Will catch you all on the flipside for a discussion about tonight’s episode, directed by our favorite freckled demon.
I need a vacation after October, I am telling YOU.
T-minus ….
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So many beautiful shots and great details in this episode:
Crowley’s bottle with the skull!
The reflection of the scenery on Castiel’s car.
Dean’s shadow on the wall
I loved the family theme on the cello (and some other great pieces of music during the lockdown)
I miss the shitty motels but I really love this bunker.
We get to see some of Hell, and how fun was that?
Crowley : « I’m not sentimental ». Right! I love Crowley.
Isn’t that the gas station from Lazarus Rising?
I’m warming up to Hannah. Or maybe it’s because she got beaten. I’m not a nice person. Well, if I’m going to Hell, i’ll just immolate myself in protest.
Sammy scared like a little boy when his brother tries to kill him and he doesn’t know what to do, Sam wanting to « stuff food in his face » once he’s better, Sam planning on getting drunk… Oh Sam Winchester, i love you.
I loved the disease too, Dean. I loved every second of every scene of Dean in the last three episodes. But it’s also very good to have him back. Right?
I suppose there’s a new big bad. I’m too busy being in love with everything i saw before to care for now. I’m just glad to know that Heaven and Hell are more less back in order : we can move on!
Lyrie – That gas station was definitely reminiscent of Lazarus Rising – will have to go back and double-check!
And yes, loved the bottle with the skull. Too funny.
I also miss shitty motels, as well as libraries – although the bunker is a kind of library.
Sam planning on getting drunk. Heart-crack. And going out to get Dean food. JP has been KILLING it this season. He looks so ROUGH. Dean looked ROUGH last season (as Helena called him – a “Haggard Viking”) – and now it’s switched. Dean looks smooth and perfect – and I have to say that JA filmed himself well. Some nice freckles. There were also beautiful shots where his head was totally surrounded by blackness – this is reminiscent of the look of Season 1 and Season 2. Where the beautiful face gleams out of pitch-black – totally not a realistic look at all.
I definitely liked Hannah in this episode more than I have ever liked her – but that’s because she was more peripheral. So basically – she was sitting out in Castiel’s pimp car outside the bunker? Waiting? Why is this such a funny image to me.
Well, that was a shitty comment that only focuses on details! (and shit, I’m first…)
Well, Lyrie, there lots of details to pick up on … and yes, that gas station was strangely familiar – should it be over in Illinois, not Kansas?
Cas and Hannah’s amazing roadtrip – I was beginning to think it would never, ever, ever end. A bit like ‘It happened one night’ but with none of the sex, wit or excitement.
Crowley, Crowley, Crowley …Loved the snapshot of the dayjob, complete with clipboard, fawning minions, self immolating minions … is he in that state of mind when you get back from holiday and start looking at the jobs pages?
Missed that smack in the mouth with the bloody hand as part of the demon cure …. somehow now I can’t help but think it’s not quite complete. That’s not a bad thing – more disease! But if it really is goodbye demon Dean, I’m sorry already.
Wandering round the bunker with a hammer … Hello shining
Abaddon has a sister? Or a great niece?
I know, I totally thought it was Abaddon! Whoever it was, she is already fabulous.
Interesting how bored Crowley was with his job. I am still not quite clear what is going on with Crowley. It’s almost like he likes things the way they were – out and about – with Sam and Dean at large – Castiel at large – like, he liked the status quo and his place in it. His comment about “stadium tour” notwithstanding, it seems he wants to just put things back the way they were. Which is pretty interesting, in and of itself. I am sure there is more to it.
I do wish we got more of Dean at karaoke. And Dean with inappropriate damaged sex partners. Having a blast. But it’s okay. There’s gonna be fallout. And many many flashbacks, I’m thinking.
Also pretty great to see Sam’s sketchy behavior in the flashback.
I love it when SPN blurs the lines. It may be predictable at this point – but I still like it when it goes that way.
It’s hard not to respond in detail form immediately after it airs! Depth comes with time.
I’m still enjoying Crowley’s trip on the Boredom Express but Hell and Heaven are too similar and banal by now…perhaps that is the point, of course, but I find the sets a bit unfortunate. Some things are better left to the imagination.
I thought I was going a bit nuts not understanding Crowley’s “Oh, just one more thing” line to Dean last episode so those flashbacks were pretty cool. Oh, Lester. Sam hiding behind a bush, ha ha.
On the other hand Crowley’s flashbacks to the, you know, two whole episodes of cavorting with Demon Dean was pretty funny. I’m not really sure why we’re losing Demon Dean so quickly (cf Soulless Sam) but I suppose they have their reasons.
It didn’t hang together as neatly as the previous episode but like that one it feels like all the care and attention is going to the Sam and Dean interactions. I’m not complaining. The lighting in the bunker was glorious. Dean’s closeups when he was locked to the chair — that void behind him — goodness gracious.
And JA and JP are still killing it. That little sag against the wall JP does when he says “kill my brother” or whatever was elemental.
My other favourite moment — changing the cleaver for the hammer. Brutal.
// Hell and Heaven are too similar and banal by now //
I’m with you. It’s too… normal. And imagining what’s going on there is far better than seeing it. Or the one glimpse of the DMV line version of Hell. It was surreal enough to stretch out in the imagination. But something that is clearly a “dungeon” set? Not really into it.
I like it best when we don’t know where demons or angels are actually coming from – when their dramas are peripheral to the dramas of the brothers – and we (the audience) are left out of it. Whatever we hear from them is second-hand – and so we can’t trust their versions of events. You know – early season Ruby and early season Castiel and Uriel. Truly strange creatures.
// was locked to the chair — that void behind him — goodness gracious. //
YES. Gorrrrgeous. And freckles, and shadows, and absolute nothingness all around him. Beautiful.
Those bunker scenes were incredible.
Sure, at the moment it is all details, with no real clue about how it will hangs together in the long run. But I’m enjoying how eps 1-3 are folding into one another – call backs and flashbacks, how low Sam sank to find Dean and Crowley, Dean’s enjoyment of his disease. It’s working for me. And I’ve enjoyed the sense of being adrift of these eps – things not in their right place, roles reversed, compass awry. Please, Supernatural, don’t tidy it all up yet.
That little pile of family photographs … love that. And on top of all those notebooks full of … what? Whose? Dean’s? Sam’s?That’s the kind of shot that drives me absolutely gaga – doodles, drawings, diagrams, workings out, the visualisation of information and thought processes. I wish I had one of those things Harrison Ford has in Blade Runner that can zoom in on the minutest details without it becoming mere pixels.
Crowley – back on the throne but not in power. Hell is full of disgruntled demons and alas he’s not one for team-building weekends away and hugs all round. I like the idea that Heaven and Hell are not much different fundamentally, Jessi – after all, they come from the same creation. But making them so closely parallel each other is a very subversive, not to say, heretical point of view.
Is Crowley feeling a) regretful b)vengeful c) none of the above. Is he the kind of lover who uploads naked photos of his ex onto the internet for revenge?
