SPN 10.03
Not in a SPN mood, to be honest. It's snowing outside, everything is white and calm, I would rather make some more tea and fall asleep with Pride and Prejudice on. But the last episode ended on a very interesting note, Dean was promising to do things to Sam. What could it be? Will he go for the self-esteem, as usual, or will he choose a more physical approach. Ooh, maybe he'll tear his shirt off. Let's see.
40 minutes later
Disappointment # 1. Oh right, the purification ritual involves injections of blood. Meh. I'd rather it were something more interesting. Tattoos, maybe.
Disappointment # 2. The ritual was not nearly as hot or suspenseful as the one in Born Under The Bad Sign. Remember that shot of the ceiling in BUABS when the camera was between Sam's legs? That's how it's done.
Disappointment # 3. Occasionally clunky dialogue with bad puns and awkward rhyming. Lean mean Dean, seriously? I suppose you can't expect much from an episode titled Soul Survivor, but still. This is not Community.
Everything livened up once Dean was out of the chair. The chase around the bunker was super exciting, and I was surprised and pleased to learn that Sam can take Dean in melee combat.
It used to be a defining characteristic that Dean can take Sam in a fight even though Sam is bigger. And now Sam won a fight with a broken arm, very unusual. Here's a sappy headcanon, I think Dean went easy on him. True wuv slowed his hammer-wielding hand. Well, that's what the eternally 14-year old part of me is thinking. My cynical grown up self is reminded of abusive husbands who yell "I'll kill you" in a seemingly uncontrollable rage. But they won't kill her because who would cook dinner then. Anyway, there's no point dwelling on this since Dean wasn't himself.
So, is this the end of Dean's transformation for now, is he back to normal? Will there be a closure or consequences to this? Dean still has the Mark of Fratricide, so something should happen with that. It can't just fade away like Cas's handprint. Cas said his good-buys so it's back to MOTW episodes, I suppose. I'm happy to get a break from him and his storyline, all the cut and stab. I don't really have a thing for knives.
5/10