SPN - 6.10 - 'Caged Heat' - Insta!Reaction (not of the happy kind)
That was...horribly shoddy. Whose idea was it to give the second to last ep before winter hiatus to writer not even in the staff office? WITH ALL THAT IMPORTANT PLOT STUFF TO DEAL WITH???? *Facepalm* There was so many problems here I don’t even know where to start, so I’m not even gonna try. It’s finals week, and I’m up to my ears in work, and SPN? This was lazyass work this week. Even Lennertz decided it was so lazy, all it deserved was recycled score.
Somehow while failing at everything else, they did do the badassery EXTREMEMLY WELL.
Meg was actually pretty super awesome (Saying this coming from someone who really hates the idea of rebooting Meg because no one will ever play her like Nicki Aycox. But Rachel Miner kicked ass in her own way this week which was appreciated.) Ruthless, sharp-as-a-tack Sam this week was CRAZILY AWESOME. (And pretty much confirmed to me my suspicion that his shtick last week was all just that, a shtick. His ability to play Dean is still, um, REALLY SCARY.) Cas and his restraint during Sam's 'no-shit' routine was kinda the BEST THING EVER.
BUT OTHERWISE. I’m sorry, that writing was ATROCIOUS. And how was this a SINGER directed ep? I don’t even know.
I've been this season's cheerleader for most of the year so far, I figured I'd have a stumble but getting an ep ranking up there with 'Yellow Fever' as shoddiest thing ever created at midseason finale time? Is entirely another story. Crappy plot holes and horrible dialogue and ridiculous pacing is one thing, but when I start having such huge problems with CHARACTER motivations in this show, I start to get a little ragey.
I have HUGEEEEE problems with Grandpa and his whole OH I WANT TO BRING MY DAUGHTER WHOS BEEN DEAD FOR THIRTY YEARS BACK FROM THE DEAD.
I also am having HUGEEEEEE problems with how this whole ‘we should leave Sam’s soul down there because he’d be too messed up up here’ makes any sense. And why on earth am I feeling more like Dean wants to get Sam’s soul back just so he’s not creeped out by this Sam. He should be wanting to get it back because HI RIGHT NOW SAM’S SOUL IS BEING SUBJECTED TO HORRIBLE HORRIBLE THINGS, AND EVERY DAY YOU LEAVE HIM DOWN THERE IS LIKE ONE WHOLE MORE MONTH OF TORTURE. WHY DO PEOPLE NOT CARE ABOUT THIS??? EVEN WHEN CAS BRINGS IT UP??? There was one way for Dean to respond to Cas’s idea and that was, “I’m not just going to LEAVE him down there!’ EXACTLY. This whole ep needed a rewrite.
And don't even get me started about the problem of Meg working with Dean and Sam in the first place, given all their history with her that they have so easily ignored here. She's done a hell of a lot more than just 'killed Jo and Ellen'. (A line to which I responded with, 'No boys, you killed them.' because whatever, it's true.) Or you know, where she was for the whole S5 showdown if she was Lucifer's right-hand girl?
The ending was pretty obvious, though I’m still left confused why this Sam EVER wanted his soul in the first place. And why he thought he needed Dean and his caring thing and went through so much trouble to make sure he‘d be by his side, only suddenly do the whole dramatic walkaway routine? There’s gotta be some deception in there, right?
Also, it needs to be said: That redo on the torture porn, if ever there was more an intentional 'fuck you' to everyone who complains about the show's sexist shit, it was that. That was more than just an illusion back to the Ruby scene, that was 'if you think that was bad, look at this! Implied genital mutiliation!' I don't even have words for how dickish of a move that was. Way to be spiteful as shit, Show. And after being pretty good all season too. Did Sera take a vacation or something when this was passed??? I thought it was at least nice that Meg got back up and got to be badass again after it. But then they went and gave Dean that last word about giving her to Cas for an hour before killing her, and I think I threw up in my mouth.
In conclusion: Can Brett Matthews, will ya? And stop letting Dabb & Laughlin train new writers. Mean-spirited, dickishly crude, lazyass writing does not need to be propagated, thank you very much.
ETA: Can someone please explain to me what Grandpa Campbell meant by this: "You sold out your own mother! It was Sam or your mother and you chose Sam". Is this him being woefully uninformed, or anything else that I'm missing that isn't some heavy-handed clue that Dean's still living his djinn nightmare from the premiere, and everything the last ten episodes has all existed in his head? (DOES. NOT. WANT.)