Reaction: Supernatural 4.08 -Reaction, meta and spec
Warning, there may be excessive lack of coherence due to a fever reaction to a flu shot. Fair warning
Spoiler Timeline
-Oct 30 Promo exposure. the word "WISHVILLE" in happy postcardy letters. Heh. I wonder if they're going to lift the concept wholesale from 'Kripke's Game' over on TWoP. Wish granted in the worst way possible. Nonetheless, lots of wish-granting hootenannies in myth and legend, could be any number of things. Possibly a trickster, but maybe not. I think if we get the Trickster again, there will be some tie-in to why he's taking whatever side he did in "Mystery Spot". So, case-fic, wish-granting/twisting monster, starting out with epic yelling between Sam and Dean about angels and who's using their Demon powers even though he said he wouldn't, Sam, ending with a 'so what really happened in Hell?' from Sam and a big old mutual wall of Winchester Emo-repressage with handy sniping portals for the next ep or two.
-Nov 5th Title seen while voting in a poll. "Wishful Thinking" Hmmm... Normal Sam and Dean in a stable family relationship. Sam.... hm. Normality? Does Sam still wish for normality? Eeek. Anyway, wishes it is.
I still cannot help but think of the Kripke's Game thread over on TWoP. I've been avoiding TWoP for a long while now due to casual spoilage, but I loved that thread. Make a wish, and it gets granted, but in the worst possible way. As in, fans want Ava and Andy brought back? Okay, but she's totally unrepentantly evil and kills him messily. And so on. And I've always had a sneaking suspicion that Kripke or the writers lurk around in that thread and chortle....
So really aside from title and general plot, almost no spoilage this time! *rubs hands gleefully* Bring it on.
Reaction, incoherent meta, theory, spec and rambling for Supernatural 4.08 - "Wishful Thinking"
Oooooo.... canon crack-fic... so shiny...
-[Rewatch: Promo from last time... wow. Thanks for the episode summary...]
-Avoided the previouslies on the first watch. [Rewatch: Hm. More of a recap of what happened last week than a 'Cliff's Notes' refresher course on story arcs we'll be covering in the episode. Except it kind of is both.]
-A shower scene? Seriously? Probably be a reversal of expected shower scene, since they've already done one. Also because they're going nuts with the shots going back and forth. Shower. Wet woman. Shower! Wet woman! LURKING PERSON! SHOWER! WET WOMAN! *snerk* It's like Sesame Street with the "H" "AND" monsters.
-So, that would make the ominous lurker an amorous boyfriend about to emphasize the benefits of water conservation, would it? Whoops, he disappeared. Ooo, okay, so it is a ghost then? I'm getting mixed signals... *whacks self in head*
-Hand wipe through steam effect coooool. Ah. It's watching. Ahhhh, okay, it's a guy who wished himself invisible.
-Hee, cheeeeezy footprints. Awesome.
-TOWEL!! HAHAHHAHAAHAHAHHA!!! That was funnier than it had any right to be. Hee!
-Three shots? Dean better not be driving.
-Hm. Why does Ted Raimi sound familiar... [Rewatch: *swats idiot self*]
-Ah. Sam's picked a euphemism for Hell that passers-by will not be easily alarmed by. *nods* Or Sam might think Hell really is in Australia. Maybe he had a bad 'Yahoo Serious' experience in his youth. Maybe he mistook "Young Einstein" for a documentary and had to redo a science report in elementary school because he wrote about Einstein's quest to split the Tasmanian beer atom with a chisel. Yeah, that must be it. *nods*
-However, he also gave Dean an easy way out of the 'look me in the eye' test there with his word choice. I forget where I heard it, but there's some "interrogation resistance" technique I heard about once in a movie or something; take the question asked, reword or re-arrange it in your mind to a question that has the answer you want to give and answer that question instead. Sam asks, "Then look me in the eye and tell me you don't remember a thing from your time down under?" Dean looks around and blinks a bit while he mentally remaps the question by taking 'Down Under' as Australia. Since he has likely never been to Australia, he answers truthfully, "I don't remember a thing from my time Down Under," and shows admirable restraint in remembering not to snark about kangaroos. *nods again*
-Heh. "You know everything I do. That's all there is." Sounds a lot like DEAN-ial.