// I’ve enjoyed the sense of being adrift of these eps – things not in their right place, roles reversed, compass awry. Please, Supernatural, don’t tidy it all up yet. //
I like the adrift quality too. The episodes are really all over the place – in many ways uneven – but fascinating almost because of that. I feel like they’re not completely in charge of what they are creating, and that is when SPN gets most interesting. (Like the Soulless Sam season where they just seemed to follow that out – letting it get messy, letting it be all over the place …)
I like what you say about the three making up a small Arc in and of themselves – I totally agree with that. There is a dizzying number of associations and pairings and reflections going on. Fabulous. I need to hunk about it a little bit more – there’s so much information to absorb.
// That’s the kind of shot that drives me absolutely gaga – doodles, drawings, diagrams, workings out, the visualisation of information and thought processes.//
Oh GOD, that notebook. I caught a glimpse of directions, if I’m not mistaken – but I’ll have to take a closer look. It’s like that long panning shot of John’s serial-killer wall of clues in Dead Man’s Blood. I got totally lost in it when I was doing the re-cap and found a LOT of stuff there that I didn’t notice at first because the camera moves by it all too fast. But the detail – and the sense you get of the person behind those doodles ….
So yeah. Dean’s room, anyway, is fascinating – and I love that SPN is still recognizing that. His room was a big deal to him as a man, and it’s a big deal to us. So we get big long establishing shots where we see the set-up and then move in to the details – the scattered girlie mags, the neatness of his little shelf – the clear walls – and the pile of family photos and the notebooks. Dean. Lost to Sam. Dead?
It’s like going through someone’s stuff after they have passed. I still come across my father’s handwriting and my breath catches in my throat.
Crowley seems bored out of his mind. Mark Sheppard is so entertaining that I admit I sometimes miss the plot architecture going on beneath his performance so I’ll have to watch the episode again. I am intrigued by what he is doing, and what the hell he really wants.
I almost posted last night but I had so much to sort out in my head. First and foremost I love Jensen’s directing, he just does a wonderful job with movement and light and framing. I felt Sam and Dean’s pain in each of these confrontational scenes. Sam having to stab Demon Dean with that syringe and to do it so brutally showed just how much Dean’s words were hitting him. Dean’s evident pain, ouch. I didn’t want Demon Dean’s time to end but I also didn’t want to witness anymore pain. I knew Dean wanted to force Sam’s hand and die I don’t think he would have killed Sam, just a feeling. Am up for others take on that set up.
I was left again yawning through the angel scenes, which thank goodness were saved by a snarky Crowley.
I am also relieved that Sam saved Dean. Yes Cas saved Sam at the end but saving Dean was on Sam. He did all the hard dirty work. Cas gave a rather weak pep talk and I am hoping for something more healing between Sam and Dean in the next ep.
Castiel did say one thing that made all of this pain worth while, that Dean’s anguish and pain were unbearable, that being a Demon was less painful how awful is that? We know Dean pushes everything down and just pushes on but that was I hope an eye opener for Sam who has a very skewed view of his brother. He loves him but he really sees most things from a very Sam centric lens.
I know the big bad is supposed to be a witch this season so I am guessing that is who we see in the end. Someone elsewhere suggested Crowley’s mother who was a powerful witch. That is what he said. However he also said something to Naomi about them together in Babylon or somewhere? The times don’t match up. Suggestions? Theories? This is going to be interesting to me because Crowley is twisty and full of himself and mysterious the perfect bad guy.
I agree that it was a beautiful-looking episode. The way that scene was shot with Sam and Lester summoning the demon was a perfect example. Simple – but quite difficult to accomplish – big huge moving crane shot, close-ups, multiple perspectives, car in the background, mist, fog, night … It was great-looking!
And the stalking sequence through the bunker after Dean escaped was a masterpiece. It made the bunker’s size even more apparent.
// that Dean’s anguish and pain were unbearable, that being a Demon was less painful how awful is that? We know Dean pushes everything down and just pushes on but that was I hope an eye opener for Sam who has a very skewed view of his brother. He loves him but he really sees most things from a very Sam centric lens. //
Yes, that moment was revelatory – SPN is rarely that on-the-nose with psychological stuff (it’s just not good storytelling to be describing how the characters feel and why – you should get it from the performance), but I felt it was appropriate and long overdue.
Dean’s continued insistence that he did not want to be cured was great.
That whole confrontation scene with Sam was great. I could have watched an entire episode of JUST that.
//the big bad is supposed to be a witch this season.//
Maybe it’s Endora!
There is the Witch of Endor who summons the Prophet Samuel’s spirit, but I don’t think it will be her, somehow.
Sad to see Demon!Dean go so soon, but I think the 200th episode was pushing this year’s timeframe; pretty sure they wanted a ‘happy’ episode for the 200th. Still have the MOC to deal with and per Crowley it needs to be fed, too, or human Dean starts to die as he was bleeding out at the end of last year. Odd that Dean doesn’t seem to remember what happened? So horror of discovery to come?
Rowena, the Wicked Witch of the Rest, is Scottish and so is Crowley. Crowley did say that his mother was a witch so… could be mom. If so, he must have always know she was about and a powerful force. Is this part of why he needed/wanted Demon!Dean athis side? To bolster his powerbase against a move mom may be making? Crowley is as usual setting up the long game. His comment to Cas to go ahead and kill Dean if he needed to, I’m thinking that was a goad to get Cas moving in the right direction, quickly. Crowley hasn’t put this much time into Dean to let Cas kill him this casually. Really, Crowley’s storyline and motivations at this point is more interesting than anyone else’s.
Hmm. So Crowley’s mother. I had forgotten. Perhaps bringing Mary Winchester back in through photographs and conversation – (boy that fight was brutal!) will be preparation for a mirroring kind of thing going on with Crowley? Mommy issues?
Oh, please, oh, please, oh, please, SPN powers that be, give us a Crowley and his mother reunion!!! If it turns out to be anything else, I will be so disappointed now!
I’m not entirely convinced that Demon Dean is completely gone. That just seemed too easy, for one thing, and there was also this split second right before the cut for commercial (right after he was cured) where Dean’s face hardened up and the expression was, well, not friendly. But there are other ways to read that, too, I’m sure.
Yes. That look on Dean’s face. Much much more to explore there.
No catharsis. Not like when Sam’s soul returned and he emerged, clutching at his brother in this huge hug, and having heart to hearts about what he had done. I mean, that may be to come in future episodes – but Dean “returning” was not along those lines. Sam left to get food. Dean sits on his bed, and has a brief conversation with Castiel. A ton left unsaid. I’ll have to watch again for more subtleties.
I agree with Natalie-the look on Dean’s face was not heartwarming. I don’t think old Dean is back by a long shot.
Just speculating – but I can imagine there is a huge sense of loss and mourning that he is back to himself. Kind of like “wherever you go, there you are.” He was freed from himself for a while – maybe he remembers much of it – maybe he regrets the loss of that freedom, which, ultimately, is regretting how his whole life has turned out. Thinking back to “Bad Boys,” and teenage Dean in tears at the end. Those things add texture, depth. Dean is always ambivalent about those things … and being a demon maybe gave him some clarity. I don’t know – it’s all very interesting to think about.
