First off. Hee. I changed the language settings on my Facebook account to Pirate speak. It's oh so highly amusing. There's also Leet speak for the more geek-inclined.
Supernatural. Gah. How could I have ever doubted that this show would remain amazing to me? I mean, I wasn't, really, but I will admit, I've been overall disappointed with most of the episodes since 4.10. And this one? I have very little to complain about.
We've been reading Doctor Faustus in my lit class this week, and I'm constantly comparing Dean with Faustus, as well as Sam at times.
For those who don't know, Faustus sells his soul to Lucifer in order to get the power to do almost anything, and ends up squandering his potential away, performing rather simple parlour tricks, all the while torn between repenting his sins and saving himself from eternal damnation. The play ends with him being pulled into hell. It's the play where the quote about Helen of Troy, "the face that launched a thousand ships," comes from. It's also the first piece of literature we've read in class that I've pretty much LOVED. Anyway. On point. This post is about Supernatural, not the supressed lit geek in me.
To me, the most important lines in Faustus pertaining to SPN are these:
Why this is hell, nor am I out of it.
Think'st thou that I, who saw the face of God,
And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,
Am not tormented with ten thousand hells
In being deprived of everlasting bliss? (3.76-80)
The demon Mephastophilis insists that he and his fellow demons are always in hell, even when they are on earth, because being deprived of the presence of God, which they once enjoyed, is hell enough.
I'm not the type of person to expand and expand into some cool meta about all this, I could try, if anyone really wants me to, but oh my gosh thoughts like that hurt my brain. But basically, I think this quote pertains:
To Dean: come back from hell but left part of his soul there.
To Ruby: She wants to help Sam, that much is obvious, she wants to get back at Lilith, but after seeing that smug smile on her face this evening, there's still more agenda there, still that lure of demonhood that her remaining humanity isn't keeping in check.
To Sam: Walking the line with the demon blood, he's really becoming the Faustus in this story, too, making deals and messing around with things much bigger than him, only thinking briefly of the consequences occasionally.
To Castiel: simply the line "being deprived of the presence of God" explains him away. Same with Anna and Uriel and all the angels plotting to revive Lucifer.
There was another passage, too, but I don't feel like looking for it. But yeah. Go read Doctor Faustus. It's pretty awesome.
Anyway, review! This truly is the first episode I've been SURPRISED in since Dean's revelation of his 10 years of torture. I did not see Uriel coming. Most everything else I'd been mildly spoiled about, although I do find it interesting that John Winchester never broke for a century. Unlike Alastair, I've always found Dean to be stronger than his father, so that simple fact blew my mind.
I'm waiting for the dl to finish. I have the ep recorded on VHS tape (side note: they don't even make VCR's anymore. Chagrin.), but I don't think I'm ready to watch it again yet, so this is all from memory.
Kinda wish we would've seen a bit of Pamela's funeral. Granted, I didn't much care for her, but Dean's well-placed righteousness would've rung truer if we could've seen it. Also, Sam is driving...strange. :/ And Dean's just tired. God, so tired, and I don't blame him.
Sam and Ruby. Saammm....and Ruby. Until this episode, I thought Ruby stayed with Sam for vengeance, duty, and maybe just the slightest bit of love or lust. And I still do, but now I think there's also a hidden agenda in there somewhere, after that smirk. She called him "Sammy" and he didn't even flinch. WTF. I want more of them, more of what their fucked-up 'ship has turned into. And the demon blood thing, sure, gross, waaay too vampiric to be kosher, but I completely understand the path. His powers come from demon blood; he wants to be stronger, he needs more. BAMF Sam is both amazing and scary at the same time.
Also, Jared looks mighty terrifying when he's pinning creeptastic demons to the wall. And Castiel's face as he's doing it, the disbelief. Hell, ALL the emotions on Cass's face in this episode. I've been feeling kind of blah about Cass mostly since he hasn't DONE anything amazing other than be the "ooh, shiny character", but this episode made me once again appreciate him and be a fan.
I love Anna, I loved her from before, and I hope more people will start loving her now. While I'm a little confused how she's running around a wanted angel like she is, I think they've kept her in the show for a decent reason. She will make a good catalyst for Castiel's fall, in theory. I'm a little sad that it looks as though that's what will happen, but I'm hopeful that it's not. Cass is a more interesting character as a conflicted angel. Also, I want Cass/Anna fic like WOAH now. GIVE ME PRON!! ...but only the kind with some angst. Something about fluff/humor where Cass is involved just squicks me.
Dean. Deaaan. Where to start with Dean? So many pretty shots of Jensen's emotional acting through that torture scene. I thought "I WANT THAT SCREENCAP" probably 10 times or more watching it. I wanted to see more reaction from Sam about Dean's torturing ways. I wanted to see more Dean torture. Damn you, SPN, for being on a broadcast network! The bit about Alastair torturing John didn't surprise me, and not just 'cuz I'd seen the promo clip; they set him up as "The grand inquisitor of hell," after all. Only logical. Dean as the first seal IS surprising, but at the same time, not completely unexpected. He had to fit into the mytharc somewhere, and I like that while it does single HIM out as something more important than just bein' a hunter, which I'm kind of meh about, it's not like it was his Shanshu prophecy or anything; it could've been ANY righteous man, just so happened his number was up. And after Alastair tells him he's the catalyst, the way we see him break; the way Jensen appears to break, I think is my new favorite scene. The way he just accepts it says so much about how much Dean has changed, how right Sam actually was in Sex and Violence about how weak he's become.
And what Cass says in the final scene and Dean's response only solidifies that. He's officially hit rock bottom, he doesn't care, he has no confidence, it's all back to disappointing Daddy, everything we've learned and seen about Dean in 4 seasons boils down to this one scene, where it all essentially falls apart on him. And his voice, Jensen's deep gravelly angry/rightous/insert adjective here Batman voice, so broken like it was...*takes a moment to pretty much be in love with Jensen* *ahem.* It's also both interesting and a little sad to me that he confesses these things to Castiel, not Sam. I'm a little miffed Sam isn't anywhere in sight after disposing of Alastair.
Also, next week's episode?! I HATE it when they do the big "reveal shit, angels vs demons, tortured dean" episode and then the next one is some throwaway that probably DOES have some meaning to it, but really...throwaway. UGH.
Whew. Yeah. My hands are tired of typing. In conclusion: I need screencaps and Castiel/Anna of any type NOW. And it needs to be Thursday again.
My dl just finished, so I think I'm off to watch again. I wouldn't be surprised if this post got repeatedly edited throughout the evening. :P
-why is Alastair on a Star of David?
-I love Dean's quip about a mess on his shoes.
-Alastair's "grasshopper" and then the next line, when Dean says he's dreamt of torturing him, Al actually looks a little fearful.
-Anna: "before you ruin the one weapon you have." Which is exactly where the episode ends.
-Alastair: "Something caught in my throat...i think its my throat." LMAO.
-Can angels BE friends? Doesn't that imply emotion?
I'm so hopelessly in love with this episode.