SPN Rewatch #9
7.22 There Will be Blood & 7.23 Survival of the Fittest
These episodes blur together so I'm just going to talk about them as a unit. 7.22 dealt with figuring out about the compromised food supply, getting the blood from the alpha vamp, and Bobby losing control. 7.23 had a LOT going on in it--Crowley negotiating with Dick (that was priceless!) finding the nun's bone, 2 trips to Roman Enterprises (one where they get sidetracked stopping Bobby and one where they make an entrance with the Impala,) putting Bobby to his final rest (or so they thought,) persuading Cas to help with the final solution, and ending up with Dick back in Purgatory with Dean and Cas, Kevin and Meg with Crowley, and Sam standing alone.
Dick Roman has a lot in common with Metratron--both are completely positive they have all possibilities accounted for so that the only possible outcome is their success.
It's always satisfying to see guys like that get their comeuppance...
It was nice to see Kevin's resourcefulness, particularly for getting out of the locked room with the bobby pin...but then, he is in advanced placement... BTW, I forgot to mention that when we met his mother at the very end of the last episode, it was a different actress than Lauren Tom who plays Kevin's quintessential tiger mom in seasons 8 & 9, and for the brief moments this actress was on screen, I found myself envisioning the 'real' Linda Tran instead.
I recall that when this season originally aired I was annoyed with the back-and-forth between Sam and Dean about Bobby's ghost--first Sam thinks it'll work and Dean thinks it's a bad idea, then the next episode they swap positions, then swap back...I have to say, watching it in one run makes that a little more palatable, more like a discussion than just contrary opinions for the sake of being oppositional.
Though all that grimacing and growling and slamming things didn't make me feel the danger from Bobby until he was strangling Sam. That was Bobby out of control. The rest of the time he was too normal, too rational. It was sad that the boys had to cremate him a second time. I liked how they didn't show Bobby's complete flame-out but showed the reflected flames on the boys' faces instead.
Anyone else think the tainted corn syrup worked its way into the food supply with astonishing speed? Dick just bought the company, so how did he manage to have products already made in the Gas-n-Sip?
Killing too-skinny Polly at the board meeting felt pretty meaningless, like it was a chance to show an attractive girl in her underwear. I bet if this had been on cable, she would have been naked for titillation.
The Impala careening into the sign was epic. My interpretation was that Cas teleported Sam and Dean into the building as the car went through the gate. I am sure Dean was not happy about letting Meg drive...
And like had been done with the suitcase swap in Charlie's episode, the boys had a clever plan set up that the audience wasn't privy to until Dean pulled out the second bone.
Inevitably I get hung up on all the ways their Hail Mary plan could have gone wrong and yet they managed to anticipation all the possibilities exactly right...something that seems to happen pretty regularly in TV and movies but not so much in real life...
8.1 We Have to Talk about Kevin
Not having to endure the hiatus to see what happens next is a much more enjoyable way to proceed. :)
Dean!!! That walk to Louisiana was just purposeful deadly grace (Wonder if demon!Dean will present the same effect?) That arm looked nasty, though.
And Sam...sneaking out in the middle of the night, saying goodbye to the dog but not the girl...
I absolutely hated the premise that Sam did not look for Dean. All it would have taken would have been 6 words--"I thought you were in heaven"--to have kept it in character, but of course then it couldn't have been built into a schism between the boys. I have spent a lot of time with fancfic, trying to find an explanation that manages to fit 'real Sam' into the OOC Sam in the season, and while I can't say I ever found one that worked exactly, I kind of convinced myself to go with the 'Sam had a mental breakdown' explanation for what he did. I think Jared did try to convey that when he frantically tore into the vet's office with the dog...Watching with that mindset made it a little more tolerable, as does figuring that Amelia has her own boatload of issues that I know we see in later episodes.
But then Sam says, "I found something" and the urge to punch the TV in frustration returns...
Both actors play the characters off from the way we are used to them, which sells them figuring out how to relate now.
The meet-up in the cabin--all the tests before a matter-of-fact "Let's do this" hug--a lot different than their previous reunion-after-death/near-death' hugs of the past. It's not very clear but at one of the cons the boys indicated that Sam did not know Dean was at the cabin, Sam had simply gone there to clear his head.
And Kevin's phone calls--OUCH! But Sam owns up to that he shirked his responsibility right away, and wants to fix his mistake. Sam abandoning Kevin--and hunting--does not sit well with Dean at all, though, and that abandonment is going to play out for quite a while...all the way to the start of season 9, as a matter of fact, when Dean does what he has to in order to save Sam.
I am both very curious and kind of afraid to see what gets done to Sam's character now as he has the chance in season 10 to save his brother again and atone for abandoning Dean in Purgatory...
Kevin looks a lot older when he shows up in this episode, both because of his short hair and, frankly, he looks more muscle-y. It wouldn't be a surprise to find out that Osiric had done some working out during hiatus...
And he is so smart, setting up Crowley to get a Hell gate while Kevin is actually building a demon bomb!
As Crowley snapped Channing's neck I felt like we are getting evil!Crowley back as opposed to humorous badguy!Crowley. If you think about it, Crowley and the boys are pretty evenly matched in who wins their battles...and Crowley, while annoying, is never smug, the failing of Roman and Metatron. Crowley is aware that he is not infallible...which makes him work harder and therefore be more of a danger.
Subtle hints about Cas, Dean sneaking off to phone Benny...Lot of things set up in the season 8 premiere...