I also found it odd that Dean was so flat when processing with Cas at the end. The whole “Does Sam want a divorce?” thing came across as almost emotionless. Could be read as resignation, I guess, but it seemed like a scene that would have had more of an emotional charge in other circumstances, and I am sure it was deliberate that it wasn’t more charged.
Also, Cas with the “things are pretty calm right now” stuff – clearly he’s never worked in any kind of medical, mental health, or emergency services setting. Who neglected to tell him that those words should NEVER be spoken out loud?
Ha!!
Yeah, really.
After Crowley’s comment about angels, I feel that this is Hannah’s new aspirational theme song.
Helena I agree, these three episodes work beautifully as a unit.
Oh God, Flight of the Conchords!!
Finally got to watch it last night!
A couple of first impressions:
Jensen Ackles’ conception of Demon Dean has completely changed even what his face looks like – it’s not skin-deep what he’s doing. The smile is different, the look in the eyes – it’s riveting. Predatory in a way, but not too much. It’s him – but NOT him.
The fact that there were Sam and Dean – talking about Mom and Dad all over again – actually arguing about Mom and Dad … I mean, Mom and Dad died over a decade ago. But look at how they BOTH came back, thru mentions, and thru the pictures Dean has in his room … It’s usually such scorched territory for the brothers, but Demon Dean erased that. He used the word “brainwashed.” A hell of an admission. Seriously. I know it’s probably a side issue – texture, as opposed to plot – (or who knows, maybe not) – but I got a little goosebump-y during that conversation about their parents.
Crowley’s line reading – and pauses of this line made me laugh: “You’re guilty of something … which I will not tolerate.”
Absolutely LOVED the abandoned drive-in movie background to the Cas and Hannah scene. Drive-in movie theaters (abandoned ones) are a passion of mine – there are a couple of really good ones in New Jersey. I’m part of the last generation that went to drive-in movies with regularity. I saw Empire Strikes Back for the first time, in its original release, at a drive-in. Pig-piled in a station wagon, with wooden sides, with all of my cousins – all of us in our pajamas, taken to the movie by our uncle.
SO. I saw Jensen thanked the VSFX guys for that – which answered some of my questions about location. Whatever the case – I LOVED it, and also loved the little gas station Cas and Hannah went to. Jensen and his team got amazing locations for that small road trip. They really thought it out – Cas and Hannah traveling through an abandoned world full of empty abandoned buildings. Nobody goes to drive-ins anymore. Nobody goes to little gas stations like that anymore … these are dying breeds. Anyway. I’m not a big Hannah fan, but this road trip felt more interesting to me than the two episodes that came before. Maybe because the brothers were inherently involved in this road trip – Cas trying to get back to them …
Also, I just loved those two locations (VSFX or no – it was Jensen’s conception that was up there onscreen. Loved it!)
And so I get distracted by stuff like that and miss plot-points.
Crowley seems bored by the rote quality of his power, and he has obviously lost support by taking off to participate in a bro-mance. He doesn’t seem to have a strong base of support, and everyone is afraid of him. Also, all of the demons in that room were male, and they all looked alike. PLEASE, Supernatural, stop doing that with your extras casting. Maybe they were trying to make a point. A buncha goons in a dungeon. A boys’ club. Felt weak to me, though.
That long conversation between Castiel and Hannah about her clear growing feelings for him should have been cut in half. I know she wasn’t “getting it” and he had to be extra clear – but the way the actress was playing it was too human-seeming. If she truly were an angel, completely unfamiliar with feelings like that – she would behave differently when having those feelings. Less recognizable. (Think Castiel deciding to betray Heaven and warn Dean in whatever season that was. Misha Collins seemed truly out of his depth – in a good way – Castiel doing something for the first time since he was born into existence and he is TOTALLY disoriented.) I felt like Hannah played that scene like she was very familiar with having crushes and being turned down. Bah. I know I’m biased against the angel plot-line right now so I may be being unfair.
Sam and Dean stalking one another through the bunker was extremely upsetting for me. Those empty dark corridors, these brothers, both with weapons, hiding, and plotting … it just felt so … broken.
And yeah. That look on Jensen’s face. The fact that that final moment was between Cas and Dean, not Dean and Sam – that we were denied a cathartic hug – any of that … not a good sign. All very well-done.
I’m a little bummed that Dean is no longer a Demon but I don’t think he’s out of the woods yet. I’m curious to see what happens next.
and I can clearly see JA’s growth as a director. This felt like an extremely confident episode. One great crane shot, those drive-in movie shots, some hand-held stuff – that maze-like bunker with the brothers stalking each other … It was a great-looking episode.
Whoop! You’re all caught up.
//Absolutely LOVED the abandoned drive-in movie background to the Cas and Hannah scene.//
Yes, caught that second time around. You mean it’s not real? :-( One thing I love about early season episodes: the sunshine and high summer/early autumn landscapes. Lots of light and space. Waving grass. Heat hazes. And then it starts get dark and rain and rain and rain. So there was a nice contrast between Cas+Hannah’s amazing road trip scens and the gloom and claustrophia of the bunker scenes.
The mom and dad argument … maybe the first two notes of Hey Jude were a clue that family was on Demon Dean’s mind. Somehow, any confrontation was going to come down to this.
Definite lack of catharsis … the aftermath was more of exhaustion, being wrung out. makes me wonder what is coming down the pipe. I’d agree, not out of the woods. I mean, Dean is back where he was before, only worse. Relapse, anyone?
// the sunshine and high summer/early autumn landscapes. Lots of light and space. Waving grass. Heat hazes. //
I know. The “Everybody Loves a Clown” look. There was some of that going on in the Castiel and Hannah scenes. They are not as interesting to look at as Sam and Dean – but the surroundings were so compelling! The weeds, the grass, the old-school signage – the sense that this is not a 20th century world. Time, in that world shown, stopped around 1977.
//Dean is back where he was before, only worse.//
That was actually not how I saw that scene. Wouldn’t “old” Dean have been torturing himself over what he had done as a demon? Even if he really didn’t remember, I would think there would be more angst over what awful things he might have done, and I didn’t see that there at all. Could have just been exhaustion, but I still think there’s something more there. It was just kind of flat. (And again, I think that was deliberate.)
Yeah, I didn’t see any angst. This is my own speculation – that I babbled on about upthread – I think the angst would be a good sign. This, though … I think he might miss the freedom of being that demon. Coming back to himself is a letdown. How will he meld those two selves together? Re-integrate?
I’m sure there’s some other plot-stuff going on, in regards to the Mark and its effect on him … but I think it’s super interesting to consider that he really really enjoyed his experiences as a demon, and he’s still hung over from that enjoyment, and he doesn’t really know how to get back into himself.
Oh – and I’m sure many of you are aware that Felicia Day is currently going thru some shit because of this whole Gamer Gate thing – I didn’t Tweet about it because I honestly do not want to get in the crossfires of that thing, having been stalked and harassed already by a couple of wack-jobs on my own site – but if you’ve read her blog-post where she opens up about the whole thing – (it’s heartbreaking – and I fully support her! She’s awesome!!) – but anyway, she mentioned she was in Vancouver filming another episode of Supernatural.
I think we all knew Charlie would come back – but it’s good to get confirmation. I can’t wait!
