Meta rec and thoughts...

[ash48]

maenad's has written an excellent and fascinating meta on why Taxi Driver missed it's mark. Or rather, the difference between what makes a strong episode and a weak one. She doesn't bad mouth for the sake of doing so or rant about it being horrible - instead she looks at it critically and examines how the writing let down an idea.

On writing hell: a comparison



They could also have simply relied on the power of suggestion. Have Sam step through the portal and find himself in Bobby's house ... or the Men of Letters' bunker ... or the house he shared with Amelia. Then turn those places against him and force him to navigate them. Use Sam's history with Bobby, or the season's themes, to illustrate the wrongness of hell. Make the things that Sam loves awful and force him to fight his way through them. That way you don't have to see anything that would be hell for you. You only have to see what would be hell for Sam. And as long as Sam is afraid of it, we should be too.

I love this idea so much. I said in my review that I enjoyed the episode, and I did, but a suggestion like this makes me realize how much more potential it had. Can you imagine how amazing it would have been if he'd stepped into Bobby's house? Bobby could have been trapped in there knowing Sam and Dean needed his help and him not being able to do anything about it. That would have been Bobby's hell.

I also love the idea that hell is different for each person. The show has already given us different versions of hell so it makes sense that Bobby's hell would be different to Sam's and Dean's. I also like the idea that time is fluid and somewhat intangible in the spirit realm. Show has sometimes suggested this but never really seen it through.

For me Season 8 has been full of really interesting ideas but has fallen short in the execution of them. Individually the episodes mostly work ok, but when looking at the season as a whole it seems to lack a solid focus. I am hoping that the next 3 episodes manage to tie some things together thus solidifying some of the season. I'm pretty sure I'll have more to say about this at the end of the season.




While I'm here I do want to say that I think it's ok to rant and complain about the show. It doesn't mean we love it any less because we can see its faults. We love and connect to it in a way that's really hard to explain to anyone who doesn't. That's why we get upset when it doesn't meet our expectations or desires - or lets us down with poor writing or characterisations. Sometimes we need to get stuff off our chests and try and make sense of what they're doing (or not doing). I think it helps get past the problems and remember what it is we love about it. I'm pretty sure I'm in for the long haul (unless they permanently kill off one of the brothers or have them working separately all the time) so chatting and working it all out will help me make it through.

Comments

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I'm all for getting disappointment off our collective chests when it is done like this but it worries me when 'fans' just rant without purpose, or rather, without thinking.

Indiscriminate shouting just because their fave character has been (in their opinion) slighted in some way doesn't work for me. Whereas discussions like this enhance my enjoyment and actually make mediocre episodes more interesting.

Long live rational debate! :D

[elsewhere91.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the meta rec, i love reading meta and i have been reading so many reviews about this episode because this episode has left me feeling really confused.

While I'm here I do want to say that I think it's ok to rant and complain about the show. It doesn't mean we love it any less because we can see its faults. We love and connect to it in a way that's really hard to explain to anyone who doesn't. That's why we get upset when it doesn't meet our expectations or desires - or lets us down with poor writing or characterisations. Sometimes we need to get stuff off our chests and try and make sense of what they're doing (or not doing). I think it helps get past the problems and remember what it is we love about it. I'm pretty sure I'm in for the long haul (unless they permanently kill off one of the brothers or have them working separately all the time) so chatting and working it all out will help me make it through

I 100% agree.

Thank you x

[harwhon.livejournal.com]

i haven't read maenad's meta yet (i'm definitely going to in a moment), but the bit you quoted, i wholeheartedly agree on. i didn't like this episode much, and that mostly had to do with the way they created hell. maenad's version sounds so much scarier and scarring than the amusement park ride-version we saw in the show. and if you think about it, that's kind of how heaven worked in 5x18, it would make sense if hell operated in the same way: taking your memories and using them.

i have to say, though, i seem to be one of the very few who really likes season eight (aside from that last episode, that is). i think that it's a million times better than the previous two seasons, which were very "blah" - for want of a better word - to me. to me, it's like sam and especially dean make sense again. i find it really weird that most of the posts i see on my flist are rather negative. i wonder what i'm missing, sometimes.

[geckoholic]

Thanks for linking this and bringing the topic up. I agree that that it would've been a more, hm, sensitive way to show hell, and I especially agree about everyone having their every own hell. I mean, it's the same with heaven, right? And if I go out on a limp there, then I can still apply that to a degree. Maybe this sort of WAS what Sam thought hell was like. Like, outside of the cage. What he imagined after Dean's deal ran out, during those first four months? IDEK. I don't wanna think about that ep too hard, tbh. XD

[killabeez.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the rec! Good stuff.

[borgmama1of5.livejournal.com]

I especially appreciate when someone can analyze my basic reaction--hell wasn't very scary and it was too easy to find Bobby--and explain from a writing standpoint what went wrong.

This is the kind of critique that means something, as opposed to "fans" screaming about "their" character being slighted. This is the kind of analysis that I wish TPTB would see and respond to. Sigh.

The problem is, when it is good, SPN can be awesome--which is why when it falls short in an episode that had such potential, it hurts more :(

[runedgirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for linking that, it was spot on :)

[cassiopeia7.livejournal.com]

She doesn't bad mouth for the sake of doing so or rant about it being horrible - instead she looks at it critically and examines how the writing let down an idea.

Oh, does she EVER. God love the fangirl who takes the time to make an intelligent critique that delves deeper than the standard "it sucked, I hated it, bad writers" reviews that have almost become the norm.

Thanks so much for reccing this beautiful thing! *goes back to re-read meta*

[greyowl88.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.. the suggestions about how the hell scene could have been sound interesting. I'm thinking though that Sam went into hell as a secret outsider not a captured soul, so he is not really in the tortured mind of others or his own but sees it more "physical", without the mind-horror. To me that is the reason he was able to just walk through and reach out to Bobby. However, I agree that they could have done a little more with Bobby's mindset as he seemed pretty clear for someone in hell. But then again, even he didn't really belong into the place. Maybe that area where Sam went to was where they put he 'smuggled' souls. A sort of broom closet to the official hell.

Complaints mixed with brainstorming, underlined by the love for the show have never bothered me. I just can't understand people who seem to bash the show with nothing ever good coming out of their mouths. I keep away from those.

I was just thinking yesterday how many possible ways the show could have been written and how many fans have even more many different expectations. It really leaves room for endless discussions and this exactly seems to keep the show alive and thriving despite some mishaps on the way (*sideglances at the first half of this season* lol). but I love how SPN never falls off the wagon completely but manages to catch and rebalance itself.

Btw, my english friend Olly (the one I introduced to SPN) is watching one ep after the other (as time allows) and seeing him hooked like that really makes me happy. It reminds me of me watching the early seasons and all the feelings that came with it and the person I was then. It is amazing that the show is still going strong and how they manage to keep the story going. To me it's a joy to behold.