These episodes blur together so I'm just going to talk about them as a unit. 7.22 dealt with figuring out about the compromised food supply, getting the blood from the alpha vamp, and Bobby losing control. 7.23 had a LOT going on in it--Crowley negotiating with Dick (that was priceless!) finding the nun's bone, 2 trips to Roman Enterprises (one where they get sidetracked stopping Bobby and one where they make an entrance with the Impala,) putting Bobby to his final rest (or so they thought,) persuading Cas to help with the final solution, and ending up with Dick back in Purgatory with Dean and Cas, Kevin and Meg with Crowley, and Sam standing alone.
Dick Roman has a lot in common with Metratron--both are completely positive they have all possibilities accounted for so that the only possible outcome is their success.
It's always satisfying to see guys like that get their comeuppance...
It was nice to see Kevin's resourcefulness, particularly for getting out of the locked room with the bobby pin...but then, he is in advanced placement... BTW, I forgot to mention that when we met his mother at the very end of the last episode, it was a different actress than Lauren Tom who plays Kevin's quintessential tiger mom in seasons 8 & 9, and for the brief moments this actress was on screen, I found myself envisioning the 'real' Linda Tran instead.
I recall that when this season originally aired I was annoyed with the back-and-forth between Sam and Dean about Bobby's ghost--first Sam thinks it'll work and Dean thinks it's a bad idea, then the next episode they swap positions, then swap back...I have to say, watching it in one run makes that a little more palatable, more like a discussion than just contrary opinions for the sake of being oppositional.
Though all that grimacing and growling and slamming things didn't make me feel the danger from Bobby until he was strangling Sam. That was Bobby out of control. The rest of the time he was too normal, too rational. It was sad that the boys had to cremate him a second time. I liked how they didn't show Bobby's complete flame-out but showed the reflected flames on the boys' faces instead.
Anyone else think the tainted corn syrup worked its way into the food supply with astonishing speed? Dick just bought the company, so how did he manage to have products already made in the Gas-n-Sip?
Killing too-skinny Polly at the board meeting felt pretty meaningless, like it was a chance to show an attractive girl in her underwear. I bet if this had been on cable, she would have been naked for titillation.
The Impala careening into the sign was epic. My interpretation was that Cas teleported Sam and Dean into the building as the car went through the gate. I am sure Dean was not happy about letting Meg drive...
And like had been done with the suitcase swap in Charlie's episode, the boys had a clever plan set up that the audience wasn't privy to until Dean pulled out the second bone.
Inevitably I get hung up on all the ways their Hail Mary plan could have gone wrong and yet they managed to anticipation all the possibilities exactly right...something that seems to happen pretty regularly in TV and movies but not so much in real life...
8.1 We Have to Talk about Kevin
Not having to endure the hiatus to see what happens next is a much more enjoyable way to proceed. :)
Dean!!! That walk to Louisiana was just purposeful deadly grace (Wonder if demon!Dean will present the same effect?) That arm looked nasty, though.
And Sam...sneaking out in the middle of the night, saying goodbye to the dog but not the girl...
I absolutely hated the premise that Sam did not look for Dean. All it would have taken would have been 6 words--"I thought you were in heaven"--to have kept it in character, but of course then it couldn't have been built into a schism between the boys. I have spent a lot of time with fancfic, trying to find an explanation that manages to fit 'real Sam' into the OOC Sam in the season, and while I can't say I ever found one that worked exactly, I kind of convinced myself to go with the 'Sam had a mental breakdown' explanation for what he did. I think Jared did try to convey that when he frantically tore into the vet's office with the dog...Watching with that mindset made it a little more tolerable, as does figuring that Amelia has her own boatload of issues that I know we see in later episodes.
But then Sam says, "I found something" and the urge to punch the TV in frustration returns...
Both actors play the characters off from the way we are used to them, which sells them figuring out how to relate now.
The meet-up in the cabin--all the tests before a matter-of-fact "Let's do this" hug--a lot different than their previous reunion-after-death/near-death' hugs of the past. It's not very clear but at one of the cons the boys indicated that Sam did not know Dean was at the cabin, Sam had simply gone there to clear his head.
And Kevin's phone calls--OUCH! But Sam owns up to that he shirked his responsibility right away, and wants to fix his mistake. Sam abandoning Kevin--and hunting--does not sit well with Dean at all, though, and that abandonment is going to play out for quite a while...all the way to the start of season 9, as a matter of fact, when Dean does what he has to in order to save Sam.
I am both very curious and kind of afraid to see what gets done to Sam's character now as he has the chance in season 10 to save his brother again and atone for abandoning Dean in Purgatory...
Kevin looks a lot older when he shows up in this episode, both because of his short hair and, frankly, he looks more muscle-y. It wouldn't be a surprise to find out that Osiric had done some working out during hiatus...
And he is so smart, setting up Crowley to get a Hell gate while Kevin is actually building a demon bomb!
As Crowley snapped Channing's neck I felt like we are getting evil!Crowley back as opposed to humorous badguy!Crowley. If you think about it, Crowley and the boys are pretty evenly matched in who wins their battles...and Crowley, while annoying, is never smug, the failing of Roman and Metatron. Crowley is aware that he is not infallible...which makes him work harder and therefore be more of a danger.
Subtle hints about Cas, Dean sneaking off to phone Benny...Lot of things set up in the season 8 premiere...