My incoherent ramblings on the Supernatural Season Five Finale
I'm gonna try and make this as coherent as possible. I have a feeling it's going to be long and meta-y. You've been forewarned.
Alright, um, I wasn't completely a huge fan of this episode.
I want to get it off my chest right away that I enjoyed the symbolism and I'm always a huge fan of the metaphor. Do I like the idea of Dean quitting hunting after the Apocalypse and settling down in the suburbs? Yes, I've even talked about how I want to see that happen in season six and show Sam coming in with something that needs to be hunted as like a reverse of season one. I'm sort of looking forward to that still. Do I like the idea of him doing it with the pre-made family? Not really, but I can stand by it if I need to.
It's not even that I hate Lisa or anything. I liked her when she first walked onto the scene even if I did think it was a bit far-fetched that someone Dean spent a weekend with having crazy, bend-y sex would still be enamored with him 8 years later and then offer to let him stay with her and her small child. Mostly I liked her because her son was really awesome. She redeemed herself by the end of the episode, but, after, it just seemed like the writers were pushing a relationship that didn't exist.
They like to beat a dead horse. I present Jo as Exhibit A. Although I guess Lisa is Exhibit A, but Jo came first so there.
So, no, okay, the relationship is far flung, but I can get behind it with much talking and much thinking about it. Not a huge fan, but okay, Dean deserves to have something, I guess.
You know, if it wasn't so ABUNDANTLY clear that he was just settling for it.
It's not fair to Lisa and it's not fair to Ben and they're totally just going to do something probably horrible to break that up and get Dean and Sam hunting together again. The whole thing is just... it's not right. Dean doesn't deserve happiness that he's settling for. I've always said that the only relationship I could see Dean having was maybe with Jo and he would totally settle for it and maybe they'd have that comfortable, we're really more friends than romantically involved, but we'll work it because what else is there.
I didn't actually expect the show to GO THERE.
Dean wants it, I get that. He wants a kid and a normal life and oh, look, there's a ready made one for you and Dean's the kind of person who will settle into that life and try very hard to be everything that Lisa and Ben deserve, but I doubt he'll ever be completely happy with it. You know because God!Chuck (I swear I'll get there) said so. Dean wants to be out there, hunting and finding a way to bring Sam back, but he's being a good brother and doing what Sam asked him to do as his dying wish or whatever. And, if Lisa is any kind of self-respecting woman like Jo and has an ounce of perceptiveness in her nature, Lisa is never going to be truly happy with it either. And so Dean is keeping her from finding true happiness.
And there's my problem with that.
My next problem was the rushed, anti-climatic nature of the episode.
Kripke, for all intents and purposes, thought this was the end when he started writing it. I having a feeling he tweaked it a bit when he realized it wasn't (Chuck's last monologue. No, I do not think Dean getting the suburban life was part of that tweak.), but he thought it was.
So, what, Michael and Lucifer talk it out, Dena swoops in and the Impala saves the day?
I always thought them doing the Apocalypse in one season was ambitious. I thought they could probably do it and they did such a good job with it, but these writers have always had a problem with pacing. I mean, they find the true answer about 4 episodes from the end? And it's something so hooky as let's find the rings and throw Lucifer back in a cage?... Oh God, Captain Planet!
I was willing to go with it even if I was really hoping to have a big showdown.
And then I thought, okay, Lucifer figured it out and he took over Sam and the whole rings thing didn't work so what's next?
Apparently Lucifer and Michael talking about who has bigger daddy issues.
Talk about anti-climatic.
It felt like they realized, oh, yeah, we gotta end the Lucifer storyline, but we've gotta make this shocking and make the audience feel. So we're gonna make Lucifer take over Sam, do a whole bunch of horrible shit like killing a whole bunch of demons that have apparently been watching poor Sam his whole life and then Lucifer!Sam will explode Cas and kill Bobby.
But! WAIT FOR IT! We're gonna have God bring Cas back again and angelify him and have him heal Bobby and Dean.
Cue retarded move to the suburbs!
Oh, yeah, and Lucifer!Sam and Michael!Adam get thrown in the pit. But! Never fear, Sam's being a creepy lurkster! OMINOUS!
