8.10 review / reaction

[ash48]

The Good

* I think lowering my expectations for this episode actually helped me enjoy this episode much more than I would have done if I'd gone in excited. I knew we were in for more Cas, angels and demons, and Amelia giving Sam an ultimatum - so I was at least prepared.

* I liked that Sam mentioned Jess and how low it was that Dean used that ploy to lure Sam away in the last ep. Not because it was particularly inspired or anything, it was just great to know that the writers had not forgotten that Sam once did have a life with Jess and so many of the women in Sam's life had died and he thinks about that.

* I did like that Sam and Dean actually communicated in the beginning. (And we got an actual scene with the two of them in it so that was nice).

* It feels like we are at the end of the "past year" story arcs which means they can hopefully move on from here.

* There was a feeling of conclusion. I've been needing that. I've needed to know where they've been heading with all this (no where it seems but at least I know that now).

* I didn't actually mind Cas too much. I know...surprising for me, but there were moments I cared more about him then anyone one else on the screen so that's something. There were glimpses of Team Free Will (remember that awesome little idea a few seasons ago?), but then poor Cas was forced to be bad. Again. So...*shrugs* Idk. Also...I really like it when Cas connects with Sam and he did that a little bit - so yay!

* I REALLY liked the camera work when Sam and Dean were moving through the building looking for the sigils.

* Sam and Dean working together (thank you show!)

* Benny. I felt for Benny. (only it's setting him up for turning "bad" and it will be Dean's fault and Dean will have to kill him and then we'll have Dean angst and it will be hollow because we've seen it all before. Except better *sigh*).

* I am glad the boys are back together. As much as the end was obviously going to happen I'm glad it did. It was an incredibly sad ending and I did really feel for my two favourite characters. It was also sad that there was a sense that they are together because there isn't an alternative. They are trapped in these lives. Together.

The Bad (you know...skip all this crankiness. I only rant like this because I love my show so much. Except when I don't :((( )

* When did show become so joyless? I know we've had a lot of angst and it's not a "happy" show but usually there is at least some urgency and then some sort of satisfaction at the end. Even with the brothers coming together at the end there was no sense of celebration or even contentment. It just was. And it made me incredibly sad. Not just for the characters but for my show.

* This is the episode that cemented the fact that the Sam and Amelia story line meant nothing. It served absolutely no purpose other than to add a soap opera style story line. I would even say that soaps do it better because at least we care about the characters and their dilemmas. We knew the moment the season started that Sam leaves Amelia. We knew as soon she gives him that ridiculous ultimatum in that episode that he would go back to Dean. There was absolutely NO sense of urgency or investment.

I could wax lyrical about how sad it is for Sam that he can't have a normal life with a woman he so dearly loves (::koff::) but fuck that. In fact, I'm not even going to start on Sam and Amelia. I am beyond incensed by that empty, pointless story line - expect to say that what a damn SHAME they didn't make that into something amazing. It could have been. There was potential. But poor dialogue, poor character development and yes, poor acting (by both actors!) makes me want to forget that that ever even happened. Sorry what? Sam ignored the fact that his brother was missing, he hit a dog, fell in love with a women who he didn't seem remotely attracted to, professed his undying love for her and then ran away from it all? Um...no. I don't remember that happening. *lalalala*

* Angel torture that went on forever. :((

* Powerless and ineffectual Crowley

* Some Dean one-liners that fell flat. (Your mother is hot? Seriously Dean? And him hiding porn from Cas? what the...)

* Since when are Sam and Dean stronger than demons? I mean, why didn't the demons just wave their hands (like they used to) and pin them against a wall? Maybe even snap their necks? Are Sam and Dean immune to their powers somehow? A demon punch up is just ridiculous. (stop being lazy show!!!)

* That zoom in of Crowley might just be the cheesiest zoom in the history of the show. It was a shocker. Shots like that make the show look as bad as it actually seems to be becoming. :(((

* Now there's an Angel Tablet. OH MY GOD NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Not an ANGEL TABLET!!! WHAT WILL HAPPEN NOW?!?!?! I wish I cared...

