Driving Into The Wall - Supernatural Review, "Taxi Driver," Season 8
Before I go all negative, it was great to see Benny again, Dean didn't get his pie and Amanda Tapping is evil incarnate. Crowley is her bitch. I'm just sayin'.
What bugged the living crap out of me was that all of the mythology, the world of the show, the pain, suffering and consequences, were all just tossed out the window (written by the show's worst writers, who lived down to my expectations). When Dean went to hell, he was there for centuries, being tortured and then torturing and flaying souls, leaving him with even more guilt than before. It takes an army of angels (led by Castiel, my darling) to get him back out. But then the poor bastard finds out he put the Apocalypse in motion. Later, his mad torturing skillz come in handy when he's up against Alastair. They don't make them like Alastair anymore.
Sam makes the ULTIMATE FUCKING SACRIFICE and jumps into Lucifer's cage, along with his half-brother Adam, who is Michael's vessel. SAM AND DEAN STOP THE APOCALYPSE! THEY SAVE THE WORLD!
Castiel raises Sam out of hell but leaves his soul behind (oops). Dean DIES in order to get Death to give Sam his soul back. ...Adam's mentioned in passing but never again. Once Sam has his soul, he has seizures and incredible PTSD, hallucinations of Lucifer, and ends up with a completely shattered brain in a mental hospital in Season 7.
Season 6 is all about human souls and searching for Purgatory and neither Cas nor Crowley can find it. Okay...
Dean spends a year trapped in Purgatory, he escapes thanks to his vampire friend Benny (I love Benny). He spent a whole year down there, but Sam was too busy having sex with a cipher to look for him. Dean had PTSD for a month or so. In this episode, Sam has to complete the second trial to close the Gates of Hell. Now, you're expecting something incredibly dramatic, something HUGE, something along the lines of "The End," when it's 2014 (snicker) and the whole world has come crashing down. Dean sees the Lucifer has claimed Sam, and everything is horrible and most of the rest of the season had me shedding bitter tears, along with Dean.
Sam and Dean trap a crossroads demon, throw some holy water on him (wuss) and he tells them of rogue reapers that can take you to Hell. Uh...what?
Where did they come up with the idea of a "rogue reaper"? Aren't all reapers under Death's rule? Aren't they invisible, unless you're dead? And this guy can take you right into Purgatory??? Dean could've gotten out all along? Sam could have gotten him? Has Carver forgot the first few episodes of the show already? Not only that, the "rogue reaper" can get you IN AND OUT OF HELL! What, has hell become the new Miami? Or is the rogue reaper God? Is he's God, why can Crowley kill him? Only Death can kill a reaper! But the show flushed that concept years ago. Remember "only an angel can kill another angel"? What's doing with all of the angel blades?
Sam's second task, which takes about 20 minutes, is to get an innocent soul out of hell. But it can't be just any soul. It's Adam's!
PSYCH!
No, it's Bobby's. Guys? Your half-brother is still down there? Family and all that? Is Jake Abel really that busy? Jesus, Bobby, I wish you'd stayed dead after "Death's Door." I cried for days after that episode, and now I feel used. First Ghost!Bobby, now InnocentSoul(MyAss)!Bobby.
Sam and the Reaper land up in Purgatory. Turns out all you have to do to get directly into hell is to move some really big rocks and get sucked in by a wind tunnel. Wow. Awesome.
Sam is once again in hell, which looks like one of those carnival haunted houses. When he arrives, does he have a massive attack of PTSD? Does Crowley find him? Does Sam freak out?
Gee, I'm sure a-scared.
Naw, he runs down a tunnel the length of an elementary school corridor, finds an unlocked cell, and bingo! Bobby. Instead of torturing him, flaying his skin from his bones or anything cool, they send in hundreds of demon Sams and Deans. As Bobby himself would say, "Well, boo-hoo, Princess!" They run back out again, quickly dispatching a fake Sam, and climb out of the hole into Purgatory. (Did anyone else notice that Sam left the rock open? Dumbass.)