-Waiter-boy with his epilepsy-inducing suspenders needs to stop mainlining the espresso. And coming from me? That's serious. Not that he isn't cute, but aggressive customer service and me are not compatible.
-Three shots and a beer chaser. Dude, really, Sam needs to get your keys if you're keeping on like this. *is concerned*
-Concrete, Washington! Yay for visiting a state Vancouver can mimic without effort! Concrete, Washington also had an incredibly ill-timed power failure during the airing of "War of the Worlds" in 1938 which caused mass panic.
-"Eye-witness reports of a ghost that's been haunting the showers of a women's health facility." *splorf* Women and showers! Ha! It's the case Dean's waited his whole life for, I bet. *pats Dean* [*rewinds a few times to watch Dean splorf*
-Written by Ben Edlund, king of crack, and Lou Bollo, who is... Hey, waaaaitaminute. Lou Bollo's the Stunt Coordinator! Wha? Okay, maybe he's branching out somewhat. Hunh. Good for him! You go, Lou! :-D Also Edlund had a Teleplay credit. Is that normal? Directed by Robert Singer. My what an interesting combination.
-Chieftain Hotel, another prominent Hotel shot, not like that's new, but I still think they're stocking up shots for something. Incidentally, the Chieftain Hotel in Squamish, BC appears to be well-cast as a Washington state hotel; it offers in-room Starbucks.
-Also, this being Squamish would make the mountain in the background "Cascade Mountain as portrayed by Whistler Mountain" and a sterling job by Whistler on that. *golf clap*
-"The working title is... Supernatural." *headdesk* And that's when I flipped off the TV. No, no, not turned it off, 'flipped off' as in gave it the finger. Prolongedly. No need to be a smart-ass, show. *snerk*
-Hunh. Sam's abnormally interested in random kissing people since when? That's weird. Okay so the kissing people are obviously going to be significant in some way to the plot. Still seems weird that they drew Sam's attention just by kissing. I mean I've heard louder impassioned smacking and groaning from my coworker when she eats an apple with cheese. Now, if they were getting so into it they'd knocked something off the table I could see Sam taking that much note. Hm. Weird. Oh! No wait, she laughed. Laughter is obviously something that Sam is disturbed by now. *nods*
-"Don't tell my mom!" HAHAHA. Yep. Invisible pervy kid.
-"Damn right I wanted to save some naked women!" Poor Dean. It's the case he's waited his whole life for and he doesn't even get to be a perv.
-"Run, Forrest, run!" ...I'm not sure if that line's supposed to be funny, or Dean trying to get Sam to be exasperated, or some kind of retroactive supporting evidence for Dean being a dick, so I'mma pass on that one, m'kay?
-"Sumpin's goin' oan." Hee. Accent FTW. *pats*
-Hey, Gus the hunter is a 'that guy' actor. Where's he from? [Rewatch: Credit analysis tells me he is 'Sean Devine' and has had parts in many Vancouver productions including the 4400, but none I recall seeing, so not sure where I recognize him from. Maybe he's giving me a 'Red Green' vibe. I think he also may have gotten the only 'sonofabitch' of this episode...]
-"That... is a big foot." Yay, Sammy's got his Captain Obvious cape on!
-Hey Dean shoplifted some booze! I had a coat with pockets like that once. I got frisked by the cops at 'Dry Grad' because I was carrying a hardcover copy of "The Complete Book of Swords" and hey thought it was alcohol. I love pockets. I just don't put booze in them.
-Lang's Liquor has a small front bench. Lookit those kneeeees! XD I'm really quite surprised neither of them has posited the Trickster being involved yet. Maybe Sam's implied post-"Mystery Spot" détente with the Trickster eliminates him as an option? Hm...
