SPN - 8.10

[feliciakw]

It's good to have the show back. I've missed Dean. I've missed Jensen and Jared. I've missed the storytelling.

But.

This ep leaves me dissatisfied and melancholy.

I haven't really liked where they've taken the angel characters since early/mid-S4. (Cas was awesome when he showed up, but things started going downhill somewhere after "Great Pumpkin.") The trend is continuing. Angels, with the exception of Cas, and Alfie, who's now a goner, are apparently never going to be anything more than one more adversary for the guys. Meh.

I'm disappointed with where they left Benny and his storyline. I get why Dean cut off contact with Benny. Still. He's left a friend who is an addict--and a deadly one--to twist in the wind. I know that was their original plan, but still. I hope we see Benny again, and I hope he's not a bad guy.

Glad the Amelia storyline is over, though. I never really felt one way or the other about her until tonight. And tonight, I decided I don't really like her. Why? Because she seduced Sam. She has a husband, and she seduced Sam. I am not down with that.

What I did like about tonight was Dean cutting Sam loose and giving him every opportunity to have "normal," to go back to Amelia. So Sam chose, of his own free will, to stick with the job. No more blaming Dean for it, kthanx.

I liked that in the course of letting Sam go, Dean admitted that he's just tired of the fighting. We all are, dude. We all are.

I liked the apparent truce that has been called. Now if they could just learn to read one another again, maybe we'd get somewhere.

It felt like a very "distant" episode, which makes sense, since they were each dealing with their own problems. But as much as the guys were sitting together drinking beer and watching TV, it still felt distant at the end.

Admittedly, it did get a laugh or two out of me and Geo. When Cas appeared and woke Dean up, Geo loled. I did the same when he appeared next to Sam. Sam, you've never really had that experience, have you, of Cas just suddenly showing up in your personal space. Now you know.

I'm not sure how many people still read these blurbs I write, as it seems that most of my f-list that watched the show don't watch it anymore. So I'm mostly writing this out of habit. And maybe a little nostalgia, seeing as how I've been writing these since S4, and have done pretty much the whole series at one point or another.

And on a final note, Jensen looked really, really, good. Like, really.

Comments

[gluisa88.livejournal.com]

I agree, I was sad to see Dean let Benny go but for the character, it made sense. Sam made it a "him or me" thing and of course Dean will always choose Sam.

I was so mad at Amelia- especially after she blamed Sam for cheating on her husband. "blah blah blah you were the one who came back" or whatever it was she said. I was like, are you kidding me? She may have caught him peering through the window but not only did *she* go chasing him down, but it was also *her* that followed him back to his motel room.

Whatever.

You put it well- it was a "distant" episode and left me feeling dissatisfied. I had heard there was going to be a very candid, very emotional talk between the brothers where they put everything on the table but I had thought I had heard it wasn't until ep. 12. I hope that wasn't the promised talk because frankly, it left me wanting. It didn't feel like anything was really resolved. It felt like a good start but it didn't feel like enough.

I hope that's not the end- I hope the show plans to further address/heal the brother's relationship.

And yes, Jensen was breath-taking!

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

Sam made it a "him or me" thing and of course Dean will always choose Sam.

I got the sense that it was more than that. Not so much "him or me," but "If Sam is gonna give up Amelia, I need to do my part." I'm so torn. Ot1h, Dean's not gonna go behind Sam's back, which is good. And that was Dean and Benny's original plan--go their separate ways. Benny's the one who's been reaching out to Dean. Otoh, Dean is like Benny's AA sponsor, and my heart just kind of sank when the sponsor cut the addict loose like that. "Sorry, buddy, you're on your own." The thing is, both Dean and Sam should get this. Dean was a vampire (thanks to Sam), so he understands the hunger. (He also knows it can be resisted.) And Sam. Well, we all know Sam's history with demon blood, yeah? That there was a powerful addiction.

If I had some sort of sense that there was more to it than Sam hating and being jealous of a monster--like genuine fear for Dean's safety, I might feel differently. But right now, I'm bummed.

What you said, about Amelia.

This felt like it should have been the ep to take us into hiatus. It seemed dissatisfying as a come-back from a weeks-long break.

I'll watch it again, maybe pick up more than I got on first watch, but a lot of it was just unpleasant (Crowley, Naomi, etc.).

[gluisa88.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I guess you're right but still, my thought as I was watching the scene was, "Yeah, Dean always gives up what he wants for Sam."

Maybe not so much a fear that he'd lose Sam if he didn't but still, Sam wanted him to say goodbye to Benny and so Dean did.

Carver had spoken about the brothers having a more mature, healthy relationship but still that scene smelled very co-dependent to me. I mean, what? Dean's not allowed to have friends?

Yeah, yeah, vampire whatever. I honestly don't believe for one second that that was Sam's issue with Benny.

I feel like perhaps that's the last we'll see of Benny- at least, I feel that's all tptb have planned at the moment. I just really, really hope they don't plan to bring him back long enough to kill a human and then Dean has to kill him.

