SPN Season Finale

[oselle]

I had a really exhausting day and I should probably save this for when I'm more up for it. But what the hell, maybe it'll perk me up.

All I wanted out of this finale was a boatload of angst, a gut-wrenching ending and no idiotic new characters, retcons or red herrings thrown in to torture us all summer. And it was so close...so close! Almost there, Kripke! But not quite.

Everything between the boys was perfection. I couldn't have asked for anything better than the two of them singing Bon Jovi in the car. Didn't we always sort of know that "Wanted Dead or Alive" must have been one of Dean's guilty pleasures? I don't care what kind of music you're into, you've gotta be made of stone not to love that song.

That was one of my favorite moments, not just for the hair-band awesomeness of it but because it shows how easy it is to take something that appears funny and make it poignant. Sam and Dean Winchester wailing Bon Jovi a deux? Hilarious! But the look on Dean's face when he trailed off and stopped singing said it all. He knew, as we did, that this briefly light interlude was nothing but foxhole bravado. That this moment was the last of its kind.

Another great moment like this was after Dean's "go down swinging" speech. I loved how Sam defused the intensity of that scene by saying "I think you should have been jamming 'Eye of the Tiger' right there," and Dean responds with, "Bite me. I totally rehearsed that speech, too." It was funny and it was in character for both of them, without being distractingly har-har. A great balance.

Both Jensen and Jared struck the right notes throughout the episode, but a combination of good writing and subtle acting made Dean especially affecting. He was very quiet in this episode, did you notice? Even when he was shouting it seemed like he was holding something back. There was a catch in his voice, at times he seemed almost out of breath. He was keeping terror at bay. He was keeping such a tight rein on himself that it was exhausting him. He didn't even let on that he was hallucinating or recognizing demons until Bobby came right out and asked him.

I thought the idea of "piercing the veil" was one of the most chilling parts of this episode. A few years ago I read about a viewing device that a psychologist invented to simulate the sort of hallucinations that plague schizophrenics. The point of the device was for mental health professionals to gain some idea of what it's like to be schizophrenic -- what they see, what they hear. All of the people who tested it said it was a terrifying experience. But they could take it off. Now imagine not being able to take it off. And now imagine not even having the cold comfort of knowing that "it's all in your head," that it's a disorder. Imagine it's real -- it's real because you're standing at the threshold of Hell. That is the kind of stuff that scares the crap out of me.

The first part of the episode was just about perfect but once Lilith came in I lost a little focus. This sort of character -- the terrorizing monster-child -- has been done and done better, most famously by The Twilight Zone, most hilariously by The Simpsons. I'm almost certain that Stephen King had a take on it too. Point is, it's nothing new. And her shacking up with that family was inexplicable. We've been given to understand that Sam is a threat to Lilith and that Lilith knows this. A great showdown is supposed to be at hand. So why exactly would she choose this moment to take a little vacation in suburbia? What is she so tired from that she requires "shore leave?" And even as far as that goes, talk about some tame shore leave. You would think a demon of Lilith's caliber would need more for a good time than just tormenting Mr. and Mrs. McMansion. It's never explained at all why Lilith is even hiding out in the bodies of little girls, except perhaps because Eric Kripke seems to find them unremittingly terrifying. I know, I know, there's power (and safety) in the guise of innocence. But she could wreak a lot more havoc by possessing someone else. She could have bumped off the Winchesters a dozen times over just by possessing a motel clerk.

There were things I liked here, including Sam's hesitation to stab the little girl and her mother's terrified pleading of "Do it! Do it!" But overall the evil moppet approach hasn't worked for me since "Jus in Bello."

Things got back on track for me as the clock approached midnight. Dean's farewell speech, as brief as it was, was pure Dean. From the moment that clock began striking things became unbearable. It was just right that Dean could see the Hellhound but Sam could not. I loved that they tried to make a run for it, as futile as they knew that was. I don't know why they chose to have Lilith continue to act like a child once she was inside Ruby, but I'll ignore that. Pinning Dean on his back like that was distractingly hot at such a crucial moment, but I'll ignore that too. Try to, anyway.

Dean being torn apart by the Hellhound was awful, awful, awful. And I say this as someone who, as you know, loves it when Dean takes a beating. But this had me in a near fetal position, maybe because I knew he wasn't going to just get up and walk this one off, Winchester-style. This was for keeps. And it was fucking terrible. I give the show credit for not going soft on this, not having Dean just drop dead in his tracks or something. But God it was awful. And Sam having to watch that happen, unable to stop it...oh, God. I don't think this show could possibly have a darker moment.

Cue commercial break, where I was mercilessly subjected to a Quiznos commercial. Like I really want to look at foot-long lunch meat after seeing a man torn to bloody ribbons. Just thinking about it is making me feel a little sick.

