Yellow Fever

[feliciakw]

Well, I suppose it's time for me to get my thoughts in order. kalquessa and izhilzha pretty much hit all the high points, but I'll do my best. This one will be a little more difficult, because I have mixed feelings about this ep. Given last week's promo, I thought it would be angsty, but I've thought for a week that Dean's scream that they included at the end of the promo was . . . . kinda silly. Turns out, I was right. (On the upside, I got a kick out of Geo getting a kick out of this stuff.)



Okay, so the "Then"s gives us the whole backstory of Lilith, Dean's trip to Hell, being brought back, and Castiel, specifically how Dean should show him some respect. We also get Sam's "I've got demon blood! I'm a whole new level of freak!" Cut to:

Dean running, shot very much like his dreams of running from hellhounds. Turns out, no, he's running from a Yorkie from Hell. Oooooookay . . .

Well, I know he gets infected with fear this week, so maybe that makes tiny little Yorkies with hair bows look like Cerberus. I snicker, in spite of the "bzuh?"

Title Flash (and I do so love this season's title flash) and I'm thinking, "Forty-eight Hours Earlier." Well, I was close. Forty-three.

Coroner/Autopsy. For some reason, this scene seemed to go on a little longer than I would have liked. But whatever.

Hey, Coroner dude! You used to be a Fed on The Sentinel, didn't you.

I much prefer Doc Robins' bedside manner on CSI. Also, why are you people not wearing face shields? *Sam gets juiced with spleen juice* See?! That's why you're supposed to wear face shields!

Sheriff is a germaphobe.

Dean doesn't like the look of those teenagers. Of course not, Dean. They're too close to the Impala. Wait. Where are you going? You're crossing the street? Dean? Something is wrong.

Snake guy . . . And how great are Jensen's expressions? I love Dean looking out of the corner of his eyes, all wide-eyed with nerves about the reptiles. Geo chuckled out loud at one point.

Tyler and Perry. Here I thought the common denominator was "Steve"--Steve Tyler (Aerosmith) and Steve Perry (Journey). I was half right. Steve Tyler and Joe Perry, both of Aerosmith. Geo had to explain that to me.

Dean does research at the County Clerk's office!

Dean's jam session in the car. Wonderful. But more on that later.

Dean tosses away a box of donuts. Loved Sam's reaction to that. Also? Something's wrong! Dean refusing food? Yeah. Somethin' ain't right.

The sports teams names . . . Geo got a huge snicker chuckle out of that. I simply had to roll my eyes. Such guy humor.

Let's stop for just a moment and mention the "reason" behind Dean's being the one to get infected. The supposed reason is that he's "a dick." The other victims were a bully (check), a vice principal (um . . . not check), and a bouncer (uh . . . no). If you behave yourself, you never even see the vice principal at school, and if you're someone who's getting harrassed at a bar (especially if you're female), the bouncer is your friend. So, fear as a weapon, yes. Dick, no. Why didn't Sam get infected? I'll get to that.

"Our room's on the fourth floor. It's . . . it's high." "I'll see if I can move us down to the first." "Thanks." Dean sounds so childlike here. I think my heart started to break just a little bit at this point.

I know it started to break with the reading the book (Dean doing research again!) and the words he was hallucinating. I didn't tear up, but my word, did I want to hug him and wrap him in a fleecy blanket and give him hot chocolate. 'Cause that just hurt.

Sam kicks Dean in the foot. "Hey! Quit pickin' at that!" Ha! Sammy as parent. Oh, the role reversals of this season.

Dean coughs up a Scrabble chip. How many points do you think that letter would be worth?

"I don't wanna be a clue!" Sulky Dean amuses me.

Geo also got a chuckle out of Dean refusing to carry his ivory handled Colt. "It might go off. I'll man the flashlight." Oh, Dean.

And Sam trying to contain his frustration.

But, man, it was good to see the weapons cache again.

That scream? When the cat jumps out of the locker? That's a Jared scream. I mean, obviously Jensen is the one doing the screaming, but go back and check out the gag reel from S3. The scene from "Jus in Bello" where Hendricksen pulls the gun to shoot the sheriff. Jared's scream? That Jensen then picks up on? Yeah. That's the scream. Totally.

Dean figures out that the drawings are of their dead woman. Dean is still on the job.

Dean sees the ghost . . . and high-tails it out of the mill. Dean in his right mind would never do that, leave Sam to face down a ghost alone (unless it was part of a greater plan). Oh, Dean.

Dean gets his courage from a bottle. Definitely not the norm.

