I haven’t seen it yet and I am avoiding all of you on Twitter who are talking about it.
Will catch up with you once I’ve seen it!
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You guys, I am feeling a little loopy about this one! This is the first one I have truly loved since Red Meat — the first one that felt as a whole, an entire episode, written and shot with purpose and imagination, with no wasted time, with a laser focus on Winchester family dynamics and feelings. The second Sam teared up at the end I was with him. That is how you climax an episode. First time in years that the Winchester Family Theme has moved me.
And that is how you start an episode too. Tension and mystery. Brother weirdness (they are so WEIRD!!). Being on the outside of Dean looking at him, trying to puzzle him out. The opposite to last week — an interesting contrast. Everyone he meets spinning out with concern for him. This is the Supernatural of old. Dean withholding, especially from Sam. The show withholding from the audience, bringing us in. What’s the building in there?
I suspect that Billie’s true solution is still something to do with Sam (or maybe Mary) and that Dean’s Homemade Interview With The Vampire Coffin Of UnDeath is still him fighting that solution, in which case the last conversation and Jensen’s entire performance contains this whole other layer of awesome.
I loved that the second Sam gets a bad feeling he jumps in a fucking car. They are so weird about each other and this episode embraced that! And it’s taken years but there was FINALLY complexity and specificity in their interactions with Mary — they used her really well. Asking her to keep secrets from the other one, conversations about John, how they were raised, what she means. I thought it hilarious that Dean got there and then conned her into going for what appeared to be a ten-hour drive to get some dinner. It is so dumb that she is in this cabin with non-existent nu!Bobby, it is so dumb that stabbing a demon’s eye makes it bleed black goop. I don’t care! It is so dumb that Cas and Jack and Maggie and The Krew are magically disappearing, but I was just grateful that there was no wasted time with “where is Cas this episode” — literally no scenes where I was rolling my eyes with boredom.
Everyone killed it. Production with the (20000 sq. foot) cabin with its lopsided sloping roof. The beefcake pinups (Sheila, was that Burt Reynolds or a lookalike?!) and 8-track. Even Smith stepped up a level. Pellegrino is so good at making his skin go slack. He is so creepy! The guys in that first scene — everything was so delicate, there were mixed emotions. The crinkles under Sam’s eyes when he sad-smiled. The way Jensen can convey an ocean of feeling locked-down under the surface is such a pleasure to watch. And then in the final scene Jared escalated his frustration into something sharp and hurt and it was about just them and he got tears and so did I. And they were standing over that RIDICULOUS coffin and there was a beefcake pinup between them and I just. felt. happy.
Special mention for Sgriccia who knocked it into outer space. Night-driving. Neon. Closeups. The awkward framing of that awkward hug. So much to enjoy. Hooray for Donna, hooray for a well-acted demon!
Someone else’s turn to be wet blanket for once! Hit me I can take it! Thanks for the thread Sheila!
This is all so right on. You are mentioning all of the details that struck me as well – and also pointing out things I didn’t pick up at first – I’ve only seen it once. I’ll watch again today.
I think the main thing you’re saying here that really really strikes a chord with me is the sense of MIXED feelings. True complexity. Not a half-hearted stab at complexity (“words with friends” ugh) … but actual complexity, where I – out here watching – squint at the screen trying to read between the lines. This is the thing that is the hook about the show – the interdynamics, the flux of the relationships, the love – that is no different from … stalking, at some point … the codependence … and the way they communicate (or don’t). Nobody is “okay.” Let them be “okay” and healthy and communicative in the fanfic – PLEASE let them be complex and messed up and imperfect in the show.
I loved this – and agree that it’s the best since Red Meat.
More in a bit.
// And they were standing over that RIDICULOUS coffin and there was a beefcake pinup between them and I just. felt. happy. //
The addition of those beefcake dudes with the Burt Reynolds staches was just genius. Is Jerry Wanek still our guy? Whoever’s idea that was: THANK YOU.
and so true: this was the first time in I don’t know how long that the Winchester Family Theme felt earned. I was so happy about it.
