Episode Reaction and Meta: Supernatural 7.03
Okay, what’s under the cut is quite a lot of random points and also quite a lot of meta. I enjoyed the episode so it’s pretty much all positive but it does dive into some quite complicated areas so I hope it all makes sense. And there are spoilers galore for 7.03. Sometimes, the order of things is a bit mixed up and I know I’ve missed some things out but I think I’ve covered my main thoughts on this episode. Anyway, feel free to discuss in the comments :D Also, this got really freaking long!
I really loved the opening of this episode. The idea that it was fixing Dean’s dislocated shoulder that made him more alert made total sense and also made for a very cool scene, with the crack we could hear (shudder-worthy) and Dean’s reaction. I loved the fall off the bed, too, and Dean’s face at that point. It was just SO Supernatural and just SO Dean, especially when he blamed the morphine.
The flashbacks worked very well in this episode. The transitions were all really smooth (well done, Jensen) and they all made sense in the wider context of the episode. They reminded me of Dean’s flashbacks in Something Wicked, with the way they dealt with the MOTW as well as the wider context of a hunters life and the Winchester family.
I loved the fact they holed up in Rufus’ old cabin. It just made so much sense; Rufus was a cautious guy, he was hard to get in contact with and hard to get to trust you. His cabin would definitely be a GOOD place to hide out in. I also loved how practical Bobby is - having copies of his library scattered around because of course he’s a good enough hunter to consider the possibility of his home getting ruined.
My Bloody Valentine reference on the tv!!! I love it when show does this <3 And then there was the wildlife show with the ‘oblivious Wildebeest’ while Dean was sleeping and that was just perfect, too.
I loved the bit with the Spanish soap - Bobby and Dean being so upset about the storyline and speaking Spanish and it was just so great. And then there was Dean asking Sam for apple pie and Sam being all ‘obviously’ and THESE are the moments we’ve all been waiting for, that can make us forgive pretty much anything the boys might do individually because they’re like this together.
On the note of them being brothers, of course Dean won’t just wait and takes the cast off because it’s Sam and NOTHING is going to stop Dean from looking out for his little brother. Sam’s letter wasn’t exactly clear - no mention of a hunt or anything - and it’s no wonder Dean thought something was going on hallucination-wise after everything that’s happened.
The concern Dean showed for Sam in this episode was great and understandable and him punching Sam was in character. They’ve punched each other before for doing stupid things and making the other worried.
I loved the little detail of Sam sticking everything on the wall like John used to (I wonder whether that was a decision Jensen made or whether it was in the script) because it just provided a wonderful reminder of their past and how they were brought up and the fact that Sam can be an awful lot like John when he wants to be.
Colin Ford did such a great job in this episode - on a random note, he got the ‘Sam touches his eyelid in frustration thing perfectly.’ Jensen managed to pull out some great performances from people in this episode - the young Amy was fantastic alongside Colin Ford.
Young!Sam asking Dean for advice on how to talk to girls. Awww. There were lots of great bits about the flashbacks - I have a feeling Sam’s description of ‘wiry’ was perhaps something he got from Dean at some point (I can totally imagine a scenario where Sam’s all ‘I wish I was taller’ and Dean’s like ‘ you’re not small…just wiry.’)
That bit where Amy opened the fridge and all the brains were there was CLASSIC SPN (Jensen did a great job with that this episode, actually - the gruesome bits were pretty gruesome)
The biggest ball of twine ;) Love all these references to things from past series, just dropped in there. It just keeps the context going and makes everything seem more real and connected.
‘You are what you are.’ OMG Dean actually killed Amy. Okay, so this is a big deal. On the one hand, Dean’s always seen things more black and white than Sam but, on the other, he usually stops before this point (like with Lenore.) I don’t think it’s out of character, though. I think it fits in with his arc at the moment. The last few times he’s given someone the benefit of the doubt/been unable to stop someone from doing something bad - I’m going to use Cas as an example here because he’s the most recent and now all the Leviathians are on the loose, Dean’s blamed himself.