Yeah, I wish I was kidding.
Okay, let's break out the bullet points because this is getting incoherent.
-We'll start with Bobby. Bobby. Um, it might as well have been a piece of cardboard in a truck hat for all Bobby contributed to the episode. Yes, he gave Sam a great speech and yes his totally lost look after they're long shot didn't work was great. But, really? It almost was as if he wasn't there. There was no grand speech, there was no epic badassness. They sort of redeemed themselves with him shooting at the Devil with a gun and then the awesome look he gave Dean that was so 'yeah, I knew this wasn't going to work, but I had to try' (and Bobby had a better shocked face over Cas then Dean did), but then they just broke his neck and there was no speech to Dean about how he needed to live now.
I get that they had to do that last Chuck voice over because Kripke was talking to us, but really? I expected more from Bobby here and no he's just going back to his hunting life and that's it. That's all for this character? Really?
-Cas. Oh Cas. Am I really glad that he's alive? Yes. Am I glad he's back to being an angel? Yes, he wanted it, though I think everyone didn't think it was going to happen (even Misha said he didn't think it was going to happen). But, I have strong suspicions this means that there's probably not going to be much Cas in season 6 and, really, what a huge reset on the character.
Cas had this awesome growth. He gave up so much and now, what? He goes back to Heaven because daddy wanted it and now he's going to run things?
I didn't want the character to end that way.
He had so many great lines here, but this was kind of closing the book on a character they didn't fully realize in such a shitty way. He never got realized, his sacrifices never got acknowledged. I feel like he's just moved too far away in what he was to be that again. I mean, just listen to the words and the phrases he uses when talking to Dean during their "goodbye". He's not the Cas he used to be and I'm not sure he's going to be all to happy with Heaven.
It's an echo of how unhappy I am with his storyline. They could've done so much more.
Though, ass butt... yeah, no, ass butt shall forever be the most amazing thing ever.
-THE IMPALA TRIBUTE! Okay, this is the only thing I actually liked. The Impala saved the day. Okay, it was hooky and ridiculous and the most cliche, anti-climatic thing about the episode, but... it was nice. It's their only home and of course it's the thing that Sam needed to jolt him. It was sweet.
-Sam. Okay, Jared, I've always loved you evil and I even dug you as Lucifer.
BUT GOD FUCKING DAMNIT I WAS REALLY HOPING THAT ONE THING- ONE!!!- WOULD BE ABOUT DEAN AND NOT ABOUT YOU.
So Dean's just discarded? The whole, he's going to save the world thing is just forgotten because he didn't play ball? Really? The Impala and Sam saved the day here and Dean was just left to pick up the pieces of himself. Where's the growth?
I'll tell you where it is. It is no where because the writer's want to hit their magical reset button and have things go back to the way they were.
I enjoyed everything up until that end scene. I thought, cool, Sam has to fight this battle and I figured he was going to win, but it was a nice stretch for Sam.
But, again, it makes everything about Sam. All this special, magical demon time was spent on Sam to get him to that point. Sam, Sam, Sam.
Thanks, Show, for showing me you can't be well rounded.
Also, yeah, creeper!Sam. I mean I knew they weren't going to keep him dead, but did it have to be so obvious? Couldn't there be a Carrie moment? Did it have to fully be Sam? Or couldn't the light have just flickered off and that been it? They completely undid everything they spent the hour, the past episodes, the whole SEASON building up to.
-Chuck. I'm gonna just pretend he isn't God or whatever because the ego that would put on Kripke. Chuck is supposed to be Kripke. That last monologue about how you can't make all the fans happy... yeah, Eric, I see what you're doing. And, maybe if you had given me a more satisfying episode, I wouldn't be so... what the fuck at you.
I dislike the notion of Chuck being God for many reasons.
1. No more Chuck. I'm sorry, but Chuck, even if he was pathetic and kind of loser-y and all nervous tick man, was epic. He was the every man. He stood up against the ghost children and he was awesome.