I didn't know what to make of the whole Lilith-white-light thing. Was she trying to kill Sam there? That was a little too Voldemortian. Are we to assume Sam is now Sammy Potter? She clearly lost her powers afterwards, and made a break for it, perhaps to...disguise herself as a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor until she recovers her strength? I have a feeling the aftermath and repercussions of this incident will form the overriding storyarc of Season Four, and I'm not going to fret about that now.

No...now, I'm going to talk to you about Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Chicken Cordon Bleu is a delicious dish of chicken breast stuffed with ham and cheese, breaded and fried. It's one of my favorites. A couple of weeks ago I went out to dinner at a restaurant in my neighborhood and ordered Chicken Cordon Bleu. Inexplicably, when the chicken arrived, there were...maraschino cherries on it. Lurid, pink, sticky maraschino cherries. Why? Why would someone look at something as delicious, as perfect, as satisfying as Chicken Cordon Bleu and say, you know what's missing? Maraschino cherries!!

That final scene was the maraschino cherry on my delicious Finale Cordon Bleu and even if I pick the cherry off I can still taste it. Mileage is going to vary bigtime on this, but I SO don't think Kripke should have shown Dean in Hell.

He could have kept this: Sam in tears, kneeling beside his brother's torn body. Closeup on Dean's frozen eyes. Fade to black as we hear -- HEAR -- Dean screaming in Hell. Roll credits. Cue endless summer hiatus.

No, he just had to show Dean in Hell and he didn't even try to be subtle about it. You know what would have been better if Kripke absolutely had to "go there?" Show Dean in Hell but leave something to the imagination. Dissolve from his dead eyes to him waking up in darkness. Firelit darkness if need be. Fade to black over him screaming for his brother. I think I would have wept like a baby.

The horrors of Hell can never really be depicted and certainly not with this show's budget. I thought I heard of an interview where Kripke said they didn't intend to show Hell, specifically because they couldn't afford to do it well. And there he was, showing Hell. Full-on, graphic Hell. And it sucked. In my opinion, of course.

And I so hated that he had Dean screaming "Somebody help me." Screaming for Sam, yes. But Christ, why'd they have to write it that way? It was like he's already been broken and God, that killed me, and not in a good way. It pissed me off.

Kripke. You frigging dumbass. You just couldn't control yourself, could you?

Sigh. Okay well, summertime. I don't know what to expect from Season Four but the biggest question on my mind now is what's going to happen to Dean's poor, beautiful body. And how is Sam going to get him out of Hell? And what condition is he going to be in when he does come back? See, then I'll be ready for some Broken Dean. They can't possibly have him come back from that as his old self. But I suppose we'll have to wait and see.

Good night and thank you for reading.

Comments

[ghyste.livejournal.com]

After a good night's sleep, I still have a vague feeling of dissatifaction with this episode that I had yesterday. There was much that was good about it - particularly the interaction between the Brothers and between them and Bobby and Ruby - but the two points you highlight are still what's bringing it down for me.

I comfort myself that the extended T-Zone tribute was forced on them by losing episodes and plot-lines during the strike, but that last scene was just a bad judgement call. I've expanded on why in my reply to you over on my own journal, but it turns out we were thinking pretty uch the same way anyway.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Strike my ass. If they hadn't spent the first three post-strike episodes dicking around with Ghostfacers and Dr. Frankenstein, they would have at least made up SOME of the time they lost to the strike. It's the midseason MoTW stuff that should have been sacrificed to the strike, not the major plot development/storyarc episodes.

And the more I think about the Hell scene the more it annoys me. I don't know how much a piece of CGI like that costs, but I'm sure this cash-strapped show could have used the money a lot more wisely on something else.

[layne67.livejournal.com]

Jensen was beyond awesome as the tormented Dean, that dream sequence and everything you said.

Sam's hesitation to stab the little girl and her mother's terrified pleading of "Do it! Do it!"

For a moment there I really thought that Lilith was inside the mother's body.

Sammy Potter and Lilith as a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor??

*chokes*

You're evil.

Cue commercial break, where I was mercilessly subjected to a Quiznos commercial

LOL well then there's something to be said about watching mine ad-free downloaded from the internet! :D

[oselle.livejournal.com]

You're evil.

Hey, I'm not the one who wrote it that way. Tell it to Eric Kripke. Even as I was watching it, I was thinking, Where have I seen this before? Now all he needs is glasses and a broom.

The commercial breaks are appallingly long. I should go back and count how many ads ran after Dean got torn to shreds. Talk about killing the mood. That stupid "Gossip Girls" tag in the lower right-hand corner doesn't help either.

[i-o-r-h-a-e-l.livejournal.com]

I think I know what makes me still feel confused: whether I want to be sad with Sam over his dead brother or cringe at the sight of hell. *sighs*

It was like he's already been broken

I think he has. One second in hell would break you at once. *sobs*

[oselle.livejournal.com]

One second in hell would break you at once.

No, no, no! Not Dean Winchester!!!

*bawls*