SPN - 8.11

[feliciakw]

Robbie Thompson, what the frell are you smoking this season?

So much potential, wasted.

What I liked:

Ep-long shout-out to the SCA Pennsic. I'm not involved myself, but back when I was in the Herc fandom, several of my list-sibs were. I'd be curious to know how many SCAers were extras in this ep. Society for Creative Anachronism

The "hold" and "resume." Very theatrical (as in, a practice that I've seen used in theater, particularly outdoor plays I've been in, where the amphitheater is close to a railroad track).

Princess Bride shout-out! \o/

Dean having fun.

Dean and Charlie strategizing on the war map. (That was quite awesome and amusing, tbh.)

ETA: GLuisa pointed out Smart!Dean. I love me some Smart!Dean. One of my favorite flavors of Dean. So, yes. It was a delight to see him. /ETA

The Braveheart speech. And Dean getting to lead the charge! Dean, always the leader, even in games of LARPing.

Where the ep fell short (really, really short):

Dean has a history with fairies. There was a real fairy in this ep. And yet, no connection was made. That would have made for an interesting episode.

Okay, we get it. Sam made a huge sacrifice and Dean appreciates it. (Their final conversation cut out on me, so I'll have to wait for the download to hear it). Can we now acknowledge the sacrifices Dean has made? Please? (I'm still holding out hope that we will get that in a separate episode.)

I won't even mention the whole rehash of the text message.

Robbie. Dude. I expect better from you. Slash Fiction was a great episode (except that Jensen and Jared had to re-write the final scene to keep it in character. That's a hint, btw). And you followed it up with "Time After Time." I even liked "Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo." Then you give us "Bitten"? And now this? I'm thinking we need to leave the "crack" episodes to Ben Edlund. And I won't even get into the redundancy of your jokes, other than to say they don't read as natural or organic. Just forced and unnecessary. And not funny. Let it go, already.

Overall, my biggest disappointment with this ep was the waste of potential, and certain aspects that come across as forced rather than organic. There were bits and pieces that I liked, that amused me, and Jensen looked fantastic as usual. Heck, I even liked his war paint.

But overall, the theme of this ep, for me, is the sad, sad waste of potential.

Is Edlund writing anything this season?

Comments

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

I've re-watched it, and ignoring the stuff I didn't like, it does have several gem-like moments, and actually is quite fun. I'll probably write in more detail about that (with a little bit about what I didn't really like about the conversation, as I talk about up-thread) later.