11.10 reaction (warning for squee harshing content)

[ash48]

I haven't posted anything about 11.10 yet because a) I'm away from my computer (on holidays) and typing on my iPad which isn't ideal and b) I really don't know how to say what I want to say about it (though I've tried).

(warning - negativity under the cut. Please do not let me harsh your squee. Move on by (like I know I really should).



I did a lot of soul searching last night after watching the episode. I had a moment of clarity that made me see how Carver is essentially just taking the piss. The sheer laziness in the storytelling made me want to weep (and in fact I did). I was seriously contemplating taking my bat and ball and going home. And I was ready to do it but an addiction like this is not so easy to kick it seems (the next day I was back checking all my fandom places and wanting to talk about it /O\) It's purely personal - it's about the way I watch and enjoy this show. I know many loved it and I think that's awesome. :)

I can't write it all out here but I will just say this; Season 4 and 5 were built around Sam and Dean evolving to a point where they had to say yes/no to lucifer/Michael. It explored motive, weakness, loyalty, trust and strength. And then in one episode. ONE EPISODE. Cas said yes to lucifer. No build up, no exploration, no in-depth motive' it was just "ooh, I know what we can do with Cas now! Let's make him Lucifer!" He has one tiny scene that makes me feel less heroic than Sam and Dean and *wham* he's lucifer. They had a whole first half of the season to put Cas in a place were this made sense - instead they had him watching Netflix.

Then there was the confirmation that Sam didn't look for Dean in S8 because they had apparently made a promise not to. If you are going to do that to a character give us that scene. In S5 there was a scene where Sam told Dean to go and live his life after his death. Even then, we found out in S6 that Dean still tried all he could to find Sam. So in s8 we have Sam not even trying to figure out where dean went and abandoning Kevin because of an off-screen "promise". I'm sorry, but that's carver's canon and I just cannot accept it (and he keeps pushing that message home - like if he says it enough it will make it true).

Ok, there were some nice bits in that ep, but even the funny voice message and bro touching couldn't shake me out of the "what the fuck was that?!" after it all sunk in.

(And don't get me started on the fandom war it's created about who played the better Lucifer. The cynic in me thinks it a deliberate ploy to stir up fandom on-line chatter. The realist in me says they simply have no idea what they are doing and it's just a "fun" place to take the storyline).

I'm glad Rowena got a chance to tell us why she's the way she is before they killed her. It was one of her best scenes.

There's more but I am feeling just so weary. I long for the simple MOTW eps where they stop trying to do something with an absurd myth arc that is not thought through.

(And why didn't Lucifer just kill Sam and Dean? How does the devil have a fist fight? What happened to a click of the fingers and a body explodes. Agh...I have to stop before I explode).

I used too many brackets. Oh well.

Comments

[fufaraw]

Basically nothing about the angels has ever worked for me particularly well, especially not since they had their first fistfight in S4. And nothing about demons, either, since they became laughable (I'd say around the time burning Crowley's bones came into the picture). And yet, I seem to have reached a zen place where my expectations are so low, I enjoy what I enjoy and handwave the rest. I tried walking away, and it didn't work, so I'm happy to have found a way to work around it.

(nods furiously)

I knew I liked you for a reason. This, all of this.

Mostly what the writers and directors of storylines and arcs in recent years have done is teach me to ignore canon when it's patently ridiculous, or impossible to believe or reconcile with previous canon.

[killabeez.livejournal.com]

♥

Mostly what the writers and directors of storylines and arcs in recent years have done is teach me to ignore canon when it's patently ridiculous, or impossible to believe or reconcile with previous canon.

Yes. A valuable skill in fandom—especially in one that's lasted 11 years!

[spnmonster.livejournal.com]

I'm able to enjoy while I'm watching for the most part, but then when I think about it later, I still get annoyed. It used to be worse tbh. I've pretty much disengaged emotionally. It's more like I'm insulted by the writing. The best thing I've done is stop writing reviews. I made myself miserable looking that closely at it.

[killabeez.livejournal.com]

The best thing I've done is stop writing reviews. I made myself miserable looking that closely at it.

It's true! I love reading reviews, because I love taking apart a story and seeing what works about it and what doesn't. But yes, articulating criticisms about things we have fannish feelings for can lead to an emotional crash. The reverse of that, I've found, is articulating the bits I did like. Then those become the things I remember about an episode, and it's easier to leave the rest behind.

[quickreaver.livejournal.com]

This is how I'm watching the show now. Yeah, there are perfectly crappy bits, like canonizing the reason Sam didn't look for Dean (WHICH I WILL REJECT TO MY DYING DAY), so I'm opting to focus on the bits I liked. Like Dean's "Have you met me?" and the lovely strands of silver in Sam's curls. God bless high-def TV.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

(I'm trying to watch it like that but it's not working!! I still get SO disappointed when they don't take the time to develop the big story lines).

[quickreaver.livejournal.com]

I just want to say your userpic is so cute! *drive by cute-ing* :D

[fufaraw]

Aww, thank you! Yes, out of all the holiday batch casey28 made, this one leapt out going, "Me! Take me!" She was generous to share.

That's a pretty mighty Sam icon you got there, yerself!