11.14 reaction/review

[ash48]

Hot damn, that was some fine TV!

Different format because I'm feeling energetic. And erratic. So bullet points! :)

• Robert Berens = best writer on the show. Hands down.
  
  
• John Badham = awesome director. I have many fave directors on the show, so I can't claim he's the "best" because I think there are many "bests". He's definitely one of them!!
  
  
• I felt like I was watching a movie, not a TV show.
  
  
• I can't recall another episode where I was SO on the edge of my seat. I mean, we know the boys will always survive, but the tension was such that I actually worried for them. I loved that.
  
  
• Damn, that was some fine editing.
  
  
• Dean fixated on coffee in the morning. I UNDERSTAND THAT!
  
  
• Submarines. I feel claustrophobic just saying the word. Setting an episode (or part of it) in one is kinda genius. The total lack of escape is terrifying. This episode utilised that extremely well.
  
  
• Beren's creates well rounded, in-depth OCs. Even the guy holding the gun on Dean had character depth.
  
  
• Crowley as a dog was truly unsettling.
  
  
• I like the Men of Letters stuff. Always have. I like that the boys are not only hunters, but legacies.
  
  
• It made me wonder if there was also a separate "Women of Letters" - but after a twitter convo it seems women are Women of Letters within the Men of Letters. So. People of Letters really.
  
  
• I love that Berens doesn't treat us like idiots. Thank you for that. <3
  
  
• Role reversal - Dean begging Sam to let him do the dangerous thing (not often we hear Dean ask permission from Sam). Matches the previous ep of Sam telling Dean "he's got this". This also feels more organic than last season.
  
  
• Dean's (aka Jensen's) perfect lips are ridiculous. I was rather distracted by them in this episode.
  
  
• Misha's Lucifer is improving. I'm not fond of the screwed up face, but he was suitably menacing and creepy in this one. I am also enjoying watching Misha be something else. I like his non-Cas voice.
  
  
• I am so glad Cas as Lucifer has been revealed.
  
  
• Cas emerging to save Sam made me *heart eyes*. I love seeing Cas care for Sam. Like WHOA!
  
  
• Oh Dean. I like that his pain feels more organic this season. I dunno - it's had to explain. But the last two seasons were hard going and this just feels so much better for Dean's characterisation. I get that they needed/wanted to do "dark" Dean, but I much prefer this one. He's back to genuinely caring about people - wanting and needing to save them. I also feel Jensen is more in-tune with this Dean (purely personal opinion of course. I feel the same for Jared).
  
  
• Dean stating that he was only a "witness" was pure perfection. I spent the episode thinking "Dean's not doing anything" and that was EXACTLY the point (SO AWESOME!). Remember how ineffectual Sam felt in S3 when he knew he couldn't save Dean? I think this is somewhat the same. Dean knows he's can't kill Amara and feels useless. Love that we were shown this, not told it. I just hope - really HOPE that they don't make him wallow in stuff. Give me vulnerable, but don't give me self-pitying.
  
  
• Nice, quiet moment between the brothers at the end of the episode. <33 Maybe TPTB actually got the memo that we like the brothers being supportive of each other, rather than constantly at odds.
  
  
• Sam's concern for Dean putting himself in danger. I live for those moments. :)
  
  
• Sam offering his soul to be touched in order to save Dean. *drowns in a pile of drool*
  
  
• Sam's soul actually being touched by Lucifer. Non-con soul touching. Man, this show is fucked up.
  
  
• Great location for the final scene. Beautiful, thoughtful and appropriate.
  
  
• Edith Piaf is still in my head. I've been singing that song non stop! Love it.
  
  
  So yeah. I thought that ep was pretty awesome. Berens always makes me care more about the myth arc than any other writer. Dean and Sam continue to be the characters I fell in love with. It so REFRESHING that they aren't against each other. It terrifies me too (because surely this can't last), but I will enjoy while I can. :))

Comments

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I wasn't doing this deliberately but now you've posted this, I feel all I need to do is point to show my reaction to this episode! LOL

"I also feel Jensen is more in-tune with this Dean (purely personal opinion of course. I feel the same for Jared)." Interesting you should say that because I just watched an interview with Jensen from earlier this season in which he basically says almost exactly this. (It's on my journal, posted it today if you're interested. Only 10 mins and both vids, Jensen and Jared's, have some lovely BTS bits you'll like!).

