Quick Reaction: 7x13 Slice Girls
Feb. 4th, 2012 12:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hells_half_acreHello! So, this one is a little later - because once again I had to juggle Supernatural with Book Club...so, yeah, I actually watched Supernatural hours ago and then talked about books for a long time...so we'll see how much I remember.
BRUTAL MURDER! Man, it didn't register right away that he was missing his feet and hands - but that's super gross and awful.
The Winchester part of the episode opens with Sam driving! And they have a car that is at least SIMILAR to the Impala...in that it is black and has that nice little curve over the back wheels...but yeah...Sam's driving and we get the classic "there are no leads on the main plot, so let's do a MOTW" line.
So, does anyone know who played the coroner/cop? He looked SO FAMILIAR. I liked Dean going on about their prescription coverage - hilarious. If there's one way to sell that you belong to a profession, it's to go on about the medical plan. (At least in the States, anyway).
I also liked the little tribute to the old "I guess it's our kind of thing" line...and I love Sam's reply of "'not anything human' usually does it for me." - Haha, I just realized that that line out of context can actually be taken two ways...and both are true for Sammy.
Anyhoo, Dean goes off to drink and Sam goes off to actually work. It's an interesting dynamic in the 7th season, because we have these character traits that are so ingrained that they aren't ever going to change...Sam will always be hyper focused on the current hunt, and Dean will always be more likely to goof off if he's not personally invested in whatever they are doing. We also get this interesting dynamic this season where Dean is pretty much self-destructing, but Sam isn't going to call him on it, because Sam has to pick his battles.
Like in Defending Your Life, I sort of get the feeling like Dean is going through the motions - because he's doing the whole "fake it 'til you make it" thing, which, coincidentally is the advice Frank gave him anyway. But he seem to figure that his best strategy is to "act like Dean" and then no one will notice the whole self-destruction. The problem, of course, is that we all have a very different self-image than what we actually are...so Dean is basically turning into a caricature of himself. And you can see it in the way he seems to get rather depressed with his own lies.
I also thought it was interesting that he spoke Japanese to the girl, and said he knew enough to get by. Japanese was Bobby's thing.
Sex scene! Awesome! Oh, wait, before I get there....the music in this episode was awesome. I liked the use of Louden Swain song in the bar, and the use of AC/DC over a Dean sex scene is always approved. Also, Dean's chest!
And it was really cool to have the sex scene spliced with a gruesome murder. Very neat way to show exactly what mistake Dean was making.
And then stuff happens...and Dean forgets Bobby's flask...and Sam is amused that Dean was turned down by a woman...and then Dean goes to the womans house, and Sam sees that all the victims went to the same bar as Dean and phone's Dean to tell him he "dodged a bullet" - odd thing for Sam to assume :P
The kid is cute. As my friend said, that kid is going to have HUGE EYES.
Oh, I forgot to talk about the "Expert" - My friend and I were both rather distracted when Sam and Dean left his office and walked down that hallway - we both recognized it as the hallway in the PCA video...and were distracted by the fact that up until the very end, anyway, the boys legs weren't in frame. So we were both giggling to ourselves, picturing them doing it pants-less.
Anyhoo...
The professor dude added a nice comedic aspect to the episode - and also served as a reminder of just how much the boys are missing Bobby, not just for his fatherlyness, but also for his expertise and efficiency. I have to say that I also love the stuff that Jared and Jensen do with facial expressions alone. When Sam says they need to get in touch with an expert and Dean says "Our expert is dead", Sam's facial expression really says it all.
Blah blah blah...kid grows up...oh! THE PAPERS!
Okay, so we finally find out that Dean and Sam DID burn Bobby - so they don't believe that he can be a ghost. HOWEVER, they say this while sitting in a room full of his possessions....furthermore, they say this after Dean went to great lengths to get Bobby's flask back...a flask, need I point out, that Dean has become VERY sentimentally attached to very quickly. All I'm saying is that Bobby's ghost doesn't need to be bound to the world by his bones...
