Supernatural 5.17 "99 Problems"
Remember that one show about two brothers named Sam and Dean Winchester? Y'know, the one where they drove around the country, hunting down ghosts and monsters and all kinds of stuff? I miss that show. Instead of that show, I keep having to watch a documentary about Dean Winchester's epic man-pain, his side-kick angel, and some other tall dude.
Okay. That was rather harsh. MOVING ON!
I'm just gonna list all the stuff in this episode that I really liked. There was plenty of it, that's for sure!
To start, I'm gonna bow down before Misha Collins because his performance in this episode was just plain win. Some of his lines were the greatest things I've ever heard in my life. Seriously, his voicemail message thing just about killed me. "I don't understand. Why-why do you want me to say my name? *presses random buttons*" I don't even know what Sam left him on the voicemail - I was too busy trying to contain my laughter. The drunken!Castiel sequence of events is both really funny (based on moments like: "I found a liquor store." "And?" "And I drank it." and "It actually means 'you breed with the mouth of a goat!' It's funnier in Enochian.") and it was also really sad, if you think about what drove him to drink a liquor store. But it was nice comic relief/angst for the episode. Much appreciated, Misha. You are still my favorite Overlord.
More stuff I liked! SAMMY! Does that really need saying? Probably not. Doesn't hurt to proclaim my eternal, undying love for him, though. He had many moments that made me oh-so happy in this episode. I would just like to point out that the way he kinda stumbled into the room after he was drinking was kind of the highlight of my night. What a kook! And the fact that he was the one to call Cas made me smile - it's nice to see them converse without Dean there. That doesn't happen often. Sam had a lot of awesome facial expressions in this episode, mostly sympathetic puppy-dog looks that he gave to Dean. I love those looks. Jared Padalecki is the King of the Puppy Dog Eyes. True story.
This next section of stuff I adored:
"You can't do this to me. I've got one thing, one thing keeping me going. You think you're the only one white-knuckling it here, Dean? I can't count on anyone else. And I can't do this alone."
That, right there, was SO RIDICULOUSLY NECESSARY. So many people act like Sam is such a sharing and caring kind of guy, and I guess he was more emotional in the first seasons, but he really has changed that. A lot. In fact, the only times I can remember him doing this kind of speech of how he really feels is to Dean in Fresh Blood, All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2, Everybody Loves A Clown, and at the end of Sam, Interrupted. Oh, and his drunken scene in Playthings. There's a bunch of conversations at the end of episodes when they're in the Impala when they discuss stuff, but those are short and usually get cut off before it gets too deep. Other than that, he usually changes the subject to something else, stops himself before he says too much, or keeps it all inside. The sharing and caring thing usually comes in when he's trying to get Dean to talk about what's ailing him. In the instances where he gives those little speeches, it's usually following some hugely traumatic experience. So the fact that he let told Dean what he needed in this episode is very poignant. Sam is absolutely terrified that Dean will say 'yes' because Dean is his last life-line. He's depending on him, and I'm scared to see what'll happen if Dean gives up completely.
On a lighter note, the windswept hair of Sammy Winchester makes me smile like a fool.
I very much enjoyed the Whore of Babylon aspect of this episode. That was just entirely too cool. The way she wormed her way into the minds of those poor townsfolk was fascinating. At first, the audience thinks, "Why would they ever do something like that? It's psychotic!" But if you really think about it, they thought their salvation was at stake. If something you did made the decision of whether you're going to Heaven or Hell, I think a lot of people would take drastic measures to ensure their salvation, as horrible as it is. And the Whore didn't go right out and start off like that, either. It was a slow process of earning their trust and affection. If she'd just gone marching in there and immediately started saying they had to "kill sinners," nobody would have done it. But according to them, she'd never been wrong about demons or anything else yet, so why not believe her when she says they have to purify their group in order to reach Paradise? Fascinating. Very fascinating. And I was really struck by her saying they had to following the "Angel's Commandments" as opposed to "God's Commandments."
The people I watched the episode with laughed at this line, and I didn't understand why. When Castiel was talking about how a servant of God had to strike down the Whore (that was a fun to type), he said to Dean, "Not you. Or me. Sam, of course, is an abomination." I mean, I guess I can understand how that's funny, but c'mon. He called Sam an abomination! I'm not mad at Cas for saying it, one - because he was drunk, and two - because he was talking from the perspective of Heaven, so obviously they think Sam's disgusting. It's still sad, though. I dunno, just hearing "Sam's an abomination" makes me slightly upset.
OMGSH. So there were two tiny moments that I absolutely loved in/after the big fight scene with the demons. The first being the part where Sam threw the knife into that demon's back, and Dean yanked it out of his back and thrust it into some other demon's chest. That was so incredibly badass. And can I please just say that I love how Sam always seems to be more comfortable with a blade rather than a gun? It's strangely awesome. I love that continuity. And the second bit that I loved was the little cheers that Sam and Dean did. That was cute. Those kind of traditions are fun - they seem to do 'cheers' a lot, and it never fails to make me smile.
