8.12 reaction

[ash48]

Um.

FUUUUCCKKK! YEEAAAHH! \o/ Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! WOOOOOOOT!

That, ladies and gentlemen, is why I love my show!! LOOK AT THAT!! (oh thank you thank you. I feel I can officially welcome you back show. *wipes a tear of relieved happiness*)

And SERGE directed it \o/ - his first one. As soon as I saw that beautiful opening shot in the street I wondered who directed. When his name came up I almost clapped! (I knew he was directing an episode but I had forgotten which one). He did a great job! What a fabulous episode to be given to direct.

God I loved that!

Here's why...

* HISTORY! That opening montage filled me with fangirl glee. (and here I was thinking Carver had forgotten what's gone before - though it does cement that he remembers those first few seasons but not what came after maybe?). Hearing "saving people, hunting things, the family business" made me weak at the knees.

* Dean's speech about saving Sam.... I CAN'T EVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't...*hyperventilates*

* DEAN!! Oh Dean. This is everything I love about Dean - the passion, the protectiveness, the lack of trust of strangers, the woobyness when he talks and think about John, his strength, his snarkiness, his glare of death.... There was a lot of character consistency here. He reacted the same way when he first met Adam. And even though Dean has said things negative about John in the past in his heart he DOES know he did his best. Jensen really sells how much Dean loved John. He really was his hero.

* New epic myth arc. \o/ There's something really interesting here and I am SO excited. Looks like there's lots of potential to build on the Men of Letters and The Box. Looks like Sam and Dean had a destiny that wasn't just Michael and Lucifer condoms. They are Legacy. (I'm thinking the Aquarian Star might be the new tattoo - I think I want one!!)

* Sam and Dean. Dean and Sam. Just...yes. Thank you.

* Sleeping Winchesters. I love sleeping boys (er...men) and Henry watching over then is so sweet. And it was brought to my attention that Dean ends up sleeping curled around what started out as Sam's pillow. I LOVE THIS!! THEIR EPIC LOVE IS FOR REALLY REALZ!

* FAMILY! There's was wonderful sense of family again. Bringing John back into the story like that added a wonderful depth. It's so messed up but there's so much heart there. I think just the mention of John brings back all those things I loved about Season one.

* THE WINCHESTER MUSIC THEME! I think that's what it was - hearing the tune that IS the family theme. It's like putting on comfy slippers whenever I hear it. (I'd have to check, but I think it's been AGES since we've heard it). Wonderful to hear it a couple of times in the ep. <333

* The dialogue was snappy and clever. Lots of great references. HA! They Mayans got it wrong.

* THE SIZE OF THE GRAVE THEY DUG! HA! It was huge. Digging a grave would be hard work. I love that they have to make it big enough to fit them both in it. And it's always so neat! ;))

* I REALLY liked Henry. Strong performance.

* I REALLY liked Abaddon. She was sexy cool. (I was hoping she wasn't going to die. I thought she might have been the new big bad. Though... she's not reeeallly dead is she?, so.. you never know) Someone was apparently controlling her so we have a lot more to find out yet!

* DEVIL's TRAP in a bullet. Oh man. What I love about this is the IDEA of it. Just when you think they've done everything that is possible with a Devil's Trap they carve it into a bullet. :D *handwaves* how damn hard that would be because they'd have to include the sigils and everything but....IDEA! \o/

* Sam and Dean. Seriously. They were just so comfortable together. There was so much warmth and love and familiarity.

* I like the way they skirted around the dreaded time travel paradox. Henry died so it works.

* JOHN WOULD BE PROUD! Oh fuck...I can't...*reaches for the paper bag*...*breaths* That might have been my favourite moment. John would be incredibly proud. They are such fine men.

* Sam had a salad! It cracks me up...a man that big would need more than a salad to get through a day. I love the continuity of that though.

* I love that Garth keeps getting mentioned. They are treating him like junior Bobby.

* The motel room was awesome. I can't wait to take a closer look at that one.