-...do I want to know what David Duchovny's been up to lately? I'm... going to assume a big 'no' on that... *is unsettled*
-Hee! The boys trying to do their usual door trickery on a kid is priceless. Except it works on the young missy here because she is a danger to herself with the 'fling the doors wide open, no my parents aren't home, come on in tall strange teddy bear doctors' thing. I'm suddenly VERY GLAD the boys got there before anyone else did. O.O
-Incidentally TEDDY BEAR DOCTORS!! \o/
-*takes a moment to laugh again because VCR has paused on Sam with the "Teddy Bear Doctor" badge up beside his face and he looks like a chipmunk*
-I love this little actress! She's very earnest.
-"Close the frigging door!" Yeah! Oh the stunned, stunned faces on Sam and Dean!!!! Hee!
-[Damn those toilet paper bears! I find it disturbing that the young bear's football coach is so concerned about toilet paper on the bear's behind, but I find even more disturbing the concept of naked football. Yes, I know bears are naked all the time and don't play football except in Chicago or something but whatever. Just, gah. DO NOT WANT! Evil toilet paper bears.]
-"Now he's sad all the time, not ouch-sad, but ouched-in-the-head sad, says weird stuff and smells like the bus!" I. Love. Audrey. She has no basic sense of 'home alone' safety and all, but she's just frigging adorable. If her parents never come back from Bali, can Dean adopt her? She may already have experience getting monsters to behave, at least in a crossover universe. *is insane*
-Time is 9:33, according to the clock on the girl's bedroom wall. ...I'm thinking that's wrong, since it's November at least, and still daylight out in Washington State. Unless Sam and Dean are way way way too efficient and have gotten to town, interrogated witnesses, ogled kissing people eating in a chinese restaurant first thing in the morning, lurked in women's shower facilities, tracked 'Big Foot' and found this kid's house all before ten AM. Not that they couldn't, just that the rest of the world may not be as efficient as them. Hey! Maybe the girl re-set her own clock and got her little hand and big hand mixed up. Yeah! That's it! Daylight savings would have happened pretty recently! So who knows what the time is, really. I'm thinking afternoony. *dusts hands at solving a puzzle no one probably wanted to know the answer to*
-"Tea parties? Is that all there is?" Aw, poor teddy watching the news. Cheer up, emo bear. This is why stuffies should not interact with the grown-up world in a conscious way. They care too much and want to fix it all, because that's what stuffies do, but can't, so they... uh... get wasted and read porn. Hm. I thought I had something there but it got away from me. Anyway, a giant drunk teddy bear experiencing existential angst. Wow. Edlund brought out the high-test for this ep. That's just... wow.
-OMG, the face on Dean, as he turns and slooowly walks away and slooowly shuts the door. AH hahahaha! Mind-blown looks good on Dean.
-The how to waste a teddy bear discussion, complete with the faces of "I cannot believe we are seriously discussing this" is sheer awesomeness. However, are we not even going to check to see if it's just some freak in a giant teddy bear costume, guys? Admittedly this is an episode of Supernatural and not an episode of Criminal Minds or Law and Order: SVU or something where some freak in a teddy bear costume might be going around... yeah, 'nuff said. Just check the bear for a zipper before you jump to conclusions, okay? Please? Unless there's an olfactory component or something that doesn't transmit through the TV to the bear's presence that makes 'guy in bear suit' not work? Yeah, that must be it. *nods*
-Lollipop Disease. (Which sounds like a euphemism for diabetes.) Highly contagious. M'hmm. Wow. This is the most credulous kid ever. I'm even more glad Sam and Dean found her before anyone else could. *shudders*
-Hey, it's the bullied kid! Man, he's got seriously evil eyebrows! He made a wish! Go get 'em, kid! Wish up a Luck Dragon! Well, except the special effects and licensing budgets aren't up to that. Hm.
