Rewatch S10: The Hunter Games 10x10
Jan. 3rd, 2016 08:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hells_half_acreAnother episode time!
The Hunter Games
Mid-season premiere,s o we get another song over the THEN... FUN! Did they always do this? I feel like this is an invention of the past few seasons, where they put an extended THEN part way through the season and not just at the end and the beginning.
Anyway, it's Long Black Road - nice song, I like the beat. Man, I love how the music just MAKES the mood and characters of this show.
We begin with Crowley, having a vision/nightmare thing. The problem with Rowena is that her manipulative voice grates on my nerves.
Rowena: "Not a thing you evil bitch, MOTHER."
- I do liket hat line though.
DEAN! He's wearing a new shirt. Another WindRiver number from Marks Work Warehouse. I bought it (or perhaps one similar to it) for a fan last year shortly after this episode aired. The things I do for people I've never met who live in the states. :P Oh! Actually, no, this is the shirt that I couldn't find. It's the mystery shirt. It's probably a windriver from MWW, but none of the MWW's outlets I went to had it and no one could remember ever seeing it.
Anyway, can Dean not afford to replace the broken mirror in his room? I mean, I know it's a metaphor, but come on...
Then we get a Sam/Cas scene! I LOVE SAM AND CAS SCENES.
Sam: "This guy Claire was hanging out with, Randy. All he did was use her."
Cas: "Well, she thought he was kind and for that she loved him. Shows how little kindness there was in her life."
- I love that line, because it's true. When I met my BFF, I used to be astounded at how nice he was - and he was horrified, because in his opinion he was doing the absolute least he could do to be considered a desent person. Anyway, I was raised by wolves, so I'm just weird... BUT, I was also very young at the time, though older than Claire, and I think when you're young, you're more likely to mistake charisma for kindness.
Cas: "You know whatever Randy did, he didn't deserve-"
Sam: "No, no, I hear you."
- I guess Cas doesn't support the death penalty. (And yes, I know the death penalty in the states that still have it is only for murder - but in other countries that's not the case - and Randy's crimes, depending what they were, COULD have warrented a death penalty elsewhere...also, he totally could have killed someone and we just don't know about it.)
Dean: "It was a massacre, is what it was. There was a time I was a hunter, not a stone cold killer. You can say it, you're not wrong. I crossed the line. Guys this thing's got to go."
- The music is a little over the top here. I'd have preferred something less melodramatic - but then, despite watching this show, I kind of hate melodrama.
Cas: "It is more than just a physical mark, it would take a powerful force to remove it."
- Ah, a powerful force... I was so hoping they'd actually find something God related at this point, rather than going the witch-route, but alas - they're probably saving God for the series finale.
Cas: "...if we had the demon tablet, maybe."
Sam: "You said it was missing."
Cas: "It is."
- Or here, they could have resurrected Kevin somehow! Get the demon tablet, get Kevin, find all your answers there... though, I kind of doubt the Mark is on the demon tablet. It's probably on the angel tablet which is in pieces and also harder for Kevin to read. And I say it's probably on the angel tablet, because Lucifer is the origin of the Mark, or, rather, it's first recipient and constant bearer.
Back to Rowena... you know, the electrical box on the wall and whatnot in "Hell" make WAY more sense when you know that they're not actually in Hell.
I gotta say, Rowena's outfits are always on point.
And we find out that Crowley was sold to a warehouse when Rowena left. Fun times! Also, it's been 300 years on earth.
PUNK ANGEL! I had forgotten about punk angel and her "daughter." I love her.
And Metatron is back. He's a good villain, because I hate him. Ughhhhhhhhhhhh... like, I don't hate him because he's a bad character, I hate him because he's a good villain and I just really hate villains.
Metatron: "So what is it then?"
*Sam gets out of car*
Metatron: "Oh, I see. I'm betting you didn't tell Ingrid about him. Hello Sam! Here to kill me?"
- I do like that entrance for Sam. I like any entrance where we're reminded that the Winchesters are basically Supernatural creatures themselves now, they're so well known and formidable in that world.
It does sort of annoy me that they bring all these people to the Bunker, the Bunker that's SUPPOSED to be a secret fortress. I mean, that's pretty much done away with this season later when the Styne's just bust in the door - like, how the hell did this place actually stay safe all this time? Who know.
Metatron: "What? He's back? Because of the Mark? So... he's a demon."
Sam: "No."
Metatron: "Okay, what then. What did he kill a human or something? He's gone nuclear! Total foaming at the mouth, balls out, maniac. That's fantastic!"
- Again, Metatron drives me crazy - because I love/hate how well he cold reads people, as seen with Sam here. Also, his phrasing is crude and I don't like that either. Man, I really hate this guy. Much like S1-5 Meg, that probably means he's a good villain.
Metatron: "But here's the thing, you want any help from me, you keep that crazy brother of yours on a short leash."
Sam: "Buddy, I don't care what happens to you. You killed my brother."
*Dean steps out from behind book shelf*
- Again, I love that entrance. I love that Metatron looks legit terrified. I love that Dean looks legit terrifying.
- Also, I love how some things never change, like - even though Dean is alive again, it doesn't make Sam any less pissed off that he was killed in the first place. Sam's learned not to seek revenge, but if revenge happens while pursuing something else, I think he'd be quiet happy about it.
Back to Claire, who is leaving.
Claire: "This isn't going to work. I mean, come on, you look like my father! It is his body, and he's dead, and I get it - you feel bad, but you - whoever you are, are nothing to me."
Cas: "Claire, that's not true. I'm in large part responsible for the way your life has unfolded. I have a responsibility to help you."
Claire: "No, you don't."
- Again, this would have been the perfect time for them to bring up the fact that Cas ONCE POSSESSED CLAIRE TOO. He's not "nothing" to her, because he once possessed every fiber of her being - that had to have left SOME sort of mark. We even found out last year that angels tend to accidentally leave some of their grace behind, why not bring that up again? Maybe it's all worn away by now, but COME ON, throw me a bone here.
- Also, I wonder if Cas would get further is instead of admitting that he's acting out of responsibility and/or guilt, he actually just WANTS to help... I mean, maybe it wouldn't make a difference, because he still does look like her dad, but who knows.
As a side question: can Cas even leave that body right now? He's only currently an "angel" because he's been consuming other angels' grace - so, does that mean that he's augmented human-Castiel, unable to "smoke out" because whatever "soul" he has is bound human-like to the body. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone but me. If it's confusing, just ignore it.
Claire: "Stop talking to me like you're my father. You killed my father. And that friend of yours killed the last thing I had closest to family."
Cas: "Are you speaking of Randy? Family? A man had you in that room and Randy didn't make a move to help you."
Claire: "Maybe because he was at gun point. Dean Winchester is a monster."
