Episode 6.22 reaction & review

[ash48]

filling me with GLEE!! WOOT! What an ep! \o/

Where oh where do I start?!

Let's start with my favourite first...

1. SAMMYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh you magnificent, smart, brave, daring, clever, soulless, soulful, angsty, bloody BEAUTIFUL MAN!!

I was really anxious about the way they were going to deal with the wall coming down. But this? Going into Sam's mind to join each part of his psyche? Brilliant! And inspired! Love LOVED it. And Jared rocked it completely. It's kind of weird to me that as much as I hated having to watch soulless!Sam in the first 10 eps I absolutely LOVED seeing him again in this episode. Jared oozed power and charisma and control. WOOT! And in contrast... IN CONTRAST!... His pained, hell experienced, tortured Sam was totally believable and *guh*... amazing. And soulful, confused and amnesic Sam (they did AMENSIA!SAM \o/) was clever and resourceful. <333 (and WOW... Cas was the one to bring it all down...*dies*)

I don't think we've ever seen such a clear example of WHO SAM IS! \O/

But the ultimate for me? The moment I repeated the line out loud and clutched my heart? Sam saying "I'm not leaving my brother alone out there." WHAAAAAA!! Come on!! Surely Sam has now redeemed himself?! Surely Sam has PROVED his undying love for his brother?! This was NOT a selfish act. Allowing the memories of hell in to his mind shows us the lengths he is prepared to go to for Dean. It's no less then Dean would do for Sam.

BOYS!!!!! \o/ God! I LOVE them!

Ok. So there was other stuff. :D OF COURSE! *BG*

2. Wayward Son? NEVER gets old...<33

3. Love the mysterious, WTF! beginning... Sam on the run, trying to piece together what's going on. Meeting Robin... who we KNOW is more than she seems. And I loved that reveal. Soulless! Sam killed her.... just. DAMN! Then I kept thinking.. Where's Dean? He must be going out of his mind with Sam lost. Hee.. but of course...

4. ... HE'S HOLDING VIGIL OVER SAM!! *dies* Though... poor Dean. After what he just went through with losing Lisa and Ben. And now Sam! How much can that boy take?! Just like Sam's concern for Dean in the previous episode we now get to witness Dean's concern and heartbreak for Sam.

(and was I yelling at the screen "touch his head" when he left Sam??! Damn right!! It would have totally been acceptable *g*. )

5. Bobby. What a guy. He holds it together, does the research. He's a quiet achiever. I love him for that. <33 We also see him lose someone else he has loved. We are constantly being reminded that hunters cannot be close to anyone. Or if you are? Be prepared to lose them. (I love that they introduced Eleanor early on so they could use her now. Good thinking Show...)

6. Castiel! HOLY HELL!! I gotta say, they got me on this one. HA! God!Castiel made me squee just a bit! I just. Wow... they actually went there.

I have no idea what the fan reaction has been to Cas turning on Dean and Sam and being generally not very nice. I imagine there might be some hurt, some disappointment even (?) but for me I loved the way this played out. I know how I felt when Sam was making his dubious decisions at the end of Season 4. Totally devastated! So I imagine that might be how some people are feeling over Castiel's turn. (?). But it's all part of the way they like to play these characters. Making these dubious decisions (see Dean 6.21). So now it's Castiel's turn. I wonder if part of S7 will be Cas reconciling with Sam and Dean somehow. NO idea... but I doubt they will leave it up in the air.

Apart from all that, I love the way Castiel played his side of the game. So clever really. He got what he wanted in the end. Yes, he wanted Dean's approval - he couldn't understand why a friend wouldn't support him. But he played Crowley and Raphael and won in the end.

Ack! Power hungry, single minded, BAMF Cas! What a journey for a character who started out merely as an angel who pulled Dean out of hell.

Things that made me go..... what?

Hee. Show wouldn't be Show if some things didn't hold together. I think the logistics of wiping Lisa and Ben's memories in 6.21 is one of the big ones in terms of implausibility but my big one in this ep is... how the hell is Jimmy's body managing to hold all those POWERFUL souls?? Sam had to drink gallons of demon blood to take on Lucifer. Jimmy has had Castiel in him for AGES.. and now.... thousands of souls?

Also... and this is minor really but still bugs me. How did Sam "sneak" up behind Castiel in order to stab him in the end? Without ANY of them seeing him?!... Just.. /o\(I know, I know it's filming stuff. But I would like some sort of plausible way Sam could have got in there unnoticed.

And a wee wee niggle. Dean saying that he had lost Sam (along with Lisa and Ben..). As though he really had. I know he probably thought he had but my heart pinged then because it felt like Dean had given up on the belief that Sam would be ok. I think I may have liked him to believe that Sam could fight what ever was going on in his brain. Or at least denied (for himself) that Sam was lost forever. I don't know. Maybe this was defeatist!Dean. It's all going to shit.. so why not Sam. *sadface*

In summary...

Dean is awesome and amazing! He STANDS HIS GROUND! No matter what. No matter how painful it will be for him. He follows what he believes. He doesn't make deals or work with demons (now). He desperately wanted to believe in Cas but just couldn't. He knew what Cas was doing was wrong. (just like he did with Sam in S4). It hurts, but this boy can handle pain. *hearts him* (he's someone that would have spoken up during the McCarthy era, or during the Salem witch trials. Random comment I know.. but that's how I see Dean...total admiration.)

