8.20 Ep reaction

[ash48]

Dear Robbie...



NO WHERE!!

OMFG!!! Can we just take a moment to...SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

As near to a perfect ep for me as you can get!

Awesome bromance, sick!Sam, caring, worried, protective Dean, Dean being AWESOME, Sam being AWESOME, Dean looking INCREDIBLE! (*guh* that guy can wear a uniform), Charlie being AWESOME, interesting MoTW, bunker being AMAZING - THEY HAVE A SHOOTING RANGE!!! ARGHHHHHHHH! \o/, characters given DEPTH, WITTY dialogue, positive fangirl representation, opening sequence of squee, reference to the SPN books, Sam being recognised for how strong her is, Dean's nightmare being Sam in a hospital bed, Dean continuing his hug fest, HUUUUUUGGGSSSSSS,

But my favourite....

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.



Comfort! It's so perfect. I never saw the connection to a hobbit's home before. But there it is - round door and everything. :D The bunker oozes comfort and safety and home.


Going a little deeper:

Dean and his current hug fest.

I happened upon a comment that Dean is out of character giving so many hugs (not on LJ). It made me think. Certainly the earlier seasons didn't have Dean hugging so much. It could be that they are pandering to our love of the bro hugs OR it could be that we are seeing character development.

I'm going with the latter. This episode in particular highlighted Dean's growing ability to let people in. He knows about loss and I am now seeing a Dean who is taking the chance to say "I love you" or "I care about you" with a hug. It's almost like he's taking the chance while he can. He knows how fragile life is in his world and he's now, quite literally, embracing it. I like it. Dean's happier than I can really ever remember. Even with Sam struggling, Dean is in a familiar place. He's scared, but I also see him ready to take on the fight.

Also there's:

Charlie: What about you? Are you going to let it go?
Dean: Never

Once again we see Dean giving advice but not being able to follow it himself. He can't let Sam go. Yet. Maybe his final step of development will be being able to let him go (as Charlie has done with her mother), but for the moment he's hanging on. Thank god!! Please keep hanging on Dean.

There is pretty much nothing the Winchesters can't do if they work together.

Word! I hope this is a reference to what's to come as the finale approaches. I can only believe the success of these trials will come down to the boys working together.

If anyone can get through the trials Sam, it's you

It's interesting how Charlie has said the words that's need to be said to both Sam and Dean. Sam has shown his strength over and over - it's so nice to have it acknowledged from an outside pov. I am so intrigued by what's actually happening to Sam. I think it has to be more than just dying - they've done that too many times now. I think some sort of change in him could be interesting. I am not going to speculate, nor am I reading speculations. Alls I can say is I can't wait to see how this will play out.

Charlie

Robbie has a great way of rounding out characters. He did it with Meg and now with Charlie. We got some history and we saw character growth. Her story also related to the boys. She's strong and independent, knowledgable and kickass. She's also emotional and recognises her flaws. No wonder Dean admires her so much. I also like that she has fangirl qualities that are endearing and not condensing to the fangirl audience. A truly wonderful addition to the Supernatural universe. I hope they keep her around until the very end.

Story structure

A good episode works best when it feels solid. When the story unfolds with moments of action, humour, warmth, myth arc progression, character progression and overall entertainment. Robbie alway manages to find the correct flow - peaks and troughs in the story telling. He uses past canon respectfully (I can only surmise that they had dream root in the boot of the car) and adds believable twists to what we already know about certain monsters (yay, fear feeding Djinn). It feels like he knows these characters and he knows them like we know them. He seemed to get right to the heart of what makes the show so loved - brotherly moments to die for. Let's hope this sets the theme for the remaining three episodes.

and now some gifs I made (I promise I won't spam you with all my gifs. They are so damn addicting. I AM going to be spamming Tumblr though, as I figure that's what the place is for...;D)













WOOT! I'm in my happy place with that ep. Oh and Charlie is a Woman of Letters! \o/ (I'm sure womanofletters was happy to hear her name referenced...;D)



xx

Comments

[azziria.livejournal.com]

So much awesome!

I ended this one in tears. Well done, Show :)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Agreed! Well done show! :)

[rhymephile.livejournal.com]

I am so intrigued by what's actually happening to Sam. I think it has to be more than just dying - they've done that too many times now. I think some sort of change in him could be interesting.

The way they're writing Sam struggling with the trials now (being mysteriously sick and weak, etc) is how I wanted them to write Sam when he had the wall broken in his head. I always felt that was such a HUGE build up with a disappointing payoff. I hope these trials will have some lasting effect on him, something tangible to show how heroic yet also fragile he is.

I don't think Dean's sudden departure from "No chick flick moments" is OOC in the least. I must have rewound the hugging scene and watched it 10 times just because it's so damn refreshing to have Dean opening himself up for once and showing his emotions to Sam. He always seems to be battling with himself to be honest with Sam (which is frustrating as a viewer) so to actually see him express it is a step in the right direction.

I think Season 8 has been the first in a while in which I will do a re-watch right away when the DVDs come out. Most seasons I buy but stick on the shelf. This season (with the exception of the Amelia storyline, which went nowhere and felt so out of place with the rest of the season) has been really, really good, especially the character growth we've seen in Dean.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I always felt that was such a HUGE build up with a disappointing payoff.

OMG! Agrees so much! I was so disappointed by his sudden recovery. And then no mention of it ever again. I dread what they are thinking of here because of that history. I seriously hope we get something interesting out of it all. It looks like they are gearing up for something big...*fingers crossed*

And I'm starting to agree with you about S8. I was bitterly disappointed with much of the beginning. The Amelia story line was such a dead end. I am still holding on to a little hope that they'll do something that will make sense of all that, but I don't think so. I think it was there to add a love interest and that was that.

Dean's growth has been wonderful. :))

[gateslacker.livejournal.com]

Okay, I cackled quite loudly at your fake out. Well played, madam, well played.

AND I CANNOT BELIEVE I DIDN'T SEE THE OBVIOUS RESEMBLANCE OF THE BATCAVE TO A HOBBIT HOLE.

(Capslock was intentional and sorely needed due to my total geek! fail there. They couldn't have spelled it out any more if they wrote it out in letters three feet high and shoved it under my nose. I was literally thinking in capslock at my stupidity. Agog doesn't even begin to describe it. My icon refers to me!)

And I watched it again today and am still in flail reaction mode which is AWESOME but contributes nothing to discussion.

I remain spoiler free but I have had great fun speculating about what is going to happen in the third trial and what is actually going on with Woobie! Sam and what it means for everyone involved (and by great fun I mean I want to know SO BAD that it is all I can do to avoid the spoilers!)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Ha! I like to play with the cuts sometimes...;D

The hobbit hole resemblance is sooooo cool! I wonder who came up with it. I wonder if it was thought about when they first found the bunker, or if Robbie thought about it when he was writing it.

I hope someone asks that at a con. I'd love to know.

STAY STRONG ON THE SPOILERS!! I love speculating too, but then I am often disappointed. But after an episode like that I feel like that CAN do something awesome.

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

I just finished watching this. So adorable. :D

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Wasn't it though?! Yay!

[sam-dean-lover.livejournal.com]

i liked it,

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Me too! :D

[colls]

I really have nothing coherent to add other than big piles of squee

I had this Charlie-visits-batcave-has-case prompt in the spn_summergen exchange AND THEN SHOW WENT AND GAVE IT TO ME.
♥

Not only did they give me Charlie being frakking awesome, they gave me epic broments and hugs and I'm still just sitting here grinning like an idiot.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

EXACTLY! So many squeeful moments!\o/