SPN 4:02

[oselle]

I have one little gripe and let me get that out of the way. That episode title was THE WORST ONE EVER. I don't know if you viewers outside of the United States are familiar with Judy Blume, but back when I was a wee lass (the awful 1970s) the reading of Blume was, as Amazon.com calls it, "a rite of passage for preteen girls in North America." The title of this episode was based on a Blume book, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and just to prove how dreadfully inappropriate a title it was for this episode, I'll post part of the Amazon review here for you:

"If anyone tried to determine the most common rite of passage for preteen girls in North America, a girl's first reading of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret would rank near the top of the list. Judy Blume and her character Margaret Simon were the first to say out loud (and in a book even) that it is normal for girls to wonder when they are ever going to fill out their training bras. Puberty is a curious and annoying time. Girls' bodies begin to do freakish things--or, as in Margaret's case, they don't do freakish things nearly as fast as girls wish they would. Adolescents are often so relieved to discover that someone understands their body-angst that they miss one of the book's deeper explorations: a young person's relationship with God."

WHAT was Sera Gamble thinking?

Fortunately that was it for the night's stupidities. If the past two episodes are any indication, the writers have at least temporarily suspended their practice of goofing on the Winchesters and have started approaching this show with their tongues finally out of their cheeks.

I've often complained of what I consider to be a Joss Whedonish influence on the show, particularly in the use of snark. No matter what the situation, even the very end of the world, there's always time for a wisecrack. I hate that shit. It's fine in small doses but it ultimately makes everything seem not terribly important. Every episode of Buffy I've ever watched, I was never sure if I was supposed to consider it a drama or a comedy or some weird hybrid of both. Felt the same way about Firefly. Saw a lot of this in Supernatural but not in last night's episode. It's like they're FINALLY taking this story seriously.

This is why I'm loving Castiel so much. Castiel doesn't wisecrack. He doesn't have time to fuck around. He's dead fucking serious and as a result HE IS SCARY AS HELL. That final scene between him and Dean was one of the most intense things I've ever seen on this show and HOLY SHIT I DID NOT SEE THAT TWIST COMING!! CASTIEL CAN SEND DEAN BACK TO HELL!?!?

What could be better than Dean Winchester being harrowed out of hell by a fiery agent of God's wrath who will gladly throw him back in there if Dean doesn't get in line? Dean's not free at all -- his soul has merely changed hands, and conditionally at that. This is seriously gripping stuff. Think of what this puts in play. Dean's eventually going to find out whatever Sam's up to with Ruby -- either on his own or Castiel's going to tell him. At that point, you know that Castiel will expect Dean to make a choice. Either he betrays his brother and saves his soul or he chooses Sam and it's back to the pit. HOLY SHIT, PEOPLE!

I've been sort of against the show headed towards this sort of brother vs. brother apocalyptic showdown, mostly because I didn't think they were up to doing it with any degree of gravitas. But if they keep doing it like this? BRING IT ON.

And you know...it doesn't hurt that Castiel is still way hot. It certainly doesn't hurt that he seems to enjoy getting WAY up into Dean's personal space and menacingly murmuring that Dean needs to start showing him "a little respect." WTF!?! The slash, it writes itself!! Did Sera Gamble spend her summer reading fanfic?? Because damn she is writing like a fangirl and I'm loving it!!

You know what else I love? DEAN SLEEPING! Dean sleeping in the car. Dean sleeping on the floor -- WHY is Dean sleeping on the floor? You'd think Sam would have some consideration for Dean just getting out of hell and at least let him sleep on the couch. There's no way Sam would even fit on that couch! And why are they even sleeping in the living room (pardon me, the "library") when Bobby's house appears to have a veritable warren of rooms upstairs?

Speaking of Bobby's house, I adore Bobby but the Singer manse is creepier than I ever thought. The red walls? The gothic chandelier? The stained glass? Who decorated that place -- Morticia Addams? In comparison to the rest of the house, the panic room looks positively normal. Even the linen closet was creepy and yet HOW DO I LOVE THAT WE SAW BOBBY'S LINEN CLOSET? I really want to see the bathroom in that joint.

I want to write some meta on the palpable distance between Sam and Dean, how subtle and well-played it is and what it might mean. I want to write about the surreal sense of hunters' isolation that has permeated these two episodes so far. I want to write about how good these episodes have looked, rich in texture and atmosphere.

But I can't do that because JENSEN ACKLES IS TOO FREAKING GORGEOUS and my brain cells just go zzzzzzzzzzing every time I look at him. Did anyone but me notice that he spent most of this episode with his lips parted in a sexy little pout? For God's sake! And on top of the gorgeous, they're going ahead and giving him depth? Dean Winchester pondering the Epicurean Paradox?? Dean Winchester bawling out an angel of the Lord? Dean Winchester letting a dead coed beat the shit out of him because he thinks he deserves it??? Ay caramba! What are they trying to do to us?

*sweats*

I said it before but I'll repeat it: this is how good I've always wanted this show to be. In the past I've recommended the show to people with a qualifier that it's just fun. For now, I can genuinely say that it's good. It may even become great. I'm stunned that the same people who brought us dreck like "Red Sky at Morning" are bringing us this and why have they waited so long?

Oh, and one last thing -- that Billy Squier music montage at the beginning was ridiculously long but it was so cool. Cool in an awful, '80s, Monsters of Rock sort of way. If I'd never watched an episode of Supernatural before and I'd just wandered into the room and caught that opening, it would have totally made me sit down and watch. And no, I'm not ashamed. Maybe a little.

Okay, a lot.