SPN 9.1 ep reaction
Oct. 9th, 2013 11:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fannishlissFirst of all HOW AWESOME IS IT THAT I JUST TYPED SPN 9.1. HOLY CRAP THE LITTLE SHOW THAT CAN!!!! \o/
And also, YAY ALL THE LJ ACTIVITY!!! :D :D :D Whew, I am relieved about the Red Scare that isn't. Big sigh of relief.
Second of all, my s8 DVDs came and I just barely had time to watch a few before s9. I concentrated on the Men of Letters and Trials eps. My top ep of the year for s8 was, of course, Ben Edlund's excellent Nazi Necromancer ep, Everyone Hates Hitler. I am SO glad Edlund got to write Evil Undead Nazi Necromancers and the Golem before leaving. I also loved Henry Winchester in As Time Goes By. The more I watch him, the more I love his characterization. I just adore the part where he reads John's journal and understands that his Legacy didn't die in John or in the Boys. Having just watched Sam rescue Bobby from Hell, there sure are a lot of mixed messages regarding whether or not Sam is meant to keep his promise to rescue people from the afterlife, or not keep it.
I really loved how Sam was having this excited conversation in his head with information he was hearing through his coma, and the Impala was swimming all over the place. I love how Sam's interior picture is that he is riding shotgun and Dean is driving through the darkness. For Sam this is par for the course for ever. :)
I ADORE that Sam went straight to Death and was like MAKE IT SO that I CANNOT be brought back, because no one should be suffering on my behalf. Death approves of this -- Sam has finally learnt the natural order, even if RealBobby from s7 and Dean have not. I thought it was a little confusing whether that was the Real Death or just more of Sam's Brain.... but most people seem to be assuming it was actually Death. I personally lean toward it being just Sam's Brain -- it still makes his demand to Death just as poignant -- even more so if it's just Sam!Death without the power to really grant Sam's demand. ):
Rewatching the s8 Trial eps really hammers in the fact that Dean is NOT and will NEVER be willing to let Sam go. He wanted to do the Trials himself because he feels he is expendable (that scene totally made me cry once again -- DEEEAN!!!) and then he was willing to trust Sam to get the job done ... but the minute he found out Sam would die to seal the gates ALL BETS ARE OFF. Dean pulls the plug. He never signed on to let Sammy die -- regardless of Sam's wishes. Dean simply can't abide that thought. Sam I don't think will EVER understand how central he is to Dean: Sam has been Dean's primary thought his whole life. There is NO DEAN WITHOUT HIS SAMMY. For Sam it's different. It's like the love of a parent for a child (I hope I don't trigger anyone with this but I've been pondering this since the ep about the Crazy Dad who "adopts" the young Hunters)-- a parent pours every hope and dream into the child, like Dean does for Sammy. Dean can say --yes, I want you to live on, and have that life, but I can't without you -- because every parent only dreams that their child will outlive them. The parent worries day and night about the safety and wellbeing of the child. The child, of course, benefits from that loving attention but it doesn't necessarily go both ways. The child isn't responsible for the parent. The child loves the parent, but not as the center of their life (though of course, there are situations where that child becomes the devoted caregiver as the parent ages). With my spouse, I hope and pray that we don't live on without one another -- but with my child, I can't fathom the void of losing him. When my husband lost his best friend this summer, the void was terrible.... but I can't begin to fathom how his parents felt, losing their grown son so suddenly to a random accident -- after also losing their daughter to illness several years ago. Because so many of my hopes and dreams for the future are tied up in my son's wellbeing -- even while I acknowlege that I can only rear him to the best of my ability and then let him go -- Dean was never allowed that sense of being released from the ultimate responsibility for Sam. He CAN'T let him go. Sam, no matter what the depth of his love for Dean, I don't think Dean's loss has the same effect on Sam. When Dean dies, Sam is horribly wounded, horribly desperate, makes terrible mistakes -- but he somehow goes on. Without Sam, Dean is dead inside, because Dean's innermost persona is to take care of Sammy. I say all this as a Dean girl and Bi Bro, and even Pro-Dean/Lisa-- and I welcome any reasonable arguments. :)
I loved that grimy shack in the woods that was Sam's gateway to Heaven.
I loved how if you make Dean bleed, he will banish your Angel ass.
I loved Angel Ezekiel and also he will never leave the SuperSammySuit for any inferior vessel (which of course is all other vessels). Sammy would easily expel him in his weakened condition? So that means he needs to buff up by slowly slurping some Sammy soul. Eeek! I thought Jared did a good job with the Angel. I think a bit wooden, a bit robotic, is appropriate with Ezekiel. I really liked Tahmoh Penikett's job with Ezekiel -- I liked Ezekiel better than other Tahmoh characters and wished he could have stuck around.