-JALAPENOS! I am inordinately thrilled that Dean likes jalapenos! *feels kinship*
-That's why Sam was staring at the couple before?? Okay guys, firstly, neither of those people are notably unattractive, one's just wearing glasses and could use some more assiduous grooming habits. Secondly, attractiveness is in the eye of the beholder, and it's not solely physical appearance-based; maybe the guy's a fantastic conversationalist with a great sense of humour and/or caring and stuff and/or can tie a knot in a cherry stem with his tongue, who knows. Certainly not anyone who writes him off as unattractive and not worth knowing beyond the surface appearance. And thirdly, why is it considered so notably weird to have 'attractive' and 'unattractive' people together as a couple? It happens, it's hardly a sign one of them has wished the other person's free will away. Oh wait, right. This is the CW plot filter. Unattractive people do not exist or are skeevy. *growls at CW* Sorry, rant over now. *pats show reassuringly*
-ID's! Dean's little pocket search for the appropriate fake ID for the occasion! Perfect! When in doubt, carry all of them, but remember which went in what pocket. Makes perfect sense! Sure! And if someone searches you and finds three different fake ID's it's already too late because they're searching you and have found the weaponry. Because you know Dean is probably one brass paperclip away from clanking when he walks. *nods*
-Hey! It's Princess Pei Pei's dad! I think. It's been a long while since I saw the movie. *waves*
-Oooo... Random infraction codes. Hee. I feel like a tiny bit of " Laundry Day" just got confirmed in canon. Sort of. *resists looking the codes up, barely looks up the codes but doesn't find anything*
-Oh Dean. He's been trying to protect Sam his whole life, and getting "I'm not that guy anymore" and is just... ow. And Sam's new wish. OW, Sam. Also OW writers. We're all coasting along in a happy fluffy pile of crack and suddenly run smack into the mountain of Sam's simmering need for bloody vengeance. Awesome. And jarring as hell, but yeah. It's like that. La la la la la *wham*. OW!
-And then all the walls go up because "We're on a case and do not have time to interact and deal with the emotional damage right now" and GOD DAMN IT ALL TO HELL, JOHN WINCHESTER! Sigh. Love John, he did the best he could, but he and his boys are experts at repression.
-That coin wiggled. It did. It's stuck down there with gum or something. Must be that super-gum I heard Smallville had last year. Also, well done to the set design crew for making sure all the coins but the weird one were American. *nods*
-More random health codes! Love the random health codes! *glows* Also, the delivery. "I don't wanna slap you with a 44/16, but I will!" *side eyebrow* *serious health inspector face is vry srs* Heee!
-Finally, you bring a chisel. No wait, it's a crowbar, and a mallet. Meh, close enough. Still won't work, or will do bad things. See, told ya.
-Rubbing! Okay. Hee. I cannot explain why Sam taking a rubbing of a magic coin makes me gleeful, it's just... glee. Like a completely impossible secret shout-out to a character I had in a role-playing game once.
-Something about the woman's hair being completely dry while the invisible guy is still dripping wet is vastly disturbing me. O.O
-My, what an evil looking child. He's got that kidney-liquefying glare down cold. Love those eyebrows!
-Revenge of the sandwich! Oh, poor Dean. Jalapenos hurt. *pats*
-Why, if the hotel they are staying at is the 'Chieftain', is there an advertising standee for the "Tall Totem Lodge" on the fridge Dean gets the beer out of? And for that matter, why does it say "Tall Totem" on the wall opposite the door when Sam opens it? Maybe some kind of hotel-twinning thing? Or cooperative advertising among rustic-Native-American-stereotype-themed hotels in the greater 'Concrete, Washington' area? Yeah, that must be it. No! No wait! It's the part of the hotel they're in! There's the 'Tall Totem Lodge' rooms, and probably the 'WigWam Wing' and other rustic-Native-American-stereotype-themed sub-sections. *nods*
-Cursed Babylonian coin! Yay cursed object! Tiamat? Ooo, they did check Wikipedia for that one. Yay! (I thought it was pronounced TEE-a-mat, not tia-MAT, though.) Although since Kripke has at some point in his life played and run D&D, I'm thinking this might have influenced the choice of deity. Sam and Dean vs a Chromatic Dragon. Heeee. Tiamat's apparently got a Challenge Rating of 102 in the d20 system. Gonna need more than a salt-gun for that one. *nods*
-*snerk* Yeah. They totally checked Wikipedia. *eyes text under coins picture on the laptop, smirks and says nothing more*
-Hehe. The way Sam mispronounces E. Coli makes me think it should be shouted from the mountains by two guys with an alpenhorn.
