hells_half_acre (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hells_half_acre) wrote2012-03-24 12:04 am
hells_half_acre) wrote2012-03-24 12:04 am
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Quick Reaction: 7x17 The Born-Again Identity
I was able to watch the episode after all!! Yay for still-Jet-lagged friends who go to bed early!!
Now...HOLY CRAP...
The opener by the railway tracks is what was shot down the road from my old place. I've always wanted them to film there because it is such a creepy neighbourhood...but that's also why I couldn't stay and watch them film that night. I knew I would have to walk home at the end of it all. When I did find them, they were really vague about what was going to happen. There was an ambulance parked there and when I asked about it, they said "we're doing some stunts, so we have to have it on standby...*something* is going to..uh...fall...on the windshield of a car."
Anyway, yeah, they actually represented that particular neighbourhood well - it is not a place that you want to be at night...even though there are some GREAT graffiti alleys. Actually, I have a picture of the one that Sam met the drug dealer in:
(Just a note: I know it's night time in the picture, but this was earlier this winter, so it was actually only 5pm or something ridiculous like that...welcome to the north. When they were filming, it was already 10pm and they were filming until 1am...so there was no way I was going to stick around. That being said: That building? ALL art studios.)
Anyway, um, I'll stop talking about filming locations and start talking about the episode...
GOOD EPISODE.
Poor Sam! I like the continuity of it all...they're still drinking to fall asleep, and it worked on Dean, but not on Sam...and then, why did Sam take off? This is why you shouldn't leave your brother, Sammy. I wonder if that drug dealer charged Sam...maybe...too bad it didn't work.
The visual effects on the glass was a little weak, but then, I guess it was a hallucination anyway.
And then BAM car accident. Those always make me jump.
Dean coming in and being super protective brother was awesome...but, I think the conversation with the doctor really shows how much Dean is out of his depth with Sam's current issues.
Then we get into the preview clip. Just a note here: I had to unfollow two people on tumblr this week for spoilers. Listen, I know I have a stricter policy on spoilers than most people, and I know we were all really jazzed for this episode, but that doesn't mean you should post every single tidbit of information that comes your way. Especially if you don't tag your posts with the word "spoilers"...so you don't even have the excuse that I should block tags.
Anyway, someone on Tumblr DID point out that this is a reversal to the way things normally go. (And yes, I did reblog it, then felt like a huge idiot hypocrite and vowed never to be stupid again...we'll see how long that lasts.) Usually it's Dean telling Sam that he's tired whenever Sam asks why Dean isn't fighting harder/escaping. It really does show how broken Sam is that he's finally lost that drive in himself...that eternal optimism. As I've often said, Supernatural is just a story of an optimist and a pessimist driving around the country together....
Anyhow, Dean takes off to Rufus' cabin in Montana to make phone calls, while Sam stays behind to get tortured. I wonder how close they were to the cabin? I mean, they must have been fairly close, because there's no way Dean would go THAT far away from Sam, I don't think. That being said, he does seem to leave him for several days.
So, since they're storylines are separate, I'll talk about them separately...let's do Dean first (....that's what she said!)
It's a complete reversal of Faith, which is awesome, because they even mentioned it before Dean left! This time, it's Dean desperately searching through Bobby's address book to save Sam, whereas before it was Sam with John's contacts. I wonder if any of John's contacts are still alive? Or still friendly with the Winchesters? I'm actually REALLY curious about what the Winchesters "status" in the Hunting community is. I'm willing to bet that they will never ever do an episode that tells me though.
Then....BOBBY'S GHOST! Okay guys? It TOTALLY has to be Bobby's ghost. How Bobby knew that Mackey (or whatever his name was) knew the answer, I don't know...but man, that ghost is handy. I mean, I suppose it COULD be God. But we'll get to that...
Mackey sends Dean to check out this Emmanuel guy...and DUN DUN DUN! It's CAS! And he's MARRIED! And he's dressed like a dweeb. I wonder if he has sex with his wife...*things I should not think about, but I totally do* ...also, what the hell happens to his wife at the end of the episode?
I'm getting off track...Dean's reaction is amazingly well done. Kudos to Jensen, of course, because he has to have Dean basically have an emotional breakdown - but keep it all inside.
Then THE BEST CAR RIDE EVER!
