Supernatural 6.11 (Appointment in Samarra) - Abundant Spoilers
Apparently some people are upset that I spoiled them, so I've changed where the cut is located. Though I have to be honest--the title of the entry says abundant spoilers and I posted on dean_sam this was an episode reaction. I would have thought spoilers came with the territory. My apologies to those who were bothered.
Sometimes Supernatural episodes feel like the powers that be tried to cram so much information into a single 40-some-odd minute installment that they don't do justice to all they're trying to convey. This time, it felt like they were padding for days. It's good to see Sam resouled (what we saw of it, anyway), and Death was a kick as always, but I felt like this episode had major pacing problems, and I can't believe Dean couldn't hold it together better to see through his bet with Death.
Here are some observations:
- I was surprised to see that Sam and Dean were reunited at the beginning of the episode. I'd thought when Sam walked off last week they were going to be separated this week.
- I liked Dean's assurances to Sam that he'd look out for him and keep things from going awry. It felt true and real (and yes, protective!Dean is one of my bulletproof kinks).
- I'm surprised they made so little out of Robert Englund. He's a high-profile genre star, but he had little to do here.
- Oh, Death! Julian Richings is one of the finest guest stars they've ever had on the show. What a treat.
- It's good to see Tessa too. This marks visit #3 for her, right?
- Sebastian Roche was also underutilized. I can only assume they're setting him up for bigger and better things later in the season.
- I'm not quite clear on Death's bandwidth (if you will...). Dean wasn't exactly knocking people off, left and right, and his work seemed to be concentrated in North America. So are we to assume the rest of the world was death-free while he wore the ring? They needed to do some kind of manipulation of time thing to explain that away.
- I'm not a huge Adam fan. I don't hate the actor; I just don't care about the character. However, I'd decided that he must be dead and in heaven, his soul having separated from his body when he was set on fire during Swan Song. It was a bit of a rude awakening to discover he was in the cage with Sam. The only plus is he shouldn't be going through the torture Sam had endured because he did as Michael had asked, and still held Michael inside him. Admittedly, it's probably not a picnic to have Lucifer taking potshots at you all day. Still, I think keeping Adam "alive" (as it were) is a mistake. It muddies Sam's cage drama and I would argue more fans are invested in that storyline than are invested in Adam's. I'm guessing the reason for this twist is that one day Adam will return and he won't exactly be happy with his big half-brothers. Who can blame him?
- I don't believe Dean would mess up as quickly and easily as he did. By balking at taking out the little girl, he rendered his agreement with Death null and void. Add to that his taking off the ring to save someone he doesn't know at all (and potentially some innocent bystanders) and I'm doubly disappointed. It made Dean look absentminded and...wishy-washy. He knew what was at stake, he was willing to kill himself just to make this opportunity possible, and he throws it all away so easily? Uh-uh. Dean has always been about protecting the innocent; that's true. But he's also been all about saving his brother from eternal torture. His screwing up made him look far less sharp than he truly is. The writers didn't do right by him.
- I mostly blame the pacing in this section for that impression. Dean needed things to be coming at him rapid fire, testing his ability to make decisions on the fly. He had far too much time to mosey around the hospital, pondering what to do. There wasn't any urgency. That was partly the script's fault and partly the director's.
- And speaking of pacing--the Sam/Bobby standoff was about as exciting as my watching my nails grow. This, I think, was the director's fault. Mike Rohl could have teased out the cat/mouse dynamic way better than he did. I also don't understand how Sam was able to so quickly go from having a conversation on the stairs with Bobby to breaking out via the panic room's air shaft. That didn't seem physically possible.
- The one good thing to come from Sam's attempt on Bobby's life was the way it drove home Sam's sociopathic tendencies. We'd seen them before, of course. But to have them turned on someone we (and him) think of as a friend highlighted how impossible the situation was. I really felt for Dean when he said, "What do I do? I can't lock him up every time he wants to kill someone. And this won't hold him." For a moment, as he played with Death's ring, I'd thought Dean might put Sam out of his (and Dean's) misery (and had emailed debbiel and callistosh65 earlier in the day I thought such a thing might come to pass). As it turned out, that step wasn't necessary. For now.
- And now the elephant in the living room. Sam's soul has been returned to him (over his vehement protests). Does anyone want to take a bet as to when that mental drywall is going to come crumbling down? Because you know it will. Mentioning the 75% success rate was the Supernatural version of (Anton) Chekhov's gun. I'm going to go with the season cliffhanger, because I believe we'll see a season seven. And, of course, Dean will blame himself because he was the one who'd insisted Sam needed his soul. Dean was right, no question. But that won't stop his horrible guilt when Sam begins to fall apart.