-Aww... Suicidal teddy. Maybe he needs to meet "Prozac the Bear" from Triangle and Robert, which none of you have probably heard of, and is exceptionally surreal, soooo, moving on.
-[Random free-associations are random. I blame the flu shot.]
-Anyway, shame on Audrey's parents for leaving their rifle accessible to their daughter's suicidal teddy bear. *frowns*
-The pan back and the drawn-out wait of "are they really going to...?", and then stuffing! Stuffing everywhere! The horror! Bwah! XD I know, it's bad and wrong and it's a teddy bear blowing its frigging stuffing out in a fit of existential angst, but HA!!! Besides, stuffies can't die. It's a fact. *nods and will not hear otherwise*
-[Holiday commercials are not allowed to exist in my world yet. Come back at the end of November *waves away commercial*]
-Ooo. Nightmare Deaaaaan! The twitching! The little noises- gah! *fights overwhelming need to tuck Dean in and turn on a night light for him* Damn, that kicked me unexpectedly in the maternal instincts!
-"Sleep well?" There is no need to be an ass, Sam. *looks sternly* Still, that's about what Castiel said in "In the Beginning" so I guess Sam's in good company.
-Um, Dean? Waking up to a stiff belt of alcohol is very much not good. Also, again, Sam had better not be letting you drive. Even is he is being an ass. *is truly concerned*
-"Careful what you wish for." And Dean deflects the inquiry and brings attention back to the case. Oh, Dean.
-Oooo, a very very clear pause on printed material! From the Engagement announcement: Wesley Mondale and Ms. Hope Lynn Casey have announced their surprise engagement, Wesley's parents are Cheryl and Thomas, Hope's parents are Candace and Nicholas, both grew up in Concrete, to be married at the earliest possible date. The wedding will have a sort of 'Japanesey-*blurry*' theme. "The bride to be gushed about her bridegroom; 'We *blur* grew up here, but I never really *blur*'" Also, under birthdays, Stephanie and Ashley are turning 16, Alexa is 1, Vanessa and Michael appear to be turning 13. In 'Remembering' we have Marion Anderson who died peacefully at 52, Francis Anne died at Glory Park Nursing Home in his 80th year, and his wife's name was... Mike L. Anne. *shrugs* Fair enough. He was also a mother *double-take* Uh, yeah, mother to... er Peter and his wife Meridel. Both of them?? He was... sister... of Mickie... Okay, so obviously Francis Anne was transgendered and the family has issues with it to the point they couldn't agree on what gender pronoun to use in Francis's Obit. That's sad. Kind of disturbed Francis's children married each other, but whatever, I guess. Also, it seems Francis may have been living a double life as William Harmenson who also died in Glory Park Nursing Home in his 80th year, and had a wife named Margaret but aside from that was a brother to poor Mickie instead of a sister, was father to two kids of the same names as the Anne kids who also married each other... And neither of the dead people are having a funeral service! Screw the wishing well, boys, I think you might have a nest of... I dunno... shapeshifters or something there! o.O
-[Sorry, sorry. Ever since the rubber pajamas of Steve Wandell's daughter, I read all the prop material that's legible, just in case. I love you, Supernatural Art Department! *offers cookies*]
-Heh. "Captain Blood" is playing on the guy's TV. Yay Warner Brothers! This show really needs to do pirate ghosts. No "Red Sky" doesn't count. I will not be happy until I see Dean swinging from a chandelier and doing other swashbuckley things with an air of total glee while Sam rolls his eyes and huffs. *nods*
-JOXER??? HOLY CRAP IT'S JOXER??? Oh! Ted Raimi! Right! *slaps self in forehead* I'm a frigging moron. Also the voice of Invader Skoodge on Invader Zim, if I recall correctly.
-'Snack' is an entire roast chicken on a bed of vegetables. Hm. Maybe a snack for Henry the 8th.
