SPN Rewatch #18
9.09 Holy Terror
Angels...blah--blah--blah...
Bartholemew...blah--blah--blah...
Malachai...blah--blah--blah...
'Cas can't stay'--blah--blah--blah...
No! No! Stay away from Metatron! Don't even talk to him!!!
More Cas torture...Cas does something morally questionable (again)...
Run, Kevin!
Gadreel, don't listen to Metatron!!!
Sam gets the truth...or does he?
NOOOOOO!!!! Sob...
Kevin didn't deserve to die like that...
It's Dean's fault.
Sound of my heart breaking...
9.10 Road Trip
Even having watched it before and knowing what happens, this episode put me through the wringer!
First there is the hunter's funeral for Kevin...sob...
Castiel has a surprisingly empathetic response to Dean's guilt:
Cas: You were stupid for the right reasons.
Gadreel killing the douche angel was no problem, but watching Metatron manipulate him into another killing...Gadreel is so desperate for redemption, to clear his name with someone...Metatron is heaven's match to Crowley, a master manipulator with a golden tongue with self-interest as the ultimate agenda.
Can you imagine someone having to make a world-altering choice locked in a room with the two of them promoting opposing courses of action?
If only Gadreel had had a little of Dean Winchester's willingness to be the scapegoat and take all the blame--that's what makes Dean incorruptible, really.
I held my breath in the scene between Gadreel and Abner, hoping against hope that Gadreel would see that Abner deserved to live..I felt terrible knowing he had a little girl...and once Gadreel did that kill he was under Metatron's power because he'd done such a despicable act that he had to believe Metatron would redeem his name...or Gadreel killed his friend for nothing.
I liked Cecily, she was so spunky...and the difference between Crowley, who admired her cheekiness in playing for both sides, and Abaddon, who was enraged by what was a pretty minor assist to Crowley and a big tip for Abaddon...well, it certainly highlighted different management styles...
And then there is the scene where Crowley puts spikes into Sam/Gadreel's head and it's horrible to watch and even worse to watch Dean watching...I couldn't bear to watch and I couldn't look away...
DEAN:...How are you doing?
CAS: You want to talk about me now?
DEAN: I want to talk about anything that's not a demon sticking needles into my brother's brain.
As the last resort, Dean allows Crowley to possess Sam in order to communicate what is happening, and Crowley wastes no time playing word games this time. Sam realizes what happened, including Kevin's death...And what Crowley says has to be from a remnant of his connection with Sam beck in the church:
Sam: Did I kill Kevin?
CROWLEY: No, you didn't. He did...
Finally, Sam's I said, get the hell out!...That is the scary-ass mother-f***er we know Sam is capable of being!!!
And then, as much as I hate Crowley, I had to root for his fabulous undercutting of Abaddon in front of her henchmen and his brilliant play in reestablishing his right to be Hell's ruler.
Cue the final scene and the fallout--
DEAN: Come on, man, can't you see, I'm poison. People get close to me they get killed, or worse. I tell myself I help more people that I hurt and I tell myself that I'm doing it for all the right reasons and I believe that. But I can't--I won't drag anyone, anybody into the muck with me--not anymore.
SAM: Go. I'm not going to stop you. But don't go thinking that the problem because it's not.
DEAN: What's that supposed to mean?
SAM: Just go.
I want to insert a freeze-frame right there and make them talk!!! I think Dean was genuinely beating himself up and yet there is also a little bit of 'If I flagellate myself, maybe Sam will take pity on me and not hate me so much...' and I see the despairing reaction when Sam says 'go' as Dean realizing Sam is not going to accept Dean's own awareness of his being wrong as enough punishment.
But don't go thinking that's the problem. So what is the problem, Sam? Is it that Dean thinks he always knows what is best for you, starting with when he sold his sold to resurrect you? Yes, he overrode your acceptance of death to put an angel in you...but what about your decision to stop the last trial to live? The problem is that Dean will always think of himself as your protector when you want to be an equal. In his mind, though, the last time he let you be an equal you ended up in Lucifer's Cage, and Dean doesn't think he could survive that grief again. So he is holding on to you for dear life. The two of you could possibly work that out...painfully, to be sure, but not if you won't talk.
One final observation about this episode:
Dean to Gadreel: Why are you doing this?
Gadreel: I'm doing what I have to do.
Cas in reference to stealing another angel's grace: I didn't have a choice.
Dean to Sam in the last scene: I didn't have a choice.
Because this episode left me feeling bereft, I feel the need to end with the one exchange that made me smile:
DEAN: So you're sayin' we're both a couple of dumbasses?
CAS: I prefer the word "trusting." Less dumb. Less ass.
9.11 First Born
And the tension doesn't let up...
The beginning of the end. Even knowing how it plays out, however, I have to say this episode didn't tip its hand, it just was non-stop motion...
The Dean/Crowley set up feels a little squirrelly, but it works if we consider Dean is feeling like he truly lost Sam, so it doesn't matter if he works with Crowley, and if Crowley can help him get a super weapon, then he'll work with the King of Hell and be damned. Dean's not stupid, though, and doesn't go so far as to trust Crowley. They are mutually using each other for compatible goals.
