ep 7.17 reaction and all that...

[ash48]

My feeling are ALL OVER THE PLACE with this episode. Seriously. What do I do with these...?! (sorry for such a rambly review...)

First, I just have to....SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY HURT!SAM GIRL WAS IN FRIGGIN' HEAVEN! HOLY HELL!!! IT WAS ALL THERE! Sam AT THE END OF HIS TETHER! Sam HIT by a car! Sam in HOSPITAL, Sam cut up with broken ribs! RESTRAINED!! (did I mention heaven?!) SHOCK THERAPY!! Holy.... *happy place*

HOWEVER... as much as I like a bit of Sam!whump (and Dean... I don't play favourites when it comes to whumping! *g*) it also made me shed a little tear. I really, really felt his pain and torment and I kept muttering...oh Sammy... :((( This is a man who rates broken ribs as a 3. High tolerance... no kidding! I was on the edge of my seat through all those hospital scenes.

All righty roo. Time to get serious and to try and make sense of all those damn FEELINGS...

I will definitely need to watch this episode again because overall it felt a bit...um... messy. I loved some of it and I enjoyed watching it but it felt kinda uneven and I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe because there was such a lot GOING ON - lot's of surprises (I knew Cas was back but I didn't know about Meg or what was going to happen to Sam). It felt like they were trying to cram SO MUCH into one episode- the disintegration of Sam's mind and body, the return and subsequent redemption of Cas and the return of Meg. I loved all those things but, as a viewer, I felt like I was being pulled all over the place - edge of my seat worry for Sam, interest in Dean's response to Cas returning, fascination with Cas' back story and trying to figure out what the hell Meg was saying! (I will be having to check out the transcript for a lot of her dialogue (eyes zebra363)). On top of all that there there was also a hunt! Oh man.... /o\

Some thinky dissecting:

1. Sam and Lucifer:

I felt like all the hospital scenes held together pretty well. Mark Pellegrino's performance as Lucifer was (as always) both amusing and unsettling. I didn't think his lines were as witty as they had been in past episodes but his forms of torture were inventive. The megaphone was particularly amusing (hee...yeah...as a teacher I'm familiar with that one!). And firecrackers!... that'll keep you awake for sure. And his singing...

I loved that even though Sam was suffering his own mental torture he was able to put that aside to help someone else in need. It's very Sam. I also LOVE the idea that mental patients could possibly be suffering from very "real" supernatural issues. It makes sense and I loved this was explored. I probably would like to have seen a really mentally tortured girl but I get that this is television and they have to be...um...very pretty.

I STILL DON'T GET HOW LUCIFER WORKS! If he was "transferred" to Cas then surely that means he's somehow "real". Or was it just a transfer of a memory? Cas took Sam's memory of the cage and Lucifer. If so then the Lucifer Cas sees can only be as Sam "remembers" him. Is Sam's brain still scrambled? Is Cas' brain now scrambled? Or is Lucifer actually, really around. AM I OVER THINKING THIS TOO MUCH!!?! (probably...) Do I even need an answer to this? Maybe it doesn't matter how Lucifer works. It's just that he's there. Or something...

2. Meg

I have to admit I think this is where I had the most problems. I LOVE Meg. I've always loved her ambiguity. If we have corrupt angels then why not have a potentially "good" demon? But. IDK. It's not just that she looked so different (though I did find that rather distracting) but her mumbling was hard to make out. She also seemed less re-assured.(I'm not sure if this was the actress or the character) Of course, that might have been the WHOLE POINT! In that case....ok. I was sold. Meg is not so confident when she hasn't got the backing of other demons. Ack... I need to re-watch. I'm torn. But I will confess I didn't enjoy her as much I have done in the past. (*sniff*)

3. Castiel

I get nervous talking about Cas because I know how much passion surrounds this character. I don't have that level of passion, but neither do I dislike him. In fact, I've always enjoyed seeing Cas and tonight was no different. I really REALLY loved that we had a born again Cas. I was keen to see how they were going to introduce him back into the show and...ok... it was a little predictable, but I was SOLD and totally bought that he crawled out of the lake to be discovered by a women passing by..(what? Maybe she WAS sent by God...in this 'verse that makes some sense...).

