Rewatch S13: The Bad Place (13x09)
Jan. 13th, 2019 07:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hells_half_acreHello! I missed Thursday again, this time in favour of watching Brooklyn 99's return at my friend's house. BUT, at least I'm caught up with where we are in S14 before S14 starts back up again, and since there are still some breaks coming up, I'm sure I'll finish S13 rewatches before S14 finishes airing.
...also, I've been a little over-busy and exhausted.
Anyway, let's get back into this...
The Bad Place
Unrelated side-note: Sam had 3 new shirts last episode. Ever single shirt he wore was new. It creates more work for me - but now I'm headcanoning that between realizing Ketch was still alive and doing a heist with a demon, Sam was like "I'mma go shopping..."
I like this dude in the beginning, I'm still SUPER bummed that he dies.
Dean calling Patience, because she's the only psychic they know now - I bet it's because all the other psychics know to stay the heck away from the Winchesters.
Jody: "She gave the police a description - I think it's your boy."
- I think this is the first time someone refers to Jack as their boy. Now, mind you, I think Jody is doing so here as in "your boy - the boy you are looking for" similar to "your guy" in this context. BUT, I like the fact that it can be read/understood both ways, even if the Winchesters aren't there yet.
Patience's dad is a pressuring douche.
Dean: "There's some freaky stuff here. Derek had quite the imagination."
Girlfriend: "He hated that word."
Sam: "What? Freaky?"
Girlfriend: "Imagination."
- Projecting much, Sam?
Dean: "...Jack gave up on us and is looking for Daddy."
Sam: "Dean, we don't know that."
Dean: "Don't we? A guy is dead! Look, I hate this too, but we've gotta be prepared."
Sam: "To kill him."
Dean: "Look, this isn't an I told you so. Okay, I actually like the kid, I do. But we're in worst-case scenario land here."
- I sometimes wonder how Benny's arc affected Dean when it comes to Jack. I think Dean, even after he could forgive Jack for killing Cas (and Mom) held back on bonding with Jack because he had convinced himself that there was a real possibility that he'd still have to kill the kid in the end. Maybe it has nothing to do with Benny, and maybe everything to do with the prejudice that Dean was raised with, and is always his first response as a result... but I don't think decapitating a friend you tried to give another shot helped...especially after learning that your friend didn't stay as clean as you thought they did. I mean, Cas messed him up in that regard too, which was part of Dean's problem in S7... then Dean re-bonded with Cas, but had his heartbroken similarly by Benny. And then there was that weird summer with Crowley... basically, I guess I'm saying that Dean's relationships with supernatural creatures are actually much more complicated than Sam's are. Or maybe Dean just complicates them by reacting as strongly as he does to emotional hits - or, trying to make blanket rules out of individual occurrences. I think Sam can separate incidents more easily - or, maybe, as he says here, he's just better at understanding the reasoning behind people's decisions and in so doing separating their actions from who they are as people.
Kaia in recovery - I don't think this group leader is very good. I like the way this scene is filmed though, where we don't see Kaia's face until well into scene.
Also, here's where we get weird continuity - with Kaia referring her drug dealer as "a small businessman just trying to make it in Trump's America" - when just last year, the President was someone else. We also know that Obama was president in Supernatural - so, there was this weird blip of a president between 44 and 45 that was a white religious dude who was getting it on with his secretary. This is where my rewrite of Lucifer's vessel being a high military official instead would be so much better. Just... reiterating that.
I also love how this episode plays Jack so ambiguously.
Jack: "I'm doing this for you?"
Dean: "You killed Derek for us?"
Jack: "Derek's dead?"
- and the twist reveal! I love it.
Jack: "So, I did the thing you wanted the most - I experimented opening doors to other worlds..."
- and this is a great reveal, because once again it's the consequences of the Winchester's actions, rather than anything inherent, or even wish of Jack's, that's driving Jack forward. I mean, Jack wants their approval, but his actions are informed by the Winchester's desires.
Jack: "I saw her."
Sam: "Her?"
Jack: "Your mother. She's alive."
Dean: "What?"
- And Dean suddenly needs more therapy.
Asian angel! I mean, she's a baddie, but still, always nice to see Asian actors on TV.
Patience should not be driving if she blacks out and has visions halfway through pulling out of a parking spot.
Angel: "We want Jack"
Kaia: "Cocaine boy?"
Angel: "The son of Lucifer"
Kaia: "What the f..."