Okay, sorry, I have a thing for amnesia fics...mainly, I love the bit where they are able to talk about the amnesiac as though they are a stranger that the amnesiac doesn't know. I think I like the idea of being a stranger to yourself. Or, it's just fun anyway...my best friend (who is male) used to pretend to be someone else (female) sometimes when we talked (it's a long story), and it was really fun to talk to "her" about my friend, while still stalking to my friend...and yeah...um...it sounds weird when I say it out loud, but it was awesome and you'll have to take my word for it.
I loved the signs of Cas that we see in Emmanuel....the fact that he's a bit embarrassed that he was completely nude...the way he bluntly states, without realizing how funny it is, that he got his name from BouncingBabyNames.com ....but we also get to the heart of who Cas is...someone who wants to help, who doesn't FEEL like a bad person (because he isn't one...even good people can make mistakes)...who thinks Cas is an odd name...and who doesn't freak out that Dean seems the type to kill people.
Then DEMON ATTACK! At first I was afraid that the demon at "Emmanuel's house" was right and that Crowley had called off the truce...but I think he was sent by Meg too, and it was all so that she could get her claws into some free angel mojo. I do wonder what game she's running...she was in Lucifer's court after all, does she now just want to usurp Crowley, or is she another Raphael who wants to restart the apocalypse?
I do wonder about Dean deciding to let her come...I mean, he really COULD have just killed her, couldn't he have? I think he should have.
Oh wait...it just occurred to me that Crowley MUST have crawled off the truce...because if those demons at the hospital were Meg's, then SHE could have just called them off...oh...right...she mentioned being completely alone...okay, I'm a nincompoop...damn, Crowley...I guess he was just trying to get at Cas too? To what end? The plot thickens...this also helps explain the ending. Cool. Uh...sorry for having to work through this as I type, I kind of do these things stream-of-consciousness style, in case you haven't noticed.
Anyway, where was I?
Oh yeah, demons all over the hospital....and Meg has a point, the best way to go in is with a fully charged Angel. This also shows us the core of Castiel, because he's someone who walks bravely up to a handful of demons without even actually remembering how to exercise them. I also liked this exchange:
Dean: "...like riding a bicycle."
Cas: "I don't know how to do that either."
It was cool that as Cas used his angel powers (other than healing) he remembered everything...all (or most) centering around Dean. (I swear, I don't even ship them....but I always liked the idea of Dean having a best friend).
Also, you know, it all my concern over Sam, I had kind of forgotten that Cas KILLED TONS OF ANGELS AND PEOPLE. I was so wound up in how he hurt the Winchesters, I totally forgot about his rampage through Heaven and Earth. It makes sense though that Cas would freak the hell out when he remembered all that.
And I like the fact that Dean doesn't just forgive Castiel...when Cas says "we didn't part as friends" and Dean doesn't say "oh, we'll be friends again,no worries!" Because that would be lying...though, I do think that Dean showed that he was on the PATH to forgiveness when he told him that maybe he was alive so that he could try to fix this...and that a part of Dean had always believed that Cas would come back...and that Dean had KEPT his blood-stained trench coat.
I don't know, when me and my best friend had our first big fight (completely his fault), he hid from me for a day...then I finally found him and we had this exchange:
Friend: Did you eat?
Me: No, I'm kind of hungry.
Friend: I will make you a sandwich.
*eat sandwiches, watch hockey, friendship resumes.*
I don't think there has to be huge speeches about forgiveness...I don't even think you necessarily HAVE to forgive in order to resume a friendship...or start to rebuild it anyway.
Alright, now, let's talk about Sam....
Sam is painful to watch this episode...firstly, because he makes me tired. Secondly, because those abrasions look painful...thirdly, because SAM! Oh Sam.
Lucifer is crazy annoying. Lucifer DID have a good point that maybe putting Sam in a locked ward wasn't the BEST thing to do to a guy who is basically crazy because he was locked in a cage with a tormentor....but I guess, since his current tormentor is in his head, no matter where he is, he's locked in a cage with a tormentor.
I once went to Munich with a guy who hadn't slept in 3 days...(and may have been mildly schizophrenic)...and yeah, by the third day statues were talking to him.
The maggots thing was really gross.