There was a lovely sense of "clean" about him and I thought Misha really embodied that innocence. I also loved his conflict when he realised who he really was and what he had done. But... WOW... what a lot to take in. In an amazingly short time we found out that: Cas survived, he MARRIED, he lost his memory, he was a man called Emmanuel, he had powers to heal, he was discover by Dean, he found he was Dean's friend, he found out he hurt Dean by hurting Sam, he wanted to make amends, he MADE amends and now sees his brother. HOLY HELL! I'm not sure whether to admire the writers for managing to get so much in or slap them about the head for being so ambitious. (possibly the latter...)

4. Dean

Arghh.... I feel that out of all the characters in that ep he was the most underwritten. Idk. Again it comes down to there being SO MUCH going on. Not only did he have a brother DYING in a mental hospital he also had to confront Cas returning (and ALLTHE FEELINGS associated with that - disbelief, relief, bitterness, memories etc.) AND deal with seeing Meg after all this time. He was pulled all over the place with emotions and maybe that's why I felt I was too. I was following Dean's journey during the episode (though captivated by Sam's) and feeling torn in the process. Like Dean must have. He was bombarded by SO MUCH!

It's either extremely clever story telling or rather messy story telling. I haven't figure that one out yet.

5. Where we are now:

So. Cas came, he discovered stuff, he redeemed himself and he now has his brother in his head and is left behind in a mental hospital. I'm not entirely sure what to do with all that. I like the mirror (any parallels in an ep excites me) between the girl and her brother in her head and now Cas with his brother in his head. I like that he has redeemed himself by fixing Sam and essentially doing what Sam did to save the world (locking himself in with Lucifer) but... idk, that just seems so quick. Would Dean and Sam be happy leaving him behind like that? I suppose they've left their half brother in the cage so maybe they are actually ok with that.

I JUST DON'T KNOW!! They set our boys up to CARE about family and then have them drive away from them. (And I really did need Dean to at least TOUCH SAM!! Come on Show! They are brothers!! Dean was concerned, sure, but A LITTLE BIT OF COMFORT WOULDN'T GO ASTRAY!! A squeeze on the shoulder at least!)

(Side note: I get that having Cas around is a "problem." If he's so powerful then he'd be able to solve all their problems and we wouldn't have a show. Having an angel around is problematic for that reason. I'm not sure if Show (STILL!!!) knows what to do with him. I think because he has been so popular they keep him (which I'm cool with) but they really have to decide what to do with him...)

I keep saying "I don't know" because I really don't after this one. I really enjoyed watching it but as I pondered it I was left rather empty. It solved Sam's hallucinations (and yeah...when I knew Cas was returning I also knew he'd be the one to heal Sam...*sigh* ::koff:: cop out...) which I think is good. A bit like Dean's angst...it can't go on for a whole season.

So yeah. It felt messy and crowded. Dean's loyalties were divided and conflicted. Cas seemed to re-appear more as a "tool" to save Sam and Meg...um...not sure why Meg was around really. Though i did like the idea of a human, and angel and a demon working together. I also liked the mirror of Sam saying he could't "fight" because he was tired the same was Dean was when he wanted to say yes to Michael. It was also reminiscent of Faith. Just not as well written me thinks.

THOUGHTS!?! Am I being too harsh?! I've been loving season 7. I didn't dislike this ep as such, I just feel like they crammed in far too much.

Comments

[boggiecat.livejournal.com]

Hi ash

I so love your posts and your 'thinkyness'.

Anyway, I've not read other folks responses yet so maybe this will be repetitive.

Lucifer - I think that Sam's wall fell down and that meant that he now remembers Hell, and what happened to him in Hell - his mind is doing all sort of strange things to him. I think Lucifer isn't real, he's just Sam's memory - so the memory gets transferred to Cas at the end, not the 'real' Lucifer

I think, now, Sam is Okay but Cas is well and truly pooped as he has the 'memory of Hell' in his head now.

Lucifer isn't just a normal memory, I don't think, he's kinda of what Sam's mind is doing to make him sort of 'real' and finding ways to torture him now.

I can't remember now but it was Lucifer, in Sam's body, along with Michael in Adam's body, who fell into the pit. SO, when Crowley brought back Sam, minus his soul, he must have left Lucifer in there, with Michael in Adam's body.

Wow, isnt it complicated. IS that how you recall it Ash?

Unlike yourself, I actually really enjoyed Meg - although I was rather put off with how she looked. Her face seemed to be quite kinda 'bloated' in that first shot of her, but then she looked more her old self when the camera wasn't at such an unflattering angle. Also unlike yourself, I really liked her voice and didn't, personally, struggle to understand her. I did find myself thinking 'she has a really nice voice', which I don't often think to be honest... I also didn't really get that she was less self assured than before - it came over to me that she was just a demon on her own, using the boys for her own ends with a plan to get back at Crowley somehow and having to play Dean to do that, so she was manipulative, but not lacking in self assuredness (If that is a real word!)

