5.05 reaction post (not so belated this week!)
So, I actually was able to watch an episode of Supernatural in real time. And this is the one I saw. It was so…not much of anything. So much that I feel a little silly even going on about it…but, anyway, here’s some stuff I didn’t want to clog people’s comment boxes with…
There were enjoyable things in it, definitely. I liked that first conversation between the boys as they were driving. If there were Emmys for “parallel acting”-sitting side by side staring out a windshield while cutting glances at the other person while said other person isn’t looking-JA and JP would in a tough race (I think JA wins-but only because he gets more practice, what with the angels popping in).
I also loved the scene when they were getting the engine number off the car. Dean mugging with the pencil in his mouth was adorable (and you could almost feel JA’s relief: finally, I get to goof around some, after all those intense conversations with…myself. See? I’m fun too!). And Sam’s giant face peering under the car was also very cute.
And Paris Hilton was entertaining, I thought. Though as much as I enjoyed the JDM fake out, and the possibility that we would see a remix of the wonderful “Imma taste the iron in your blood, boy” scene from DT, I was sorry Dean’s “idol” wasn’t someone more mainstream and dorky, like George Washington, or Winston Churchill, or someone fun, like Steve McQueen….
But most of it was just kinda WTF. I try not get too upset about issues of plot and character continuity on SPN, because, you know, it’s a TV show. On the CW. We get more than we deserve, really. But the lack of continuity from 5.04 did start to piss me off.
I had been thinking that one of the narrative functions of 5.04 (as opposed to its, uh, aesthetic functions-okay, it’s kink value) was to show us that even though present!Dean is kinda sullen and jaded, and quite possibly broken in many ways, he could be worse (though arguably hotter). In other words, it gave present!Dean a chance to look kinda naïve and cuddly in comparison, and to assert that he had VALUES.
But the utter lack of mention of the possible future in the previouslies and in the ep. (except they must have talked about it since they were looking for the Colt, I guess…), and the fact that we didn’t have warm-n’fuzzy, I-have-values!Dean here, but some kind of weird parody of S1!Dean, made it seem like the whole episode was just a plot device to get the boys back together….
And not a very good plot device at that. For me at least, it left the whole question of why Dean made the call to Sam really unexplained, except strategically. I mean, it’s clear why Sam wanted to reunite: he wants back into hunting, he wants redemption, and he wants some help resisting Lucifer. But the only overt reason that Dean would have to get back together after 5.04 is to keep an eye on Sam, and, yeah, try to him on a pretty tight rein. Or just the retrospective logic of: things turned out badly when we were apart-it’s got to be better if we’re together.
None of which is particularly heartwarming….
So since we seem to be playing fanfic bingo here, the genre I’d like to see is one of those little fics where they sit around eating pizza, watching bad tv, and ragging on each other-just to get a sense that they’re together because they missed each other when they were apart…
FAQ:
The phone call: It was badly executed, but I think we were supposed to think Dean was talking about himself, or, at least, the two of them. It just seems so OOC for Dean to slag off Sam to somebody else, even Bobby. But then again, he was pretty OOC in general here.
The heart-to-hearts: Were okay. They were straightforward enough, if clunky, and for once they actually seemed to listen to each other. I admit I’m with the portion of fandom that would like to see Sam apologize for hurting Dean (and Dean stop apologizing). But, whatever.
I should have some kind of cut here for heresy, and I may just be a sucker for novelty, but after a few weeks of Dean n’ Cas and Dean n’ Dean, and even Sam n’ Lucifer, Sam n’ Dean just seemed, I dunno, flat? Tired? More of the same? *runs and hides*
You know, I liked all three of the episodes Julie Siege wrote last season, even “Criss Angel,” and thought that TMaTeotB was excellent-it was totally cracky, but had real drama and character development plus some great brotherly interaction (the non-fight in the diner?)-but this was…a while lot of nothing… Hope the next one’s better.
And hey, at least I’m gonna save $1.99 not buying it from iTunes