And leave it to Sam to find a ghost hunt while he's locked up in a mental ward. Sam is awesome though, and I love the fact that even when he's basically coming down with schizophrenia, he can still rock the puppy-eyes and sympathy and he still only wants to help people...I mean, geez, Sam...you are like the epitome of selfless, you deserve a much better life than the one you are living (though, I suppose the one he is living is what made him into the person he is...but yeah, strength of character is high in this one.)
I knew there was something wrong as soon as that guy started wheeling him somewhere...because they are not allowed to do anything to a mental patient without the consent of the mental patient's family.
It was pretty heart breaking for Cas to see what he'd done to Sam. I mean, in Cas's defense, he did not know that those souls would corrupt him. He thought he could crack the wall, then become super-powerful and seal it back up again. He did not know that he would crack the wall, go power-mad, unleash monsters onto the world, then disappear for almost a full year, while Sam's wall cracks further and further and further until it's crumbled into dust.
It does make me wonder though: Was Lucifer worse because Sam talked to him? Or was he getting steadily worse the entire season? Did Sam actually learn how to cope with the cracks, only to have the cracks slowly widen and widen and the wall crumble and crumble, until there was nothing he could do? Basically...is there a reason that we weren't seeing more of Sam's issues between 7x03 and 7x15? Were the remnants of his wall just more intact then?
(Holy crap, I am getting exhausted.)
Okay...um, right...Cas can't heal Sam.
I'm sad that Cas's "final" words to Sam were sort of lost to Sam's hallucination...but I'm glad Castiel apologized regardless. We all know that Sam's already forgiven him, because that's what Sam does...but still, it was nice to actually hear the words.
The transfer was cool...I wonder how it worked? I mean, did he transport Sam's memories? Did he transport whatever part of his brain was broken? It was his soul that was scarred, but you can't break a soul....are Cas and Sam's minds linked now? Is the scarring still in Sam, but the effects felt by Cas?
And then I didn't quite understand the last exchange between Dean and Sam, because I was too busy thinking "mmm...scruffy Sam, more please!" But I think I get it now...because Meg (and I don't mean this disrespectfully, but has Meg gained a little weight? I actually found myself liking it more because she didn't look like a stereotypical actress anymore.)...Meg is going to watch over Castiel, right? She's going to keep Crowley from getting his hands on him? I ASSUME that's the "deal" that Dean struck with her.
I'm very interested to see what becomes of all this. It's a very interesting position to put Castiel in. Cas DOESN'T need sleep. He can literally spend ETERNITY suffering Sam's Lucifer hallucinations.
Oh, one last thing: I also really liked how Castiel's final words to Dean were to tell him not to worry about him. Say what you will, THAT'S someone who KNOWS Dean. I don't think Castiel expected Dean's forgiveness, but I think he understands that just because Dean hasn't given it, it doesn't mean that Dean has stopped caring about him.
Oh man...if I had a soul, I would be weepy.
So, HUGE episode tonight folks! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I'm sure despite this lengthy entry, I have missed out on a bunch of stuff, but I am TIRED....and this has taken me an 1.25 hours to write.
Now...HOLY CRAP...
The opener by the railway tracks is what was shot down the road from my old place. I've always wanted them to film there because it is such a creepy neighbourhood...but that's also why I couldn't stay and watch them film that night. I knew I would have to walk home at the end of it all. When I did find them, they were really vague about what was going to happen. There was an ambulance parked there and when I asked about it, they said "we're doing some stunts, so we have to have it on standby...*something* is going to..uh...fall...on the windshield of a car."
Anyway, yeah, they actually represented that particular neighbourhood well - it is not a place that you want to be at night...even though there are some GREAT graffiti alleys. Actually, I have a picture of the one that Sam met the drug dealer in:
(Just a note: I know it's night time in the picture, but this was earlier this winter, so it was actually only 5pm or something ridiculous like that...welcome to the north. When they were filming, it was already 10pm and they were filming until 1am...so there was no way I was going to stick around. That being said: That building? ALL art studios.)
Anyway, um, I'll stop talking about filming locations and start talking about the episode...
GOOD EPISODE.
Poor Sam! I like the continuity of it all...they're still drinking to fall asleep, and it worked on Dean, but not on Sam...and then, why did Sam take off? This is why you shouldn't leave your brother, Sammy. I wonder if that drug dealer charged Sam...maybe...too bad it didn't work.
