SPN: "Fresh Blood"
May. 25th, 2012 03:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gryfndor_godessProper review this time! And by 'proper' I mean I used my old formatting, and I have a LOT of thoughts. SO MUCH HAPPENED IN THIS EPISODE. So much characterization! And poignancy! And brotherliness! And Harmony!
You can never have too much Harmony!
3x07: “Fresh Blood”:
Thoughts I had while watching the episode (liveblogging, basically):
-BELA!
-OMG I love her for standing up to Gordon. And for being so hilariously mercenary.
- OH OH OH, THAT IS A VERY LARGE KNIFE WITH WHICH TO CUT YOURSELF, DEAN.
-HOLY SHIT, HARMONY?!?!? HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT!
-I knew Mercedes McNab had a role at some point, but I didn’t know she played a vampire. Hee, woman’s got an MO.
-Wait, why the heck wasn’t her name in the opening credits?
-Mercedes is rocking this scene. I feel so awful for her.
-I’m glad Sam still looks so sympathetic and heartbroken by Lucy’s situation. I thought he might not be considering the way the show is trying to push the idea that his resurrection changed him.
-NO.
-*cries* I guess that’s why her name’s not in the credits, if she was only in it for about ten minutes. :(
-PCP, lol. So...homage to BtVS or is that just the standard excuse for vampires?
-Well, turning Gordon into a vampire will conveniently allow the boys to kill him with clean conscious.
-Heh, Bela and Dean’s conversation. I’m still waiting for the angry!sex.
-“You mean you grabbed some poor girls off the street and made them monsters like you.” Oh! Hey. Gordon is actually showing sheds of humanity. He’s not a complete asshole.
-Oh man, I actually feel really bad for Gordon. :(
-I LOVE BELA (for finding out where Gordon is for the boys)
-Both the special effects and the actor are doing a really great job of showing the effects of being newly turned.
-Gordon killing his friend, Kubrick, and saying “I’m sorry” (and seeming genuine about it) is deeply disturbing and deeply fascinating.
-Sam’s speech about looking up to his brother since he was four and how he wants Dean to be his brother again “just…because” is WONDERFUL. Oh, Jared, you are amazing.
-And Dean agreeing to lay low with Sam instead of hunting for Gordon. I LOVE THESE BROTHERS SO MUCH.
-SAM’S FACE when Dean says “You’re going to need to know these things for the future.”
Moments that made me giggle inside:
N/A
Moments that made me actually LOL:
-“I heard that from a friend. Named the Easter Bunny. Who heard it from the Tooth Fairy.”
-“Hello, Dean? Where are you?” Her betraying them probably should not have made me laugh, but it was so easy…
Overall Thoughts:
Well, this was a very well done episode!
I think my word-vomit above during the episode mostly sums up my feelings on it. I ADORE Bela and her, er, not moral code, per se- maybe mercenary code is the right thing to call it? Basically, the way she pays the boys instead of saying thank you after they save her life, calls Gordon’s bluff and refuses to help him without a trade, betrays the boys and then helps them so they won’t hold a murderous grudge is so, so excellent to me. I mean, I don’t think I would like her if she were real, but as a character, I CAN HAZ MORE, PLEASE?
(I’d really like to know why Dean told her their location in the first place in the beginning of the episode? What kind of excuse did she give him? He’s not usually free with personal information. Hmm, maybe he was overcome by the thought that she was driving to him to have angry!sex…)
The boys’ relationship was at some of its finest in this episode. I love that Sam finally confronted Dean about his seeming death wish and that Dean actually listened for once instead of blowing him off. Sam’s speech about always trying to be like his older brother is beautiful, and both actors nailed it. It shouldn’t surprise me anymore how good these two are at playing devastation, but it still does; the show is so campy and action-filled that these emotional moments continue to be like little nuggets of gold. And the end…oh that was so perfect and lovely. I really hope this honesty and candor about Dean’s fate carries through and he doesn’t revert to his sarcastic recklessness.
Seeing Mercedes McNab was an absolute delight. I adore her, and I loved seeing her play such a different kind of vampire. It was an homage to her acting history, but it wasn’t a copycat or a parody. I felt so incredibly bad for Lucy when she was begging the boys to let her go and saying she just wanted to come down. I feel conflicted on the boys killing her, because on the one hand…she’s killed people. On the other hand, couldn’t she learn to live as a vegetarian the way Lenore did? On a third hand…it’s not the boys’ responsibility to rehabilitate her. *sigh* There is no happy ending here. I’m just glad that both boys looked upset about it. Dean’s come a long way from his immediate distrust of Lenore.
I even felt a teensy bit bad for Dixon, the vampire who sired all these poor women in the first place. I mean, his actions were definitely as wrong as wrong could be and he should have been killed, but I guess I can understand why he did what he did. His lair was so creepy, but the actor playing him did a really great job with his last scene when he was confessing to the brothers, mourning his family, and telling them to kill him. I love that this episode made me feel conflicted and on all ends of the emotional spectrum concerning so many characters.