I loved that Cas came back too and I totally agree that a hell (!) of a lot happened to him in such a short time. I suppose the writers can get around how much he had to take on board in such a short time as he is an Angel after all and so must be highly adaptable... But WOW, did he have to adapt. Personally I would have liked for them to have spread the Cas coming back story over maybe three episodes.

I get what you mean about Dean being pulled all over the place and, you know what really worries me...? I have no idea if the show is going to go into an eighth season. Do you? I just feel really worried that they are having to tie ends up fast, in case they don't get another season, and couldn't afford the time to spend on Cas coming back like he did as they have to resolve everything before the end of the season. DREAD DREAD DREAD. I feel SICK just thinking about it but I believe they have to write the show so that it can just end if they don't get the go ahead for another season, AND in a way that it can carry on if they do.

SO I do wonder if they are trying to tie the ends up and, as Cas is going to be in another two eps, maybe he will somehow get out of the hospital, and be restored to 'angelness', do one show on a hunt with the boys (old style) and then go up to heaven to be the new 'god', with old god's permission (assuming that's why the real God enabled Cas' wife to find him and help him back to health when he walked out of the lake maybe...?). Then, (here's my head working overtime), the whole show can end with the Boys driving off in the Impala (WHERE THE HELL IS THE IMPALA BY THE WAY?

ON the other hand, I did really, like really really, love this ep so I wonder if it is clever storytelling as I was squeeing my head off during this ep, like I've not done for some time... I mean, I was literally, squeeing, out loud, in a proper 'squee-tone', high pitched and girly and all toe-curling, edge of the seat, jumping in the air squeeing. Maybe I'm a bit dim and just don't think about it as much or something..

I think the idea with leaving Cas there was really their only option. I think it was about how we need neither Crowley nor DIck to know that Cas is around as either of them could find him, maybe mend him, and maybe corrupt him somehow so they can use him for their own ends ... maybe ..?

I'm interested in your thoughts, as always - you have such interesting thoughts!

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hey hun! I'm glad my thoughts make some sort of sense. :)

I can't remember now but it was Lucifer, in Sam's body, along with Michael in Adam's body, who fell into the pit. SO, when Crowley brought back Sam, minus his soul, he must have left Lucifer in there, with Michael in Adam's body.

Wow, isnt it complicated. IS that how you recall it Ash?

I thought it was Cas who brought Sam's body back? Hmm... I'll have to check that...

I'm sure the idea is that Lucifer has been left in hell. It's just curious the way they have been playing him. Often giving us shots of him outside of Sam's POV. It raises the question...is he somehow really here. I'm sure it's all meant to be in Sam's mind though.

I'm glad you liked Meg. I always have, but I'm confused about her at the moment. I'll see where they go next with her to make my full judgement.

I really hope for a season 8. I have no idea if we;ll get one but I hope that if we don't I hope to god they tie up the lose ends.

I really like the episode also. More so after seeing it again. I think it might just be the very end that I had issue with.

<33

[boggiecat.livejournal.com]

hey you!

yeah, I totally get what you mean about the end of that ep - (sorry I'm late replying) - it was all really rushed, suddenly Cas is there, then he's mended Sam and then they are walking out leaving him behind in the mental hospital - all within about 30 seconds! Scary fast and a bit much to absorb I think, though I loved that Cas was in the ep and was squeeing like a big girl all the way through it.

Ref what you said about Cas bringing Sam's body back - you've really made me think now. And I now HAVE to know. I thought that Cas brought Dean back from Hell, hence the handprint on his shoulder and all that. But when Sam got brought back, and Samuel got brought back, noone knew how that had happended - and there was this lack of knowledge about how they had both got brought back, who would bring them back and who had the power to bring them back. They were thinking it might be God, or it might be Cas or it might be someone else they hadn't thought of.

Then, I thought, at some point it was disclosed that Crowley as King of Hell had brought them back and that was the set up for the whole Alpha-monster storyline - that he'd brought them back as brilliant hunters so that he could use them to trap the alphas to find out where Pergatory was, so that he could access all the souls to get even more power.

How convoluted is that!

IS that what you think happened or do you think it's different - isn't it complicated! I now need to know for sure...

kat x