SPN 5:13 Part Deux

[oselle]

It delights me to put up this post because I hate for people to think I'm one of those nitpicking malcontents who has to disparage the show all the time. NOR am I a Pollyanna who's willing to excuse the show for its frequent and glaring missteps just because it throws me a good episode now and then. If an episode sucks, I'll say so. If an episode's great, I'll own up to that too. And last night was GREAT. To break it down...

1. Sam
What a pleasure to see Sam acting like a decent human being. It's been a long time since I've felt so sympathetically towards him, and I thought Jared had some really wonderful moments last night. His handshake with John was one, as was his very well-written and acted private conversation with John, where he told John all the things he wished he'd said to "his father" before he died. The poignancy of Sam actually saying these things to his real father -- without his father even knowing it -- was exquisite. I also loved Sam blurting out to Mary, "You are so beautiful," since unlike Dean, he's never actually seen his mother in the flesh -- at least not since he was far too young to remember.

2. Dean
Jensen was absolutely glorious last night, especially in his scenes with Mary. When he went through all the details of his long-ago childhood to convince Mary that he really was her son -- memories of tomato-and-rice soup and "Hey Jude" lullabies -- dear God, there sure wasn't a dry eye in this house. More than anything I was so moved by Dean telling Mary to leave John to save her own life, knowing full well that it would mean that he and Sam would never be born. If that isn't the definition of self-sacrifice, I don't know what is. God help anyone who ever calls Dean "selfish" in my presence. And his devastated expression when Mary confessed that she was already pregnant -- with him -- just made me catch my breath. It's been more than a few episodes since I've seen Jensen have material that allows him to go full-throttle on his considerable talent and what a pleasure it was.

3. John
Matthew Cohen did an exceptional job as John, so much so that I can overlook the fact that, unlike Jeffrey Dean Morgan, he's shorter than both Jared and Jensen :) He made it so easy to believe that this very ordinary man would eventually turn into the John Winchester that we knew from early in the show. Even better was his depiction of Michael -- just the right amount of menace but with a deft undercurrent of compassion that made it far more than an "I'm possessed!" performance. His scene, as Michael, with Dean was pitch-perfect. Beautifully written and acted by both of them, and his monologue on the irrelevance of free will and how every moment of history has brought them all to this place -- oh, that's the sort of thing that just gets the waterworks going. A lesser actor would have botched this scene horribly and made Michael into a sneering villain, but I really believed him as an archangel. So much so, that I wondered why he's been letting incompetents like Zachariah, Uriel and Gabriel do his job for him up until now, when he's clearly so much better at it.

4. Mary and Anna
Loved Amy Gumenick, especially in the aforementioned scene with Dean. I thought Julie McNiven, as dainty as she looks, was convincingly ass-kicking (Pete Campbell, you might want to be a little more polite with Hildy next year!). It was nice to see a fight between two women on this show staged as something serious, rather than something that looks like it should be taking place in a boxing ring full of wet mud. Mary's knifework was particularly skilled, and wouldn't it have been nice to see Katie Cassidy bring some of that nimble-fingered confidence to Ruby 1.0? Mary's last scene in the nursery absolutely broke my heart.

The only thing that confused me was whether Anna really "broke out" of heavenly prison, as she said, or was she sent as an assasin and if so, who sent her? Because it clearly wasn't Michael, or he wouldn't have punished her so severely. Her incineration was visually well done, but I have to say that I'm kind of sorry to know she's gone for good. And I also want to say how happy I am that the show resisted any temptation to indulge in double-entendre cheesiness between her and Dean. The impact of her presence and purpose in the episode would have been very much lessened if Dean had been leering at her and making suggestive comments the whole time. Dream-strippers aside, I really liked the chemistry between her and Dean in the opening scene, especially when he asked her if she needed his help -- that's the Dean I know and love, not the oversexed dim bulb they sometimes make him out to be.

5. That's The Way You Do It
The comic relief moments in this episode were just right: my favorite lines were, "What? That their sons are back from the future to save them from an angel that’s gone terminator? Come on those movies haven’t even been made yet!" and Sam and Dean in the back of the car, "Oooh, awkward family moment." I also did enjoy "Six Degrees of Heaven Bacon." There's a right way to use humor in an episode and a wrong way, and the show too often lurches in the "wrong way" direction. Last night, they got it right.

