SPN: Thoughts on 4x07 - 4x16, Part 1
Jul. 22nd, 2012 04:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gryfndor_godessBreaking this into two posts because it's over 3,500 words of flail...
I just watched 4x16 “On the Head of a Pin,” and OH MY GOSH. I have been dreading/looking forward to this episode for days, and I purposefully didn’t do anything else while watching (I normally exercise) because I knew I would need 100% focus and emotional investment and that it would be one of the most stressful episodes to watch. THIS SEASON IS SO GOOD BUT I ALSO WANT TO SMACK IT BECAUSE DEAN CANNOT GET A FUCKING BREAK OMG.
Some bite-sized flailing about the other episodes first, though, because I have really loved almost every episode, and I wish I had written reviews of them:
4x07: “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester”: Thought it was well done, even if the Villain didn’t impress me much compared to some of the other things we’ve seen this season. Sam using his powers was great, though.
4x08: “Wishful Thinking”: Is it just me or did the Skeevy Guy even look like Adam Busch AKA Warren? I was disappointed that the writers did not specifically call the guy out for abusing/raping his “girlfriend” (the boys criticized him but not nearly as harshly as he deserved) because other than that unaddressed grossness, there were a lot of really good moments in this episode- the adorable little girl trying to take care of her teddy bear, Dean’s sandwich, Dean making the bullied boy look tough at the end, Sam getting struck by lightning (I laughed. Whatever). Plus, the boys’ (Dean’s? Sam’s? I don’t actually remember by this point) insistence that life isn’t about getting what you want was a really nice touch.
4x09: “I Know What You Did Last Summer”: FINALLY. I WANTED THE BACKSTORY SO BADLY I COULD ALMOST TASTE IT. And it mostly did not disappoint, although I thought Sam/Ruby happened rather fast considering she didn’t hit on him at all in S3. What, was she just waiting for Dean to be gone? No, but really, I have no issue with Sam/Ruby, but I would have liked some more emotional development…
4x10: “Heaven and Hell”: I LOVE ANNA. Brilliant episode. Actually, this was one episode where I did have my computer handy while watching, so have some “Heave and Hell” liveblogging babble:
-DEAN SINCERELY THANKING RUBY FOR THE HEX BAG AND BOTH THEIR FACES. AWWWWW. In different circumstances I would so ship them, but I’ll settle for snarky/sweet brother/sister-in-law moments instead.
-“You’re confusing real life with porn again.” Hee! Dean’s face!
-I think Anna’s the Antichrist. I don’t actually know what that is. But it sounds like something the angels would want to Hulk!Smash.
-Anna looks a lot like Emma Roberts, Julia’s niece, and it’s very distracting.
-I am actually very surprised that Pamela is willing to help the boys again.
-“I’m an angel.” … Okay, then, guess she’s not the Antichrist.
-“And shazam, you’re Roma Downey.” Aw, Touched By An Angel reference! Dean has made multiple references to that show. Makes me wonder if he ever actually watched it…
-I find it very weird that an angel’s Grace is a physical thing. Does that mean it could have been stolen and possessed by someone else?
-“Sex.” “Yeah you got me there.” Hee!
-So…how are angels made? Are some of them former humans like demons? Is that the eventual plan for Dean, for him to become an angel, too? One brother becomes a demon and the other becomes an angel in balance? (DON’T TELL ME, PLEASE). Dean would make a terrible angel. He doesn’t follow orders blindly anymore.
-“Dude. Reality. Porn.” Lol, I love you, Sam.
-“I’m just thinking out loud.” “Oh, you call that thinking?” I quite like Ruby in this episode.
-“…or we hurl him back to damnation.” I don’t like angels. Ew.
-Yes, okay, but how exactly did she disobey?
-“What you did in Hell”? WHAT DID DEAN HAVE TO DO IN HELL, OH GOD, DON’T TELL ME.
-OH GOD JENSEN IS SO HOT. This sex scene is not, really, but he is.
-Kate and Leo did the hand-on-steamy-window better.
-“Gawky” describes Sam well.
-Hmm, not sure how to feel about Ruby selling out Anna.
-Okay, I hate angels, but I actually love Uriel. He’s kind of hilarious. Also, I’m absurdly happy to see a PoC on this show who lasts more than one episode.
-Uriel is throwing stones in glass houses considering he suggested disobeying God in “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester.”
-See if the angels really wanted to force Dean’s cooperation, they should have threatened Sam’s life, not his.
-STOP TORTURING RUBY.
-That’s weird that demons can apparently only exit their host through the mouth (when Alastair says not to leave the body when he removes her gag); I’d think they could exit through any orifice.