- I just love that muttered "what the fuck" - it humanizes Kaia so completely in this moment and immediately gains our sympathy.
A little too much explaining by the baddie for no reason.
Dean: "Kid, you okay?"
Sam: "Jack?"
Jack: "You thought - you both thought that I could do that. That I could kill Derek."
Sam: "Jack, we - we didn't know what happened. We figured maybe it was an accident or..."
...
Dean: "Thought you were looking for your dad."
Jack: "You mean Lucifer?"
Sam: "Yeah."
Jack: "I was scared. I was upset. But why would I look for him? He's no one to me. You, Castiel - you're my family."
Dean: "Yes, we are. Finding Mom - you did a good thing, kid. You did a real good thing."
- And I think this is where Dean adopts Jack finally. It occurs to me that Sam was the one in the prison cell, where Jack first named Castiel as his father - and I know at that point, I was like "NO ONE HURT CAS'S KID!" just as an instinctual reaction. But I think this is the first time that Jack has named them as family out loud while Dean was around. I don't think Jack necessarily had to do Dean the boon of finding Mary before he was accepted - I think he could have found that acceptance through other actions - but Dean IS someone who needs actions, not words, and so discovering that Jack was out there not for his own benefit or his own ends, but trying to help THEM, and then reiterating that Jack's not going to forsake them for Lucifer... I think that's really all Dean needed. He needed assurances through action and words that there wasn't a betrayal coming down the pipe if he were to bond with Jack. Whereas, since Sam's always been more about words than action, and also much more accepting and willing to give the benefit of the doubt to people, he was on board a lot quicker (not to mention all the similarities that he could see between Jack's circumstances and his own.)
Patience's dad: "Patience, don't! You go now - you choose that life - you don't come back."
- Ah, classic Supernatural Dad mistake.
Kaia: "I mean you picked the wrong bait - I'm not the kind of girl people come for."
- Awww... now everyone please save Kaia forever. I'm still mad that she dies. Dark! Kaia hardly replaces her. Dark!Kaia isn't nearly as sympathetic as this character, nor as deep a character.
Angel: "You should be with your own kind."
Jack: "My kind? The kind that kidnaps people? That kills people?"
- Yeah, angels, you really have BAD STRATEGY. I have a feeling Zachariah was the only strategist amongst you, and Dean went and stabbed him in the face.
Then Jack saves all of them.
And Dean pulls a gun on Kaia...
Dean: "Get in the damn car!"
- Like I said... Dean really needs therapy now.
Jack: "Our powers can be good. We can do good in this world."
- Aww, Jack, giving hope to people.
When they're getting out of the car at the shipyard, Sam puts his hand on Jack's head to prevent him from hitting his head on the door frame, and it's a split second of adorable fatherly instinct from Sam there.
This old scrapped ferry location is pretty awesome.
I also find it fun to watch episodes now that I know Jared absolutely hates painting while being filmed.
Jody: "Hey, Sam, could you call me back - I just need to know you're okay."
- FRIENDS!
And then we get the mid-season cliff hanger - Kaia on the side of the road. Jack with Mary in Apocalypse World, and Sam and Dean in the Bad Place.
I really wish Wayward systers had picked up with Jack and Mary's first words to each other, but as I recall it doesn't. Could be forgetting though. But man, I really wish this show would actually explore people's relationships with Mary, rather than making her a prop for the plot.
Also, love the huge foot and Jurassic Park type music and sound design. I wish they'd done a little bit more with that too.
Rewrites: It doesn't need any fresh ones.
Rewrites continuing my S12 rewrite: Obviously, if Lucifer wasn't in the equation any more, then Sam and Dean couldn't have the fear that Jack was trying to find him... so, that bit about what they thought his motivations were would have to be removed. They could be confused as to why he's trying to get to the AU, or simply not see the painting in Derek's studio and instead have no clue as to why he's killing Dreamwalkers. It's a shame, because I do like the unintentional exploration of the fear that adoptive parents might have of their children leaving them to seek out and be with their biological parents. So, in that respect, my rewrites would actually make the story a little LESS interesting, not more. BUT, there's the fact that Jack opened that door before, at his birth, so it could just be that they assume there's some reason he wants to go there - or have it connected - or something... or it could be that they assume he wants to go to a world where Sam and Dean never lived, because he hates them THAT MUCH. Hahaha... but yeah, this episode is actually pretty solid.