- Well, there we get Claire justifying why Randy didn't seem to be helping her - and unfortunately, Dean killed everyone who could have told her the truth of what happened. Not that that would have really helped Claire's trust issues at all, mind you. At least this way, she can always believe that she knew one decent father-figure besides her dead dad. If she accepted the fact that Randy was scum, it might be harder for her to put her trust in male adults again.
Cas: "Perhaps there's a little monster in all of us."
Claire: "You want me to trust you and the fact that you'd even try to defend him just proves to me I can't."
- Once again, Cas putting Dean Winchester first has lost him a follower. :P
- But he's not wrong, and that's what Claire will learn this episode.
Back to Metatron being annoying.
There's actually not much to talk about in this scene.
Oh, except that Metatron tells them that they need the First Blade. And obviously he's messing with them - and instead of getting all the info in one shot, they go away to debate it and call Crowley in order to get it. This is where the episode really falls apart for me, because it doesn't make sense for them to stop the interrogation there - it doesn't make sense for them to secure the First Blade before they even find out if he's lying or telling the truth or what.
Crowley: "You never sung me a lullaby. You dosed me with whiskey until I passed out."
- Fun story, my mum did that to my sister once. It was very effective. (for the record, she just gave her a little with some food colouring as "cough syrup" so that she'd sleep through the night... which, you know, isn't actually that different from the legit cough syrups that we had as a kid.)
Crowley: "Squirrel, it's been a while. Back to your former self?"
Dean: "Crowley, we need to meet, ASAP."
Crowley: "Where?"
- You know, sometimes I think Crowley actually is in unrequited love with Dean, and it's not just about keeping the Winchesters from killing him.
Claire: "...first I lose my first Dad, and then I lose my second dad, and who killed him and trashed my life? The buddy of the guy who killed my first dad and wants to be my third dad."
Girl: "Wow, sounds just like my life."
Tony: "Complications and pain, that's all family get ya."
Girl: "That's why Tony and I keep moving, no strings. Hey, why don't you hang with us for a while and unload this whole mess?"
- I was super suspect of these dudes... like, why invite Claire to hang with them? I thought maybe they were demons again, looking to score them a former angel vessel or get at the Winchesters or Castiel...but that doesn't make sense for where Hell's at, nor does it make sense for the fact that Claire's been able to move through life largely unbothered by demons (apparently.) So, then there's the possibility that they want to use Claire, like Randy did... and of course, Claire being a young blond teenager, my brain only goes to the sex trade. But, it seems like they're just a sort of... a low-budget amature Natural Born Killers duo and what they're really looking for is an outlet for their psychopathic tendencies.
Oo, wet Winchesters in an alley. Sam looks really good in this scene... and Dean looks adorable with his hair all wet-spikey.
I'm not going to write out the dialogue, because what I want to say has very little to do with it - but this scene, to me, reads as one of the more "Winchesters and Crowley are friends" conversations - just the way they converse, and we'll see this again in The Executioner's Song, it's the way you talk and interact with someone you know well and at least partially care for... at least, on Crowley's part anyway. Sam's very much negotiating here, rather than "caring for", but even in his negotiations, he's casual and very much negotiating as you would with a friend.
Now, I'm not actually saying that they're friends, because they aren't - but I think it speaks to the fact that Crowley's become the devil they know, and the Winchesters have become the Hunters that Crowley knows...and between them all, they HAVE managed to keep a balance to the world of sorts, working together to cut down anyone who gets too big for their britches and try to ruin everything. The exception, of course, was S6, when CROWLEY was that person - but, I think that was his last bid for power. In S8 he was once again their adversary, but I think that had more to do with stopping them from closing hell than it was about killing them or making another power grab. I think Crowley learned his lesson about that in S6 though seeing what happened to Cas.
Rowena is now playing her game again using the info she's collected. I like Guthrie, btw.
Rowena: "You're resume indicates that you were a crossroads demon before your promotion."
Guthrie: "I was."
Rowena: "Then you do travel, is that correct?"
- So, this is interesting - can only certain demons "travel"? Like, pop in and out like we see them do? It's not only crossroads demons we've seen do that though - Ruby did it and so did Meg, and they were, at least in appearances, lower level demons. So, yeah, I'm not sure what to make of this line.
I love Cas yelling at the Winchesters from the balcony. I'd watch a whole episode of that.
Sam: "Listen, Cas, let us worry about this, you've got enough on your plate with Claire."
Cas: "Claire's gone,"
Sam: "Gone where?"
Cas: "I don't know. I should have stopped her, but I am certain that she is destined for more trouble and disappointment. She is so so full of rage."
- She's a teenager. I too was full of rage and I had a comparitively blissful life.
- But, Cas DID come to the right place if he wanted to find other people who knew what it was like to be full of rage!
Dean: "Listen, man, if I could make it better, I would."
Cas: "That's actually why I'm here, I was hoping you might reach out to her."
Dean: "Me?"
Cas: "Yes."
Dean: "Seriously? I'm probably the last person that she would want to hear from."
Cas: "I thought there'd be a connection - one extremely messed up human to another, you could explain why you murdered her only friend."
Dean: "Oh, well, when you put it like that."
- The thing is, although I agree that Dean IS the last person that Claire would want to talk to - I can see what Cas is going for here and it actually makes sense. BUT, that's not taking into account human emotions and Claire's ability to see past her own pain and actually listen and trust....which, yeah, just isn't going to happen right away, I don't think. She needs time to get over the initial grief and denial.
- Also, I love how Castiel calls Dean an "extremely messed up human."
Cas: "I'll, uh, text you - her number."
Dean: "Okay."
Cas: "I like texting. Emoticons!"
*Dean leaves*
Cas: "He seems calm..."
- So, why is Cas being cute here? Actually, first off, let's talk about how adorable it is that Cas KNOWS how to be "cute" - he KNOWS what type of behaviour from him Dean gets a kick out of in a sort of "Cas is a gigantic dork" way. He knows that Dean LIKES the fact that Cas is a gigantic dork. I mean, goddamn, that's adorable.
- Anyway, why does Cas do this? He's obviously testing Dean's behavior - does Dean get pissed off? Does he laugh? Does he crack a joke at Cas' expense? None of those things, Dean just look at him like he's weird and leaves the room... "calm." It's a really interesting (and adorable) test for where Dean's at mentally.
Just, for the record, this episode REALLY isn't holding my attention today - and I apologize if that comes across in this rewatch. I'm doing my best, but for some reason I'm just...not as gripped. I keep pausing and tabbing away to scroll tumblr.
And, yeah, just did it again.
Anyway, Rowena has killed Guthrie, and planted the first blade on him in order to make her look like she's the only one that Crowley can trust. I mean, it works - but at the same time I don't think it SHOULD work, because Crowley is usually so much smarter than this.
That being said, there are several things going on with Crowley - he's been bored since he became King of Hell, distracted since S8, kinda in love with Dean since S9... he's losing his edge.
