Heart go Pitty-Pat

[oselle]

That's just how Castiel rolls. A production draft from 'The End.'

Good God, can you believe this was supposed to be in the script? Is this for real?

Who is Castiel supposed to be talking to in this scene? Himself?





I should credit to hidefan@tumblr.com.

Comments

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't know what has happened to Jared's performance on this show. Is it all coming from him, or has he been directed to act this way?

[autumnvignette.livejournal.com]

I've been wondering the same for so long. I don't know the answer. I keep thinking back to "Born Under a Bad Sign", which was a stellar performance, and the first time he got to take Sam down and dirty. He went full-on with his performance then which was alright because it wasn't Sam who was acting that way. Then there was AHBL Part 2, when he shot Jake there at the end. He didn't affect any look of sympathy there at all, just...pissed off vengeance. Which, again, it was okay, because we'd just been told he might have come back wrong and while that is old news by now, it wasn't then. But then there's season four. In "Lucifer Rising" he was directed to go the whole "I wish I didn't have to do this" martyr route, which rang so incredibly false to me, as it was the first time in the entire season he showed any regret. Which means...he wasn't specifically directed to show regret and sympathy up until that episode, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have done something himself with the material he was given. Jensen does it all the time! I think it's because he's so fan of playing evil!Sam, and the problem with that is that the writers like playing chicken with evil!Sam which never, ever leads anywhere.

tl;dr of saying, I think it's fair to blame both Jared and the writers. Personally, I think Jared's acting took a nose-dive after season four and in season six every time he was on screen all I could focus on was how bad an actor he really is. He can do pissy and evil really well, but emotions on the sympathetic spectrum? He lost that somewhere along the way.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I think actors like Jensen and Misha are really attuned to their characters and bring a lot more natural craft to their work, so they can take the writing or the direction and make something new and personal out of it. Dean could have been such a one-dimensional character if Jensen hadn't breathed life into him, the same with Castiel.

Jared is probably the sort of actor who needs strong writing and good, clear direction, which this team hasn't been able to offer, especially where the character of Sam is concerned. They've been floundering, so he's been floundering. I was already starting to lose touch with Sam in S3, where he so often seemed self-pitying rather than genuinely concerned with trying to save Dean. S4 was a hopeless mess for both Sam and Jared; S5 and especially S6 have done nothing to get either the character or the actor back on track.

[autumnvignette.livejournal.com]

Bingo. And yeah, I was losing Sam in season three, too. Actually, I was losing the show in season three. I really, really hate that season. I mean, season five is the worst and always will be the worst, but season three almost beats it out, for me. At least in season five we have "Good God, Y'all" and "The End", as well as "Abandon All Hope" and some moments in "Dark Side of the Moon". In season three, we have..."Mystery Spot" and "Jus In Bello". That's about it, for me. (Also "Dream a Little Dream", I guess, but there's way too much Bobby in it for me. Semi-avuncular figure!Bobby of season two? Awesome. Daddy!Bobby of season three-present? Can go die in a fire.)

I'm not sure I agree that season four was a mess for Sam. It wasn't perfect, but really, my main issues are that (1) there was no redemption following it, and (2) we didn't see nearly enough of it from Sam's perspective. We still have no idea why Sam chose to drink demon blood. As Chuck put it in "The Monster in the End of This Book", about how he didn't even write it into the books because it would come off as unsympathetic, I always took that as the writers saying, yeah, we're making Sam unsympathetic but we lack the courage to let you take the journey with him.

As for Jared in season four, I think he was fairly consistent, with the indifference Sam displayed at having Dean back in the beginning of the season the eventually assuming the leader position (I'm thinking especially "Sex and Violence" and "Death Takes a Holiday" here), all the while having that underlying resentment of Dean that's played up at the end of the season. Like I said, it's not sympathetically played, but I actually really like that. But then we got the addiction cop-out. For fuck's sake, Kripke -- it was a cop-out back with Willow, it's a cop-out now.

