9.05 episode reaction/review

[ash48]

Before I get into this I have to spend a moment geeking over the motel room. Firstly YAY so good do see a motel room again and double YAY because I ADORE the diamond theme. It's directly linked to the MoTW (snake - as he first appeared) and the name of the motel "Diamond Tim" could be in reference to Tim Friede, a man who injects himself with snake venom in order to become immune to it. He's even quoted as saying “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”. I wonder if he might have even been the inspiration to this weeks MoTW story.



I swear those curtains look like snake skin. I have some more pics here on tumblr. Love the diamonds repeated on the bedspread, walls and room divider. I would love to think they chose this theme because of snake skin.

Also - prop reuse: bed head (such a popular item), lamp and I am sure that painting has been used before. (yay!)

Ok. ::koff::…now that I've got that out of my system.

This episode ticked enough boxes for me that it goes into the "very enjoyable" episode category. It ticked the biggest box of them all - SAM 'N DEAN, SAM 'N DEAN SAM 'N DEAN which pretty much makes up for anything it might have been lacking.

So much Sam and Dean screen time I actually felt spoiled. And they were so GOD DAMN ADORABLE together. THAT ENDING!! I almost thought Dean was going to lick Sam's face. *g* I will never not love concerned Dean and hurt!Sam (or hurt!Dean, concerned Sam). But I also loved the wonderful collection of Sam bitch faces and shit eating grins. Loved his pure, unadulterated fondness of Dean. Dean also seems weirdly content.

It's like they are prefect brothers at the moment. WHICH IS WHY IT HURTS SO MUCH!!

I swear they are doing this deliberately - showing us everything that works in their relationship (no arguing, working a case, snark, concern for each other, a comfortableness that they share so easily) just so it will KILL US EVEN MORE when it shatters into a million pieces when Sam finds out what's going on (and the longer it goes on the worse it's gonna get I reckon). And he's getting closer.

I could moan that it's taking too long or that Dean really should man up and tell Sam, but it's story telling and it's the major myth arc at the moment. I actually don't mind the bread crumbs - the little moments with Zeke. Dean is treading on very thin ice and, I don't know about you, but it makes me squirrrrrm. I'm not sure now if Sam knows for sure Dean is lying and he's just biding his time, or he's seriously slow at putting two and two together. I do hope they don't drag it out too much longer though.

I do like that we are still getting glimpses of him just wanting it to be over - for Sam to be fully healed and Zeke gone. In that opening scene it looked Dean was trying to talk directly to Zeke. As though he wants some indication that it's working and he'll be finished healing Sam.

In many ways this was a classic SPN episode. Not the full on angsty classic ones, but the rather silly (almost making fun of itself one). It had a weird MoTW, gore, blood splatter, motel room, funny moments, pop culture references (Game of Thrones mentioned again…), final in-car bro shot etc. At least Sam and Dean weren't totally out of character (like in Yellow Fever or Swap Meat) - there was enough of the real them to keep this episode work.

I did enjoy Dean's early dog moments. The fetch scene might just be one of my all time funniest moments in the show EVER. I seriously laughed out loud. It wore a little thin after a while, but *shrugs* I didn't mind. It was nice to see Jensen (and Jared for that matter) having some fun. And HA! Dogs are not man's best friend but rather have a "secret" reason for being here. Reminded me of the dolphins from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

The only thing I didn't like so much was the animal voices. I'm not sure why, but I felt like they didn't quite hit the mark. I think they were meant to be funny, but I felt they lacked…something (quality of voice over maybe?). No biggie, but I did feel myself squirming a bit during some of those scenes.

I felt quite a pang during the cat scene. My cat passing is still raw and seeing that black and white one…*sniff* (I actually muttered…no, not cats...).

Curious that Kevin was mentioned in the opening but not Cas. Also…Kevin is the go-to "Bobby" guy now? I thought Garth was filling that role (I think it's a shame that Garth hasn't at least been mentioned this season. It's like he suddenly doesn't exist. I realise that he's not a focus at the moment, but it might not hurt to at least give him a nod).

I like that we had further acknowledgement about what Dean is thinking when it comes to Sam. His line…"he was possessed by something he couldn't control" was so telling (and quite possibly foreboding). I'm not sure if Dean's "trust me Sammy, you have nothing to worry about" was more for Sam or himself. Ack. So messed up!! I love it. :))

And now I leave you with these because I will never tire of bro touching...





(Hmm, I wonder if it's purely coincidence that Dean has had his hands on Cas, Charlie and now Sam's face recently. Maybe as Cas and Charlie were actually dead when he did that in the other episodes, him doing it here was to mirror him thinking Sam might be dead. I dunno, just seems like a thing. Or, as I do, I'm just over thinking it. ;)

Comments

[cassiopeia7.livejournal.com]

I swear they are doing this deliberately - showing us everything that works in their relationship (no arguing, working a case, snark, concern for each other, a comfortableness that they share so easily) just so it will KILL US EVEN MORE when it shatters into a million pieces when Sam finds out what's going on (and the longer it goes on the worse it's gonna get I reckon). And he's getting closer…

This times a million. They're fattening us up for the kill. And it's gonna HURT.

