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Strangely enough, this episode didn't bore me senseless, and I chalk that up to the excellent interaction between Dean and Death, which was as good here as it was the last time around. I should whisper that, because if anyone from the show hears someone say so, they'll gleefully add Death as a recurring character and then he'll proceed to bore us all to...well, death.

Put me down for a big eye-roll over Dean writing a farewell letter to Ben. Put me down for an "oh for fuck's sake" while you're at it.

Yay for someone finally mentioning Adam but it was a day late and a dollar short and while I'm not at all surprised or disappointed that Dean so quickly chose Sam over Adam, I really don't like that they have ignored Adam's predicament all year only to prove that he's irrelevant to what passes for his family. If I were a writer for this show, I think I'd have Adam come back at some point in a justifiably righteous fury and go after both of his worthless half-brothers because man...if anyone has a bone to pick, it's Adam.

I really want to know what's going on in that box that is so much worse than anything Dean endured during his tour of hell. A couple of ancient arch-enemies like Lucifer and Michael have nothing better to do than boot Sam's soul around? I guess I could buy that if it's really boring in there but you'd think they'd much rather beat the shit out of each other for eternity. And once again, what about Adam? He's locked up in there too. Do they just ignore him?

The ridiculousness about Sam's soul continues apace and I have to repeat what I said last week -- the point of getting Sam out of hell should NOT be reuniting his soul with his body, it should be GETTING SAM OUT OF HELL. Which distinction was again ignored, and I don't know why. As far as I'm concerned, Sam's soul is the only Sam there is. Soulless Sam is not Sam. When Dean was giving Sam that strangely LOOOONG stare through the panic-room door, I was pretty sure he was contemplating slipping Death's ring on and just going in there and killing that soulless, not-Sam thing and then getting back to the business of freeing the real Sam without having to worry about not-Sam trying to stop him.

Meanwhile, Soulless Sam reached all new levels of dickishness, not only making dirty deals with fallen angels behind his brother's back (all the while knowing that said brother was literally killing himself -- and others -- to save Sam's soul), but trying to ice Bobby in the bargain. I'm very glad Dean couldn't last the whole 24 hours as Death because imagine if he'd have gone through all that only to find out that Sam had screwed him over? Alas...it's difficult to find much difference between Soulless Sam's behavior and that of plain old Sam from recent seasons. Sam's outburst at the beginning of the episode not only sounded like plain old me-me-me Sam, but also (and once again) contradicted the idea that Sam has no feelings or emotions because he sure as hell can get his dander up over himself, and quite loudly too.

I had a Sinking Feeling when Death dropped his heavy hints about the great value of human souls, because I assume this is the lead-in to some bloated red herring that's going to float around intermittently for the rest of the season before it gets flushed out to sea.

Dean was looking exquisitely pretty, as pretty as I've seen him look yet this season. I don't know how many times I've seen him die on this show but he always looks so lovely when he kicks it that it's no wonder that giving him a good fanfic whumping is so irresistible. But if they're going to defibrilate the guy, I'd like a longer shot of him with his shirt rucked up, and I'm SO very disappointed that they didn't shove that adrenaline needle right in his chest, Pulp Fiction-style, because that would've been right in my wheelhouse. Oh yes.

And hey, Freddy Kreuger!

One final point: CASTIEL IS NOT SAM'S BOYFRIEND. HE BELONGS TO DEAN.

(I was home yesterday and "Head of a Pin" was on the TNT morning reruns and oh, when Castiel busts in to save Dean from Alistair, the look on his face...he's just always loved Dean so very, very much.)

Enjoy the hiatus and happy holidays!


