SPN - 8.15

[feliciakw]

In short, this ep didn't really do anything for me. It felt very flat. I didn't really feel a connection to the guest characters, I wasn't particularly impressed with the "witch bar," it was just . . . weird.

About the only thing that stands out in my mind right now is Dean's explanation about Kate and Benny versus Witch Detective James, a reasoning I buy from Dean.

Also, there's homage to past seasons, and then there's using past seasons as a crutch. (This was one of my [many] complaints about Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.) They're getting very close to the point where callbacks to past seasons draw attention to themselves rather than enhancing the current story.

However, the Winchesters finally succeeded in killing a witch, which is something I don't think they've ever successfully done before, have they?

Also, I don't know much about Being Human, but as I understand it, it's about monsters trying to come to terms with their monster-ness? Or something? This ep felt, in some ways, like "Bitten," wherein the monster's story was more important than the Winchesters' story (and not connected to a Winchester at all, unlike Benny, who has a very strong connection to Dean's story). It just . . . doesn't feel right. It doesn't really feel like it fits. Maybe if "Bitten" hadn't left such a bad first impression, I'd be more inclined to give this a one-off pass. But it just . . . felt flat.

I'll re-watch when I get my download, and maybe the ep will improve upon re-watch, but first blush reaction is meh.

Sam's coughing up blood. Already. That little power surge must not have sat well with him, and now I'm wondering if he's actually the one that's cut out for these trials. After all, Dean can look an angel in the eyes as it dies, without his own eyes getting burned out of his skull.

Will Sam never learn that keeping secrets from Dean is a Bad Idea? Oy.

Or as Geo said, "Oh, what now?!?"

Comments

[ficwriter1966.livejournal.com]

Not even to mention the "wrong in so many ways" of having a black woman call the pretty white man "master" and walk around in a dog collar.

Or the nudge-nudge-wink-wink of "Ooh, look. He's HAVING SEX WITH HIS DOG."

This one goes into the bin with "Bitten" and "Ghostfacers."

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

Personally, I liked "Ghostfacers." It's not among my favorites, but it didn't leave me nearly as cold as "Bitten" or as indifferent as this one. I liked it as outsider POV and as a send-up of the reality ghost hunting shows.

But this wasn't even outsider POV. This was showcasing guest characters to . . . try to introduce another underground community, I guess? I mean, it opens up some many WT??? questions, like the fact that witches become witches (usually) by giving their souls to demons. And none of them recognized a hunter when he walked into the room? The 900-year-old witch Patrick from "Curious Case" made more sense in the SPN world than these guys. Heck, so did Don Stark and his wife. Anyway . . .

The racism/misogyny didn't really hit me, but I can certainly see how that would be a trigger, button, and issue for people. (Under different personal circumstances, I'm sure I would be cringing.) I don't really want to comment fully on what I saw them playing at, here in my public journal, but . . . um . . .

And oh, did I flash to some fic tropes from a previous fandom. But that's just me. (Specifically, certain AUs of The Sentinel where the Sentinel and Guide are psychically linked, and the Guide serves the Sentinel, etc. Meh.)

And . . . yeah . . . I'm trying to block out the sex thing completely from my brain. It was just awkward and bad. I mean, we saw it coming from 10 miles away, right? And it was . . . just ugh.

(I did mention bad fic, right?)