Dean scared by a little lady on an IV drip coming around the corner. Oh, Dean.

Dean worried about getting caught using fake ID and going to jail. Oh, Dean.

Loved the guest informant that was Luther's brother. And one of the things I liked best about that scene? He actually asked to handle the badges. That's real. In my one encounter with an FBI agent, when I was being interviewed for someone's background check, the agent showed me his ID, and I just nodded, and he gave it to me and told me to look at it, make sure it's real (like I'm gonna be able to spot a forged FBI ID). But I thought that was really interesting, and not at all like on TV. So I liked that aspect of the scene.

And Dean, almost blowing their cover. Oh, Dean.

Okay, you know how some people in the fandom have certain buttons that just really bother them when pushed? Being dragged behind a truck or car is one of my buttons. I loathe the very thought. It's up there with some of the CSI crimes that make me so incredibly angry I want to spit nails. It's vicious and cruel and slow. Okay, in this case, it probably wasn't slow, necessarily, because the guy's neck probably snapped early on . . . but not necessarily. Regardless, this is one method of murder that pushes my buttons.

I don't remember plaid skirts being popular in 1988.

"Life's too short for hate, son." And that gets a reaction from Sam. Hm . . . Yes, I really liked this guest character and the way the actor played him.

Then there's Dean's tirade beside the Impala. Oh, Dean. That just hurt. Especially after last week, when he told Jamie what a gift it was to have this mission of saving people. (Jensen does unhinged pretty well, though). And Sam's expression, for just a moment, like it hurts to see Dean like this.

And we get more of how Dean sees himself: he knows he's annoying. But Sam is gassy. Which made me think back to a comment Jensen made in a buddyTV interview. Q: What's the most important thing you've learned about your co-star? A: Keep Jared away from the beans at lunch. Then there's the gag reel from . . . S2, I think . . . wherein Jensen declares that he can't breathe inside the car and his eyes are watering. Art imitates life in that comment, and I had to smirk.

Then it was back to hurting for Dean as he meets up with the Yorkie from Hell. Though truly? That guitar riff? Is one of my favorite pieces of SPN soundtrack ever.

YESammy. Oh my word. (I kind of have half a mind to write the scene from Sam's POV, because really, what does he think when Dean throws himself against the wall? But that's a different POV.) Here we have Dean's POV, and it's one of the most terrifying things he can imagine. It's even worse than Sam being possessed. It's Sam going dark side, willingly, eagerly. *shudder*

And the way they manipulated Jared's voice in that scene was just creepy.

Oh, Dean. (I did mention fleecy blankets and hot chocolate, didn't I?)

I've decided that it was probably Dean's idea that he stay back in the room. He found the mill to be very spooky, he was freaked out by both a live cat and a dead ghost . . . plus he wasn't much good as backup for Sam. Of course he'd want to stay in the room. Watching cartoons. Which doesn't help. Either that, or it was like Dean dropping Sam off at a motel in BDaBR. He can be more productive if he knows his brother is tucked away in a safe place rather than in the field possibly causing trouble and distraction.

Bobby speaks Japanese FTW!!! Oh, Bobby. You continue to amaze and impress. Is there anything you can't do?

Dean, really attacked by a deranged sheriff, hallucinating that the sheriff is possessed, still has the presence of mind to recognize that it's a hallucination and try to calm the guy down. *hugs Dean*

Sam provokes the ghost!

Now, we're to one of the most thinky scenes, imo. Dean, hearing hellhounds, hearing Sam mock him, his watch telling him his time is running out . . . sees the Bible and grabs it, clutches it, almost kisses it. That's a huge step for Dean. (My inner monologue went something like, "Okay, now it's in your hand. Next step is to open it up and actually read it. But, hey, what was it doing on the floor under the bed to begin with? You needed the extra drawer space? But I digress . . . ) This is played in such a way that it most assuredly means something in the character and arc development, and I think it's another step in the role reversal. Eventually, Dean is going to be the one with faith, and Sam will be the one who, though believing, will be turning dark side, and going waaaaaayyyyyyy darker than Dean ever was during his most intense hunts. Because of the source behind the darkness. Dean might have had a dark streak, but Sam's going evil. Eventually. That's really how I see this going.

I also had some thinky thoughts about how all Dean's life the one thing he had unwavering faith in was John, but how even that was shaken . . . but the thinky thoughts are gone now. Huh.

And they got the little girl back to play Lilith. Oh, creepy child, get away from my Dean. Quit with the creepy hug!