I think that basically covers everything that I loved.
Interesting factoid I noticed - this was set in Blue Earth, Minnesota. Pastor Jim was from there, and was killed in his church. I guessing the writers just forgot about that, unless they're gonna talk more about the Whore thing in later episodes (which I doubt).
Now, about all this Dean stuff... I get it. Damn it all to hell, but I get it. I've ranted about his emo before, and I don't entirely take it back, but I get it. Whatever. That's fine. Doesn't keep me from having a deep urge to KICK THAT SON OF A BITCH IN THE FACE, but I understand where he's coming from. I just wish that Sam begging him to see reason was enough, but what can ya do. I suppose it's Dean's turn to fall off the deep end. Lord knows Sam had enough of a slide last season.
Everybody seems to have fallen completely in love with the Dean/Lisa scene. I'm torn between thinking it was really sweet/heartbreaking and baffling over the total randomness of the whole thing. The fact that he's gonna make preparations for them to be taken care of is nice and all (though the reasons for it make me want to KICK THAT SON OF A BITCH IN THE FACE), but the moment came completely out of nowhere. I mean, we've known for a while that Dean wants to have a normal life. We've seen bits of that in What Is And What Should Never Be and Dream A Little Dream of Me. He talked about it in a couple episodes, including Swap Meat. But this just seemed random. I suppose if he's thinking he's about to let Michael in, he'd want to tie up all his loose ends and whatnot, but... I dunno. I think my opinion of this scene is tainted by my desire to KICK THAT SON OF A BITCH IN THE FACE.
Good episode, though. Certainly had that "OMFG, what's gonna happen next?!" element that I love so much!
This talk of Dean saying 'yes' to Michael has me wondering what was so different between this series of events and the stuff that transpired in The End. Does having Sam there make Dean more susceptible to saying 'yes' somehow? I'm guessing that Future!Dean wasn't killed and didn't go to Heaven, so he probably didn't hear from Joshua that God didn't care, so he didn't abandon all hope...? (Didja see what I did there? I is clever!) [Edit: Okay, upon further review, I've decided that seeing the future and feeling unable to change it, unless he says 'yes,' would kind of have an impact. Bit of a duh on my part, but hey. I'm human.]
P.S. I watched the three spoiler clips for next week's episode, and Sweet Lord in Heaven, what I wouldn't give to KICK THAT SON OF A BITCH IN THE FACE. How many times do you think I should say that in order to get my feelings across?
Okay. That was rather harsh. MOVING ON!
I'm just gonna list all the stuff in this episode that I really liked. There was plenty of it, that's for sure!
To start, I'm gonna bow down before Misha Collins because his performance in this episode was just plain win. Some of his lines were the greatest things I've ever heard in my life. Seriously, his voicemail message thing just about killed me. "I don't understand. Why-why do you want me to say my name? *presses random buttons*" I don't even know what Sam left him on the voicemail - I was too busy trying to contain my laughter. The drunken!Castiel sequence of events is both really funny (based on moments like: "I found a liquor store." "And?" "And I drank it." and "It actually means 'you breed with the mouth of a goat!' It's funnier in Enochian.") and it was also really sad, if you think about what drove him to drink a liquor store. But it was nice comic relief/angst for the episode. Much appreciated, Misha. You are still my favorite Overlord.
More stuff I liked! SAMMY! Does that really need saying? Probably not. Doesn't hurt to proclaim my eternal, undying love for him, though. He had many moments that made me oh-so happy in this episode. I would just like to point out that the way he kinda stumbled into the room after he was drinking was kind of the highlight of my night. What a kook! And the fact that he was the one to call Cas made me smile - it's nice to see them converse without Dean there. That doesn't happen often. Sam had a lot of awesome facial expressions in this episode, mostly sympathetic puppy-dog looks that he gave to Dean. I love those looks. Jared Padalecki is the King of the Puppy Dog Eyes. True story.
This next section of stuff I adored:
"You can't do this to me. I've got one thing, one thing keeping me going. You think you're the only one white-knuckling it here, Dean? I can't count on anyone else. And I can't do this alone."
That, right there, was SO RIDICULOUSLY NECESSARY. So many people act like Sam is such a sharing and caring kind of guy, and I guess he was more emotional in the first seasons, but he really has changed that. A lot. In fact, the only times I can remember him doing this kind of speech of how he really feels is to Dean in Fresh Blood, All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2, Everybody Loves A Clown, and at the end of Sam, Interrupted. Oh, and his drunken scene in Playthings. There's a bunch of conversations at the end of episodes when they're in the Impala when they discuss stuff, but those are short and usually get cut off before it gets too deep. Other than that, he usually changes the subject to something else, stops himself before he says too much, or keeps it all inside. The sharing and caring thing usually comes in when he's trying to get Dean to talk about what's ailing him. In the instances where he gives those little speeches, it's usually following some hugely traumatic experience. So the fact that he let told Dean what he needed in this episode is very poignant. Sam is absolutely terrified that Dean will say 'yes' because Dean is his last life-line. He's depending on him, and I'm scared to see what'll happen if Dean gives up completely.