-Called it, they totally threatened Sam.
-“You did the best you could. I forgive you.” I love Anna! And I love Castiel’s face when she says that!
-I would love to watch a throw down between Uriel and Alastair, especially if Alastair died at the end.
-“You sanctimonious fanatical prick.” BWAHAHA!
-GO ANNA! IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY! GO ANNA! YOU’RE SO AWESOME!
-Oh yay, Ruby didn’t actually betray them.
-I hope we see Anna again, but methinks she will not be as fun or loving as an angel. :(
-“I wish I couldn’t feel anything, Sammy.” Oh god, this scene. This scene.
I can’t believe that’s what Dean went through. I can’t believe four months lasted forty years. I want to be like, “no, don’t torture people, that’s bad!” but how could anyone resist after being tortured themselves for decades? So this is how people become demons. This is all just so horrifying and tragic and unfair, and dear god Jensen’s acting in this scene. I’ve never been so impressed by him. There are two things that have dissatisfied me so far about this season: (1) Sam’s extremely understated reaction to Dean’s return and (2) that Dean didn’t have PTSD up the wazoo after being in Hell (and don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that he’s functioning and not miserable 24/7, but when I compare his reaction to Buffy’s in BtVS S6, I don’t understand how Dean wasn’t a quivering puddle of traumatized goo for at least one episode). This scene was the first one where I really felt that Dean was scarred beyond repair. This torture stuff. Oh God.
*** End of liveblogging ***
So now having watched through 4x16, I know now that CLEARLY ANNA IS JUST AS MUCH A BAMF AS AN ANGEL AS SHE WAS A HUMAN, FUCK YES.
4x11: “Family Remains”: I can’t remember the last time I was so scared while watching an SPN episode. It took over 50 minutes to watch a 40-minute episode because I kept having to pause the TV. Which is silly because this episode played on reliable horror tropes, and so you pretty much knew when a bad guy was going to jump out and stab someone, BUT I WAS STILL JITTERY WITH FEAR. THERE IS A REASON I DON’T DO HORROR, AND IT’S BECAUSE I AM A SCAREDY-CAT.
But aside from wanting to crawl under the covers and hide, this was a good episode. Well, I appreciated the analogy to Dean’s situation at least. I didn’t care for the abused-children-as-psychotic-killers trope, even if it was a neat twist that they were human and not ghosts (I would have liked it more if they had been able to cart at least one of the twins off to a mental ward, even if rehabilitation probably would not have been possibly by this point; although I suppose the possibility of rehabilitation would have been analogous to giving Dean hope, and WE CAN’T HAVE THAT, CAN WE).
But anyway, I liked the boys’ conversation at the end and Dean saying he felt for the children and that he was worse. Every episode my heart breaks for him a little more. SOB.
4x12: “Criss Angel is a Douchebag”: I liked this episode! NGL a big part of my affection for it had to do with Barry Bostwick because of Rocky Horror, but it was still a good MOW episode. And Linwood Murrow! Goodness, it drove me crazy watching that episode trying to figure out where I knew that actor from, and then I looked on IMDB and it all made sense.
Oh, and the magicians sending Dean to the Room of Pain or whatever. LOL. I love you, Dean.
4x13: “After School Special”: SO GOOD. SO GOOD. I don’t remember caring for the flashbacks in S1 and S2, but I have loved all the flashbacks in S3 and S4. Both younger actors were superb (young!Dean even looked like Jensen) and CANDICE ACCOLA. I’m not a big fan of Caroline TBH, but I really like Candice, so it was cool to see her and even cooler to hear her speech to Dean at the end about how he was a sad, lonely boy. Obviously we know there’s more to Dean that that, but you go girl for not putting up with his cheating! I lllooovvveeeddd the turnabout at the ending with Dean feeling sick of the place and Sam finally wanting to stay. I loved the teacher and that we know what inspired Sam to quit John’s life and go to college. The last shot of Jared’s face- “Are you happy, Sam?”- was SO GOOD AND HEARTBREAKING. I don’t know if Sam is truly going down the road to Hell by using his demon powers, BUT AT LEAST HE’S NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT.
Sam was just wonderful in this episode in general- his FACE when he finds out that he inadvertently turned Dirk into bullies' victim. I lovedlovedloved how this episode made a point of showing how bullies turn into bullies, even from the very beginning when the first victim lashed out because she had been called a slut. Obviously the bullies were not justified in their behavior, but I really appreciate that the story was so three-dimensional in its depiction of adolescent behavior.