6. Free Will and Foreshadowing
As I've mentioned, the scene between Michael and Dean was specacular, but it also paved the way for how this season will probably end. I don't think Michael is lying when he tells Dean that he can take over his body, and then leave it, without harming him. I had a feeling the show was going to have to abandon the idea that archangel possession turns the vessel into a drooling vegetable -- and now that they've cleaned up that inconvenient concept, I'm sure that Dean will be saying yes to Michael by episode 22. The whole speech about fate, and Sam reminding Dean that John readily said yes to Michael to save Mary, pretty much makes this outcome inevitable. Not sure how they'll get Sam to give in to Lucifer, and not sure how they'll deal with the implications of Dean saying yes to Michael (i.e. Armageddon) but I do know one thing...Archangel Dean? Will be so hot that not just the knickers I'm wearing, but every pair of knickers I own -- including those in the hamper, in the drawer, and unfolded in the washbasket -- will instantly go up in flames. In fact, I expect knickers to be immolating across the globe when Dean becomes Michael. We'll have to declare it a holiday. Like Guy Fawkes Day. With underpants.

7. Final Thought
If the show is capable of being this good, why is it often so bad? If I could ask Eric Kripke one question, this would be it.

I've jokingly compared the show to a bad boyfriend, but it's also like a really underachieving kid. You've got this kid, and maybe you're his mother or his teacher, but you know how bright he is and how much he's capable of -- and yet he's constantly producing a bunch of Ds on his report card. He sits there day after day in class, not doing shit except making fart noises and talking back and making fun of other kids -- and then one day he just stuns you with a brilliant paper or an incredible project. In a kid's case, he's probably under-challenged or has home problems or whatever. What's Show's problem? How do we convince them that it's worth their time and effort to do work like this all the time?

Comments

[roque-clasique.livejournal.com]

Yes, I agree with absolutely everything, and especially #7.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

#7 is just...such a sticking point. Why, Kripke? Why?

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I adored Sam's staring at Mary. The jokes about how he thought she was beautiful in a "non-creepy" way were just sweet. That must have overwhelmed him. I remember seeing the remake of the Parent Trap with Lindsey Lohan and it reminded me of the scene where the American twin first meets her mother--again with the mother not realizing who she is. Maybe the LL comparison doesn't sound like a compliment, but that made me cry too. It was a nice counterpoint to the Dean/Mary scenes because wow it *really* set up how Sam is so much like John and Dean is SO much like Mary.

I as truly taken aback by how good John's actor did with Michael. He seemed taller than Dean in that scene!

I also liked the Dean/Anna relationship. Not just in the dream (his "awkward" was hilarious) but also when he was disappointed that Anna was against them. Or at least that they had to be against her.

A bunch of people were thrilled that she got to yell at Castiel for his "ass-hattery" but I still don't get the Castiel hate. Yes, he was loyal to the angels up until the moment he wasn't. Yelling at him for not becoming human sooner is kind of pointless. The best thing he could do to make up for it was...what he's doing now.

I'm honestly not sure if she broke out or not. I wouldn't be surprised if she was sent on purpose by someone other than Michael. Or if she had some help getting out for her own plan. She also might have thought it was a good idea to play on Castiel's doubt with the earlier resentment of him, but that didn't work because Castiel's back on a side again.

I am not even prepared for Michael!Dean. I don't think Lucifer!Sam will have a chance. Actually, I should give props for the different personalities of Michael/Lucifer as they now stand because they're wonderfully different and believable while not being a parallel of Dean/Sam at all.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Matthew Cohen was really amazing, both as John and as Michael. His conversation with Dean literally gave me chills. How sad that the show pulled that stupid shit last week with implying that only Sam's body needed to say yes to Lucifer -- let's just forget that ever happened. The inconsistencies of this show are enough to knock you on your ass. They give us that dumb shit last week and then this week they give us thoughtful, beautifully written dialogue about the irrelevance of free will in the face of immutable destiny. What The Fuck. Do these writers even talk to each other?

I didn't even think that Anna yelled at Castiel at all. They seemed very much equals in that scene with Anna now assuming an "angelic" responsibility and Castiel having become the rebel. Castiel-hate makes no sense to me at all, and I'm glad I haven't personally witnessed much of it.

Actually, I should give props for the different personalities of Michael/Lucifer as they now stand because they're wonderfully different and believable while not being a parallel of Dean/Sam at all.

Yes, but exactly how good this is keeps me holding my breath, waiting for the show to botch it all up again. For now I'll just treasure this episode as an example of how damn good this show can be when it tries.

[morganslady.livejournal.com]

Last night's episode was amazing.. For me it redeemed them from last weeks mess.
This was very powerful. The actors did a fantastic job.


The scene between Mary,Dean and Sam was raw emotion..
I love John telling Dean he wants to help.

Free will is our greatest gift. Michael saying none of our choices are our own, I wonder if this is really a test for the angels not not humans.