I am SO with you on the sense of hazard, particularly in this episode. I wasn't expecting them to reveal Lucifer in Cas so soon, so when he suddenly turned on Sam I was genuinely surprised and worried for Sam's soul. I totally LOVE that they can do that to me after all this time and all the deaths and resurrections.

I had to tweet Berens because this was such a great story - and yes, if you want to torture Dean, put him in a situation where he's helpless and that will hurt him worse than beating him up.

Season 11 is making me a truly happy bunny!

Oh I forgot to say, the only thing I don't like at the moment is Misha's Lucifer and the Crowley part - I'm still finding he's making me cringe instead of shudder.

[zubeneschamali.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this ep, too, and like you said, the fact that they can make us scared for the boys even after all these years is pretty impressive!

I toured a WWII submarine last summer and couldn't help thinking about fic ideas, and I was thrilled to see this sub looked exactly the same, green bench seats and sleeping on top of the torpedoes and all. And as much as I was expecting some tense scenes in the sub, because that's a key part of the genre, I wasn't expecting that Sam's scenes were going to be the one where I was crying, "No!" at the TV. Great job by both Jared and Misha in that scene (and yay Cas for coming out to save Sam).

I trust that in between the final two scenes, they drew Delphine's angel ward all over the bunker and Baby, right?

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Interesting you should say that because I just watched an interview with Jensen from earlier this season in which he basically says almost exactly this.

Oh that's awesome! I think it's really coming across. :) And I'll definitely take a look at those. Thank you!

I totally LOVE that they can do that to me after all this time and all the deaths and resurrections.if you want to torture Dean, put him in a situation where he's helpless and that will hurt him worse than beating him up.

Yes. So much more powerful. We know how much he needs to be the "hero", so when he can't be it's devastating.

the only thing I don't like at the moment is Misha's Lucifer and the Crowley part

Yeah, Misha's Lucifer is hit and miss for me. At times I really like it but then at times it can be almost clownish. Unfortunately I can "see" Misha's acting most of the time and it can take me out of the moment. I did like his change from Lucifer!Cas to Cas though.

[cuddyclothes.livejournal.com]

On rewatch this morning, I'll already crying because they're all going to die. Robert Berens is a great writer.

I have nothing to say, because all of your bullet points nailed it.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I've toured a couple of subs and it makes me wonder how on earth anyone actually be in one of those things and stay sane. I honesty didn't think they'd do a Hunt For Red October in this ep (or even try to be true to the sub film genre), so I was surprised - and impressed.

The scenes between Misha and Jared were bloody intense. I was also crying out "no". I actually thought Lucifer was going to take Sam's soul - which I just didn't want at all! One thing I'm liking about Lucifer at the moment is not knowing which way he's going to turn.

I trust that in between the final two scenes, they drew Delphine's angel ward all over the bunker and Baby, right?

Yes yes! Most definitely. ;) Looks like the wards they have don't do much. Looks like anything can get in there. ;/

(and you and submarine fic ideas…me likey ;D).

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Robert Berens is a great writer.

*nods*

I'm "glad" that they did all end up dying because it meant history didn't change - which, actually I thought they were going to do. Time travel at the best of times is problematic - but it was handled really well. And unless Dean wanted to change the course of history he knew he wasn't going to be able to do a thing - he was a mere witness. *sniff*

And clever that he left the reveal about what happened to the other ship until the end. Smart writing.

[jj1564.livejournal.com]

I agree with most of what you said, especially...

"Robert Berens = best writer on the show. Hands down.
John Badham = awesome director."

Berens is my favourite writer since Ben Edlund, he really seems to 'get' Sam and Dean right. It really did feel like watching a movie!

[greyowl88.livejournal.com]

*pops in quickly to agree and join the squee*

\o/ :D

*flies off again*

(Oh, and, Casifer coming down the stairs soaking wet and frustrated made me laugh.)

