FandomNotes: SPN 5x18: Point of No Return
I just wanted to say Hi but I didn't want to show up empty handed. SPN had a kick-ass 100th episode so I tried to punch up the notes I've been taking and added some images. For the most part it's just me thinking out loud and trying to keep track of everything. The numbers in front of the text is the time where the scene occurred according to an iTunes download. I should warn you that I'm a Dean/Cas gal and not the biggest fan of Bobby so click below accordingly. As always, all my best wishes to you! ::smish:: ♥
Writer:
Jeremy Carver
Director:
Philip Sgriccia
Places:
Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Bobby's home.
Van Nuys, California and not a blade of grass: Beautiful room.
Opening scene: So good. Zachariah indulging in a very human ritual of drinking in the middle of the day while he waits to literally be fired. Fellow traveler asking Zachariah with more accuracy than he knows, "What was your crime against humanity?" and Zachariah tells him. Zachariah calling humanity "pig filthy humans" and his new friend catching it and then letting it go because when you think you're at the top of the food chain it just doesn't compute to be thought of as lowly. Both actors played it out brilliantly.
4:00 I know I'm not the only one who wants to read Dean's letter in it's entirety. Written in all capitals, neat and long. His grip on the pen gets me for some reason. I can see "if that's still true" and "Sammy".
6:20 Castiel glaring at Dean. Getting ready to let fly a tongue he's been biting for a while now.
7:00 I don't blame Dean for shooting down Bobby's endearment of "son". It's manipulative and being used to shut Dean up. I know Bobby's gruffness is suppose to be read as a kind of rough affection but it grates on me and apparently Dean, too. And how can Bobby shame Dean for wanting to put an end to it and then (!) pull out a gun and a single bullet meant to end his own predicament? Grrr ... So now Dean has the weight of humanity's fate on his shoulders along with an extra dollop of Bobby. Oh, how I miss Ellen and Jo ...
9:10 Castiel being a BAMF at Adam's grave site. Has he stopped counting how many angels he's had to kill? Those knives are seriously effed up. ::shudders::
13:25 Dean and Castiel release the hounds. Castiel expressing his disappointment in Dean with, "Maybe they (the angels) wrongly assumed that Dean would be brave enough to withstand them."
To which Dean moves on from tossing pop culture references at Castiel and opts instead for telling him to ... wait for it ...
... "blow me."
Dean gets a chin-out-frown but Castiel doesn't seem all that offended by the switch up. In fact, I think Castiel is woefully mis-stating his case and hiding behind indignation so that his fear of losing Dean doesn't show as much as it usually does.
14:50 I liked Adam pointing out that it's his mom, who did the day to day grunt work of parenting, who is family to him and not John Winchester or his newly acquainted brothers. After last weeks "whore" marathon it's good to hear a woman extolled for simply being a good mom.
16:20 Sam trying to reach Adam. Wow. Sam's a big brother and despite getting repeatedly shot down by Adam he's pretty good at it. His last line about Adam's attitude making it so that he'd fit right in probably got Sam farther than anything else.
17:50 As a Dean/Cas gal I love it when Castiel stands too close or stares at Dean. Even when he's pissed off.
And I really love it when Dean takes note of it and tells Castiel, "Not for nothing, but the last person who looked at me like that: I got laid."
Wow. I mean wow ... Subtext is sooo Season 4.
Despite that, I don't want to let a couple of sexual references that guys tend to lob at each other whether they're close or not define Dean and Castiel. When I think of them post-Apocalypse with nothing more dangerous than each other to focus on I don't necessarily see them immediately falling in love and taking it to bed. While Castiel, the angel, may be genderless it's been shown that he does have appetites. Even before more-human-than-not Future!Castiel made his debut with drugs and group sex he was shown looking at Dean and Anna longingly when Anna kissed Dean goodbye and I don't think it was over Anna! Sorry sweetheart. So I think Castiel is engaged on some level but that could end up in an exercise in futility and frustration if Dean doesn't return the gesture in some substantial way. And I do think Dean is more than capable of exploring his sexuality with Castiel's maleness. What I think he might have a much more difficult time with is accepting that someone loves him despite all that they know about him - even the things that he tries to hide from himself. Abiding love. Abiding even when said person is mad at him or disappointed or slamming panic room doors in his face. But I digress. Dean just told Castiel how to get his attention pronto when it comes to getting laid! \o/ ::claps hands twice:: Cas! Pay attention!
19:00 Dean confessing to Sam that he's tired and can't find it in himself to believe in anything, not even Sam.
Ouch. Just ouch.
20:50 Castiel watching Adam sleep. I can't prove it but it looks like he's thinking, "Scrappy little fucker, but he's no Dean."
I also love how once Sam comes back from the panic room and talking to Dean that Castiel takes his place. He can't seem to stay mad at his man.
Which makes Dean using the angel banishing sigil on him all the more infuriating. Nothing like having something he taught Dean used against him to make Castiel yell like he did.
