11.10 Reaction. There will be spoilers.
I was angry when they ended 11.09 with Sam back in the Cage with Lucifer. I'll state that right at the outset. I thought that the end result would be that everything Sam had accomplished with his sacrifice, and everything he'd gone through since then, would be undone and erased.
Guess who was right?
I want to start out by saying what I liked about the episode, because there were some really great moments. Sam was fantastic. He stood up to Lucifer, and he was strong in doing so. I liked hearing Sam's voice mail, as recorded by Dean. I liked the Sam and Lucifer scenes - I may loathe Mark P., but no one can deny his talent or the chemistry that he and Jared have together on screen.
I really loved Billie, although I'm biased because I have a small crush on Billie.
I liked Ambriel telling Castiel that Sam and Dean were the real heroes and that she and Castiel are expendable, although I think that had something to do with what came next. (Which I'll get to in a minute.)
So. About those things that I didn't like so much.
In-universe, I hated the fact that literally no one had faith that Sam could resist Lucifer. This is the guy who took Lucifer down, and even Dean went into a panic when told that the only way to send Lucifer back to the Cage would be if Sam held out against him while Rowena cast the spell. That led to Dean charging into the Cage even though Crowley specifically warned him against it, which led to Lucifer having the chance to use Crowley as a vessel.
So: Dean's lack of faith in Sam led to Lucifer's escape from the Cage.
I'm not saying Dean wasn't worried, wasn't willing to take on all kinds of risks to free Sam or save him or whatever. I'm saying that he didn't believe that Sam could hold out, even though Sam has shown that his will is stronger than Lucifer's.
I hated, hated, Castiel's stunt. Does he just not think before he does things? The Leviathan were released because Cas did something boneheaded, and now this. Sam went through and proved, logically, that letting Lucifer out of the Cage not only wouldn't be useful in fighting Amara but would be no better than allowing Amara to run around, and Sam knows Lucifer better than anyone else. Sam's lived with him. But Castiel? "You, Lucifer, say that this is the only way? I'm sure you have no ulterior motives and are completely reliable! Sign me right up, big boy!"
So now everything that Sam and Dean fought for through season 5, everything that Sam sacrificed when he threw himself into the Cage and everything that he's gone through since, is negated. I do think that Castiel was feeling sad/sulky/whatever because of what Amara and Ambriel said to him, but seriously. It was dumb, and it erases everything Sam did.
As a fan, I'm angry. They've taken a beautiful, complete plot arc in which Sam saved the world, and they've rehashed it, trashed it and given the storyline to Castiel. For... literally no reason that I can suspend my disbelief long enough to buy.
The whole Castiel-as-Lucifer's-Vessel storyline is absurd. They spent two seasons - two! - explaining that it HAD to be Sam, because of the demon blood that has been in him since he was an infant, that housed Lucifer. Other vessels, even Nick, would disintegrate. But now suddenly Castiel and his vessel can just take on Lucifer? Castiel, who can barely contain his own grace? Really?
And Castiel? Who has looked down on Sam for as long as he's been on the show, both because of the demon blood in his veins and because of his status as Lucifer's vessel? HE'S going to suddenly turn around and say "I want some of that?" Part of me wants to watch him guzzle demon blood so he can contain Lucifer, and part of me knows they won't even bother with that vital piece of canon that they spent TWO SEASONS building up.
Misha Collins - I get that a lot of people like him, and that criticizing so much as a hair on his head is likely to get me stalked and threatened, but seriously. The guy isn't up to playing the role of Lucifer. We saw that in the first second he walked on as Luci. He looked no different than he did as the Leviathan, and he didn't even play him as Lucifer. Lucifer is cold, calculating, not slimy.
I'm just so repulsed by everything about this that it's getting harder and harder to remember the parts that I did like, with the exception of Jared's phenomenal performance as Sam.
Guess who was right?
I want to start out by saying what I liked about the episode, because there were some really great moments. Sam was fantastic. He stood up to Lucifer, and he was strong in doing so. I liked hearing Sam's voice mail, as recorded by Dean. I liked the Sam and Lucifer scenes - I may loathe Mark P., but no one can deny his talent or the chemistry that he and Jared have together on screen.
I really loved Billie, although I'm biased because I have a small crush on Billie.
I liked Ambriel telling Castiel that Sam and Dean were the real heroes and that she and Castiel are expendable, although I think that had something to do with what came next. (Which I'll get to in a minute.)
So. About those things that I didn't like so much.
In-universe, I hated the fact that literally no one had faith that Sam could resist Lucifer. This is the guy who took Lucifer down, and even Dean went into a panic when told that the only way to send Lucifer back to the Cage would be if Sam held out against him while Rowena cast the spell. That led to Dean charging into the Cage even though Crowley specifically warned him against it, which led to Lucifer having the chance to use Crowley as a vessel.
So: Dean's lack of faith in Sam led to Lucifer's escape from the Cage.
I'm not saying Dean wasn't worried, wasn't willing to take on all kinds of risks to free Sam or save him or whatever. I'm saying that he didn't believe that Sam could hold out, even though Sam has shown that his will is stronger than Lucifer's.
I hated, hated, Castiel's stunt. Does he just not think before he does things? The Leviathan were released because Cas did something boneheaded, and now this. Sam went through and proved, logically, that letting Lucifer out of the Cage not only wouldn't be useful in fighting Amara but would be no better than allowing Amara to run around, and Sam knows Lucifer better than anyone else. Sam's lived with him. But Castiel? "You, Lucifer, say that this is the only way? I'm sure you have no ulterior motives and are completely reliable! Sign me right up, big boy!"
So now everything that Sam and Dean fought for through season 5, everything that Sam sacrificed when he threw himself into the Cage and everything that he's gone through since, is negated. I do think that Castiel was feeling sad/sulky/whatever because of what Amara and Ambriel said to him, but seriously. It was dumb, and it erases everything Sam did.
As a fan, I'm angry. They've taken a beautiful, complete plot arc in which Sam saved the world, and they've rehashed it, trashed it and given the storyline to Castiel. For... literally no reason that I can suspend my disbelief long enough to buy.
The whole Castiel-as-Lucifer's-Vessel storyline is absurd. They spent two seasons - two! - explaining that it HAD to be Sam, because of the demon blood that has been in him since he was an infant, that housed Lucifer. Other vessels, even Nick, would disintegrate. But now suddenly Castiel and his vessel can just take on Lucifer? Castiel, who can barely contain his own grace? Really?
And Castiel? Who has looked down on Sam for as long as he's been on the show, both because of the demon blood in his veins and because of his status as Lucifer's vessel? HE'S going to suddenly turn around and say "I want some of that?" Part of me wants to watch him guzzle demon blood so he can contain Lucifer, and part of me knows they won't even bother with that vital piece of canon that they spent TWO SEASONS building up.
Misha Collins - I get that a lot of people like him, and that criticizing so much as a hair on his head is likely to get me stalked and threatened, but seriously. The guy isn't up to playing the role of Lucifer. We saw that in the first second he walked on as Luci. He looked no different than he did as the Leviathan, and he didn't even play him as Lucifer. Lucifer is cold, calculating, not slimy.
I'm just so repulsed by everything about this that it's getting harder and harder to remember the parts that I did like, with the exception of Jared's phenomenal performance as Sam.