The visual effects on the glass was a little weak, but then, I guess it was a hallucination anyway.
And then BAM car accident. Those always make me jump.
Dean coming in and being super protective brother was awesome...but, I think the conversation with the doctor really shows how much Dean is out of his depth with Sam's current issues.
Then we get into the preview clip. Just a note here: I had to unfollow two people on tumblr this week for spoilers. Listen, I know I have a stricter policy on spoilers than most people, and I know we were all really jazzed for this episode, but that doesn't mean you should post every single tidbit of information that comes your way. Especially if you don't tag your posts with the word "spoilers"...so you don't even have the excuse that I should block tags.
Anyway, someone on Tumblr DID point out that this is a reversal to the way things normally go. (And yes, I did reblog it, then felt like a huge idiot hypocrite and vowed never to be stupid again...we'll see how long that lasts.) Usually it's Dean telling Sam that he's tired whenever Sam asks why Dean isn't fighting harder/escaping. It really does show how broken Sam is that he's finally lost that drive in himself...that eternal optimism. As I've often said, Supernatural is just a story of an optimist and a pessimist driving around the country together....
Anyhow, Dean takes off to Rufus' cabin in Montana to make phone calls, while Sam stays behind to get tortured. I wonder how close they were to the cabin? I mean, they must have been fairly close, because there's no way Dean would go THAT far away from Sam, I don't think. That being said, he does seem to leave him for several days.
So, since they're storylines are separate, I'll talk about them separately...let's do Dean first (....that's what she said!)
It's a complete reversal of Faith, which is awesome, because they even mentioned it before Dean left! This time, it's Dean desperately searching through Bobby's address book to save Sam, whereas before it was Sam with John's contacts. I wonder if any of John's contacts are still alive? Or still friendly with the Winchesters? I'm actually REALLY curious about what the Winchesters "status" in the Hunting community is. I'm willing to bet that they will never ever do an episode that tells me though.
Then....BOBBY'S GHOST! Okay guys? It TOTALLY has to be Bobby's ghost. How Bobby knew that Mackey (or whatever his name was) knew the answer, I don't know...but man, that ghost is handy. I mean, I suppose it COULD be God. But we'll get to that...
Mackey sends Dean to check out this Emmanuel guy...and DUN DUN DUN! It's CAS! And he's MARRIED! And he's dressed like a dweeb. I wonder if he has sex with his wife...*things I should not think about, but I totally do* ...also, what the hell happens to his wife at the end of the episode?
I'm getting off track...Dean's reaction is amazingly well done. Kudos to Jensen, of course, because he has to have Dean basically have an emotional breakdown - but keep it all inside.
Then THE BEST CAR RIDE EVER!
Okay, sorry, I have a thing for amnesia fics...mainly, I love the bit where they are able to talk about the amnesiac as though they are a stranger that the amnesiac doesn't know. I think I like the idea of being a stranger to yourself. Or, it's just fun anyway...my best friend (who is male) used to pretend to be someone else (female) sometimes when we talked (it's a long story), and it was really fun to talk to "her" about my friend, while still stalking to my friend...and yeah...um...it sounds weird when I say it out loud, but it was awesome and you'll have to take my word for it.
I loved the signs of Cas that we see in Emmanuel....the fact that he's a bit embarrassed that he was completely nude...the way he bluntly states, without realizing how funny it is, that he got his name from BouncingBabyNames.com ....but we also get to the heart of who Cas is...someone who wants to help, who doesn't FEEL like a bad person (because he isn't one...even good people can make mistakes)...who thinks Cas is an odd name...and who doesn't freak out that Dean seems the type to kill people.
Then DEMON ATTACK! At first I was afraid that the demon at "Emmanuel's house" was right and that Crowley had called off the truce...but I think he was sent by Meg too, and it was all so that she could get her claws into some free angel mojo. I do wonder what game she's running...she was in Lucifer's court after all, does she now just want to usurp Crowley, or is she another Raphael who wants to restart the apocalypse?
I do wonder about Dean deciding to let her come...I mean, he really COULD have just killed her, couldn't he have? I think he should have.