As usual, let me know what you thought in comments - sorry this is another short one. Like I said, I've been a bit exhausted recently. I'll probably have way more to say about Wayward Sisters, especially since it didn't get picked up - but you'll have to wait for next week for that one.
...also, I've been a little over-busy and exhausted.
Anyway, let's get back into this...
The Bad Place
Unrelated side-note: Sam had 3 new shirts last episode. Ever single shirt he wore was new. It creates more work for me - but now I'm headcanoning that between realizing Ketch was still alive and doing a heist with a demon, Sam was like "I'mma go shopping..."
I like this dude in the beginning, I'm still SUPER bummed that he dies.
Dean calling Patience, because she's the only psychic they know now - I bet it's because all the other psychics know to stay the heck away from the Winchesters.
Jody: "She gave the police a description - I think it's your boy."
- I think this is the first time someone refers to Jack as their boy. Now, mind you, I think Jody is doing so here as in "your boy - the boy you are looking for" similar to "your guy" in this context. BUT, I like the fact that it can be read/understood both ways, even if the Winchesters aren't there yet.
Patience's dad is a pressuring douche.
Dean: "There's some freaky stuff here. Derek had quite the imagination."
Girlfriend: "He hated that word."
Sam: "What? Freaky?"
Girlfriend: "Imagination."
- Projecting much, Sam?
Dean: "...Jack gave up on us and is looking for Daddy."
Sam: "Dean, we don't know that."
Dean: "Don't we? A guy is dead! Look, I hate this too, but we've gotta be prepared."
Sam: "To kill him."
Dean: "Look, this isn't an I told you so. Okay, I actually like the kid, I do. But we're in worst-case scenario land here."
- I sometimes wonder how Benny's arc affected Dean when it comes to Jack. I think Dean, even after he could forgive Jack for killing Cas (and Mom) held back on bonding with Jack because he had convinced himself that there was a real possibility that he'd still have to kill the kid in the end. Maybe it has nothing to do with Benny, and maybe everything to do with the prejudice that Dean was raised with, and is always his first response as a result... but I don't think decapitating a friend you tried to give another shot helped...especially after learning that your friend didn't stay as clean as you thought they did. I mean, Cas messed him up in that regard too, which was part of Dean's problem in S7... then Dean re-bonded with Cas, but had his heartbroken similarly by Benny. And then there was that weird summer with Crowley... basically, I guess I'm saying that Dean's relationships with supernatural creatures are actually much more complicated than Sam's are. Or maybe Dean just complicates them by reacting as strongly as he does to emotional hits - or, trying to make blanket rules out of individual occurrences. I think Sam can separate incidents more easily - or, maybe, as he says here, he's just better at understanding the reasoning behind people's decisions and in so doing separating their actions from who they are as people.
Kaia in recovery - I don't think this group leader is very good. I like the way this scene is filmed though, where we don't see Kaia's face until well into scene.
Also, here's where we get weird continuity - with Kaia referring her drug dealer as "a small businessman just trying to make it in Trump's America" - when just last year, the President was someone else. We also know that Obama was president in Supernatural - so, there was this weird blip of a president between 44 and 45 that was a white religious dude who was getting it on with his secretary. This is where my rewrite of Lucifer's vessel being a high military official instead would be so much better. Just... reiterating that.
I also love how this episode plays Jack so ambiguously.
Jack: "I'm doing this for you?"
Dean: "You killed Derek for us?"
Jack: "Derek's dead?"
- and the twist reveal! I love it.
Jack: "So, I did the thing you wanted the most - I experimented opening doors to other worlds..."
- and this is a great reveal, because once again it's the consequences of the Winchester's actions, rather than anything inherent, or even wish of Jack's, that's driving Jack forward. I mean, Jack wants their approval, but his actions are informed by the Winchester's desires.
Jack: "I saw her."
Sam: "Her?"
Jack: "Your mother. She's alive."
Dean: "What?"
- And Dean suddenly needs more therapy.
Asian angel! I mean, she's a baddie, but still, always nice to see Asian actors on TV.
Patience should not be driving if she blacks out and has visions halfway through pulling out of a parking spot.
Angel: "We want Jack"
Kaia: "Cocaine boy?"
Angel: "The son of Lucifer"
Kaia: "What the f..."
- I just love that muttered "what the fuck" - it humanizes Kaia so completely in this moment and immediately gains our sympathy.
A little too much explaining by the baddie for no reason.
Dean: "Kid, you okay?"
