Reaction to 8x14, "Trial and Error"
I don't know where to begin. I was furious about this episode just the other day, and I ranted about the spoiler on this journal entry, and I'm still pissed about that...and yet...this episode had so many wonderful qualities to it as well that I'm not nearly as furious anymore! Still not happy with Sam once AGAIN being the chosen one, but I'll get to that. There's so much happy to discuss first!
Oh wait one kinda weird thing first--did anyone else wonder why, during the previouslies, they didn't show Dean getting torn up by the hellhound in the Season 3 finale? Surely that would be a great reminder about what hellhounds do, and more importantly, what they've done to HIM! Just kinda felt like they dropped the ball on that one. Moving on.
So the ep started off with Dean settling in, and wow was that nice to see :) Dean, who has always had to make the best out of what very little he's had, now gets to enjoy some creature comforts, like a nice bed, and a room to decorate, and vinyl (yeah Zepplin I!) to enjoy, and a kitchen to make awesome burgers, ones that even make Sam say "wow!" and run back to take with him after getting a call from Kevin, LOL! Loved that. A happy Dean makes for a happy Jen, cuz it's just so very rare we get to see it!
And then on top of that, Sam came back! The REAL Sam, not Sham who has been around for much of the first half of the season, but Sam, who cares about people, who stands by his brother's side! It's about time, dude! ::cues Welcome Back Kotter theme tune::
And then on top of THAT, we get the brothers looking out for each other again! Could the bond actually be making a real comeback? It sure seemed that way at the end. But I'll get to that. I want to talk about the tablets first, then bitch a little, and then end on a good note :)
So the tablet. I worry about Kevin, but I worry more about what he ISN'T seeing. Remember that Kevin only has half of the tablet. What does the other half say? I've already said this at SPN coffee and elsewhere, but in regards to this, I keep thinking about the amulet on Raiders of the Lost Ark. YOu remember, that right? Fishlips (my name for the creepy German guy in black) tries to grab Marion's amulet and it burns into his palm, and then the Nazis make a cast from that burn and go to the map room to use it to find where the Ark is buried. But then Indy takes the real amulet to that cool mystic friend of Sala's and he reads it and tells them the instructions, but then flips it over to tell them the last of the instructions, and Indy and Sala realize that since the Nazis only had the one side of the amulet, they're digging for the Ark in the wrong place. Yeah? Ring any bells? Yeah. So I'm wondering if the same sort of thing isn't going to happen with the tablet on Supernatural--if there isn't some extra step or maybe even a warning on Crowley's half of the tablet, one that will make all the difference. Because I gotta say, with what the reading is doing to Kevin, and what that weird light that went into Sam did to him, there's something bad going on, and I can't help but wonder if Crowley's half holds the key to victory and/or survival. Guess we'll see, huh?
So on to the thing that pisses me off: Dean once again not getting to do something Big. Now before you get all attacky on me, just let me vent, okay? Because I AM Bi-bro and always have been, and I'm elated that Dean wanted to do the trials because he wanted Sam to have his future. But the whole time he was giving that passionate speech, I was muttering, "Shut up, Dean...you're tempting the Karma Fairy to make Sam do the trials." I even tweeted about it, and then, yup, sure enough, Sam is the one to make the kill and do the trials. And again, don't attack me now--I'm going to praise Sam here in a minute! Just let me keep venting about Dean. Now then: As a Dean fan, I have waited. And waited. And WAITED for Dean to get the chance to make the big save. Our best hope was Season 4, when Castiel told Dean that he was the only one who could stop the Apocalypse because he broke the first seal. But did he get that save? Nope. Adam housed Michael and then Sam took the swan dive into Hell. And yes, Dean got to kill Yellow Eyes and Dick Roman, but it just seems like no matter what he does, Sam always, and I mean ALWAYS, ends up being in the spotlight, the one the whole show revolves around. It just gets really frustrating is all. I mean, I hope, and I try and be positive, and like Dean, I appreciate the little things he gets to do, but is it too much to ask that just ONCE, it could be Dean in the plot spotlight? ::sighs::
But then, I am an optimist, and who knows: the season has a long ways to go yet, and maybe that other half of the tablet will have something important for Dean. I hope so. Honestly I'd just like the two brothers to be on equal footing for once, neither one more important plot-wise than the other! Here's hoping that's the outcome.
Okay venting over, time for praise :) Even though Sam has to do the trials, I am very, very proud of him for doing them for the right reasons--not revenge, not to prove himself, but to simply live. This is the mature Sam that I've come to love, the one that has been sorely missed so far this season, the one who praises Dean, calling him a genius and a great hunter, but, much more importantly, WANTS HIM AROUND. He wants to do the trials and LIVE, and when he survives and gets that future Dean wants for him so badly, he wants Dean to be there to enjoy it, too. Aww, Sammy! ::HUGS:: Gosh I've missed this bond stuff.
10 bucks it'll last one episode and then they'll be back to lying again. ::sighs::
Okay I gotta get back to work. What did you think of the episode?