(no subject)
First:
Sending out Happy Birthday wishes to bachlava, leyosura and veritas_conner! *confetti toss* :D
And then:
SPN: "The Man Who Would Be King"
Now THERE's the dramatic!Ben Edlund I know and love. ♥
I can't say I noticed much of his directing... which is likely a good thing. As with Jensen's directorial debut, it looked like a normal SPN episode, which probably means they did it right. :) The New Hell scene stood out for me, but that might have been more of a DP/lighting thing than a director influence. Or maybe not; it's difficult to tell. Whoever gets the credit, I loved the look of that scene: from the dream-like, dull glow to the twisted DMV-esque, modernized sense of punishment. The hangdog sinners standing drearily in line looked like something out of an absurdist play. :) Also, the "Blue Danube Waltz" playing while they waited in their queue! Cheeky.
GAH. From the cold open, Castiel was breaking my heart. And narratives like that make me so nervous. I remember being on edge during last year's season finale because of Chuck's narration. Back then, I worried that all his waxing over the Impala was a type of eulogy. Similarly, this time, I was worried that Cas was delivering one final tragic soliloquy before his end. Well, I was wrong last year, so hopefully that bad feeling this time is also unwarranted. We have two more episodes to go, however, so.... *still worries*
And now they've officially broken the fourth wall, once and or all. Funny how Edlund is so often behind these fourth wall demolitions. *g* Cas addressing the audience directly was slightly unnerving. Even the Lord God Chuck didn't do that. Is that an indication (foreshadowing within the episode's confines) of Castiel's hubris?
"Satan Jr." struck me as an odd nickname for Crowley. Seems more fitting for Jesse, the Antichrist (about whom the writers appear to have developed amnesia).
"Me and Mrs. Jones" playing over the Castiel/Crowley autopsy room-cum-abattoir scene made me giggle.
So Cas raised Sam after all? And DID he bring Sam back soulless on purpose? It scares me to think he would have gone that far. I want to believe it was a mistake, but.... Oh, CAS. Oh, SAM when that realization hit. The look on his pretty puppy face! :'(
Those overhead shots of the Devil's Trap on Bobby's ceiling never get old. I love 'em!
A Perfect Strangers reference, Dean? Really?
Dean's loyalty and the look on Castiel's faith as he watched on, listening to Dean declare his faith in him reminded me of why I was interested in Dean/Castiel as a pairing back in S4. I'm guessing this episode will cause an explosion of fic in that section of fandom. Hee.
Is this the first time we've been made aware that Cas even has invisibility powers?
A demon equivalent to Bobby? o_O
The BAMF!Cas scenes helped to quell the heartachey bits. When he shoved the demon smoke back into the body and then exorcised him, how fucking cool was that? And then, remembering himself, he saves the boys and Bobby from those demons. That's the kind of Cas that they could never show too much of.
Something about the coloring in the autistic man's version of heaven made me think of a muted-down What Dreams May Come.
Original Raphael! \m/ But what about kickass femme!Raphael? Can we see her again later? Just once more?
Dean's faith in Cas parallels his faith in Sam so damn much. He even gave him the "deal with the devil" speech he's given Sam before. It's a bit of an anvil, but I don't care. It's beautiful AND it shows maturation that Dean can love that openly and blindly someone other than just Sam. It's a flaw, in a way. But all love involves risks... so it's a worthy flaw. In addition, Cas being a brother figure to Dean helps to lessen the codependence between the boys without diminishing their impossible and unique bond. It's still mainly about the boys. It's still their story. But Cas is FAMILY; Dean's belief in and treatment of Cas solidifies that fact.
And just like with Sam, we have the "good intentions" theme again. Lots of revisited themes tonight, re-wrought, as seen through the looking glass. (I see you there, S6 title card, preening like a peacock.)
Oh, but lying and arrogant!Cas, you break my heart. Did I mention that? 'Cause you do, dammit.
"Happy endings" innuendo. Are you flirting, Crowley? Gawd, I love you. Mark Sheppard, your awesomeness truly does have no limit.
So, what happened to the souls that Cas used to fuel his fightin' power? Did I miss an explanation or did they leave that a mystery?
New God and New Devil... that gave me the shivers. Oh, SPN, you are a delicious little tart.
And veering off from the Cas/Sam parallels, it ends with a Dean/Cas parallel: broken, desperate praying to an absentee God. Minus Dean's trademark single tear, of course. I'm not a huge fan of that premature audio/delayed video style of editing. I think they've used it at least once before with one of Dean's "desperate plea" scenes, so maybe it was intentional to drive home that bit of mirroring. Just a minor, personal nitpick though.
How is it possible for S6 to be nearly over??
And how is it possible to be crushed and brimming with excitement at the same time? Because I am. Show, I am in love with you. Still. SO MUCH.
Holy fuck, the promo for the last two episodes! HOLY FUCK.