Thought #7- Sometimes I wonder the same thing,someone on another LJ,described the show as being bi-polar. That's a pretty accurate description.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I totally think it's a test for angels. No way Castiel's search to find the true God who is not his prophecies isn't the right angel here. Castiel, the angel who broke with prophecy and grabbed free will in both hands even though he's been terrified by trying to function without knowing how things are going to turn out. He's the searcher, the other angels all think they know everything even though most of them haven't seen God and even the ones who have say they're gone.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

But who's testing them -- God? And why?

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I don't know whether it's an intentional test, but it seems like Castiel must be doing Right by looking for God while the others were ordering him around pretending they were God.

In the movie Legion (I saw it for work--ha!) there's something similar--not that this movie should be a model for anyone because it's truly ridiculous. But in it God sends the angels to destroy the world but Michael refuses. In the end Michael is correct in what he tells Gabriel, who is following orders because God gave them. He says Gabriel gave God what he asked for or wanted--something like that--but Michael gave him what he needed.

It's stupid on multiple levels, but I feel like there must be something like that going on on SPN. I just can't believe Dean's wrong for rejecting Michael any more than Castiel was wrong for supporting him doing it.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Which reminds me that we haven't seen much of Castiel's search for God. Any idea on how that's going? Introducing something as huge as GOD into this show is going to open a can of worms that I know they can't handle and it's just going to be another lame, loose ending hanging out there.

Isn't the concept of angels that they don't really have free will at all -- that only humans do, and that that is exactly what sets us apart as unique in God's creations? Exactly what makes us "created in God's image?" This doesn't really explain rebel angels like Lucifer, but he's supposed to be anomalous. In general, angels really are only capable of doing what they're told. But the question is, who's giving the orders? If it's not God, then who? Are the angels (aside from Castiel) acting alone?

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Seems like it's kind of like the emotion thing. Angels aren't supposed to have them, yet they obviously do. You can't envy people for their emotions if you don't have emotion. Envy is an emotion!

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Yes, and I've also heard that angels don't have free will, but that doesn't explain Lucifer, does it?

[layne67.livejournal.com]

Anna being "let go" made me think of Gollum lol.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

LOL, you're totally right, and it explains why Castiel was so suspicious of her, just as Gandalf knew that Gollum had never "escaped" Mordor on his own.

[lsketch42.livejournal.com]

*nods along with everything you've said* and I love the underachieving kid comparison, though the bad boyfriend analogy works too.

As much as this show frustrates me (and I have never cringed as much at a show as I have with SPN), when it's good it is just so EFFING GOOD which is why I can never walk away.

WHY ARE YOU SUCH A TEASE, SHOW?

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I get so frustrated with this show, because they drop the ball so often (and then turn around and blame the fans for not blithely accepting whatever crap they churn out). If Nancy Weiner (co-writer on this episode) is responsible for this kind of quality, they need to put her on staff, immediately. And turn their backs on their own frat-boy impulses for good. I don't care that the show is on a trashy network like the CW. That doesn't mean they have to sink to the CW's level. They've already been renewed for a 6th season. As far as I'm concerned, that's a green light for them to pull out all the stops and give it all they've got. And by that, I don't mean self-indulgent slapstick bullshit. Take the show seriously, take these characters seriously, and take the audience seriously. Quit fucking around.

[oxer12.livejournal.com]

I called my sister today and started gibbering into the phone about "OMGTHATWASSOGOODWASN'TIT???" She agreed. ;)

I am getting dreamy-eyed just thinking about #6....

Not even joking, I stood up in my apartment and applauded when the episode was over. FINALLY.

Young John - nnnngggg!!

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Dean as Michael is going to be the most awesome thing ever. I hope. I've seen this show take something brilliant and water it down into banality too many times. Jensen will burn up the screen as Michael -- please give him the material to do it.

[corbyinoz.livejournal.com]

Couldn't agree more with everything you've written here.

Btw - for some bizarre reason your icon is really creepy to me. I'm not sure why. If you don't mind me asking, where is it from? I never knew I had Nurse Issues, but apparently I do.

Corby

[oselle.livejournal.com]

LOL, you can't even fully appreciate the creepiness of this icon in such a small format. It's by an artist named Richard Prince who, among other things, did a whole series of paintings in which he took the covers of old pulp-fiction novels from the 1950s and doctored them up in assorted macabre ways. This one is called, "Nurse in Hollywood." You can see the whole hideous thing here:

http://hystericalparoxysm.tumblr.com/post/19776526/hello-nurse-above-richard-prince-nurse-in

[ariadnes-string.livejournal.com]

I was away all weekend, but just wanted to drop in and and say OH YEAH to all these points--especially nos. 1 and 3. You are so right--the scene that stood out to me re: #1 was the last scene: how long has it been since we've seen Sam been so thoughtful and compassionate? Just lovely.