22:58 Until I started watching SPN I never noticed how creepy an empty park is. Add it along with clowns and midgets to Things That Now Freak Me Out. Thanks SPN ...
25:10 When I first saw this scene - out of context on YouTube - I thought Castiel's violence was meant to convey something long simmering.
But what exactly was simmering? It often seems like Castiel is running parallel to Dean and Sam if not exactly with them: His determination to find God while they sought to destroy Lucifer. They're not at cross purposes but they're not a cohesive TeamFreeWill yet either. With God dusting his hands of the whole matter I think it put Castiel's focus squarely on Dean and yet they're still running parallel to each other. While Dean tries to save humanity - or as much of it as he can - Castiel has narrowed his focus down to one human - Dean. At first, Castiel growls about having rebelled only to have Dean surrender to the other angels but then he gets to the heart of it by pointing out for the second time that he gave everything for Dean and this time he made it clear that he expects more than a grudgingly handed over amulet. It could have been a great scene but the violence was a serious miscalculation. It looks like TPTB got giddy about making Castiel into a BAMF when it comes to the other angels and let it spill over and scald Dean unnecessarily. How I long for S4 kitchen-era Castiel who did not have to raise his voice or his fist to rock Dean back on his heels, thank you very much. In the alley, they could have kept the dialog and just had Castiel quietly advance on Dean. Sometimes less really is more.
31:25 As if I didn't love Dean already I absolutely love the fact that he thought the Beautiful Room might be on a blade of grass.
31:55 I call bullshit. Castiel telling Dean that he doesn't believe in him does not make sense. Am I suppose to believe that his plan is to blast himself and the other angels to Kingdom Come so that Dean can surrender himself anyways? Uhh, no. I don't buy it. He's still smarting from the panic room sigil which makes the box cutter and what it's used for all the more harrowing.
But he obviously still believes.
37:05 The wink that Dean gives Sam is light years away from the sarcastic one that Castiel got in the panic room. Jensen Ackles proves that you don't need to cry to convey a lifetime of adoration and brotherly love. He looks at Sam, his features soften, a quick wink and you know it's still good between them.
39:30 It did my heart good to hear Dean say, "But we'll get them back" referring to both Adam and Castiel. Adam could be used or immediately discarded by Michael. Either way, it sucks to be Adam. I'm assuming that Castiel and the other angels were blasted to the same place which means he might have to fight them there, too. Ah, Cas ... No kidding, I hope you and Dean go Cupid on each other and indulge in a long rib cracking hug when you find your way back again. Lord knows, you both need one and, more importantly, deserve it. Get Sam in there too for a TeamFreeWill group hug and I'll pretend I didn't see a thing.
Images courtesy of toxic_caps!
Writer:
Jeremy Carver
Director:
Philip Sgriccia
Places:
Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Bobby's home.
Van Nuys, California and not a blade of grass: Beautiful room.
Opening scene: So good. Zachariah indulging in a very human ritual of drinking in the middle of the day while he waits to literally be fired. Fellow traveler asking Zachariah with more accuracy than he knows, "What was your crime against humanity?" and Zachariah tells him. Zachariah calling humanity "pig filthy humans" and his new friend catching it and then letting it go because when you think you're at the top of the food chain it just doesn't compute to be thought of as lowly. Both actors played it out brilliantly.
4:00 I know I'm not the only one who wants to read Dean's letter in it's entirety. Written in all capitals, neat and long. His grip on the pen gets me for some reason. I can see "if that's still true" and "Sammy".
6:20 Castiel glaring at Dean. Getting ready to let fly a tongue he's been biting for a while now.
7:00 I don't blame Dean for shooting down Bobby's endearment of "son". It's manipulative and being used to shut Dean up. I know Bobby's gruffness is suppose to be read as a kind of rough affection but it grates on me and apparently Dean, too. And how can Bobby shame Dean for wanting to put an end to it and then (!) pull out a gun and a single bullet meant to end his own predicament? Grrr ... So now Dean has the weight of humanity's fate on his shoulders along with an extra dollop of Bobby. Oh, how I miss Ellen and Jo ...
9:10 Castiel being a BAMF at Adam's grave site. Has he stopped counting how many angels he's had to kill? Those knives are seriously effed up. ::shudders::
13:25 Dean and Castiel release the hounds. Castiel expressing his disappointment in Dean with, "Maybe they (the angels) wrongly assumed that Dean would be brave enough to withstand them."
To which Dean moves on from tossing pop culture references at Castiel and opts instead for telling him to ... wait for it ...
... "blow me."
Dean gets a chin-out-frown but Castiel doesn't seem all that offended by the switch up. In fact, I think Castiel is woefully mis-stating his case and hiding behind indignation so that his fear of losing Dean doesn't show as much as it usually does.
14:50 I liked Adam pointing out that it's his mom, who did the day to day grunt work of parenting, who is family to him and not John Winchester or his newly acquainted brothers. After last weeks "whore" marathon it's good to hear a woman extolled for simply being a good mom.
