SPN 6×17

[rusty_halo]

Gee, Ellen being dead sure does suck for Bobby, doesn't it? I think SPN just hit a whole new low by managing to fridge the same woman twice.

Also I wish someone made fan-edited versions of this show that had all instances of the word "bitch" removed (or "shank" or "whore" etc) because even though it's still structurally sexist, I'd enjoy it a lot more without those blatant slaps to the face.

I actually don't think this episode was any worse that usual, but for whatever reason the offensiveness bothers me a lot more when I'm watching one week at a time instead of devouring the whole series in one big marathon. Maybe it's also because I now spend more time reading fanfic than watching canon, and the fic I read usually leaves out the sexism, so jumping back into the actual show comes with lots of nasty surprises.

There were plenty of things I liked in this ep--Dean's emotional caretaker side coming out with Bobby, the look on his face when he learned Ellen and Jo would have been dead, the Titanic jokes (and the overall sense of humor--this show does a great job of weaving humor into even the most serious episodes), Castiel's story finally getting interesting with the deception and moral ambiguity. It was wonderful seeing Ellen again, but I wish there'd been more moments about who Ellen actually is as a human being, instead of about how good Ellen is for Bobby. It's like this show can't even envision a woman mattering for her own sake.

And obviously I appreciate the shoutouts to slashers, but I'd much prefer an intense emotional scene between Dean and Cas (with the eyesex and the lack of personal space :) ) over a few tongue-in-cheek winks. The show keeps snickering about the ho!yay of a relationship that we've barely seen all season. Remember when Dean and Cas used to actually have scenes alone together? *sigh*

The woman as fate was so oddly done. Why the evil glint in her eye and smirk as she killed people if she's just doing her job? Why's she young and hot and blonde (but oh she wears glasses so maybe she's supposed to be "Hollywood homely")? She could have been a much more interesting character, but the show just went with obvious cliches. They were more likely to at least try to subvert tropes in earlier seasons--lately they just seem lazy. (And I'm so sick of the hot young female villains, OMFG.)

Whatever. I'm happy the show's back, and intrigued by where they're going with Castiel's plot and how it'll tie into the overall seasonal arc. (And still hoping they'll be able to pull something semi-coherent out of what's so far been a complete muddle of plots and themes.) And Dean is still pretty, so I'm sure I'll continue to enjoy it.

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[soundingsea]

Heh, I could have written this post. But since you did, I don't have to? It's like.. show, STOP DOING THIS THING. IT IS ANNOYING. AND OLD. VERY TIRESOME.

You'll gasp in horror, but Castiel actually seems to have a PLOT. So I hate him a little less. (I will love him if he turns out to be the Real Big Bad.)

[rusty_halo]

Do you love him now???

(Sorry, cleaning out my inbox, saw this and had to comment!)

[soundingsea]

Haha! Well, I was pleased that his perfidy was revealed! :)