Dean is treading on very thin ice and, I don't know about you, but it makes me squirrrrrm. I'm not sure now if Sam knows for sure Dean is lying and he's just biding his time, or he's seriously slow at putting two and two together.

Sam definitely suspects, but maybe . . . he's still giving big brother the benefit of the doubt? Because Sam's no dummy and wouldn't be THAT slow at solving any puzzle. Maybe Zeke is erasing just enough of his memory that he's actually not sure? IDK.

The only thing I didn't like so much was the animal voices. I'm not sure why, but I felt like they didn't quite hit the mark. I think they were meant to be funny, but I felt they lacked…something (quality of voice over maybe?). No biggie, but I did feel myself squirming a bit during some of those scenes.

Agreed. They were OTT cartoony, too "comedic" and bad-Disney-like and just didn't fit with the animals or the show. Someone definitely dropped the ball there. (The thing that bugged me the most was the Colonel's voice -- he sounded like a New York "punk" rather than the Oklahoma dog that he was. Definitely bugged by the voices, and after taking a hint from Amber1960, I checked out Jared's livetweets from last night. HE didn't care for the voices, either. :(

His line…"he was possessed by something he couldn't control" was so telling (and quite possibly foreboding). I'm not sure if Dean's "trust me Sammy, you have nothing to worry about" was more for Sam or himself.

I got chills over that line. (And Dean is totally reassuring himself -- either that he's done the right thing, or that everything will work out all right -- but it's definitely for himself.)

I will never tire of bro touching...

You and me both, bb, you and me both. :)

[counteragent.livejournal.com]

Yup, this is how I felt about the ep--started off cute and wore too thin for me. The additional animal voices weren't needed, I thought, although LOL to Dean drawing his weapon on the pigeon.

But the brother moments were enough to keep me interested--felt old school.

Also Sam is dumb LOL.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

It's like they are prefect brothers at the moment. WHICH IS WHY IT HURTS SO MUCH!!
I have not seen the episode yet, but I wanted to say that I agree with this. Their relationship is so relaxed and close lately, and I really kills me knowing that there is this huge secret hanging over them that will destroy everything. /sigh

Those gifs make me very, very happy! :)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hey darlin!

I actually ended up not liking the Colonel that much because of his voice. I didn't feel that sorry for him in the end (maybe that was the point perhaps?). And yeah - a matching accent to where he was from would have been much better. Oh and Jared actually said he didn't like them? Good call. They weren't great unfortunately.

Sam taking so long to figure out that something is wrong is weird. It's either they just don't want him to know yet OR Zeke is erasing just enough to not let him suspect. The latter is sooooo creepy. Zeke could be doing ANYTHING in there!!

And yeah…Dean need to reassured for sure. And maybe he's trying to "warn" Zeke- it WILL be all right (or else!)
xx

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I was keen on them opening up to having other animal voices (especially as there didn't seem to be any difference on how they sounded). They could have easily kept it to just dogs.

Sam is dumb. But Sam isn't dumb. So Sam being dumb is WORRYING! (either because the writers are writing him dumb or because Zeke is making it so! Argh!)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

It's curious that this seems to be working the other way around this season. Their relationship starts off in a great place and is heading toward a not very good place at all. (I think it might be the first season where it starts off this positively…)

And those gifs will be my happy place (well, that whole scene really…)

xx

[borgmama1of5.livejournal.com]

I think Sam is tired of having the other shoe drop so he is disregarding his suspicions because Dean, even though he's said some odd things, keeps telling him everything's fine. In other words, trusting Dean more than his gut feeling.

And at ChiCon the boys said the mid-season cliffhanger is going to be 'tragic' (Jensen's word!) so I would place money on that being the ep when Sam finds out.

[spnmonster.livejournal.com]

Sam isn't dumb and they are making him dumb. Honestly, it kind of ruins the whole thing (and I had other issues but whatever).

The last conversation made zero sense. There's no way that Sam remembered the chef asking him what he was, but not remembering having his throat slashed or inexplicably waking up with blood all over him but no wound. That was stupid. And Sam does know Dean better than anyone, but an absolute stranger would have seen that Dean as lying.

I'm really hoping that Sam is just feeling to good and enjoying their relationship too much to have a confrontation until he has proof that something isn't kosher because, no, Sam isn't stupid. He's just letting Dean dig himself into a deeper hole.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I really hope that there is a reason for Sam taking so long to even question what's going on. You could be right, maybe he's just trusting Dean and wants to block out any other possibility.

I can't imagine them dragging this out for another 5 episodes. I actually wonder if Sam finding out isn't going to be the cliffy, but rather what might happen 2 or three episodes after that. Will have to wait and see I suppose!