-Gahhhh.... this scene with the Stepford girl is creepy and wrong, with the 'she had to' and "I love you more than anything." and... Gah. *shudders*
-"I'll try to be happier. I'll start right away." And the pleading not to be angry- *shudders again* *has personal issues that this scene is nailing far too well* *moves on*
-Wow. Fastest cover story ever. There wasn't even a second between her answering the door and turning around and going on about florists. She either assumed that's what they were or they had ID's ready and just said "Florists" which I would understand given how many changes of cover story they've done this episode. Poor things are too tired to do the full schmooze. *pats* What does Florist ID look like anyway? *ponders*
-"On Thursdays we're teddy bear doctors." So, was that yesterday on the show or is this the same day and Dean was just taking a power nap to sleep off the E. Coli? Wonder if they're keeping up the parallel to airdate time line still or if we've gone further along. If they are keeping it up, wonder if it's for a reason... *ponders*
-Wow, and I thought Sam was bad at evasions.
-Ah. Japanesey-Ikebana. Gah. She's like a parrot. *shudders*
-Eeeek. The wished-for girlfriend hearing them plot the end of the fake relationship isn't going to go well for anyone, not even the girl.
-"Ha ha, no, I'm not." Okay, Wesley, you know she's unnaturally bound to you, you were showing some semblance of a conscience, but now you're still gonna take advantage like this? Come the hell on! Unwish her, get over whatever lead you to wish her into this mess and get to know someone for pete's sake. Or get to know her! For real! Start a conversation! Did you ever mention your awesome coin collection? It's impressive as hell. Give it a shot. This, the way this is, just- Grr.
-I kind of love that Dean's the one pointing out that the 'relationship' Wesley has with Hope is not functional. That's its very own class of special, because of Dean's usual horndog reputation and practices, and his obvious overwhelming expertise in functional relationships of any sort, it's kind of cool that he expresses what's probably the closest thing to concern for Hope that we've seen in the episode. *moves on*
-"I wished she would love me more than anything." Hm. Punctuation is your friend. "I wished she would love me. More than anything." He may have originally intended the 'more than anything' to modify how much he wished for it, not how much she loved him. Either way, not hitting the 'undo' right away when he realized the damn thing actually worked is not cool. Taking a person's free will away for personal gain is not cool. *glares furiously at Wesley*
-Heh, VCR has paused with an expression on Dean's face like 'Ohhh, look! Baby deer. Aw.'
-Naked kid should not run around invisible and naked, especially not in Washington state in November. Brr. Must have been a glancing hit from the Impala, or the kid would be bumper paste. Except it seems like he was run over.... *brain stalls* ...Naw. Had to be a glancing hit. Maybe there was one of those notorious 'hidden under a puddle' potholes right there, that's why the Impala bounced. Sure. *nods*
-Shut. Up. Wesley.
-Little kid rolling over the SUV full of bullies. Oh yeah. Hey, wait! *pauses* The head bully there, the 'just hit the button!' one, with the ears! He was on the show before! He was... ah crap. A kid, somewhere, looking Oliver Twisty, getting rescued, there was a girl too... uh... FAITH! He was in the closet at the start, hiding from the Rawhead! \o/ If it's the same character, he's obviously chosen a maladaptive response to the trauma by becoming a bully. Needs therapy. *nods*
-KNEEL BEFORE TODD!!! YEAH!!! YOU GO, YOU EVIL-LOOKING BULLIED CHILD YOU!!! \o/ I want that on a t-shirt! KNEEL BEFORE TODD!!!
-Heeee! Dean's about to get the crap beat out of him by an eight-year old, isn't he? Hee.
-Bullied. Couldn't stop them, couldn't do anything. Hm. Possible parallel to Hell much?
-"With great power comes-" a great uppercut apparently. Hee. Dean is getting beat up and intimidated by a lot of traditionally un-intimidating things this season. Although I do find Todd's evil eyebrows awesomely intimidating. Don't ever let them do a thing to your eyebrows, kid-who-plays-Todd [AKA Ryan Grantham]. They're frigging fantastic!