[gidgetgal9.livejournal.com]

I'm commenting because I feel the love but all I can add is ditto - which is awesome! :)

[catinplaid.livejournal.com]

I spent the episode thinking "Dean's not doing anything" and that was EXACTLY the point (SO AWESOME!). Remember how ineffectual Sam felt in S3 when he knew he couldn't save Dean? I think this is somewhat the same. Dean knows he's can't kill Amara and feels useless. Love that we were shown this, not told it.

Ooohhh! Yes, what a parallel. I hadn't seen it but it's so true!! Well done, Show!

Edith Piaf was just wonderful for that epi. (I can't tell you how many times I've heard this song today :D) The song fit the time period, and I felt it had gravitas. I loved something I read on twitter by Bardicvoice where she pointed out that Delphine and the crew showed heroism, and had no regrets, and Dean couldn't act heroically and thus must regret...

I like the Men of Letters stuff. Always have. I like that the boys are not only hunters, but legacies.

I love that we see the MoL being resistance fighters, fighting the nazis. I somehow feel proud that Sam and Dean are the legacies of those brave people :)

Oh, and the fact that the epi partly took place in (WWII) Europe (ok, it was the submarine mostly, but still!) somehow made me like it even more. Feels close to home :)

Misha's Lucifer is improving

I truly disliked the first time we saw him as Lucifer (cos really, his performance there was really shite IMO), but I also feel he's improving. I actually liked him this time. And I thought that his transitions from Lucifer to Cas were well made.

Sam's soul actually being touched by Lucifer. Non-con soul touching. Man, this show is fucked up.

That scene HURT so bad. Oh Sammy!!!

And also yes, yes to everything else you say. The writing and the direction and the boys being our boys again, Sam offering his soul to save Dean, Cas caring for Sam, the wonderful location for that ending scene, the boys' talk at the end... Basically, I could just point at all your bullet points and nod to everything! :)

[debbiel66.livejournal.com]

I kept watching this - spoiler free this season - thinking, hey, this is pretty good. This is pretty good, right? Then I got to the point where I was,,,,this is really good!

I really think we need to be grateful and amazed that the cast and crew can still do some damn fine storytelling, eleven years into this, 22 episodes a year. "Prestige" cable shows usually don't have to do more than 12 episodes a year, or far fewer, and most of them start to show their age, just a few years in. Sure there have been weak seasons and weak episodes, but even during those weaker seasons, there have been some remarkable episodes.

Jensen and Jared never seem bored (aka David Duchovny), and this season, they make me believe Sam and Dean just as much as I did during those first few epic seasons, when they were just our boys.

I don't know. I really didn't think I'd still be watching this year. But I can't give them up, and I probably won't give them up until Show hits the end of the road.

Has there been a renewal yet?

Thanks for your recaps/analysis - I always look forward to them!!!

[sam-dean-lover.livejournal.com]

:( i only liked 1 scene, i thought Sam should have figure it out way early on within 15 minutes not the 30 mins the confrontation between them should of been earlier the episode picked up after that for me.i didnt care that Dean went back in time again,why cant Sam go? *Dean i wanna go, *Nope* :( i did like Delphine though. *backing away i didnt want to ruin your happiness*

[percysowner.livejournal.com]

I actually don't have a lot of problem with Sam not figuring out about Lucifer. Sam spent all of season 5 resisting saying yes to Lucifer and he only said yes to cage Lucifer. For the entire season Cas kept telling him that Lucifer had to be stopped. Then, Sam held strong and refused to say yes to Lucifer so that Lucifer wouldn't break out. He had no reason to think Cas would do anything as lame brained as consenting to be Lucifer's vessel. It would be like working for a Bernie Sanders campaign and then finding out that the head of the campaign went and voted for Donald Trump! Cas has gone wacky before. He worked with Crowley to get to Purgatory. He's been controlled by Naomi. So Cas being off isn't OOC.

[borgmama1of5.livejournal.com]

You're absolutely right, Dean is hit hard when he can't save people. And the realization at the end that everything played out exactly as it did BECAUSE Dean went back in time...that had to really hurt...

When Luci soul-fisted Sam an it cut to commercial I was scared like I haven't been in a long time because Luci had no reason to keep Sam alive any more!