Which of course brings us to Gordon…oh Gordon. Goodness I felt a mixture of emotions about him in this episode: disgust, sympathy, horror, more disgust. While I more-or-less only loathed him in his previous episodes, his speech to Dixon pre-siring and terror at being turned definitely made me feel for him. I’m glad to see the last of him, but Sterling K. Brown did a fantastic job with him.
As I said above, Brown and the special effects team did a wonderful job evoking the confusion and horror of being a newly turned vampire- the lights, the sounds, the heartbeats, the fangs. I liked that we got to see Gordon succumb to his instincts instead of immediately turning into a (more) vicious animal. His scene with Kubrick was creepy but also perfect. Given how nuts Kubrick seemed in earlier episodes, I really appreciated that he was sensible enough to try to kill Gordon, and I really liked how confused and regretful Gordon seemed at killing him; it felt like there could be no other outcome to that scene, but it also didn’t feel contrived.
I appreciated that Gordon recognized at the end and said flat-out that he was a monster now, not a hunter. While I’m obviously glad that Sam survived and don’t mind him killing Gordon (I’m not really getting the “bloodthirsty” vibe from Sam that the show wants me to get; he’s hardened, yes, but I don’t think his recent kills have been beyond the pale; if he were really different, I would have expected less emotion about Lucy’s death, but he was same old, distressed-and-rightly-so Sam), I would have liked to know if Gordon actually would have gone through with his plan to kill himself after killing Sam. I can’t decide, although I’d like to think he would have. Thoughts?
Lastly, I just like that this episode was about siring and showed us so many examples of vampires’ reactions to it, from Lucy’s confusion and terror to Gordon’s attempts to stave it off to his poor female victim’s immediate attempt to slaughter Dean. It’s ballsy of the show to take a recurring character like Gordon, especially one who hates vampires in particular, and sire him. I can’t recall BtVS ever doing anything so similar, but I would have liked very much to see it; it would have been fascinating to have a slayer-vampire villain whom Buffy had to face (we get something like it with Faith, obviously, but vampirism would have added an extra poignancy), and I’m sure if Joss made random post-Chosen episodes, he would break Buffy’s heart by turning one of her new slayers for whom she felt responsible.
I wouldn’t say “Fresh Blood” was fun to watch, but it was extremely well executed.
Purely Subjective Rating:
4.5/5
Favorite Boy:
Tie
You can never have too much Harmony!
3x07: “Fresh Blood”:
Thoughts I had while watching the episode (liveblogging, basically):
-BELA!
-OMG I love her for standing up to Gordon. And for being so hilariously mercenary.
- OH OH OH, THAT IS A VERY LARGE KNIFE WITH WHICH TO CUT YOURSELF, DEAN.
-HOLY SHIT, HARMONY?!?!? HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT!
-I knew Mercedes McNab had a role at some point, but I didn’t know she played a vampire. Hee, woman’s got an MO.
-Wait, why the heck wasn’t her name in the opening credits?
-Mercedes is rocking this scene. I feel so awful for her.
-I’m glad Sam still looks so sympathetic and heartbroken by Lucy’s situation. I thought he might not be considering the way the show is trying to push the idea that his resurrection changed him.
-NO.
-*cries* I guess that’s why her name’s not in the credits, if she was only in it for about ten minutes. :(
-PCP, lol. So...homage to BtVS or is that just the standard excuse for vampires?
-Well, turning Gordon into a vampire will conveniently allow the boys to kill him with clean conscious.
-Heh, Bela and Dean’s conversation. I’m still waiting for the angry!sex.
-“You mean you grabbed some poor girls off the street and made them monsters like you.” Oh! Hey. Gordon is actually showing sheds of humanity. He’s not a complete asshole.
-Oh man, I actually feel really bad for Gordon. :(
-I LOVE BELA (for finding out where Gordon is for the boys)
-Both the special effects and the actor are doing a really great job of showing the effects of being newly turned.
-Gordon killing his friend, Kubrick, and saying “I’m sorry” (and seeming genuine about it) is deeply disturbing and deeply fascinating.
-Sam’s speech about looking up to his brother since he was four and how he wants Dean to be his brother again “just…because” is WONDERFUL. Oh, Jared, you are amazing.
-And Dean agreeing to lay low with Sam instead of hunting for Gordon. I LOVE THESE BROTHERS SO MUCH.
-SAM’S FACE when Dean says “You’re going to need to know these things for the future.”
Moments that made me giggle inside:
N/A
Moments that made me actually LOL:
-“I heard that from a friend. Named the Easter Bunny. Who heard it from the Tooth Fairy.”