// Being on the outside of Dean looking at him, trying to puzzle him out. The opposite to last week — an interesting contrast. //
Yes. I like how last week they “let us in” – literally – his head – and in this episode they shut us out until the last scene. So this means engagement, we’re leaning forward, we’re trying to understand what’s happening – the SUB in the TEXT – this has always been the main thing about the show and has been mainly absent ever since Sam asked “why are planets round?”
I am literally not interested in one. single. thing. about this show if there isn’t subtext. Not one thing grips me – not one plot point makes a damn bit of difference to me – I don’t care about what’s going on with Cas, I don’t care about angel wars or Men of Letters, I don’t care … I am just not invested on a plot level at ALL. (and never have been, really) So without subtext … I mean, shit is GRIM.
What was so awful about the big scene a year back or whatever (it all blends together) between Dean and Mom where he said “I hate you but I love you” or whatever – was that EVERYTHING became text in that scene. which means that they STILL left out the “sub” part of it. and so I sat there watching the scene I had been waiting for and was basically yawning through it.
What I liked about this ep, was that it felt effortless – the way SPN used to feel. Like, they moved the story forward, AND they gave us Winchester Emotional Melodrama.
I was so happy Jack wasn’t in the episode. I was so happy Castiel wasn’t even MENtioned. I mean, on Dean’s big farewell tour – Castiel didn’t even cross his mind. (Not that we can tell anyway). I was just so happy that all those other people were just OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY so I could get a good look at Sam and Dean.
AND, in this context – where Sam and Dean are central – suddenly Mary is interesting again. Right? She’s NOT interesting when she’s “doing her own thing” and having sex with Ketch or with Bobby – she’s interesting ONLY in how she relates to Sam and Dean, or how they see her. It leaves space for other things. Like when she said “Sometimes I forget how much I missed” and I want to smack her upside the head. Why are you insisting on shooting pumpkins in a slanty-roof cabin with Bobby then? Why not hang out with your sons?
I’m not saying this is a bad thing. I am saying this is an INTERESTING thing – but it’s only interesting when Sam and Dean are the focus.
// Pellegrino is so good at making his skin go slack. He is so creepy! //
He’s a wonderful actor. I liked how he was utilized here, too – as long as he was mooning around as Lucifer, there was only so far they could go with him. this has been somewhat interesting to watch – more interesting than Cas-Jack pep talks, that’s for sure.
I loved that the demon was actually 1. a good actor and 2. wasn’t young/beautiful. Casting really matters, and they have been slacking off on that level for a couple of years.
I also (sorry) loved the weird little box – with the doo-hickeys on it – that couldn’t be opened, except by an electric drill.
This reminds me (yet again) of how catastrophic Rowena’s presence has been on the show. Her quick-fix “okay let’s call her” presence has meant we have lost a lot of the grittiness of magic, its down-home quality – how it’s cobbled together with different parts, not easily remedied. I liked that aspect of the scene – also that all those people were jammed together in that tiny space.
Good job Sgriccia!!
Also, LOVED that shot of the police car’s lights in the background, doing a U-turn – it gave a sense of space – we haven’t seen anything like that really – it put them out in the real world, if that makes sense. They’re all in the bunker way. too. much.
And as I said on Twitter, I am over the moon over the Magic Mike XXL aspect of Dean-as-welder surrounded by half-nude male pin-ups. That’s the Supernatural I know and love.
AND, in this context – where Sam and Dean are central – suddenly Mary is interesting again. Right?
RIGHT!
just cosigning everything you say — that sequence with Nick in the van with he mounted camera and Donna’s car turning around was exquisite and uncanny. Love it, LOVED the use of light and the droning ominous music underneath. I liked that the box and the way it was circumvented. I was amused by the gross things in jars in lockers even though it was a little silly and improbable that Mary has all this in a convenient location but whatever she and John are just really into storage lockers.
I think ultimately what got me about this episode was that it had me swooning to the winchester song again. I FELT it.
also special shout-out to Dean’s pretzel-ified snoring and his BARE FEET!
Jessie!! I don’t have much to add, I had pretty much the same feelings.
I had stopped watching, and I watched Nihilism wanting to like it but didn’t really – although I did love some bits of it, for sure.