Sam is awesome and amazing. He faces the painful truths about himself, he makes selfless sacrifices (now), he has battled his so called destiny and WON! He has heart and soul (thank god!) and is ALL those things I mentioned above. *adores him to pieces*

Show is awesome and amazing. It constantly pushes the boundaries. It's (and I'm quoting from a coment on a previous thread) AUDACIOUS! It made Cas a God for God's sake! (Um... Cas' sake?). It gave us soulless!Sam and domestic!Dean. It's given us brothers who would (and have!) died for each other. It gives us flawed characters, it's EPIC and give us MAN PAIN! What's not to love?!

And now we have to wait. :((( I am totally going to spoil myself going into S7. There is NO WAY I can last that long without a fix!!

Though I'm gonna need lots of fic to see me through me thinks...

Comments

[deangirlxoxo.livejournal.com]

First of all, great review darling as always! and I applaud you on being so articulate so soon!!! :D :D :D My head is still spinning and I'm still trying to process everything I've taken in. I feel like I've been hit by a Mac truck and beat over the head with a two-by-four for good measure!!!

My first reaction regarding Cas --- NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR!!!! HAVE YOU ALL LOST YOUR MINDS???? THIS IS UNFORGIVABLE!!!!! KRIPKE!!! YOU BASTARD!!!

Then I remembered to calm the f*ck down, sit back and enjoy the ride. Show has a reason for everything, and I have to trust that this diabolical conversion of Cas into a badass Marvel villain has a purpose. I have too much love in my heart for that trench-coat wearing bastard to think show would hang him out to dry like this as gone darkside and irredeemable. There WILL be redemption for Cas, of this I am certain. Because I know show loves him as much as I do, and they just wouldn't go there if there wasn't a way back.

To me, Cas has gone mad, truly stark-raving Jim Jones bonkers. It's almost like when the boys taught him the power of free will, they created a monster. Do I really believe Cas is God now because he sucked up a billion souls from purgatory??? NO WAY. He is off his rocker with power and nuke poison and BELIEVES he's God, and is certainly as immortal at this point (I'm sure even Death would have a hard time ganking Cas right now), but is he the real deal? No way, because GOD is GOD, and there can be only one. And you don't get to be GOD by busting open purgatory. God-like maybe, but not the original article.

I have a feeling the real God is gonna be mighty f*ckin' pissed when he sees what one of his tamest and most loyal Angels has been up to. Cas is like a spoiled brat to me now after the stunt he's pulled and Dad needs to come home and tune him in. Somebody needs a spanking!!!! :D :D :D

Anyway, just had to get that off my chest. SO MUCH LOVE for all of it (esp. the war in Sam's noggin and Dean's vigil!!!), and those last two eps MORE THAN PAID OFF for all of the angst we were put through early on.

GO SHOW!

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Thanks hun! Hee... I feel barely articulate. My brain went into melt down just slightly I think... *g*

And I think show wouldn't be show if we weren't saying "Kripke you bastard!!".. he must be doing something right. *G*

To be honest I really haven't figure out Cas yet. I can't tell if he did what he did because it was the only way to win the war in heaven. He, like Sam in S4, was on a righteous path ...but once he got those souls in him he got drunk on the power of them. Again, much like Sam did with the Demon blood.

I'm not sure if Cas won't just realise that he can't be a "god" and return the souls to purgatory (or heaven) in S7 (after Dean convinces him of course *g*) or become the new big bad. I'm pretty sure he won't be the new BB... too many fans would like to see him returned to a friend to the bros... so I think he will have to make some hard decisions.... OR SOMETHING! Hee... no idea.

I think also that Cas might be in danger of becoming like Lucifer - fallen angel, thinking he's above everyone else, so that might scare him enough to send the souls back . eeeek.... I don't know.

Is it September yet?!! ACK Really?! We have to wait that long! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[deangirlxoxo.livejournal.com]

I agree that Cas went into this Purgatory business with the best of intentions and seeing it as the *only* way to defeat Raphael (much like Sam's plan in S4 to destroy Lilith). But if Show has taught us anything of course (over and over again), it's that the road to Hell really is paved with those gosh-darned good intentions.

I think Cas felt legitimately hurt and betrayed and just could not figure out why his "brothers" (including boys) would not stand with him. Balthazar's betrayal was the last straw. I could see it in Cas's face that he had lost all touch with reality. Funnily enough, he reminded me of Pacino at the end of Scarface - enemies everywhere, paranoid, enraged, so much so he turns on his own sister (in this case Cas turns on his own brother).

And this is BEFORE Cas has sucked up all those souls. Once he does that it definitely unhinges his mind. Talk about a Messiah complex!! Hee!

I'm SO EXCITE to see how show will handle this development in S7. We may see God yet -- ready to swoop in and lay a little discipline down. Of course, I haven't given up hope that we see Lucy again either!!!! Yes please!

If Cas spends any time as Enemy No.1 I think it's going to be the way Sam did for awhile the first half of S6. He was Robo!Sam because he was without his soul -- Cas has turned into a deluded and dangerous pseudo-God because he has too many souls!!!! Love it! Both are horrible in their own way, but can't really be faulted. It wasn't really Sam we were seeing and that last shot of Cas isn't really Cas anymore either.

Blah! My head is still spinning days later!!! The waiting is gonna be SOOOOOOO LOOOOOOONG!!! ::sobs piteously::