Sam goes to the professor dude, because neither he nor Dean can read ancient Greek. They should really learn. I guess they have Latin down, and it's my personal fanon that Dean's proficient in Hebrew.
And finally Emma attacks. I like the way she bluffed Dean... it shows cunning. Also, it's a great way to play Dean, because he has a weakness for both children AND family. Just jumping back here, I loved how when he saw that Lidia has a kid, he immediately walked right over to the crib and interacted with the baby...Dean said it back in Dead in the Water and no one believed him, but he really does love kids.
Oh, jumping back again here, I love the fact that when Sam gets mad at Dean for sleeping with the monster - he doesn't get mad at him for sleeping with the monster, he gets mad at him for not having safe sex. Such a good message there - not sex negative, just unsafe-sex negative. ;)
I also love that Sam rationalizes that it can't be Bobby's ghost because they WANT it to be. That's epically heartbreaking.
Anyway...yeah, so I like the way Emma bluffed Dean. I also like that her little suitcase was bright pink.
I liked Sam bluffing the Amazon-cop lady and shooting her in the chest...and I loved Dean pulling that gun out of the fridge and not getting duped. And, I like how it came full circle to Dean trying to talk Emma into running and not killing him, and Sam coming in and killing her for him. Sam isn't going to win any World's Greatest Uncle awards anytime soon, but he'll still win the World's Greatest Brother awards, so it balances out.
Which brings us to the end of the episode - when Sam is once again driving...and that's gotta be a sign of something, doesn't it?
Sam tells Dean that he doesn't care how Dean copes or what Dean does, but Dean just can't get killed or die on him...and that's really the battle that Sam is picking. Sam needs Dean alive. He doesn't need him sober. He doesn't need him happy. He just needs him to be alive. I think Sam has been putting up such a great front with the Hell-hallucinations thing that Dean has forgotten that he is Sam's Stone #1. And I think that's going to go come back and bite Dean (and Sam) in the ass in the future.
I must say, that although this was yet another MOTW, I enjoyed it because it built up the issues the boys are dealing with in a subtle way that informed us how things are effecting both their day to day life, and the relationship between the brothers. (I also liked it, because unlike in a lot of people's fic, the show didn't turn Sam into a nagging-wife character... it actually showed him dealing with Dean's issues in a much more realistic and true-to-character way.)
Okay, so, I'm sure I missed stuff....but, it's nearly 1am, so please forgive me.
BRUTAL MURDER! Man, it didn't register right away that he was missing his feet and hands - but that's super gross and awful.
The Winchester part of the episode opens with Sam driving! And they have a car that is at least SIMILAR to the Impala...in that it is black and has that nice little curve over the back wheels...but yeah...Sam's driving and we get the classic "there are no leads on the main plot, so let's do a MOTW" line.
So, does anyone know who played the coroner/cop? He looked SO FAMILIAR. I liked Dean going on about their prescription coverage - hilarious. If there's one way to sell that you belong to a profession, it's to go on about the medical plan. (At least in the States, anyway).
I also liked the little tribute to the old "I guess it's our kind of thing" line...and I love Sam's reply of "'not anything human' usually does it for me." - Haha, I just realized that that line out of context can actually be taken two ways...and both are true for Sammy.
Anyhoo, Dean goes off to drink and Sam goes off to actually work. It's an interesting dynamic in the 7th season, because we have these character traits that are so ingrained that they aren't ever going to change...Sam will always be hyper focused on the current hunt, and Dean will always be more likely to goof off if he's not personally invested in whatever they are doing. We also get this interesting dynamic this season where Dean is pretty much self-destructing, but Sam isn't going to call him on it, because Sam has to pick his battles.
Like in Defending Your Life, I sort of get the feeling like Dean is going through the motions - because he's doing the whole "fake it 'til you make it" thing, which, coincidentally is the advice Frank gave him anyway. But he seem to figure that his best strategy is to "act like Dean" and then no one will notice the whole self-destruction. The problem, of course, is that we all have a very different self-image than what we actually are...so Dean is basically turning into a caricature of himself. And you can see it in the way he seems to get rather depressed with his own lies.