And I was totally blown away by Matthew Cohen too. In an episode filled with wonderful little moments, I think my two favorite might have involved him: the tiny conversation when Dean says "you remind me of my father," and the tiny scene with Mary at the end, when he's draped over her stroking her belly. The physicality there? when on SPN do you ever see that kind of pure, beautiful, physical love? Never--that's when. So it packed such a punch when it showed up.

*ahem*

Guess I like the episode *g*

[oselle.livejournal.com]

when on SPN do you ever see that kind of pure, beautiful, physical love? Never--that's when.

That, along with the pure celebration of domestic bliss, reinforce my theory that the series will end with Dean in the bosom of a happy family, that his ultimate destiny (reward?) is to finally enjoy the blessings of family life that his own parents should have had, and that we saw such a sweet glimpse of in this episode.

[ariadnes-string.livejournal.com]

*nods* I think, like you, that I have come around to actually wanting this for Dean....

[ghyste.livejournal.com]

I don't think Michael is lying when he tells Dean that he can take over his body, and then leave it, without harming him. I had a feeling the show was going to have to abandon the idea that archangel possession turns the vessel into a drooling vegetable -- and now that they've cleaned up that inconvenient concept, I'm sure that Dean will be saying yes to Michael by episode 22.

I think we've had anvils about the ending two weeks running. We now know that Sam's body can be taken over without Sam's soul being in occcupation and that Dean can say "yes" to Michael without his body being destroyed (Sam's already having been prepared to withstand Angel occupation), so now Dean can say yes to save the world without destroying his brother in the process and when it's over (however that happens) they won't be drooling vegetables.

I agree with averything you say about Matthew and Amy - they were great. I'm still disappointed that they never explored the non-love interest potential of Anna (and that they never explained why she was fooled by Ruby) but she went out better than she might have done.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

so now Dean can say yes to save the world without destroying his brother in the process and when it's over (however that happens) they won't be drooling vegetables.

Ahhh...you see, I was wondering about that -- because this week, we once again have an angel telling his destined vessel that HE has to say yes, which would seem to negate everything we saw last week. I was thinking that this was just another one of SPN's famous handwaving contradictions, but now I think that you're right: they're paving the way for Dean to say yes to Michael and for him to be able to destroy Lucifer without killing Sam in the process. But it sure takes any suspense out of the will-he-or-won't-he question regarding Sam, doesn't it? MichaelDean killing Lucifer is just Dean killing a bad guy, and that's not exactly something new.

I'm still mystified by what would compel Anna to go rogue and try to kill Sam on her own, but clearly Michael wasn't happy with what she did, so I guess we have to assume that Michael and the other, non-rebellious angels, are all on the same page. Also: both heaven and hell seem pretty easy to bust out of.

[ghyste.livejournal.com]

I'm working on the assumption that Lucifer is prepared to make use of loopholes on the consent front and Michael is not - but that's just me fanwanking a situation that's probably arisen because no-one is checking that the different teams of writers are acting consistently.

As far as Michael and Anna are concerned, I'm awfully confused. If we are to believe that Michael is a "good" angel, him punishingAnna would suggest it was the bad ones that sent her back to kill Mary and John - but that makes no sense as they're the ones that wanted the Apocalypse in the first place.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I don't think Michael is "good" -- or at least not "good" in the sense that he wants to avert the apocalypse, the way Castiel does. Yeah, he's a smooth talker and he's promised that he can use Dean's body and return it to him intact (or even "better than ever") but he still seems to be very much in favor of this apocalypse going down. He punished Anna for trying to stop it -- which would suggest that Anna was either acting on her own or on behalf of some as-yet-unseen angelic rebel underground movement.

One thing I do know -- I shudder to think what Dean would be like "better than ever." He can't possibly get better looking, that's for sure.

Also: I'm still very ambivalent about this whole "it was always you" scenario. This episode even went to far as to suggest that Sam and Dean are part of some direct bloodline from Cain and Abel, and even put forth the idea that Michael was able to possess John (with no harm to John) because he and Dean shared the same blood. While, Biblically speaking, we are ALL descended from Cain and Abel (or at least from Cain, since Abel didn't live long enough to procreate) I still don't like this predetermination stuff because it just seems to make the whole Azazel storyline seem so irrelevant. Was Azazel (knowingly or unknowingly) acting on orders from Lucifer (or God) himself? What was the purpose of recruiting so many "psychic kids" if Sam was the only one who ever mattered? And if Sam had to be baptised with demon blood at such an early age in order to fulfill his predetermined role, why was there seemingly no similar initiation for Dean? This is one of those things that I think the writers latch onto because they think it's cool, not because they've really thought about it.