Supernatural: No Exit
Sep. 15th, 2011 10:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gryfndor_godessThoughts I had while watching the episode:
-This episode may be slightly creepier than I bargained for this evening.
-Why, Dean, can’t you see Jo working the case? Are you being a chauvinistic pig? I think you are.
-“Untwist your boxers and deal with it”? I like this woman.
-I like her “If you’re riding me this hard, you should take me out to dinner” line.
-Dean, by calling her “Sweetheart” in that condescending tone, you are proving her point that you are chauvinistic and sexist. Perhaps you’re trying to be ironic, but you actually just come off as a jerk.
-That said, while his execution could improve exponentially, I think he has a point about Jo not appreciating her opportunity of having a different life. Ultimately it’s her choice and Ellen shouldn’t try to control her, but his argument is worth considering.
-Damn, Jensen Ackles is hot up close.
-Ash is incredibly useful.
-Why do Dean and Sam sound so excited that it’s the serial killer?
-Oh dear God is this story true? Fuck that’s horrible.
-What does “cleaning the pipes” mean? Masturbation?
-If this episode results in Jo being captured and turned into a damsel while the boys rescue her, I shall be mightily pissed.
-Don’t go down the air duct alone, Jo! There is a difference btw bravery and stupidity.
-So we’ve turned our main recurring female character into a helpless DID and we’re brutalizing women. Great. Remind me why I love this show?
-Dean’s determination and fear should make me glad, but I get the sense that he cares more about making Ellen feel better than actually saving Jo.
-I forget, what gives a ghost its physical presence? Do they all have physical presences or just really powerful ones?
-Oh, fuck, this episode is upsetting and potentially really triggery.
-And now the brutalized woman has to be bait. Blech.
-Do they actually have a plan for killing it since they can’t salt and burn its bones? All the ghost episodes are blurring in my mind and I can’t remember what they’ve done in the past.
-Well, that’s a plan. This reminds me a lot of the way Angel and co. defeat Pavayne in “Hellbound.” No destruction, just eternal torture.
-Why is Dean taking responsibility for Jo’s actions? That’s just as chauvinistic, assuming a woman was too stupid to make her own decisions and shouldn’t be held responsible.
-The actress who plays Ellen is good.
Moments that made me giggle inside:
-“It won’t bite.” “No, but your mom might.”
Moments that made me actually LOL:
-“There you are, honey!”
-“This is gonna be a long drive” after Ellen turned off the music.
Overall Thoughts:
This episode reminds me a lot of “Skin”: while there is some nice character stuff here, the treatment of women annoys me too much for me to really like the episode. I was saying just in my last review that I was worried about when the bar would fall, and this episode was definitely a disappointment.
It’s obvious why the ghost’s brutalization of women upset me, but I was even more disappointed by the treatment of Jo. I was really looking forward to this episode because I knew she was going to tag along and thought we might finally get some female POV. Her initial scenes were excellent- I’m thinking particularly of when she shows up to view the apartment, makes a beeline for Dean, and improvs so delightfully; also of when she calls him on his sexism and takes back her father’s knife.
Dean’s behavior toward her was bad enough (the shippiness disappeared, which is disappointing but probably for the best if Dean is going to be such a pig), but then Jo herself started acting stupid. There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and feel free to call me a coward, but I think going down the air duct by herself when she knew the ghost was after her was just plain stupid. And of course, she got captured and became a damsel-in-distress, thereby “validating” Dean’s asshat opinions. She remained brave and resourceful while imprisoned, which is a small saving grace, but I’m so disappointed that the writers chose to make her rash and then punished and victimized her for it so that Dean could save the day again.
The way they defeated the ghost is really reminiscent of “Hellbound,” as I said above. Being trapped forever like that is worse than being killed, IMO, and it is very creepy (though not undeserved).
The other important aspect of this episode is, of course, the revelation at the end about John. Ellen’s paranoia and over-protectiveness make a lot more sense in that context. Considering her volatility at the end, though, it surprises me that she was so kind and accommodating toward the boys in the first place. It makes me want to rewatch her first episode to see if there was subtext I missed. I also wonder if the revelation is a retcon (probably not since Kripke had such a detailed arc for the show), and I wonder if the actress knew about the twist. Whether or not she knew obviously would have hugely influenced how she played the character. While a small part of me thinks that it’s good if the actor is kept in the dark, so she doesn’t inadvertently act with future intent, I generally err on the side of caution and believe that it’s best if an actor is told about major forthcoming revelations. Otherwise you risk a misleading clusterfuck like Spike’schip removal soulquest. If she’s a decent actor, she should be able to still be subtle.
Random thought, but didn’t SMG supposedly know about Buffy’s death a whole year in advance? Why didn’t they trust JM with the truth, too? Maybe because the dipshits weren’t actually sure when filming whether Spike should be seeking his soul and decided retroactively in reaction to the unexpected fan backlash about the AR…
Purely Subjective Rating:
2.5/5
Favorite Boy:
Dean
(who only wins by default because Sam was in this episode for about five minutes)
-This episode may be slightly creepier than I bargained for this evening.