-“Hello, Dean? Where are you?” Her betraying them probably should not have made me laugh, but it was so easy…
Overall Thoughts:
Well, this was a very well done episode!
I think my word-vomit above during the episode mostly sums up my feelings on it. I ADORE Bela and her, er, not moral code, per se- maybe mercenary code is the right thing to call it? Basically, the way she pays the boys instead of saying thank you after they save her life, calls Gordon’s bluff and refuses to help him without a trade, betrays the boys and then helps them so they won’t hold a murderous grudge is so, so excellent to me. I mean, I don’t think I would like her if she were real, but as a character, I CAN HAZ MORE, PLEASE?
(I’d really like to know why Dean told her their location in the first place in the beginning of the episode? What kind of excuse did she give him? He’s not usually free with personal information. Hmm, maybe he was overcome by the thought that she was driving to him to have angry!sex…)
The boys’ relationship was at some of its finest in this episode. I love that Sam finally confronted Dean about his seeming death wish and that Dean actually listened for once instead of blowing him off. Sam’s speech about always trying to be like his older brother is beautiful, and both actors nailed it. It shouldn’t surprise me anymore how good these two are at playing devastation, but it still does; the show is so campy and action-filled that these emotional moments continue to be like little nuggets of gold. And the end…oh that was so perfect and lovely. I really hope this honesty and candor about Dean’s fate carries through and he doesn’t revert to his sarcastic recklessness.
Seeing Mercedes McNab was an absolute delight. I adore her, and I loved seeing her play such a different kind of vampire. It was an homage to her acting history, but it wasn’t a copycat or a parody. I felt so incredibly bad for Lucy when she was begging the boys to let her go and saying she just wanted to come down. I feel conflicted on the boys killing her, because on the one hand…she’s killed people. On the other hand, couldn’t she learn to live as a vegetarian the way Lenore did? On a third hand…it’s not the boys’ responsibility to rehabilitate her. *sigh* There is no happy ending here. I’m just glad that both boys looked upset about it. Dean’s come a long way from his immediate distrust of Lenore.
I even felt a teensy bit bad for Dixon, the vampire who sired all these poor women in the first place. I mean, his actions were definitely as wrong as wrong could be and he should have been killed, but I guess I can understand why he did what he did. His lair was so creepy, but the actor playing him did a really great job with his last scene when he was confessing to the brothers, mourning his family, and telling them to kill him. I love that this episode made me feel conflicted and on all ends of the emotional spectrum concerning so many characters.
Which of course brings us to Gordon…oh Gordon. Goodness I felt a mixture of emotions about him in this episode: disgust, sympathy, horror, more disgust. While I more-or-less only loathed him in his previous episodes, his speech to Dixon pre-siring and terror at being turned definitely made me feel for him. I’m glad to see the last of him, but Sterling K. Brown did a fantastic job with him.
As I said above, Brown and the special effects team did a wonderful job evoking the confusion and horror of being a newly turned vampire- the lights, the sounds, the heartbeats, the fangs. I liked that we got to see Gordon succumb to his instincts instead of immediately turning into a (more) vicious animal. His scene with Kubrick was creepy but also perfect. Given how nuts Kubrick seemed in earlier episodes, I really appreciated that he was sensible enough to try to kill Gordon, and I really liked how confused and regretful Gordon seemed at killing him; it felt like there could be no other outcome to that scene, but it also didn’t feel contrived.
I appreciated that Gordon recognized at the end and said flat-out that he was a monster now, not a hunter. While I’m obviously glad that Sam survived and don’t mind him killing Gordon (I’m not really getting the “bloodthirsty” vibe from Sam that the show wants me to get; he’s hardened, yes, but I don’t think his recent kills have been beyond the pale; if he were really different, I would have expected less emotion about Lucy’s death, but he was same old, distressed-and-rightly-so Sam), I would have liked to know if Gordon actually would have gone through with his plan to kill himself after killing Sam. I can’t decide, although I’d like to think he would have. Thoughts?
Lastly, I just like that this episode was about siring and showed us so many examples of vampires’ reactions to it, from Lucy’s confusion and terror to Gordon’s attempts to stave it off to his poor female victim’s immediate attempt to slaughter Dean. It’s ballsy of the show to take a recurring character like Gordon, especially one who hates vampires in particular, and sire him. I can’t recall BtVS ever doing anything so similar, but I would have liked very much to see it; it would have been fascinating to have a slayer-vampire villain whom Buffy had to face (we get something like it with Faith, obviously, but vampirism would have added an extra poignancy), and I’m sure if Joss made random post-Chosen episodes, he would break Buffy’s heart by turning one of her new slayers for whom she felt responsible.
I wouldn’t say “Fresh Blood” was fun to watch, but it was extremely well executed.
Purely Subjective Rating:
4.5/5
Favorite Boy:
Tie