scattershot thoughts
I was going to write this up yesterday, but ended up dropping from exhaustion at nearly 5 am after skimming the last week's worth of livejournal (sticking to personal journals and skipping all the communities (as I'll probably be doing until end of quarter) because otherwise it would have been impossible -- it was still 260+ entries). Not that I've actually recovered yet or anything.
0. I am so glad that I waited to watch last week's episode. So glad! And it fills me with immeasurable glee that this is a season finale and not a series finale.
There is basically no order for these comments, but I'm numbering them just for the sake of a bit of organization.
1. "Carry On My Wayward Son" is, as it was for 1x21 "Salvation," the perfect Then-Now song.
2. Between Mary recognizing the YED and the YED mentioning other generations, my current thought is that Mary was part of a previous generation's run-in with the YED, perhaps an earlier breeding/blood plan. It also seems possible there's some kind of cyclical thing going on here, where every once in awhile, Hell needs to replenish its connection to the Earth and get another batch of demons released (note: this has fun Buffyverse crossover potential). Or maybe it just a cyclical buildup to this round, which was supposed to be especially apocalyptic? I want them to start researching phenomena similar to what happened this time for earlier generations...
3. Of course, it would be easier if Ash were still alive. Damn it, I really liked Ash. And Andy! A world without Andy is a much sadder world. That he could still babble and delight in small things even when being completely freaked out...! Mrph.
4. I'm glad Ellen's still alive, though. I really like her as a character, all sensible and caring and strong, and I think she's going to be a huge organizational and networking asset in the coming war. And I really loved Dean hugging her like he did -- Dean and his human connections was a huge theme of these episodes. I wonder if we'll get some more Jo next season, and if they'll give her more to work with than they did this season, if so.
5. Speaking of Dean and his human connections, oh my god, Bobby. Bobby has consistently been a welcome presence this season, one of the few things grounding Dean and Sam to the rest of the world at all. Seeing the depth of his affection and understanding during that scene about Dean's deal... If anything broke me, it was that. Jesus. So fucking amazing. They really got some excellent actors for many of the secondary characters this season.
6. I mean, I'm almost sorry the YED's dead, because I really liked the actor who played him. He managed to be malignant, mischievous, smooth-talking, and competent all at once in a very convincingly creepy demonic way. Both human and not, which may be why it's especially effective.
7. Incidentally, I think I liked the previous incarnation of the crossroads demon more. But ooh, that kiss was hot, and there was sufficiently chemistry for the scene to work. Dean and his smart, sexy brunettes, mmm.
8. I know some people aren't very happy with the use of the crossroads demon as the solution, feeling it too obvious (especially after the episode shows up in the Then-Now). I agree that it was a bit obvious, and yet, I feel like it goes well with general demon lore, that once you begin to deal with demons, no matter how good your intentions, it becomes harder and harder to stop. So it makes sense for Dean himself to make a second deal, and it makes sense for the Winchesters as a whole to be continuing to make deals. In some ways, Sam actually starts it, though inadvertently and indirectly, in "Faith," as Reapers are a type of demon.
Oh my god. I wonder if Mary ever made a deal with a demon...
9. I am so looking forward to Sam saving Dean. Because Dean can't actually work toward getting out of the deal himself, so it really does have to be Sam figuring it out. I was fucking thrilled with Dean's arc this season, but I love Sam just as much and I am looking forward to watching him come into his own more. We saw here a little of his leadership potential, and I hope we see more of it. I feel like season one Sam was denial and adjustment, season two Sam is acceptance and embracing, and hopefully season three Sam will be growth and development.
When I first started watching Supernatural, I was completely a Dean girl. Sam was frickin' whiny, I'm the oldest of three so I definitely identify with those parts of Dean, and I have a thing for the bad boys anyway so Dean was pretty much impossible to resist. Put it this way -- Luke Skywalker tends to make me want to strangle him, and Sam was apparently deliberately imbued with some very Luke-like qualities. And I've never been very sympathetic to the desire for normalcy. Having gone to Stanford probably doesn't exactly help. (Don't get me wrong, I liked many things about Stanford... but it does have a sort of aggressive normalcy to it.)
But well, as the show went on Sam grew on me more and more. I feel a lot of kinship with his more-abstract and analytical way of looking at the world, angsty and unable to let things go. And he slowly lets go of denial and starts to embrace what he has, and that's a progression that is inspiring to see and very appealing to me, as I really have a thing for people who are deliberately trying to deal with things and change for the better, as I think Sam is.