[eyestoowide.livejournal.com]

So much Sam and Dean screen time I actually felt spoiled. And they were so GOD DAMN ADORABLE together. THAT ENDING!! I almost thought Dean was going to lick Sam's face. *g* I will never not love concerned Dean and hurt!Sam (or hurt!Dean, concerned Sam). But I also loved the wonderful collection of Sam bitch faces and shit eating grins. Loved his pure, unadulterated fondness of Dean. Dean also seems weirdly content.

I had too many issues with the episode to enjoy it, but this ^^ actually makes me feel a little better about it, because I hate it when I don't like an episode. You're always so positive I swear it's contagious, so thanks for that! ♥

[tebtosca.livejournal.com]

*points to icon*

OTP

[counteragent.livejournal.com]

I hope you are right. Even I, who LOVE this plotline, can't reasonably expect them to draw it out any longer.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Sam isn't dumb and it really makes me hope that there's been some deeper thought put into that. 4 seasons ago I would have been confident that they would have done. Now? Not so much. I think they are just dragging it out and just not allowing Sam to connect the dots. Yet.

There's no way that Sam remembered the chef asking him what he was, but not remembering having his throat slashed

Hmmm….I know. Maybe zeke "wiped" the slash in Sam's mind when he fixed it, but not the words of the chef. Yeah..no…I dunno…(same with Sam waking up after Zeke fixed Charlie last week). I actually want it to be Zeke messing with his mind so it makes some sense, but at the same time I don't want that to be happening…

I think Sam IS really liking the relationship at the moment. He's also feeling healthy and positive so maybe he doesn't really want to question that. LIke…at all. He says it's the best he's felt so why examine that too hard. He might think Dean has done something but just doesn't want to break what's been fixed in him. He's finally feeling good…AND he trusts Dean. I'm sure he can't even imagine what Dean could have done (or what he could be lying about).

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

"Reminded me of the dolphins from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy." Damn I totally forgot to mention that in my post! That was exactly what I was thinking - yay! a shout out to Douglas Adams! (It must have been, right?)

I am liking all the face touching this season. *sigh*

It sounds like you are happier about the drawing out of the Zeke thing than I am, but other than that - spot on!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Bwhahahha ruff ruff!!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

That is what it worrying me - unless they start tackling Zeke being there in a different way - I actually love the whole idea of this angel possession for the potential angst, but am starting to hate the way they are rolling Zeke out to perform a miracle cure every goddam week!

[ash48.livejournal.com]

There's no doubt the ep has issues but I will never not love seeing the boys together like this. We rarely see them being SO in tune with each other. I think we are in for a rough ride ahead, so I gotta embrace the bro!love while I can. :D

<33

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Oh darlin! Finally Dean's found his true love! :D

(it's that quaffed hair! Reminds him of….;)
xxx

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they've reached the point where Zeke appearing to fix Sam or fix dead people needs to stop. It's either got to start to mean something or they need to change direction completely. I am hoping the next episode will be the game changer. Two "light" eps in a row, we must be due for an angsty one..

[ash48.livejournal.com]

a shout out to Douglas Adams! (It must have been, right?)

It sure felt like it! "So long and thanks for all the bones…"

Yummmm…face touching….

It sounds like you are happier about the drawing out of the Zeke thing than I am

I am only happy up until…now. Next week I want to see some meatier development. I don't want them to drag it out much longer. Or, if they are going to, I need to see a game chaining scenario. TBH I am hoping for something we can't even imagine happening soon...

[jessm78.livejournal.com]

Even though I didn't love this episode as much as I expected to, I did love all the bro stuff! And I'm totally with you on seeing a motel room again!! After they found the MOL bunker I feared we'd never see them in a motel room again, lol

Wasn't too thrilled with the animal voices myself. And the cat eating scene made me cringe a lot too. *HUGS* I can imagine how it would affect you so badly, hon. I definitely know how you feel. I was watching the SPN Anime series about a month after my previous dog died. Won't spoil if you haven't seen it, but there was a scene where a dog was beaten and killed in one of the episodes. I turned off the TV and cried my eyes out. It really does hurt.

[smithkingsley.livejournal.com]

That bit totally reminded me of Hitchhiker's too! /geek love

PERFECT GIFS ARE PERFECT ♥

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Exactly - I'm fine with it continuing IF they do something different with Zeke - they can't just keep rolling him out to heal someone every week. Come on show, use your imaginations!

[spnmonster.livejournal.com]

I wish I could hand wave away the fact that Sam didn't seem to remember getting his throat slashed. Like maybe Ezekiel wiped just that bit, but it doesn't explain Sam waking up covered in blood but having no wound.

I can understand Sam enjoying where he is with Dean right now and not wanting to believe that Dean is looking him in the eye and saying, "trust me" while lying to him. But Dean was so obviously lying -- so maybe Sam knows he's lying and doesn't want to know the truth because he knows in his heart how bad it could be. I don't know. Like you, I wish I could trust the writers.

[katsheswims.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, I'm not sure that it's Kevin being the new Bobby, but that Kevin is in the bunker so he has access to all the books and files that are stored there, so Sam and Dean can call him now while on a case to get him to research/look things up.