Also, DEAN IN THE COACH UNIFORM. His behavior left a lot to be desired, but THE UNIFORM. I have such a thing for Jensen now it’s not even funny.
I just watched 4x16 “On the Head of a Pin,” and OH MY GOSH. I have been dreading/looking forward to this episode for days, and I purposefully didn’t do anything else while watching (I normally exercise) because I knew I would need 100% focus and emotional investment and that it would be one of the most stressful episodes to watch. THIS SEASON IS SO GOOD BUT I ALSO WANT TO SMACK IT BECAUSE DEAN CANNOT GET A FUCKING BREAK OMG.
Some bite-sized flailing about the other episodes first, though, because I have really loved almost every episode, and I wish I had written reviews of them:
4x07: “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester”: Thought it was well done, even if the Villain didn’t impress me much compared to some of the other things we’ve seen this season. Sam using his powers was great, though.
4x08: “Wishful Thinking”: Is it just me or did the Skeevy Guy even look like Adam Busch AKA Warren? I was disappointed that the writers did not specifically call the guy out for abusing/raping his “girlfriend” (the boys criticized him but not nearly as harshly as he deserved) because other than that unaddressed grossness, there were a lot of really good moments in this episode- the adorable little girl trying to take care of her teddy bear, Dean’s sandwich, Dean making the bullied boy look tough at the end, Sam getting struck by lightning (I laughed. Whatever). Plus, the boys’ (Dean’s? Sam’s? I don’t actually remember by this point) insistence that life isn’t about getting what you want was a really nice touch.
4x09: “I Know What You Did Last Summer”: FINALLY. I WANTED THE BACKSTORY SO BADLY I COULD ALMOST TASTE IT. And it mostly did not disappoint, although I thought Sam/Ruby happened rather fast considering she didn’t hit on him at all in S3. What, was she just waiting for Dean to be gone? No, but really, I have no issue with Sam/Ruby, but I would have liked some more emotional development…
4x10: “Heaven and Hell”: I LOVE ANNA. Brilliant episode. Actually, this was one episode where I did have my computer handy while watching, so have some “Heave and Hell” liveblogging babble:
-DEAN SINCERELY THANKING RUBY FOR THE HEX BAG AND BOTH THEIR FACES. AWWWWW. In different circumstances I would so ship them, but I’ll settle for snarky/sweet brother/sister-in-law moments instead.
-“You’re confusing real life with porn again.” Hee! Dean’s face!
-I think Anna’s the Antichrist. I don’t actually know what that is. But it sounds like something the angels would want to Hulk!Smash.
-Anna looks a lot like Emma Roberts, Julia’s niece, and it’s very distracting.
-I am actually very surprised that Pamela is willing to help the boys again.
-“I’m an angel.” … Okay, then, guess she’s not the Antichrist.
-“And shazam, you’re Roma Downey.” Aw, Touched By An Angel reference! Dean has made multiple references to that show. Makes me wonder if he ever actually watched it…
-I find it very weird that an angel’s Grace is a physical thing. Does that mean it could have been stolen and possessed by someone else?
-“Sex.” “Yeah you got me there.” Hee!
-So…how are angels made? Are some of them former humans like demons? Is that the eventual plan for Dean, for him to become an angel, too? One brother becomes a demon and the other becomes an angel in balance? (DON’T TELL ME, PLEASE). Dean would make a terrible angel. He doesn’t follow orders blindly anymore.
-“Dude. Reality. Porn.” Lol, I love you, Sam.
-“I’m just thinking out loud.” “Oh, you call that thinking?” I quite like Ruby in this episode.
-“…or we hurl him back to damnation.” I don’t like angels. Ew.
-Yes, okay, but how exactly did she disobey?
-“What you did in Hell”? WHAT DID DEAN HAVE TO DO IN HELL, OH GOD, DON’T TELL ME.
-OH GOD JENSEN IS SO HOT. This sex scene is not, really, but he is.
-Kate and Leo did the hand-on-steamy-window better.
-“Gawky” describes Sam well.
-Hmm, not sure how to feel about Ruby selling out Anna.
-Okay, I hate angels, but I actually love Uriel. He’s kind of hilarious. Also, I’m absurdly happy to see a PoC on this show who lasts more than one episode.
-Uriel is throwing stones in glass houses considering he suggested disobeying God in “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester.”
-See if the angels really wanted to force Dean’s cooperation, they should have threatened Sam’s life, not his.
-STOP TORTURING RUBY.
-That’s weird that demons can apparently only exit their host through the mouth (when Alastair says not to leave the body when he removes her gag); I’d think they could exit through any orifice.
-Called it, they totally threatened Sam.
