Two and a Half Men
I can barely contain my glee.
The first half of this episode--hell, the first three quarters of it--had me in a funk. These still weren't my boys. This still wasn't my show. Dean was being an angsty little bitch, Sam seems to have lost his empathy, and I do not trust Samuel. Dean's still driving around that ugly ass truck, Sam's in that douchey Charger, and Lisa's being all superbitch/protectivemom and just in general getting in everyone's way. Dean's turning into John and just...it was upsetting.
But there were hints, and finally--FINALLY--I cracked a smile. The baby hijinks were fun, light-hearted, not weighed down by any moody emo segues by either of the boys. The return to old friends and faces, these first two episodes in, was refreshing and tantalizing. A hint, it seemed, of what the show used to be.
And then I was surprised.
I expected Dean to insist on staying. I expected Lisa to kick him out, to pull the whole, "you don't want to be here so we don't want you here" card. I expected anything but to have a grudging respect for the woman at the end of the episode, and a thrill that finally, FINALLY, has latched onto my heart and won't let go. There's optimism there--blessed fucking optimism--that I haven't felt in forever. Her understanding of what Dean NEEDS, and her willingness to fight to let him keep both sides of the coin? It was unexpected, and it made me smile.
Like Dean said at the end of last week's episode--some things, like the Impala, and like Dean, should be hunting.
The juxtaposition between domestic daddy!Dean and hunter!Dean was wonderfully done. I honestly, truly, and finally believe that he could actually pull it off. Not getting out, but finding a balance, making life just work. Hearing him hum "Smoke on the Water" to the baby was the first hint of it. But then. Oh fuck me, then.
I squealed aloud when he pulled the tarp off the Impala, and I don't know if it was the filmography or just the context or what, but I felt happy, and I felt Dean's happiness. That smile was genuine. That is where he needs to be. And hell, I'm willing to admit that he loves Lisa and Ben--they deserve it, after Lisa's decision, and I won't begrudge him a visit back now and then--but that was nothing compared to his baby.
Not driving the Impala felt so wrong last week. It was off, it was wrong, it was not. My. Show. But I can almost--almost, because they have got a LOT of making up to do--believe that the writers meant it as a symbol, as something missing from Dean's life, as an integral part of him that, no matter how happy he is with the house and the girl and the kid, he is not whole without.
The brothers Winchester can't be whole unless their individual parts are themselves whole, and finally, FINALLY, I believe that that could maybe happen.
That expression, the car, the music--I haven't felt that way about this show since Dean sold his soul. Despite the "bigger plot" hints with Samuel and the capturing of monsters, and what the hell brought him and Sam back, and the hints of Heaven's return to the storyline next week, and all of it--despite all of that, I finally feel like there's a chance to recapture the feeling of Season 1, to bring this show full circle, and I'm so very excited to see it.
The first half of this episode--hell, the first three quarters of it--had me in a funk. These still weren't my boys. This still wasn't my show. Dean was being an angsty little bitch, Sam seems to have lost his empathy, and I do not trust Samuel. Dean's still driving around that ugly ass truck, Sam's in that douchey Charger, and Lisa's being all superbitch/protectivemom and just in general getting in everyone's way. Dean's turning into John and just...it was upsetting.
But there were hints, and finally--FINALLY--I cracked a smile. The baby hijinks were fun, light-hearted, not weighed down by any moody emo segues by either of the boys. The return to old friends and faces, these first two episodes in, was refreshing and tantalizing. A hint, it seemed, of what the show used to be.
And then I was surprised.
I expected Dean to insist on staying. I expected Lisa to kick him out, to pull the whole, "you don't want to be here so we don't want you here" card. I expected anything but to have a grudging respect for the woman at the end of the episode, and a thrill that finally, FINALLY, has latched onto my heart and won't let go. There's optimism there--blessed fucking optimism--that I haven't felt in forever. Her understanding of what Dean NEEDS, and her willingness to fight to let him keep both sides of the coin? It was unexpected, and it made me smile.
Like Dean said at the end of last week's episode--some things, like the Impala, and like Dean, should be hunting.
The juxtaposition between domestic daddy!Dean and hunter!Dean was wonderfully done. I honestly, truly, and finally believe that he could actually pull it off. Not getting out, but finding a balance, making life just work. Hearing him hum "Smoke on the Water" to the baby was the first hint of it. But then. Oh fuck me, then.
I squealed aloud when he pulled the tarp off the Impala, and I don't know if it was the filmography or just the context or what, but I felt happy, and I felt Dean's happiness. That smile was genuine. That is where he needs to be. And hell, I'm willing to admit that he loves Lisa and Ben--they deserve it, after Lisa's decision, and I won't begrudge him a visit back now and then--but that was nothing compared to his baby.
Not driving the Impala felt so wrong last week. It was off, it was wrong, it was not. My. Show. But I can almost--almost, because they have got a LOT of making up to do--believe that the writers meant it as a symbol, as something missing from Dean's life, as an integral part of him that, no matter how happy he is with the house and the girl and the kid, he is not whole without.
The brothers Winchester can't be whole unless their individual parts are themselves whole, and finally, FINALLY, I believe that that could maybe happen.
That expression, the car, the music--I haven't felt that way about this show since Dean sold his soul. Despite the "bigger plot" hints with Samuel and the capturing of monsters, and what the hell brought him and Sam back, and the hints of Heaven's return to the storyline next week, and all of it--despite all of that, I finally feel like there's a chance to recapture the feeling of Season 1, to bring this show full circle, and I'm so very excited to see it.