I think - and this is just my opinion, my meta - that killing Amy was partly about taking control back, about making himself feel like he’s doing the right - as far as his Dad always drilled into him - thing. I mean, this hunt brought up the past for Dean, too, even though we only saw things from Sam’s perspective for the most part. So, for Dean to be reminded of hunting with his Dad right when all of this is going down is totally natural. And Dean’s always been about doing the ‘right thing’ and John’s idea of the ‘right thing’ was always ‘if it’s not human, you kill it’ (look at the way he even gave Dean the job of killing Sam if he went too far.’) So Dean’s not happy about killing Amy (we saw that in the ‘sorry’, in the way he laid her body down and in the way he let the kid go) but he did it anyway because he needs to have control and do the ‘right thing’ about something - bearing in mind, she did actually kill people.
I’m also being reminded of Metamorphosis here, where Sam tried to convince Dean to give the guy a chance and it ended really badly. I don’t think Amy can be seen as an isolated incident and I think it’s a lot more complex that Dean just killing her because he doesn’t trust Sam or whatever people have been saying. I don’t think this, here, was about whether he trusted Sam at all, really. It was more about him needing to trust what he’s brought up with, his own instincts, hunting.
The thing is, the way the episode worked we sympathised with Amy which makes Dean’s actions harder to take but that’s the Supernatural way and Jensen directing (and acting) pulled it off so well! I mean, there are a lot of points in this show where the boys have done something that we don’t necessarily like/agree with but we can still understand WHY.
‘The only person I’m going to kill is you.’ ‘Well look me up in a few years, assuming I live that long’ - This, right here, is Dean saying “I killed your Mom - I know I suck - and if you want to come after me, go ahead.” This is Dean acknowledging how serious things are with the Leviathans at the moment and that hunters don’t live for very long.
‘Everything is better with cheese’ OMG, ew. OMG, the boiling cheese. JENSEN, YOU DID SO GOOD WITH THIS LAST SCENE!!!
Jensen’s directing was amazing! He showed off everything in this episode; the comedy (Dean falling off the bed, the Spanish soap opera, apple pie), the dramatic (that run from the hospital, the scene with Colin Ford’s Sammy where the monster!Mom was killed, Dean killing Amy), the brother scenes (Sam and Dean discussing Sam’s ‘freak’ nature, Dean cutting off his cast because he’s so worried about Sam), flashbacks (the mixture of Sam’s resentment towards John but the fact that they’re still a family and they all still love each other.) He pulled out great performances, the camera angles were perfect and the little details were just right.
I really loved the opening of this episode. The idea that it was fixing Dean’s dislocated shoulder that made him more alert made total sense and also made for a very cool scene, with the crack we could hear (shudder-worthy) and Dean’s reaction. I loved the fall off the bed, too, and Dean’s face at that point. It was just SO Supernatural and just SO Dean, especially when he blamed the morphine.
The flashbacks worked very well in this episode. The transitions were all really smooth (well done, Jensen) and they all made sense in the wider context of the episode. They reminded me of Dean’s flashbacks in Something Wicked, with the way they dealt with the MOTW as well as the wider context of a hunters life and the Winchester family.
I loved the fact they holed up in Rufus’ old cabin. It just made so much sense; Rufus was a cautious guy, he was hard to get in contact with and hard to get to trust you. His cabin would definitely be a GOOD place to hide out in. I also loved how practical Bobby is - having copies of his library scattered around because of course he’s a good enough hunter to consider the possibility of his home getting ruined.
My Bloody Valentine reference on the tv!!! I love it when show does this <3 And then there was the wildlife show with the ‘oblivious Wildebeest’ while Dean was sleeping and that was just perfect, too.
I loved the bit with the Spanish soap - Bobby and Dean being so upset about the storyline and speaking Spanish and it was just so great. And then there was Dean asking Sam for apple pie and Sam being all ‘obviously’ and THESE are the moments we’ve all been waiting for, that can make us forgive pretty much anything the boys might do individually because they’re like this together.
On the note of them being brothers, of course Dean won’t just wait and takes the cast off because it’s Sam and NOTHING is going to stop Dean from looking out for his little brother. Sam’s letter wasn’t exactly clear - no mention of a hunt or anything - and it’s no wonder Dean thought something was going on hallucination-wise after everything that’s happened.
The concern Dean showed for Sam in this episode was great and understandable and him punching Sam was in character. They’ve punched each other before for doing stupid things and making the other worried.
