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stolen_childe January 18 2013, 03:27:43 UTC
(Continued from previous reply)

Oh yes, Dean and Cas are like every Buddy Movie Partnership all rolled into two gorgeous, UST-laden forms. They do work very, very well together, arguably better than Dean works with Sam because of how much he worries for Sam mostly so he can't focus 100 percent on the job. I think that's part of the reason Dean gets so frantic every time Cas falters or is in distress because usually Dean doesn't need to worry about Castiel but when he does it hits really hard.

Hmm... You're probably right, I'm not sure when they filmed that episode. Maison's only about three months now. So there's a chance she could be that big if they filmed it very recently but they probably didn't.

Hmm... Go back and rewatch the flashback scene. What I saw in it was Dean being frantic to get to Alfie and get out of there because of how Castiel was being affected. Castiel really, really wanted to rescue his brother and bring him home safely. It was his wish and Dean knows that if he leaves Alfie behind to get Castiel out of there, Castiel would be angry and upset that Dean left Alfie behind regardless of how much pain Castiel had been in. Dean just wanted to get the job finished as quick as possible and get both angels home. The more Castiel reacted the more frantic Dean became. That's what I took from it.

Well that went on longer than I thought it would. As always, I'll be happy to hear counter points. I really love discussing the episodes with you and my other followers!

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snowin_you January 18 2013, 16:25:41 UTC
So I re-watched the episode and here're what I think.

The flashback scene: I discussed it with another friend and she basically said the same thing you did. What bothered me most was when Dean and Sam was banging the door and Cas' back was to the wall in his deepest terror, Dean turned back angrily and said, "Cas? Anytime now?" Like he was really pissed that Cas didn't get his ass up and helped them with the door. Now, after your and my friend's opinion, I thought maybe Dean meant something like, "Hang on, I'll get the door anytime now." But after I re-watched it, I still see the same pissed-off Dean.

The scene was somewhat off, though. Before that scene, when Cas first appeared after they marred all the sigils, Dean was quick to notice that something was wrong with Cas and he was genuinely worried. (I expected him to put a hand on Cas' shoulder, though. He did that all the time in previous episodes.) And then later, when they got into the room and Sam and Dean were fighting demons, Dean turned to Cas and said, "Cas, Go!" and Cas disappeared with Samandriel, it showed that Dean cared. So, between these two, that angry Dean was really off.

I understand what you mean by Sam and Amelia and Don and marriage and family and even military men and such, but the writers didn't wade through that waters and for the audience to get to that, we have to, you know, delve really deep. But as I re-watched the episode, I noticed something.

As the title is "Torn and Frayed", my guess is they are trying to portray the characters being separated from their loved ones. Cas from the Winchesters, Sam from Amelia, Dean from Benny (shocking, but Dean almost cried when he said adios) and Kevin from his mother. Now, Sam didn't get to hear the conversation, but I think Sam's decision was very much like Kevin's: that they don't get to enjoy the world before the world is saved. Not that your reasons were not convincing; they were so very true. I'm just sharing what I saw from the episode.

One thing I think is they tried to squeeze too many things into a 45-minute episode. (Always happens with episodes involving heaven and the like.) It'd be better if Sam could be shown contemplating his decision (i.e., adding what you just shared into it) or Dean could help with Benny's problem first before saying goodbye. Or maybe if they could show Cas and Sam's conversation before Sam decided to come back and help Dean, that might explain a lot of things. I don't know, there seems to be a lot of scenes missing, IMO.

Anyway, thank you for the very long replies! It's good to be able to discuss over such a heavy, dramatic episode. Next one, I suppose, should be funny and light-hearted. Hope we can flip our emotional switch before next week!

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stolen_childe January 19 2013, 23:58:04 UTC
I went back and re-watched that moment a few times myself and the way I observed (forth run) was that Dean said it strangely, I'm not even sure how to describe it, he put his hands up sort of helplessly and said "Anytime now" rather calmly and actually almost like he didn't want to say it. I think your initial interpretation is correct but I really don't know. This whole episode seems a bit harder to analyse with dialogue, versus tone, versus body language.

I did also notice something I missed before, after Castiel said that the sigils were blocking him Dean wanted to black them all out but Castiel stopped him and told him that there wasn't any time and that Samandriel wouldn't last very long. That's when Dean got a little off like you had mentioned about the scene. Perhaps it was because Dean really, really rather have Castiel back up to snuff and not freaking out more than he wanted to save Alfie but he knew how much Castiel wanted to save Alfie so he bucked-up and went for it. Which could easily account for him being irritated but at his relative helplessness which being Dean, he projects outward. I don't know, the scene was a bit odd and for the first time I actually enjoyed an episode less on my re-watch. I suppose I don't like when they change writers... lol

Oh yes! Your elaboration on the title, I actually didn't think that deeply about it. I tend to ignore the titles for the most part but you bring up a very valid point which I completely agree with. I also agree that the episode did seemed rushed there really was a lot to cover and forty-five minutes just doesn't cut it. Maybe they're worried about budget because they might be a little worried that the show might get cancelled when they have so much more story to tell (and honestly, quite a bit of clean-up from previous seasons) so they are trying to explain as much as they can in a short span of time. I would very much have liked to see Sam's conversation with Castiel and also the walk he took at the end to think about things. I also found myself warming up to Benny so a proper goodbye would have been nice.

I get a bit of a feeling that they're really working up to something though and that some of these episodes serve as necessary filler/backstory before they get to the juicy bits. They're probably saving the stand-out episodes for later in the season because sometimes the CW doesn't seem to make their decision until April. Perhaps that's just wishful thinking, who knows.

What I do know is that I am enjoying this season far, far more than I did six and seven and I'm having so much more to say about the episodes. It's really nice to have someone to ramble on to!

I am looking forward to Charlie next week, I really enjoyed her as a character and I enjoyed her introductory episode from season seven. Hopefully the topic of next week with be done justice!

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snowin_you January 20 2013, 11:19:27 UTC
Definitely agree it is an enjoyable season. Would be a shame if it doesn't get renewed. Can't wait for the next episode!

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