Okay, that was a lot of rambling to say that I agree with you WRT what different actors Jensen and Jared are, and that I don't think season four was that much of a mess. If only it had been followed up properly.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Season 3 gets a pass from me for producing "Mystery Spot" and "A Very Supernatural Christmas" -- and I did very much enjoy the season finale (although the Dean-in-chains bit was needless overkill).

I guess Season 4 is primarily a mess for me in retrospect, because yes, Sam was unsympathetic throughout but we never got any satisfaction from that, and instead we got a lot of excuses and whitewashing. His treatment of Dean throughout that season was so excruciating to watch and, as I said at the time, no one (except the viewers) seemed to notice or care. We wrapped up that season with Bobby yelling "Boo hoo, princess!" at Dean as if he had no right to be angry or outraged. It was all handled in a way that made Sam's fall look like Dean's fault -- a theme that was carried through to Season 5 episodes like "Fallen Idols."

Season 5 had way too many episodes that felt like filler. I remember being bored out of my skull more than once. The best thing in S5 was the brilliant "The End" which, as discussed, was not followed up on. "Swan Song" was little more than a sentimental ego-trip for Eric Kripke that paved the way for the long, slow trainwreck of S6, which is proving to be even worse upon a second viewing.

[autumnvignette.livejournal.com]

I would've enjoyed "A Very Supernatural Christmas" were it not for the amulet scene. I'll admit, I never liked the idea in the first place, that the amulet had something to do with Sam/Dean's relationship with Sam. But the way they wrote it was just...yeah. Still, though, the ending tends to tear me up a bit. So not a completely useless episode, I'll give you that. Besides, I enjoyed the pagan gods.

I also enjoyed "No Rest For The Wicked" but the thing is, the things/episodes I enjoy in season three just pale in comparison to the things I hate.

Well, I definitely see where you're coming from and I do agree. Season four does leave a bad taste in the mouth when you know nothing will come of it, when you know what will follow is the mess that's season five. And oh, don't even get me started on Bobby's speech in "Lucifer Rising". My Bobby love had been waning since season three but "Boo hoo!" really did it in. I can sort of maybe fanwank it to Bobby remembering that he did jackshit to stop Sam from falling in with Ruby when Dean was in hell, and how pitifully the "be good to him" approach worked in "When The Levee Breaks" but even so, that doesn't excuse it. It's like a twisted version of his scene with Dean in AHBL Part 2.

Yeah, season five was one godawful mess. 5x06 (I don't even remember the name of that episode, only that it had the Antichrist in it) and 5x07 ("The Curious Case of Dean Winchester" right?) really did not affect the plot in the least, and while "Changing Channels" got a laugh out of me and it...well I wouldn't say it helped the mythos along but at least it included it. Still, though. I'd much rather -- if they had to make the Trickster Gabriel -- they'd done it in a, oh I don't know, serious way. The commercials and the sitcoms and whatever the fuck were just too much for me. And let's not even talk about 5x09. "Abandon All Hope" had great atmosphere and drama and man Ellen and Jo's deaths had me bawling, but it was forgotten the very next episode, wasn't it? "The Song Remains The Same" gets a sort-of pass by me because they could have Dean and Mary just staring at each other a whole episode and I wouldn't complain, but we also got Michael who wasn't much better than the other dicks-with-wings and some crap about Sam and Dean being descendants of Abel and Cain.

Then there was "Dark Side of the Moon." I'm a Deangirl, and I love love love his scenes with Mary, and man did Sam's rejections of him hurt, but...they give us episodes like this where it's all viewed through Dean's eyes and Sam is fucking douchebag and really, are we supposed to root for their bond at all? (I know I don't.) And then they turn around and beat Dean down into the ground for not being a good enough brother and give him speeches about how everyone's always been hard on Sam. I mean, what the fuck? The only logical explanation I have for this is that they throw that kind of Dean angst at us because it makes for great drama and juicy emo scenes, and it makes us stick around. But when it gets right down to it they'll rub Dean's face in the dirt and give Sam the hero status and ugh, just what the fuck ever. I'm so tired of it.