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

That's what I'm afraid of--that either Dean will have to put Benny down, or Benny will ask Dean to put him down and send him back to Purgatory, where he was not tormented with the bloodlust. I want Benny to be a stronger character than that, though.

I really can't suss out what Carver and Co. are doing, so I'm not even going to try. They claim to know what the fans want, but they're obviously not traveling in my circles or reading my LJ. Benny is a very popular character, it seems, where I run, and he's popular because he's Dean's friend. So, you know, I give up.

Once upon a time, long, long ago, when I first started watching the series, Izhilzha, who got me into the show, used to tell me, "Trust the writers. Trust Kripke," because things always turned out really well. Maybe not as expected, but they always took a cool, interesting turn. That ended somewhere in S4. Haven't really "trusted" the writers since. I trust the production crew far more--trust Jensen to keep Dean, Dean. You know?

[gluisa88.livejournal.com]

For me, I have a bigger problem with the quality of the writing. I'm willing to follow the show where ever it takes us but sometimes the lines make me cringe and I wonder what happened to the writing of the first five- heck, four seasons. Jensen does pretty well, even with bad lines, he's just such a good actor that you don't mind them as much but the others suffer quite a bit.

I think it's the snark that gets me the most. I love snark but not stupid lines that are trying to pass as clever/snarky.

I actually could deal with Benny asking Dean to kill him. As much as I don't want Benny to die, I would prefer that to having him give in to his bloodlust. I would prefer Door #3 but if it's one or the other, I would prefer Benny asking Dean to send him back to Purgatory.

[lady-m-319.livejournal.com]

1st-Glad you do the reviews and I'm sure I'm not the only one who reads them but doesn't regularly comment.

2nd- Oh yeah! Jensen looked really, really good.

3rd- I was a little slow on the uptake tonight and didn't put 2 and 2 together about Dean ditching Benny because he had to choose between Benny and Sam. Phew! I'm glad I'm clear on that now. The 'why' was causing angst and weighing heavily on my little brain.(I'll still rewatch to pull all the pieces together.)

4th- I liked the epi. But then again, I usually do.

Thanks for the review!

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

1. Thanks. :-) When readers lurk, it's hard to know they're out there.

2. Goes without saying. I'm convinced he's been having a torrid career-long affair with Canon, Nikon, Ampex, or whatever cameras they use in the industry. He should be ashamed of himself, really, looking that good all the time.

3. I think it was more than just choosing between Sam and Benny. I think if Sam had chosen to go back to Amelia, Dean would have been in the Impala heading to the Catskills (or wherever Benny was) to talk him off the ledge. I got more of a sense of "If Sam is gonna give up Amelia, I've got to do my part." He won't be going behind Sam's back, which is good, but I can't help but be upset that the AA sponsor cut his sponsoree loose. You know. (I talk about it a little bit in my reply to gluisa upthread.)

4. There was a lot about this ep that really bothered me, most of which had to do with the torture and the angels. But I also got the very strong sense that this should have been the ep that sent us into hiatus, rather than the ep that brought us back from the weeks-long break. It just . . . didn't really satisfy me as a return episode.

I'll re-watch, as usual, to see what I missed and see if anything else clicked. And it was really good to see the guys back on my screen, and to see Dean lay it out for Sam, and for Sam to actually make a decision.

We'll see where we go from here.

Thanks for reading and for posting. :-)

[gypsy-atavari.livejournal.com]

I read and watch but haven't watched this ep yet. But I'm waiting for the thing to come out here so I decided to read your review first. Based on it - and some other peeps reactions - I'm kinda afraid. Though that might help manage my expectations. :-)

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

Managing expectations can be a good thing. If you don't mind spoilers, read on.

The things I liked least about this episode were the torture of Alfie, and the route they're continuing with the angels. Honestly, I'm so ready to be over the whole angel business already.

The stuff between the brothers was, imo, needed. Dean needs to cut Sam loose and make Sam make a decision. But Dean cutting Benny loose just hurt. I just re-watched that last scene, and that was so incredibly hard for Dean to do. It was hurting him to do it. I

So, yeah, don't expect a lot of feel-good stuff. I might re-watch the whole thing (if I can sit through the torture and Crowley) and hit a few points because there were some notes that jumped out at me.

[leelust.livejournal.com]

I'm still watching (onlt cause of Jensen and his Dean) but you asked not to comment so i obey.

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

I appreciate and thank you for that. I know you hate the show (except for Jensen and Dean), and I've never wanted my LJ to be a place where people come to hate on a show I like to watch. I read your comment in ficwriter's LJ, and I think you state your opinion very clearly there.

[leelust.livejournal.com]

I actually don't hate the show per se but the bad writing the show has for about 3 years.
It just gets me when you say that no one reads you and comments on your spn posts when you asked them not to. Did it ever come to your mind that people read but can't comment? Just curious.