Day’s blog-post. http://feliciaday.com/blog/crossing-the-street/
And back to JA as the Demon:
I thought the pain he felt and expressed when being injected was totally different from what we’ve seen before – with Crowley and others. It looked different, it felt different. It was more animalistic, the sounds he was making – and there was something completely out of control about the whole thing. It felt like he snapped back pretty quick too – at least compared to the ordeal of Sam injecting Crowley in that creepy church.
So it brings back the question again of what Dean actually IS. (Or … was, I guess, as a demon).
I look forward to Cain’s re-entry into the storyline at some point.
I really hope you’re right about the flashbacks of Demon Dean, Sheila. I feel kind of cheated that he’s gone already – he was such an intriguing, fascinating character and I don’t think he’s been explored nearly enough.
I’m not sure if I already thanked you for creating these season 10 open threads – I don’t necessarily engage in them because I don’t think I have anything clever to say, but I love reading everyone’s comments. Your blog has officially become my favorite place to go to sate my SPN-related needs :-) So thank you!
Hunenka – aww, thanks for your nice comment!! I’ve been so busy with other stuff I haven’t had time to commit to re-caps lately (boo!) but Season 10 – we gotta still talk about Season 10!! :)
// he was such an intriguing, fascinating character and I don’t think he’s been explored nearly enough. //
I think Dean is going to have a pretty tough time with re-entry. Not just because of the Mark, but because it was such a relief to BE that other guy and not himself. All those mirror moments for him in Season 9 … Dean vs. Himself. At least this is my hope. Sam eagerly raced back into himself once he got his soul back, and tried to re-connect and right the wrongs. Dean paid lip service to that – or, maybe he was sincere – in that moment with Castiel at the end – but … there was something “off” there.
I can’t get away from the fact that Demon Dean actually said the word “brainwashing” in re: how they were raised. I am pretty sure that word has never come up – at least not from Dean’s lips. Any of you people with memories like a steel trap recall other times they’ve discussed their upbringing – has that word been used?
There was such open anger there – and again I flashed back to Bad Boys in Season 9 – which was this strange little stand-alone episode that had ENORMOUS reverb – moving both backwards and forwards. It gave Dean’s journey such texture – yet another layer of regret – but also it gave his character some agency. He CHOSE to leave the home and get back in the car. One could say, “But he had no choice …”
I disagree. There WAS a choice, and he made it. Sonny offered another way, and made it all right for Dean to even consider it – Dean did consider it – and made the choice he made. He “manned” up (I hate that phrase – but it’s very Supernatural-ish – and didn’t someone use it in this week’s episode?) – he took responsibility for who he was and his own loyalties – he weighed the options and went back and got in the car. Choices aren’t easy. Even if they may be the right ones.
So that word “brainwashing” …
REALLY stood out to me. I hope it’s delved into further. Having Mom and Dad be featured so prominently in this week’s episode was really exciting to me of what’s to come.
Thoughts??
I had to miss the episode on Tuesday and I finally got to watch it yesterday afternoon, but I was in a rush because it wasn’t too long before I had to go to work. Watched it again to get more perspective on everything.
It was a very good episode and it surprised me. I honestly wasn’t expecting Dean to get cured quite so quickly.
Many things I enjoyed about the episode. The scene with the priest sanctifying the blood. The scene struck me for some reason. The priest seemed hesitant for some reason, almost unsure of himself as he was speaking the Latin. Made me curious as to what was going through his head in that moment.
A brief shot of the Impala going down the road, very distant and far away. No close-ups. Still loving the fact that since Dean has yet to connect with Baby this season, we have not been able to connect with her either. I will be very interested to see what his reaction will be towards the car in the next episode. This episode didn’t really give me any sense of closure at the end that “Dean” is actually back…..not completely. More thoughts on that in a minute.
I loved every scene in the bunker between Dean and Sam. Every horrible and cruel taunt that Dean was throwing Sam’s way. Sam’s pain and resolve as he kept pressing forward. When he went into Dean’s room and picked up that half empty pie container…for some reason that broke my heart even more than the pictures did and those broke my heart plenty, especially the one with Bobby.
Hannah started growing on me last episode. I still don’t like the whole rogue angel storyline, although I had a feeling that they were going to use it to temporarily give Cas more borrowed grace. The fact that it was Crowley though surprised me…and yes the little bottle with the skull was priceless. I don’t know what in the world Crowley is up to. Helping to restore Cas just so that he could go help take care of Demon Dean? Crowley could have already taken care of Dean and Sam both if he had really wanted to. As good as the Winchesters are, Crowley has more power on his side if he really wanted to use it. He’s definitely up to something.
//No catharsis. Not like when Sam’s soul returned and he emerged, clutching at his brother in this huge hug, and having heart to hearts about what he had done. I mean, that may be to come in future episodes – but Dean “returning” was not along those lines//
This was my sense exactly about the end and why I didn’t get the sense at the end of the episode that “Dean” is completely back. Whether from the mark, or guilt, or needing time to process everything remains to be seen. The lack of emotional impact between the brothers after Dean is cured felt very deliberate to me. It’s being withheld purposely. Can’t wait to find out the reason and I’m almost as anxious about Dean’s “reunion” with the Impala!
Very much intrigued by the lady at the end. Sitting there calmly reading her book and getting annoyed by the blood dripping on her arm. She should know better then to read directly under dead bodies!!
Michelle – I loved the priest scene too. And Sam as a bogus doctor with a stethoscope. I made up a whole backstory. Sam needing to sanctify the blood via some incantation – giving the priest some bullshit story: “This is for a transfusion for a woman who is a strict member of the Orthodox Church and has put in her medical transcript the wish that the blood be prayed over with THESE SPECIFIC WORDS before we do the transfusion …”
Or something like that. And the priest, dragged out of the rectory in the middle of the night, knows something is sketchy about it. But he’s young. Maybe a new priest. And feels he can’t refuse. The whole scene was funny that way, short as it was.
// still loving the fact that since Dean has yet to connect with Baby this season, we have not been able to connect with her either. //
I know! SPN knows how strongly the fans have connected with that car. They are withholding her from us!
// When he went into Dean’s room and picked up that half empty pie container…for some reason that broke my heart even more than the pictures did and those broke my heart plenty, especially the one with Bobby. //
Yes! Pie. And Bobby. Suddenly seeing Bobby. Ouch.
I love how those “family photos” were clearly screen-grabs from gag reels and out-takes. Ha. Like, when do Sam and Dean sit around roaring with laughter while someone takes a photo of them? hahaha
But still. Bobby! The show is really honoring the continuity – all of these lost characters … but here they are again.
Speaking of rogue angels: I am BUMMED that Idina (or however you spell her name) was killed. Now THAT was an angel I was interested in. She was fantastic. On her way to Burning Man, wanting to be left alone, super upset, her stakes were tremendously high. I don’t get the sense of any stakes with Hannah. She’s kind of written that way, but it makes her a drip. I wish she was more foreign-seeming – like early Castiel. But that scene with Idina Menzel in the Gas n’ Sip was very good – and her pain/rage was palpable. I was sorry to see her go. At last, some angel with some juice.