But this, THIS – I was invested as soon as there was the awkward hug. I FELT something, and it had been so long. It’s not season 2, but finally, it felt like the same show again. Sgriccia has done a fantastic job – the night scenes were gorgeous, everybody was gorgeous, the demon felt like a demon. Even Mary was kind of interesting – although I do NOT want to know wtf is up with Bobby and her.
No Castiel and no Jack is how it should be. Like Pamela last week, this exorcism felt like it was actually part of the fabric of the show, not a lame throwback superimposed on ridiculous emptiness, like most props and references (the Colt, Bobby, Garth) have been for a few years now.
And sure, we’re back to something we’ve seen countless times. But if it’s well done, it’s still the story I want to see, rather than dumb we-save-the-world pep talks, and Dean as a bisexual vegan barista.
I loved it. (Thanks, Jessie, and thanks, Sheila for the thread)
Lyrie, I know, I was caught from moment one! Complex fraught emotions! Ambiguity! What a treat!
// Dean as a bisexual vegan barista. //
hahaha
I mean, I’d actually be interested in that at this point – especially since he’s been practically a non-entity since Amara twirled up into Heaven.
I liked seeing him all caught up in his own melodrama – and although we’ve seen it all before, as you say …
did you all feel like this was something new?
Like, this farewell tour felt different from his “I’m going to say yes to Michael” farewell tour, when he showed up on Lisa’s doorstep.
This was … something else. The way he hugged Sam. The look on his face. Just … wow.
This is Jensen, again, bringing the character into a new space.
Lets hope the show itself doesn’t let him down. (I have no trust anymore. But this is still my hope.)
Yes I agree this one was different. Maybe because he was coming from a place of knowledge? During the first farewell tour he was anticipating possession by Michael, but he didn’t really know what he was facing. Now he knows everything and knows what the full weight of Michael’s rage and fury will be when (no ifs in this scenario) Michael breaks free.
Wow is right. When he said the words “I love you for trying” to Sam I literally gasped out loud and my stomach plummeted. For Dean to be in the place where he would say those words out loud…it’s not a place he’s been before.
There has to be payoff for this. Kripke was brave enough to send Dean to hell in season 3 and to shove Sam in a cage with Lucifer in season 5. This has the same buildup, but I’m not so sure the follow through resolve is there any longer. I certainly hope it is though.
I may just have snorted coffee at that one.
Jessie, your comment is so dead on. The only thing I will add is that this episode and the one before finally feel like they’ve got the story straight and that we are finally going somewhere and not just wandering around looking for the reason for this season. My fear is that these episodes have been so like the old SPN that I will be bitterly disappointed if they lose their way again. I’m enjoying this while it lasts.
carolyn – when the show strings together a couple of good episodes, I too have visions of Charlie Brown, Lucy, and footballs.
Lol!
Supernatural felt like Supernatural again this week. The opening and ending scenes were pure gold. Hmmmm….maybe because the characters we care about…you know the ones we watch the show for…. were front and center and in conflict externally and with each other?
That awkward conversation between them in the beginning. There was so much sub in that text it was glorious. I love the fact that in the Winchester world, wanting to go off and spend alone time with your mother and an awkward half hug is cause for suspicion and alarm. That whole scene worked so well because it drew on the rich, tangled history between the two brothers.
Mary was utilized better in this episode and actually felt like she had purpose. I was surprisingly touched by “Winchester surprise” and that moment between her and Dean when he was trying to get her to remember it felt genuine and affectionate. The episode didn’t try to sugar coat the fact that in so many ways she still doesn’t know her sons AT ALL (especially Sam) and it worked better for the honesty.
So many other things in this episode I enjoyed. I loved Dean’s annoyance at Sam and his whole newsletter comment when he found out how much Donna knew about what had been going on with him. I adored the 8-track player. The demon Abraxas was rude, crude, and arrogant…just the way a demon should be. Hearing Dean chanting Latin as he tried to exorcise the demon brought a thrill to my soul. Again…history. So beautiful when they use it. (I’m over the fact that apparently there is an “Angel Blades R Us” store on every street corner in America…cause everybody seems to have one)
I loved the scene between Sam and Dean in the Impala and the argument over Nick, and of course what Dean was actually saying to Sam underneath the words.
