the longest post i've made in years
So next Friday (my time, not US time) the season 5 finale of Supernatural airs. An episode supposedly five seasons in the making.
Supernatural is one of only two fandoms I've been in from the beginning and stuck with. I left House after the Ducklings 1.0 waddled away and some new batch came in. Casual work made me miss a couple episodes of Lost and I could never be bothered catching up. Heroes got lame. I've never been real involved with the Dexter fandom even though I've read most of the books and really enjoy the TV series. Same with True Blood. I don't think video games really count since you play the game and then it's over. No, the only other fandom I've stuck by faithfully is Harry Potter and one could argue that my continued love for the series is because it's tied so strongly to my childhood. And because it's awesome. ily, HP.
But yeah. I've watched Supernatural since the beginning. Okay, I may have only started watching it religiously because teh Ackles and Padalecki are too pretty to stay away from but then I got sucked in by the whole dysfunctional family relationship and it was like a cute little horror movie every week. And even though the storyline has become weaker and stranger (and, at times just plain ridiculous) as the seasons progressed, I've willingly suspended my disbelief because I love this show. I love its pop culture references, I love its allusions to the crazy elements of the fandom, I love its willingness to mock itself, I love the music and I love the fact it's a show about two brothers on a continuous hunting roadtrip. It's fun. It's hardly the most intelligent show on television (don't get me wrong, though, it can definitely be quite smart) but it's mostly awesome fun. I think that's why I've stuck with it. Even when things get stressful and boring, Supernatural will be there to bring the pretty and the fun.
And now we're basically at the end. Yes, I know there's another season coming. But this is the end that was supposedly envisioned for the show at its inception. The end of the big mytharc. It's kinda sad. But since we are here, I figured I would give a review of the last episode and my two cents on the finale. In picture form. Because, let's face it, it's Supernatural. The pretty plays a massive part.
Spoilers underneath for the last episode (Two Minutes to Midnight) and also small spoilers for the finale. Caps come from potthead at rawr_caps except the one of Crowley's picture. I made that one.
Alright, if this is going to be a review, I should kick off with a positive:
Oh, Crowley. ♥
Unlike a lot of Supernatural fans, I never knew of Mark Sheppard before his appearance on the show. I now declare myself a fangirl. His comic timing is superb and he makes very, very unfunny lines hilarious. His Crowley brings the snark in bucket loads and isn't adverse to slashin' it up. And capturing it on his iPhone.
Does anyone else have a feeling that this would be on Crowley's Facebook?
He'll probably die next episode now. And speaking of awesome characters who have a chance at dying...
I would like to see Cas out of his trenchcoat more often. And maybe in... let's say, nothing?
BTW, Misha Collins would like you to know that this guy looks "smart. And really muscular."
So Castiel is human now. I'm not exactly surprised. The only real storyline Cas has had this season (apart from the never shown search for his Daddy) is his growing humanity. And it was an unspoken storyline until this episode and even then, he was given two scenes to express it. One to say 'Oh hey, I'm human now' and another to say 'I'm a little upset about that' (more on that scene later). But yet, we know how its effecting him. How? Because Misha Collins is awesome. In almost every scene Castiel was in, he looked miserable.
See the body language? Slumped against the van, hands in pockets, standing back from the action. Very different from the strong, determined angel he normally is. This is really affecting him. Misha's working the background in the little space he has. Props to you, Mr Collins.
Nawww.
But it's not all big blue eyes and misery. There's also a lot of annoyance coming from Cas here. He says it in his scene with Bobby. It's the eleventh hour and he's "useless". He's a BAMF. A fucking warrior. He does shit. He fights angels and fucks demons up. And now he has to get money from Bobby to get on a fucking plane to get anywhere. It pisses him off. And even though he's now human, he still doesn't understand the stupid shit we say. Hence his annoyed sounding "I don't understand your definition of good news".
This is why I've loved Cas since the beginning. He's this celestial warrior but there's a lot of human-like traits in him. Now he's even more human and that can be explored. I don't believe for a second that he'll change drastically other than learning some new stuff. He's always had some human traits (his little smile at Dean's joke in 4.07 and his sad "You don't believe you deserve to be saved" in 4.01, for example) and he's always been a badass. Now he's just gotta go through some new experiences and he's missing some powers. The determination and badassery we know and love in our favourite angel hasn't just disappeared. Case in point:
Watch out. Oh, ouchy.
Bitch has gone though some rough shit and ends up bruised and bloody in a hospital where he discovers his entire existence has changed. But yet, he still gets on a bus and fucks up one of the Four Horsemen. I love Castiel. I'm hoping that this development means that Cas won't bite it in the next episode and can stick around for season 6.
I knew I'd get off on a tangent about Castiel. Back on track. Next awesome thing.