Sam: "Jack?"
Jack: "You thought - you both thought that I could do that. That I could kill Derek."
Sam: "Jack, we - we didn't know what happened. We figured maybe it was an accident or..."
...
Dean: "Thought you were looking for your dad."
Jack: "You mean Lucifer?"
Sam: "Yeah."
Jack: "I was scared. I was upset. But why would I look for him? He's no one to me. You, Castiel - you're my family."
Dean: "Yes, we are. Finding Mom - you did a good thing, kid. You did a real good thing."
- And I think this is where Dean adopts Jack finally. It occurs to me that Sam was the one in the prison cell, where Jack first named Castiel as his father - and I know at that point, I was like "NO ONE HURT CAS'S KID!" just as an instinctual reaction. But I think this is the first time that Jack has named them as family out loud while Dean was around. I don't think Jack necessarily had to do Dean the boon of finding Mary before he was accepted - I think he could have found that acceptance through other actions - but Dean IS someone who needs actions, not words, and so discovering that Jack was out there not for his own benefit or his own ends, but trying to help THEM, and then reiterating that Jack's not going to forsake them for Lucifer... I think that's really all Dean needed. He needed assurances through action and words that there wasn't a betrayal coming down the pipe if he were to bond with Jack. Whereas, since Sam's always been more about words than action, and also much more accepting and willing to give the benefit of the doubt to people, he was on board a lot quicker (not to mention all the similarities that he could see between Jack's circumstances and his own.)
Patience's dad: "Patience, don't! You go now - you choose that life - you don't come back."
- Ah, classic Supernatural Dad mistake.
Kaia: "I mean you picked the wrong bait - I'm not the kind of girl people come for."
- Awww... now everyone please save Kaia forever. I'm still mad that she dies. Dark! Kaia hardly replaces her. Dark!Kaia isn't nearly as sympathetic as this character, nor as deep a character.
Angel: "You should be with your own kind."
Jack: "My kind? The kind that kidnaps people? That kills people?"
- Yeah, angels, you really have BAD STRATEGY. I have a feeling Zachariah was the only strategist amongst you, and Dean went and stabbed him in the face.
Then Jack saves all of them.
And Dean pulls a gun on Kaia...
Dean: "Get in the damn car!"
- Like I said... Dean really needs therapy now.
Jack: "Our powers can be good. We can do good in this world."
- Aww, Jack, giving hope to people.
When they're getting out of the car at the shipyard, Sam puts his hand on Jack's head to prevent him from hitting his head on the door frame, and it's a split second of adorable fatherly instinct from Sam there.
This old scrapped ferry location is pretty awesome.
I also find it fun to watch episodes now that I know Jared absolutely hates painting while being filmed.
Jody: "Hey, Sam, could you call me back - I just need to know you're okay."
- FRIENDS!
And then we get the mid-season cliff hanger - Kaia on the side of the road. Jack with Mary in Apocalypse World, and Sam and Dean in the Bad Place.
I really wish Wayward systers had picked up with Jack and Mary's first words to each other, but as I recall it doesn't. Could be forgetting though. But man, I really wish this show would actually explore people's relationships with Mary, rather than making her a prop for the plot.
Also, love the huge foot and Jurassic Park type music and sound design. I wish they'd done a little bit more with that too.
Rewrites: It doesn't need any fresh ones.
Rewrites continuing my S12 rewrite: Obviously, if Lucifer wasn't in the equation any more, then Sam and Dean couldn't have the fear that Jack was trying to find him... so, that bit about what they thought his motivations were would have to be removed. They could be confused as to why he's trying to get to the AU, or simply not see the painting in Derek's studio and instead have no clue as to why he's killing Dreamwalkers. It's a shame, because I do like the unintentional exploration of the fear that adoptive parents might have of their children leaving them to seek out and be with their biological parents. So, in that respect, my rewrites would actually make the story a little LESS interesting, not more. BUT, there's the fact that Jack opened that door before, at his birth, so it could just be that they assume there's some reason he wants to go there - or have it connected - or something... or it could be that they assume he wants to go to a world where Sam and Dean never lived, because he hates them THAT MUCH. Hahaha... but yeah, this episode is actually pretty solid.
As usual, let me know what you thought in comments - sorry this is another short one. Like I said, I've been a bit exhausted recently. I'll probably have way more to say about Wayward Sisters, especially since it didn't get picked up - but you'll have to wait for next week for that one.