Then Claire's new bodies propose that she lay a trap for Dean.
Then Crowley calls Dean and tells him he has the first blade, so Dean goes to talk to Metatron alone, which is a bad idea.
Metatron: "So, here's the deal, that first little tip I gave you, a freebie, just because you're you - every future step, they're going to cost you, big. Oh, and FYI, there's a bunch."
- I think Metatron says that line so slowly because he KNOWS this is a bad idea, but it's the only play he has - because his escape plan depends on him NOT being in a prison cell. So, he has to stay out as long as possible in order to manipulate the people he needs to manipulate.
- Also, just as an aside, Metatron is WAY better at manipulation than Rowena is. His acting skills are better, his plans and distractions are more elaborate, etc. I'd see Crowley falling for one of Metatron's manipulations, no problem.
I do love Dean when he's being intimidating.
And the thing is, that we know that Metatron doesn't actually know how to remove the Mark.
Dean: "I mean, where do I begin? Stealing Cas' grace, casting the angels out of heaven, making Gadreel kill Kevin using my brother's hands, starting an angel war, and, oh yeah, you killed me."
Metatron: "My morality is being judged by Dean Winchester? How many people have suffered and died because of you? How many times have you lied to Sam, including, oh by the way, when he was possessed by an angel. And you say, oh, it's all for the greater good - but lately, buddy, that greater good thing just went away, didn't it? No people die just because you want them to!"
- So, at this point, I'm not sure what Metatron's game is. Is he actually pissed off at being judged? Probably not. Is he just trying to distract Dean from finding out that Metatron doesn't know what he's talking about? Unlikely, because they could just sit in stalemate forever and accomplish the same thing. Is he trying to draw the attention of Sam and Cas? Well, that would happen eventually anyway, with possibly less injury to Metatron than this route. So, I don't know. It makes for a good scene though.
- Also, as I said in the last episode, I think being good is about intent. People have died and suffered around Dean, but he didn't intend for them to do so. Everything Metatron has done has been done with intention. Therefore, Dean has all the right to judge Metatron, and Metatron has none of the right to judge Dean... even with the deaths lately being MoC rage-caused, that's not DEAN's intent, that's the MoC's intent. And Dean got the Mark, because he intended to do good things with it - ie: get rid of Abaddon so that she'd stop killing people.
Ah, then Metatron tells us what his game is - everytime Dean gives into the Mark, the Mark's pull gets stronger. Again, I'm not sure WHY this is Metatron's game? Does he just want to torture Dean? Perhaps. Maybe he just wants to see Dean become a demon again, just to make the Winchester's lives miserable... but, Metatron USUALLY only does things that benefit himself, and I don't see a benefit for torturing the Winchesters - unless, of course, Metatron is hoping that Dean will eventually kill Cas, Sam, and... uh, then himself? Who the hell knows. Metatron would probably find it easier to manipulate people and get power if his three strongest enemies were dead or distracted though, so there is that.
Also, I do love this scene - I like how they staged it so that Dean does to Metatron (nearly) what Metatron did to him when Metatron killed him.
Cas: "It's late, I'm going to drive around a little bit, see if I can find Claire."
Sam: "Right now?"
Cas: "I have to try."
Sam: "Hey, Cas, where's Dean?"
- Just love Sam and Cas' friendship. I just...just want to spend time with it.
Metatron: "Behold the river shall end at the source."
- So, Metatron later tells us this is just some crap he made up. But I LOVED the fan speculation that went around this line, some of it was so good that I wanted it to be true... blah...
- BUT, on the other hand, this is so vague that Metatron might actually be telling us the truth here. The river shall end at the source - well, the source IS the creation of the universe, which is indeed where the Mark comes from, and what gets undone (at least partially) if it's removed. BUT, it's not the way to remove it, so, yeah, made-up nonsense.
Cas: "I have to take him back"
Sam: "Cas, this won't happen again."
- I LOVE Jared's acting choice here, because as soon as Cas comes up behind him, as soon as Cas speaks, Sam puts his arm, braced across Dean, protecting him from any and all possible reprisals - even though Cas is their ally and friend, it's still Sam's instinct to shield his brother from all possible harm.
Metatron: "You ever ask me for help again. I will choose death."
- Again, I just don't know what Metatron's game here was.
Sam: "Dean, look, man, we had to."
Dean: "Hey, no, I get it. I- I was going to kill him, and I couldn't stop myself."
Sam: "We'll figure it out, alright. You know what Cas said about needing a powerful force."
Dean: "Yeah, so?"
Sam: "So, I've been thinking - Cain, still has the Mark, and he's lived with it, for years, he's lived with it - so, the Mark, is strong, but Dean, maybe there's a part of you that wants to give into it - and maybe you have to fight that. Maybe, part of that powerful force has to be you."
- See, this is AWESOME. I guess that's one of my problems with the end of this season - they were setting up so many much more intricate, much more character driven methods to get rid of the Mark - but in the end it was just a three ingrediate spell. I don't know... I just think it'd have been really cool if it DID come down to the human will.... since, that's a huge theme to Supernatural. Free Will and all that. The Mark of Cain storyline could have been an affirmation of that in some way.
I love how Dean has had the same ringtone since S2. I'd make fun of him for it, but I think my ringtone's been the same for at least three or four years. Still, Dean has me beat. (Also, I'm super picky about ringtones, because I don't like jarring noises.)
Then we get the set-up with Dean. And it IS a test of Dean's will power.
Cas: "Claire!"
Claire: "How were you able to find me?"
Cas: "Angels are able to find those that pray to them."
Claire: "Pray? Believe me, I gave up praying a long time ago."
Cas: "It doesn't have to be a formal prayer. I can pick up on a longing, perhaps you wanted to tell me something."
- Again, I wonder how informal the prayer, like, maybe Claire just thought "I should tell Castiel that he was right" or something, and it was looping in her brain... I would think there'd have to be a repeat thinking of the angel's name, at the very least.
- I also know that this line sparked a ton of Destiel fics, because I mean "longing" right? So easy.
Claire: "No, I don't know, maybe. I guess I just wanted to tell you that I thought about what you said. I mean, I tried doing things a little bit different, let go of a little bit of monster in me."
- And Claire, like most teenagers, needed to be taught that she is not better than everyone else in the entire world. Again, I'm not sure about you, but I was a pretty rage filled arrogant asshole of a teenager, even with my comparatively blissful life. So, yeah, I'd actually say that Claire is a pretty well written teenager, which is probably why a lot of fandom doesn't like her. Teenagers are the worst. I like her a lot though. I like her for the issues she brings up just by existing, and I like the fact that Cas has a relationship with a human that is not the Winchesters, even if it's a horribly strained and weird relationship.
Cas: "Well, I could try to help you with that."
Claire: "I still gotta go it alone, but I could maybe call sometime. Now get out of here, would ya?...[...] oh, hey, not that you care, but, I like you better in a tie."
