Reactions to Supernatural 1x22: Devil's Trap
Incredibly raw reactions here -- I just finished watching Devil's Trap for the first time. As per my drill when I manage to write up reactions to an episode when it's still fresh, I haven't read any other reactions yet.
Let's get this out of the way first, shall we?
OMGWTFTRUCK!
There, I feel better now.
My throw pillow will never recover, it's all squished from me clutching it to my chest for forty-three minutes.
I'm sure I'll be able to analyze character much more effectively later, like in July, after I've processed this episode. But let me give it a go anyway.
I got a brother/sister vibe from Meg and the new hot bad guy in the warehouse in Salvation, and have been pondering the parallel between the Winchester as father and the demon as father. The show played this out well. Meg turning out to be a possessed girl also didn't surprise me -- didn't a lot of fans think Meg was redeemable? However, what did surprise me was that they killed the possessed girl.
The episode gets back to Dean's reaction here later, when after killing the demon child's sibling, he tells Sam "The things I'm willing to do or kill, it scares me sometimes." Dean's oft-quoted opening credits line about helping people comes back at him with a vengeance. To save his family, he has to kill two innocents. To Dean, protecting Sam and his father are the most important things, but the mission matters to Dean too. He enjoys his hero-role; I think he constructs it to some extent and enjoys kicking down doors and knowing he's saving people. It's not that he suffers from low self-esteem. He's very confident. But he thinks hunting the supernatural is the only practical skill he has, and it gave him a purpose. His job is to be a hero. Now that value gets tested severely.
(And this is all sounding remarkably analytical considering that while I'm typing this my brain is still going OMGWTFTRUCK! Just mentally insert that every few sentences.)
Sam has his character arc pushed to the wall here as well, as he rotates 180 degrees to sound like Dean, when in the car at the end he says "No, sir, not before everything." If Dean saving Sam's life earlier put Dean face to face with his self doubts, Sam now has an impossible choice: kill his father to save his brother, ironically when his character shifts from vengeance as most important to agreeing with Dean. Both brothers wrestle with their own values, with the goal being to keep the Winchester family alive.
I love the way they used politeness words in the cabin scenes. This show runs mostly on the skill of the actors, with the scripts giving them basic material that's serviceable but not brilliant. This episode was scripted by Eric Kripke, so there's more going on in the meaning of words department. Kripke is very interested in the power of incantations, names, legends.
There's Sam's thank you to Dean for saving his life. If ever there was a classic Dean we're-not-going-to-hug-now-are-we, no-chick-flick-moment, that was it. But Dean comes back with only "You're welcome." It was simple and moving.
How scary was possessed!John? For one thing, the Demon (before he's revealed as the Demon) played Dean oh so easily. I think Dean bought it because he wanted to. He so desperately needs to hear his father say I'm proud of you. When John says "You...you watch out for this family. You always have," Dean says "Thanks."
When John is trying to convince Dean to give him the Colt, he says "Son, please." It was the "please" that tipped me off (okay, sometimes I'm not so quick on the uptake about these things) that John was possessed. In part because there was Dean's "You're welcome" to Sam earlier. This is not a family that is big on politeness. They're taciturn, they live in a very harsh world. John gave the boys orders when they were kids. He never said "Dean would you please hand me that shotgun," he said, "Dean, shotgun, now." Dean's "You're welcome" to Sam was perfectly natural, though. Because this is Dean. Sam's thank you also didn't startle me at all because before Jess' death, you see what a nice, sweet boy he is.
So that's one "You're welcome," two "Thank yous" and a "please," all within one scene. Anything uttered by Sam or Dean is genuine; the "please" uttered by John is false. It's the tip off to Dean as well as to us, and I adored how he said "He'd be furious I wasted a bullet." Yes. Exactly. At first I honestly did believe John was also going through a turnaround, like Sam, when he gave his nice speech to his son, but this is so much better than that. The sentiment doesn't come easy in this show, and moments of expressions of love almost literally have to be earned in blood.
[ETA: although my alarms did jangle, a little, when John said "I'm proud of you." More because of what I understand of heroes as character types than what I know about John Winchester. But even for John Winchester, I felt like that wasn't the appropriate thing to say when his son has just killed an innocent, even if it's to save his baby boy. "I know it's difficult but you did the right thing" perhaps. But not "I'm proud of you."]
As in "Skin," "Devil's Trap" uses the possessed or dopelganger of a family member as a device as the bad guy says things that are distorted but dark truths nevertheless. "You fight and fight for this family and the truth is they don't need you. Not like you need them. Sam is clearly John's favorite." Ouch.
Oh, look, the anvils have arrived. The Big Bad gloats and start telling Our Heroes his devilish plans. However, all three actors are just so good and it was so frightening, I forgive. Also, although this is a tired old way to excuse lazy cliches, I so much enjoyed Dean's "Let's get this over with. I really can't stand monologuing."
I was so convinced John was going to die. Convinced! Then I was all bouncy because no! He's alive! And the Winchester trio are driving off together into the night when the Eighteen Wheeler Plot Device From Hell crushes the Impala with the Winchesters inside.
The only thing separating me from rage right now is the shot of the driver, who is possessed. See, genre can get away with a lot more than straight-up drama. It's stuff like this that scares me away from dramas. It was cheap, but when it comes to this show, I'm easy.
Yes, still, I forgive, because this was just so powerful, and so much fun to watch, and scary and twisty, and so filled with wonderful character moments and development and thoughtful writing and acting and Kripke has made me care about his creations THIS MUCH.