I also thought it was interesting that he spoke Japanese to the girl, and said he knew enough to get by. Japanese was Bobby's thing.
Sex scene! Awesome! Oh, wait, before I get there....the music in this episode was awesome. I liked the use of Louden Swain song in the bar, and the use of AC/DC over a Dean sex scene is always approved. Also, Dean's chest!
And it was really cool to have the sex scene spliced with a gruesome murder. Very neat way to show exactly what mistake Dean was making.
And then stuff happens...and Dean forgets Bobby's flask...and Sam is amused that Dean was turned down by a woman...and then Dean goes to the womans house, and Sam sees that all the victims went to the same bar as Dean and phone's Dean to tell him he "dodged a bullet" - odd thing for Sam to assume :P
The kid is cute. As my friend said, that kid is going to have HUGE EYES.
Oh, I forgot to talk about the "Expert" - My friend and I were both rather distracted when Sam and Dean left his office and walked down that hallway - we both recognized it as the hallway in the PCA video...and were distracted by the fact that up until the very end, anyway, the boys legs weren't in frame. So we were both giggling to ourselves, picturing them doing it pants-less.
Anyhoo...
The professor dude added a nice comedic aspect to the episode - and also served as a reminder of just how much the boys are missing Bobby, not just for his fatherlyness, but also for his expertise and efficiency. I have to say that I also love the stuff that Jared and Jensen do with facial expressions alone. When Sam says they need to get in touch with an expert and Dean says "Our expert is dead", Sam's facial expression really says it all.
Blah blah blah...kid grows up...oh! THE PAPERS!
Okay, so we finally find out that Dean and Sam DID burn Bobby - so they don't believe that he can be a ghost. HOWEVER, they say this while sitting in a room full of his possessions....furthermore, they say this after Dean went to great lengths to get Bobby's flask back...a flask, need I point out, that Dean has become VERY sentimentally attached to very quickly. All I'm saying is that Bobby's ghost doesn't need to be bound to the world by his bones...
Sam goes to the professor dude, because neither he nor Dean can read ancient Greek. They should really learn. I guess they have Latin down, and it's my personal fanon that Dean's proficient in Hebrew.
And finally Emma attacks. I like the way she bluffed Dean... it shows cunning. Also, it's a great way to play Dean, because he has a weakness for both children AND family. Just jumping back here, I loved how when he saw that Lidia has a kid, he immediately walked right over to the crib and interacted with the baby...Dean said it back in Dead in the Water and no one believed him, but he really does love kids.
Oh, jumping back again here, I love the fact that when Sam gets mad at Dean for sleeping with the monster - he doesn't get mad at him for sleeping with the monster, he gets mad at him for not having safe sex. Such a good message there - not sex negative, just unsafe-sex negative. ;)
I also love that Sam rationalizes that it can't be Bobby's ghost because they WANT it to be. That's epically heartbreaking.
Anyway...yeah, so I like the way Emma bluffed Dean. I also like that her little suitcase was bright pink.
I liked Sam bluffing the Amazon-cop lady and shooting her in the chest...and I loved Dean pulling that gun out of the fridge and not getting duped. And, I like how it came full circle to Dean trying to talk Emma into running and not killing him, and Sam coming in and killing her for him. Sam isn't going to win any World's Greatest Uncle awards anytime soon, but he'll still win the World's Greatest Brother awards, so it balances out.
Which brings us to the end of the episode - when Sam is once again driving...and that's gotta be a sign of something, doesn't it?
Sam tells Dean that he doesn't care how Dean copes or what Dean does, but Dean just can't get killed or die on him...and that's really the battle that Sam is picking. Sam needs Dean alive. He doesn't need him sober. He doesn't need him happy. He just needs him to be alive. I think Sam has been putting up such a great front with the Hell-hallucinations thing that Dean has forgotten that he is Sam's Stone #1. And I think that's going to go come back and bite Dean (and Sam) in the ass in the future.
