SPN 8.02 - "What's Up, Tiger Mommy?"

[feliciakw]

Though it wasn't quite as good as the season opener, I liked the ep. Apparently, from reading here and there, I'm in the minority. Ah, well. SOP and all that.

People really should listen to Dean. When he says something is a bad idea, chances are, it's a bad idea. Though admittedly, exasperated!Dean is a delightful flavor of Dean.

Mama Tran took some getting used to, but it turns out I rather like her. I particularly liked her blase attitude toward getting the tattoo. "Like this is my first tattoo?" Dean is amused. Kevin is freaked.

Then at the pawn shop, threatening the guy with something he understands--a tax bill. And Kevin and Sam doing the math on the spot. And Dean is further amused.

Crowley is going to start frustrating me to no end. Yes, he's a demon. Yes, he's a bad guy. The more he thwarts Our Heroes, the more I'ma want to smack him upside the head. Just sayin'. However, I do find it interesting that his demon form smoke is red and reminded me of red velvet cake. He's the only demon we've seen that's a different color from anyone else. Even YED was black. And did we ever see Lilith as smoke? I'm thinking we did, but now I'm blanking on how she got that body back. Oy. Anyway. Crowley. Red. Interesting.

Purgatory flashbacks (vis a vis real world interrogation). First, while everyone else seemed to find Dean's interrogation of the thief hot, I found it to be quite uncomfy. Effective, but scary. Similar to interrogating Lester in "Time After Time," but where that was a bluff, I have no doubt Dean was willing to do this guy bodily harm. (Not that his arrogance didn't earn him the threat, but for Dean's sake, I don't wanna see it happen.)

And the amusing exchange between Sam and Dean when Sam eyeballs the Impala as a potential chip to bid at the auction. "I will kill you, and your children, and your grandchildren." Indignant!Dean is indeed enjoyable, but followed right on the heels of a Dean who's willing to maim someone for information . . . I'm left wondering if there was any seriousness to his declaration.

The Purgatory flashback that accompanied the real world interrogation , wherein Dean killed the werewolf anyway. Not that we'd really expect anything else from Dean when it comes to monsters, but Benny's reaction was . . . interesting. Almost like reluctant resignation. Regret, almost. Benny's going to turn out to be an interesting study in contrasts, I think.

Particularly when he shared what the gossip was in MonsterLand. Dean and the angel landed, and Castiel took off, leaving the human defenseless (in theory). Benny demanding an explanation on Dean's behalf. "I think he owes you some backstory."

Cas was trying to protect Dean. It's nice to see the old Cas back.

I hope we get to see Alfie (however you spell his angel name) again. He seemed like one of the good guys. And as we all know, we don't see enough good angels in this show. (I'll leave it at that.)

Given the dynamics between Dean and Ms. Tran, I'm not sure how I feel about his willingness to kill her in order to kill Crowley. Dean is starting to view things in a way that 2014!Dean did, and this doesn't make me comfortable.

However, I also find it very Dean to be so willing to sacrifice himself in the process. Perhaps not his life, but certainly his humanity. Was he going to kill her? Yeah, he was. "Sure, it would have sucked and I would have hated myself. But what's one more nightmare, right?" He also seems upset by Kevin's statement that Dean finds people to be expendable as soon as they're no longer of use to him. It all kinda makes me hurt for Dean. (But, you know, what else is new?)

So far, I find this season off to a solid, intriguing start. Yes, they are re-hashing old ground from a different angle, but it's intriguing. I'm intrigued. And looking forward to the next ep. Yes.