12.5 (Actually Somewhat Spoilery)
And not particularly favorable, so if you don't want your squee harshed, here's your warning.
I wouldn't say I hated "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell," but I didn't find all that much to like about it, either. It was just kind of there all of the plotlines got pushed forward a bit; which might have been interesting if I had two fucks to rub together about either the Nephilim or Crowley's gloating like a gloaty gloater.
Negan's bat was a moment of funny that went on just a little too long, to make sure that the viewers got the joke. And I have a hard time believing that Dean, who was pissed off that Sam missed the wastebasket with a gum wrapper and just left it there, would causally flick a chunk of whichever monster it was on the floor of the Bunker, no matter how tired and filthy he was.
The MotW plot seemed more like filler, and not in a good way. It gave the characters excuses to reference the big plotlines, but though it had a few funny moments, it wasn't particularly exciting. I never was in doubt that Sam would be able to kill the hellhound and save the girl, and I ended up feeling kinda bad for Ramsay. It's like when a bear gets too acclimated to the presence of humans in a campground and starts to be a threat; you have to put it down for the safety of the humans, but it's hard to see it as a moral victory or even much of a triumph.
Hellhounds are scary, but they're not actually evil. They've never been portrayed as being moral agents; they're hunting dogs whose prey is humans and whose masters are demons. Blaming them would be like blaming the foxhounds for the hunt.
(Possibly useful context: my dog was bred to hunt wild boar.)
When Dean and Crowley found the lair I thought we were going to get Hellhound pups as a tie-in to the Nephilim/Kelly Kline situation. I can see why they wouldn't want to go there; it's hard to maintain a character's heroic status when they are killing puppies, even super-vicious deadly invisible puppies.
I was glad to see Dean in the glasses again; he looks really hot in them. And watching Dean and Crowley flirt is always welcome. (See, not all bad.)
Also, Sam got to be the badass while flying solo again this week. He has, essentially, taken out two Alphas in as many episodes. Even though the only suspense I was feeling during that whole confrontation was in how much poor Baby was going to have to take, and how pissed Dean would be when he found out.
The "lying is bad, do not be a lying liar who lies" conversation between Sam and Gwen was super heavy-handed, but at least we weren't treated to weeks upon weeks of Sam pretending that he's programmed a hunting algorithm when it had to be that he's getting jobs from the BMOL. And I liked that Dean's reaction was so measured; he clearly didn't like it, clearly he felt hurt and betrayed, but he didn't fly off the handle like he did when Sam was going around his back with Ruby holy cats was that actually eight years ago, and is, conditionally, willing to work with them.
After a mildly amusing "rescue" by a pair of demons, Lucifer is brought to heel as soon as Crowley gets back, rendering the whole subplot (and Ramsay's death) completely pointless.
Also pointless was Castiel's lying to Sam and Dean. Why not just tell them that you're going to Heaven I kind of liked the angel, who the internet has informed me is named Kelvin (which seems like a completely non-angelic name but maybe he doesn't like his actual angel name so he goes by his vessel's name. Or something. The seduction scene was well-written and acted, it just seemed like a bit much for a sales pitch that was basically "hey, the new leader of Heaven wants to chat, no strings, so why don't you come up and you and he can do lunch?" If Castiel was worried that the angels might harm him, I could see why he would hesitate, but I didn't get that feeling. So it felt like it was more build-up than Castiel's decision really needed.
This entry was originally posted at http://were-lemur.dreamwidth.org/247635.html. Comment at whichever site you prefer.
I wouldn't say I hated "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell," but I didn't find all that much to like about it, either. It was just kind of there all of the plotlines got pushed forward a bit; which might have been interesting if I had two fucks to rub together about either the Nephilim or Crowley's gloating like a gloaty gloater.
Negan's bat was a moment of funny that went on just a little too long, to make sure that the viewers got the joke. And I have a hard time believing that Dean, who was pissed off that Sam missed the wastebasket with a gum wrapper and just left it there, would causally flick a chunk of whichever monster it was on the floor of the Bunker, no matter how tired and filthy he was.
The MotW plot seemed more like filler, and not in a good way. It gave the characters excuses to reference the big plotlines, but though it had a few funny moments, it wasn't particularly exciting. I never was in doubt that Sam would be able to kill the hellhound and save the girl, and I ended up feeling kinda bad for Ramsay. It's like when a bear gets too acclimated to the presence of humans in a campground and starts to be a threat; you have to put it down for the safety of the humans, but it's hard to see it as a moral victory or even much of a triumph.
Hellhounds are scary, but they're not actually evil. They've never been portrayed as being moral agents; they're hunting dogs whose prey is humans and whose masters are demons. Blaming them would be like blaming the foxhounds for the hunt.
(Possibly useful context: my dog was bred to hunt wild boar.)
When Dean and Crowley found the lair I thought we were going to get Hellhound pups as a tie-in to the Nephilim/Kelly Kline situation. I can see why they wouldn't want to go there; it's hard to maintain a character's heroic status when they are killing puppies, even super-vicious deadly invisible puppies.
I was glad to see Dean in the glasses again; he looks really hot in them. And watching Dean and Crowley flirt is always welcome. (See, not all bad.)
Also, Sam got to be the badass while flying solo again this week. He has, essentially, taken out two Alphas in as many episodes. Even though the only suspense I was feeling during that whole confrontation was in how much poor Baby was going to have to take, and how pissed Dean would be when he found out.
The "lying is bad, do not be a lying liar who lies" conversation between Sam and Gwen was super heavy-handed, but at least we weren't treated to weeks upon weeks of Sam pretending that he's programmed a hunting algorithm when it had to be that he's getting jobs from the BMOL. And I liked that Dean's reaction was so measured; he clearly didn't like it, clearly he felt hurt and betrayed, but he didn't fly off the handle like he did when Sam was going around his back with Ruby holy cats was that actually eight years ago, and is, conditionally, willing to work with them.
After a mildly amusing "rescue" by a pair of demons, Lucifer is brought to heel as soon as Crowley gets back, rendering the whole subplot (and Ramsay's death) completely pointless.
Also pointless was Castiel's lying to Sam and Dean. Why not just tell them that you're going to Heaven I kind of liked the angel, who the internet has informed me is named Kelvin (which seems like a completely non-angelic name but maybe he doesn't like his actual angel name so he goes by his vessel's name. Or something. The seduction scene was well-written and acted, it just seemed like a bit much for a sales pitch that was basically "hey, the new leader of Heaven wants to chat, no strings, so why don't you come up and you and he can do lunch?" If Castiel was worried that the angels might harm him, I could see why he would hesitate, but I didn't get that feeling. So it felt like it was more build-up than Castiel's decision really needed.
This entry was originally posted at http://were-lemur.dreamwidth.org/247635.html. Comment at whichever site you prefer.