And more and more we understand how much he really, truly, deeply loves Dean, and how much Dean really, truly, deeply loves him. The thing is, I think Dean has always been aware of how much Sam means to him. But I'm not sure Sam has always understood how much he needs Dean. But over the course of the past two seasons, it has gradually dawned on him -- and as it does, we as viewers begin to understand it more as well. From the very beginning, it was my gut feeling that Sam needed Dean just as much as Dean needed Sam. To see it confirmed by Sam's internal discovery of this (and its expression in various words and actions) has been heart-wrenchingly satisfying.
God, I love them both so much. And then they love each other so much, it just makes me love them more.
Okay wow, I didn't think I was going to go into all of that here. It's been brewing for awhile and I thought it might eventually get its own meta, but well, I guess I wanted to talk about it tonight. Let's see, any other episode stuff to touch on...
10. The actress playing Ava did a fantastic job. Really convincing in using her girlish manipulation on both the other characters and on us -- I was surprised and impressed when the switch was flipped and suddenly she was damned creepy in a very demonic way. That both human and not thing, so fucking creepy. Oh, and I thought Jake being tempted into evil was also really well-done. Some excellent acting all-around.
11. I liked the Colt as the key. It makes sense. Make the key to Hell (something the demons need) the very thing that they would most want to destroy, because it's the thing most effective at destroying them, so the key to Hell contains within it its own defense. I guess the hitch is, why, if you're sealing up Hell, make a key to it at all? Perhaps the logic went the other way -- make something to destroy demons, and then protect it by also making it the key to Hell.
It also just seems like it ought to be impossible to completely seal up a gate to Hell. So maybe making the weak point extremely well-specified is indeed the right way to go.
Hmm. Some kind of cycle is sounding more and more plausible
12. Almost done, I think. John. I really liked what they did with him. Granted, it was short, but effective. Very John. Terse, economical, but with a burning core. The nods he and Sam exchange said so damn much.
13. Lastly, I just have indulge in this: OMG DEAN KILLED THE DEMON WITH THE COLT! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! \o/
Basically, they did an amazing job of wrapping up enough plot and character arc that it felt incredibly, gleefully satisfying, while still setting up some fascinating stuff for next year. Damned impressive, really. *happy*
0. I am so glad that I waited to watch last week's episode. So glad! And it fills me with immeasurable glee that this is a season finale and not a series finale.
There is basically no order for these comments, but I'm numbering them just for the sake of a bit of organization.
1. "Carry On My Wayward Son" is, as it was for 1x21 "Salvation," the perfect Then-Now song.
2. Between Mary recognizing the YED and the YED mentioning other generations, my current thought is that Mary was part of a previous generation's run-in with the YED, perhaps an earlier breeding/blood plan. It also seems possible there's some kind of cyclical thing going on here, where every once in awhile, Hell needs to replenish its connection to the Earth and get another batch of demons released (note: this has fun Buffyverse crossover potential). Or maybe it just a cyclical buildup to this round, which was supposed to be especially apocalyptic? I want them to start researching phenomena similar to what happened this time for earlier generations...
3. Of course, it would be easier if Ash were still alive. Damn it, I really liked Ash. And Andy! A world without Andy is a much sadder world. That he could still babble and delight in small things even when being completely freaked out...! Mrph.
4. I'm glad Ellen's still alive, though. I really like her as a character, all sensible and caring and strong, and I think she's going to be a huge organizational and networking asset in the coming war. And I really loved Dean hugging her like he did -- Dean and his human connections was a huge theme of these episodes. I wonder if we'll get some more Jo next season, and if they'll give her more to work with than they did this season, if so.
5. Speaking of Dean and his human connections, oh my god, Bobby. Bobby has consistently been a welcome presence this season, one of the few things grounding Dean and Sam to the rest of the world at all. Seeing the depth of his affection and understanding during that scene about Dean's deal... If anything broke me, it was that. Jesus. So fucking amazing. They really got some excellent actors for many of the secondary characters this season.
6. I mean, I'm almost sorry the YED's dead, because I really liked the actor who played him. He managed to be malignant, mischievous, smooth-talking, and competent all at once in a very convincingly creepy demonic way. Both human and not, which may be why it's especially effective.
