Poll 10.18

[ash48]

I definitely have stuff I want to say about this episode but I'm so short of time. Just returned from visit my family over east and now getting ready for my daughter's epic 18th party. I'd still love to know what you all thought of 10.18. In short, I loved it. The longer version will contain Sam stuff - and a slightly changed view of the show (or rather, it's clearer to me what they are doing now…)

[Poll #2008211]

Comments

[citrusjava.livejournal.com]

I am clearly wrong.

BUT

The one time you all fall in love with a Robbie episode! He is my favorite writer on the show and the one time everybody is so excited about an ep of his! ...

It was cool and nice, a good ep, just - like - it was - it lacked depth for me so I'm, like - go write me fic for this, it's a good basis ?

It was nice !


And I know I should never utter blasphemous concepts as this, but for all Felicia Day is AWESOME, it could have been good to get a bit more out of her acting, maybe.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

No such thing as wrong! How we react is true, never wrong (which is why I get hurt when fans begin to reject each other based on being "negative" about certain aspects of the show). We each have things we love about the show and not every episode can fill everybody's needs.

Robbie is very much the "fan" writer - he gives us what we "think" we want. In many cases it is what many want, but not all the time. Sam's explanation of last season's words to Dean have come from the fan's push for it. I'm not complaining because I have been desperate to hear Sam speak, but it also shattered a lot of idea (for me) of where they might be going with Sam. Still, better than the last 17 episodes of (mostly) silence.

But I hear ya! It's not all going to work for everybody…;)

[frozen_delight]

I used to love Charlie very much, but I think that Robbie Thompson's lost his touch when it comes to writing the character - the first three Charlie eps were brilliant because of her, this one despite her being in it. Or so it seemed to me.

[greyowl88.livejournal.com]

Epic song choice at the end indeed, hee! ;D

[ash48.livejournal.com]

haha! The vid has resurfaced after that episode and I see on YT the first line is "for greyowl". :D

[adrift-n-time.livejournal.com]

I'm so confused about what show is doing with Sam, so I'll be checking back later for your "Sam Stuff" I appreciated all the Sam pov we were treated to, but his choice of the word 'love' when it comes to the hunting life confused me more than anything. My Sam confusion aside, I loved the episode.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

There's two thoughts for Sam. 1- they still have no idea about him or where they are going with him to 2 - they had an idea and dropped it (due to fan reaction last season) and now have to rapidly rebuild Sam so he can do what ever he's going to do to save Dean. Personally, I think it's been a mess, but I do have some thoughts about why it's been a mess and why they're doing what they're doing now. Hope to get some thoughts down during the week. :)

[antrazi.livejournal.com]

I really liked the episode but feel cheated because they cut the Dean workout scene...

[ash48.livejournal.com]

There was a Dean workout scene?!?! CHEATED!!!!

[cassiopeia7.livejournal.com]

. . . seriously? Fail, epic fail! D:

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

IKR? I have complained to Robbie on Twitter. That scene better be on the DVD!

[tebtosca.livejournal.com]

This is the second episode in a row that I've actually enjoyed so I'm a little flummoxed myself lol! Maybe my standards are just getting lower at this point :P

Berens' episode is next week and it looks good so I think we might get three enjoyable episodes in a row before they ruin it again. I had lunch with him last week while he was visiting NYC (he's completely adorable)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hold up! You had lunch with Berens?? WHAT?! Damn, I bet you tweeted about this and I missed it (been very absent lately). So wow. Did you chat SPN or just general other chatting stuff?! How awesome. It's totally envious of course.

And yeah, 2 very enjoyable episodes in a row and really looking forward to the next one. It feels like they are hitting their stride with the season. I'm excited about that and really hope it keeps the momentum as it heads toward the finale.

[aletheiafelinea.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it moves things on, and I'm waiting to see what's the deal with Rowena going to look like, but watching the episode I was mostly bored. It was overtalked (though the bright side of it is that many things is told and explained. Finally).

And speaking of finally - Castiel. About frickin' time! And now, writers, just let him be like this and stop messing with him. Just for a change.

