SPN 4:18

[oselle]

First things first: there is no such Led Zeppelin song as "Rambling On." The name of the song is "Ramble On." I can only assume they got this wrong on purpose since they so obviously track what fans have to say about the show. I'm sure they're just running over to TWoP right now to see who caught that. The song is also vaguely about Bilbo Baggins so does this mean Dean is a secret hobbit fancier? I wouldn't have had him pegged as the type. Sam, maybe.

I did enjoy some of the self-referential stuff (yes, the ghost ship story was lousy writing!) and naturally we fans are always easy targets what with our silly complaints and our slash and all that. I'm glad they got that out of the way early on and moved onto a real story.

I don't know though. The whole idea of a "Winchester Gospel" literally made me snort out loud because hey...if there's going to be a Winchester Gospel, doesn't that mean there won't be an apocalypse? You can't have a whole new gospel if there's no one around to read it. And seriously people...over the top, much? Yes, I'm sure the canonical text of "Bugs" will one day be Holy Writ. Though I'm willing to admit I might start going to church again if that were the case. I think Dean will look simply stunning rendered in stained glass.

I find it kind of shocking that Sam actually sees himself as helping Dean and protecting him, and carrying all the responsibility when that is not how I've interpreted Sam's behavior at all. I wonder if there will be loud criticisms of how Sam is so painfully lacking in self awareness while also rather stunningly full of himself? Somehow I doubt it.

Overall though, what I took away from this episode was that last week's pep talk probably is going to be it as far as solving the whole "Dean problem." You know, the one where they destroyed the guy and then snapped their fingers and instantly put him back together? Even though we saw Zach again, being an absolute dick, it doesn't change that Zach's dickishness clearly had the desired effect upon Dean -- he's all better now. Good boy.

I do continue to dig Castiel, though. He's definitely the best thing to happen this season.

Comments

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I was worried in the beginning since meta episodes can get really self-indulgent, especially when they start on the fans, but I felt like in the end it was pretty contained with everybody staying in character--like you say, they got it out of the way in the beginning. And at least the way it was played I thought it was more affectionate than condescending.

Loved Castiel's little hint to Dean. It seems like that's where it's going to me. The people who say "fuck this" about the angels and side with the humans are the ones who are going to change things. Also I liked Sam's convo with the prophet. Meta, but still in character for both of them, so it didn't seem like a joke.

It's weird that this ep was on the same week as Lost's "Whatever Happened Happened" which is also about how if you try to make things come out differently...they won't.

[oxer12.livejournal.com]

OK, I just wrote an entry really similar to this. Weird!

I'm glad they got that out of the way early on and moved onto a real story.

I almost wrote that exact sentence!

I do wish the "Dean problem" hadn't been so neatly discarded. Sigh.

CASTIEL.

[janissa11.livejournal.com]

last week's pep talk probably is going to be it as far as solving the whole "Dean problem."

No probably about it. ::sigh::

Well, at least --

Ugh, parts of this ep were delightful. Truly. I just feel kinda tired.

Why can't an archangel help Dean and Sam? And if they can't interfere, why does Chuck rate? If he has all the answers --

Shit, I dunno. I need to pack.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the meta or fanservice there at the beginning was a wee bit thick and it was very surreal to see Sam and Dean talking about "Samgirls" and "Deangirls" and "slash" but whatever, I'm over it.

Castiel rocks. Sam's chat with the Prophet Chuck was quite revealing of where Sam's head is at, and not in a good way.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Castiel is phenomenal. I love this character. They'd better not kill him.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm kinda tired too. I did think it was cute to see them in a laundromat.

[oxer12.livejournal.com]

Full circle from "Lazarus Came Forth!" ;-)

[oselle.livejournal.com]

But no jacket hot from the dryer! And these days, Dean would have to stand on something to zip Sam up, not kneel down!

[ariadnes-string.livejournal.com]

I agree that that lack of continuity from last week, and the instafix on Dean, was kind of jarring, but here's my take on it:

Dean was certainly doing better this week, but it had nothing to do with the "pep talk" he got from Zach. It had to do with getting three weeks worth of plenty of sleep in a real bed, and not getting thrown into walls. Kind of like a medically-induced coma to let the body heal. Screw the angelic mind-fuck: Catch up on your sleep, and you're bound to feel more energetic about facing up to the Big Bad.

Okay--so maybe I'm projecting a bit here, but that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

Especially since Dean didn't seem notably more down with "destiny" this week than he was last week--or more friendly to angel agenda.

