8.09 reaction.

[ash48]

I hated that beyond words.

I am literally sobbing as I type because this actually feels like the end.

What happened to my beautiful, bromancy, interesting, scary, intriguing show? My show that had "something up its sleeve", my show that only ever had brothers at odds with each other FOR A REAL REASON! My show that had brothers who loved each other. My show that knew it's history. My show that WAS NEVER a soap opera. My show.... *sobs*

My heart is breaking so much and it fucking hurts.

I trust that I missed something. To be honest I don't even have the energy to rant. I am so disappointed and hurt. The season cliffhanger is Amelia walking back into Sam's life... just. No words.

I have never witnessed so much distrust, disloyalty, dis-LOVE between the brothers....EVER. Even when they were fighting at the end of S4 there was at least passion. This was just...nothing. All those things without any reason. They were hardly even on the screen together. I think I even detected real hate between them. And if that's supposed to make me tune in to see how they resolve it?...well...yeah. Not so much.

The show has changed. I suppose it had to. So many of you already saw it. I glimpsed it and clawed myself back. But this is what the show has become and that saddens me so, so much.

I know I shouldn't post. I know you want positive stuff. But in one episode it cemented everything I feared this season would turn into. A boring soap opera.

(I will say that it was beautifully filmed. And if it was a soap opera then I am sure it was beautifully written).

Comments

[el1ie.livejournal.com]

*weeps*

[percysowner.livejournal.com]

You are not the only one feeling destroyed. They took my show and took a hammer to the heart of it. They wrecked the character of Sam and I don't think they can walk it back. Dean can do no wrong, Sam can do no right.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Oh Ellie! It was everything you dreaded. Everything I hoped wouldn't happen.

I just can't believe it.

Sam really didn't look.
Sam really did just fall for a girl
Sam actually said some really cheesy horrid thing to her about him not ready for it to be over.
Sam coped out. Really.

Sam handcuffed Dean when he was unconscious.

Perception means nothing. It really was all as boring as everything we saw.

Dean hurt Sam in every way Dean should not have done.

Nothing makes sense.

There are not even any interesting parallels. Or, if there are I just don't care.

Both Sam and Dean have become awful people.

How do I come back from this?

It was just so so horrible.

*weeps*

(sorry. I just wrote everything I probably should have written in the post). I WAS hoping I could say to you...SEE! Everything is all right.

Man. I was so wrong.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Dean didn't escape the character annihilation either. He used Amelia to hurt Sam. That was the lowest blow I can think of from Dean. Ever.

They were so horrid to each other it was beyond anything I have ever seen from them before. Neither boys were right as far as I can see. Neither of them had good reasons to act the way they did.

It was so sad to see.

:((((

[maenad.livejournal.com]

I will say that I don't think this was a bad episode, as such. As the sixth or seventh of the season, it would probably have been fine. What it wasn't was a strong mid-season finale.

It didn't offer up anything we didn't already know. It didn't throw in anything game changing. Benny is basically a decent guy, but also a vampire so there's always the risk that he might lose control - knew that. Sam is no longer seeing Amelia; also Amelia's husband is alive - knew both those things. Sam is desperately jealous of Benny and Dean is desperately jealous of Amelia - knew that. Hunters are rubbish at understanding moral complexity - knew that.

It was a solid enough monster plot but ... what am I supposed to be on tenterhooks until January to find out about? Amelia didn't give any indication that she had anything interesting to say, and while I bear her no ill will, I'm not exactly invested in her romance with Sam, either.

To be fair - I, at least, didn't see dislike. I saw some really dangerous jealousy in the way they each tried to use the other's relationship against him. That is passion, but it's also kind of childish - which is weird when they talked about this series depicting them as grown up. And weirder still in that it was in no way resolved, or even discussed.

I was surprised to see in the opening credits that Carver didn't write this one. I would have thought the show runner would want a hand in this one - and if he had to delegate, why to Loflin of all people? Hardly their strongest writer.

[stormcloude]

*hugs*

[de-nugis.livejournal.com]

Rumor has it that 8.10 was actually supposed to be the cliffhanger, and the network got in the way of the airing order.

I still think this ep was rife with a lot of the major problems the season has had, but it makes a bit more sense if you think of it as the lead-up to the hiatus ep and not the hiatus ep, though I have no idea what the source of that rumor is or if it is reliable.