On a lighter note, the windswept hair of Sammy Winchester makes me smile like a fool.
I very much enjoyed the Whore of Babylon aspect of this episode. That was just entirely too cool. The way she wormed her way into the minds of those poor townsfolk was fascinating. At first, the audience thinks, "Why would they ever do something like that? It's psychotic!" But if you really think about it, they thought their salvation was at stake. If something you did made the decision of whether you're going to Heaven or Hell, I think a lot of people would take drastic measures to ensure their salvation, as horrible as it is. And the Whore didn't go right out and start off like that, either. It was a slow process of earning their trust and affection. If she'd just gone marching in there and immediately started saying they had to "kill sinners," nobody would have done it. But according to them, she'd never been wrong about demons or anything else yet, so why not believe her when she says they have to purify their group in order to reach Paradise? Fascinating. Very fascinating. And I was really struck by her saying they had to following the "Angel's Commandments" as opposed to "God's Commandments."
The people I watched the episode with laughed at this line, and I didn't understand why. When Castiel was talking about how a servant of God had to strike down the Whore (that was a fun to type), he said to Dean, "Not you. Or me. Sam, of course, is an abomination." I mean, I guess I can understand how that's funny, but c'mon. He called Sam an abomination! I'm not mad at Cas for saying it, one - because he was drunk, and two - because he was talking from the perspective of Heaven, so obviously they think Sam's disgusting. It's still sad, though. I dunno, just hearing "Sam's an abomination" makes me slightly upset.
OMGSH. So there were two tiny moments that I absolutely loved in/after the big fight scene with the demons. The first being the part where Sam threw the knife into that demon's back, and Dean yanked it out of his back and thrust it into some other demon's chest. That was so incredibly badass. And can I please just say that I love how Sam always seems to be more comfortable with a blade rather than a gun? It's strangely awesome. I love that continuity. And the second bit that I loved was the little cheers that Sam and Dean did. That was cute. Those kind of traditions are fun - they seem to do 'cheers' a lot, and it never fails to make me smile.
I think that basically covers everything that I loved.
Interesting factoid I noticed - this was set in Blue Earth, Minnesota. Pastor Jim was from there, and was killed in his church. I guessing the writers just forgot about that, unless they're gonna talk more about the Whore thing in later episodes (which I doubt).
Now, about all this Dean stuff... I get it. Damn it all to hell, but I get it. I've ranted about his emo before, and I don't entirely take it back, but I get it. Whatever. That's fine. Doesn't keep me from having a deep urge to KICK THAT SON OF A BITCH IN THE FACE, but I understand where he's coming from. I just wish that Sam begging him to see reason was enough, but what can ya do. I suppose it's Dean's turn to fall off the deep end. Lord knows Sam had enough of a slide last season.
Everybody seems to have fallen completely in love with the Dean/Lisa scene. I'm torn between thinking it was really sweet/heartbreaking and baffling over the total randomness of the whole thing. The fact that he's gonna make preparations for them to be taken care of is nice and all (though the reasons for it make me want to KICK THAT SON OF A BITCH IN THE FACE), but the moment came completely out of nowhere. I mean, we've known for a while that Dean wants to have a normal life. We've seen bits of that in What Is And What Should Never Be and Dream A Little Dream of Me. He talked about it in a couple episodes, including Swap Meat. But this just seemed random. I suppose if he's thinking he's about to let Michael in, he'd want to tie up all his loose ends and whatnot, but... I dunno. I think my opinion of this scene is tainted by my desire to KICK THAT SON OF A BITCH IN THE FACE.
Good episode, though. Certainly had that "OMFG, what's gonna happen next?!" element that I love so much!
This talk of Dean saying 'yes' to Michael has me wondering what was so different between this series of events and the stuff that transpired in The End. Does having Sam there make Dean more susceptible to saying 'yes' somehow? I'm guessing that Future!Dean wasn't killed and didn't go to Heaven, so he probably didn't hear from Joshua that God didn't care, so he didn't abandon all hope...? (Didja see what I did there? I is clever!) [Edit: Okay, upon further review, I've decided that seeing the future and feeling unable to change it, unless he says 'yes,' would kind of have an impact. Bit of a duh on my part, but hey. I'm human.]
P.S. I watched the three spoiler clips for next week's episode, and Sweet Lord in Heaven, what I wouldn't give to KICK THAT SON OF A BITCH IN THE FACE. How many times do you think I should say that in order to get my feelings across?