I'm not worried. (Stop looking at me like that, I'm not.) I quote Sam to you:
"I'll survive."
And...season!
Let's get this out of the way first, shall we?
OMGWTFTRUCK!
There, I feel better now.
My throw pillow will never recover, it's all squished from me clutching it to my chest for forty-three minutes.
I'm sure I'll be able to analyze character much more effectively later, like in July, after I've processed this episode. But let me give it a go anyway.
I got a brother/sister vibe from Meg and the new hot bad guy in the warehouse in Salvation, and have been pondering the parallel between the Winchester as father and the demon as father. The show played this out well. Meg turning out to be a possessed girl also didn't surprise me -- didn't a lot of fans think Meg was redeemable? However, what did surprise me was that they killed the possessed girl.
The episode gets back to Dean's reaction here later, when after killing the demon child's sibling, he tells Sam "The things I'm willing to do or kill, it scares me sometimes." Dean's oft-quoted opening credits line about helping people comes back at him with a vengeance. To save his family, he has to kill two innocents. To Dean, protecting Sam and his father are the most important things, but the mission matters to Dean too. He enjoys his hero-role; I think he constructs it to some extent and enjoys kicking down doors and knowing he's saving people. It's not that he suffers from low self-esteem. He's very confident. But he thinks hunting the supernatural is the only practical skill he has, and it gave him a purpose. His job is to be a hero. Now that value gets tested severely.
(And this is all sounding remarkably analytical considering that while I'm typing this my brain is still going OMGWTFTRUCK! Just mentally insert that every few sentences.)
Sam has his character arc pushed to the wall here as well, as he rotates 180 degrees to sound like Dean, when in the car at the end he says "No, sir, not before everything." If Dean saving Sam's life earlier put Dean face to face with his self doubts, Sam now has an impossible choice: kill his father to save his brother, ironically when his character shifts from vengeance as most important to agreeing with Dean. Both brothers wrestle with their own values, with the goal being to keep the Winchester family alive.
I love the way they used politeness words in the cabin scenes. This show runs mostly on the skill of the actors, with the scripts giving them basic material that's serviceable but not brilliant. This episode was scripted by Eric Kripke, so there's more going on in the meaning of words department. Kripke is very interested in the power of incantations, names, legends.
There's Sam's thank you to Dean for saving his life. If ever there was a classic Dean we're-not-going-to-hug-now-are-we, no-chick-flick-moment, that was it. But Dean comes back with only "You're welcome." It was simple and moving.
How scary was possessed!John? For one thing, the Demon (before he's revealed as the Demon) played Dean oh so easily. I think Dean bought it because he wanted to. He so desperately needs to hear his father say I'm proud of you. When John says "You...you watch out for this family. You always have," Dean says "Thanks."
When John is trying to convince Dean to give him the Colt, he says "Son, please." It was the "please" that tipped me off (okay, sometimes I'm not so quick on the uptake about these things) that John was possessed. In part because there was Dean's "You're welcome" to Sam earlier. This is not a family that is big on politeness. They're taciturn, they live in a very harsh world. John gave the boys orders when they were kids. He never said "Dean would you please hand me that shotgun," he said, "Dean, shotgun, now." Dean's "You're welcome" to Sam was perfectly natural, though. Because this is Dean. Sam's thank you also didn't startle me at all because before Jess' death, you see what a nice, sweet boy he is.
So that's one "You're welcome," two "Thank yous" and a "please," all within one scene. Anything uttered by Sam or Dean is genuine; the "please" uttered by John is false. It's the tip off to Dean as well as to us, and I adored how he said "He'd be furious I wasted a bullet." Yes. Exactly. At first I honestly did believe John was also going through a turnaround, like Sam, when he gave his nice speech to his son, but this is so much better than that. The sentiment doesn't come easy in this show, and moments of expressions of love almost literally have to be earned in blood.
[ETA: although my alarms did jangle, a little, when John said "I'm proud of you." More because of what I understand of heroes as character types than what I know about John Winchester. But even for John Winchester, I felt like that wasn't the appropriate thing to say when his son has just killed an innocent, even if it's to save his baby boy. "I know it's difficult but you did the right thing" perhaps. But not "I'm proud of you."]
As in "Skin," "Devil's Trap" uses the possessed or dopelganger of a family member as a device as the bad guy says things that are distorted but dark truths nevertheless. "You fight and fight for this family and the truth is they don't need you. Not like you need them. Sam is clearly John's favorite." Ouch.
Oh, look, the anvils have arrived. The Big Bad gloats and start telling Our Heroes his devilish plans. However, all three actors are just so good and it was so frightening, I forgive. Also, although this is a tired old way to excuse lazy cliches, I so much enjoyed Dean's "Let's get this over with. I really can't stand monologuing."
I was so convinced John was going to die. Convinced! Then I was all bouncy because no! He's alive! And the Winchester trio are driving off together into the night when the Eighteen Wheeler Plot Device From Hell crushes the Impala with the Winchesters inside.
The only thing separating me from rage right now is the shot of the driver, who is possessed. See, genre can get away with a lot more than straight-up drama. It's stuff like this that scares me away from dramas. It was cheap, but when it comes to this show, I'm easy.
Yes, still, I forgive, because this was just so powerful, and so much fun to watch, and scary and twisty, and so filled with wonderful character moments and development and thoughtful writing and acting and Kripke has made me care about his creations THIS MUCH.
I'm not worried. (Stop looking at me like that, I'm not.) I quote Sam to you:
"I'll survive."
And...season!