Oh wait...it just occurred to me that Crowley MUST have crawled off the truce...because if those demons at the hospital were Meg's, then SHE could have just called them off...oh...right...she mentioned being completely alone...okay, I'm a nincompoop...damn, Crowley...I guess he was just trying to get at Cas too? To what end? The plot thickens...this also helps explain the ending. Cool. Uh...sorry for having to work through this as I type, I kind of do these things stream-of-consciousness style, in case you haven't noticed.
Anyway, where was I?
Oh yeah, demons all over the hospital....and Meg has a point, the best way to go in is with a fully charged Angel. This also shows us the core of Castiel, because he's someone who walks bravely up to a handful of demons without even actually remembering how to exercise them. I also liked this exchange:
Dean: "...like riding a bicycle."
Cas: "I don't know how to do that either."
It was cool that as Cas used his angel powers (other than healing) he remembered everything...all (or most) centering around Dean. (I swear, I don't even ship them....but I always liked the idea of Dean having a best friend).
Also, you know, it all my concern over Sam, I had kind of forgotten that Cas KILLED TONS OF ANGELS AND PEOPLE. I was so wound up in how he hurt the Winchesters, I totally forgot about his rampage through Heaven and Earth. It makes sense though that Cas would freak the hell out when he remembered all that.
And I like the fact that Dean doesn't just forgive Castiel...when Cas says "we didn't part as friends" and Dean doesn't say "oh, we'll be friends again,no worries!" Because that would be lying...though, I do think that Dean showed that he was on the PATH to forgiveness when he told him that maybe he was alive so that he could try to fix this...and that a part of Dean had always believed that Cas would come back...and that Dean had KEPT his blood-stained trench coat.
I don't know, when me and my best friend had our first big fight (completely his fault), he hid from me for a day...then I finally found him and we had this exchange:
Friend: Did you eat?
Me: No, I'm kind of hungry.
Friend: I will make you a sandwich.
*eat sandwiches, watch hockey, friendship resumes.*
I don't think there has to be huge speeches about forgiveness...I don't even think you necessarily HAVE to forgive in order to resume a friendship...or start to rebuild it anyway.
Alright, now, let's talk about Sam....
Sam is painful to watch this episode...firstly, because he makes me tired. Secondly, because those abrasions look painful...thirdly, because SAM! Oh Sam.
Lucifer is crazy annoying. Lucifer DID have a good point that maybe putting Sam in a locked ward wasn't the BEST thing to do to a guy who is basically crazy because he was locked in a cage with a tormentor....but I guess, since his current tormentor is in his head, no matter where he is, he's locked in a cage with a tormentor.
I once went to Munich with a guy who hadn't slept in 3 days...(and may have been mildly schizophrenic)...and yeah, by the third day statues were talking to him.
The maggots thing was really gross.
And leave it to Sam to find a ghost hunt while he's locked up in a mental ward. Sam is awesome though, and I love the fact that even when he's basically coming down with schizophrenia, he can still rock the puppy-eyes and sympathy and he still only wants to help people...I mean, geez, Sam...you are like the epitome of selfless, you deserve a much better life than the one you are living (though, I suppose the one he is living is what made him into the person he is...but yeah, strength of character is high in this one.)
I knew there was something wrong as soon as that guy started wheeling him somewhere...because they are not allowed to do anything to a mental patient without the consent of the mental patient's family.
It was pretty heart breaking for Cas to see what he'd done to Sam. I mean, in Cas's defense, he did not know that those souls would corrupt him. He thought he could crack the wall, then become super-powerful and seal it back up again. He did not know that he would crack the wall, go power-mad, unleash monsters onto the world, then disappear for almost a full year, while Sam's wall cracks further and further and further until it's crumbled into dust.
It does make me wonder though: Was Lucifer worse because Sam talked to him? Or was he getting steadily worse the entire season? Did Sam actually learn how to cope with the cracks, only to have the cracks slowly widen and widen and the wall crumble and crumble, until there was nothing he could do? Basically...is there a reason that we weren't seeing more of Sam's issues between 7x03 and 7x15? Were the remnants of his wall just more intact then?
(Holy crap, I am getting exhausted.)
Okay...um, right...Cas can't heal Sam.
I'm sad that Cas's "final" words to Sam were sort of lost to Sam's hallucination...but I'm glad Castiel apologized regardless. We all know that Sam's already forgiven him, because that's what Sam does...but still, it was nice to actually hear the words.