I can’t get away from the fact that Demon Dean actually said the word “brainwashing” in re: how they were raised. I am pretty sure that word has never come up – at least not from Dean’s lips.
You’re right, Sheila, that word has never been used on the show in this context (or maybe ever?) before, and I too was extremely excited that Dean said it, that he’s “seeing things the way they really are”, as he told Sam. (Okay, that’s not exactly true, he was aiming to hurt Sam, but still… he wasn’t entirely wrong, was he?)
My secret hope is that by voicing these things that “our” Dean never got the chance to say, never dared say (or even think), by acknowledging that these issues even exist, he might be actually taking the first step to dealing with them in a healthier way. You know, like Sam did in season 9, in all those “mean” conversations with Dean where he repeatedly kept setting up boundaries, saying “This isn’t okay” and “I don’t want this” and “This isn’t the way we’re gonna be from now on”… Maybe it’s time for Dean to do this too?
(Wishful thinking, I know.)
Either way, I’m very curious to see what exactly is gonna happen with Dean now. Because as you said, he didn’t seem that happy to be back to his old self.
Right, because there’s even that small moment by the car in Bad Boys, when Dean defends Dad for leaving him in the home.
I love those moments, because they are very siblings-ish, and who “gets” to be the keeper of the narrative of their childhood – and you argue those things out sometimes as adult siblings.
Dean’s memory of crying and hugging Sonny before going out to the car … that was something that was private to him, that he didn’t share with Sam.
So that whole landscape is still soooo sensitive for Dean – or maybe it’s just my reaction to it – so to hear him talk about being “brainwashed” – it was pretty powerful.
Afterthought – all those numbered rooms in that one hallway of the bunker? I’m guessing those were bedrooms. Plenty of space for sister-wives ;-)
hahahahaha
If only Idina had let it go…
I was underwhelmed by the episode, it felt to me like “well, we’ve decided to give Cas a booster shot and unman (oops) unDemon Dean.” Getting from point A to B. I wanted to hear what others had to say about this – so it sounds like I’m in the minority. Not sure why it didn’t resonate with me. Lots of beautiful shots, just don’t know what my problem was.
I noticed that Endora was drinking from a bottle that could have been scotch and we know that Crowley likes scotch – 30 year old Crag/Creg/Craig. Maybe Mom weened him on the stuff?
One of the rooms Sam went past when he was hiding from Dean had some sigil on it – though I’m pretty sure not a point-down pentagram. So the non-numbered rooms: kitchen, electrical, sigil? Will that be another gun needing to go off?
Also, considering how long Dean had been gone, I would expect any pie in his room to be a sculpture in mold. Possibly even lichen. Kinda surprised that it looked edible.
I read the post from Felicia Day. God, gamer gate. She has a stout heart!
I wondered about the pie too.
Can you talk more about what was missing for you in the episode?
Did it feel stilted or mechanical to you – like it was showing its plot structure too much?
(I’ve been feeling that, in general, every time Castiel comes onscreen – but this one didn’t bother me as much since he was explicitly connected to the brothers. But I’m pretty over Castiel right now, so take that into consideration.)
Re: the word ‘brainwashed’ and John Winchester. Didn’t Victor Henriksen say, if not that exactly, something along the lines of Daddy raising them in a survivalist cult, maybe abusing them (and both brothers leaned up at that, ready to attack. So hot.) Yeah, I checked Jus in Bello he says “your Daddy brainwashed you with all that devil talk and no doubt touched you in a bad place.” They’ve definitely come a long way since then and being willing to defend their dad.
I also noticed that the pictures of Sam and Dean laughing were outtakes. ‘Cause there are no pictures of Sam and Dean laughing, just of Jensen and Jared.
I really meant among Sam and Dean. Outsiders have noted the intensity of their upbringing – speaking of the re-cap that comes next in my lineup (“The Usual Suspects”) but I was talking about the two of them.
//Also, considering how long Dean had been gone, I would expect any pie in his room to be a sculpture in mold.//
You’d have thought that, wouldn’t you … but I just told myself it must be the e numbers and preservatives working to keep that piece of pie in a pristine state, like it had just come out of Tutankamun’s tomb or something.
//I noticed that Endora was drinking from a bottle that could have been scotch and we know that Crowley likes scotch//
I’d love this to be Crowley’s mum. I’d also love it to be the Wicked (Whisky) Witch of the West because that would mean Charlie was back. And it seems Charlie is coming back, so I am already very happy.
Could you draw a plan of the bunker, do you think? Is it possible to work out how it all fits together? I’ve still no idea where the kitchen is in relation to the reading room or the bedrooms. And it took over half a season to locate the garage.
I like the workmanship in the bunker. I like the fact that there are carved wooden pillars, sinks in all the bedrooms and a door painted with the word Electrical in that very square gold lettering from the ’30s t0 ’50s I can see around my workplace . I hope they manage to fix that door to the room with all the switches and fuses, but then they’ll have to kill or at least blind the workman who does it.
From the doodles Sam found in Dean’s room I was convinced for a moment Dean had made a plan for putting up shelves in his room and I got very excited at the idea of DIY, but on closer examination, no, it was something else.
In my mind, the kitchen is one level down from the reading room. Like that stairway off to the side of the control room – in my mind, that goes down to the kitchen. But yeah – the bedrooms. Where exactly do they go to get to them? What else is on the bedroom level? We saw Dean in the shower – but did we see the rest of the bathroom? I can’t remember. Is it a group bathroom, like in a dorm room? And is that a telescope in the back? Like a small observatory?
// I got very excited at the idea of DIY, //
hahahaha
It seemed like it was directions. Was I wrong?
I love the art deco vibe. Mixed with total institutional functionality.
It really is gorgeously designed and conceived.
Helena –
//Could you draw a plan of the bunker, do you think? //
Not right now, but that’s like asking me if I want to get some candy down at the bottom of a nice rabbit hole. Maybe some nice scotch at the bottom of a hobbit hole. With some pipe weed. Ooh I like that!
I spent 4 or 5 hours trying to track down any meaning for the Gershwin tune that Daddy Bender was playing as he made sausage. I’m tempted to say “I could possibly draw up a plan, with lots of effort.” But the lots of effort part is daunting. And what if there truly isn’t enough information in the last 2.5 years to have made a good map? When would I be able to convince myself of that? Maybe someone even nerdier than I am (hey, it could happen) has already made one. I’m thinking I want to avoid bottomless rabbit holes.
I share the general, “where exactly is everything?” vibe about the bunker. And who knows what other treasures we haven’t discovered yet. Could there be some mythical creature menagerie down there?
“Pegasus, up, up and away!”
“Purina doesn’t make wyvern chow. We need to feed it passenger pigeon? They’re extinct? Oh no! Maybe we can Jurassic Park a few from mosquitoes crushed on the windshields of some of these old cars.”
I agree with you about the workmanship in the bunker. It is very much a well-built real place, just what you would expect from a beloved institution. Heaven and Hell are more “TV show sets crafted with limited budgets.” No wonder neither Idina nor Crowley nor Cas want to spend time in their respective homes.
