99 Problems, revisited

[feliciakw]

I re-watched "99 Problems" this afternoon. I really do like that ep. I love having Michael Shanks as one of the guest stars, and I liked that Sam and Dean had the opportunity to work with a larger team, that they found a community where they didn't have to pretend.

I also really, really liked that Dean was able to gank the baddie because he was a servant of Heaven. If Michael had not ended up being written as arrogant as they wrote him, and if they hadn't pounded the whole "you don't have a choice" destiny thing, I would have really liked Dean and Michael to have worked together (and Jensen to have had the opportunity to play Michael). As it is, I love that Dean fulfilled his destiny in a totally unexpected way.

One of the things that really jumped out to me while watching the ep this time was the Psalm displayed at the front of the sanctuary. They had it listed as a passage for Epiphany, which makes me go "bzuh?", but otherwise, I was kinda struck by it.

Psalm 69, the beginning of which reads like this (from the NIV):

1 Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.

3 I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.

Sound like someone we know? Like, how Dean's been feeling about things recently, especially in this ep?

I thought so.

Comments

[just-ruth.livejournal.com]

I never noticed the Psalm - someone was doing their homework for that anyway.

This episode annoys me for one huge reason and that is continuity - this wonderful congregation is in BLUE EARTH MINNESOTA and not one mention of Pastor Jim Murphy? Not good! Yes, I am being anal about it.

All it would have taken was one line - "Pastor Jim was my sponser to seminary" or something and I could enjoy the episode more.

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

I actually thought the shout-out to Blue Earth (and Pastor Jim) was pretty cool. It was a tidbit of trivia that we who have seen the show from the beginning would get and appreciate, but would not distract newcomers to the show. Mentioning Pastor Jim specifically might, I think, sound awkward to someone just coming to the show. (Pastor Jim? Who's that? Why is he important? What happened to him?) I understand your frustration (and it's not like mentioning Jim would be the most confusing thing Show ever did), but I liked that precious little nugget of inside information being for those of us who are invested in the show. *clutches Precious in greedy little hands*

[sarcasticval.livejournal.com]

Oh, "99 Problems". Normally I handwave the anti-feminism rallying cries (Women die? Seriously, dude, have you seen this show? Everyone bites it.), but that was the first one that really, really bugged me.

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

I know a lot of people were bothered by it, but it just doesn't get me. I don't look at a villain strictly as male or female. I look at them as a villain, with their gender (or apparent gender--given that some can change from one to the other) as influencing how they play or portray their villainy. (Does that make even a modicum of sense?) So I was actually kind of tickled with how the writers were able to pull a semi-accurate nugget out of Revelation and then use it in a half-way interesting manner. (Much like, though not as cool as, War in "Good God, Y'all.")

At least, I assume that you're talking about offing the baddie, yes?

[sarcasticval.livejournal.com]

Actually, no. I don't care if a villain is male or female. (How boring would that be if all villains were male?) For me it was all about the language of the episode, the casual repetitive drop of "whore," especially when paired with talk of violence. Unlike other gender-specific insults--bitch, bastard, douche--whore is the only one that's an actual profession. Granted we mostly call them hookers or prostitutes nowadays, but it refers to a specific group of people who are already dealt a lot of violence on a regular basis. Then top it all off with Dean's line to Castiel, "On a good day you get to kill a whore." I know some people argue that the article in question was "the," but I rewatched the scene several times and just didn't hear it. The whole thing left me squicked beyond belief.

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

I understand what you're saying, but for me, the context here is key. This was not a human woman; this was a supernatural being, called such in the referenced text, who was out to damn a town of people (and move on, no doubt, from place to place until she was stopped). So the references and language didn't squick me, given the given context. I also don't believe Dean would say such a thing in reference to a human woman. He's not encouraging violence against women; he's encouraging Castiel in a fight against an evil being. (Yeah, the article in the line is "a," but he is clearly referencing "the" evil being facing them.)

I'm sorry it squicked you and ruined for you what I thought was a very good ep. But I know that there have been a lot things about the mytharc that have really squicked me that haven't phased a majority of the fandom at all. If nothing else, you can say that this show has something to offend everyone.

[sarcasticval.livejournal.com]

I am trying to make this make sense in my head, but woe, I have had no caffeine. Here goes.

The context of who the insult is directed at makes no difference to me. Dean's referring to a monster--well, good for him. That still doesn't make the line any less awful. Because whereas most insults these days have shifted from their original meaning--when you call someone a bastard it's not so much "illegitimate child" as "jerk"--the definition of whore still remains very much the same. It's a promiscuous person, someone who has sex for money. Being a bastard might not be a big deal in this day and age, but prostitution is something that still very much alive, and it's a group of people regularly put in the path of violence without mainstream television shows talking about how killing them, however obliquely, is a fun time. Now mind you, I don't think Dean hates on women or anything like that. But the writers should have known better. Yes, Dean is using it to refer to a monster. But that still doesn't change the meaning of the word.

you can say that this show has something to offend everyone
Haaaaaaaaaaaa! True that.

P.S. Forgot to include, there's also the matter of the episode title when combined with everything else. Because if you know the lyric that follows "99 problems"...I mean, really, guys? REALLY?

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

Re: the lyric . . . I am unfamiliar with the lyric. (Or if I am, I don't know that I am.) So you can consider my ignorance on that score the source of my "okay, weird choice for a title, but whatever."

I thought about mentioning the different connotations I find between the words "hooker," "prostitute," and "whore," but I'm not sure I could explain it adequately or if it would contribute anything of value to the discussion. And I couldn't do it without using some lingual analogies that are best not included in a public post, anyway.

But fwiw, I think you did fine without caffeine.

[sarcasticval.livejournal.com]

Cafffffeeeeeeiiiiiiinnnnneeeeeee!

[girlyghoul70.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched this one for a while, but now that you mention that line I remember my own eye roll. I wasn't fond of the episode in general. Mainly because it started out so action paced and then turned talky. The boys were so DOWN and bummed. Cas drunk is amusing, but again, he was in such a MOOD as was Dean.

Then Dean's line about the whore came and it all bottomed out from there. I didn't get personally offended by the line. But it was so obvious the writers were trying to be clever and witty and just just rang wrong. The whole tone of the episode was already pretty sour for me and that just made me extra gloomy. I wasn't sure if they were referencing something in Pop Culture (like, is this a line that gets spouted in Grand Theft Auto? Not sure) Or if they were just making something up they thought would sound like a badass battle cry. Erm... try harder, y'all! So yeah, not impressed. Not super offended- but pretty displeased is what I remember feeling.

Dean's taking off and running to Lisa's felt off to me too at the time- though they made it pay off by the end of the season.

[sarcasticval.livejournal.com]

Yeah, normally I'm not one to be all "Writers, wtf?" but that line...ugh.

(Sorry to hijack your thread, F!)

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

And I loved him going to Lisa. We've known since S3 that he's in love with the "idea" of Lisa--the idea of having a woman who truly loves him, and a child. So his stopping at her house to tell her, "When I picture myself happy, it's with you and the kid" and to reassure her that he wouldn't let anything happen to them . . . totally not surprised. I mean, yeah, I was surprised they went there, but from a character standpoint, it made sense.

From the sounds of it, I'm the only one who liked this ep.

ETA: I went back and re-read the comments from my original post; I'm not the only one who liked the ep. Which is good to know. This season made it really hard to feel the love from other fans, 'cause it seemed I was more at odds with everyone else's opinions (and they with mine) than usual.