Episode Prompt and Discussion 6x14
Thanks for all the interesting comments regarding motifs, visuals, and thematic/narrative connections in the last couple of episode discussions--they've all been really insightful and smart. Of course, we also love squeeful jabber, random flailing over pretty pictures, as well as questions and feedback on possible visual meta anyone may be working
( Read more... )
The set dressers are clearly awesome. They included (I think) a cockapoo like Icarus, JA and DH's dog.
They really add in some nice details that may not even been seen on camera or only see in flashes. The picture of Ben, Dean, and Lisa next to Ben's bed shows how important Dean is to Ben and how Ben sees him as part of his family, which makes what Ben believes to be Dean's rejection all that much more painful and tragic.
Dean's got a motel mural as he phone screen, heh. Telling. Anyone have any idea what episode this set was from/when Dean took this picture of him lounging around staring at wallpaper trees? ;)
Is that Dean reflected in Sam's eye or someone/something else?
Reply
Also noticed the picture frame is Ben's room and thought, 'awww, Ben'. :)
ETA: I'm not sure if it counts as a cracky visual per se, but the science lab had a white board that said "The cell" and had a picture of a living cell and it's parts. I immediately wondered if it was a subtle reference to Lucifer's cage (along the lines of cells, jail cells, cages - it's not a big leap). And Sam was in a cage/ jail cell) in the ep before this also.
Reply
Ha! Now we have hard evidence for what Dean does when left to do UFO research (lies on the bed and takes pictures of his own feet). XD
I immediately wondered if it was a subtle reference to Lucifer's cage
Interesting! It's certainly not a big leap as you said. It would be neat to see if there's more cage-like visuals (bars, fences, vertical bar-like things as foreground objects) this season--I know there was some pretty overt barbed wire and metal-bar fences and tall walls boxing in the boys in "Twihard". And I was just sitting there thinking, "Why is there a cell when it's a chemistry and not a biology lab?" I'm such a nerd. But thinking about it now, maybe it was a biochemistry lab and I had a case of The Dumb while I was watching.
Reply
Hmm, there's Samuel's "office" in 6x02 that's like chicken wire and there's a (horizontal) "Do not cross" line in that same ep that Sam crosses. Then there's Twihard's obvious parking lot fence and the caged alpha in 6x07. Another "Do not cross" line is blocking Dean's path in the dentist's office in 6x06 and it also has shots of Dean and Bobby through windows (the camera outside is looking in). Those are pretty much the biggest ones that I can gather by quickly flipping through my screencap collection.
But maybe the point is not to show Sam in cages before we know that his soul is still there, because it would sort of ruin the surprise. If were getting more cage visuals now, it can't really mean good things for the boys, because now they would serve either as a reminder or as foreshadowing elements.
Reply
You know, I'm wondering if some of the cage-like imagery could also just be a byproduct of trying to shoot in a more noir style. The high contrast of dark and light "stripes" overlying the characters (bars being the dark stripes across the rest of the scene) is pretty typical noir as is the low key lighting typical of some of SPN's night scenes (and more recently of that Sam-in-the-jail scene in the Arachne episode). "Shadow" was quite noir even though it was done way back in S1. Someone who knows more about noir should write a meta about this season's visual style and how it may or may not be different than previous seasons. I would totally read that.
foreshadowing elements
O.O Because we all know something is going to happen to The Great Wall of Sam before this season closes. *eee*
Reply
I agree that some imagery can probably be attributed to the noir-ishness, but then there's the question if e.g. bars in a jail cell are being used to create contrasts or if they're illuminated so that they create a smooth impenetrable surface (which is actually the feeling I got in 6x13) and what other purpose the props serve. But yes, if someone wrote a noir meta, I'd read it!
Also, going back to your first comment on this thread. I'm not sure if the software on my other computer was crappy or if it was the screen, but as I watched the ep with the regular laptop, I finally noticed the reflection in Sam's eye. And yes, it looks like there's a vague person shape there that vanishes along with the hellfire and I don't think that it was Dean.
Reply
I first started noticing the kinds of shots I think you're pointing to back in season four. I don't know about before then, but it's definitely been used regularly since mid-S4. One of the theories I came up that I still kind of love is that the viewer is forced to fill in the blocked areas leaving room for interpretation/misinterpretation.
But, nothing is ever actually new on this show, is it?
Reply
Sorry for replying to myself on this. I couldn't resist when I connected the view of the "free" boys through bars from the monster pov to the recent spider-view of multiple Sams. So, is the monster pov a theme for the season? Will that continue? How are the monsters connected to each other? (Oh! Who was The Monster at the End of This Book?)
It's not the first time we've been given outsider viewpoints of Sam and Dean. I think that goes back at least to eps like Roadkill and Ghostfacers.
Reply
Even though MPOVs aren't new, I get the impression we may be seeing more of them this season likely because the monsters themselves are the mytharc rather than just filler MotW episodes.
It's also interesting that (I think) POV shots are used in SPN for mainly 2 reasons, each of which have completely opposite effects:
1. To create a sense of drama/suspense and vilify the monster by showing a predatory-like POV. This is typical of the horror genre.
2. To humanize the monster by having the audience see through their eyes. Two examples of more than typical MPOV shots are Madison in "Heart" and Lucky in "All Dogs". These episodes were different than the typical MotW monsters because they were actually full blown human characters we were supposed to empathize with.
Anyway, I hope we see more MPOVs for whatever reason.
Who was The Monster at the End of This Book?
Heh! ;D
Reply
Along with all the cage images noted above we got virgins in a cage in the sewer in Like a Virgin. We’ve also gotten cage images right from 6.01 this season. Here's from Dean and Lisa's house.
We also got the image of cages and scratching.
Reply
The other image from Exile on Main Street that captures my imagination in the same way is this:
Again, I see many examples of the slatted backgrounds and set elements going back at least to season four (Ruby flashbacks in the Anna introduction arc - heck, the barn when Castiel first appears!). The earliest use that stood out and stuck with me might be S2 when Gordon kidnapped Dean. I do think it's fair to see the more literal foreground bars as related to the other type. (And possibly related to the panes of glass we often see characters through.)
Reply
Reply
Do we know whose POV it was in Clap Your Hands when Dean was being followed down the street? That was a very noticeable choice.
Reply
Reply
Yeah, I sort of want to interpret those shots of boys behind the bars as them being stuck in the life (of a hunter) and not being able to escape from that. There was the whole Apocalypse thing going on starting S4, so maybe there's a connection, too.
EXTRA BONUS POINTS FOR THE PILOT CAP. \o/
Reply
Yeah, I sort of want to interpret those shots of boys behind the bars as them being stuck in the life (of a hunter) and not being able to escape from that. There was the whole Apocalypse thing going on starting S4, so maybe there's a connection, too.
Definitely reasonable. A more extreme speculation might question whether Dean in S4 and the boys yet today are truly clear of hell.
Reply
Leave a comment