*Cas smiles*
- Awww, cute. I don't know if Claire is just telling Cas what he wants to hear, but it's still sweet of her to throw him a bone.
And this episode was dedicated to Matt Riley, Jared's stand-in who sadly committed suicide this time last year. It's a hard time of year for that, I think. Poor guy.
CUT SCENES:
Cas calling Claire outside the Astoria (FYI: Not the best end of town, just in case you're visiting and want to go location hunting). She doesn't pick up and he leaves a message.
Cas: "I don't know what you're doing or who you're with, but I do know - you can't beat the monsters out there by becoming one."
- Awww, that's a great lesson for this Dean last season/this one, because that's what he accidentally did. (Also, what Sam did in S4, arguably.) But, at the same time, Cas wouldn't know that Claire was talking to weird murderous creepos, so it seems sort of...an odd message to leave?
COMMENTARY
Oh man, commentary! I'm not sure I was interested enough in this episode! Man, I feel so bad. Am I being overly negative?! I apologize.
I get to listen to Long Black Road again though!
Oh, it's Buckner and Ross-Leming....
... and Curtis Armstrong and John Badham (the director).
- They talk about the family theme and how Rowena has that power for Crowley.
- Praise for Ruth Connell. Apparently, she auditioned with an American accent, and they asked if she thought it was at all possible that she could pull off a scottish accent, and then she got a wicked smile and said that she'd "give it a go."
- The network wanted a mid-range between her real Scottish and her phony American, so that what she does on the show. (And now I know who to blame, because I like her real Scottish accent better than the one she does on the show.)
- Curtis met her at a Con in the UK and absolutely loves her now.
- talk about the Mark and how nothing on Supernatural is ever a good thing, there's always a price to be paid.
- Back to Rowena - she was pitched as a Lady MacBeth character for Crowley.
- Curtis thinks that they'd make spectacular cast for MacBeth.
- Badham praises the quality of the dialogue on Supernatural for all the episodes he's done.
- Curtis says that SPN is in the top five of everything he's done in his career, because of the dialogue and working with fine directors and everything else.
- Amazing ability of the show to be both contemparay, colloquial, and stylized. Epic and rock-and-roll.
- About the balance between wicked, funny, deathly earnest, and frivolous.
- Curtis thinks that SPN attracts actors because they get to work in different disciplines in one show.
- Ross-Leming talks about how they expand their resident cast, because they fall in love with actors and characters and then try to keep them around.
- Praise for Jared and Jensen about how they never seem tired of the show and they always take their characters seriously.
- Ross-Leming says they have two different processes - Jared makes notes and prepares meticulously, and Jensen needs to go in as fresh as possible and just goes by instinct - but they know each other so well that it works out, because they know each other's rhythms.
- Badham praises all the actors for knowing what they're doing and being completely prepared for the day.
- Buckner says that the shifting character relationships in the show keep things fresh for the actors - there's always something new going on between the characters.
- Talk about how hated Metatron is by a lot of people. Ross-Leming loves him. Curtis tells them about all the fans that have pure hatred for him, though he says that most of the fans seem to understand that Curtis isn't Metatron.
- Ross-Leming was at the Rome convention and apparently got a talking to!
- Curtis says it must be gratifying to have that level of emotional investment. Buckner says it's a sign that the material is working.
- Ross-Leming says that they had certain "character destinies" "certain deaths" that they were pissed off about (*cough*Charlie*cough*). Ross-Leming says that it's a show ABOUT loss, but the fans just want their favourites back - but that the show wouldn't be good if you knew everyone was going to live all the time. (I disagree. Also, I'm never forgiving them for fridging Charlie.)
- Ross-Leming says that the other writers argue too (*cough*Robbie Thompson*cough*)
- Badham talks about a huge action film that he watched where there seemed to be no stakes at all, because everyone survived everything and he got completely bored with it.
-The DP on this episode wasn't Serge, it was the A camera operator Brad (Creaser).
-Talk about the difference between DPs US vs UK.
-In US the DP is in charge of anything to do with the camera - pick the set-ups and tells the camera how to light it.
- In UK the Director picks the set-ups and tells the DP what to light.
- In Canada it's a mix between the two, with the DP and the Camera department getting the set-ups from the directors and then they decide how to light it.
- Badham talks about how everyone contributes - in the crypt scene, Mark had suggestions for the reveal of Fergus' bones, and Badham liked the suggestions.
- Curtis can't do that, he can't think visually to save his life - all he can do is do his acting job.
- Ross-Leming tells Curtis how Mark, "Castiel" and "Dean" all have directing experience, which is why they're more prone to offer suggestions.
- Talk about how both Ruth and Mark are scene stealers. So when you have them in a scene together, it's like battle of the titans.
- Shooting outdoors in Canada. Badham talks about shooting the alley scene where it was pouring rain. He talks about how in California everyone has a heart attack when it rains, but in Vancouver everyone just gets on with it and they shoot rain or shine, doesn't make a difference. (It's a temperate rainforest, OF COURSE we just get on with it.)
- Praise for Curtis - Curtis praises dialogue.
- Ross-Leming talks about how they rely on their actors to be able to deliver exposition well.
- Curtis loves working with Jensen
- Talk about how scary Dean's been getting.
- Curtis talks about how Metatron getting the shit beat out of him is a scene that's a "personal favourite for many fans."
- Badham was very stressed out staging the violence and cruelty in the scene.
- Curtis hardly remembers shooting, just because everyone was so focused. There weren't a lot of takes - only two or three.
- Make-up changes between the shots too, which could be distracting, but things stay very quite so that people can keep their focus on the scene.
- Curtis talks about the mirror of the way Dean beats Metatron as being almost exactly like what Metatron did when he killed Dean.
- "The river ends at the source" caused Curtis stress, because he didn't know what he meant. Curtis called Jeremy, but Jeremy wouldn't tell him, so Curtis just said it.
- Badham asks what it meant and Curtis tells him that it was just nonsense, he was just buying time. But Buckner says that when he wrote it, they wrote it guessing that the MoC storyline could only end back at Cain. This blows Curtis mind and then he wonders if Metatron was lying when he said it was nonsense. :P
- Ross-Leming says that there's an element of truth and an element of deciet.
- Curtis thinks it's interesting that they COULD have been his final words - hence, why would he say them?
- They talk about Dean's set-up and how Dean put himself in a dangerous spot as penance for what he had done, so he wasn't a complete idiot for walking into a trap - it's more that if it were a trap, he felt he deserved it.
- And how Dean doesn't kill them because Sam's words resonated with him.
- They talk about Cas' awful car and how loud it is. The muffler is super loud and yet they're not allowed to fix it.
- That leads them to talk about the sound recording and how good it is on this show. Curtis has only been brought in twice to re-record something. SPN's sound guy is apparently pretty amazing.