2. No Chuck/Becky. I don't think I have to elaborate.
3. It's so utterly fucking pretentious that it makes scene kids/hipsters look... unpretentious.
4. Like people have said, the whole amulet business doesn't make sense.
5. It just pounds the Deus Ex Machina thing even more into the ground and I'm already pissed off about that enough.
-Dean. You know what, Dean was pretty fucking on tonight. No lie. Even his whole settling thing was pretty in character in that he did it because it's what Sam wanted and when has Dean not ever done something that Sam wanted. I don't have much else to say other than they've totally undone Dean's character development... but they did that back in 5x18 so I'm completely unsurprised.
So, okay, what has this episode given me? Anti-climatic drivel that undid all the awesome character development of the series. The shooting down of my ship didn't even hurt anymore because they've been doing it for awhile. I get there Dean and Cas aren't chick flick-y, but really? That was the end of their friendship?
Also, if they were going to kill characters, could it not have been for shock value? Cas and Bobby just die and then God just brings Cas back and DEUS EX MACHINA! I've joked about this, but I didn't think they were going to do it.
I liked this episode, but as a finale? As an ending to the APOCALYPSE. I think the theme of this post (and the episode) is anti-climatic. I lacked the POWER that the other finale's hand. It lacked that special something. It lacked any real closure. It was just like hey, we gotta wrap this up. Here you go. I feel disappointed and alright at the same time. Like, if season six wasn't happening, I'd just go with it because at least Dean is marginally happy and everyone go what the think they wanted.
Which is interesting to think about, you know. Everyone has what the think they want. I'm hoping season six smashes that to shit.
And, well, there's always fanfic.
(And, you know, not utterly broken. This could've been Torchwood all over again. Or SGA. Though I think it combined qualities of both. You know, relationship with no real chemistry or back up and disregard of great character development and unnecessary death... okay so maybe it was kind of both, but I don't feel as broken as before. Maybe I'm just too numb? Or maybe I'm just so fucking excited that CAS IS ALIVE AND SO IS BOBBY!)
In other news, I didn't finish in time for SPN Big Bang. Still writing all three stories and, maybe, I'll sign up for Dean/Castiel Big Bang and submit one of those stories. I've got the outline for the John Breaks the First Seal story so it's gonna be great.
Alright, um, I wasn't completely a huge fan of this episode.
I want to get it off my chest right away that I enjoyed the symbolism and I'm always a huge fan of the metaphor. Do I like the idea of Dean quitting hunting after the Apocalypse and settling down in the suburbs? Yes, I've even talked about how I want to see that happen in season six and show Sam coming in with something that needs to be hunted as like a reverse of season one. I'm sort of looking forward to that still. Do I like the idea of him doing it with the pre-made family? Not really, but I can stand by it if I need to.
It's not even that I hate Lisa or anything. I liked her when she first walked onto the scene even if I did think it was a bit far-fetched that someone Dean spent a weekend with having crazy, bend-y sex would still be enamored with him 8 years later and then offer to let him stay with her and her small child. Mostly I liked her because her son was really awesome. She redeemed herself by the end of the episode, but, after, it just seemed like the writers were pushing a relationship that didn't exist.
They like to beat a dead horse. I present Jo as Exhibit A. Although I guess Lisa is Exhibit A, but Jo came first so there.
So, no, okay, the relationship is far flung, but I can get behind it with much talking and much thinking about it. Not a huge fan, but okay, Dean deserves to have something, I guess.
You know, if it wasn't so ABUNDANTLY clear that he was just settling for it.
It's not fair to Lisa and it's not fair to Ben and they're totally just going to do something probably horrible to break that up and get Dean and Sam hunting together again. The whole thing is just... it's not right. Dean doesn't deserve happiness that he's settling for. I've always said that the only relationship I could see Dean having was maybe with Jo and he would totally settle for it and maybe they'd have that comfortable, we're really more friends than romantically involved, but we'll work it because what else is there.
I didn't actually expect the show to GO THERE.