You know, I gave up after "Swan Song". I'm really bad at quitting when a should, be it a bad show or a bad relationship, but I really did it. And yet...I kept up with season six, what happened and what others had to say about it, and the week before "My Heart Will Go On" aired, I marathoned my way through season six. Luckily, I'd emotionally pulled out of SPN at that point so I could watch it with a sense of detachment and simply be amused by all the shit. But yeah. A long, slow trainwreck sure is the right description of it. I still don't see how some think season six was all perfectly planned out (http://missyjack.livejournal.com/742413.html).

Sorry to rant and ramble at you; I'm mainly a lurker and apparently I have Thoughts about SPN!

[oselle.livejournal.com]

People love "Changing Channels" because they enjoy watching the boys cut up, and I'll admit the parodies of assorted genres were well done, but I usually find this sort of broad comedy briefly entertaining and then instantly forgettable. I know that comedy episodes like this are a longtime and popular staple of this show, so we can expect at least one in every season, but as cute as they are, I'd rather they spent the time on something that makes a contribution to the storyarc. Then again, the storyarcs are usually so vague that I guess it's better for them to blow an episode on something that's at least funny instead of being a complete waste of time.

And let's not even talk about 5x09.

Yes, let's not. Ever.

some crap about Sam and Dean being descendants of Abel and Cain.

They so love to drop in these big, weighty concepts and then never mention them again. Why do they even bother? Do they think it makes them sound deep? If they're going to go Biblical then they should at least commit to it instead of letting it just be a meaningless, throwaway factoid.

Then there was "Dark Side of the Moon."

That was a goddamn brutal episode, and not in a good way. It started with that lovely bit where Dean and Sam were shooting off fireworks and then before you know it we're discovering that heaven sucks and that Sam really never gave a shit about Dean. People were fanwanking that shit like crazy, trying to find something to make Sam not look like a douchebag but come on. I have no idea what the writers think they accomplish with horrible episodes like that, especially since the troubling concepts they raise are just forgotten immediately and never mean anything at all.

speeches about how everyone's always been hard on Sam.

Bobby's speech about how everyone's hard on Sam and how if anyone can take Lucifer out it's good ol' Sammy was truly one of the most ridiculous and inexplicable things I've ever seen on this show.

I still don't see how some think season six was all perfectly planned out.

I deeply enjoy watching a slavering fangirl like Missyjack twist herself into a pedantic, patronizing, pseudo-intellectual pretzel trying to prove that this show is nothing short of brilliant. I actually wrote a long, flocked post about this very same "analysis" of how effectively SPN pulled off the noir theme. I can add you to my list if you would you like to read it.

[autumnvignette.livejournal.com]

People love "Changing Channels" because they enjoy watching the boys cut up

Yeah, I know. I don't. Remember way back when when they did humor episodes like "Hell House"? "Changing Channels" can't hold a candle to that episode. I really, really dislike how they incorporate these humor episodes (started -- surprise, surprise -- with season three); I think it's really damaging to a dramatic storyarc to mix in this comedy. Which is not to say that there can never be any humor, but I sure prefer "The voice says I'm almost out of minutes!" or "Uriel is the funniest angel in the garrison, ask anyone" kind of humor. You know? I don't like the tonal whiplash SPN tends to give me.

Do they think it makes them sound deep?

And do they even try to make sense? I mean. Abel and Cain. Yeah, that would make the Winchesters special. Like everyone else on the planet. Also, Cain didn't have kids, did he? Did Abel, or was it Seth who continued on that bloodline? My Biblical knowledge is vague at best but even know to research before dropping a line like that.

Maybe they do think they sound deep. But IIRC back when "In My Time of Dying" aired and John summoned Azazel a fan looked up the symbol he was using and he was actually summoning Azazel, and this over a season before we actually learned his name! When did they lose that kind of thoughtfulness?

That was a goddamn brutal episode, and not in a good way

Oh god, I know. I love the opening montage with Dean and wee!Sam but the suckage of heaven, not to mention the lingering on Sam rejecting Dean over and over again. And, again, I ask: why do they choose to do that? They could have gone the route of Sam being excluded from the circle of Dean and Mary's love, and show how sad his happiest memories really are -- Thanksgiving with some random family and a dog (the ultimate unconditional love). But they didn't.