ETA: Once again proving that everything in the universe has been covered by Seinfeld or The Simpsons, this entire episode reminded me of The Simpsons' "Reaper Madness:"

"Death enters the Simpson house attempting to take Bart but the family goes on a Benny Hill-style chase to elude him. However, Death eventually manages to pin Bart's shirt to the wall with its scythe. As Death sentences Bart to an eternity of pain, Homer kills him with a bowling ball (in revenge for Snowball I and President John F. Kennedy), but when he does, he learns that no one can die since the Death is dead. The scene then cuts to two examples of a world where no one can die: Frankie the Squealer (last seen in “Insane Clown Poppy”) being repeatedly gunned down by the Springfield Mafia and Moe hanging himself from the ceiling. On trash day, Marge tells Homer to take the dead Death to the curb. Homer does, but puts on the robe, inadvertently turning himself into the new Grim Reaper. At first, he refuses to reap souls, but when the cloak begins to crush his crotch, he complies. He kills many people on God's list (and some who are not) until he is asked to kill Marge. Homer does not want to kill his wife (or himself, an alternative he is given but quickly rejects), and he tries to plead to God that he wants to get out of the job after leading Him to believe that he killed Marge. God agrees, but He finds that Homer tricked Him by substituting Patty's body for Marge (which God initially mistakes for Selma before Homer corrects him). The annoyed deity tries to punish Homer with a sunbeam but simply gives up after a chase. At the house Marge gives Homer an extra pork chop for not killing her. Homer then says, "I'm gonna not kill Marge every week."

Date: 2010-12-11 04:12 am (UTC)
ext_6866: (I brought chips!)
From: [identity profile] sistermagpie.livejournal.com
I enjoyed parts of this one too. I was hoping they were edging close to the "getting Sam out of hell" when Sam said that Dean didn't care about "him" he just wanted to get the other Sam out of hell, but I guess he just meant he wanted Sam to act like himself again.

I watched Head of a Pin today too.:-)

The thing I liked about Death's line about souls is it was the first scene the whole season where I thought okay, now *this* is a very noir scene. Dean is the detective and Death is throwing him a clue after teaching him a lesson because he wants him to find out the truth. Which doesn't mean it will play out well, but I definitely got the noir vibe there. Of course, that probably also goes back to it being Dean and Death who, as you noted, work together really well and are fun to watch together.

Funny that the boyfriend joke just falls completely flat when said to Sam because a) Cas isn't Sam's boyfriend and b) this Sam would not be effected by that kind of joke even to be annoyed by it. As we saw when he just said Castiel couldn't help him.

Date: 2010-12-11 04:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oselle.livejournal.com
Dean is the detective and Death is throwing him a clue after teaching him a lesson because he wants him to find out the truth.

I liked it too, which is what accounts for the Sinking Feeling. They always throw out these tantalizing teasers and then don't do a thing with them. In fact, "Head of a Pin" is a perfect example -- watching it again yesterday, I remembered how giddy I was over the idea that it would be all up to Dean to stop the Apocalypse because he was the "Righteous Man" and all that, but that never happened and Dean's entire role in the Apocalypse wound up getting buried under a lot of blather about how "if anyone can stop Lucifer, it's Sam!"

Sam said that Dean didn't care about "him"

You reminded me that this really contradicted what they've been telling us about Soulless Sam, because SS not only has feelings for himself, but obviously has a pretty strong sense of himself as a separate individual from that other guy in the cage.

the boyfriend joke just falls completely flat when said to Sam

Of course it does. Castiel belongs to Dean.

Date: 2010-12-11 04:38 am (UTC)
ext_6866: (Two ways of looking at a magpie)
From: [identity profile] sistermagpie.livejournal.com
I don't suppose you'd be able to bang out an awesome noir fic using those hints before they come back from hiatus and they give us the bad version?:-)

Date: 2010-12-11 04:44 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oselle.livejournal.com
LOL, would that I could! But I've got my post-apoc Dean/Cas to finish (hopefully) and I think I'm too sentimental to do noir.

Also, you know, what was the hint -- Death told Dean that he and Sam had fucked up the "natural order" on a global scale, said that Dean had to remember how much a human soul was worth, and that was somehow tied into the episode's whole theme of the importance of restoring the natural order. So what is Death getting at?

Date: 2010-12-11 05:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangerous-puff.livejournal.com
Dean has to sacrifice himself again and both boys have to stay dead this time?

Date: 2010-12-11 05:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oselle.livejournal.com
I was kind of wondering if Death was hinting that since both of them should have died a long time ago, it was time to set things straight. But if that's the only thing Death wants, then it would be a pretty easy thing to accomplish. It doesn't take much to kill a person.

