Jinkies” a lot. And I’m with everyone above about how silly the robes were.
In a era of nanny-cams, it seems kinda silly that the local M(and W!)of L didn’t know immediately that someone was in their bunker, what they looked like, and where they went.
I’m reading a book called Weird Realism: Lovecraft and Philosophy where the author (a philosopher focused on ontology) uses Lovecraft’s writing to illustrate his point (opposing Kant) that objects aren’t merely made up of whatever can be listed (by humans) as their qualities. I had old HP on the brain. So it was fun to see Rhode Island as the locus of Lovecraftian chanting with the goal of bringing destructive gods into our world. I didn’t catch any references to the town of Arkham, or Miskatonic University (perhaps because they are in Massachusetts). The Lovecraft love was fun, but the episode was mostly meh. You shouldn’t be able to defeat a god in a few seconds.
Along the “you shouldn’t” lines, I want to know more about Cas’ marriage to the queen of the djinn. You can’t just drop that and walk away. I know this was in Scoobynatural, but I was thinking about it. I wonder if she looks like Barbara Eden in harem pants.
I did like Dean’s prankishness, and the comment that Baby was what cars looked like now (well, what they should look like). And Dean and Sam’s agreement (contra Cas) about how only one of them should go into the rift.
kind of a few things I want to complain about in terms of clumsy editing, clumsy dialogue, lame duck plot points and events. Those Freaking Robes. Being treated like a DUM DUM with the flashbacks (at least this week there was no establishing shot of the Golden Gate Bridge with “San Francisco” imposed on top).
However! Many lovely moments, several lovely legs!! shot in a very memorable way, some good jokes, some lovely closeups, the return of Jinkies. Contained the germ of a really fun and interesting bottle episode set in that diner that I suspect is what Perez was most interested in. And while everything to do with the mythology makes my heart sink in general, seeing the rift open at the end actually made me excited for the first time, and Dean walking through without Sam gave me an emotional jolt. I’m interested to see how it plays out!
I was surprised that they opened the rift, to be honest. I kinda thought they wouldn’t go through until the season finale. But hey–they’ve caught some of those bouncing plot balls in the same hand, so I’m happy!
I enjoyed this overall–it was both an entertaining Monster of the Week and a solid mythology episode. And for the first time, I thought that Asmodeus was actually menacing–the scene between him and Ketch was a standout for me.
Of course, the best line? “I enjoy looking at your face.” Mmm-hmm. You and every SPN fangirl and boy out there, sister.
I enjoyed it! I have three initial responses, and now that I’ve finished writing all that, I’m coming back to apologize for being so wordy!:
1. Hubris: I liked Asmodeus challenging Ketch about how he thinks he’s good (or at least not bad) because he follows his code while instead Asmodeus calls him the worst of the worst. I liked that Ketch got called on his pride. He’s been very smug and superior, but he’ll kill anyone for any reason, and he’ll rip away someone’s free will, torturing them until their mind is no longer their own (Mary). That’s reprehensible, and the longer he pretends he’s at least following his code, the longer he won’t be able to see how evil some of the things he’s done has been.
2. Redemption: How fascinating that Asmodeus saw “fear, regret, and pain” in Ketch. Demonic-like, however, he offers him no hope, saying instead that there is no redemption for either or them. It got me thinking about redemption and forgiveness. Who in the end is unforgivable? What acts drive a person beyond redemption? Is the very DESIRE for redemption the first step? So many characters in SPN have had a redemption arc despite the absolutely horrific things they did. (Thank HEAVENS that Ruby hasn’t, and, in the writers’ desire to highlight evil Alt Michael, I hope they don’t give Lucifer one.) But Meg did; the Trickster did (Ooooo, how I disliked what he did to Sam in Mystery Spot – that was so cruel); Crowley did. Benny, an evil vampire, got out of Purgatory with the determination to be good. Gadreel sought and found redemption. Dean and Sam have had their own arcs of forgiveness dealing with drinking human blood, being soulless, becoming demonic, and bearing the Mark of Cain. So who gets to be redeemed? In The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis, there is a group of quarreling dwarves who are destined to spend eternity miserable because they are trapped by their own perceptions, warped by the meanness of their personalities. They are actually no longer trapped in a dark stable with nothing to eat; they COULD be saved, but they WON’T be saved because they won’t open their eyes (mind). They won’t move beyond their hatred and selfishness. Asmodeus says there is no redemption, but he doesn’t want it. If you chose a different path, if you join a different side, are you asking for redemption? Are you taking the first step toward redemption?
3. Dean’s Portrayal: Dean finally seems to be back – he’s playful (playing pranks on Sam), determined, protective (I love his “Sammy?!” and “They took my brother. I’m going to get him back”), and a bit reckless. For those who find him peremptory and bossy, I don’t mind him telling Sam that he plans to go alone to Rift World. Sam is capable of saying, “No, you’re not,” and following him in there. Instead, Dean is reasonable about why: someone needs to take care of Gabriel and someone will need to be plan B if plan A (Dean and Ketch) falls through.