16:20 Sam trying to reach Adam. Wow. Sam's a big brother and despite getting repeatedly shot down by Adam he's pretty good at it. His last line about Adam's attitude making it so that he'd fit right in probably got Sam farther than anything else.
17:50 As a Dean/Cas gal I love it when Castiel stands too close or stares at Dean. Even when he's pissed off.
And I really love it when Dean takes note of it and tells Castiel, "Not for nothing, but the last person who looked at me like that: I got laid."
Wow. I mean wow ... Subtext is sooo Season 4.
Despite that, I don't want to let a couple of sexual references that guys tend to lob at each other whether they're close or not define Dean and Castiel. When I think of them post-Apocalypse with nothing more dangerous than each other to focus on I don't necessarily see them immediately falling in love and taking it to bed. While Castiel, the angel, may be genderless it's been shown that he does have appetites. Even before more-human-than-not Future!Castiel made his debut with drugs and group sex he was shown looking at Dean and Anna longingly when Anna kissed Dean goodbye and I don't think it was over Anna! Sorry sweetheart. So I think Castiel is engaged on some level but that could end up in an exercise in futility and frustration if Dean doesn't return the gesture in some substantial way. And I do think Dean is more than capable of exploring his sexuality with Castiel's maleness. What I think he might have a much more difficult time with is accepting that someone loves him despite all that they know about him - even the things that he tries to hide from himself. Abiding love. Abiding even when said person is mad at him or disappointed or slamming panic room doors in his face. But I digress. Dean just told Castiel how to get his attention pronto when it comes to getting laid! \o/ ::claps hands twice:: Cas! Pay attention!
19:00 Dean confessing to Sam that he's tired and can't find it in himself to believe in anything, not even Sam.
Ouch. Just ouch.
20:50 Castiel watching Adam sleep. I can't prove it but it looks like he's thinking, "Scrappy little fucker, but he's no Dean."
I also love how once Sam comes back from the panic room and talking to Dean that Castiel takes his place. He can't seem to stay mad at his man.
Which makes Dean using the angel banishing sigil on him all the more infuriating. Nothing like having something he taught Dean used against him to make Castiel yell like he did.
22:58 Until I started watching SPN I never noticed how creepy an empty park is. Add it along with clowns and midgets to Things That Now Freak Me Out. Thanks SPN ...
25:10 When I first saw this scene - out of context on YouTube - I thought Castiel's violence was meant to convey something long simmering.
But what exactly was simmering? It often seems like Castiel is running parallel to Dean and Sam if not exactly with them: His determination to find God while they sought to destroy Lucifer. They're not at cross purposes but they're not a cohesive TeamFreeWill yet either. With God dusting his hands of the whole matter I think it put Castiel's focus squarely on Dean and yet they're still running parallel to each other. While Dean tries to save humanity - or as much of it as he can - Castiel has narrowed his focus down to one human - Dean. At first, Castiel growls about having rebelled only to have Dean surrender to the other angels but then he gets to the heart of it by pointing out for the second time that he gave everything for Dean and this time he made it clear that he expects more than a grudgingly handed over amulet. It could have been a great scene but the violence was a serious miscalculation. It looks like TPTB got giddy about making Castiel into a BAMF when it comes to the other angels and let it spill over and scald Dean unnecessarily. How I long for S4 kitchen-era Castiel who did not have to raise his voice or his fist to rock Dean back on his heels, thank you very much. In the alley, they could have kept the dialog and just had Castiel quietly advance on Dean. Sometimes less really is more.
31:25 As if I didn't love Dean already I absolutely love the fact that he thought the Beautiful Room might be on a blade of grass.
31:55 I call bullshit. Castiel telling Dean that he doesn't believe in him does not make sense. Am I suppose to believe that his plan is to blast himself and the other angels to Kingdom Come so that Dean can surrender himself anyways? Uhh, no. I don't buy it. He's still smarting from the panic room sigil which makes the box cutter and what it's used for all the more harrowing.
But he obviously still believes.
37:05 The wink that Dean gives Sam is light years away from the sarcastic one that Castiel got in the panic room. Jensen Ackles proves that you don't need to cry to convey a lifetime of adoration and brotherly love. He looks at Sam, his features soften, a quick wink and you know it's still good between them.
39:30 It did my heart good to hear Dean say, "But we'll get them back" referring to both Adam and Castiel. Adam could be used or immediately discarded by Michael. Either way, it sucks to be Adam. I'm assuming that Castiel and the other angels were blasted to the same place which means he might have to fight them there, too. Ah, Cas ... No kidding, I hope you and Dean go Cupid on each other and indulge in a long rib cracking hug when you find your way back again. Lord knows, you both need one and, more importantly, deserve it. Get Sam in there too for a TeamFreeWill group hug and I'll pretend I didn't see a thing.
Images courtesy of toxic_caps!