Your comment about the difficulty of letting someone in to repair… I wonder what they did with the folks who built it. Maybe the original MoL needed to have construction skills and exorcism skills both. Or just use some memory-wiping spells on the construction workers who did the building. But then, if they were paid, how would they account for the payments? And if they weren’t paid, then the MoL used slave labor. A conundrum.
Albertus Magnus (my mother’s alma mater!) would definitely have been all for slave labor.
Also, considering how long Dean had been gone, I would expect any pie in his room to be a sculpture in mold.
Agreed.
Also, I just realized that those Busty Asian Beauties and the pie actually have no reason to be in Dean’s room altogether. Long before Dean became a demon and took off, we’ve seen him lose interest in both sex and food, so what exactly were those skin mags and the unfinished pie doing there?
Huh. Actually, I think Dean’s room looked much more homey and lived-in now than it did the last time we saw it, when it seemed much more stripped-down and bare-walled and… cold, impersonal.
Regarding the Bunker floorplan – I’m sure you’ve already seen this… But that’s just from season 8, and they said the Bunker’s grown a lot since then, so it might not be of much help anyway…
I don’t know – I wouldn’t imagine that Dean threw out all his porn. Crowley was a fan of Busty Asian Beauties too, so maybe he was flipping thru them while Dean packed his bags to leave. Who knows. But I wasn’t confused about Dean still having skin mags lying around. There are times I’m not into sex either, but that doesn’t mean I go through my apartment throwing away my erotica/porn stash.
And they just put the pie there to tug at our heartstrings!! :)
It would be funny if we all drew our own ideas about where everything is in the bunker – and then compare and contrast.
//It seemed like it was directions. Was I wrong?//
Nope, some of the notes were directions, and there was also a diagram of a room layout or something similar.
I love that Dean would write out directions. Sam would totally be Mapquesting or Google Map-ping it. Not Dean.
//It would be funny if we all drew our own ideas about where everything is in the bunker – and then compare and contrast.//
Ha! Just give me a minute to get some graph paper and some lego and some specially sharpened pencils …
Ha! We should totally do this!
//I love that Dean would write out directions. Sam would totally be Mapquesting or Google Map-ping it. Not Dean.//
Then there’s ‘hunter’s satnav’ … basically a map that burns away leaving only the spot you need to find. Then you need another map to work out how to get there.
Right, you kind of back your way into it.
I don’t know – I wouldn’t imagine that Dean threw out all his porn.
No, of course I didn’t mean he’d throw the porn out (God forbid!), I just thought the mags wouldn’t be lying around, because: 1. we’ve seen that Dean’s kind of a neat freak when it comes to his room, and 2. he keeps the porn in that box of his we’ve seen in the Charlie and Dorothy episode, where Charlie points out that Dean keeps his porn meticulously organized.
But I really like the idea of Crowley going through Dean’s collection while waiting for Dean to wake up.
Yeah, the whole room looked like someone left it in a hurry, right? Stuff lying around – directions – half-finished pie – skin mags lying around. Not Dean-ish at all. Dean clearly would have cleaned up if he weren’t, you know, turning into a demon!
[Dean clearly would have cleaned up if he werent, you know, turning into a demon!] Yes, Demon!Dean wouldn’t care about his room any more than he cared about the Impala (“… just a car.”) All of that guilt free room in his head.
The movement for all characters this year seems to be dealing with their past relationships. Dean is clearing his decks and now having to deal with how that felt when he had no guilt to carry around … SO GOOD. Sam has learned more about how much his brother carries and will have to deal with the cruel truths Demon!Dean laid out. Yes, it was cruel and meant to hurt, but demons often use the truth to wound.
Crowley may be dealing with someone from his past (please let it be mom, but at least let it be a relative). Cas will be dealing with Claire, apparently, who has been in foster care and is out now looking for her dad, or what’s left of him!
I’m actually looking forward to all of this personal angst instead of just torturing Dean with it. Personal growth everywhere!?
// I’m actually looking forward to all of this personal angst instead of just torturing Dean with it. //
Ha. That’s a good point.
Your thoughts may dovetail with Mutecypher’s observations about the pentagram in the new title credit. I think it was in last week’s comment section? The drama of “becoming” …
Sam has really come a long long way – think about his journey in Season 9. Well, going back to the end of Season 8. That’s one hell of an arc, huh?
What I like is that he has figured out some stuff for himself – and it seems to come from a place of both caring (I love my brother, I want to save him) and autonomy (this is the right thing to do). He HAD to go through that stuff in Season 9 – all those “No, Dean … I wouldn’t do the same thing for you …” conversations. I know a lot of people thought Sam was being “mean” but that seems a rather immature school-playground assessment. It wasn’t mean. It was Sam trying to un-tangle the “brainwashing” of their upbringing, and also trying to figure out which end was up, for himself. What was set up – by John – and then by Dean and Sam – was broken. Sam sensed it. He had to step back.
And so now … now him re-investing … it’s more moving than it would be otherwise, because we’ve missed it for so long. If that makes sense.
Sam is kind of killing me a little bit right now. Maybe because Dean, at the moment, feels slightly unreachable – which is fascinating in and of itself.
Sheila –
//Can you talk more about what was missing for you in the episode?//
I didn’t feel like I was in the room, in the midst of a wrestling match, the way I did with the Sam/Crowley near-cure scenes. I felt like JP was acting and JA was acting, but they weren’t interacting. I don’t know why I didn’t have a feeling of suspense in the episode – I felt like the goal of the episode was transparent very early on: buck up Cas for a while and unDemon Dean. I can point at some things that took me out of the episode: the pie and porn seemed a bit too “remember the old Dean, don’t you want him back?” to me: pandering. Though continuing with more Demon Dean could be called pandering to what I wanted, so maybe my feelings were just hurt. I also didn’t like the way Idina said she was going to take her time killing Cas. Her delivery just seemed like words coming out of her mouth. We know there are vindictive angels, from Zechariah’s comment that he was a worse enemy than Lucifer since he was petty. But I was unconvinced: a petty angel doesn’t seem like the sort who would want to hang out and explore humanity. And a vengeful angel would have put on her Chrysler Building-sized self and brought the majesty. In either case, the dialogue and the delivery just went clunk, for me. And I’m bored with how bored Crowley is. After all of two episodes. So I have the patience of a 5 year old.
On Wednesday morning I read all the comments and was psyched to watch the episode again. I did, and still didn’t find the love. I suspect this is just some weird-assed mood on my part and not really a justified reaction to the quality of the show or the acting. I certainly hope I don’t spoil anyone else’s enjoyment. Sometimes I have a reaction and also get the sense that my judgement will change over time. That’s how this feels.
And I think back to my comment to McKala in the season 10 episode 2 recap: fight the pain. It will only make whatever is coming more powerful.
I also go along with Kathy’s comment about how the creators (I love referring to them that way) may want a happy situation (with ominous undertones and plenty of chiaroscuro foreshadowing) for the 200th episode. So they need to set that up and maybe things get a bit rushed. Or maybe as a viewer, I just had an off day.
I can see where you are coming from, definitely – thanks for elaborating!
Demon Dean was so looked-forward-to on my part – that I was definitely “let down” that he was “cured” so fast – although as we have discussed he doesn’t seem back to normal, not yet. I was hoping for more, a la Soulless Sam – who was sans soul for half a season. Milk that shit!