The transfer was cool...I wonder how it worked? I mean, did he transport Sam's memories? Did he transport whatever part of his brain was broken? It was his soul that was scarred, but you can't break a soul....are Cas and Sam's minds linked now? Is the scarring still in Sam, but the effects felt by Cas?
And then I didn't quite understand the last exchange between Dean and Sam, because I was too busy thinking "mmm...scruffy Sam, more please!" But I think I get it now...because Meg (and I don't mean this disrespectfully, but has Meg gained a little weight? I actually found myself liking it more because she didn't look like a stereotypical actress anymore.)...Meg is going to watch over Castiel, right? She's going to keep Crowley from getting his hands on him? I ASSUME that's the "deal" that Dean struck with her.
I'm very interested to see what becomes of all this. It's a very interesting position to put Castiel in. Cas DOESN'T need sleep. He can literally spend ETERNITY suffering Sam's Lucifer hallucinations.
Oh, one last thing: I also really liked how Castiel's final words to Dean were to tell him not to worry about him. Say what you will, THAT'S someone who KNOWS Dean. I don't think Castiel expected Dean's forgiveness, but I think he understands that just because Dean hasn't given it, it doesn't mean that Dean has stopped caring about him.
Oh man...if I had a soul, I would be weepy.
So, HUGE episode tonight folks! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I'm sure despite this lengthy entry, I have missed out on a bunch of stuff, but I am TIRED....and this has taken me an 1.25 hours to write.
no subject
Great reaction piece. Whoa, YES, on the scruffy Sam. And regarding Meg? I'm not sure she gained weight; it looked more like an allergic reaction to me, like MAJOR water-retention and inflammation. Her neck was still thin. I dunno!
There are a lot of theories about that transfer. The one I'm leaning towards is there was some sort of psychic link from Sam to the Cage and Luci (so those hallucinations were, in fact, Lucifer.) But now, that link is directed towards Cas. Sam will still have his memories of Hell, but they will just be memories. Like Dean's, only more of them. Not a direct pipeline to Satan. But we shall see!
no subject
Scruffy Sam needs to make more appearances...only, please with less near-death experiences.
Hmmm...interesting theory about the transfer! I definitely would prefer Sam to still have his memories of Hell (that sounds cruel, but I just think it's better story telling). Whatever the transfer was, the plot thickens...
no subject
The moment with the trenchcoat was wonderful, and as you say was Dean at his most eloquent.
Likewise Jared and Mark Pellegrino were devastatingly good and the portray of Sam's madness chilling.
A comment on locations. I know Jim M mentioned on twitter that it was Rufus'cabin, but I wonder if he just meant it was the same set? Because the hospital was in Indiana...which is a long way from Montana? Unless its because dean has been on the road looking for help...
no subject
And yes, I didn't really say enough about how awesome Jared and Mark were in this episode. Amazing stuff by both of them. This show has such an amazing cast. They should have an award for casting directors or something :P
no subject
I gotta say, I loved Dean and Cas' reunion, I loved Emmanuel and when Cas got his memories back. I loved insane tired Sam. What I did not like were the last 3 minutes.
I kind of felt pure outrage. Sam's wrecked soullness just gets passed to Cas? How does that even make sense? Isn't his own broken soul attached to his soul? Isn't what Cas just did 'hacking the hell bit off'? I honestly don't understand how that's possible. It was Sam's pain :(
I suspect the writers wrote themselves into a corner and had to preform a cop-out so that Sam could be golden again. Weak writing. Your thoughts?
*Deep breath*
But on a whole, I loved it. If those last 3 minutes were different I would be over the moon. :D
no subject
I kind of felt pure outrage. Sam's wrecked soullness just gets passed to Cas? How does that even make sense? Isn't his own broken soul attached to his soul? Isn't what Cas just did 'hacking the hell bit off'? I honestly don't understand how that's possible. It was Sam's pain :(
You raised a very good point here. The way I see it, though, it's that I think the hallucinations are sort of a 'physical' construct of what Sam had gone through in hell, like to give it a shape and form, a separate entity, and tied to Sam's mind, Therefore what Cas did was to take those hallucinations away, leaving Sam's mind free of that entity, leaving Sam's soul still intact in him.