That ending was heart breaking and captivating and I teared up watching it.
Like everyone else, I’m enjoying this while it lasts and… unfortunately… waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Yes, I suppose they’ll have to bring back all the alt-people etc? Although I wish they had the balls to follow Kripke and decide “fuck it, it’s not working, let’s literally burn the whole thing down, kill them all, and move on.”
From now on, I’ll just wait for Jessie to tell me whether I buy an episode or not. No pressure.
This is my hope too….every episode. All the AU hunters gathered together in the bunker and the whole thing goes up in a flaming fireball!
lol Lyrie, what a responsibility to shoulder :-D
I am in general agreeance that the bunker should be filled with all the dross and nuked from space. But —
This is an episode where I liked the way the bunker was used. It was very dark and echo-y, with Sam in this little halo of light, a place of safety where this difficult fraught conversation could be had. It didn’t feel like a drop-in centre. It felt like a strange quiet home and that gave it a little emotional punch because the meaning of that home was under threat this episode. Ya know? Picture Dean being successful and leaving forever and Sam coming back and just rotting in there.
When the focus is on them stuff tends to just work.
And, it delivered the beauty — the closeups against that black bg were phenomenal — get a load of this shallow depth-of-field!!!!!
ALSO, just days after Helena posted all those screengrabs of Sam holding gorgeous old books – what did we get? Sam staring at a bookshelf of all these old books.
Honestly, the bunker filled with random people in camo – and Jack doing pushups, and Castiel roaring with laughter in the kitchen … it’s made the bunker situation worse.
If Sam and Dean were out on the road, living in motel rooms and squatting – we flat out would not have this problem. It’s logistical. They torched the roadhouse, they torched Bobby’s house – because the texture of the show requires the restlessness of the road. They have obliterated that. and now we’re 6 years into the bunker? Twice as long as any of those other locations.
and yes: having Sam and Dean have this quiet moment, with all those amazing closeups – was fantastic. Normally there’s all these other PEOPLE around them. Or Cas micro-managing everyone’s emotions.
It was such a relief to have it be just them.
Helena needs to post more screencaps!!
It was such a relief to have it be just them.
SUCH a relief. I know that’s not the case for every viewer and a lot of Cas and Jack fans were probably deeply thrown by their absence (to be honest when I think about it critically it’s weird that Jack wasn’t in there considering all the emotional drama of his recent near death and he’s probably in the next room) but I didn’t even notice until afterwards that they hadn’t featured in the farewell tour — it just flowed right, it felt right.
// ALSO, just days after Helena posted all those screengrabs of Sam holding gorgeous old books //
WHERE?
<a href="https://twitter.com/qassidas/status/1087810818736046087here lyrie!
Thanks, Jessie! Love the thread.
//Sam staring at a bookshelf of all these old books.//
This is just hitting so many buttons, I’m getting vicarious feels.
This screen cap is gorgeous.
//When the focus is on them stuff tends to just work.//
You’re right. The bunker, mom, it CAN work if they’re at the service of the brother’s relationship, if it makes things complex.
I was very moved by Dean saying goodbye to some people, enjoying the hugs, reminiscing with his mother – even if he had other reasons to see them. Not sure that’s something he would have allowed himself to have, it feels like he’s trying something new – it reminds me of him talking about being “embarrassed” being a demon. It’s a new vocabulary for him, but he’s doing it anyway.
// it feels like he’s trying something new //
oh my gosh I just typed the same thing above – I think we were typing it at around the same moment. I totally agree. This is new.
and I know it’s mean, and I’m sorry Castiel fans, but I was glad Castiel wasn’t involved at all in his goodbye tour, he wasn’t a stop on the way. Like, get everyone else out of the way so I can SEE DEAN THANK YOU
//oh my gosh I just typed the same thing above//
Ha ha, yes! Discussions like that, with exciting simultaneous postings, had not happened in SO long (I remember a morning laughing my head off, talking about Lucifer’s dick of steel or something?). I really liked this episode, and I am also so, so happy we get to be excited together, the merry group, again!