[percysowner.livejournal.com]

I know Dean got trashed here too, but they have spent the ENTIRE season portraying Sam as the bad brother, who didn't look for Dean, who wasn't happy when Dean returned and who didn't want to stay with Dean. They set it up so Dean was RIGHT to get Sam out of the way AND so Sam would be blamed for Martin's death. Dean still comes out ahead. He was right about Benny. He is right to not love Sam. I'm just numb with grief.

[percysowner.livejournal.com]

That's unfortunate, because I'm not sure I care anymore. I'm sure I'll get over it, but still.

[maenad.livejournal.com]

... Huh. Actually, if true, that helps a lot. That's not to say that the episode is without problems - it has many - but my opinion of Dabb and Loflin is quite low, so I adjust my expectations for any episode in which either is involved accordingly.

What startled me was how dull the episode was for what it was. Loflin is probably going to turn in mediocre scripts. But to give him this job ...


And that isn't to say that the season has no problems, either. Wow, does it ever. But this was what was bothering me today, so thank you. :)

[el1ie.livejournal.com]

Both Sam and Dean have become awful people.

Exactly, Mr Carver has done what I didn't believer anyone could ever do, make me despise the pair of them.


**hugs you so tight**

Honey, I can't even talk about it right now, but I'm here with you every step of the way.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I think because I went into this with such high hopes I felt so majorly let down. If (as de_nugis points out) it wasn't meant at the mid-season finale then that will go some way at making it slightly better.

See - I didn't think it was a bad episode as such. It had the ingredients and it was well paced and beautifully filmed etc. It just...yeah. Let me down.

I think because those "mysterious" questions were answered (the man outside Sam's window was Don - boo!) it leaves nothing up to speculation about Sam not looking for Dean. And I know (man I KNOW!) I have harped on about it but I was just hoping for more than Sam running away. Again. :(

Ack... I probably shouldn't be chatting because I am feeling so down.

I think also, whenever an episode bores me I get worried. I actually fast forwarded through much of the end. I just didn't care. :((

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I think that helps a lot. If this was the ep before the mid-season hiatus then I might not have gone in with such high expectations.

Man...what a messy season.

[maenad.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, it's fine. I'm disappointed too. I'm just slightly cheerier now because maybe it was supposed to be a passable-but-not-brilliant bit of filler. Because it was that!

I still think there's the potential that something else is going on in Sam's story. His timeline doesn't make a lot of sense, and there are a few things I have serious questions about. They are, however, almost out of time to convince me that they're going somewhere with this that compels me. An hour ago I would have said they were completely out of time. But if there's an actual intended mid-season finale that I haven't seen yet? Fine. They get one more shot.

It may not be very likely, but I've made a decision. The next episode will be good, and it will intrigue me and it will give me some answers I can respect. I can wait.

But if they let me down again, I'm going to be angry.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I can't even talk about it right now

I hear you. I need to walk away and cheer myself up.

(hee...my hubby, being totally sympathetic to my tears, said..."seriously? It's a TV show!")

He just doesn't understand.

(off to watch Arrow. That'll cheer me up...)

xoxoxo (chat soon).

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I still think there's the potential that something else is going on in Sam's story.

Oh really? Man, I wish I could hold that hope. I also wish Sam having a relationship was enough for me. It should be. But I just didn't sign up for this show to give me relationship dramas. A bit sure - but half a seasons worth?

And yeah. I gave myself 3 eps to really throw in the towel (she says thinking she could actually do that). If the next ep was meant to be the mid-season finale then there's something to tide me over to the next one.

But. I just can't get over how damn messy this season is. One minute they seem so comfortable together and the next they are...well...this. Even saying it's jealousy doesn't help any more. I thought they were supposed to be more mature this season.

[maenad.livejournal.com]

Oh really? Man, I wish I could hold that hope. I also wish Sam having a relationship was enough for me. It should be. But I just didn't sign up for this show to give me relationship dramas. A bit sure - but half a seasons worth?

*shrugs* The fact remains that Sam's story is deeply weird. It begins months after Dean's disappearance with no attempt to explain what Sam did during this time. He met Amelia, bonded with her in a ridiculously short time and apparently moved in with her pretty much immediately. And before they'd even finished moving in, Amelia discovered her husband was alive and Sam left again. We've covered - what - maybe a couple of months in Sam's year? And that's the only part he's willing to discuss at all.

There are two possibilities here: either this is very bad writing, or something's up. They get one more shot at convincing me that it's the latter rather than the former. I want there to be a reason for all this.