Overall, I liked the ep much more than I thought I would--amazed they managed to make Chuck an interesting character; liked Castiel; liked the sheepish looks when they bared their tatoos; liked reading!Dean--especially lounging!reading!Dean reading about himself having sex.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I felt that Dean's "screw you" attitude to the angels was really based on him being pissed off at them for not helping Sam or at least not getting them out of town so that Sam wouldn't have to face Lilith -- it's Default Dean, looking out for Sammy. And by telling Castiel that if they didn't help him now, he wouldn't help them when they needed him, it seems to me that he's cast aside all that "I can't do it, find someone else" doubt and has accepted his destiny (with some conditions, i.e., that the angels do their part, too). Whether it was Zach's pep talk or three weeks of sleep and healthy eating in a really nice apartment, I don't know, but Dean's clearly picked himself up and dusted himself off.

(As a side note, I have to wonder what Lilith was doing while the boys were cooling their heels for three whole weeks over at Sandover Steel...Zach made it clear that they were really there, it wasn't some fantasy a la "Mystery Spot.")

I really liked Chuck...he was wonderfully cast and captured the despair of both the unsuccessful writer and the unwilling prophet. I have to say it would be JUST LIKE GOD to force someone to write prophecy and not even let the poor bastard get a few best-sellers out of it. Proving once again exactly which team folks like JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer are working for ;)

[ariadnes-string.livejournal.com]

I really liked Chuck...he was wonderfully cast and captured the despair of both the unsuccessful writer and the unwilling prophet. I have to say it would be JUST LIKE GOD to force someone to write prophecy and not even let the poor bastard get a few best-sellers out of it. Proving once again exactly which team folks like JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer are working for ;)

hee! and word!

no--I was mostly being flip, in a sleep-deprived kind of way--Dean did seem pretty energized, one way or another, and, also, more ready to believe in prophecy than Sam. And yeah, if he's going to defy Heavenly marching orders, it's going to be on Sam's behalf.

BTW, I thought the most "oh Dean" moment in the ep. was right before he started praying. When Sam flat out refuses to leave with him, and, after a moment, he just flings the duffle back onto a chair...He's no more capable of leaving Sam now than he ever was...

One more thing about Dean I have to get off my chest: Everyone has been speaking so literally about him coming back from Hell "missing something" that I keep expecting some impish underling to show up with a glowing blue vial of "Dean-ness" or "badassery" and say, "excuse me, sir, we found this under your seat after you left..."

And I am sitting here with my copy of the EW spread on SPN. I thought they would never do an article on the show because they couldn't do it without talking about the fandom, and they couldn't talk about the fandom without talking about wincest. But clearly THINGS HAVE CHANGED. WHAT DOES IT MEAN??

[the0neru.livejournal.com]

PLOTBUNNIES WHAT.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

EW did a spread on SPN!? What issue??

Everyone has been speaking so literally about him coming back from Hell "missing something" that I keep expecting some impish underling to show up with a glowing blue vial of "Dean-ness"

Yes, like Austin Powers' mojo! What's funny is that this concept of Dean "missing something" was not introduced until Alistair said it in "Head of a Pin." Is this just something they've thrown in the mix because they think it sounds cool or are we eventually going to find out just what it was that Dean supposedly left in hell?

[oselle.livejournal.com]

That bunny's already hopped!

[ariadnes-string.livejournal.com]

The spread is in the current issue. I forgot to say, though, that it has a lot of spoilers for the next episode, and the end of the season--don't know how you feel about that...

Nice pictures, though! two pages out of four are taken up with a big pick of Dean, Sam and the Impala...can't go wrong there.

Yes--Dean's mojo--I wouldn't even consider it being a literal thing without that glowing vial of whatsit in H&H...Thanks a lot, Show!

[the0neru.livejournal.com]

There's grown!Dean standing on something to zip Sam into his jacket fic? Where?!

[oselle.livejournal.com]

No no no, I wrote a long story where in one scene Sam remembers being in a laundromat when they were children and Dean zipped Sam up in his jacket while it was still warm from the dryer. I think Sammy can zip up his own jacket now :)

[the0neru.livejournal.com]

ah. i am remiss in commenting on Lazarus, but please rest assured it's simply due to having been blown away. i *know* Sam could zip up his own jacket now, but i am a total sucker for Dean fighting tooth and nail to still be The Big Brother (and no, I don't want to look too closely at that, thanks). :)