I must say, that although this was yet another MOTW, I enjoyed it because it built up the issues the boys are dealing with in a subtle way that informed us how things are effecting both their day to day life, and the relationship between the brothers. (I also liked it, because unlike in a lot of people's fic, the show didn't turn Sam into a nagging-wife character... it actually showed him dealing with Dean's issues in a much more realistic and true-to-character way.)
Okay, so, I'm sure I missed stuff....but, it's nearly 1am, so please forgive me.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-02-05 10:01 pm (UTC)I have listened to some of her podfics too ;) Though, they tend to be short and I tend to try to listen to podfics that are an hour or more...but yes, very talented fan.
All I know about next week's episode is clowns and a "dick on Dick" comment that doesn't make sense to me because what? But yes. I want coping mechanisms!
Well, I'm hoping that Sam is still afraid of clowns, and we'll be able to see the coping mechanisms when they start failing...
As for the dick on dick comment. It's because in slang dick can mean "nothing"...so it's Sam's crude way of saying "we've got nothing on Dick." So, um, does that make sense now? I think Supernatural is trying to piss off the language-censors this season. :P
An aside; I always thought they missed a trick with not having Mark Pellegrino just randomly sat in the background of shots throughout the season, just so you never forget what Sam is seeing all the time. Though really, it's not like they can just pay him to turn up in the back of shots randomly. I'd've just loved that.
Or even just have Sam stare at a fixed point where nothing is every once in a while. They did it in 7x10, but they haven't done it since.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-05 10:22 pm (UTC)Oh. I see. Well, I'm going to assume that Brits don't say that cos I have never heard that before.
I just love the idea of Lucifer sitting in a chair in a diner ordering coffee. And then being the guy behind the desk at the police station. And then being the guy on the bench as they walk past, and the guy in the corner shop, and the guy in the forensics team. And Sam looks at him over his shoulder, or Dean's shoulder. And then he looks away because not there. And Dean gives him funny looks. And then works it out. And then looks sad. And then schools his features before Sam looks back. I just think that that whole thing going on in Sam's head is a major plot point that has been horribly underused. And I'm not just saying this because I'm a Sam girl.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-05 10:28 pm (UTC)I agree. Though, I understand why they can't pull that off due to Mark P's scheduling. That being said, I think that the fact that Dean ISN'T aware of how well or not well Sam is doing must be a plot-point as well...that whatever happens with Sam is going to blindside him, and that's just the way the writers want it...rather than the slow build.
Oh. I see. Well, I'm going to assume that Brits don't say that cos I have never heard that before.
I don't even know if Canadians say it...
Ridiculously talented. I can fangirl other fans who are not you! (Seriously, my life. What? Shut up Caroline, your weird is showing.)
Haha, I think I'd be a bit creeped out if you fangirled only me. :P
I fangirl missyjack, and I'm going to get to meet her this August, so I'm super jazzed about that.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-05 10:40 pm (UTC)What's Mark P in then?
But at least I talk to you. That's a little less creepy right? :P Haha no. It's you and candle_beck and longsufferingly. OH WAIT AND RATHERASTORY. How could I forget ratherastory?
no subject
Date: 2012-02-05 10:51 pm (UTC)Mark P is in Being Human (US)...and possibly some other stuff.
Yeah, I try not to be overly critical - plus, it's hard to judge something before it's over. I did think that despite it only being a 1 season story arc in season six, that that season was really ambitious and really well done.
