7.04 Reaction / Review

[ash48]

So for the first time in... well, since I've been writing down reactions I am having a tremendously hard time writing anything at all (if deleting everything I've written 3 times now counts...)

I am so torn about that episode I just can't make enough sense when I write anything down.

I enjoyed. I did. There were many, many awesome moments. But I was also...um... I dunno. Disappointed maybe. Let down? The kick of it is I DON'T KNOW WHY !?! Arghhh.. that's frustrating the hell out of me.

I mean... wow... there was heaps of great stuff: angst and info, some great bro moments, Lawyer!Sam (fuck YES!!) Jo (Yay!) We had EMF and gorgeous boys looking gorgeous with their longer hair. We had Dean in chains (*guh*) and chemistry between Alona and Jensen. We had flashbacks to earlier episodes and (deliberately) lame Dean jokes and eyeroll!Sam. We even had a road side drink at the end (*hearts*). Sam was incredibly energised and competent. Dean was wooby and tired and angst ridden. It had all the ingredients...but..... I dunno....what?! Why aren't I feeling it!?

Was is that Sam's ok now? He's dealing and doesn't feel guilt and all is ok with him? (which I don't buy completely but looks like they're playing that card).

Was is that I want Dean to catch a break? Realise that he is AMAZING and has done more good than bad in his life. That his brother will love him NO MATTER WHAT! (I mean... wow... he'd rather die than tell Sam he lied to him. That is just so goddam heartbreaking!).

Was it that I was expecting Amy's ghost to return and actually watch Dean (and Sam's) reaction to that?! I was hoping for this I think. In hindsight it makes more sense that it was Jo that confronted Dean (it was a great scene I thought) , but I was expecting Amy and wondering how that conversation was going to to. I thought maybe Amy would convince Dean that he wasn't guilty. But that makes no sense as the guilt Dean felt was lying to Sam. Maybe I wanted that to be addressed. (and yet I was totally prepared for the Amy thing never to be addressed again at the end of the last episode... so no idea why I wanted to see it now).

Was it that nothing changed for Dean by the end of it all? Ah. Maybe that's it. I knew the episode was going to be about Dean confronting his past and I imagined it might be about him being able to let go of some of that guilt. I thought (hoped) that Sam would be able to convince him of that. I'm not sure I bought that Sam had any effect on how Dean felt about himself. (Maybe that was the point but if was kind of a let down I think).

Was is that it's all well and good for Sam to be feeling great while his brother is feeling downright awful? Maybe Sam knows that he can't actually say anything to make Dean feel less guilty so he's saying he's feeling great knowing that that will make Dean feel better. *shrugs*

Maybe it's a completely shallow thing where I actually enjoy it more when Dean's in control (like the fabulous warehouse scene from 7.02) and Sam is hurty and needy. It might just be that simple. Personal preference probably. (Though I do love competent Sam too and wooby Dean, but I probably have a preference for the other way around more. Or something. Damnit! I don't know.

ARGHHHHH!! See!?! That's why I couldn't write anything. (even though I seemed to have written some incoherent drivel after saying that. /o\).

This might be one I need to think about some more. Maybe read some stuff. Try and get a handle on it. Though I'd be keen yo hear your thoughts. You might be able to make me get a better handle on this one.

Comments

[el1ie.livejournal.com]

See, this is where I'm so bloody glad I'm spoiler free, because if I'd have KNOWN Dean was on trial for his life and Sam was defending him? Then I would not have been very happy at all! In hindsight I'm still not really happy that Sam wasn't really defending as such, just put on the stand to once again hash out something that we already knew, actually so much of this was stuff we already knew - while I am glad Sam was questioning Dean drinking, I'm thinking why didn't he notice it last year? Anvils again, show gets a little heavy handed some times for me.

Saying that though, going in blind, I did enjoy watching it, lots more fun than thinking about it later! Jo was the perfect unwilling executioner even though the Osiris thing was a bit silly. Those final scenes with her and Dean were damned good. All this about Dean's guilt though, for me it's not so much the guilt as the worth and I felt they missed that opportunity by a mile.

We'll see, I might feel better about it after watching again tonight.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I really would like not to have been spoiled for this one. My fault completely because I just didn't have the strength to not peek. But I won't be from now on. :)

The anvils were pretty damn huge. We've already had Sam noticing Dean's drinking AND all those issues Dean has.

I too actually enjoyed watching it. It wasn't until I tried to sum up what I liked that I had trouble. There were plently of moments I loved (Dean and Jo's scene being one of them) but then I was left feeling empty and feeling that we hadn't really moved forward.

Overall it does feel like a lost opportunity. Mainly because there are so many other things that Dean could be feeling guilty about. It would have been great to explore those.

[el1ie.livejournal.com]

**nods**

Yes, this, I think if I had known the episode was about Sam defending Dean in some sort of trial I would be very disappointed as that wasn't really the focus of the episode - when is it ever? Hee, why I avoid spoilers, I hope to hard! Even watching it the second time, I'm still a little miffed that they didn't take the opportunity to let Sam speak out in support of Dean a little more forcefully than he did, I get that with Osiris judging him then the important thing was convincing Dean not to feel the guilt himself, but honestly it was a piss poor job and those bits let down the episode for me.

Yeah, not moving forward is always frustrating, hope there is another reason waiting in the wings and they continue with the things they set up here, there were more hints I think with the drinking and the guy who ran down that little girl when drunk - there was enough of a "pause" there to make me think they might just be brewing up something there and I think we'll always be waiting for another shoe to drop on Sam's coping mechanisms - we shall see. As you say it was still an enjoyable episode in many ways.