Episode 6.21 review... mostly of the thinky variety...

[ash48]

That was quite a ride eh? Both eps were pretty epic.... \o/ Such a lot going on. Some truly awesome moments, some not so awesome moments and some moments that I'm sure will have fans divided.

I imagine each of us will get something different from those eps, depending on how we each view the show. There may well be a mix of love and hate. For me.... LOVE!!!!!!! \o/

I have to split the reviews because there's just too much brain strain for one post..*g*

Instead of "counting the ways" I'm going to mainly focus on one aspect of the episode. And look at other parts of the episode in relation to that. Of course this is purely my perspective and I GET that everyone will have different ways of looking at. But this is what I got...

For me the crux of 6.21 was Dean's decision to have Cas erase himself from Lisa and Ben's memories. It's controversial because he did that without permission from either Lisa or Ben. He made a decision, on their behalf that their lives would be better without any trace of him in it. It's completely heartbreaking because it shows that Dean still doesn't value his self worth. The underlying self esteem issues are still a major aspect of Dean's personality. WHAAAA!!!!

Dean's decision was made from the culmination of events that happened throughout the ep.

- Demon!Lisa saying that Lisa wished she'd never met him, that's she's be better off with out him. I love that Dean tells Ben not to believe what the demon is saying and yet he is prepared to believe what it says about him. ARGH!! Dean!!

(I totally believe that demon!Lisa was lying about it ALL because of the way that whole scene was played).

- Seeing Ben watch his mom possessed and then stabbed. AND having to make him shoot demons....(I love the way Dean became John during that scene. I imagine that's exactly how he would have treated his boys...(whaaaaaaa) ).

- Castiel's betrayal. Dean's self worth has taken an absolute battering with Cas's decision to ignore his pleas to not join forces with Crowley. He does not believe he can make a positive impact in anyone's life... (whaaaaaaa)


Totally TOTALLY heartbreaking. *hugs* Dean like WHOA!!

Dean's decision was honorable (from his stand point) but not exactly well thought through. Lisa and Ben could still be used as leverage against Dean in the future. Only. They won't know who to turn to. They will be defenseless. (like Adam was...).

It really is a complete mess. And I'm not sure if this is really, really clever and they have opened up opportunities to explore this next season or they have used it as a way of writing Lisa and Ben completely out of the series.

God.. I hope it's the former. Because a decision like that can't (or shouldn't) be left unexplored. It could even be linked to a number of other decisions Dean as made in the past... mostly notably the one to bring Sam back from the dead.

(Though I suspect we won't see or hear much (if anything) from Lisa and Ben in the future. But who knows...?!).

Even though this was a Dean focussed episode I LOVED that Sam had his back throughout it. His palpable concern and him begging Cas to help was great to watch.

I also loved that Sam knew Dean's decision was neither wise nor ethical but.. AND THIS IS THE THING!...THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!!!.. that's what these characters do! They make decisions because they think what they are doing is right... Sam followed Ruby, Cas teamed up with Crowley...it's a pattern. At least Show is being CONSISTENT! Flawed characters are FLAWED! *HUGS THEM* Flawed characters are much more interesting that ones that are always getting it right. That's why I got so pissed when everyone was having a go at Sam in S4. He believed he was doing the right thing.

That's my take on it anyway. I thought it was wonderfully angsty and opens up potential of more angst next season. \o/

Other stuff:

Demon!Lisa was AWESOME! Loved her...

*Sam being knocked out and locked away.. not so awesome (even though I did kinda love limp!Sam being dragged along the floor..). Mainly because it was too obvious as a way to keep him out of the way so Dean could have his moment with Demon!Lisa. But.. yeah... I get it...

*I would have loved the actor playing Ben to be stronger. I think if we had witnessed a truly terrified, traumatised boy... Dean's decision would have (perhaps) been more acceptable. He was deciding not only that Lisa's life would be better but also Ben's. Ben had witnessed something truly life changing and that in itself would have been enough for Dean to make up his mind. I don't think that came across as well as it could have done.

*Cas reminded me of Sam in S4. That pleading he did to Dean. Cas honestly feels betrayed. I actually felt the same way I did when Sam was begging Dean to believe him. I wondered if maybe Cas was right and Dean was wrong. I think it's no accident that Dean said he Cas was like a brother to him. Cas then went on to take the same path that Sam did. That didn't end well. And I suspect this thing with Cas won't either. OH SHOW!!

There was other stuff wasn't there?! Ack.. my brain is fried. You'll just have to tell me. I'll go over 6.22 tomorrow. <333

Comments

[sothcweden.livejournal.com]

Just watched this ep, but not the last one yet. Later tonight, I hope. I agree with everything you said, and immediately after the episode ended (and I no longer had Dean's sadface to distract me), I started wondering about all the loose ends that removing Dean from their memories would leave. For one thing, there's probably a dead guy in their living room (Matt)!

But what occurred to me just now is that I wonder if the writers were somehow bowing to the fans' wishes, in a way. There's been a lot of discussion about the fact that for all that Show kills pretty much everyone, the numbers are especially bad for female characters that have been involved with the boys over time, rather than just as the person to be saved. Maybe this was their way of eliminating Lisa and Ben from the story without killing them, unlike Anna, Ruby, Jess, Mary, Meg, Bela...

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Yeah... Matt left on the floor is a biggie. We can only assume that at some point he was removed.... but by whom we can only surmise.

I wondered the same about not killing off Lisa. I think one big problem they would have with killing her off is what to do with Ben. If they killed her they would have to kill Ben to. Otherwise Dean would definitely have to look after him.

I really can't figure this one. I think Dean made a bad choice about changing the memories without their permission so maybe next season they could address that. I don't put it past show to kill them off one day... maybe as a way of showing Dean he did the wrong thing. If they are ever threatened again he's not there to call on.

But really... yeah.. I think they just wanted to write them out. Start clean next season maybe.

Ack! Now we have to wait a whole 4 months! I always hate this long break...

But at least we have another season. \o/