Hmm. Dean in a hoodie. Hmm... Was it supposed to give us a hmm?

Also, I'm irked that no one even so much as asked Charlie about her injuries. She had to ask for help at last. Shyly. Shame on you, dear 'friends'.

[greyowl88.livejournal.com]

And speaking of finally - Castiel. About frickin' time! And now, writers, just let him be like this and stop messing with him.

This!!! :D

[antrazi.livejournal.com]

Dean was in a hoodie because they cut the Scene with Dean working out. Robbie Thompson tweeted it.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

There was a lot of talking, that's for sure. I confess to skipping some of the Cas and Metatron parts - mostly because I find Metatron so slimy he's hard to watch. I'm glad Cas has his grace back (and not at the expense of selling out) and I hope he's normal again for a while (though always hard because now he's fully powered he should be capable of anything).

The overall satisfaction came (for me) because finally we heard Sam say actual words. I'm not entirely sure what we can take from it, but at least he was acknowledged as having feelings on stuff. And now we can see what this "bad" thing is. We also saw Dean getting excited for a potential cure, so that was satisfying also.

Poor Charlie! Welcome to the world of hunting...

[sam-dean-lover.livejournal.com]

i thought it was ok, while Sam's chat with Charlie was nice, it didnt feel right. here is a quote from njspnfan that sums up what was wrong with that scene-*And Sam.... the scene between him and Charlie was not bad; it was nice to get some dialog/POV about Sam, but this seems like such a rehash of the Sam S3/S4, with absolutely no lessons learned and none of the maturity that Carver has mentioned repeatedly. To me, it seems out of character to the Sam of S8/S9/S10, but I guess most of the fans like this over-romanticized stuff. And Dean's snide comment to Sam was to guilt/drive him to do anything to save Dean - a bit of a rehash of most of S8. The fact that Sam swapped books really wasn't a surprise but, if the book is calling to the MoC, wouldn't Dean know this or is that completely shielded by the warded lead box?
and, This episode firmly established as canon that Sam was wrong for being mad at Dean for having him possessed by an angel without his consent in order to save him. Dean did this out of love and Sam was an asshole for being angry at him. Let's all keep that in mind when everything goes sideways with Metatron, the Styne Family, The Book of the Damned, Rowena, and Sam going dark in order, or under Rowena's spell, to try to save his brother.
my 1 bright spot was the music i do love that, i have those songs on my playlist that i keep

[ash48.livejournal.com]

All these concerns are my concerns too. It's what I want to write about when I get a chance…

I'll have to think that once in the box it's shielded from Dean (or, if Dean can feel anything he'll probably think it's something else).

Hmmm, probably best to not get me started on the consent issue or the fact that Dean still hasn't been confronted (by anyone) about that. I'm still working out if Sam's constant backing down and apologising is part of his character "flaw" (they both have 'em) or if it's just their way of smoothing the way for the next part of Sam's struggle.

I'll be curious about how much Sam is "damned" by fandom for his choices - especially as Dean was hailed a hero (by many, not all) after his. Both will do stupid things for each other, as long as perspective remains. If Sam hate starts up again, I'm outta here.

[heliokleia.livejournal.com]

My voting was for 'ok'. Because after watching "The Book Of The Damned", I knew that my optimistic thoughts about, 'now they're getting it, finally,' after I watched "Inside Man" (the best episode of the season that far), were not meant to last long.
*rolls eyes again*

Well, I really thought that Robbie Thompson could hold reach at least the high-level quality that Andrew Dabb gifted us with last week, but yeah, the landing was hart this week, as always, when the writing bounced back to its usually bad that we have learned to live with the last seasons...