This scene. It was creepy, tense and the clear contrast between Dean's discomfort and Death's confident demeanor was brilliant. Superbly acted and the tension was kept constant. While I might not like what came out of this scene (the stupid plan of stupidness), the scene itself was brilliant.
The other day, while not doing uni essays (quite like I'm doing now), I rewatched a couple of season 1 Supernatural eps. The development in Jensen Ackles' acting is amazing. While he wasn't terrible in S1, he was often a bit over-the-top and he didn't have the subtlety he does now. S1 Jensen wouldn't be able to pull off this fear and discomfort he does here. Dean's clearly out of his depth and it's a lot like the scene in Hammer of the Gods (one of the two I could tolerate. Oh Gabriel, you didn't deserve to die in that wreck) where Dean makes a speech to the Gods, turns his back and all bravado disappears. It's nice. He's such the underdog here. He's playing a game with all these powerful beings and they all expect him to trump the others?
Then you've got Death. One cool motherfucker. While I was a little disappointed that every Horseman was an older white guy, Julian Richings was perfect. His confidence in the face of Dean's clear fear created that wonderful, thick tension. You don't know if he's lying or not. But you'd never accuse him of it. Such a brilliant antagonist. He really deserved an episode to himself. At least more of a purpose than 'Here's the ring. Here's how you use it. Goodbye.'
I've never seen deep dish pizza before. Does anyone know where I could get some in Australia?
Anyone who makes Dean this uncomfortable about eating deserves their own episode. Oh well. Goodbye, Death!
Now we get to the wtf portion of the episode. The game plan.
He's doing magic tricks with the rings. Cool.
This plan is stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. Can you hear me, Sam/Dean/Bobby/Cas? STUPID.
I don't care if Sammy is a Super Good Person. We know this. We didn't need Bobby to tell us (and if Bobby's only just noticed then I think he should have worried a little more than his eyesight or memory than his legs). The reason he originally went along with Ruby's Edward Cullen plan was to save people possessed by demons. He's Good. We know. We get it.
His sideburns will save us from Satan.
My point is, why does this matter? When did Super Goodness suddenly become the necessary power to triumph over Lucifer? In Supernatural world, Super Goodness typically doesn't mean shit. Good People die everyday at the hands of monsters. I've always enjoyed that. You might be a sweet, wholesome kid but that doesn't mean you're safe from the ghost in the attic. And Lucifer is not just any monster. He's Lucifer. An archangel. Not a demon. So Bobby wrestling control from that demon in 4.01 doesn't mean anything. And since Lucifer has had millions (? thousands?) of years to ponder his great escape, don't you think he would have thought about this? And the angels are just gonna let you lock him back up when they've been waiting to finally get rid of him? Raphael said it in 5.03 in that scene where Misha was all wet: They've been waiting for this. They want it to end.
But I'll be honest. I'm pretty much only listing why I don't think this plan will actually happen in the show, unless Kripke seriously underestimates his audience's intelligence. Something will happen. The angels will most likely interfere. God will probably pop up from wherever he's hiding. I'm just a little annoyed that the entire episode before the finale was centred around this stupid plan. And Chicago didn't even get destroyed. No offence, Chicago. But I loves me some fake destruction.
So I'm almost certain that this episode's plan was a waste of time (or, to be positive, a red herring?) for Dean, Sam and the viewers. Why am I so sure? Well...
This scene. Crowley takes Dean to a building while talking about pizza. Reapers are all around it. Crowley jumps inside, jumps back out almost instantly and says 'Nup. I was wrong. Let's go'. Then he just randomly finds Death at a pizzeria. What?
Time is a precious thing in television land. It's why we don't see Sammy keeping his sideburns in check. So why did they seemingly waste a few minutes on this?
What are you up to, my little demonic friend?
I've read a theory that Crowley is actually God. Ha, I love it. While I doubt that God would be cool with using a human head as a pinata as Crowley did to the posessed Brady last episode, I kinda like the idea of Crowley having something to do with the big man. Maybe they're chummy. Maybe the theory's right and Crowley is God. But I prefer Crowley as what he is now. A demon looking out for himself.
Now, to finish the review off, I need to say something. Something that I don't particularly want to say because I love this character very much but...
Shut up, Bobby.
I love you. I really do. But please. You've done nothing but bitch this entire season. I've sympathised with you since I think I would probably the react the same way. But now, you're the world's biggest hypocrite.
Castiel has lost everything. His family, his home and now the chance to reclaim it all. Give him ten fucking seconds to cry about it. He gave you the entire season. And knowing Cas, he'd just take his ten seconds, deal with it and move on.
But yet, the walking scene was heartwarming. The looks on Bobby's, Dean's and Sam's faces were adorable. It's always nice to have something sweet and light during the apocalypse (even a budgeted one). So let's finish on a pretty note.
Yay.