* FINAL SCENE!! Oh yes. YES YES! They talked liked they used to. *HEARTS*

* "It's the price we pay". That came up a couple of times and...well...yes. The hurt, the pain, the sacrifices - that's the price. And it's interesting (and I think very in character) that Sam seems to accept that whereas Dean accepts it but he's always somewhat bitter about it.

* and EVERYTHING else!

This, for me, is an episode that reflects the very heart of this show. The boys watching out for each other (omg! Kidnapped Sam - I think I nearly had a coronary when Sam's life was up for trade - Dean's faaaceee....), family history, Sam and Dean reflecting on their lives....*happy sigh*


Other stuff....

So. What the hell was with the first half of this season? Was it a reset? Was it about putting Sam in a different head space? Maybe it was to remind Dean just how much family still means to him? (not that he needs reminding). Was it to tie up the end of S7? Was it purely to have them at odds with each other - just to create dramatic tension? Or to make them even stronger together maybe? That episode was so far removed from ANYTHING that went on in the first half. There was no mention of anything that had gone before. Not that there needed to be, but it was such a different feel to what's come before.

Perhaps it was a set up to get Amelia pregnant - I'm not putting this past them. It would mean another Winchester. ;) It would be one hell of a season finale if say Sam had to watch him (maybe her) get killed. Imagine how powerful that would be considering he has a son of his own. Pure speculation of course but there HAD to be a reason for them sleeping together when they met up (other than them not being able to keep their hands off of each other? *head scratch*. And I say killed (or die) because there's no way they'll be travelling around with a baby on board. It would make for another tragedy in their lives.

And as much as I want them to be past the Sam and Amelia story line I would love to see it come back just to MAKE SENSE OF IT ALL! I'd love to see it fit into this whole new arc.

Um..also. It's 2013. The year Dean had before Sam appeared and the year just gone by, um...didn't happen? It would be more like 2015 yeah? I have no issue with that but if they keep giving us "One year later" they need to factor that in don't they?



Ok. I feel like I've been reset. THANK YOU!!

ALL THE WARM FUZZIES!!

And now I leave you with this because.... HOLY FUCK!! ARMS!! HAIR! SLEEPINESS! DEAN HUGGING SAM'S PILLOW! TEE-SHIRTS!!! SAAAyumMMMMM!!!!! *iz dead*

Comments

[maenad.livejournal.com]

Ok. I feel like I've been reset. THANK YOU!!

Ha. Yes. :)

You know, it's funny. I think there are some legitimate issues with the structure of the episode. They were trying to pull an In the Beginning style twist, but it's much easier to do that with Mary because she was much more of a blank slate than John - even Dean just barely remembers her, and the only solid characterisation we had of her before the time travel incident was vague suggestions that she knew more than she should have.

They've already pulled a 'surprise!' moment with John by depicting him as naive and sweet natured enough to sail through Vietnam without a single emotional scar. Given how complicated John is, and how complicated Sam and Dean's relationship with him is, to pull off a substantial retcon like that properly they should probably have introduced it over multiple episodes - instead of just dropping Henry on our heads with little more foreshadowing offered than a general tendency to reference John a bit more than they have in a while.

But, having said that ... I don't care. I mean, I really don't care. I actually enjoyed watching that. I like the characters again. I have some curiosity about this aspect of the mytharc, although I admit I'm still baffled as to what the demons are trying to achieve beyond EVIL EVILNESS. At this point, I wouldn't care if they tried to tell me John was secretly Big Bird as long as they remember to tell me an engaging story.

There's something really interesting here and I am SO excited. Looks like there's lots of potential to build on the Men of Letters and The Box. Looks like Sam and Dean had a destiny that wasn't just Michael and Lucifer condoms. They are Legacy.

I am amused that the 'ape' hunter clan was so widespread and careful that even after a campaign of extermination by the demons you could still find Campbells about - and they kept their library intact. The highly intellectual Men of Letters could be wiped out by a single pissed-off demon. I'm not complaining, because if I learnt anything from Buffy it's that the people who run secret societies are stupid, but, um, Henry sweetheart? I wouldn't be looking down on hunters. :)

I REALLY liked Abaddon. She was sexy cool.