It's just an opinion :)
I suspect the writers wrote themselves into a corner and had to preform a cop-out...
I thought that way about how the Leviathans are written. They made them so out-of-reach and near unkillable, with all these rather awesome powers, and maybe forgot to make a list on how to counter them, so the ways they found to incapacitate them are much less awesome LOL
But again, it's just an opinion :)
no subject
Still. I really, really liked Sam's post-hell arc. I really hope they have him continue to struggle- maybe on a more emotional level- with ptsd and hell. If they take away the hallucinations, fine. But if he's suddenly fixed and lacking memories... I don't know what I'll do.
Yeah, the leviathan's were kind of put out there in a sloppy manner, but I personally like them. I think it's a bit refreshing, after all these years of demons. Especially considering Eve died extremely anticlimactically. :)
no subject
Just a note about Eve: She was a red-herring. She wasn't supposed to be climactic.
I think the Leviathan storyline all comes down to how they end it...or where they are going with it...for me. Then I'll decide whether I like it or not. It IS nice, however, to have a break from the demons.
no subject
As for the transfer being a cop-out - I don't agree.
I think Cas needed to make a bold move in order to start truly redeeming himself in the eyes of the Winchesters/Dean. And really, the biggest gesture of apology/friendship that you can make towards Dean is to save his brother. Also, I mean, Sam DID basically save the world once, and breaking his brain wasn't a very nice way to repay him - so Cas needed to make it up to Sam too.
no subject
I don't think there has to be huge speeches about forgiveness...I don't even think you necessarily HAVE to forgive in order to resume a friendship...or start to rebuild it anyway.
I'm kinda going through something like this at the moment, and I do agree up to a point, but I think the person who is (mostly) not to blame must be able, at some point, to make peace with the situation before resuming the friendship.
That being said, I think Dean had time to sift through his feelings about Cas and what he had done, and he still cares for the angel, and so I don't think that Cas should give up on their friendship, because Dean sure hadn't.
This episode, in my opinion, is a really good follow-up to last week's rather flat episode. I can't wait to see what's going on for the next one! I love the direction here too. I miss close-ups of the boys' conversations LOL
I heard over on twitter that there was some hate!Dean going on with this episode, because he was being a dick to Cas. I disagreed. You can't just sweep whatever Cas had done to Sam under the carpet, and I'd be more surprised if Dean HADN'T mentioned it, and they hadn't argued about it. All in all, if anyone can't see that Dean does care for Cas then they might not be watching the same episode as I did :)
no subject
And yes, anyone who is hating on Dean is insane. There's a tendency among Cas fans to basically turn Cas into an angel (ironic) who can do no wrong. The whole point of S6 though, was that Cas can do something VERY wrong...that, on Cas' path to understanding/becoming more human, he's bound to do the very human-thing of making a horrendous mistake out of good intentions. And just because you have good intentions, doesn't exonerate you from fault.
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I'm not so sure about Meg's motives at the end. Something tells me she's still up to no good. After all, she's always been about helping herself along and nobody else. Why suddenly find a heart over Cas?
I agree, the transfer was uber cool. I like the whole reason behind it, too. It wasn't just about redemption for Cas or saving Sam's life, it was also about healing a friendship and I'm pretty sure it helped that along. :)
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I think she's being true to form, here.
She needs help. She came right out and SAID that she needs help.
And she has known the boys long enough to know that the best way to get them to help HER -- since she IS a demon -- is to help THEM.
So she's helping them with Cas -- so that down the road, she will have the help SHE needs. She's still out to help herself.
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I agree, the transfer was uber cool. I like the whole reason behind it, too. It wasn't just about redemption for Cas or saving Sam's life, it was also about healing a friendship and I'm pretty sure it helped that along. :)
Agreed!
Hee! I love how you called this a quick reaction. :P
I know! It's RIDICULOUS. :P
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I'm still pusszled by the transfer. I really hope Sam got to keep his memories, everything else would puss me off. Maybe there's a psychic connection not between Cas and the cage but between Cas and Sam now that makes Cas suffer the effects of Sam's crazy.
Also, how did Sam not collapse at the end and sleep for a week?
Totally going to use ECT in a fic. I was hesitant about it, but it's like this episode gave me a free pass.
As for Sam, he's the best person ever and that's it. There wasn't even a desicion making process going on. It was like "Girl has problem = I can solve problem = I will solve problem (and should do so while I'm still alive)". Oh Sam indeed.
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See, I think I'm going to make this my current head-canon, because I REALLY like that idea.
Also, how did Sam not collapse at the end and sleep for a week?
I assumed they let him sleep for several hours, while Dean got Cas admitted to the hospital...and then Dean just woke him up to get him out to the car.
As for Sam, he's the best person ever and that's it. There wasn't even a desicion making process going on. It was like "Girl has problem = I can solve problem = I will solve problem (and should do so while I'm still alive)". Oh Sam indeed.
Seriously, Sam is slowly becoming my favourite person ever...in a sort of "he constantly breaks my heart" way.
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I think that Lucifer was some kind of infection Sam's soul carried out of hell. The fact that there was an actual visible transfer of energy (and how creepy was that red light effect, especially in the eyes?) indicates (to me, anyway) that he was more than a memory. I think Lucifer was real, not part of Sam's subconscious.
I wonder if Castiel will now be fighting Lucifer for dominance of his body. Two formerly all-powerful angels fighting in a mind should be a more equal battle than a tortured human and a fallen angel. Next time we see Castiel's body, I wonder if it will be Castiel or Lucifer inside.
I did like this episode, but it felt a bit disjointed to me...or maybe too ambitious. All the elements worked very well, but there were some problems fitting them all together. I think they should have dropped Emmanuel's wife, for example. She wasn't really necessary, and used up time. The same with some of the scenes in the hospital.
And someone on another journal said that the rumor is that Meg's actress is on meds for back pain...which makes sense. She may have gained a little weight (which she needed, imho!) but her face was very swollen. It looked like she'd had an allergic reaction to something.
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Next time we see Castiel's body, I wonder if it will be Castiel or Lucifer inside.
Oh man, I hope not! But that's an interesting way it could go...
I thought the episode was fantastic...but I do agree about Emmanuel's wife. It's kind of weird, because they just never mention her again...I mean, what does she think of Emmanuel being in an insane asylum? What was her purpose beyond the shock-value of Castiel having a wife?
Ah, and allergic reaction to meds...that makes sense, poor woman.
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As for the ep, maybe my standards have just dropped to new lows over the past couple of seasons, but I liked this one. I loved Jared's acting, and the ghost side story didn't bother me at all. For me Dean's reactions to things felt a bit 'flat' to me for some reason, and I lamented the lack of more Sam/Dean interaction. But the episode held my attention all the way through for a change. I'm not a big Cas fan but it was actually kinda nice seeing him again; I'm a bit confused about the whole 'Lucifer memories transfer' thing Cas did, wonder if they'll ever explain that any further or make it clear what Cas actually did for Sam? And as a final note, what is up with the Television Without Pity forums? Why are they so hateful nowadays about show and about Sam especially, it seems? Judging by some of the comments there, why do those people even still watch the show at all if it's so abysmal for them? I stopped reading there, it was just ticking me off, ha.
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I have not been on the TWP forums forever for that very reason - they are completely insane. Why watch the show if you don't like it? I just find that it's a swamp of negativity, there's absolutely no reason for me to go on there, it just makes me angry.
Anyway, I agree with everything you said! I didn't mind the lack of Sam/Dean interaction, since this episode was more about Dean/Cas interactions.
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But, let's not forget... he's dead inside :)
(Sorry to barge in.)
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Regardless - ALL THE APPLAUSE to Jared and Pellegrino - they were amazing!
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But yes, ALL THE APPLAUSE! :)
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And I don't know if Crowley was controlling those demons as the hospital because Cas (Emmanuel) wasn't there-Sam was-so the demons wouldn't have a reason to be there for Crowley. I think they were disobeying him and wanted some revenge on Sam.
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I wouldn't rely on my reactions to inform you of the plot - I actually try not to do recaps, because I work on the assumption that everyone has seen the show. There's a reason the post is titled "quick reaction" and not "quick recap" :P
Sucks about your job. I'm in a similar boat - I'm doing litigation support for the government and it's basically child-abuse/rape 5 days a week. Thankfully, I can still watch my favourite shows - it's just limited the kinds of fic that I can read.