I loved the little detail of Sam sticking everything on the wall like John used to (I wonder whether that was a decision Jensen made or whether it was in the script) because it just provided a wonderful reminder of their past and how they were brought up and the fact that Sam can be an awful lot like John when he wants to be.
Colin Ford did such a great job in this episode - on a random note, he got the ‘Sam touches his eyelid in frustration thing perfectly.’ Jensen managed to pull out some great performances from people in this episode - the young Amy was fantastic alongside Colin Ford.
Young!Sam asking Dean for advice on how to talk to girls. Awww. There were lots of great bits about the flashbacks - I have a feeling Sam’s description of ‘wiry’ was perhaps something he got from Dean at some point (I can totally imagine a scenario where Sam’s all ‘I wish I was taller’ and Dean’s like ‘ you’re not small…just wiry.’)
That bit where Amy opened the fridge and all the brains were there was CLASSIC SPN (Jensen did a great job with that this episode, actually - the gruesome bits were pretty gruesome)
The biggest ball of twine ;) Love all these references to things from past series, just dropped in there. It just keeps the context going and makes everything seem more real and connected.
‘You are what you are.’ OMG Dean actually killed Amy. Okay, so this is a big deal. On the one hand, Dean’s always seen things more black and white than Sam but, on the other, he usually stops before this point (like with Lenore.) I don’t think it’s out of character, though. I think it fits in with his arc at the moment. The last few times he’s given someone the benefit of the doubt/been unable to stop someone from doing something bad - I’m going to use Cas as an example here because he’s the most recent and now all the Leviathians are on the loose, Dean’s blamed himself.
I think - and this is just my opinion, my meta - that killing Amy was partly about taking control back, about making himself feel like he’s doing the right - as far as his Dad always drilled into him - thing. I mean, this hunt brought up the past for Dean, too, even though we only saw things from Sam’s perspective for the most part. So, for Dean to be reminded of hunting with his Dad right when all of this is going down is totally natural. And Dean’s always been about doing the ‘right thing’ and John’s idea of the ‘right thing’ was always ‘if it’s not human, you kill it’ (look at the way he even gave Dean the job of killing Sam if he went too far.’) So Dean’s not happy about killing Amy (we saw that in the ‘sorry’, in the way he laid her body down and in the way he let the kid go) but he did it anyway because he needs to have control and do the ‘right thing’ about something - bearing in mind, she did actually kill people.
I’m also being reminded of Metamorphosis here, where Sam tried to convince Dean to give the guy a chance and it ended really badly. I don’t think Amy can be seen as an isolated incident and I think it’s a lot more complex that Dean just killing her because he doesn’t trust Sam or whatever people have been saying. I don’t think this, here, was about whether he trusted Sam at all, really. It was more about him needing to trust what he’s brought up with, his own instincts, hunting.
The thing is, the way the episode worked we sympathised with Amy which makes Dean’s actions harder to take but that’s the Supernatural way and Jensen directing (and acting) pulled it off so well! I mean, there are a lot of points in this show where the boys have done something that we don’t necessarily like/agree with but we can still understand WHY.
‘The only person I’m going to kill is you.’ ‘Well look me up in a few years, assuming I live that long’ - This, right here, is Dean saying “I killed your Mom - I know I suck - and if you want to come after me, go ahead.” This is Dean acknowledging how serious things are with the Leviathans at the moment and that hunters don’t live for very long.
‘Everything is better with cheese’ OMG, ew. OMG, the boiling cheese. JENSEN, YOU DID SO GOOD WITH THIS LAST SCENE!!!
Jensen’s directing was amazing! He showed off everything in this episode; the comedy (Dean falling off the bed, the Spanish soap opera, apple pie), the dramatic (that run from the hospital, the scene with Colin Ford’s Sammy where the monster!Mom was killed, Dean killing Amy), the brother scenes (Sam and Dean discussing Sam’s ‘freak’ nature, Dean cutting off his cast because he’s so worried about Sam), flashbacks (the mixture of Sam’s resentment towards John but the fact that they’re still a family and they all still love each other.) He pulled out great performances, the camera angles were perfect and the little details were just right.