Dean wants it, I get that. He wants a kid and a normal life and oh, look, there's a ready made one for you and Dean's the kind of person who will settle into that life and try very hard to be everything that Lisa and Ben deserve, but I doubt he'll ever be completely happy with it. You know because God!Chuck (I swear I'll get there) said so. Dean wants to be out there, hunting and finding a way to bring Sam back, but he's being a good brother and doing what Sam asked him to do as his dying wish or whatever. And, if Lisa is any kind of self-respecting woman like Jo and has an ounce of perceptiveness in her nature, Lisa is never going to be truly happy with it either. And so Dean is keeping her from finding true happiness.
And there's my problem with that.
My next problem was the rushed, anti-climatic nature of the episode.
Kripke, for all intents and purposes, thought this was the end when he started writing it. I having a feeling he tweaked it a bit when he realized it wasn't (Chuck's last monologue. No, I do not think Dean getting the suburban life was part of that tweak.), but he thought it was.
So, what, Michael and Lucifer talk it out, Dena swoops in and the Impala saves the day?
I always thought them doing the Apocalypse in one season was ambitious. I thought they could probably do it and they did such a good job with it, but these writers have always had a problem with pacing. I mean, they find the true answer about 4 episodes from the end? And it's something so hooky as let's find the rings and throw Lucifer back in a cage?... Oh God, Captain Planet!
I was willing to go with it even if I was really hoping to have a big showdown.
And then I thought, okay, Lucifer figured it out and he took over Sam and the whole rings thing didn't work so what's next?
Apparently Lucifer and Michael talking about who has bigger daddy issues.
Talk about anti-climatic.
It felt like they realized, oh, yeah, we gotta end the Lucifer storyline, but we've gotta make this shocking and make the audience feel. So we're gonna make Lucifer take over Sam, do a whole bunch of horrible shit like killing a whole bunch of demons that have apparently been watching poor Sam his whole life and then Lucifer!Sam will explode Cas and kill Bobby.
But! WAIT FOR IT! We're gonna have God bring Cas back again and angelify him and have him heal Bobby and Dean.
Cue retarded move to the suburbs!
Oh, yeah, and Lucifer!Sam and Michael!Adam get thrown in the pit. But! Never fear, Sam's being a creepy lurkster! OMINOUS!
Yeah, I wish I was kidding.
Okay, let's break out the bullet points because this is getting incoherent.
-We'll start with Bobby. Bobby. Um, it might as well have been a piece of cardboard in a truck hat for all Bobby contributed to the episode. Yes, he gave Sam a great speech and yes his totally lost look after they're long shot didn't work was great. But, really? It almost was as if he wasn't there. There was no grand speech, there was no epic badassness. They sort of redeemed themselves with him shooting at the Devil with a gun and then the awesome look he gave Dean that was so 'yeah, I knew this wasn't going to work, but I had to try' (and Bobby had a better shocked face over Cas then Dean did), but then they just broke his neck and there was no speech to Dean about how he needed to live now.
I get that they had to do that last Chuck voice over because Kripke was talking to us, but really? I expected more from Bobby here and no he's just going back to his hunting life and that's it. That's all for this character? Really?
-Cas. Oh Cas. Am I really glad that he's alive? Yes. Am I glad he's back to being an angel? Yes, he wanted it, though I think everyone didn't think it was going to happen (even Misha said he didn't think it was going to happen). But, I have strong suspicions this means that there's probably not going to be much Cas in season 6 and, really, what a huge reset on the character.
Cas had this awesome growth. He gave up so much and now, what? He goes back to Heaven because daddy wanted it and now he's going to run things?
I didn't want the character to end that way.
He had so many great lines here, but this was kind of closing the book on a character they didn't fully realize in such a shitty way. He never got realized, his sacrifices never got acknowledged. I feel like he's just moved too far away in what he was to be that again. I mean, just listen to the words and the phrases he uses when talking to Dean during their "goodbye". He's not the Cas he used to be and I'm not sure he's going to be all to happy with Heaven.
It's an echo of how unhappy I am with his storyline. They could've done so much more.
Though, ass butt... yeah, no, ass butt shall forever be the most amazing thing ever.
-THE IMPALA TRIBUTE! Okay, this is the only thing I actually liked. The Impala saved the day. Okay, it was hooky and ridiculous and the most cliche, anti-climatic thing about the episode, but... it was nice. It's their only home and of course it's the thing that Sam needed to jolt him. It was sweet.