And there we have it!! Next one won't be until next weekend at the earliest.
The Hunter Games
Mid-season premiere,s o we get another song over the THEN... FUN! Did they always do this? I feel like this is an invention of the past few seasons, where they put an extended THEN part way through the season and not just at the end and the beginning.
Anyway, it's Long Black Road - nice song, I like the beat. Man, I love how the music just MAKES the mood and characters of this show.
We begin with Crowley, having a vision/nightmare thing. The problem with Rowena is that her manipulative voice grates on my nerves.
Rowena: "Not a thing you evil bitch, MOTHER."
- I do liket hat line though.
DEAN! He's wearing a new shirt. Another WindRiver number from Marks Work Warehouse. I bought it (or perhaps one similar to it) for a fan last year shortly after this episode aired. The things I do for people I've never met who live in the states. :P Oh! Actually, no, this is the shirt that I couldn't find. It's the mystery shirt. It's probably a windriver from MWW, but none of the MWW's outlets I went to had it and no one could remember ever seeing it.
Anyway, can Dean not afford to replace the broken mirror in his room? I mean, I know it's a metaphor, but come on...
Then we get a Sam/Cas scene! I LOVE SAM AND CAS SCENES.
Sam: "This guy Claire was hanging out with, Randy. All he did was use her."
Cas: "Well, she thought he was kind and for that she loved him. Shows how little kindness there was in her life."
- I love that line, because it's true. When I met my BFF, I used to be astounded at how nice he was - and he was horrified, because in his opinion he was doing the absolute least he could do to be considered a desent person. Anyway, I was raised by wolves, so I'm just weird... BUT, I was also very young at the time, though older than Claire, and I think when you're young, you're more likely to mistake charisma for kindness.
Cas: "You know whatever Randy did, he didn't deserve-"
Sam: "No, no, I hear you."
- I guess Cas doesn't support the death penalty. (And yes, I know the death penalty in the states that still have it is only for murder - but in other countries that's not the case - and Randy's crimes, depending what they were, COULD have warrented a death penalty elsewhere...also, he totally could have killed someone and we just don't know about it.)
Dean: "It was a massacre, is what it was. There was a time I was a hunter, not a stone cold killer. You can say it, you're not wrong. I crossed the line. Guys this thing's got to go."
- The music is a little over the top here. I'd have preferred something less melodramatic - but then, despite watching this show, I kind of hate melodrama.
Cas: "It is more than just a physical mark, it would take a powerful force to remove it."
- Ah, a powerful force... I was so hoping they'd actually find something God related at this point, rather than going the witch-route, but alas - they're probably saving God for the series finale.
Cas: "...if we had the demon tablet, maybe."
Sam: "You said it was missing."
Cas: "It is."
- Or here, they could have resurrected Kevin somehow! Get the demon tablet, get Kevin, find all your answers there... though, I kind of doubt the Mark is on the demon tablet. It's probably on the angel tablet which is in pieces and also harder for Kevin to read. And I say it's probably on the angel tablet, because Lucifer is the origin of the Mark, or, rather, it's first recipient and constant bearer.
Back to Rowena... you know, the electrical box on the wall and whatnot in "Hell" make WAY more sense when you know that they're not actually in Hell.
I gotta say, Rowena's outfits are always on point.
And we find out that Crowley was sold to a warehouse when Rowena left. Fun times! Also, it's been 300 years on earth.
PUNK ANGEL! I had forgotten about punk angel and her "daughter." I love her.
And Metatron is back. He's a good villain, because I hate him. Ughhhhhhhhhhhh... like, I don't hate him because he's a bad character, I hate him because he's a good villain and I just really hate villains.
Metatron: "So what is it then?"
*Sam gets out of car*
Metatron: "Oh, I see. I'm betting you didn't tell Ingrid about him. Hello Sam! Here to kill me?"
- I do like that entrance for Sam. I like any entrance where we're reminded that the Winchesters are basically Supernatural creatures themselves now, they're so well known and formidable in that world.
It does sort of annoy me that they bring all these people to the Bunker, the Bunker that's SUPPOSED to be a secret fortress. I mean, that's pretty much done away with this season later when the Styne's just bust in the door - like, how the hell did this place actually stay safe all this time? Who know.
Metatron: "What? He's back? Because of the Mark? So... he's a demon."
Sam: "No."
Metatron: "Okay, what then. What did he kill a human or something? He's gone nuclear! Total foaming at the mouth, balls out, maniac. That's fantastic!"
- Again, Metatron drives me crazy - because I love/hate how well he cold reads people, as seen with Sam here. Also, his phrasing is crude and I don't like that either. Man, I really hate this guy. Much like S1-5 Meg, that probably means he's a good villain.
Metatron: "But here's the thing, you want any help from me, you keep that crazy brother of yours on a short leash."
Sam: "Buddy, I don't care what happens to you. You killed my brother."
*Dean steps out from behind book shelf*
- Again, I love that entrance. I love that Metatron looks legit terrified. I love that Dean looks legit terrifying.
- Also, I love how some things never change, like - even though Dean is alive again, it doesn't make Sam any less pissed off that he was killed in the first place. Sam's learned not to seek revenge, but if revenge happens while pursuing something else, I think he'd be quiet happy about it.
Back to Claire, who is leaving.
Claire: "This isn't going to work. I mean, come on, you look like my father! It is his body, and he's dead, and I get it - you feel bad, but you - whoever you are, are nothing to me."
Cas: "Claire, that's not true. I'm in large part responsible for the way your life has unfolded. I have a responsibility to help you."
Claire: "No, you don't."
- Again, this would have been the perfect time for them to bring up the fact that Cas ONCE POSSESSED CLAIRE TOO. He's not "nothing" to her, because he once possessed every fiber of her being - that had to have left SOME sort of mark. We even found out last year that angels tend to accidentally leave some of their grace behind, why not bring that up again? Maybe it's all worn away by now, but COME ON, throw me a bone here.
- Also, I wonder if Cas would get further is instead of admitting that he's acting out of responsibility and/or guilt, he actually just WANTS to help... I mean, maybe it wouldn't make a difference, because he still does look like her dad, but who knows.
As a side question: can Cas even leave that body right now? He's only currently an "angel" because he's been consuming other angels' grace - so, does that mean that he's augmented human-Castiel, unable to "smoke out" because whatever "soul" he has is bound human-like to the body. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone but me. If it's confusing, just ignore it.
Claire: "Stop talking to me like you're my father. You killed my father. And that friend of yours killed the last thing I had closest to family."
Cas: "Are you speaking of Randy? Family? A man had you in that room and Randy didn't make a move to help you."
Claire: "Maybe because he was at gun point. Dean Winchester is a monster."