Rogue reaper dead. Dean asks Benny to die again so he can go to Purgatory for Sam. Benny does (NOOOOO...the most interesting secondary character on the show...whatever you do, don't bring back Krissy!!). Benny lands in Purgatory, and yada yada the human portal yada yada cut open Sam's arm for Ooze!Bobby to be sucked in--somebody on this show has a serious armpreg fetish--and Benny sacrifices himself so that Sam and his fucked-up arm can end up topside. Amazingly enough, the Hole of Human has changed its location! So much for mythology of THE FIRST EPISODES. Sam doesn't have to do any heroic climbing of rocks, running through forests, just "oh, look blue light--AAAAAA" into the blue light and back to Maine.
"If I'd have known it was this easy..."
I'm leaving out a lot of Plot B. It's okay. Kevin runs away, Crowley is pissed, Amanda Tapping tries to convince Dean that she wasn't the one who told Castiel to kill him, etc. Crowley doesn't want Bobby's soul in heaven, but Amanda Tapping sends Bobby on his way. Please, please keep Bobby there! I love Bobby, I adore Bobby, but can't he just stay dead like almost everybody else? Where is the goddamn gravitas in this show? The sense of importance? Sorry, but not even Sam looking like he has the Worst Hangover Ever can make me feel like this trial meant anything. Well, maybe it meant as much as moving a couch and getting your hand caught under one of the legs. Hurts like a bitch.
Speaking of Kevin, whatever happened to the idea of, when a prophet was endangered, an Archangel would open a can of whoop-ass?
Never mind. Meshuganah Show.
ETA: As for the Archangels, there are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Sealtiel, Jegudiel, Barachiel, Jerahmeel. All of whom have different roles. I miss Gabriel. I don't think Uriel was portrayed as an archangel on Show, not if Castiel was his former commander.
Metatron is a scribe, generally not considered an Archangel except in Judaism. Lucifer is also not an Archangel, except for here and there. Actually, I was genuinely surprised by how few religions consider him an Archangel.
ETA ETA: If you want to see how much action, character development and mythology can be packed into one episode, watch "On The Head Of A Pin."
What bugged the living crap out of me was that all of the mythology, the world of the show, the pain, suffering and consequences, were all just tossed out the window (written by the show's worst writers, who lived down to my expectations). When Dean went to hell, he was there for centuries, being tortured and then torturing and flaying souls, leaving him with even more guilt than before. It takes an army of angels (led by Castiel, my darling) to get him back out. But then the poor bastard finds out he put the Apocalypse in motion. Later, his mad torturing skillz come in handy when he's up against Alastair. They don't make them like Alastair anymore.
Sam makes the ULTIMATE FUCKING SACRIFICE and jumps into Lucifer's cage, along with his half-brother Adam, who is Michael's vessel. SAM AND DEAN STOP THE APOCALYPSE! THEY SAVE THE WORLD!
Castiel raises Sam out of hell but leaves his soul behind (oops). Dean DIES in order to get Death to give Sam his soul back. ...Adam's mentioned in passing but never again. Once Sam has his soul, he has seizures and incredible PTSD, hallucinations of Lucifer, and ends up with a completely shattered brain in a mental hospital in Season 7.
Season 6 is all about human souls and searching for Purgatory and neither Cas nor Crowley can find it. Okay...
Dean spends a year trapped in Purgatory, he escapes thanks to his vampire friend Benny (I love Benny). He spent a whole year down there, but Sam was too busy having sex with a cipher to look for him. Dean had PTSD for a month or so. In this episode, Sam has to complete the second trial to close the Gates of Hell. Now, you're expecting something incredibly dramatic, something HUGE, something along the lines of "The End," when it's 2014 (snicker) and the whole world has come crashing down. Dean sees the Lucifer has claimed Sam, and everything is horrible and most of the rest of the season had me shedding bitter tears, along with Dean.
Sam and Dean trap a crossroads demon, throw some holy water on him (wuss) and he tells them of rogue reapers that can take you to Hell. Uh...what?