Yeah, don't even remind me. Ridiculous and inexplicable sounds about right. I just. I don't even. How did Sera go from writing "Are You There, God?" to "Twelve Minutes to Midnight"?

I can add you to my list if you would you like to read it

I would like to read it! Only could you add amoralnostalgia instead? I use this one for lurking only, basically (also I made it before I turned 18 because, well, I'm sure you can figure out why), and that one...well I don't keep it very updated but if someone wants to add me I direct them to it.

As for that post and "slavering fangirls" like her, I wish I could enjoy it, but I get so fucking annoyed I usually can't even bring myself to start a debate.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

But IIRC back when "In My Time of Dying" aired and John summoned Azazel a fan looked up the symbol he was using and he was actually summoning Azazel

I hate to burst your bubble but I'm pretty sure the whole Azazel thing was copped from a terrific 1995 episode of The X-Files named "Die Hand Die Verletzt," which was directed by the same Kim Manners who went on to a big contributor to SPN. Been a while since I saw that ep, but I think they incorporated a symbol into that one as well, and I wouldn't be surprised if they got it right since The X-Files was exquisitely nitpicky about its research.

They could have gone the route of Sam being excluded from the circle of Dean and Mary's love, and show how sad his happiest memories really are

Maybe that's what they were going for, but it's not how it played. I often get the feeling that the show is trying for one thing and winding up with something else.

I usually can't even bring myself to start a debate.

Oh, I'd never even attempt to start a debate with her. Any critique of the show is dismissed as "hate" in her world so why bother? It's just fun to watch from the sidelines. You should be able to see my post now.

[autumnvignette.livejournal.com]

I hate to burst your bubble but I'm pretty sure the whole Azazel thing was copped from a terrific 1995 episode of The X-Files

Oh. Well. Copped or not, at least they tried. Now they don't even bother making an effort. With anything, it feels like.

Maybe that's what they were going for, but it's not how it played

I actually don't think they were going for that. Like, the whole time with the Dean-and-Mary scene the focus was on Dean, and with the Stanford thing they could've, I don't know, shown Sam as being 18 and angry and making his bid for freedom and Dean not understanding that, but instead we got "I don't think of family the same way you do" which, just, what? What??

[oselle.livejournal.com]

What I find funny is that Sam can make a statement like that (because his mommy wasn't around to cut the crusts of his PB&J sandwiches) and it goes more or less unchallenged, but a season later, Dean is getting a lesson on what "family" means from a twelve-year-old. Poor Dean. Always getting lectured.

[amoralnostalgia.livejournal.com]

because his mommy wasn't around to cut the crusts of his PB&J sandwiches

Exactly. I'm amazed Dean didn't say something like, "No, but I was."

Always getting lectured

He really does! I'm not sure which the earliest example is -- "It's a Terrible Life" maybe? He always has to learn lessons he already knows, too. Like in 6x11 with Tessa, and all I could think was, he knew that back in "Death Takes a Holiday"!

This show, this show. And yet I keep coming back.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I'm amazed Dean didn't say something like, "No, but I was."

That's okay. There were plenty of us out here saying it for him. Pity the writers seem to have forgotten that Dean raised this ungrateful punk.

[amoralnostalgia.livejournal.com]

Pity the writers seem to have forgotten that Dean raised this ungrateful punk

Oh god, I know. I had the same reaction in 6x02 when Sam asked something about how Dean knew how to change a diaper/was so good with kids/whatever and then made some reference to Ben and Dean made a sound and said, "Yeah, Ben" and I thought that he must be thinking, "Who do you think changed your diapers, Sam?"

[oselle.livejournal.com]

That was a total fandomwide reaction. I don't know why the show insisted on making up that stupid story about Lisa having infant nieces or nephews when the obvious answer was right in their face. But I guess they didn't want to risk making Dean look good, or reminding the audience of things they'd rather we forget.