Sending out Happy Birthday wishes to bachlava, leyosura and veritas_conner! *confetti toss* :D
And then:
SPN: "The Man Who Would Be King"
Now THERE's the dramatic!Ben Edlund I know and love. ♥
I can't say I noticed much of his directing... which is likely a good thing. As with Jensen's directorial debut, it looked like a normal SPN episode, which probably means they did it right. :) The New Hell scene stood out for me, but that might have been more of a DP/lighting thing than a director influence. Or maybe not; it's difficult to tell. Whoever gets the credit, I loved the look of that scene: from the dream-like, dull glow to the twisted DMV-esque, modernized sense of punishment. The hangdog sinners standing drearily in line looked like something out of an absurdist play. :) Also, the "Blue Danube Waltz" playing while they waited in their queue! Cheeky.
GAH. From the cold open, Castiel was breaking my heart. And narratives like that make me so nervous. I remember being on edge during last year's season finale because of Chuck's narration. Back then, I worried that all his waxing over the Impala was a type of eulogy. Similarly, this time, I was worried that Cas was delivering one final tragic soliloquy before his end. Well, I was wrong last year, so hopefully that bad feeling this time is also unwarranted. We have two more episodes to go, however, so.... *still worries*
And now they've officially broken the fourth wall, once and or all. Funny how Edlund is so often behind these fourth wall demolitions. *g* Cas addressing the audience directly was slightly unnerving. Even the Lord God Chuck didn't do that. Is that an indication (foreshadowing within the episode's confines) of Castiel's hubris?
"Satan Jr." struck me as an odd nickname for Crowley. Seems more fitting for Jesse, the Antichrist (about whom the writers appear to have developed amnesia).
"Me and Mrs. Jones" playing over the Castiel/Crowley autopsy room-cum-abattoir scene made me giggle.
So Cas raised Sam after all? And DID he bring Sam back soulless on purpose? It scares me to think he would have gone that far. I want to believe it was a mistake, but.... Oh, CAS. Oh, SAM when that realization hit. The look on his pretty puppy face! :'(
Those overhead shots of the Devil's Trap on Bobby's ceiling never get old. I love 'em!
A Perfect Strangers reference, Dean? Really?
Dean's loyalty and the look on Castiel's faith as he watched on, listening to Dean declare his faith in him reminded me of why I was interested in Dean/Castiel as a pairing back in S4. I'm guessing this episode will cause an explosion of fic in that section of fandom. Hee.
Is this the first time we've been made aware that Cas even has invisibility powers?
A demon equivalent to Bobby? o_O
The BAMF!Cas scenes helped to quell the heartachey bits. When he shoved the demon smoke back into the body and then exorcised him, how fucking cool was that? And then, remembering himself, he saves the boys and Bobby from those demons. That's the kind of Cas that they could never show too much of.
Something about the coloring in the autistic man's version of heaven made me think of a muted-down What Dreams May Come.
Original Raphael! \m/ But what about kickass femme!Raphael? Can we see her again later? Just once more?
Dean's faith in Cas parallels his faith in Sam so damn much. He even gave him the "deal with the devil" speech he's given Sam before. It's a bit of an anvil, but I don't care. It's beautiful AND it shows maturation that Dean can love that openly and blindly someone other than just Sam. It's a flaw, in a way. But all love involves risks... so it's a worthy flaw. In addition, Cas being a brother figure to Dean helps to lessen the codependence between the boys without diminishing their impossible and unique bond. It's still mainly about the boys. It's still their story. But Cas is FAMILY; Dean's belief in and treatment of Cas solidifies that fact.
And just like with Sam, we have the "good intentions" theme again. Lots of revisited themes tonight, re-wrought, as seen through the looking glass. (I see you there, S6 title card, preening like a peacock.)
Oh, but lying and arrogant!Cas, you break my heart. Did I mention that? 'Cause you do, dammit.
"Happy endings" innuendo. Are you flirting, Crowley? Gawd, I love you. Mark Sheppard, your awesomeness truly does have no limit.
So, what happened to the souls that Cas used to fuel his fightin' power? Did I miss an explanation or did they leave that a mystery?
New God and New Devil... that gave me the shivers. Oh, SPN, you are a delicious little tart.
And veering off from the Cas/Sam parallels, it ends with a Dean/Cas parallel: broken, desperate praying to an absentee God. Minus Dean's trademark single tear, of course. I'm not a huge fan of that premature audio/delayed video style of editing. I think they've used it at least once before with one of Dean's "desperate plea" scenes, so maybe it was intentional to drive home that bit of mirroring. Just a minor, personal nitpick though.
How is it possible for S6 to be nearly over??
And how is it possible to be crushed and brimming with excitement at the same time? Because I am. Show, I am in love with you. Still. SO MUCH.
Holy fuck, the promo for the last two episodes! HOLY FUCK.