Date: 2010-12-11 05:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangerous-puff.livejournal.com
But, like the cat in the song, these two keep coming back.

Date: 2010-12-11 01:46 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oselle.livejournal.com
Sure but they don't always come back on their own, or because of something they've put into motion. Dean's been spared from certain death twice -- once because of Sam and once because of his father. But when he actually DID die and go to hell, it was the will of God that brought him back. Sam was brought back to life once by Dean, but this most recent time he was raised up by Crowley. So it's not really fair to say that Dean and Sam are the ones who have screwed everything up. Without heaven and hell's meddling, both of them would still be very dead.

Date: 2010-12-11 04:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mulder200.livejournal.com
Well, I am glad they finally mention Adam but damn! Sam and Dean certainly aren't winning brothers of the year awards are they?

I really want to know what's going on in that box that is so much worse than anything Dean endured during his tour of hell. A couple of ancient arch-enemies like Lucifer and Michael have nothing better to do than boot Sam's soul around? I guess I could buy that if it's really boring in there but you'd think they'd much rather beat the shit out of each other for eternity. And once again, what about Adam? He's locked up in there too. Do they just ignore him?

Lucifer and Michael locked into an eternal Death Match makes more sense than beating up Sam but that's logic for you.

One final point: CASTIEL IS NOT SAM'S BOYFRIEND. HE BELONGS TO DEAN.

Word!

Date: 2010-12-11 05:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oselle.livejournal.com
I think they feel this need to establish that Sam has suffered in hell more than Dean because they think that somehow raises his importance. Or something. That whole plot really doesn't make any sense -- both Adam and Sam would be pretty insignificant in the eyes of these two.

Date: 2010-12-11 05:48 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mangokulfi.livejournal.com
And once again, just as I'm ready to cut this deadbeat loose, he sucks me back in. *sigh*

Strangely, I'm actually curious about the cryptic mystery Death has assigned Dean to solve. But maybe it's just because Death made the request and I kind of heart him and his reluctant attraction attachment to Dean.

I kinda wish Tessa had a bit more to do this episode but I was happy to see her back.

I rally hope they keep that stupid wall up in Sam's head so we don't have suffer through Sam-had-it-so-much-worse than Dean part 347. But I doubt Sera will be able to resist giving her boy Dean's old storyline and somehow I doubt there will be anyone telling him to suck it up princess.

Also I am amused that Sera is pretending that Cas and Sam have any kind of relationship outside of Dean. But I noticed Balthazar suddenly hates Dean. I bet he's just jellus of Cas' epic love for Dean.

Overall, I think this episode set up the second half of the season nicely. Not that I think for a moment that parts of it aren't going to annoy me to death but at least there seems to be some hint that there might be something else on the show besides Sam, Sam, Sam.

Date: 2010-12-11 05:49 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mangokulfi.livejournal.com
I forgot to mention Adam. I have to admit that I really hated that retcon. I really wish the show had chosen to confirm what they suggested in Swan Song which is that his soul went off to Heaven when Michael came on board. These writers are incapable of closing off a storyline and just leaving it be. *sigh*

Date: 2010-12-11 01:43 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oselle.livejournal.com
If they made that suggestion in Swan Song (which I really don't remember, but I'll take your word for it) then someone should have mentioned Adam before now, at least in the context that "we know he's not suffering down there with Sam." It was wrong to completely erase him from the story for the entire first half of the season, to have no one even bring him up at all, not even in passing. And now that we know it's really Adam down there, not just Michael, what? Are they just going to leave that inconvenient fact dangling until they need it?

Date: 2010-12-11 04:06 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mangokulfi.livejournal.com
In SS, Dean says "Adam if you're in there, I'm really sorry". Michael responds with "Adam's not home right now." So I took that to mean that Michael sent him back to his Mommy in Heaven but I guess Sera forgot that.

Or they're going to drag Adam back into the story for some idiotic reason. Probably so that Sam can now angst about Adam's soul in the cage 'cuz Dean got to angst about Sam's soul in the cage.

I think think the writers like to call it literary symmetry but I tend to think of it as unimaginative, repetitious story-telling.