- Well, there we get Claire justifying why Randy didn't seem to be helping her - and unfortunately, Dean killed everyone who could have told her the truth of what happened. Not that that would have really helped Claire's trust issues at all, mind you. At least this way, she can always believe that she knew one decent father-figure besides her dead dad. If she accepted the fact that Randy was scum, it might be harder for her to put her trust in male adults again.
Cas: "Perhaps there's a little monster in all of us."
Claire: "You want me to trust you and the fact that you'd even try to defend him just proves to me I can't."
- Once again, Cas putting Dean Winchester first has lost him a follower. :P
- But he's not wrong, and that's what Claire will learn this episode.
Back to Metatron being annoying.
There's actually not much to talk about in this scene.
Oh, except that Metatron tells them that they need the First Blade. And obviously he's messing with them - and instead of getting all the info in one shot, they go away to debate it and call Crowley in order to get it. This is where the episode really falls apart for me, because it doesn't make sense for them to stop the interrogation there - it doesn't make sense for them to secure the First Blade before they even find out if he's lying or telling the truth or what.
Crowley: "You never sung me a lullaby. You dosed me with whiskey until I passed out."
- Fun story, my mum did that to my sister once. It was very effective. (for the record, she just gave her a little with some food colouring as "cough syrup" so that she'd sleep through the night... which, you know, isn't actually that different from the legit cough syrups that we had as a kid.)
Crowley: "Squirrel, it's been a while. Back to your former self?"
Dean: "Crowley, we need to meet, ASAP."
Crowley: "Where?"
- You know, sometimes I think Crowley actually is in unrequited love with Dean, and it's not just about keeping the Winchesters from killing him.
Claire: "...first I lose my first Dad, and then I lose my second dad, and who killed him and trashed my life? The buddy of the guy who killed my first dad and wants to be my third dad."
Girl: "Wow, sounds just like my life."
Tony: "Complications and pain, that's all family get ya."
Girl: "That's why Tony and I keep moving, no strings. Hey, why don't you hang with us for a while and unload this whole mess?"
- I was super suspect of these dudes... like, why invite Claire to hang with them? I thought maybe they were demons again, looking to score them a former angel vessel or get at the Winchesters or Castiel...but that doesn't make sense for where Hell's at, nor does it make sense for the fact that Claire's been able to move through life largely unbothered by demons (apparently.) So, then there's the possibility that they want to use Claire, like Randy did... and of course, Claire being a young blond teenager, my brain only goes to the sex trade. But, it seems like they're just a sort of... a low-budget amature Natural Born Killers duo and what they're really looking for is an outlet for their psychopathic tendencies.
Oo, wet Winchesters in an alley. Sam looks really good in this scene... and Dean looks adorable with his hair all wet-spikey.
I'm not going to write out the dialogue, because what I want to say has very little to do with it - but this scene, to me, reads as one of the more "Winchesters and Crowley are friends" conversations - just the way they converse, and we'll see this again in The Executioner's Song, it's the way you talk and interact with someone you know well and at least partially care for... at least, on Crowley's part anyway. Sam's very much negotiating here, rather than "caring for", but even in his negotiations, he's casual and very much negotiating as you would with a friend.
Now, I'm not actually saying that they're friends, because they aren't - but I think it speaks to the fact that Crowley's become the devil they know, and the Winchesters have become the Hunters that Crowley knows...and between them all, they HAVE managed to keep a balance to the world of sorts, working together to cut down anyone who gets too big for their britches and try to ruin everything. The exception, of course, was S6, when CROWLEY was that person - but, I think that was his last bid for power. In S8 he was once again their adversary, but I think that had more to do with stopping them from closing hell than it was about killing them or making another power grab. I think Crowley learned his lesson about that in S6 though seeing what happened to Cas.
Rowena is now playing her game again using the info she's collected. I like Guthrie, btw.
Rowena: "You're resume indicates that you were a crossroads demon before your promotion."
Guthrie: "I was."
Rowena: "Then you do travel, is that correct?"
- So, this is interesting - can only certain demons "travel"? Like, pop in and out like we see them do? It's not only crossroads demons we've seen do that though - Ruby did it and so did Meg, and they were, at least in appearances, lower level demons. So, yeah, I'm not sure what to make of this line.
I love Cas yelling at the Winchesters from the balcony. I'd watch a whole episode of that.
Sam: "Listen, Cas, let us worry about this, you've got enough on your plate with Claire."
Cas: "Claire's gone,"
Sam: "Gone where?"
Cas: "I don't know. I should have stopped her, but I am certain that she is destined for more trouble and disappointment. She is so so full of rage."
- She's a teenager. I too was full of rage and I had a comparitively blissful life.
- But, Cas DID come to the right place if he wanted to find other people who knew what it was like to be full of rage!
Dean: "Listen, man, if I could make it better, I would."
Cas: "That's actually why I'm here, I was hoping you might reach out to her."
Dean: "Me?"
Cas: "Yes."
Dean: "Seriously? I'm probably the last person that she would want to hear from."
Cas: "I thought there'd be a connection - one extremely messed up human to another, you could explain why you murdered her only friend."
Dean: "Oh, well, when you put it like that."
- The thing is, although I agree that Dean IS the last person that Claire would want to talk to - I can see what Cas is going for here and it actually makes sense. BUT, that's not taking into account human emotions and Claire's ability to see past her own pain and actually listen and trust....which, yeah, just isn't going to happen right away, I don't think. She needs time to get over the initial grief and denial.
- Also, I love how Castiel calls Dean an "extremely messed up human."
Cas: "I'll, uh, text you - her number."
Dean: "Okay."
Cas: "I like texting. Emoticons!"
*Dean leaves*
Cas: "He seems calm..."
- So, why is Cas being cute here? Actually, first off, let's talk about how adorable it is that Cas KNOWS how to be "cute" - he KNOWS what type of behaviour from him Dean gets a kick out of in a sort of "Cas is a gigantic dork" way. He knows that Dean LIKES the fact that Cas is a gigantic dork. I mean, goddamn, that's adorable.
- Anyway, why does Cas do this? He's obviously testing Dean's behavior - does Dean get pissed off? Does he laugh? Does he crack a joke at Cas' expense? None of those things, Dean just look at him like he's weird and leaves the room... "calm." It's a really interesting (and adorable) test for where Dean's at mentally.
Just, for the record, this episode REALLY isn't holding my attention today - and I apologize if that comes across in this rewatch. I'm doing my best, but for some reason I'm just...not as gripped. I keep pausing and tabbing away to scroll tumblr.
And, yeah, just did it again.
Anyway, Rowena has killed Guthrie, and planted the first blade on him in order to make her look like she's the only one that Crowley can trust. I mean, it works - but at the same time I don't think it SHOULD work, because Crowley is usually so much smarter than this.
That being said, there are several things going on with Crowley - he's been bored since he became King of Hell, distracted since S8, kinda in love with Dean since S9... he's losing his edge.
Then Claire's new bodies propose that she lay a trap for Dean.
