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rusty_halo
I didn’t do it! But was highly amused at stumbling across it earlier today. :)
Anyway, um, I really liked that episode for a bunch of reasons, including that the writing and directing were sharp, the humor was consistently funny, the ho!yay was nearly text, and finally finally Castiel was presented as a complicated morally ambiguous character with an arc instead of exposition machine/comic relief. (Not that I mind him used for humor but I'm glad the writers are focusing on him as a three-dimensional character.)
And also I just love how Dean has been a dismissive ass to Cas all season, but when Sam/Bobby turn their suspicions on him, Dean's all like "NOT MY PRECIOUS CAS!" ♥♥♥
I am also pleased that the writers actually seem to be pulling sense out of what's seemed a jumbled mess of a seasonal arc. Their pacing still suuuucks, but at least it's apparently going somewhere, tying plot threads together and giving hope that there's actually a sensible reason why Samuel/Sam were resurrected and Sam came back without a soul. I would even go so far as to say that all the convoluted scheming-morally- ambiguous-agents-with-conflicting-agendas type plotting is actually an intentional use of a film noir trope. (What's that classic one that makes no freaking sense no matter how many times you watch it? Ah, The Big Sleep.)
And I love/hope that all these Little Bads (the Mother/Crowley/Samuel etc.) have all been red herrings for the real Big Bad which is CASTIEL. And I hope they handle his dark arc as well as they did Sam's, by making him really fuckied up and scary but still relatably and understandably the same character we know and love.*
* It should also go without saying that I also hope they don't kill him off. *gulps*
Man, I just adored the visual of Cas with the blood spattered trenchcoat throughout the episode. Love that the show is giving us that kind of detail. LOVED that the film noir season gave us that wonderful shot of the blinds obscuring Castiel's face (that's like film noir visual trope #1 and brought back happy memories of [semi-]film school). The episode did a really great job of starting with classic Dean/Cas (Dean and Cas investigating together, "I have this burning sensation," the teasing affection between them) then giving us this twisty feeling of something going wrong--Cas splatted with blood, his bloody hands, his image through the blinds and reflected in the mirror.
I also continue to appreciate the way this show address the ends vs. means question, which is with lots of moral ambiguity and no easy answers.
IMPORTANT: I am unspoiled for the rest of the season. If you know anything, DON'T TELL ME. Please. :)
(As usual, I also have to register my frustration/disgust that the show brought back another awesome female character only to unceremoniously kill her off as part of a male character's arc, and of course my anger at the relentless freaking catch phrase of misogyny that is this show's use obsession with the word "bitch.")
I am really hoping I'll have time tonight to watch it again, as I was half asleep/drunk when I saw it on Friday night. *fingers crossed*
Originally published at rusty-halo.com. You can comment here or there.
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Date: 2011-05-03 11:46 pm (UTC)Well, you know how I feel about Castiel, but I'm actually liking the idea of him as Big Bad. Finally he has somewhat of a reason to still exist!