Something I noticed about Dean in tonight’s episode that I might not have picked up on if I hadn’t read all your reviews: Dean plays the part of the damsel in distress. The very slab Sandy was chained to is where he’s tied down as well. (That reminded me of the Stynes unsuccessfully strapping him down on an operating table back in season 10.) Beautiful, blonde Sandy, shackled down against her will waiting to be fed on by a monster, reminded me of Andromeda. No wonder the Winchesters were tricked – heroes have been saving beautiful women like her for millennia. Sheila, have you visited Chesterwood in the Berkshires and seen Daniel Chester French’s Andromeda? She’s amazing, helpless, provocative, alluring in her marble perfection. And THAT’S where Dean ends up. (I love that he’s a participant in his own rescue, btw, picking the lock and retrieving the Seal of Solomon.)
One last point: why WERE the Winchesters so blind to the danger the beautiful woman, unchanged for nearly 100 years, could be? Is it just the writers writing dumb Winchesters again, sacrificing characterization for plot? Or was it a different type of hubris, an assumption that the Men of Letters were librarians and chroniclers, good guys like their grandfather Henry, well-intentioned guardians of the lore that helped hunters survive? Did they just not think that the MoL could go so far off the rails as to perform what looked pretty much the equivalent of a satanic ritual in order to summon a god that CONSUMES UNIVERSES!!!!? I thought the British Men of Letters were extreme, not caring about collateral damage in their pursuit of “purity”, being willing to kill bystanders as well as anyone who opposed them because, in their pride of who they were and what they had done to rid the world of monsters, they had forgotten the “saving people” part of the deal. But now we see an entire chapter falling in with a charismatic leader who, so damaged by WWI, gave up on humanity and decided to call in a god from another dimension. Who do they think they are?! Talk about hubris! Did the Winchester brothers just not imagine that the MoL would go this far? Is that why they weren’t more suspicious of Sandy?
Oh, yes, Jessie above reminded me that Dean saying “Jinkies” is another example of playful Dean.
I agree with every point you make and I love the way you wrote it, except for your last point. I like to think, at least I hope, that the writers aren’t making the mistake of “dumbing down” the Winchesters. I think, though, as can happen in any large organization like the MoL, certain individuals in certain chapters can exert the kind of influence that leads to terrible things in the name of knowledge, truth, religion, whatever. It happens again and again. The Crusades, Waco, Jim Jones, Chairman Mao. What starts out as something that’s positive can so easily be perverted merely because one claims the power (or is given the power) by those less committed because of human nature being what it is. So I don’t think the Winchesters are necessarily stupid, but I think that they have to be constantly reminded that with great power comes great responsibility.
I think that we forget how powerful the MoL can be because Sam and Dean have never really explored that aspect. They use the MoL library has a research source. They think of it as a giant version of Dad’s journal. They probably haven’t explored the whole compound. Remember when they were surprised that they had a dungeon and a garage.
If I were the writers, I would use next season (which I’m assuming is going to be last season and I’m dreading it) to really explore the MoL universe in depth. The boys have done extensive research when necessary ( to get out of a locked bunker for example) but they haven’t really explored what the MoL can really do. I’m curious.
The fight scene with Dean was exciting — he was fierce and it was pretty brutal. I commend JA for being able to handle the stunts and fight choreography so well.
Carolyn, I agree with you on all points. But mostly, that season 14 is probably the last.
As for MofL, if the writers are smart, and they have always seemed to be (though they’ve gotten off track a few times), we don’t know what else they found in the East coast MofL lair. Did the boys empty it out? Did they simply shut the door and drive away? Are there other lairs to discover? AND does anyone think we’ve seen the last of the England MofL (I don’t think so)!
It was so nice to see the boys look excited to be there again. They always look fine, but this episode, they looked rested and interested in what was going on.
Just watched this. I am a bit behind in my viewing. I did like “Jinkies” a lot. And I’m with everyone above about how silly the robes were.
In a era of nanny-cams, it seems kinda silly that the local M(and W!)of L didn’t know immediately that someone was in their bunker, what they looked like, and where they went.
I’m reading a book called Weird Realism: Lovecraft and Philosophy where the author (a philosopher focused on ontology) uses Lovecraft’s writing to illustrate his point (opposing Kant) that objects aren’t merely made up of whatever can be listed (by humans) as their qualities. I had old HP on the brain. So it was fun to see Rhode Island as the locus of Lovecraftian chanting with the goal of bringing destructive gods into our world. I didn’t catch any references to the town of Arkham, or Miskatonic University (perhaps because they are in Massachusetts). The Lovecraft love was fun, but the episode was mostly meh. You shouldn’t be able to defeat a god in a few seconds.
Along the “you shouldn’t” lines, I want to know more about Cas’ marriage to the queen of the djinn. You can’t just drop that and walk away. I know this was in Scoobynatural, but I was thinking about it. I wonder if she looks like Barbara Eden in harem pants.
I did like Dean’s prankishness, and the comment that Baby was what cars looked like now (well, what they should look like). And Dean and Sam’s agreement (contra Cas) about how only one of them should go into the rift.