SPN 3x05 & 3x06
Jul. 5th, 2012 11:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gryfndor_godessWarning: This post contains the whimsical flailing of a tired mind and minor abuse of caps lock.
4x05: Monster Movie: OH MY GOSH, GUYS, THIS EPISODE WAS SO FANTASTIC!!!
At first I was put off by the black-and-white, because unless Lucille Ball is involved somehow, b&w usually gives me the heebie-jeebies, BUT THE EPISODE WAS SO WELL-WRITTEN (by a BtVS writer, no less), and the MUSIC and the CINEMATOGRAPHY and THE ACTING and a WELL-WRITTEN FEMALE CHARACTER and A GOOD VILLAIN and a AN ENTERTAINING PLOT THAT WAS NOT TOO SCARY and A SHAPESHIFTER EPISODE THAT DID NOT MAKE ME WANT TO VOMIT, how were all these things wrapped up in one episode?!?
Okay, and I’m getting super sick of Dean’s misogynistic language (seriously, does he have to call Ruby a bitch and a slut every single time he sees her? I get that seeing a demon could be triggery for him in S4, and so on a Watsonian level I’m willing to cut him a smidgen of slack, but on a Doyleist level I’m all, WHAT THE FUCK, WRITERS, COULD YOU COME UP WITH SOME MORE CREATIVE AND LESS GENDER-SPECIFIC INSULTS?), but I have to say, I really, really liked the “rehymenated” joke. I laughed. A lot. NGL
And then I immediately watched 4x06: Yellow Fever, and JENSEN ACKLES, IF YOU WEREN’T ALREADY TAKEN I’D WANT TO MARRY YOU AND HAVE YOUR BABIES. OMG, he was so funny. I’m not used to him being so comedic (Dean’s humor is usually so dry), and it was a joy to watch. Plus, he stayed in character (as much as possible given the circumstances, obvs) and never went OTT. The humor stood out even more because the rest of the episode was so sad. The way they had to trigger the ghost to get rid of him? :( I mean, clearly they had to do it, but gosh that was awful (and I’m pretty sure that fear ghost plot was also the plot of The Grudge? Haven’t seen it because, lol, contrary to what these reviews may lead you to believe, I don’t watch horror unless it has Daniel Radcliffe or is written by Joss Whedon or is entitled Scream; I mean really, one of my criteria for a good episode is ‘entertaining plot that was not too scary). And then besides the ghost’s tragic story (which reminded me a lot of Of Mice and Men) there were, you know, DEAN’S HALLUCINATIONS.
LILITH, OMG I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT. That little girl is freaky and perfect for the part, and seeing her again was all kinds of awesome (sorry, Dean, baby).
DEAN’S HALLUCINATIONS ABOUT SAM, OMG. This season is going to be fascinating for Sam isn’t it? I’m excited to see where Sam’s story goes, but I’m a little worried about how dark it’s going to get because I don’t actually like dark, hero-loses-his-way-type stories (frex, Wes’s arc? So not a fan. I know that’s blasphemy to, like, 50% of the people reading these posts. Willow’s arc in S6? In fact, most of S6? I respect Buffy’s depression arc and the real-world-sucks-too theme so, so much, but it’s not a season I rewatch very much because I have extremely low tolerance for depressing entertainment when real life is depressing enough as it is). DON’T TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT SAM’S ARC, PLEASE.
These are not proper reviews, and I realize I’ve skipped about seven episodes’ worth of reviews, which makes me sad because I honestly like writing them. I just don’t have the time these days, especially since I’m zipping along through the series. I have a desk job and a 1-hr + roundtrip commute, so when I come home I can either sit at a computer again to write reviews…or I can exercise and watch more SPN. So far, exercise + SPN is winning. I really do want to talk about the last few episodes, though- there is, you know, Cas to talk about (not really a fan so far, but I expect that will change) and Mary, and I still need to weep over Bela.
On the bright side, I could actually get through S6 by the end of the summer. How weird would that be after taking an entire year to watch only two seasons?
But anyway, I enjoyed these two episodes tonight so much that I just had to come flail about them. Can I just say that I wish I could be watching these with you guys in person and we could be flailing together? (Or rather, you have all seen them already, so I would probably be the only one flailing, and you all would be side-eying me and saying, ‘there there.’) I lovelovelove talking about SPN here with you guys (I would never have started watching this show in the first place if it weren’t for Snick), but sometimes I’m also like, why can’t my online friends occasionally come over for a sleepover and fangirl in person with me. Sorry, y’all probably think I’m weird. It’s just that I know what it’s like to flail in person about Spuffy b/c a lot of my offline friends love them, and occasionally I want to flail in person about our boys, too. If I ever win millions upon millions in the lottery, I'm totally flying out all of my best LJ friends (assuming they want to come), no matter what country they live in, for an all-expenses paid weekend of Fangirling.