-Sam. Okay, Jared, I've always loved you evil and I even dug you as Lucifer.
BUT GOD FUCKING DAMNIT I WAS REALLY HOPING THAT ONE THING- ONE!!!- WOULD BE ABOUT DEAN AND NOT ABOUT YOU.
So Dean's just discarded? The whole, he's going to save the world thing is just forgotten because he didn't play ball? Really? The Impala and Sam saved the day here and Dean was just left to pick up the pieces of himself. Where's the growth?
I'll tell you where it is. It is no where because the writer's want to hit their magical reset button and have things go back to the way they were.
I enjoyed everything up until that end scene. I thought, cool, Sam has to fight this battle and I figured he was going to win, but it was a nice stretch for Sam.
But, again, it makes everything about Sam. All this special, magical demon time was spent on Sam to get him to that point. Sam, Sam, Sam.
Thanks, Show, for showing me you can't be well rounded.
Also, yeah, creeper!Sam. I mean I knew they weren't going to keep him dead, but did it have to be so obvious? Couldn't there be a Carrie moment? Did it have to fully be Sam? Or couldn't the light have just flickered off and that been it? They completely undid everything they spent the hour, the past episodes, the whole SEASON building up to.
-Chuck. I'm gonna just pretend he isn't God or whatever because the ego that would put on Kripke. Chuck is supposed to be Kripke. That last monologue about how you can't make all the fans happy... yeah, Eric, I see what you're doing. And, maybe if you had given me a more satisfying episode, I wouldn't be so... what the fuck at you.
I dislike the notion of Chuck being God for many reasons.
1. No more Chuck. I'm sorry, but Chuck, even if he was pathetic and kind of loser-y and all nervous tick man, was epic. He was the every man. He stood up against the ghost children and he was awesome.
2. No Chuck/Becky. I don't think I have to elaborate.
3. It's so utterly fucking pretentious that it makes scene kids/hipsters look... unpretentious.
4. Like people have said, the whole amulet business doesn't make sense.
5. It just pounds the Deus Ex Machina thing even more into the ground and I'm already pissed off about that enough.
-Dean. You know what, Dean was pretty fucking on tonight. No lie. Even his whole settling thing was pretty in character in that he did it because it's what Sam wanted and when has Dean not ever done something that Sam wanted. I don't have much else to say other than they've totally undone Dean's character development... but they did that back in 5x18 so I'm completely unsurprised.
So, okay, what has this episode given me? Anti-climatic drivel that undid all the awesome character development of the series. The shooting down of my ship didn't even hurt anymore because they've been doing it for awhile. I get there Dean and Cas aren't chick flick-y, but really? That was the end of their friendship?
Also, if they were going to kill characters, could it not have been for shock value? Cas and Bobby just die and then God just brings Cas back and DEUS EX MACHINA! I've joked about this, but I didn't think they were going to do it.
I liked this episode, but as a finale? As an ending to the APOCALYPSE. I think the theme of this post (and the episode) is anti-climatic. I lacked the POWER that the other finale's hand. It lacked that special something. It lacked any real closure. It was just like hey, we gotta wrap this up. Here you go. I feel disappointed and alright at the same time. Like, if season six wasn't happening, I'd just go with it because at least Dean is marginally happy and everyone go what the think they wanted.
Which is interesting to think about, you know. Everyone has what the think they want. I'm hoping season six smashes that to shit.
And, well, there's always fanfic.
(And, you know, not utterly broken. This could've been Torchwood all over again. Or SGA. Though I think it combined qualities of both. You know, relationship with no real chemistry or back up and disregard of great character development and unnecessary death... okay so maybe it was kind of both, but I don't feel as broken as before. Maybe I'm just too numb? Or maybe I'm just so fucking excited that CAS IS ALIVE AND SO IS BOBBY!)
In other news, I didn't finish in time for SPN Big Bang. Still writing all three stories and, maybe, I'll sign up for Dean/Castiel Big Bang and submit one of those stories. I've got the outline for the John Breaks the First Seal story so it's gonna be great.