Meta rec and thoughts...
maenad's has written an excellent and fascinating meta on why Taxi Driver missed it's mark. Or rather, the difference between what makes a strong episode and a weak one. She doesn't bad mouth for the sake of doing so or rant about it being horrible - instead she looks at it critically and examines how the writing let down an idea.
On writing hell: a comparison
They could also have simply relied on the power of suggestion. Have Sam step through the portal and find himself in Bobby's house ... or the Men of Letters' bunker ... or the house he shared with Amelia. Then turn those places against him and force him to navigate them. Use Sam's history with Bobby, or the season's themes, to illustrate the wrongness of hell. Make the things that Sam loves awful and force him to fight his way through them. That way you don't have to see anything that would be hell for you. You only have to see what would be hell for Sam. And as long as Sam is afraid of it, we should be too.
I love this idea so much. I said in my review that I enjoyed the episode, and I did, but a suggestion like this makes me realize how much more potential it had. Can you imagine how amazing it would have been if he'd stepped into Bobby's house? Bobby could have been trapped in there knowing Sam and Dean needed his help and him not being able to do anything about it. That would have been Bobby's hell.
I also love the idea that hell is different for each person. The show has already given us different versions of hell so it makes sense that Bobby's hell would be different to Sam's and Dean's. I also like the idea that time is fluid and somewhat intangible in the spirit realm. Show has sometimes suggested this but never really seen it through.
For me Season 8 has been full of really interesting ideas but has fallen short in the execution of them. Individually the episodes mostly work ok, but when looking at the season as a whole it seems to lack a solid focus. I am hoping that the next 3 episodes manage to tie some things together thus solidifying some of the season. I'm pretty sure I'll have more to say about this at the end of the season.
While I'm here I do want to say that I think it's ok to rant and complain about the show. It doesn't mean we love it any less because we can see its faults. We love and connect to it in a way that's really hard to explain to anyone who doesn't. That's why we get upset when it doesn't meet our expectations or desires - or lets us down with poor writing or characterisations. Sometimes we need to get stuff off our chests and try and make sense of what they're doing (or not doing). I think it helps get past the problems and remember what it is we love about it. I'm pretty sure I'm in for the long haul (unless they permanently kill off one of the brothers or have them working separately all the time) so chatting and working it all out will help me make it through.
On writing hell: a comparison
They could also have simply relied on the power of suggestion. Have Sam step through the portal and find himself in Bobby's house ... or the Men of Letters' bunker ... or the house he shared with Amelia. Then turn those places against him and force him to navigate them. Use Sam's history with Bobby, or the season's themes, to illustrate the wrongness of hell. Make the things that Sam loves awful and force him to fight his way through them. That way you don't have to see anything that would be hell for you. You only have to see what would be hell for Sam. And as long as Sam is afraid of it, we should be too.
I love this idea so much. I said in my review that I enjoyed the episode, and I did, but a suggestion like this makes me realize how much more potential it had. Can you imagine how amazing it would have been if he'd stepped into Bobby's house? Bobby could have been trapped in there knowing Sam and Dean needed his help and him not being able to do anything about it. That would have been Bobby's hell.
I also love the idea that hell is different for each person. The show has already given us different versions of hell so it makes sense that Bobby's hell would be different to Sam's and Dean's. I also like the idea that time is fluid and somewhat intangible in the spirit realm. Show has sometimes suggested this but never really seen it through.
For me Season 8 has been full of really interesting ideas but has fallen short in the execution of them. Individually the episodes mostly work ok, but when looking at the season as a whole it seems to lack a solid focus. I am hoping that the next 3 episodes manage to tie some things together thus solidifying some of the season. I'm pretty sure I'll have more to say about this at the end of the season.
While I'm here I do want to say that I think it's ok to rant and complain about the show. It doesn't mean we love it any less because we can see its faults. We love and connect to it in a way that's really hard to explain to anyone who doesn't. That's why we get upset when it doesn't meet our expectations or desires - or lets us down with poor writing or characterisations. Sometimes we need to get stuff off our chests and try and make sense of what they're doing (or not doing). I think it helps get past the problems and remember what it is we love about it. I'm pretty sure I'm in for the long haul (unless they permanently kill off one of the brothers or have them working separately all the time) so chatting and working it all out will help me make it through.