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

You and I specifically have been on very different terms with the show for a very long time, and it got to the point where your comments and the way our conversations developed depressed me. It got to the point where I didn't want to come read my own journal. You and I were arguing in circles about things we won't change our minds about. I've often wondered why you're still watching the show because it seems to make you miserable. You've said that the only reason you're still watching is for Jensen. You're not watching for the stories, the character interactions, anything having to do with the writing or directing, and you've made it very clear that you loathe Sam with a white-hot passion. All of that is your prerogative, and there are forums out there where people agree with you. But when you write that the show "can go f*** itself," that sounds like hatred to me, expressed in hateful language. I don't want that in my journal.

If stipulating that negatives need to be countered with positives translates into a prohibition from commenting, that means that a reader has nothing positive or constructive to say. There are plenty of other places on the 'Net where viewers can go to tear down the show or a given character. There's a reason I don't visit those forums, and I've never wanted my LJ to become a place of endless complaining.

I didn't say that no one reads. I said that I don't know how many people still read. A lot of my f-list don't seem to watch the show anymore. Several of them, I know why they're not watching or commenting, due to being more busy with RL than with LJ (newly wed, new job, new mom, etc.). But I've never known how many lurkers I have because I don't have my LJ set up to track who comes to read it, and lurkers, by definition, don't comment. Heck, even I've lost interest in a lot of deep, probing discussion of the show, which is why my "long and ramblies" are no longer running commentaries but just impressions and highlights.

To ask the question, "Hey, is anyone still out there reading?" isn't the same as declaring, "Woe is me. No one reads anymore." Some people have popped in to make their presence known, and that's great. :-) Either way, it's my choice whether or not to continue. It's just nice to know if anyone is still reading or interested in my opinion. Those that are have said so. That's all.

[eavis.livejournal.com]

Okay, just a quick note to say that I concur very heartily with everything you just said. I laughed at the same things you/your husband did, and sighed and cried at all the same places. I hold out a (misguided, no doubt) hope that Alfie's death will be the catalyst for Gabriel making a dramatic come-back on a mission from God and, with Castiel's help, setting things right in heaven. (I did mention the misguided/unlikely part, right?)

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't think there was any room optimism left in the SPN viewership. ;-)

Jensen has said that he's campaigning to get Richard Speight, Jr. back, so who knows. At this point, I rather wish they'd leave the whole angel storyline behind them completely, but I know that's not going to happen. Would love for the guys to have another angelic ally of some sort. Would also love to see RSJ back on the show.

I believe the term we're looking for is either "pie in the sky" or "pipe dream." Would you like pumpkin, French silk, or lemon meringue?

*still loves Fedora!Dean*

[mtee.livejournal.com]

I still read and watch the show. I find the show fascinating. Sometimes I like an ep, sometimes I don't. But never hate it so much as to stop watching. It's still just a tv show.

I like your reviews. I agree, they may have been on the couch together, but they were so far apart. You just have to hang onto the hope that one day they WILL actually talk to each other. But sometimes people never get to that point. Brothers don't mean you act any differently.. in fact sometimes you act worse toward your family than you ever would to a stranger.

Keep on reviewing! Thanks

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

Yes, the end. I've finally put it into words in and said it in my head: Sam and Dean are brothers in name only. At least right now. They're partners on the job, but so distant from each other as brothers. They seemed to accept that at the end (the no clinking of beer bottles spoke volumes), and maybe in accepting that they are no longer brothers in mind and spirit, they can begin to rebuild what's been lost.

Yeah, I know. I'm a hopeless optimist.

Thanks for letting me know you're still here. :-)

[lhyjojo.livejournal.com]

also a long time lurker love your reviews you often write exactly what I think as well they are always well thought out and well put xx

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

Hello there! Thank you so much for letting me know you're still here. I'm not trying to put my lurkers on the spot, and I'm definitely not demanding that you take part in the conversation. I just wanted to get a sense of whether or not people were still reading.

So thanks for dropping by! :-)

And I'm glad you enjoy my reviews. :-)

[lhyjojo.livejournal.com]

thank you for doing the reviews X I will come out of lurking and try and comment more take care x

[amazed11.livejournal.com]

Yes I'm also still lurking and reading your reviews and updates. Plus I am still loving our show :) Perhaps one day when I do have more time I will add my more detailed thoughts.

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

Hi there! When you un-lurk, you really un-lurk, doncha? :-)

No worries if you don't want to or don't have time to discuss. I wasn't trying to demand participation in discussion. I just wanted to get a sense of whether or not people were still reading. Thanks for making letting me know you're still here.

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

This was a very interesting episode for me. I don't like the brothers at odds, either, and yet... between Castiel making them work together, Sam thinking through the Amelia thing and Dean giving him space to do it, and Dean trying to meet him halfway... I felt like they were being more grownup than either has been all season.

Cards on the table, peace extended to each other. It's a start.

I'm really bummed about Dean cutting Benny loose, though. Geez. No. Not a good idea.

And I desperately wanted to cuddle Castiel near the end, there. :(