I loved how Crowley was in the trunk but all he could do was knock. :)
Hael was well-played. Naive and Creepy as heck and not afraid to bash Cas on the back of the head and hi jack him and merge with him inside his vessel. She gave me the shivers. My assignment is to write from her pov before next week. :) I really want to get back into writing more SPN. I am busy editing all the drafts I uploaded to AO3 and I used to write quite a lot of SPN, especially the Women. So I really want to get back to that. I have some ideas about the Angel vessels -- like the Grief Counsellor -- I hope I will write about her too before next week.
So many great images this week. I hope there are icons soon! :)
I super love that Cas got to finally abandon his clothes so that Misha can get out of that ill-fitting suit. :) Also, I thought I saw Misha peeking through a little bit when Cas was being friendly with Hael. :)
And also, YAY ALL THE LJ ACTIVITY!!! :D :D :D Whew, I am relieved about the Red Scare that isn't. Big sigh of relief.
Second of all, my s8 DVDs came and I just barely had time to watch a few before s9. I concentrated on the Men of Letters and Trials eps. My top ep of the year for s8 was, of course, Ben Edlund's excellent Nazi Necromancer ep, Everyone Hates Hitler. I am SO glad Edlund got to write Evil Undead Nazi Necromancers and the Golem before leaving. I also loved Henry Winchester in As Time Goes By. The more I watch him, the more I love his characterization. I just adore the part where he reads John's journal and understands that his Legacy didn't die in John or in the Boys. Having just watched Sam rescue Bobby from Hell, there sure are a lot of mixed messages regarding whether or not Sam is meant to keep his promise to rescue people from the afterlife, or not keep it.
I really loved how Sam was having this excited conversation in his head with information he was hearing through his coma, and the Impala was swimming all over the place. I love how Sam's interior picture is that he is riding shotgun and Dean is driving through the darkness. For Sam this is par for the course for ever. :)
I ADORE that Sam went straight to Death and was like MAKE IT SO that I CANNOT be brought back, because no one should be suffering on my behalf. Death approves of this -- Sam has finally learnt the natural order, even if RealBobby from s7 and Dean have not. I thought it was a little confusing whether that was the Real Death or just more of Sam's Brain.... but most people seem to be assuming it was actually Death. I personally lean toward it being just Sam's Brain -- it still makes his demand to Death just as poignant -- even more so if it's just Sam!Death without the power to really grant Sam's demand. ):
Rewatching the s8 Trial eps really hammers in the fact that Dean is NOT and will NEVER be willing to let Sam go. He wanted to do the Trials himself because he feels he is expendable (that scene totally made me cry once again -- DEEEAN!!!) and then he was willing to trust Sam to get the job done ... but the minute he found out Sam would die to seal the gates ALL BETS ARE OFF. Dean pulls the plug. He never signed on to let Sammy die -- regardless of Sam's wishes. Dean simply can't abide that thought. Sam I don't think will EVER understand how central he is to Dean: Sam has been Dean's primary thought his whole life. There is NO DEAN WITHOUT HIS SAMMY. For Sam it's different. It's like the love of a parent for a child (I hope I don't trigger anyone with this but I've been pondering this since the ep about the Crazy Dad who "adopts" the young Hunters)-- a parent pours every hope and dream into the child, like Dean does for Sammy. Dean can say --yes, I want you to live on, and have that life, but I can't without you -- because every parent only dreams that their child will outlive them. The parent worries day and night about the safety and wellbeing of the child. The child, of course, benefits from that loving attention but it doesn't necessarily go both ways. The child isn't responsible for the parent. The child loves the parent, but not as the center of their life (though of course, there are situations where that child becomes the devoted caregiver as the parent ages). With my spouse, I hope and pray that we don't live on without one another -- but with my child, I can't fathom the void of losing him. When my husband lost his best friend this summer, the void was terrible.... but I can't begin to fathom how his parents felt, losing their grown son so suddenly to a random accident -- after also losing their daughter to illness several years ago. Because so many of my hopes and dreams for the future are tied up in my son's wellbeing -- even while I acknowlege that I can only rear him to the best of my ability and then let him go -- Dean was never allowed that sense of being released from the ultimate responsibility for Sam. He CAN'T let him go. Sam, no matter what the depth of his love for Dean, I don't think Dean's loss has the same effect on Sam. When Dean dies, Sam is horribly wounded, horribly desperate, makes terrible mistakes -- but he somehow goes on. Without Sam, Dean is dead inside, because Dean's innermost persona is to take care of Sammy. I say all this as a Dean girl and Bi Bro, and even Pro-Dean/Lisa-- and I welcome any reasonable arguments. :)
I loved that grimy shack in the woods that was Sam's gateway to Heaven.
I loved how if you make Dean bleed, he will banish your Angel ass.