Don't get me wrong; the eppy wasn't completely lost: thumbs up for, finally, having some Sam POV and for badass Charlie. And for Cas, getting his grace back, YAY!^^
*does teh happy Cas-has-his-grace-back dance*

Not to forget El Deano swinging hottieliciously on the driver's seat to Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town"
*vroom-vroom*

I was so happy, watching Dean being cheerfull again - at least for a little while - that I even easily ignored the usual logic holes (like the two pathetic Styne douchebags could overpower MoC!Dean so easily in the shop, for example).
But this all went totally belly-up when Robbie Thompson decided starting to write Sam OOC again... :(

After all the brothers - or TFW - went through because of making stupid decisions [made behind one brother's back] more than once over the years, Show, you really let Sam trying that stunt again? Like he had learned nothing said past years? :( :( :(

Seriously, Carver??
*shakes head + glares*

Phew, now I feel a little better. Thank you for the poll, sweetie and for the chance to add my own two cents to your post.
*huggles*

P.S. Thumbs-up for your daughter's 'epic 18th party', my dear.
♥

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking that the cycle of sacrifice and them not "learning" anything is all part of the verse. It's incredibly frustrating to see them make the same mistakes over and over again, but I figure that's what makes this show compelling so they keep doing it. The other option is let the other die and if that happens we either have characters we don't understand (S8 Sam not looking for Dean) or dead brothers (which can't happen just yet…). I'm not sure Sam was OOC though, I think this is the Sam we've seen many times. What's frustrating is seeing him do this after saying he wouldn't in S9 (and actually NOT looking in S8 because of what they've learned about bringing the other back from the dead).

I liked the writing, for the most part, in this one. It was pretty wordy - but as Sam had many of the words, it made me happy. :) It's such a rarity these days, it makes a nice change (and I've desperately wanted to know how he's feeling and what he was thinking after S9).

I loved seeing a more hopeful Dean - it breaks my heart more when he's positive and hopeful rather than staring into a mirror.

Survived the 18th!! But NEVER again!

[el1ie.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed it, not to say there weren't a few things that made me shake my head a little, there was far more things that worked well though and character wise it drew me in, although I did expect them to maybe link back to The Thule Society who seemed to have slipped right off the grid lately!

What made, totally made the episode for me was by the end? This was Sam and Dean on my screen, not those two actors. And this Sam and Dean? I liked them and I haven't felt like that for a long, long time. So, yes, there were a couple of strange turns in there, but to get back to the Sam and Dean I like, I think I needed them to be there, I didn't mind they were a trifle heavy handed because this fandom has shown it sometimes needs things laid out heavy handed.

So, in conclusion, Dean knows he can't die and expects to be chained up in the bunker for eternity and has forbidden anyone to make a deal to save him (as usual) and Sam loves being a hunter and loves his bloody brother and is going to make a deal to save him (as usual) This IS Supernatural, that's what they do, they don't live in my world, so I can applaud their over indulgent co-dependent, two fingered outlook on their world as a thing of delight, it wouldn't be Supernatural if they didn't fuck the world up for each other. I'll say it, I love that about them.

I understand the upsetting issues, I understand fandom's problems, as a viewer there have been times I've found it very hard to connect to either brother at times. I've come to believe that my perspective of what happened and the issues it raised are how they affected me and don't exist on the show and I've made peace with it. Maybe I should be ashamed I can get passed it, but good grief this isn't the only show on TV with major issues but I'm bloody tired of being shamed and feeling I should apologise at every turn for enjoying escapism TV.

I enjoyed this, even enjoyed Metatron and Castiel, and now I've got something I can build on again colour me happy and unabashedly UN-ashamed of watching SPN and my other shows.

[batgurl10.livejournal.com]

Same! A million times, this;)

[chomaisky.livejournal.com]

I loved this episode better than the previous ones. I'm looking forward to your thoughts on Sam!!!

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hi! I've enjoyed the last two - I'm happy to day. Looks like we've got our seriously messed up brothers back! :)

[amypond45.livejournal.com]

I LOVED Sam confessing how he can't go on without Dean. I flashed back to Dean saying "I can't do it without you," and Sam saying "Yes, you can," and Dean muttering, "Yeah, well I don't' want to" and all my buttons were pushed because THIS is why I love this show. All the suffering, I-will-lay-waste-the-world-for-you co-dependent, obsessive "Wuthering Heights" thing...Every chick-flick moment ever, right here ;)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

It had it all, thats for sure! :D Their mess up love for each other is so compelling. :))