-Why, Dean, can’t you see Jo working the case? Are you being a chauvinistic pig? I think you are.
-“Untwist your boxers and deal with it”? I like this woman.
-I like her “If you’re riding me this hard, you should take me out to dinner” line.
-Dean, by calling her “Sweetheart” in that condescending tone, you are proving her point that you are chauvinistic and sexist. Perhaps you’re trying to be ironic, but you actually just come off as a jerk.
-That said, while his execution could improve exponentially, I think he has a point about Jo not appreciating her opportunity of having a different life. Ultimately it’s her choice and Ellen shouldn’t try to control her, but his argument is worth considering.
-Damn, Jensen Ackles is hot up close.
-Ash is incredibly useful.
-Why do Dean and Sam sound so excited that it’s the serial killer?
-Oh dear God is this story true? Fuck that’s horrible.
-What does “cleaning the pipes” mean? Masturbation?
-If this episode results in Jo being captured and turned into a damsel while the boys rescue her, I shall be mightily pissed.
-Don’t go down the air duct alone, Jo! There is a difference btw bravery and stupidity.
-So we’ve turned our main recurring female character into a helpless DID and we’re brutalizing women. Great. Remind me why I love this show?
-Dean’s determination and fear should make me glad, but I get the sense that he cares more about making Ellen feel better than actually saving Jo.
-I forget, what gives a ghost its physical presence? Do they all have physical presences or just really powerful ones?
-Oh, fuck, this episode is upsetting and potentially really triggery.
-And now the brutalized woman has to be bait. Blech.
-Do they actually have a plan for killing it since they can’t salt and burn its bones? All the ghost episodes are blurring in my mind and I can’t remember what they’ve done in the past.
-Well, that’s a plan. This reminds me a lot of the way Angel and co. defeat Pavayne in “Hellbound.” No destruction, just eternal torture.
-Why is Dean taking responsibility for Jo’s actions? That’s just as chauvinistic, assuming a woman was too stupid to make her own decisions and shouldn’t be held responsible.
-The actress who plays Ellen is good.
Moments that made me giggle inside:
-“It won’t bite.” “No, but your mom might.”
Moments that made me actually LOL:
-“There you are, honey!”
-“This is gonna be a long drive” after Ellen turned off the music.
Overall Thoughts:
This episode reminds me a lot of “Skin”: while there is some nice character stuff here, the treatment of women annoys me too much for me to really like the episode. I was saying just in my last review that I was worried about when the bar would fall, and this episode was definitely a disappointment.
It’s obvious why the ghost’s brutalization of women upset me, but I was even more disappointed by the treatment of Jo. I was really looking forward to this episode because I knew she was going to tag along and thought we might finally get some female POV. Her initial scenes were excellent- I’m thinking particularly of when she shows up to view the apartment, makes a beeline for Dean, and improvs so delightfully; also of when she calls him on his sexism and takes back her father’s knife.
Dean’s behavior toward her was bad enough (the shippiness disappeared, which is disappointing but probably for the best if Dean is going to be such a pig), but then Jo herself started acting stupid. There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and feel free to call me a coward, but I think going down the air duct by herself when she knew the ghost was after her was just plain stupid. And of course, she got captured and became a damsel-in-distress, thereby “validating” Dean’s asshat opinions. She remained brave and resourceful while imprisoned, which is a small saving grace, but I’m so disappointed that the writers chose to make her rash and then punished and victimized her for it so that Dean could save the day again.
The way they defeated the ghost is really reminiscent of “Hellbound,” as I said above. Being trapped forever like that is worse than being killed, IMO, and it is very creepy (though not undeserved).
The other important aspect of this episode is, of course, the revelation at the end about John. Ellen’s paranoia and over-protectiveness make a lot more sense in that context. Considering her volatility at the end, though, it surprises me that she was so kind and accommodating toward the boys in the first place. It makes me want to rewatch her first episode to see if there was subtext I missed. I also wonder if the revelation is a retcon (probably not since Kripke had such a detailed arc for the show), and I wonder if the actress knew about the twist. Whether or not she knew obviously would have hugely influenced how she played the character. While a small part of me thinks that it’s good if the actor is kept in the dark, so she doesn’t inadvertently act with future intent, I generally err on the side of caution and believe that it’s best if an actor is told about major forthcoming revelations. Otherwise you risk a misleading clusterfuck like Spike’s
Random thought, but didn’t SMG supposedly know about Buffy’s death a whole year in advance? Why didn’t they trust JM with the truth, too? Maybe because the dipshits weren’t actually sure when filming whether Spike should be seeking his soul and decided retroactively in reaction to the unexpected fan backlash about the AR…
Purely Subjective Rating:
2.5/5
Favorite Boy:
Dean
(who only wins by default because Sam was in this episode for about five minutes)