* What's Sam and Dean's investment in all this? Why do they care? I feel like they need to be personally invested in order for me to care about what's happening in the story. They're not, so I struggle to care.

RIGHT! I WILL STOP NOW! It's becoming a moan fest!!! I AM SORRY! That left me feeling sad and flat. I didn't mind watching it. I wasn't as bored as I have been with some eps so THAT'S A PLUS!!! \o/

The not so ugly:

Both boys continue to look amazing. Sam's hair = \o/ Dean's face = \o/ (shallow yes but at this point in the season there has GOT to be something that is keeps me tuning in, because I can tell you the story certainly isn't). Hee...and I would say Sam's gorgeous bod but I was too distracted that whole scene to fully appreciate it. I will later I'm sure.

The GOOD NEWS iS THEY CAN MOVE ON NOW!! We can get some (hopefully!!!) decent MoTW stories now. The boys are back together (not entirely happily but at least they are back) so they can start being a team again. Maybe they can start moving toward actually wanting to be together because they like each other's company and because they enjoying Saving People Hunting Things. Maybe even because they WANT to watch each other's backs. Unfortunately the lack of trust between them still exists so no doubt that will raise its ugly head again sometime in the future. Maybe next time they will actually sort that out.

I am sure I will find more positives with that ep once I've read some reactions and I've sat on it for a while. I still care. I just want the writers and the producers to care as much.

Comments

[quickreaver.livejournal.com]

This is a good point. We KNOW they care. SPN is their bread and butter! This is The Little Show That Could!

What I think might help is some of the people in important positions need to look at their particular craft--be it director, writer, actor--and decide if they're making the best, most creative choices they can in their role. This was a VERY important episode (returning from mid-season hiatus, kicking off the second half of the story), and for me, it felt kinda phoned-in.

As creatives, we need to constantly evolve to stay relevant. Doesn't matter how long we've exacted our particular craft, if we don't do it with eyes open and self-awareness, we don't flourish.

Boy, that was all existential for a TV show! Anywho, yeah. I'm sure they care. But I certainly think there's room for improvement.

[locknkey.livejournal.com]

I pretty much agree with you and thought this was a terrific answer. I do think there is a lot of love from cast and crew alike for show, but this ep. felt flat and mis-paced for me (partially becasue I've felt that the Sam/Amelia thing was told and not shown. IE: we love each other so much! - and yet I never got that from the body language, acting, directing - nothing.) The last scene read as a denouement for me and it really should have played as an intense emotional climax - it is possible to do that and still be quiet (A Very Supernatural Christmas comes to mind which is very much an echo of this scene, but I was near to sobbing.) I think we expect a lot encase we know what show is capable of.

As creatives I think it can become a habit to fall back on what we know/are good at rather than pushing ourselves and that will always turn out a good, but in my opinion, less than stellar result. Sometimes it will also result in a complete flop, but it takes courage to evolve artistically and I'm not sure if show is doing that this season.

[quickreaver.livejournal.com]

YES, 200% yes. You get it.

[msdori.livejournal.com]

AHA! Thank you, you just put your finger on what's been bugging me so much about Sam and Amelia!

I've felt that the Sam/Amelia thing was told and not shown. IE: we love each other so much! - and yet I never got that from the body language, acting, directing - nothing.

Yes, THAT! I never once got from Sam's body language that he felt anything for Amelia. What I did get was caution, and skittishness, but nothing that ever made me think that Sammy was comfortable around her.

[cordelia-gray.livejournal.com]

Too much tell and not enough show - exactly. Particularly bad with the Sam/Amelia storyline, but also true to varying degrees about Sam's headspace after Dean died, and honestly about Purgatory as well. Or that what got show was a lot less interesting than promised.

The callback to AVSC was interesting, but this one felt so much bleaker and more hopeless.