In our further discussion here about said pie, and how it was strange it would be there and not sprouting root or growing mould – I mean, it’s been there for weeks at that point, right? … it didn’t make sense … and, in lieu of your words, I can see your point – definitely pandering. The show can’t help but do that sometimes and it is a weak spot, definitely. Over-identification with fans? It’s a fine line. Sometimes it works for me (when I’m the one being pandered to – ha!) – sometimes it doesn’t. (One random example off the top of my head: Sam’s comment to Dean in “The Purge” – “I’m not the only one who dated someone bendy.” It felt way too inside-joke-with-fans for me – and it was played that way too. I’m being nitpicky – which I usually try to avoid.)
I usually feel the pandering impulse in the show’s treatment of Castiel – when it gets most cutesy – and Castiel fans are sometimes an offshoot of the whole show, in their own self-contained group (I’ve come across Castiel-based Tumblrs where the fan admits they haven’t even watched the first three seasons) – so the Castiel-pandering stands out much more than it would otherwise.
I think the pie moment could qualify, as well. You gotta be careful with the pie stuff. It’s so beloved by fans. It could become schtick, almost like a “whatchoo talkin’ ’bout Willis” kinda thing.
and interesting to read your thoughts on Idina! I liked her because she was petty – at least it gave her some juice – but I can also see what you’re saying. I don’t know, the angels seem all “off” to me right now. Boring.
It’s possible that cutting back to Cas and Hannah took the edge off for me. I’m tempted to go back and watch the Sam/Crowley near-cure episode again and see what those scenes were crosscut with. I think it was with Dean, so in that case we weren’t going from care-about to don’t-care-about. I could also re-watch “Soul Survivor” again and just fast forward past the Cas and Hannah scenes, just to see if that strengthened things.
// I think it was with Dean, so in that case we weren’t going from care-about to don’t-care-about. //
Yes! It went back to Dean. In general, I agree with you – that Castiel’s lost grace is not a strong enough Arc to warrant cutting away from Dean/Sam right now. (Except for the fact that Castiel is a regular, and he has to be involved, and etc.)
The road trip was pretty meandering – with a long conversation about emotions at the gas station (shoulda been cut in half) … which just didn’t have the tension of what was going on in the bunker. I didn’t mind the meandering nature of the road trip – but that was mainly because I was distracted by the beauty of the scenery and the old signage and the drive-in movie theatre.
After a bunch of really insightful impressions from the people on this link, I always go back and watch the episodes again to see what you see, feel what you feel. It’s one of the many reasons I like this link so much, all of you bring so much new vision to the episode and it’s so much fun to re-watch from those points of view.
It really is fun to go back and re-watch after hearing what everyone has to say. I’m going to do that today.
I tend to get overwhelmed in my first viewing. I miss stuff a lot. This happens to me with my film critic gigs too – sometimes getting overwhelmed is good, but then it gets really interesting when you start to examine whatever it is, bit by bit, asking yourself questions: “Did this work?” “And if it didn’t work, why not?” Or – conversely – “WHY did that work so well?” (Sometimes that second one is even more challenging.)
I think the series might now may be suffering from a lack of high stakes. The stakes are coming – I mean, two bodies on the ceiling dripping blood onto a smirking redhead – things are about to get interesting!! – but the first three episodes were chaotic. A mix of emotional drama and low-key re-examination. I kind of liked that they weren’t all climax scenes – as we were talking about upthread – there’s a feeling that everyone is adrift, somewhat. I do appreciate that. After the drive of the second half of Season 9, it feels appropriate.
Anyway, will come back with more thoughts after I re-watch.
mutecypher://I didn’t feel like I was in the room, in the midst of a wrestling match, the way I did with the Sam/Crowley near-cure scenes.//
I think what you are describing as missing are high stakes. Did anyone believe that Dean couldn’t be cured? Or that Dean really would kill his brother? But with Crowley, a) it was new and that is always exciting, b) Sam had to face the whole, ‘is my blood pure enough to work’ thing, along with the clearly high personal cost that the trial was having, and c) the stakes were very high plot wise. Imagine if Dean had been chasing a weakened Castiel around the bunker… how tragic and possible it would have been if Dean had killed him? Or maybe even Garth? The possibility exists for more catastrophe that way than with Sam.
Just an idea. Probably full of crap since I haven’t had a chance to watch the episode yet and don’t know how I will since I can’t access it from CW’s website or even pay Amazon to watch it as I live in Canada. So I am trying to recreate the episode using puppets, the few bits and pieces I can find on youtube and the comments on this thread. It isn’t going so great…
// So I am trying to recreate the episode using puppets, //
… and that video needs to be uploaded to Funny or Die!
Heather –
Good points.
Garth?!?!? No!
And that sucks about not being able to watch. From the timeline of your comments from last week, it appears you were able to watch it by Wednesday or Thursday. What’s up with this week? I still have it on the DVR, so if you’re coming to Kauai in the next couple of days…
mutecypher://What’s up with this week? I still have it on the DVR, so if you’re coming to Kauai in the next couple of days…//
hahahah, thanks for the kind offer. So the problem is that we are getting our t.v. via antennae and Tuesday there was a rainstorm which means the signal from Buffalo gets really weak. It is funny, but as the leaves fall the signal improves so it is great in the winter. Something should be great in the winter.
Heather – yeah, what’s up with that in Canada? We were travelling there this summer and although it appeared I was supposed to be able to watch it online on the CW, Supernatural wasn’t offered. Other CW programming was (as much Vampire Diary as you could stand, which, no…) so it was obviously SPN that was dropped. (We were in Eastern Canada, maybe it’s there elsewhere.) Great Britain has dropped CW, too. Is it CW that is out of control? I heard that Warner Brothers was trying to do online direct programming like Netflix (everyone wants to be Netflix now) so maybe they are refusing to make the deals. But that wouldn’t explain why SPN doesn’t show up in Canada while other CW programming does. I see online here current season is offered on HULU and something I’ve never heard of (always dangerout to log into but if you’re desperate) called Watchseries (seems to be European). So bad that you can’t even pay to get this! Although I am intrigued by the puppetry.
// Although I am intrigued by the puppetry. //
Me too.
Kathy, thanks for the suggestions. I think the answer might just be to get a VPN. Then I will be EVERYWHERE….
//I can point at some things that took me out of the episode: the pie and porn seemed a bit too “remember the old Dean, don’t you want him back?” to me: pandering.//
I think this might be something very intentional the show is doing? Now my speculation may be completely blown out of the water in the next episode depending on how Dean acts, but I’m wondering if the show is trying to keep us focused on being sentimental for the old Dean because he isn’t really back yet and may not be for a while?
I was completely surprised when they cured him so quickly to be honest. I was expecting a least a half season of Dean being a demon. I wasn’t sure how they were going to do it but I was thinking that the show was going to somehow have Demon Dean and Sam working together in a similar vein to Souless Sam. Sam would suggest Demon Dean hunt and kill supernatural creatures to keep him alive and the mark satiated. Demon Dean would “agree” to this and would pretend to be ok with Sam trying to “cure” him and all the while planning on some kind of double cross. I figured the show would send me on an emotional ride where at first I really enjoyed Demon Dean but then as time went on I would start missing the old him and be really longing for his return.