I am just loving how the brothers' relationship seems to have matured significantly finally!

[mica o&apos;shea (from livejournal.com)]

Yay to all bullet points!

I do hope they let us keep these boys until the end of the series. Maybe they got all the brother conflict out of their systems, or realized we don't like it.

Small addition: i also like the double meaning of the title, as Vessel could refer to the submarine as well as Luci's meatsuit. And i keep hearing it in my head pronounced a la Chekov as "wessel." :-)

[sam-dean-lover.livejournal.com]

yes and it also seems that they are undoing season 5. everything that Sam did is now being whitewashed/undone to give to Cas because Cas needs something to do :( when he finally did see, i saw no reaction. :( so sam was unaware for 30 minutes that something was wrong there were clues that he could of picked up on Cas' wet coat, the a-game idea comment. working with the enemy unknowingly until it was too late :(

[wings128.livejournal.com]

Love the bullet points! :D
Agree with everything you said here.
Thank you for sharing.♥

[melitta4ever.livejournal.com]

wow! I wish I had found you earlier. Your comments make me see the episode from a totally different pov. Thanks a lot for sharing.

[jessm78.livejournal.com]

I felt like I was watching a movie, not a TV show.

See, I felt that way, too.

Your thoughts pretty much echo mine on this episode. I went into it with my expectations low (mainly because I knew Dean would be the one going back in time, and Sam would be stuck with Casifer, bla bla blah), and I ended up liking it a lot more than I expected.

I was pretty distracted by Dean's lips in this one as well. Mmm. And I was relieved that Sam's hair wasn't quite the glued-down bob I was fearing it'd be after seeing the clips in that promo Jared tweeted a few weeks back. ;)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Definitely a favourite of mine. :)) Even when dealing with story lines I'm not that interested in, he manages to write a great episode. :)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

*pops* in quickly to *glomp* on you.

And yes! Frustrated Lucifer was fun. :)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Cool!! <33

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Howdy!

I saw a tweet by Berens saying that the song was Badham's choice. Such a great choice it was.

she pointed out that Delphine and the crew showed heroism, and had no regrets, and Dean couldn't act heroically and thus must regret…

Yes. Good observation. Being heroic is at the very heart of Dean's characterisation - and to have left the ship with the object and not being able to stop the sub from going down would have eaten into Dean. Though, my feeling is that Dean didn't initially go onto the sub to save it - just to get the object - but then he witnessed real heroism (soldiers facing the enemy in war and Delphine's heroism in protecting The Hand of God) and it truly affected him.

It was a good episode for a Dean study. :)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I know! I was thinking exactly that - man, this is actually really good. I felt proud of my show. :)

Jensen and Jared never seem bored (aka David Duchovny), and this season,

They don't! And, in fact, they seem much happier all around this season. Sam/Jared is more comfortable in his skin and Jensen is stepping up his emotional game.

There's been no official announcement of S12, but everyone is saying it will happen. :)

And and yes re Duchovny. I have no idea what's happening in X-files this season. I've watched them all so far and I just end up shaking my head most of the time. But that's another story...

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hey. I'm sorry to hear you only liked one scene. But I know that we all enjoy different things in the show.

Re Sam not working it out sooner. I have seen this comment in a couple of places so I've been thinking about it. Of course it namely happened to create tension (and boy, it sure did for me) but in terms of the character I think it's very plausible that Sam didn't suspect anything. In a previous episode Dean mentioned that Cas seemed "off" and Sam commented that Cas often seems "off" (of which I would agree). He had absolutely no reason to suspect Lucifer was in him. It wouldn't have even crossed his mind. I think because, we, as the audience can see ALL the tells, it doesn't mean the other character can.

What I liked best is that it didn't drag on. I actually thought Casifer would continue to fool the boys for a few more episodes.

I also thought the confrontation about Dean going was much more genuine than many others we've seen. It made sense that only one would go. It was dangerous, so the thinking was solid. Dean "needed" to go because he needed to feel like a hero again. I liked that he had to persuade Sam to let him go. It's usually the other way around.

Delphine was great!

And don't worry. You won't ruin my happiness. I like hearing what did and didn't work for others in an episode. :)