8.05 episode reaction

[ash48]

Now THAT was a meaty episode! \o/

Ben Edlund I take my hat off to you. That was a deep, twisty, satisfying episode. Ditto Guy Bee because I just love your directing (love LOVE!).

(Absolute bonus that Ben didn't direct his own episode. He's wordy and I think it takes tight direction to keep up the pace. Ben and Guy are a good combination).

Can I just get the Bro love SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE off my chest first!!!?!

OMG OMG! If those two aren't friggin' married or joined at the damn hip.... I can't even!

- Dean actually calling Sam in the middle of a hunt and then they argue like a married couple?! *dies*

- Dean texting Sam in the middle of a hunt and deleting it?! (seriously....!)

- Sam getting frustrated and throwing phones!! (Why is that so damn hot!?)

- Sam getting all growly and possessive after he meets Benny at the end. (OH GOD!! That ending! Those looks! The camera angle on Sam all looming and threatening...KILL. ME. NOW!)

- "I've heard a lot about you" (Dean talked about Sam ALL THE TIME!)

- I just love that everything they do concerns the other one. Joined at the hip I tell you! That episode was awesome for demonstrating that. <333 Thank you show for maintaining that underlying and underpinning it's all about their relationship thread.

Ok. There was other stuff. Some great stuff!

Dean and Benny make a great combination. I really believe this friendship and comradery. It's all linked to battle "mateship". It's their shared experienced that makes their friendship run deep. It brings about an unquestionable loyalty and it says so much about Dean. His familiar connection to a soldier (John) and his battle mentality.

Benny is a deep character (and Ty Olsson is doing a great job!). He has history and a good heart. This is about Dean making friends with the enemy and realising that no matter the blood (aka country you are from) there's a level of humanity that blurs the divide. It's seeing the fundamental good in others. I love that this was all about how important and how meaningful friendships are to Dean. "You and that whole friend thing man" as Benny says.

I loved the trio in Purgatory. There's a tussle of trust. Cas and Benny eyeing each other off and Dean coming in between them - keeping the peace (remind you of anyone?). Benny finally proving himself by defending Cas.

I really liked this Cas too. He had purpose and strength (and damn if that isn't more compelling than crazy!Cas).

Dean was smart and kickass. (thank you! God I love this Dean so hard).

And the direct comparison between Benny as a brother and Sam as his actual brother is done beautifully by the reference to not knowing what is real. Clever.

And then there was Sam. Oh Sam.

We got a little more of Sam's "normal" life. (Handyman!Sam might just be my new favourite thing!) Amelia is warming up and we begin to see why she might have been so stand offish around Sam. I really like her and I like the way that they are teasing her character out. There's obviously more than meets the eye. I just ADORED the comparison between her loss and Sam's. I figure they are talking about a deep love she has lost (much like Sam's loss *g*).

But what I really really loved is the way we were presented with three Sam's (what is it about three Sams?!). The flashback loner/drifter Sam, the researcher, getting-on-without-Dean Sam and the worried, protective, possessive, OMG don't be dead!Dean, Sam. Beautifully interwoven. No mean feat in writing a TV script me thinks.

Overall, there was a wonderful understanding of the characters in the writing. We saw many new facets which were skillfully woven into the MotW story (though Benny ain't no MotW).

I am sure there are connections to be made all over the damn place. There was a lot of thinky dialogue and knowing Ben Edlund there was a lot of underlying meaning. For example, the story of love and of abandoning the "nest". I felt a lot of Benny's dialogue could have been Sam's. I'm not sure that Amelia was "it" for Sam the same way Andrea was for Benny, but the notion of finding something that can take you away from it all is poignant.

It's also poignant that Dean killed Andrea. I'm not sure if this is about Dean "killing" Sam's attempt a normality or whether it's less meaningful. It just all feels so important. I need a bigger brain to bring all that together.

There's also the notion that the "maker means everything". This could be John to Dean or maybe even God to Cas. (arghh...too thinky for me at the moment - but it's there!).

I also loved the witty banter. That opening scene between the brothers was a classic.

And of course there was Vampirates. I am sure Ben woke up one night and said...OMG! I have the perfect thing!!! \o/ *writes the episode*

And finally, I have to say, I really love how this is a male story. The fighter, the brother, the hero, the lover. It's about what's important to men and how they see themselves fitting into the world.

Thanks again show. You keep reinforcing what it is I love about you.

Comments

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hi.

except when it is obvious that folks have reached that point where they only watch so they can moan bitterly about the sad demise of their show.

Yeah. I'm seeing that too. It's like they keep wanting to find reasons to make them hate it. Someone said to be recently it's like breaking up with a boyfriend/girlfriend. You want to keep checking that they are doing badly - it justifies you leaving them. (hee...or something)

And "nods" to your review. Looks like we agreed on everything! :))

[gateslacker.livejournal.com]

Someone said to be recently it's like breaking up with a boyfriend/girlfriend. You want to keep checking that they are doing badly - it justifies you leaving them. (hee...or something)

Good point! I just don't have the time to watch shows I've broken up with.

Thanks again show. You keep reinforcing what it is I love about you.,

Yes! And maybe it is because I'm not one of those fans who has watched since the beginning. I only discovered the show in March and I am still in love. Plus, no show is going to be 100% of what I wanna see 100% of the time and I am pretty accepting of the duds. What I like about this show is that there is no constant reset and repercussions are long felt. And this is a usually a character driven, mytharc thing. So, even a "dud" will often have something within it that speaks to the relationship and/or mytharc and that's just not something you always see in shows of this genre.

And I am always excited to read your reaction to an episode as well!