As the episode was progressing towards Dean being cured I was a little disappointed….I was still very much enjoying Demon Dean and even though I missed “Dean” I was enjoying the fact that I missed him. (If that even makes any sense!) The first time I watched through the episode, the pie and pictures broke my heart. (Crowley may not be sentimental but I very much am) I didn’t go much in depth beyond that. The second time I watched it though in relation to the ending of the episode I really think it was intentional. It was intended to get us sentimental over Dean, remember the Dean we love, get all excited over the return of Dean, get the fans salivating over the beautiful emotional reunion between the brothers…..then cure him and not really give us anything at all. No scenes at all afterwards between Dean and Sam….not even a personal acknowledgement of Sam….and one stilted and somewhat awkward scene with Cas.
The Supernatural crew knows exactly what they are doing when it comes to tugging on the fans heartstrings. They reward and punish and always keep fans longing because they know that the longing is what keeps them coming back every week. Season 8 was what one fan called a “hugapalooza” between the brothers. 4 hugs in one season! They know how much fans adore those brotherly hugs and they don’t allow them very often. When I first saw season 8 I thought that Carver was pandering to the fans then as well. It kind of felt contrived and I wasn’t sure I liked it. Then came season 9 and all that pain and distance between the brothers. The closest we got to a hug in that season was Sam holding his dead brother in his arms in the very last episode. When they go sentimental on us it almost feels like they are saying “buckle up, pain and lots of it is coming.” So while Dean may be “cured” I don’t think the painful journey is over by a long shot and I’m not so sure that he is back yet or will be for a while.
Michelle – really interesting perspective. I like it a lot!
// When they go sentimental on us it almost feels like they are saying “buckle up, pain and lots of it is coming.” //
Agreed. And the lack of a hug in Soul Survivor was great – even though it added to the slightly unfinished feeling of the whole event. There’s no real victory here – not yet.
Creating a sentimental nostalgic mood is certainly one of the tricks of the trade: Here, let’s show them what they want and then take it away immediately!
// It was intended to get us sentimental over Dean, remember the Dean we love, get all excited over the return of Dean, get the fans salivating over the beautiful emotional reunion between the brothers…..then cure him and not really give us anything at all. No scenes at all afterwards between Dean and Sam….not even a personal acknowledgement of Sam….and one stilted and somewhat awkward scene with Cas. //
The scene very much works, when seen in that context. I like the agony of unfinished business – and think the yearning for catharsis/completion/healing/happiness is part of the tension of the show. Everyone wants everyone to be okay!! But … they’re NEVER okay! :) Or, they’re okay for about 20 minutes a season, and then we all just live on that for decades. Ha ha.
I’m very excited about Season 10, in general. Everything I’ve seen so far is very relationship-based – although the redhead at the end suggests a new Big Bad is in town, which will certainly focus a lot of the attention. So I’m intrigued by all of it.
//Afterthought – all those numbered rooms in that one hallway of the bunker? I’m guessing those were bedrooms. Plenty of space for sister-wives ;-)//
Glad to see you’re paying attention to the right details, Natalie. ;-)
I’m also going to miss Demon!Dean, if he is completely gone. I have a feeling that the Blade will come back into play and Dean will have to choose between staying cured (and miserable) or reverting back to a demon (and being happy…ish).
I did like that Dean was so subdued after being cured. I don’t think it’s a great leap to say Dean suffers from some form of depression, that has gotten worse over time. He has self-medicated for years with sex, booze, drugs, hunting, etc., and the Mark became the ultimate treatment. And now its influence is gone (or blocked/muted) and he is too physically and emotionally exhausted to even feign his “normal” persona. I’m really hoping the season will deal with this and not focus on guilt trips and yelling-at-Dean-for-his-feelings moments.
Mutecypher : the pie was too much for me too, didn’t work. But then there was the picture with Bobby and the family theme on the cello. They got me, the bastards !
Jessie : // It’s hard not to respond in detail form immediately after it airs! Depth comes with time. //
True! In retrospect, I don’t regret posting so fast after viewing the episode: we have a whole week to talk about the deep stuff, and you all did it really well. I realize I needed to share my enthousiasm for this episode, while being unable to talk about what really mattered because it really punched my right in the feels, to quote a ghostfacer. Hence my focusing mostly on irrelevant details (I’m OK with looking shallow and stupid, you all seem very nice). (Speaking of which, another silly observation: Jensen Ackles has huge teeth. You’re welcome.)
Although I loved Demon Dean, I’m not disappointed he got cured so fast. For one thing, because he’s not totally cured, and we might see some interesting demony outbursts. And because what I most wanted to see, the confrontation between the brothers, really satisfied me. Sure, we knew he wouldn’t kill Sam, but for me the tension was real nonetheless because we didn’t know how far Dean could go. The fact that, even after being injected with blood, he still tried to kill Sam is tragic enough for me. If not for Cas, he would have destroyed him without blinking. It cannot not alter their relationship.
And after nine years, hearing Dean talking about being brainwashed, and finally aknowledging that Sam was always put first : am I the only one who found that painfully satisfying? Demon or not, from there, things can only change. I don’t see how Dean can go back to functioning the way he used to, MoC or not. I’m having a hard time really explaining all my thoughs about this episode and the situation because of the language barrier and that’s very frustrating. I haven’t rewatched the episode since Wedenesday, but it has been haunting me. I keep hearing Dean’s voice breaking (or is he out of breath?) when he says « your very existence sucked the life out of my life ».
I really love that they took three episodes to deal almost exclusively with relationships, and that almost nothing happened. And nothing is completely resolved. I’m glad the show took its time – I love when things are very slow almost as much as I love epic shit. They have to be really confident to do such a thing, right? Hell and Heaven being almost interchangeable (what a beautiful idea). Hannah wants to think only of her angelic duty but seems to be experiencing human feelings, Cas is not completely an angel, Crowley keep repeating he’s not sentimental but we know he’s longing for his days with Dean, Dean is not really cured, and Sam is compared to a monster. A big bad is coming and everybody is an in-between state somehow, not really here nor there. That whole situation is a complete mess. I love it!
I’m not sure I’m making sense. I not sure how to english write anymore. Plus: the feels! Sorry.
I tried like crazy to make out the name on the drive-in sign but my screen isn’t so good. Anyone have an idea?
Lyrie –
//Plus: the feels!//
Your english is excellent. You are totally rocking the idioms.
Your comments, and everyone else’s, give me hope that I’ll enjoy this episode more at a later date.
Patrick –
It was the “Star Brite Drive In.” Too bad someone took the sign letters down or we could have learned what the last movie was that they showed. Maybe “Heaven Can Wait?”
“The Devil Knows You’re Dead”, perhaps?
Thanks mutecypher…I see it now that you cleared it up for me. I was guessing at ‘Star’ and even ‘Silver Bullet’ crossed my mind but I decided there wasn’t enough space for that many letters. I really need a new monitor! -p
Here are some lovely (if that’s the word) examples of abandoned drive-ins:
https://roadtrippers.com/blog/driveintheaters1