But yeah, S1-5 were cool, because you were sitting there thinking "what is this building up to?" and there were these LONG unanswered questions about Sam's destiny and such. And the thing is, they just can't do that anymore. They've won the battle between destiny and free will. So, that can't be a factor anymore. Though, they COULD come up with another multi-season arc...but, yeah...I don't know. It'll be interesting to see where they go with this season, because it is a LOT like S1, only without the vague "I've got plans for you" stuff that Sam constantly got in S1. Anyway, yeah, I usually try to judge things when they are over, not while they are going. I will say that this season has been a lot rockier than previous seasons - but that could be because they are trying to build up to something again.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-05 11:04 pm (UTC)I want to see where this is going but I feel like... it's lacking depth. I dunno. I'm very inarticulate in real life. Typing it makes it worse so I'll not try. :P But S6. Ambitious yes, but I'm not sure it was executed to it's fullest potential. And also I thought they (as the writers, rather than the characters) treated Cas pretty... not exactly badly, but just weirdly. I mean, all the characters reactions to it were in character (no matter what some people say. Tumblr I'm looking at you) but Cas was just... off. I think we've discussed this before though.
Ok you know what? Never mind. I've enjoyed large parts of S6&7. Maybe not in the same way as S1-5 but they were still fun and, most importantly, I'm still watching because I like the characters and want to know what happens, rather than watching to shit on everything once it's done. SO. PMA. *nods*
(Positive Mental Attitude. Just fyi)
no subject
Date: 2012-02-05 11:11 pm (UTC)I think S6 had so many interesting things that could have been explored - so when it comes to criticizing it, the major one is "but they could have just spent the whole season on X and then X wouldn't have been short-shifted like it was...and you could say the same about Y and Z and Q too. In S7, so far, it's like they've gone the other direction. Let's spend a good four or five episodes on X and another four or five episodes on Y and so on... and people are like "wow, this is moving slowly, when is it going to get motha-effing psychotic in here?"
But that's just the way I see it.
I'm sure we have talked about Cas before. I think it was hard for them to turn such a fundamentally good character into someone who could make such a heinous mistake...just speaking of being ambitious. ;)
I try to stay away from Supernatural opinions on tumblr, because tumblr-people be crazy.
But, PMA FTW.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-05 11:41 pm (UTC)Though you have one point there. They've set up a character to have elements of psychosis. You should then get those elements. Else what is this psychosis? They're dealing less with Sam and Hallucifer (I love that) than they did with Sam and Ruby. And Hallucifer should be there ALL THE TIME. Because he is IN SAM'S HEAD. So I think I agree on that point.
Yes Cas is a fundamentally good character and making him "go bad" is hard but I think... I think the Heaven and Cas plotline wasn't explored enough. We weren't given enough reason behind any of it. Even The Man Who Would Be King didn't give us enough of a reason (imo). Actually, Cas as a fundamentally good character to make a big mistake is really easy to do. It's influence and isolation and self doubt. They managed it with Sam and Ruby. And I know you don't want direct parallels between the two, but that's how to do that. Also I think Cas' downfall should have been done as part of the main plot, rather than in hints and flashbacks.
BUT PMA. So yeah. One day I will work out in my head what I think about this and then write it down and draw a line under it and not go back. I think that would be a good idea.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-05 11:45 pm (UTC)I think they didn't draw out the Cas thing, because they wanted the BAM of revealing it all in one episode so late in the season. But, yeah, I do agree that the Sam and Ruby storyline was handled with much more subtly and thoroughness than some of the storylines as of late. Mind you, even with Sam and Ruby being handled so well, some fans still managed to completely miss the point :P But that's a criticism of fans, not the show.
Anyway, yeah, I sort of see S6 as running from the last few minutes of S5 to 7x02..and then after that S7 starts, and it's a bit of a weird looking kid right now, and we're all just waiting to see if he grows into his face. (weird analogy is weird)
no subject
Date: 2012-02-05 11:57 pm (UTC)Ugh. Fans. Hahah I love fandom but sometimes....
Hahah oh my, your last sentence properly had me confsed for a bit. I was like, kid? What? Face? EH? What? Ohhhh. Right. :P
no subject
Date: 2012-02-06 02:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-06 12:47 pm (UTC)