I’m so shallow. When Dean put in the 8-track of The Guess Who’s “No Time” I just floated off into space, grooving on how good that song was. And how the song was in tension with the episode –
No time left for you,
I’ll find myself some wings,
no time left for you,
distant roads are calling me.
Some wings found Dean, unfortunately. And there’s always the road calling (except when camped in the fucking bunker – where no fucking happens). The song choice was like Classic SPN – up there with “Carry On Wayward Son.” Or “Renegade.”
I’m glad Dean had a hankering for some Baby time. And some road food (unlike the food-free fantasy of last week). I like that he and Donna dined at the Hungry Beaver. Only a tacky person would try to draw any connection to that and Donna’s type of pinup in her barn. Or Dean wanting to dine there. Glad I’m not tacky. Maybe next week they’ll have the Stones “Rocks Off” on the soundtrack. Or perhaps Genuwine’s “Pony.”
I had to watch it a second time to stay in the episode and experience what was going on. I’ll say I liked Nihilism more (preferred because of more Dean insights – despite the other troubles pointed out in the discussion), but this was serious Brother Melodrama. And more beauty in the shots. An excellent episode. I also really liked both the Donna/Dean interaction (“run out of questions about me to keep me from asking about you?”) and the Dean/Mary interactions (“how I’m doing is I don’t want to talk about how I’m doing.”). And Sam’s comments to Mary, “yeah we hug, but only when it’s the end of the world.”
I’ll second Lyrie’s comment about Dean doing something new. I’ll also say that I think Sam is doing something new by going along (ostensibly, at present). We didn’t learn what Mary thinks of this – though I can’t see it ultimately mattering to either brother. Sam’s “how could you, without telling me” is just the sort of open, hurting co-dependence that we vegan-barista haters crave.
I have my Mulder on, I want to believe. Keep it coming SPN!
No Time was such a great choice!
So, I find myself in a weird place this week! I absolutely loved the last two episodes, too, but like Michelle, I feel the show is up on its tightrope again, and I’m really afraid it’s going to fall. Jessie, are we trading places?
This isn’t a wet blanket observation, but the thing that concerns me is the placement of this episode, and the trailer for the next one. I will try not to spoil it, since I know that Sheila avoids promos and spoilers. In terms of story structure, then, the placement is odd. It feels like the story is about to make a pivot, and we are only midway through the arc–this is the sort of thing that usually happens more towards the end of the season.
I do have a couple of guesses on how they might resolve the unsolvable quandary of death box vs. the freezer in Dean’s head. One involves Jack and the other Billie. Anyone want to speculate with me? :-)
(PS. Good to be back here!)
I know exactly what you are saying Barb! I’ve seen the trailer as well, and I completely agree with you and share your fears about the placement.
The stakes are really high right now…higher than they usually are, and I agree that this feels more like something that would normally be at the end of the season. (Imagine the cliffhanger they could do!! Talk about a hellatus)
I mentioned this above and I’ll say it again here. With the emotion and tension they’ve been building the past couple of episodes, it feels like the payoff for this should be really huge, messy, horribly painful and not wrapped up in a tidy bow by the end of an episode. Basically, I don’t want to see Dean, Sam, Cas and Jack sitting around the bunker by the end of the next episode clinking beer bottles together. (I actually never want to see this, but if it happened by the end of the next episode I legit think my head might explode)
Speculation is always fun!! :-)
If Jack is involved, I think he might be going Anakin on us…..
Oh yes, I definitely think this is going to happen. Even if by some chance it wasn’t anything involving Michael (highly doubtful) Jack is going to keep using his powers and his soul is going to continue to burn away.
I think it’s quite possible they might even set him up to be the “big bad” in an upcoming season.
lol Barb, it is a weird place to be, right?! Never fear I have reset my expectations to rock bottom :D
Don’t reset them on my account!! I couldn’t take that weight on my shoulders!
Sooooo am I the only one who feels as if this might be the final season?