I'd like to know what was up with her. From 1958 she was pre-Crowley and pre-Azazel (his plan, anyway). She could still have been trying to free Lucifer on her own terms, but she doesn't seem to mesh with anything that's gone before. What was her goal?

Sam and Dean. Seriously. They were just so comfortable together. There was so much warmth and love and familiarity.

You know what was adorable? They spent almost the whole episode together. And when they were apart, it was to set up an immediate quest to reunite. Haven't seen that in a while. :)

The whole thing was very season two. Since I love season two, I am inclined to forgive pretty much everything and just wallow around in the enjoyment. :)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

But, having said that ... I don't care. I mean, I really don't care

This is exactly where I'm at. I know there was some serious retconning but I really don't care. I appreciate that they HAVE to do new things and if they are going to go back to their history then I'm ok with that. (I prefer this than them trying to tell me that Sam would not every TRY to look for Dean...).

I love the idea of this and if they play it right there's lots of potential.

For me, I've never really settled on the kind of person John was. I think that's why there is always so much debate about him. Though I agree that young!John doesn't match up to the one they have painted here.

What was her goal?

Good question. I wondered if she might be tied into Naomi... I'm not convinced she's out of the picture yet. She was a "hired gun" - so working for a higher power. Hmmm...something specifically to do with the Men of Letters. I'd have to rewatch to see if there was more information. I tend to be staring at the pretty far too much to be listening to all the details...;)

They spent almost the whole episode together

YES! Wasn't it delightful. It definitely added to my overall love for the episode.

xx

[maenad.livejournal.com]

For me, I've never really settled on the kind of person John was. I think that's why there is always so much debate about him. Though I agree that young!John doesn't match up to the one they have painted here.

I think there's a lot of room for interpretation with John. But there's also a whole lot to interpret. Really, that's all I mean. With Mary, you could just jump back in time and remake her into anything you wanted. But with John there should be a bit more delicacy.

I just wish they'd led with this. Had Dean encounter monsters in purgatory that have a peculiar response to the name 'Winchester'. Had Sam, all lost and hopeless, wander back home to Kansas and discover by chance that John wasn't really from there and that (say) the guy in the photos they'd always assumed was their grandpa was actually John's step-dad. Maybe unearth some peculiar references to the Men of Letters in old Campbell-family papers. And none of it makes sense until one day Henry Winchester falls out of a closet.

I don't mean to complain. I only mean - I love this, and I wish they'd devoted the first half of the season to building up to it instead of ... whatever that was. :)

I wondered if she might be tied into Naomi... I'm not convinced she's out of the picture yet. She was a "hired gun" - so working for a higher power. Hmmm...something specifically to do with the Men of Letters.

There is an unknown 'they' floating around. Both Alfie's 'they're controlling us' and Benny's 'they promised'. Not necessarily the same 'they', obviously, but if I had to bet ...

Abbadon is a bit mind-bending because she was a time traveller. A powerful demon in that era should be pretty much unknown. No one was very scared of demons until late season one when they popped up and started massacring people. Obviously the MoL thought the knights were all dead, so she's been keeping her head down like a good little demon. Making the very fact that she surfaced at all quite remarkable.

I'm going to bet the MoL were sitting on the angel tablet for a start, although I'm still unclear as to why I care about angel tablets. I guess it's bound to be murky until we know the who. If I had to put in a tentative bet on that at this point, I'd say Metatron. Because he left, and angels don't do that if they like living. If he's not behind it, then he bloody well knows something.

Gah. But I am theorising all over the place. :)

[candygramme.livejournal.com]

Butting in to say that Abaddon's goal seemed to me to be to take out the Men of Letters and get the key to their library so that their knowledge was no longer available to the human race, thus facilitating Azazel's quest. Maybe I'm reading a lot into it, but that's mah theory.

FWIW, I have stars in my eyes after that show.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I like your explanation. :) That would make sense.

I have stars too!

And I love that icon...:))

[candygramme.livejournal.com]

That icon was made by cakehole_cat. Feel free to grab it if you like. It's my favourite.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :)