rusty_halo

A few more thoughts on rewatch:

* WTF is up with Dean's hair?

* I don't get the point of the "Sam's hallucinations" storyline. The audience already knows that Sam isn't really in hell, and we know he'll get over it eventually because the show wouldn't work otherwise, so where are the dramatic stakes? Sam has hallucinations for a while but gets over it eventually... how is that a compelling storyline? Especially since we already saw him ~overcome~ hell trauma once already, by waking himself up in the S6 finale.

* I'm not sad to see the end of the heaven/angels storyline, but if the show wanted to jettison it, why not make Cas human? Eliminating him entirely seems like such a waste. He was such a great source of humor, and his chemistry with Dean was one of those amazing strokes of luck that most shows can only dream of. It feels like such a waste that Dean/Cas was shunted to the side, never properly explored, and finally dismissed like it was nothing. :(

* It's not that I don't appreciate SPN's liberal sensibility, but when had we ever gotten any previous hints that Cas really hates human religious hypocrisy? Also why were his "godlike" actions on such a small scale? It didn't seem like he was doing anything that he couldn't have already done as an angel.

* I thought there was a general consensus that SPN really fumbled its portrayal of Lucifer by casting an actor without charisma and not bothering to give the character depth or cast him in an unexpected light. So why is everyone suddenly all squeeful that he's back to bore us some more?

* I admit I am totally jealous that Sam is getting all the h/c and ~helltrauma~. The only h/c we get for Dean is that he keeps getting thrown into walls, but there's never even any follow-through. :(

* The whole thing where Sam eavesdrops on Dean and then lies because of what he hears is such lazy soap opera cliche writing that I can only assume "Meh, it's season 7" was the justification for leaving it in the script.

* Is Dean so blase about not fighting Cas because he's depressed/given up or because he's (subconsciously?) still ambivalent about killing Cas? (Or both?)

* I feel like the last time this show actually took its own melodrama seriously was the end of season three. Everything afterward has been a lot more self-aware/pastichey and a lot less heartfelt and moving. I don't think this show will ever again have something as powerful as the John/Dean/Sam family triangle, the whole of "In My Time of Dying" or "All Hell Breaks Loose II" or the Dean's deal storyline in S3. How can the audience take the characters' emotions seriously if the show doesn't? And if everything is about this OTT stuff like ~helltrauma~ and the only real human emotions are endless repeats of "My brother lied to me, woe"?

On one level I appreciate the self-awareness and meta aspects that we get now, but I really miss being able to invest in the characters and be moved by them. (Well, by Dean.)

* Bobby is such a narrative crutch and waste of screentime. He never grows, changes, or does anything interesting, and if he was gone we'd get so much more Sam/Dean interaction because they'd have to talk to each other instead of to him. Plus they'd have to do their own research, find their own hunts, give their own exposition, and just generally be more proactive and entertaining.

* Dean's "grey poupon" line was cute.

* I'm very pleased that they brought back Death--he's always fabulous and Dean's interactions with him are particularly awesome. I loved the fried pickle chips and the "because we're the boss of you."

* The addition of the outsider POV in the showdown with Death and Cas was clever and definitely added to the scene. :)

* Dean orders Death to kill Cas, and Cas looks at Dean with such utter betrayal and rage in his eyes and then he... goes off to kill Michelle Bachman? I guess the generous interpretation is that Cas doesn't really want to kill Dean either, although the more obvious one is that the writers couldn't think of a reason for Cas not to kill Dean right there, and threw in Michelle Bachman as a distraction?

* I appreciate that we get the scene where Cas apologizes to Dean, although Castiel's transition from arrogance to pleading for forgiveness was way too abrupt. But I like that the show gives them that moment and the narrative acknowledges the Dean/Cas bond, that of course it would be Dean specifically that Cas would try to reach out to. And it makes sense to me that Dean wouldn't forgive immediately, considering how seriously he takes betrayal. It's similar to his reaction toward Sam in season five--I have no doubt he'd forgive eventually, but it would take time. It's also interesting in comparison to Dean's speech after Rufus's death--forgiveness is easier when you're in a philosophical mood at a funeral than right after your best friend breaks your heart. I like that it's not black and white, that Dean is angry and unforgiving and hurt and sad. Dean's always been a mix of stubborn and compassionate, or gooey emotions under strong emotional walls, so this all seemed very in character to me.

* Obviously I appreciate that Dean at least tears up when he thinks Cas is dead. But "You child, why didn't you listen to me?" is rage-inducing. The whole thing where Dean calls Cas a "child" seems weirdly out of nowhere and dismissive of their relationship. Cas and Dean were originally presented as equals with very different perspectives who challenged each other and made each other grow; now either the show wants us to actually think of Cas as "childlike" (as a retcon to absolve him of responsibility for his fall) or else it wants us to think of Dean as a patronizing asshole?

And this whole "Dean as moral arbiter" aspect of the show is really gross. It's like the show is trying to have its cake and eat it too, reveling in Dean's flaws and his melodramatically-delicious fucked-up psyche, but then expecting us to take him seriously when he makes moral judgments and bosses the other characters around? It reminds me of Angel which is a character I always disliked, because he was a hypocrite with no moral ground to stand on, yet his show was always written from the perspective that he was right. I do not want SPN to be written from the perspective that Dean is right. It takes away much of the fun I have in reveling in what a mess he is.

* I appreciate the addition of the leviathans as an alternative to the overused Judeo-Christian mythology--it's far more original and gives SPN more room to innovate within its genre.

* I appreciate the tone of this show, that just when you think things can't get worse, they do, and the narrative rarely gives characters rewards or reprieves just because they deserve it. It's kind of misanthropic, I guess, but in a way that feels true to my view of the world, which I rarely see reflected in mainstream stories.

* I thought the episode packed in a lot of interesting material, but the lack of anything interesting for Dean and the destruction of Dean/Cas leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

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