10.03 Initial reaction: I'm lucky. Hell, I'm blessed.

[caranfindel]

Guys, I'm going to start with a story about my refrigerator. Trust me; it's relevant.

We bought a new refrigerator a few months ago and I can't even tell you how much I love this thing. It's kind of embarrassing. My husband actually makes fun of my affection for it. It's stainless steel, armoire style, which means the freezer is a drawer on the

Comments

[dreamsofspike]

I loved every last bit of this episode! :D

I’m kinda curious as to where they’re going with Crowley right now. Because like… saving Cas definitely isn’t going to help his quickly diminishing cred with his demon underlings. And it’s not going to be nearly enough to get him back into the Winchesters’ good graces. So that kind of leaves him out in the cold and in a very precarious position. I THINK he’s trying to take steps toward mending the bridges he spent the last season or so burning with Sam and Dean, but I think it’s going to take a lot more than that. :/

*** Sam worries that he's killing him (to which Cas responds that yes, he might be, but he's not really Dean anyway, thanks Cas, that's helpful).***

See, I thought Cas’s point here was more that Dean as he was, wasn’t really Dean - so going forward with the treatments was basically the ONLY option. Either A) Sam quits the treatment, and Dean remains a monster FOREVER, or B) Sam continues the treatments and Dean dies or C) Sam continues the treatments and Dean is cured. B and C are BOTH preferable to A. You know? :/ That’s kind of how I read Cas’s point there.

*** how, exactly, does a devil's trap work? I assumed a demon lost their demonic powers while they were in it, and they couldn't walk through it. But if it simply causes physical pain, does that mean it boils down to willpower, not ability? Could a full demon walk out of a devil's trap if they wanted to badly enough?***

I think that a demon undergoing the cure is entirely different from a full-on demon. I think that a full demon CAN’T leave a trap, etc, PERIOD. It DOES reduce their strength/bind their powers as we’ve seen in canon (one example I just watched was in 6x22, “Let It Bleed”). But once the person is no longer fully demon, it’s a lot less clear. I think it makes sense that they might be able to leave the trap, albeit with pain/difficulty. This just makes me wonder if the same would have been true for Crowley in 8x23, and he just maybe lacked the skills to get out of the bonds they had him in? They DID have him locked down pretty tight. And when it comes down to simple ropes and locks and such, no magic involved? We all know no one can hold a Winchester for long. :P

*** Because if an angel was that much more powerful than a demon, how do you explain Castiel's not particularly successful encounter with Alastair?***

It’s actually been established multiple times in canon that angels are MUCH more powerful than demons in general. Alastair was a VERY high-up demon, close in power level to Lilith, probably kind of like Azazel, who was unaffected by holy water, etc (“You think something like THAT works on something like ME?”) Crowley’s the KING OF HELL, and he’s multiple times been shown to be less powerful than Cas and/or scared of Cas. So to me, it’s totally believable that freshly powered up Cas could restrain half-human, half-demon Dean. :P *shrugs*

I agree that Sam would have tried to injure/incapacitate Dean rather than going for the kill - though I’m not sure in his condition how easily he would have pulled that off. :( And I agree that Dean seems not particularly happy to be human again. :( And why would he be? All that guilt, all that pain, back squarely on his shoulders.

I have high hopes for the next episode. :P We’ll see how/if they’re dashed. ;) hehe