Now, whenever a demon shows up like this, the thought occurs to me that what if it's more than hallucination? What if it's actually Lilith taking advantage of Dean at his most vulnerable point? I don't think this is the case here, but we definitely get some interesting information via Dean's psyche's Lilith. Information like, Dean does remember his time there (but I think it's been suppressed). Those memories are just wanting to come forward, to ambush him at the most inconvenient time.

And . . . we have Coronary Event #5, for those keeping score.

"Why me? Why was I infected?" "Silly goose. You know why."

I rather like izhilzha's theory that Dean was infected but Sam was not because Sam has demon blood and is immune to such evil infections (reference "Croatoan"). I've also pondered the possibility that this outbreak was no real accident, that it was a convenient way to eliminate Dean and therefore make Sam more accessible, either for turning (by whatever power still covets his services--not like that) or elimination (Lilith). Dean is back, and with a Higher Power on his side. So in order to get to Sam, they once again have to get through Dean. I'm not sure this is the direction Show will take it--I think I'd be a little surprised if it was--but it's a theory that occurred to me. Dean's subconscious telling him "You know why" indicates that there's more to it than simply "you're a dick."

Re-enacting the ghost's death was kind of bizarre, but considering that it wasn't a real person, but rather a ghost who was killing people, I'll go along with it. *shudder*

I've half a mind to write a "Sam and Bobby return to the room to find Dean passed out, with a Bible by his foot and a dead sheriff lying ten feet away" fic, but my brain won't go there right now.

But, scars are gone, Dean is healed . . . or is he?

Debrief by the Impala, beautiful lighting, and where the heck do they keep that beer cooler? This is the second time we've seen it. Is the trunk equipped with 4th dimensional technology? Or do they keep it on the floor of the back seat? Does it even fit on the floor of the back seat? Anyway . . .

"Go Team!" Oh, Dean. That's one of my favorites. I used to use it all the time when I worked with a group of people (I currently work by myself in an office that is often empty and unbearably quiet. I miss the PAC).

Love Bobby and Sam teasing Dean. Hee!

Beautiful shot of the mountains.

Acckk!!!! The flash of yellow across Sam's eyes. I about shuddered off the couch. It still makes me shudder-flail whenever I see it. Ohmyword! Is Dean not cured? Is Sam turning dark side? Does Dean have some special ability that lets him see Sam's symptoms before the changes actually manifest? Or are TPTB just toying with us?

I do believe Dean is cured. Which leaves this as an actual indication of Sam's demon blood. I think Izhi puts it better, so I'll just sit here and shudder. Oh, Sam.

And Dean evades the question without actually lying. "Just the usual stuff." But Dean? What's "the usual stuff" for you? Sam, do you know what "the usual stuff" is for Dean?

"Nothing I couldn't handle." Uh, Dean? I'm gonna beg to differ with you on that one.

Oh, boys.

Segue to . . .

"Eye of the Tiger." Which truly speaks for itself. Heeheeheeheehee!!!!


This ep has grown on me with repeated viewing (and widescreen, hi-res picture). It felt kind of uneven, what with the combination of humor and what could have been really good, top-notch, character-revealing angst. I was really hoping to get more specifics regarding Dean's nightmares and his time in Hell. Alas, no.

At one point, I thought, "Oh, okay, the first half is going to be humor, then we'll get to the good stuff in the second half." That didn't really happen to my satisfaction, either. But after pulling it apart with Izhi and Cheese Elf, I think I'm okay with it. And as always, there's something to recommend it. In this case, it's Jensen's comedic talents, and wouldn't I love to see that boy in an out-and-out comedy. (Alas, I've never had the opportunity to see Ten Inch Hero.)

Wow. I really need to cut the length on these things, don't I.

Comments

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

Kripke never should have felt the need to make that statement. Fans will see what they want to see, and if the reason behind the infection will be revealed, there was no reason to tell the fandom anything more than, "Be patient. All will be revealed in good time."

Of course, I'd be happier if they made twice as many eps and ran them twice a week. But then the poor Boys would never get any sleep.

[leelust.livejournal.com]

I think the same. But i also think he just didn't expect so rapid and violent reaction - he used the opportunity to intrigue us more though :) I think he's reaction was more like exprompt - he was like 'Uh? They don't get it? I have to tell them' Maybe if he'd think more straight he'd use your words :) But also he says and says Sam girls to be patient and wait and some of them have no nerves already... maybe that was the reason not to tell Dean girls to be patient too...

I'd be happier if they made twice as many eps and ran them twice a week
Well, i love the boys but this suggestion is so yummy... :)