Date: 2010-12-11 05:40 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oselle.livejournal.com
Ahh, now I do remember that line but I took it just to mean that Adam was mentally out to lunch, since it had been suggested that possession by an archangel was pretty hard on the host. Whenever Michael talked about possessing Dean, he never implied that Dean had the option of departing altogether -- in fact, Michael claimed that a post-possessed Dean would not only still be himself, but would actually be "better than ever" (though I assumed Michael was lying about that).

I imagine Adam is being held on the sidelines until they need to call him back into the game for whatever reason. It's fine if they want to do that, but it still doesn't explain why no one has remembered that he's down there until now.

Date: 2010-12-11 01:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oselle.livejournal.com
I wouldn't say I'm sucked back in, but last night at least didn't make me want to change the locks on the ol' deadbeat. Not like last week when I was ready to kick his sorry ass to the curb.

Strangely, I'm actually curious about the cryptic mystery Death has assigned Dean to solve.

I'm still not entirely sure what that mystery is or what greater significance it has. Death alluded to the idea that Dean and Sam had screwed things up "on a global scale" but what does he mean by that? Where's the evidence? And since crossroads demons and assorted soul-selling deals are part of this universe's reality, Dean and Sam can hardly be the only people who should have died and didn't, or who didn't "stay dead."

maybe it's just because Death made the request and I kind of heart him and his reluctant attraction attachment to Dean.

LOL...does everyone eventually fall in love with Dean? I think so. Or maybe that's just actor-bleed since it seems like everyone who's ever worked with Jensen winds up absolutely smitten.

I doubt there will be anyone telling him to suck it up princess.

No, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone told Dean to suck it up and take care of Sam because Sam has gone through torment the likes of which Dean couldn't possibly imagine.

But I noticed Balthazar suddenly hates Dean. I bet he's just jellus of Cas' epic love for Dean.

Oh good because I thought I was the only one going "bzuh?" over that. Why does Balthazar hate Dean so much? When did that happen? I agree with you -- he's totally jelus that Dean already has a guardian angel who loves him so very, very much.

there might be something else on the show besides Sam, Sam, Sam.

Baloney, I say! All that stuff about the inestimable worth of a human soul? Whose soul do you think they're talking about? Somehow this will all be revealed to revolve around Sam!


Edited Date: 2010-12-11 01:50 pm (UTC)

Date: 2010-12-11 04:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mangokulfi.livejournal.com
I'm still not entirely sure what that mystery is or what greater significance it has. Death alluded to the idea that Dean and Sam had screwed things up "on a global scale" but what does he mean by that? Where's the evidence? And since crossroads demons and assorted soul-selling deals are part of this universe's reality, Dean and Sam can hardly be the only people who should have died and didn't, or who didn't "stay dead."

Yeah I have no idea either but I suspect Sam and Dean will have to die to set things right cosmically or something. Unless season 7 happens in which case, they'll just drop the whole thing and dig up another old storyline to butcher.

No, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone told Dean to suck it up and take care of Sam because Sam has gone through torment the likes of which Dean couldn't possibly imagine.

Bobby probably. He'll probably end up apologizing to Sam too for almost letting himself get killed by soulless Sam.

Oh good because I thought I was the only one going "bzuh?" over that. Why does Balthazar hate Dean so much? When did that happen? I agree with you -- he's totally jelus that Dean already has a guardian angel who loves him so very, very much.

I actually laughed when Bal said "your boyfriend" and Sam immediately said it was Sam. Talk about entitlement. Sam, Cas only puts up with you for your brother's sake. Also I definitely think Bal is peeved that Cas is so excessively fond of Dean. There's really no other explanation. Heh!

Baloney, I say! All that stuff about the inestimable worth of a human soul? Whose soul do you think they're talking about? Somehow this will all be revealed to revolve around Sam!

Oh I'm sure you're correct but la-la-la I can't hear you. ;)

Date: 2010-12-11 05:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oselle.livejournal.com
I suspect Sam and Dean will have to die to set things right cosmically or something.

If there's a Season 7 then this could be the cliffhanger -- are Sam and Dean finally going to die for good to set the world straight? It would be nice if they provided some evidence as to how the world has been thrown out of whack by Sam and Dean's repeated resurrections.

Also I definitely think Bal is peeved that Cas is so excessively fond of Dean.

