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

[casey28.livejournal.com]

The reason there's no in depth exploration or build up to Cas saying "yes", is because it was a stupid, impulsive thing. Cas never planned to do it, never knew he'd have the opportunity. He took what Ambriel and Amara said about him to heart... and believed it. Sam resisted Lucifer's manipulations (though he did have some doubts about himself) because in the end, he knew it wasn't about himself, or Dean... it was about setting the Devil free, which is just as bad as having Amara around. Whoever wins, they all lose. After everything they did to lock the Devil up for good... all the pain Sam went through... Cas decides its heroic to say "yes" to Lucifer? Lucifer, who wants the world to burn? Nothing heroic about that!

Then there was the confirmation that Sam didn't look for Dean in S8 because they had apparently made a promise not to.

It's already canon, and it's been said before, so even though that storyline sucks, and it's the most OOC thing ever, I just see it as starting point that Lucifer builds on. The focus was on Sam making decisions based on the fact that he can't let Dean go (and that's the Sam I know and love). It all leads up to importance of the brother bond.

(And why didn't Lucifer just kill Sam and Dean?

Good question. Probably because tricking them is fun to him. And maybe he still wants Sam as his vessel. Also, he used his fists in Swan Song, so I guess the devil likes to punch. :P

Anyway, I'm loving this season... there's some issues, but it doesn't keep me from enjoying the show. I'm so thrilled with what they'd done with Sam so far, and we've had some great brother moments.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hey.

Yeah, I know why Cas said yes (well, in hindsight and after a re-watch) but it's so unsatisfying. I suspect they have some sort of arc for him now and this is where it starts. I'm not fond of Stupid Cas to be honest.

And maybe he still wants Sam as his vessel. Also, he used his fists in Swan Song, so I guess the devil likes to punch. :P

Yeah, he may still want Sam and I know we can come up with reasons for him not killing them (like we do for Crowley). Hee, and yep! He sure does like to punch!

And I am enjoying this season too. It's only been these myth arc heavy eps (well, this one and the last one) that have been weak (imho). I have also loved what they've been doing with Sam. Finally! :D

[casey28.livejournal.com]

I remembered something else... Metatron told Cas in 11.06 that he was broken and fearful. Everyone's tool, manipulated and used by the angels, by your enemies... by your friends. And Cas replies that he's tired of having his strings pulled, and that's why he won't let Metatron manipulate him. So, there is some prior build-up. But, Cas was having his strings pulled by Lucifer, and he fell for it, so he never learns. The "tool" thing though and being broken does reflect some of the things that Ambriel and Amara said.

I agree, it is unsatisfying.

I'm sorry that you think the last two eps have been weak. For me, the good stuff outweighs the not so good, even though the Cas stuff annoys me. Yay that you're happy with Sam's storyline (yes, finally!). I'm basking in that... it's so rare that we get good Sam-centric stuff. Fingers crossed that it stays that way for the rest of the season! Also, this is a big improvement over last year, when the focus of the mid-season finale and the follow up ep, was Claire.