-“You did the best you could. I forgive you.” I love Anna! And I love Castiel’s face when she says that!
-I would love to watch a throw down between Uriel and Alastair, especially if Alastair died at the end.
-“You sanctimonious fanatical prick.” BWAHAHA!
-GO ANNA! IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY! GO ANNA! YOU’RE SO AWESOME!
-Oh yay, Ruby didn’t actually betray them.
-I hope we see Anna again, but methinks she will not be as fun or loving as an angel. :(
-“I wish I couldn’t feel anything, Sammy.” Oh god, this scene. This scene.
I can’t believe that’s what Dean went through. I can’t believe four months lasted forty years. I want to be like, “no, don’t torture people, that’s bad!” but how could anyone resist after being tortured themselves for decades? So this is how people become demons. This is all just so horrifying and tragic and unfair, and dear god Jensen’s acting in this scene. I’ve never been so impressed by him. There are two things that have dissatisfied me so far about this season: (1) Sam’s extremely understated reaction to Dean’s return and (2) that Dean didn’t have PTSD up the wazoo after being in Hell (and don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that he’s functioning and not miserable 24/7, but when I compare his reaction to Buffy’s in BtVS S6, I don’t understand how Dean wasn’t a quivering puddle of traumatized goo for at least one episode). This scene was the first one where I really felt that Dean was scarred beyond repair. This torture stuff. Oh God.
*** End of liveblogging ***
So now having watched through 4x16, I know now that CLEARLY ANNA IS JUST AS MUCH A BAMF AS AN ANGEL AS SHE WAS A HUMAN, FUCK YES.
4x11: “Family Remains”: I can’t remember the last time I was so scared while watching an SPN episode. It took over 50 minutes to watch a 40-minute episode because I kept having to pause the TV. Which is silly because this episode played on reliable horror tropes, and so you pretty much knew when a bad guy was going to jump out and stab someone, BUT I WAS STILL JITTERY WITH FEAR. THERE IS A REASON I DON’T DO HORROR, AND IT’S BECAUSE I AM A SCAREDY-CAT.
But aside from wanting to crawl under the covers and hide, this was a good episode. Well, I appreciated the analogy to Dean’s situation at least. I didn’t care for the abused-children-as-psychotic-killers trope, even if it was a neat twist that they were human and not ghosts (I would have liked it more if they had been able to cart at least one of the twins off to a mental ward, even if rehabilitation probably would not have been possibly by this point; although I suppose the possibility of rehabilitation would have been analogous to giving Dean hope, and WE CAN’T HAVE THAT, CAN WE).
But anyway, I liked the boys’ conversation at the end and Dean saying he felt for the children and that he was worse. Every episode my heart breaks for him a little more. SOB.
4x12: “Criss Angel is a Douchebag”: I liked this episode! NGL a big part of my affection for it had to do with Barry Bostwick because of Rocky Horror, but it was still a good MOW episode. And Linwood Murrow! Goodness, it drove me crazy watching that episode trying to figure out where I knew that actor from, and then I looked on IMDB and it all made sense.
Oh, and the magicians sending Dean to the Room of Pain or whatever. LOL. I love you, Dean.
4x13: “After School Special”: SO GOOD. SO GOOD. I don’t remember caring for the flashbacks in S1 and S2, but I have loved all the flashbacks in S3 and S4. Both younger actors were superb (young!Dean even looked like Jensen) and CANDICE ACCOLA. I’m not a big fan of Caroline TBH, but I really like Candice, so it was cool to see her and even cooler to hear her speech to Dean at the end about how he was a sad, lonely boy. Obviously we know there’s more to Dean that that, but you go girl for not putting up with his cheating! I lllooovvveeeddd the turnabout at the ending with Dean feeling sick of the place and Sam finally wanting to stay. I loved the teacher and that we know what inspired Sam to quit John’s life and go to college. The last shot of Jared’s face- “Are you happy, Sam?”- was SO GOOD AND HEARTBREAKING. I don’t know if Sam is truly going down the road to Hell by using his demon powers, BUT AT LEAST HE’S NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT.
Sam was just wonderful in this episode in general- his FACE when he finds out that he inadvertently turned Dirk into bullies' victim. I lovedlovedloved how this episode made a point of showing how bullies turn into bullies, even from the very beginning when the first victim lashed out because she had been called a slut. Obviously the bullies were not justified in their behavior, but I really appreciate that the story was so three-dimensional in its depiction of adolescent behavior.
Also, DEAN IN THE COACH UNIFORM. His behavior left a lot to be desired, but THE UNIFORM. I have such a thing for Jensen now it’s not even funny.