- And speaking of guilt--Dean's face when Sam's soul is being pressed back into his body? That's my boy.
- Those are both my boys.
Happy Hellatus, y'all. ;-)
Sometimes Supernatural episodes feel like the powers that be tried to cram so much information into a single 40-some-odd minute installment that they don't do justice to all they're trying to convey. This time, it felt like they were padding for days. It's good to see Sam resouled (what we saw of it, anyway), and Death was a kick as always, but I felt like this episode had major pacing problems, and I can't believe Dean couldn't hold it together better to see through his bet with Death.
Here are some observations:
- I was surprised to see that Sam and Dean were reunited at the beginning of the episode. I'd thought when Sam walked off last week they were going to be separated this week.
- I liked Dean's assurances to Sam that he'd look out for him and keep things from going awry. It felt true and real (and yes, protective!Dean is one of my bulletproof kinks).
- I'm surprised they made so little out of Robert Englund. He's a high-profile genre star, but he had little to do here.
- Oh, Death! Julian Richings is one of the finest guest stars they've ever had on the show. What a treat.
- It's good to see Tessa too. This marks visit #3 for her, right?
- Sebastian Roche was also underutilized. I can only assume they're setting him up for bigger and better things later in the season.
- I'm not quite clear on Death's bandwidth (if you will...). Dean wasn't exactly knocking people off, left and right, and his work seemed to be concentrated in North America. So are we to assume the rest of the world was death-free while he wore the ring? They needed to do some kind of manipulation of time thing to explain that away.
- I'm not a huge Adam fan. I don't hate the actor; I just don't care about the character. However, I'd decided that he must be dead and in heaven, his soul having separated from his body when he was set on fire during Swan Song. It was a bit of a rude awakening to discover he was in the cage with Sam. The only plus is he shouldn't be going through the torture Sam had endured because he did as Michael had asked, and still held Michael inside him. Admittedly, it's probably not a picnic to have Lucifer taking potshots at you all day. Still, I think keeping Adam "alive" (as it were) is a mistake. It muddies Sam's cage drama and I would argue more fans are invested in that storyline than are invested in Adam's. I'm guessing the reason for this twist is that one day Adam will return and he won't exactly be happy with his big half-brothers. Who can blame him?
- I don't believe Dean would mess up as quickly and easily as he did. By balking at taking out the little girl, he rendered his agreement with Death null and void. Add to that his taking off the ring to save someone he doesn't know at all (and potentially some innocent bystanders) and I'm doubly disappointed. It made Dean look absentminded and...wishy-washy. He knew what was at stake, he was willing to kill himself just to make this opportunity possible, and he throws it all away so easily? Uh-uh. Dean has always been about protecting the innocent; that's true. But he's also been all about saving his brother from eternal torture. His screwing up made him look far less sharp than he truly is. The writers didn't do right by him.
- I mostly blame the pacing in this section for that impression. Dean needed things to be coming at him rapid fire, testing his ability to make decisions on the fly. He had far too much time to mosey around the hospital, pondering what to do. There wasn't any urgency. That was partly the script's fault and partly the director's.
- And speaking of pacing--the Sam/Bobby standoff was about as exciting as my watching my nails grow. This, I think, was the director's fault. Mike Rohl could have teased out the cat/mouse dynamic way better than he did. I also don't understand how Sam was able to so quickly go from having a conversation on the stairs with Bobby to breaking out via the panic room's air shaft. That didn't seem physically possible.
- The one good thing to come from Sam's attempt on Bobby's life was the way it drove home Sam's sociopathic tendencies. We'd seen them before, of course. But to have them turned on someone we (and him) think of as a friend highlighted how impossible the situation was. I really felt for Dean when he said, "What do I do? I can't lock him up every time he wants to kill someone. And this won't hold him." For a moment, as he played with Death's ring, I'd thought Dean might put Sam out of his (and Dean's) misery (and had emailed debbiel and callistosh65 earlier in the day I thought such a thing might come to pass). As it turned out, that step wasn't necessary. For now.
- And now the elephant in the living room. Sam's soul has been returned to him (over his vehement protests). Does anyone want to take a bet as to when that mental drywall is going to come crumbling down? Because you know it will. Mentioning the 75% success rate was the Supernatural version of (Anton) Chekhov's gun. I'm going to go with the season cliffhanger, because I believe we'll see a season seven. And, of course, Dean will blame himself because he was the one who'd insisted Sam needed his soul. Dean was right, no question. But that won't stop his horrible guilt when Sam begins to fall apart.
- And speaking of guilt--Dean's face when Sam's soul is being pressed back into his body? That's my boy.
- Those are both my boys.
Happy Hellatus, y'all. ;-)