I loved Angel Ezekiel and also he will never leave the SuperSammySuit for any inferior vessel (which of course is all other vessels). Sammy would easily expel him in his weakened condition? So that means he needs to buff up by slowly slurping some Sammy soul. Eeek! I thought Jared did a good job with the Angel. I think a bit wooden, a bit robotic, is appropriate with Ezekiel. I really liked Tahmoh Penikett's job with Ezekiel -- I liked Ezekiel better than other Tahmoh characters and wished he could have stuck around.
I loved how Crowley was in the trunk but all he could do was knock. :)
Hael was well-played. Naive and Creepy as heck and not afraid to bash Cas on the back of the head and hi jack him and merge with him inside his vessel. She gave me the shivers. My assignment is to write from her pov before next week. :) I really want to get back into writing more SPN. I am busy editing all the drafts I uploaded to AO3 and I used to write quite a lot of SPN, especially the Women. So I really want to get back to that. I have some ideas about the Angel vessels -- like the Grief Counsellor -- I hope I will write about her too before next week.
So many great images this week. I hope there are icons soon! :)
I super love that Cas got to finally abandon his clothes so that Misha can get out of that ill-fitting suit. :) Also, I thought I saw Misha peeking through a little bit when Cas was being friendly with Hael. :)
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no subject
Date: 2013-10-09 05:48 pm (UTC)I also loved that in the end, Sam surrendered to Dean's need. Just as Dean may never be able to let Sam go, I don't think Sam will ever be able to refuse those wibbly green eyes. ;)
It's a very interesting conflict they have set up this time. And different enough to not feel repetitive, as some of S8 did for me.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-09 06:11 pm (UTC)I am hoping to do as you once did with the writing of a fic for each ep. Wish me luck! Any chance you might do that again???
Sammy does love his brother, to an extent that I don't think Dean can really acknowledge. I loved in s8 when Sam says he can imagine a life where they both survive. I hope Sam will remember that speech to Dean when the truth comes out about Ezekiel. Maybe Dean even had it in mind ... I'm sure from Dean's perspective, Sam's survival is paramount and Dean probably can't believe that Sam would really not choose to survive.
I like Ezekiel too. He seems like a good friend that Cas would have once known. He's like one of those guys in Cas's garrison who thought Uriel was a load of laughs. :D
I do think it will be difficult for Ezekiel to vacant once he's been cruising around for a while in Sam's sleek, suped up ride. :) Sam has gone from No Soul to Too Many Souls. :P
I am looking forward to getting inside Hael's head. I thought she was pretty interesting case study of the way Free Will often seems to manifest in Angels.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-09 06:54 pm (UTC)So you're going to write a fic per ep - that is awesome. :) I wish you happy writings! And me happy readings... ;)
I don't know if I could do that again. I had all the energy from Swan Song percolating all summer behind me. ;)
I will enjoy looking out for yours, though.
I think the real point with Sam wasn't so much that he was ready to die, as that he was willing to accept it, if it was the "right thing", and that most of all, he could not bear the thought that anyone - Dean especially, but anyone might be hurt by his coming back.
For his sake I hope Ezekiel is on the up and up and Sam doesn't get used to hurt others.
Hael said she made the Grand Canyon. Just sayin'.... ;D
no subject
Date: 2013-10-09 11:43 pm (UTC)"Without Sam, Dean is dead inside, because Dean's innermost persona is to take care of Sammy." No arguments here. But it does lead me to the one thing I didn't like in this episode and that was Sam's head!Bobby. I didn't care for him snapping at Dean(even though it wasn't really Dean) that he didn't rescue anybody from hell, but it was the "yip, yip, yip, am I right?" after he and Sam vanished from the car, like Dean exhorting his brother to fight was the equivalent of an annoying puppy that won't stop barking that really bugged me. I could see head!Bobby saying "you're doing the right thing, but you know how hard it is for your brother to let you go" or something like that, instead of a dig at Dean, because that is something Sam knows, even if it is deep down,right? And that the dig(s) really came from Sam...I wish these two would get a tiny bit of a clue about each other after all this time.
I think the only vessel that Ezekiel would leave Sam for would be Dean and that would be an interesting problem. "I'll leave your brother, but only if YOU let me in." Probably won't ever happen, but it'd be fascinating to see if Dean would say yes in that situation.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-11 06:31 pm (UTC)I think Dean would say yes to anything for Sammy, pretty much. :P
no subject
Date: 2013-10-12 12:11 am (UTC)Also, when Dean stabbed Bobby that scene in Mystery Spot was the first thing I thought of. And didn't he do it with an angel sword this time? I've got to rewatch still so some things aren't quite clear.
Another thing that struck me was Head!Dean telling Bobby that he was the one who taught them to never quit. That was definitely a very not in Sam's right mind thing to think. Because I'm pretty sure it might have been John who instilled that quality in them.