Then Crowley calls Dean and tells him he has the first blade, so Dean goes to talk to Metatron alone, which is a bad idea.
Metatron: "So, here's the deal, that first little tip I gave you, a freebie, just because you're you - every future step, they're going to cost you, big. Oh, and FYI, there's a bunch."
- I think Metatron says that line so slowly because he KNOWS this is a bad idea, but it's the only play he has - because his escape plan depends on him NOT being in a prison cell. So, he has to stay out as long as possible in order to manipulate the people he needs to manipulate.
- Also, just as an aside, Metatron is WAY better at manipulation than Rowena is. His acting skills are better, his plans and distractions are more elaborate, etc. I'd see Crowley falling for one of Metatron's manipulations, no problem.
I do love Dean when he's being intimidating.
And the thing is, that we know that Metatron doesn't actually know how to remove the Mark.
Dean: "I mean, where do I begin? Stealing Cas' grace, casting the angels out of heaven, making Gadreel kill Kevin using my brother's hands, starting an angel war, and, oh yeah, you killed me."
Metatron: "My morality is being judged by Dean Winchester? How many people have suffered and died because of you? How many times have you lied to Sam, including, oh by the way, when he was possessed by an angel. And you say, oh, it's all for the greater good - but lately, buddy, that greater good thing just went away, didn't it? No people die just because you want them to!"
- So, at this point, I'm not sure what Metatron's game is. Is he actually pissed off at being judged? Probably not. Is he just trying to distract Dean from finding out that Metatron doesn't know what he's talking about? Unlikely, because they could just sit in stalemate forever and accomplish the same thing. Is he trying to draw the attention of Sam and Cas? Well, that would happen eventually anyway, with possibly less injury to Metatron than this route. So, I don't know. It makes for a good scene though.
- Also, as I said in the last episode, I think being good is about intent. People have died and suffered around Dean, but he didn't intend for them to do so. Everything Metatron has done has been done with intention. Therefore, Dean has all the right to judge Metatron, and Metatron has none of the right to judge Dean... even with the deaths lately being MoC rage-caused, that's not DEAN's intent, that's the MoC's intent. And Dean got the Mark, because he intended to do good things with it - ie: get rid of Abaddon so that she'd stop killing people.
Ah, then Metatron tells us what his game is - everytime Dean gives into the Mark, the Mark's pull gets stronger. Again, I'm not sure WHY this is Metatron's game? Does he just want to torture Dean? Perhaps. Maybe he just wants to see Dean become a demon again, just to make the Winchester's lives miserable... but, Metatron USUALLY only does things that benefit himself, and I don't see a benefit for torturing the Winchesters - unless, of course, Metatron is hoping that Dean will eventually kill Cas, Sam, and... uh, then himself? Who the hell knows. Metatron would probably find it easier to manipulate people and get power if his three strongest enemies were dead or distracted though, so there is that.
Also, I do love this scene - I like how they staged it so that Dean does to Metatron (nearly) what Metatron did to him when Metatron killed him.
Cas: "It's late, I'm going to drive around a little bit, see if I can find Claire."
Sam: "Right now?"
Cas: "I have to try."
Sam: "Hey, Cas, where's Dean?"
- Just love Sam and Cas' friendship. I just...just want to spend time with it.
Metatron: "Behold the river shall end at the source."
- So, Metatron later tells us this is just some crap he made up. But I LOVED the fan speculation that went around this line, some of it was so good that I wanted it to be true... blah...
- BUT, on the other hand, this is so vague that Metatron might actually be telling us the truth here. The river shall end at the source - well, the source IS the creation of the universe, which is indeed where the Mark comes from, and what gets undone (at least partially) if it's removed. BUT, it's not the way to remove it, so, yeah, made-up nonsense.
Cas: "I have to take him back"
Sam: "Cas, this won't happen again."
- I LOVE Jared's acting choice here, because as soon as Cas comes up behind him, as soon as Cas speaks, Sam puts his arm, braced across Dean, protecting him from any and all possible reprisals - even though Cas is their ally and friend, it's still Sam's instinct to shield his brother from all possible harm.
Metatron: "You ever ask me for help again. I will choose death."
- Again, I just don't know what Metatron's game here was.
Sam: "Dean, look, man, we had to."
Dean: "Hey, no, I get it. I- I was going to kill him, and I couldn't stop myself."
Sam: "We'll figure it out, alright. You know what Cas said about needing a powerful force."
Dean: "Yeah, so?"
Sam: "So, I've been thinking - Cain, still has the Mark, and he's lived with it, for years, he's lived with it - so, the Mark, is strong, but Dean, maybe there's a part of you that wants to give into it - and maybe you have to fight that. Maybe, part of that powerful force has to be you."
- See, this is AWESOME. I guess that's one of my problems with the end of this season - they were setting up so many much more intricate, much more character driven methods to get rid of the Mark - but in the end it was just a three ingrediate spell. I don't know... I just think it'd have been really cool if it DID come down to the human will.... since, that's a huge theme to Supernatural. Free Will and all that. The Mark of Cain storyline could have been an affirmation of that in some way.
I love how Dean has had the same ringtone since S2. I'd make fun of him for it, but I think my ringtone's been the same for at least three or four years. Still, Dean has me beat. (Also, I'm super picky about ringtones, because I don't like jarring noises.)
Then we get the set-up with Dean. And it IS a test of Dean's will power.
Cas: "Claire!"
Claire: "How were you able to find me?"
Cas: "Angels are able to find those that pray to them."
Claire: "Pray? Believe me, I gave up praying a long time ago."
Cas: "It doesn't have to be a formal prayer. I can pick up on a longing, perhaps you wanted to tell me something."
- Again, I wonder how informal the prayer, like, maybe Claire just thought "I should tell Castiel that he was right" or something, and it was looping in her brain... I would think there'd have to be a repeat thinking of the angel's name, at the very least.
- I also know that this line sparked a ton of Destiel fics, because I mean "longing" right? So easy.
Claire: "No, I don't know, maybe. I guess I just wanted to tell you that I thought about what you said. I mean, I tried doing things a little bit different, let go of a little bit of monster in me."
- And Claire, like most teenagers, needed to be taught that she is not better than everyone else in the entire world. Again, I'm not sure about you, but I was a pretty rage filled arrogant asshole of a teenager, even with my comparatively blissful life. So, yeah, I'd actually say that Claire is a pretty well written teenager, which is probably why a lot of fandom doesn't like her. Teenagers are the worst. I like her a lot though. I like her for the issues she brings up just by existing, and I like the fact that Cas has a relationship with a human that is not the Winchesters, even if it's a horribly strained and weird relationship.
Cas: "Well, I could try to help you with that."
Claire: "I still gotta go it alone, but I could maybe call sometime. Now get out of here, would ya?...[...] oh, hey, not that you care, but, I like you better in a tie."