Where did they come up with the idea of a "rogue reaper"? Aren't all reapers under Death's rule? Aren't they invisible, unless you're dead? And this guy can take you right into Purgatory??? Dean could've gotten out all along? Sam could have gotten him? Has Carver forgot the first few episodes of the show already? Not only that, the "rogue reaper" can get you IN AND OUT OF HELL! What, has hell become the new Miami? Or is the rogue reaper God? Is he's God, why can Crowley kill him? Only Death can kill a reaper! But the show flushed that concept years ago. Remember "only an angel can kill another angel"? What's doing with all of the angel blades?
Sam's second task, which takes about 20 minutes, is to get an innocent soul out of hell. But it can't be just any soul. It's Adam's!
PSYCH!
No, it's Bobby's. Guys? Your half-brother is still down there? Family and all that? Is Jake Abel really that busy? Jesus, Bobby, I wish you'd stayed dead after "Death's Door." I cried for days after that episode, and now I feel used. First Ghost!Bobby, now InnocentSoul(MyAss)!Bobby.
Sam and the Reaper land up in Purgatory. Turns out all you have to do to get directly into hell is to move some really big rocks and get sucked in by a wind tunnel. Wow. Awesome.
Sam is once again in hell, which looks like one of those carnival haunted houses. When he arrives, does he have a massive attack of PTSD? Does Crowley find him? Does Sam freak out?
Gee, I'm sure a-scared.
Naw, he runs down a tunnel the length of an elementary school corridor, finds an unlocked cell, and bingo! Bobby. Instead of torturing him, flaying his skin from his bones or anything cool, they send in hundreds of demon Sams and Deans. As Bobby himself would say, "Well, boo-hoo, Princess!" They run back out again, quickly dispatching a fake Sam, and climb out of the hole into Purgatory. (Did anyone else notice that Sam left the rock open? Dumbass.)
Rogue reaper dead. Dean asks Benny to die again so he can go to Purgatory for Sam. Benny does (NOOOOO...the most interesting secondary character on the show...whatever you do, don't bring back Krissy!!). Benny lands in Purgatory, and yada yada the human portal yada yada cut open Sam's arm for Ooze!Bobby to be sucked in--somebody on this show has a serious armpreg fetish--and Benny sacrifices himself so that Sam and his fucked-up arm can end up topside. Amazingly enough, the Hole of Human has changed its location! So much for mythology of THE FIRST EPISODES. Sam doesn't have to do any heroic climbing of rocks, running through forests, just "oh, look blue light--AAAAAA" into the blue light and back to Maine.
"If I'd have known it was this easy..."
I'm leaving out a lot of Plot B. It's okay. Kevin runs away, Crowley is pissed, Amanda Tapping tries to convince Dean that she wasn't the one who told Castiel to kill him, etc. Crowley doesn't want Bobby's soul in heaven, but Amanda Tapping sends Bobby on his way. Please, please keep Bobby there! I love Bobby, I adore Bobby, but can't he just stay dead like almost everybody else? Where is the goddamn gravitas in this show? The sense of importance? Sorry, but not even Sam looking like he has the Worst Hangover Ever can make me feel like this trial meant anything. Well, maybe it meant as much as moving a couch and getting your hand caught under one of the legs. Hurts like a bitch.
Speaking of Kevin, whatever happened to the idea of, when a prophet was endangered, an Archangel would open a can of whoop-ass?
Never mind. Meshuganah Show.
ETA: As for the Archangels, there are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Sealtiel, Jegudiel, Barachiel, Jerahmeel. All of whom have different roles. I miss Gabriel. I don't think Uriel was portrayed as an archangel on Show, not if Castiel was his former commander.
Metatron is a scribe, generally not considered an Archangel except in Judaism. Lucifer is also not an Archangel, except for here and there. Actually, I was genuinely surprised by how few religions consider him an Archangel.
ETA ETA: If you want to see how much action, character development and mythology can be packed into one episode, watch "On The Head Of A Pin."