These two good/great episodes back to back, the Return of John in the 300th, the fact that Billie could possibly have told Dean his suicide was the only solution to the Michael problem, and other signs and portents, small and large? (I have an SPN-only Tumblr that I’ve maintained since 2012, so I hear it ALL…)
Production just auctioned off Bobby’s original Chevelle for charity last week, too.
I wouldn’t be *that* torn up to see it go, honestly, if the show remains bunker-centric with Jack and Cas as main characters. Don’t hate me!
Well then. They were just renewed for season 15. I don’t know how to feel about that other than disappointed. I was ready to see what kinds of projects Jensen in particular would take on once he had actual time.
Dangnabbit.
ha, Sarah. they’re just messing with us now. Maybe it will be a really short focussed season with plenty of S&D, just to take us out on a high?
I don’t know if I’ll ever get over the image of Sam and Dean driving around dragging his magic coffin on a trailer behind. I mean, that’s…. that’s the show. It’s so simultaneously funny and grim. Amazing.
I’m so pleased it was another great one, full of little miracles! The opener was so claustrophobic it was difficult to watch — whoever in props or effects was tasked with that phone power-out glitch deserves an Oscar. A discussion about John that raised more questions than it answered. Only Dean showing through the gap in the door but it’s Sam talking. A motel scene, quiet, at night. A Sam POV shot of Dean’s back. Tipsy Sam. Two conversations by the side of the car, one in the day, one at night. They made me swoon. So many obsessive, circular, circumspect and direct conversations. JA and JP had a place to go and they went there. They looked wrung out at the end and I felt it too.
This episode has already fixed itself into my brain as the green episode. I don’t know why but the palette was overwhelmingly single-minded at times: green and blue, green and gold, green and black. Some absolutely extraordinary shots — the woman in the tank and the reflection on the puddle were breathtaking — but there’s nothing better than a close up of one of the boys with a woozy dark bg behind and TJW DELIVERED, holy crap.
Not really sure about a couple of minor bits of Sam’s speech at the end; and the Nick stuff is a bit whatever; and while I liked the idea of becoming a premature prophet sending you insane (thanks, Heaven) and the direction and acting sold it, the whole thing could have been a little more developed; but that’s two in a row I really really liked! I don’t know what to do with this feeling! I’m scared!
Yes! T he opening and closing scenes were so raw –one focusing on Dean’s fears (would there be any worse fate for him than to be alone?) and the other on Sam’s pain and anger (anger seems to be an immediate reaction to the idea of losing his brother). The punch, the grappling that became a hug, the whole thing wrung me out, too, and I was just watching!
On the color palette –intimations of being underwater? The flip side of the golden-green light in the driving scenes in “Baby”?
That ending—I was so *with* Sam! I wanted him to punch Dean’s lights out! (I’ve always had a thing for bro-on-bro hand-to-hand combat, plus I dislike Dean’s giving-up attitude immensely), so when it turned into the awkward, grapple-y hug, I definitely felt that sting of sudden, unexpected tears in my eyes. It’s been a long, long time since that happened, so bravo! Sam’s face at the end of that hug scene, too—he looked about ten, scared and desperate. Jared knocked it out of the park.
That said, Sam also reiterated, for the umpteenth time since Pandrew Dabb took over, that THEY SAVED THE WORLD. I wish they hadn’t made him say that, but Pandrew’s gonna pander. Oh, well.
Otherwise, three in a row that were GOOD. It’s a minor, most welcome miracle.
// That said, Sam also reiterated, for the umpteenth time since Pandrew Dabb took over, that THEY SAVED THE WORLD. I wish they hadn’t made him say that, but Pandrew’s gonna pander. //
hahahaha I know. I was like, “Dammit, Dabb, you almost made it through a whole episode without having one of them remind us they saved the world, it’s what they do.”
But in this particular context – it actually felt true, or truer – not as empty. When they’re sitting around in the bunker kitchen saying casually “This is who we are, we save the world” it’s like “Are you freaking kidding me?” But here, the stakes were higher. Sam had a REASON for saying these things.
JP did a beautiful job.
Yes to all of this!! Everything that you stated was what struck me as well. NO BUNKER. When Dean woke from the nightmare and I realized they were in a motel I was so happy.