*Cas smiles*
- Awww, cute. I don't know if Claire is just telling Cas what he wants to hear, but it's still sweet of her to throw him a bone.
And this episode was dedicated to Matt Riley, Jared's stand-in who sadly committed suicide this time last year. It's a hard time of year for that, I think. Poor guy.
CUT SCENES:
Cas calling Claire outside the Astoria (FYI: Not the best end of town, just in case you're visiting and want to go location hunting). She doesn't pick up and he leaves a message.
Cas: "I don't know what you're doing or who you're with, but I do know - you can't beat the monsters out there by becoming one."
- Awww, that's a great lesson for this Dean last season/this one, because that's what he accidentally did. (Also, what Sam did in S4, arguably.) But, at the same time, Cas wouldn't know that Claire was talking to weird murderous creepos, so it seems sort of...an odd message to leave?
COMMENTARY
Oh man, commentary! I'm not sure I was interested enough in this episode! Man, I feel so bad. Am I being overly negative?! I apologize.
I get to listen to Long Black Road again though!
Oh, it's Buckner and Ross-Leming....
... and Curtis Armstrong and John Badham (the director).
- They talk about the family theme and how Rowena has that power for Crowley.
- Praise for Ruth Connell. Apparently, she auditioned with an American accent, and they asked if she thought it was at all possible that she could pull off a scottish accent, and then she got a wicked smile and said that she'd "give it a go."
- The network wanted a mid-range between her real Scottish and her phony American, so that what she does on the show. (And now I know who to blame, because I like her real Scottish accent better than the one she does on the show.)
- Curtis met her at a Con in the UK and absolutely loves her now.
- talk about the Mark and how nothing on Supernatural is ever a good thing, there's always a price to be paid.
- Back to Rowena - she was pitched as a Lady MacBeth character for Crowley.
- Curtis thinks that they'd make spectacular cast for MacBeth.
- Badham praises the quality of the dialogue on Supernatural for all the episodes he's done.
- Curtis says that SPN is in the top five of everything he's done in his career, because of the dialogue and working with fine directors and everything else.
- Amazing ability of the show to be both contemparay, colloquial, and stylized. Epic and rock-and-roll.
- About the balance between wicked, funny, deathly earnest, and frivolous.
- Curtis thinks that SPN attracts actors because they get to work in different disciplines in one show.
- Ross-Leming talks about how they expand their resident cast, because they fall in love with actors and characters and then try to keep them around.
- Praise for Jared and Jensen about how they never seem tired of the show and they always take their characters seriously.
- Ross-Leming says they have two different processes - Jared makes notes and prepares meticulously, and Jensen needs to go in as fresh as possible and just goes by instinct - but they know each other so well that it works out, because they know each other's rhythms.
- Badham praises all the actors for knowing what they're doing and being completely prepared for the day.
- Buckner says that the shifting character relationships in the show keep things fresh for the actors - there's always something new going on between the characters.
- Talk about how hated Metatron is by a lot of people. Ross-Leming loves him. Curtis tells them about all the fans that have pure hatred for him, though he says that most of the fans seem to understand that Curtis isn't Metatron.
- Ross-Leming was at the Rome convention and apparently got a talking to!
- Curtis says it must be gratifying to have that level of emotional investment. Buckner says it's a sign that the material is working.
- Ross-Leming says that they had certain "character destinies" "certain deaths" that they were pissed off about (*cough*Charlie*cough*). Ross-Leming says that it's a show ABOUT loss, but the fans just want their favourites back - but that the show wouldn't be good if you knew everyone was going to live all the time. (I disagree. Also, I'm never forgiving them for fridging Charlie.)
- Ross-Leming says that the other writers argue too (*cough*Robbie Thompson*cough*)
- Badham talks about a huge action film that he watched where there seemed to be no stakes at all, because everyone survived everything and he got completely bored with it.
-The DP on this episode wasn't Serge, it was the A camera operator Brad (Creaser).
-Talk about the difference between DPs US vs UK.
-In US the DP is in charge of anything to do with the camera - pick the set-ups and tells the camera how to light it.
- In UK the Director picks the set-ups and tells the DP what to light.
- In Canada it's a mix between the two, with the DP and the Camera department getting the set-ups from the directors and then they decide how to light it.
- Badham talks about how everyone contributes - in the crypt scene, Mark had suggestions for the reveal of Fergus' bones, and Badham liked the suggestions.
- Curtis can't do that, he can't think visually to save his life - all he can do is do his acting job.
- Ross-Leming tells Curtis how Mark, "Castiel" and "Dean" all have directing experience, which is why they're more prone to offer suggestions.
- Talk about how both Ruth and Mark are scene stealers. So when you have them in a scene together, it's like battle of the titans.
- Shooting outdoors in Canada. Badham talks about shooting the alley scene where it was pouring rain. He talks about how in California everyone has a heart attack when it rains, but in Vancouver everyone just gets on with it and they shoot rain or shine, doesn't make a difference. (It's a temperate rainforest, OF COURSE we just get on with it.)
- Praise for Curtis - Curtis praises dialogue.
- Ross-Leming talks about how they rely on their actors to be able to deliver exposition well.
- Curtis loves working with Jensen
- Talk about how scary Dean's been getting.
- Curtis talks about how Metatron getting the shit beat out of him is a scene that's a "personal favourite for many fans."
- Badham was very stressed out staging the violence and cruelty in the scene.
- Curtis hardly remembers shooting, just because everyone was so focused. There weren't a lot of takes - only two or three.
- Make-up changes between the shots too, which could be distracting, but things stay very quite so that people can keep their focus on the scene.
- Curtis talks about the mirror of the way Dean beats Metatron as being almost exactly like what Metatron did when he killed Dean.
- "The river ends at the source" caused Curtis stress, because he didn't know what he meant. Curtis called Jeremy, but Jeremy wouldn't tell him, so Curtis just said it.
- Badham asks what it meant and Curtis tells him that it was just nonsense, he was just buying time. But Buckner says that when he wrote it, they wrote it guessing that the MoC storyline could only end back at Cain. This blows Curtis mind and then he wonders if Metatron was lying when he said it was nonsense. :P
- Ross-Leming says that there's an element of truth and an element of deciet.
- Curtis thinks it's interesting that they COULD have been his final words - hence, why would he say them?
- They talk about Dean's set-up and how Dean put himself in a dangerous spot as penance for what he had done, so he wasn't a complete idiot for walking into a trap - it's more that if it were a trap, he felt he deserved it.
- And how Dean doesn't kill them because Sam's words resonated with him.
- They talk about Cas' awful car and how loud it is. The muffler is super loud and yet they're not allowed to fix it.
- That leads them to talk about the sound recording and how good it is on this show. Curtis has only been brought in twice to re-record something. SPN's sound guy is apparently pretty amazing.
And there we have it!! Next one won't be until next weekend at the earliest.