7. Incidentally, I think I liked the previous incarnation of the crossroads demon more. But ooh, that kiss was hot, and there was sufficiently chemistry for the scene to work. Dean and his smart, sexy brunettes, mmm.
8. I know some people aren't very happy with the use of the crossroads demon as the solution, feeling it too obvious (especially after the episode shows up in the Then-Now). I agree that it was a bit obvious, and yet, I feel like it goes well with general demon lore, that once you begin to deal with demons, no matter how good your intentions, it becomes harder and harder to stop. So it makes sense for Dean himself to make a second deal, and it makes sense for the Winchesters as a whole to be continuing to make deals. In some ways, Sam actually starts it, though inadvertently and indirectly, in "Faith," as Reapers are a type of demon.
Oh my god. I wonder if Mary ever made a deal with a demon...
9. I am so looking forward to Sam saving Dean. Because Dean can't actually work toward getting out of the deal himself, so it really does have to be Sam figuring it out. I was fucking thrilled with Dean's arc this season, but I love Sam just as much and I am looking forward to watching him come into his own more. We saw here a little of his leadership potential, and I hope we see more of it. I feel like season one Sam was denial and adjustment, season two Sam is acceptance and embracing, and hopefully season three Sam will be growth and development.
When I first started watching Supernatural, I was completely a Dean girl. Sam was frickin' whiny, I'm the oldest of three so I definitely identify with those parts of Dean, and I have a thing for the bad boys anyway so Dean was pretty much impossible to resist. Put it this way -- Luke Skywalker tends to make me want to strangle him, and Sam was apparently deliberately imbued with some very Luke-like qualities. And I've never been very sympathetic to the desire for normalcy. Having gone to Stanford probably doesn't exactly help. (Don't get me wrong, I liked many things about Stanford... but it does have a sort of aggressive normalcy to it.)
But well, as the show went on Sam grew on me more and more. I feel a lot of kinship with his more-abstract and analytical way of looking at the world, angsty and unable to let things go. And he slowly lets go of denial and starts to embrace what he has, and that's a progression that is inspiring to see and very appealing to me, as I really have a thing for people who are deliberately trying to deal with things and change for the better, as I think Sam is.
And more and more we understand how much he really, truly, deeply loves Dean, and how much Dean really, truly, deeply loves him. The thing is, I think Dean has always been aware of how much Sam means to him. But I'm not sure Sam has always understood how much he needs Dean. But over the course of the past two seasons, it has gradually dawned on him -- and as it does, we as viewers begin to understand it more as well. From the very beginning, it was my gut feeling that Sam needed Dean just as much as Dean needed Sam. To see it confirmed by Sam's internal discovery of this (and its expression in various words and actions) has been heart-wrenchingly satisfying.
God, I love them both so much. And then they love each other so much, it just makes me love them more.
Okay wow, I didn't think I was going to go into all of that here. It's been brewing for awhile and I thought it might eventually get its own meta, but well, I guess I wanted to talk about it tonight. Let's see, any other episode stuff to touch on...
10. The actress playing Ava did a fantastic job. Really convincing in using her girlish manipulation on both the other characters and on us -- I was surprised and impressed when the switch was flipped and suddenly she was damned creepy in a very demonic way. That both human and not thing, so fucking creepy. Oh, and I thought Jake being tempted into evil was also really well-done. Some excellent acting all-around.
11. I liked the Colt as the key. It makes sense. Make the key to Hell (something the demons need) the very thing that they would most want to destroy, because it's the thing most effective at destroying them, so the key to Hell contains within it its own defense. I guess the hitch is, why, if you're sealing up Hell, make a key to it at all? Perhaps the logic went the other way -- make something to destroy demons, and then protect it by also making it the key to Hell.
It also just seems like it ought to be impossible to completely seal up a gate to Hell. So maybe making the weak point extremely well-specified is indeed the right way to go.
Hmm. Some kind of cycle is sounding more and more plausible
12. Almost done, I think. John. I really liked what they did with him. Granted, it was short, but effective. Very John. Terse, economical, but with a burning core. The nods he and Sam exchange said so damn much.
13. Lastly, I just have indulge in this: OMG DEAN KILLED THE DEMON WITH THE COLT! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! \o/
Basically, they did an amazing job of wrapping up enough plot and character arc that it felt incredibly, gleefully satisfying, while still setting up some fascinating stuff for next year. Damned impressive, really. *happy*