Cain is a riveting, law-unto-himself character who throws us and Dean for a loop. He doesn't seems to have any concern for the human world or the demon world, until his backstory unfolds. And this twist:
Abel wasn't talking to God. He was talking to Lucifer. Lucifer was gonna make my brother into his pet. I couldn't bear to watch him be corrupted, so I offered a deal--Abel's soul in heaven for my soul in hell. Lucifer accepted...As long as I was the one who sent Abel to heaven. So, I killed him. Became a soldier of Hell--a knight.
Months after this reveal I am still wrapping my mind around it and how I'm supposed to interpret the Cain/Abel and Dean/Sam parallels.
I probably don't have to mention the f***ing fantastic Dean vs. 3 demons fight (or the fact Jensen did the whole thing!)
It all leads inexorably to Dean throwing himself heedlessly into the path of destruction by jumping at the Mark. Even at the first viewing of this episode, I knew there was no way that wasn't a bad choice.
I am not sure what to say about the Sam and Cas arc of the episode. The whole extracting Gadreel's leftover grace didn't work--not sure what the point of it was, other than to give Sam and Cas some time to exchange meaningful insights about the value of life...
CAS: Sam, the trials. You chose not to go through with them for a reason, didn't you? You chose to live rather than to sacrifice yourself. You and Dean...You chose each other.
SAM: It doesn't matter what Dean did. Look, I could have put a stop to all this, Cas. I could have closed the gates of hell.
CAS: Sam, when I was human, I died, and that showed me that life is precious, and it must be protected at all costs, even a life as...as pig-headed as a Winchester's.
SAM: My life's not worth any more than anyone else's--not yours or Dean's...or Kevin's. Please. Please, help me do one thing right. Keep going.
CAS: Sam, I want Gadreel to pay as much as you do. But nothing is worth losing you. You know, being human, it didn't just change my view of food. It changed my view of you. I mean, I can relate now to how you feel...The only person who has screwed things up more consistently than you...is me. And now I know what that guilt feels like. And I know what it...I know what it means to feel sorry, Sam. I am sorry.
And then right before that awkward hug:
SAM: It's all right, Cas. You, uh...You were right. You were right about everything.
And where this ends, I didn't feel that it was hopeless for the boys to get back together like it turned out to be...And I don't know if that's because I was being optimistic or if Sam deliberately got written harsher in the following episodes.
All I can say is, these last two episodes really put me through the emotional wringer!
Angels...blah--blah--blah...
Bartholemew...blah--blah--blah...
Malachai...blah--blah--blah...
'Cas can't stay'--blah--blah--blah...
No! No! Stay away from Metatron! Don't even talk to him!!!
More Cas torture...Cas does something morally questionable (again)...
Run, Kevin!
Gadreel, don't listen to Metatron!!!
Sam gets the truth...or does he?
NOOOOOO!!!! Sob...
Kevin didn't deserve to die like that...
It's Dean's fault.
Sound of my heart breaking...
9.10 Road Trip
Even having watched it before and knowing what happens, this episode put me through the wringer!
First there is the hunter's funeral for Kevin...sob...
Castiel has a surprisingly empathetic response to Dean's guilt:
Cas: You were stupid for the right reasons.
Gadreel killing the douche angel was no problem, but watching Metatron manipulate him into another killing...Gadreel is so desperate for redemption, to clear his name with someone...Metatron is heaven's match to Crowley, a master manipulator with a golden tongue with self-interest as the ultimate agenda.
Can you imagine someone having to make a world-altering choice locked in a room with the two of them promoting opposing courses of action?
If only Gadreel had had a little of Dean Winchester's willingness to be the scapegoat and take all the blame--that's what makes Dean incorruptible, really.
I held my breath in the scene between Gadreel and Abner, hoping against hope that Gadreel would see that Abner deserved to live..I felt terrible knowing he had a little girl...and once Gadreel did that kill he was under Metatron's power because he'd done such a despicable act that he had to believe Metatron would redeem his name...or Gadreel killed his friend for nothing.
I liked Cecily, she was so spunky...and the difference between Crowley, who admired her cheekiness in playing for both sides, and Abaddon, who was enraged by what was a pretty minor assist to Crowley and a big tip for Abaddon...well, it certainly highlighted different management styles...
And then there is the scene where Crowley puts spikes into Sam/Gadreel's head and it's horrible to watch and even worse to watch Dean watching...I couldn't bear to watch and I couldn't look away...
DEAN:...How are you doing?
CAS: You want to talk about me now?
DEAN: I want to talk about anything that's not a demon sticking needles into my brother's brain.
As the last resort, Dean allows Crowley to possess Sam in order to communicate what is happening, and Crowley wastes no time playing word games this time. Sam realizes what happened, including Kevin's death...And what Crowley says has to be from a remnant of his connection with Sam beck in the church:
Sam: Did I kill Kevin?
CROWLEY: No, you didn't. He did...