I really do have to do some investigation into why Balthazar has such a hate on for Dean. I think I probably recorded over that episode. For now I'm going with unrequited love at first sight.

Date: 2010-12-11 02:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] salty-catfish.livejournal.com
Dean was looking exquisitely pretty That and the interaction with Death were pretty much the only redeeming qualities this episode had for me. Okay, axe murderer Sam gets points, too. I continue to be impressed with Dean's secret superpower to have chemistry with everyone. I'm not yet quite sure why this ep annoyed me so much, but I was really incredibly irritated. Maybe a rewatch will yield different results.

Date: 2010-12-11 05:46 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oselle.livejournal.com
I thought that Dean had little to no chemistry with either of the Rubies or with the lamentable Bela, but then they were all supposed to be antagonists. And Genevieve Cortese was so wooden that I didn't think she had chemistry with anyone, not even with the guy she wound up marrying.

I didn't find this ep annoying. It even had a few amusing moments -- although that "dust in the wind" line, funny as it was, was totally cribbed from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. I also laughed at Dean asking the recently deceased if the pizza place was local.

Date: 2010-12-11 03:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] twirlycurls.livejournal.com
Put me down for a big eye-roll over Dean writing a farewell letter to Ben. Put me down for an "oh for fuck's sake" while you're at it.

I see this as further evidence that you're right and Lisa/Ben are Dean's end-game.

Date: 2010-12-11 05:41 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oselle.livejournal.com
Oh yes. Whether Lisa and Ben are Dean's end-game or not, there's no way that they're out of the story for good, the way some viewers thought they were after Lisa's last phone call.

Date: 2010-12-12 03:49 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oxer12.livejournal.com
I really liked this episode (finally!). I've always loved Tessa. The actress who plays her is great, very understated. And I lurve Julian Richings (sp?). He is so wonderful, and he and Jensen really drew me in. The way Dean was cringing at the very end, as Death hovered over him - loved it!

And of course, just when we get a decent episode - hiatus. Yuck.

Date: 2010-12-12 06:30 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oselle.livejournal.com
They always seem to produce something a little decent before hiatus. I think last year, we got "Abandon All Hope" right before hiatus, and that after a seemingly endless string of disposable episodes.

Date: 2010-12-12 09:21 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] belanna29.livejournal.com
I'm not sure about the epsoide... it has some fantastic aspects to it - I love death - but i didn't like how it presented dean's reaps as black and white... Dean was not the good guy when he let that robber suffer as he died, instead he was cruel and judgemental, we simply do not know what lead that boy make that rash decision, granted the robber needs to take responsibility for his actions but he didn't need to suffer or go to hell. Furthermore, dean was very judgemental about the guy who had the heart attack, epecially when he eats the same food, the only difference between him and the heart attack guy is that hunting is a great form of excerise. It just frustrated me how black and white it was, people are complex, it felt like sloppy sterotyped writing... IDK.

Date: 2010-12-12 04:24 pm (UTC)
ext_6866: (Hadn't thought of that)
From: [identity profile] sistermagpie.livejournal.com
I didn't take that to be the show being black and white but just in character for Dean. He sees a guy pull a gun one some guy and his kid, he's going to side with the guy and his kid. If he sees a guy eating spicy food he's going to make a snarky remark about the food leading to the upcoming death. I thought it was just Dean and gallows humor. Those deaths wouldn't bother him or rock his sense of justice in the world. Dean can be judgmental and see the world in black and white. I'd list that as one of his character traits all the time.

But then, while Dean joked about guessing the heart attack, he then asked the guy if the pizza was local because Dean would eat that kind of meal too.

Date: 2010-12-12 06:34 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] oselle.livejournal.com
Yeah, the scene with the robber was a little questionable but Dean's always had a little bit of vigilante justice about him. I don't think the scene with the heart attack victim was particularly judgmental -- it's was more like, what's Dean supposed to say to a question like "why?" No one really knows why one person dies while another lives, so Dean just answered with the first thing that came to his head. I think the idea was that there are some deaths that at least make a little sense (a violent criminal, a man who didn't take care of his health) while others (like the little girl) that seem inexplicable.

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