The Impala finally felt like a natural, organic part of the episode again. I loved every conversation in the car and beside the car.
//I don’t know if I’ll ever get over the image of Sam and Dean driving around dragging his magic coffin on a trailer behind//
Totally!! I’m trying to imagine what people they passed on the road must have been thinking!!
I’m always in a conundrum when I watch the Nick story line. I don’t want the Nick story line. His continued presence does nothing but confirm that Lucifer will more than likely be back at some point and time. However, Pellegrino is so good and watching his portrayal of Nick and the dark spiral is compelling to watch. So the actor appreciation part of me can enjoy watching him, even though the viewer part of me doesn’t want the story line in any shape or form. At least he’s more compelling to watch than Maggie, AU hunters, not real Bobby, or Cas and Jack pep talks. Unless Supernatural gets smart and cuts their episode count down even further (I’m not holding my breath on this) these endless and unwanted secondary story lines are going to continue.
I absolutely adore Keith Szarabajka (Ever since The Equalizer, where I will admit to having a full on Mickey crush) so I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Donatello. I enjoyed seeing him again. Agree that the plot could have definitely been more developed, but the acting was so amazing in this one, and it simply felt right. Buckleming episodes are typically the ones that I enjoy the least, but I have to give them all the kudos on this one. They got A LOT right.
I still don’t know if I can even talk yet about the opening and closing scenes. Emotionally exhausted is a pretty good description. The “We save the world” line” made me want to roll my eyes, but I was too busy wiping tears away to do it. Jared Padalecki took my breath away. See what happens when you give him stuff to do??
//I absolutely adore Keith Szarabajka (Ever since The Equalizer, where I will admit to having a full on Mickey crush) so I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Donatello.//
I started paying attention to him as Holz on Angel. The guy is just good. Checking him out on IMDB, I didn’t realize he has done so much cartoon and video game voice work; dude was The Didact in Halo 4 – my favorite iteration.
I’m looking forward to Donatello being back as part of the show – I don’t think he’s going to have a “let’s leave Sam and Dean for a while and expend the audience’s interest elsewhere” story line. Just him being damaged and cryptic/prophetic and interacting with S&D.
As everyone else has said – an excellent episode. I’m feeling less and less like Charlie Brown waiting for Lucy to pull away the football.
//Jared Padalecki took my breath away. See what happens when you give him stuff to do??//
Preach it, sister!
// Jared Padalecki took my breath away. See what happens when you give him stuff to do?? //
Michelle – yes!!
// I don’t know if I’ll ever get over the image of Sam and Dean driving around dragging his magic coffin on a trailer behind. I mean, that’s…. that’s the show. //
hahahaha I know! and I’m fairly certain that we only saw that trailer in the final scene when they stood by the car. Like, it had been there all along but now we were getting a glimpse.
// They made me swoon. So many obsessive, circular, circumspect and direct conversations. JA and JP had a place to go and they went there. They looked wrung out at the end and I felt it too. //
Yes. I haven’t rewatched – but when I look back on it – all I remember are the Sam-Dean interactions. Which is how it should be. They were central.
I too love how beautiful the episode looked – its underwater feeling – that murky moldy green – which was multipled 100-fold in that crazy dizzying wallpaper in the motel room. That room looked like a nervous breakdown incarnate. Just really well-thought-out and conceived. Finally.
They do have a tendency now to “rush to text” – not trusting to subtext – Sam’s speech being a perfect example – but I didn’t mind it since he played it so beautifully AND everything else was in place in the episode.
You watch an episode like this and … sorry, but I resent any time spent with hunter-refugees when I watch something like this.
Nothing to add except that “I believe in us! Why don’t you?” absolutely broke my heart.
That was “oh, yeah(happy sigh)!”
It was shattering.
These past three episodes have made me forget the bitterness I was feeling from most of what I’ve seen of S14 so far (Scoobynatural about the only exception). It’s been a triple header of old school goodness — so much emotion and great BM’s, that my love of show has returned full force.
I can only expect that next week will also be one full of family feelings. If they would just finish up the Nick storyline, that would make me really happy.