Finally, Sam's I said, get the hell out!...That is the scary-ass mother-f***er we know Sam is capable of being!!!
And then, as much as I hate Crowley, I had to root for his fabulous undercutting of Abaddon in front of her henchmen and his brilliant play in reestablishing his right to be Hell's ruler.
Cue the final scene and the fallout--
DEAN: Come on, man, can't you see, I'm poison. People get close to me they get killed, or worse. I tell myself I help more people that I hurt and I tell myself that I'm doing it for all the right reasons and I believe that. But I can't--I won't drag anyone, anybody into the muck with me--not anymore.
SAM: Go. I'm not going to stop you. But don't go thinking that the problem because it's not.
DEAN: What's that supposed to mean?
SAM: Just go.
I want to insert a freeze-frame right there and make them talk!!! I think Dean was genuinely beating himself up and yet there is also a little bit of 'If I flagellate myself, maybe Sam will take pity on me and not hate me so much...' and I see the despairing reaction when Sam says 'go' as Dean realizing Sam is not going to accept Dean's own awareness of his being wrong as enough punishment.
But don't go thinking that's the problem. So what is the problem, Sam? Is it that Dean thinks he always knows what is best for you, starting with when he sold his sold to resurrect you? Yes, he overrode your acceptance of death to put an angel in you...but what about your decision to stop the last trial to live? The problem is that Dean will always think of himself as your protector when you want to be an equal. In his mind, though, the last time he let you be an equal you ended up in Lucifer's Cage, and Dean doesn't think he could survive that grief again. So he is holding on to you for dear life. The two of you could possibly work that out...painfully, to be sure, but not if you won't talk.
One final observation about this episode:
Dean to Gadreel: Why are you doing this?
Gadreel: I'm doing what I have to do.
Cas in reference to stealing another angel's grace: I didn't have a choice.
Dean to Sam in the last scene: I didn't have a choice.
Because this episode left me feeling bereft, I feel the need to end with the one exchange that made me smile:
DEAN: So you're sayin' we're both a couple of dumbasses?
CAS: I prefer the word "trusting." Less dumb. Less ass.
9.11 First Born
And the tension doesn't let up...
The beginning of the end. Even knowing how it plays out, however, I have to say this episode didn't tip its hand, it just was non-stop motion...
The Dean/Crowley set up feels a little squirrelly, but it works if we consider Dean is feeling like he truly lost Sam, so it doesn't matter if he works with Crowley, and if Crowley can help him get a super weapon, then he'll work with the King of Hell and be damned. Dean's not stupid, though, and doesn't go so far as to trust Crowley. They are mutually using each other for compatible goals.
Cain is a riveting, law-unto-himself character who throws us and Dean for a loop. He doesn't seems to have any concern for the human world or the demon world, until his backstory unfolds. And this twist:
Abel wasn't talking to God. He was talking to Lucifer. Lucifer was gonna make my brother into his pet. I couldn't bear to watch him be corrupted, so I offered a deal--Abel's soul in heaven for my soul in hell. Lucifer accepted...As long as I was the one who sent Abel to heaven. So, I killed him. Became a soldier of Hell--a knight.
Months after this reveal I am still wrapping my mind around it and how I'm supposed to interpret the Cain/Abel and Dean/Sam parallels.
I probably don't have to mention the f***ing fantastic Dean vs. 3 demons fight (or the fact Jensen did the whole thing!)
It all leads inexorably to Dean throwing himself heedlessly into the path of destruction by jumping at the Mark. Even at the first viewing of this episode, I knew there was no way that wasn't a bad choice.
I am not sure what to say about the Sam and Cas arc of the episode. The whole extracting Gadreel's leftover grace didn't work--not sure what the point of it was, other than to give Sam and Cas some time to exchange meaningful insights about the value of life...
CAS: Sam, the trials. You chose not to go through with them for a reason, didn't you? You chose to live rather than to sacrifice yourself. You and Dean...You chose each other.
SAM: It doesn't matter what Dean did. Look, I could have put a stop to all this, Cas. I could have closed the gates of hell.
CAS: Sam, when I was human, I died, and that showed me that life is precious, and it must be protected at all costs, even a life as...as pig-headed as a Winchester's.
SAM: My life's not worth any more than anyone else's--not yours or Dean's...or Kevin's. Please. Please, help me do one thing right. Keep going.
CAS: Sam, I want Gadreel to pay as much as you do. But nothing is worth losing you. You know, being human, it didn't just change my view of food. It changed my view of you. I mean, I can relate now to how you feel...The only person who has screwed things up more consistently than you...is me. And now I know what that guilt feels like. And I know what it...I know what it means to feel sorry, Sam. I am sorry.
And then right before that awkward hug:
SAM: It's all right, Cas. You, uh...You were right. You were right about everything.
And where this ends, I didn't feel that it was hopeless for the boys to get back together like it turned out to be...And I don't know if that's because I was being optimistic or if Sam deliberately got written harsher in the following episodes.
All I can say is, these last two episodes really put me through the emotional wringer!