Edit: Oh, and yes. I can be very childish sometimes. Sometimes I watch Sam and Amelia's scenes and mutter 'And then ZOMBIES invaded!' Or 'And then LUCIFER appeared and promised Sam he could find Dean!' Relationships are fine. But they should be connected to the plot. :)

But. I just can't get over how damn messy this season is. One minute they seem so comfortable together and the next they are...well...this. Even saying it's jealousy doesn't help any more. I thought they were supposed to be more mature this season.

Yeah. That's a problem that I can't rationalise away no matter how hard I try. To a certain extent I can deal with variation. I know some of their writers are better than others, and the occasional ball will get dropped.

I do believe that Sam and Dean still love each other, and a lot of their bad behaviour can be ascribed to jealousy. But it is not adult behaviour. It's not, as they keep insisting in interviews, the behaviour of two adults who have to frame their discussions slightly differently because they're not 22 anymore. It's the behaviour of babies who have never faced a challenge in their relationship before. And since I have watched all previous seven seasons, I have trouble believing that.

[harrigan.livejournal.com]

This is a big relief -- thanks for sharing. More than anything else, I found myself frustrated? upset? regretting? that *this* was the emotional note they wanted to leave us hanging on for 6 weeks? Knowing that that's not the case does help....

[harrigan.livejournal.com]

Man, Ash! Me, too! I waited 45 mins after it aired to get online and see if anyone had anything to say about it, and it seems everyone was struck dumb. So I emailed a dear friend I'd met in this fandom who abandoned the show last year, told her she was right, and went to bed with a heavy heart.

(It does help, now, hearing that it wasn't intended to be the emotional note that holds us over for 6 weeks.)

I'm probably not quite as broken up as everyone who wanted there to be some mystery revealed about Sam's 'dream life' in their year apart. I've always been completely okay with Sam just deciding not to look. (I wouldn't have minded if there *was* a secret reason, but I'm still happy with my theory that Sam thought Dean might be in heaven. I'm even okay if it's simply that he had zero resources to tell him how to get Dean out if that wasn't the case, the deeply ingrained knowledge that tragedy always happens when they try, and he was too shattered to do anything else.)

But after season 4, when they embarked on this journey of mistrusting each other and unleashing anger, I've been ready for them to go back to being on the same side. Every year, I say -- this season they'll go back to that season 1-2 vibe of taking care of each other and making each other laugh and risking their lives to save strangers. And instead - I get episodes that I have no interest in watching a second time and wallowing in.

Oddly, I still have hope. I still care about the boys enough to tune in and see how they're doing. And I even hope they'll have a heart-to-heart and Dean will recognize (admit to Sam?) that his harsh attitude about Sam not looking was really his own guilt for not trying to get Cas out once he himself was safely back.

But I still think this was a lousy way to start a hiatus.

[greyowl88.livejournal.com]

*hugs* :-*

[fourtenpm.livejournal.com]

I haven't got around watching it yet, should I dread it or not?

[quickreaver.livejournal.com]

Aw, hang in there, little soldier! Yes, it was an explosion of mistrust but think of how gorgeous it will be when they HUG AND MAKE UP! (From my fingers to your eyes, Carver...)

[growyourwings.livejournal.com]

Me too.

This is what I've been struggling with all season because I read all the interviews and spoilers over the hiatus and Carver and others like him have consistently said that there is nothing "hidden" in Sam's behavior. Take it at face value. I kept hoping they were still trying to pull one over on us (ala Kripke saying there would never be angels.)

I am seeing some folks that liked the episode. But I posted something similar to your post myself. I am just struggling so much. :(

[killabeez.livejournal.com]

{{{{hugs you a lot}}}}

[badbastion.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I watched it this morning with breakfast, thinking yay, this'll start my day on a good foot. UUUUGGGGHHHH, it did not. I mean, I guess they did a good job at tearing the audience apart, which is kind of what the show is about, haha, but I just hate it when it's like that. Like Dean dropping the medallion in the trash, like Dean saying he couldn't trust Sam anymore. Those things are necessary to plot, yeah? but still hurt.

So I'm just gonna be holding my breath over the hiatus, waiting to see if the other shoe will drop, or... if... the first one will get put back on its foot, haha. Honestly, hearing that this wasn't supposed to be the season mid-finale or whatever has made me feel better. Quite a bit, even if it turns out not to be true. And spoilers that snuck past my spoilercatcher mitts have also made me feel a little better. Still love the show in general, and still trust the creators, (though they lost a little bit this ep) and I... still want there to be more to sam's year away from Dean. Which I think there is. I just want to KNOOOOOOOOWWWWWW.