Still making up a shitton of Bela/Dean fic in my brain (it’s incredibly weird because for the first time since spring 2010 I’m like, Spuffy who?), and it’s quite annoying not to know whether or not Ruby is still alive because I don’t know whether to include Ruby/Sam stuff in my post-series head!canon or not. So far I've included her (PLEASE DON’T TELL ME IF RUBY IS ALIVE OR NOT, I’M JUST GROUSING). Another reason I'm itching to finish the series is because I feel like once I do, I might actually want to write some of it? That would be bizarre.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-07 07:21 pm (UTC)I KNOW. Sometimes I forget, you know, how very very pretty that man is, and then I watch an interview or something AND I REMEMBER.
I thought the episode would have been better served if it had had an original villain instead of a shapeshifter because the episode was a deliberate step away from the show's usual mythology
*nod* Actually, it occurs to me now that that ep is to SPN what Buffy vs. Dracula is to BtVS. I... don't have any productive observations to add to that, though.
EVEN DEAN/BELA, I WILL READ. I mean, it is not my ship - Bela is one of the very few semi-developed recurring female characters on this show that I never connected with - but if you write I absolutely will read. You know I will.
Figuring out chat etiquette is weird, isn't? I always end up following other people's leads. But yes, if you look me in the afternoons/evenings and would like to chat, you should totally poke me!
no subject
Date: 2012-07-09 01:13 am (UTC)I'm torn between wanting to watch more because of pretty!Jensen and grinning!Jared and wanting to stay away to preserve the integrity of the characters in my mind (frex, with BtVS, I'm almost always aware of the actors these days when I watch, seeing SMG as much as Buffy or JM as much as Spike, etc., and that doesn't worsen the viewing experience, necessarily, but it does make it different). I'll probably try to restrain myself until I finish the series and then go nuts on YouTube (and hit you up for recommendation!).
it occurs to me now that that ep is to SPN what Buffy vs. Dracula is to BtVS
Huh, that is an interesting comparison. In that case I think I'd actually have to say that SPN did the novelty!episode better. BtVS has so many more characters to deal with, and the individual stories distract from the central conceit, which becomes hokey rather than amusing. SPN had some nice character moments like Dean talking about his renewed belief in the value of his job, but attention to the atmosphere of the episode, the homage it was trying to be, was first and foremost.
I'm torn between wanting to watch more because of pretty!Jensen and grinning!Jared and wanting to stay away to preserve the integrity of the characters in my mind (frex, with BtVS, I'm almost always aware of the actors these days when I watch, seeing SMG as much as Buffy or JM as much as Spike, etc., and that doesn't worsen the viewing experience, necessarily, but it does make it different). I'll probably try to restrain myself until I finish the series and then go nuts on YouTube (and hit you up for recommendation!).
<i>it occurs to me now that that ep is to SPN what Buffy vs. Dracula is to BtVS</i>
Huh, that is an interesting comparison. In that case I think I'd actually have to say that SPN did the novelty!episode better. BtVS has so many more characters to deal with, and the individual stories distract from the central conceit, which becomes hokey rather than amusing. SPN had some nice character moments like Dean talking about his renewed belief in the value of his job, but attention to the atmosphere of the episode, the homage it was trying to be, was first and foremost.
<i<EVEN DEAN/BELA, I WILL READ.</i>
♥ ♥ ♥ That means a lot.
<i>Bela is one of the very few semi-developed recurring female characters on this show that I never connected with</i>
She is pretty difficult to relate to. I liked her more or less from the get-go simply because she could pwn Dean, which happens so rarely and especially by a female, and because I have a huge girl crush on Lauren Cohan (I think she is so, <i>so</> pretty). I was really frustrated by the lack of backstory and how the show couldn't seem to decide whether it wanted her to be an antihero or a villain, but I figured eventually they would settle on antihero, so I stayed invested (and frex, was always more excited when I saw her name in the credits rather than Ruby's). And then I found out her backstory and combined with the fact that (according to Wiki), the writers killed her off (in a horrid way no less) <i>just because fans didn't like her</i> (which was their own damn fault for not writing her consistently), I got so offended on her behalf from both a Watsonian and Doyleist perspective that she was suddenly my favorite female character. I feel like I'm cheating on Jo, but oh well...
<i>But yes, if you look me in the afternoons/evenings and would like to chat, you should totally poke me!</i>
:)