-HOLY CRAP! WTF??? ZOT??? THE HELL? Was Uriel unable to contain his pent-up smiting from last week or what!? Ohhh, right. The wish-controlled girlfriend. Crap. Yeah.
-Hee! Dean's getting choked by Todd! That must've been a hoot to shoot. They had to have fun on set with all the herds of kids in this episode.
-According to Wes's watch the time is just past 4:00. Scene in the restaurant was well-acted. *has personal issues* *moves on*
-Aw, Dean covers the kid's reputation in front of the bullies. Yay Dean! Also HA!!! And yeah, the bully leader is totally the kid from Faith.
-Ooo.... COIN ON THE WALL!!! Totally! A coin that can grant any wish? Including smiting the demon-ray-gun-proof Sam, with no resistance? It's on the wall. *nods*
-*futilely tries to see a date on newspaper and tactfully ignores the... repetitive article text*
-Aw, poor teddy with the red band-aid. It's a fixable hole though, and as soon as mom or dad or someone who can thread a needle can do so, he'll be good as new. Aw, waving Dean.
-"Well. Ah. Coin's melted down." Sure you melted down the coin, conveniently off-screen and out of Dean's sight. Suuuuuuure, Sam. Even if you showed a puddle of slag I would not believe you. Coin is still totally on the wall. Just like angel time-travel. Ready for 'deus ex machina' usage, or in the case of the coin, available to be stolen by Lilith as a workaround for getting rid of the immune-to-demonic-nuking Sam. *nods* Also, Sam, if you did melt down the coin, Tiamat's gonna be pissed at you, with the whole 'knows the name of every coin in her hoard and will track it to the ends of the earth' schtick. Buuut I don't think the budget's up to doing a full-on Chromatic Dragon so no worries I guess.
-Oh, BTW, all the people who were hoping for a dragon to show up ever since the show started and I know there are some of you out there? *points at Tiamat* Wish granted, maybe?
-Uh oh, confessing time? Is that the same confessing lake? *scrutinizes* I can't tell. Dean's very... calm at the outset of this confessing thing. Hm.
-Ooo. Dean remembers everything that happened. Ooo. Which means I'm wrong about the forgetting part of this, but still, ooo. Ah! But does he remember or is he telling Sam this to get Sam to stop asking? It seems rather deliberated at the start... Hm. Have to see what show does with it. Also Dean has a different kind of emotional wall than Sam... *incoherent rambling about Sam and Dean's emotional walls redirected to secondary post* It's going to bear some serious pondering. *ponders*
-Seems odd that Dean'd remember everything and still be capable of functioning, but... maybe he's lying about remembering, and also, he's got repression down to a fine art, and might barely be keeping the memories dissociated from his conscious mind with the denial and alcohol... not healthy, regardless. *ponders more*
-"No. I won't lie anymore. But I'm not gonna talk about it." Gnh. The break in the voice. Arg. If he's lying to get Sam off his case, he's doing a damn fine job of selling it. Could be the 'answer the question you want the questioner to hear the answer to' thing again. "I remember what happened" doesn't say what happened. He's not saying anything about this, which if it's true may be what Uriel was hinting at, and may be something that's bolstering his ability to cope with the other memories. Gnaaaaah.
-"You've gotta let me help."/"How." There's no way. If Dean does really remember Hell and it's not just a smokescreen, even if he had the words to describe it, he wouldn't tell Sam. Even telling Sam he remembers it has the potential to make Sam feel guiltier than he already does over Dean's trip to Hell. Even this won't help Sam in that department, but maybe Dean's telling him this to try to steer him away from using the demonic powers... hm. But that will backfire, possibly as Sam diverts the guilt into further anger at Lilith and further need for vengeance. Hm. Needs more pondering. And coherence.
-"The things that I saw... there are no words. There is no forgetting. There is no making it better. Because it is right here, forever." That entire statement could still apply in either case. Arg. This is ridiculous. I've gotten far too attached to my stupid theory.
-"You can't understand, and I could never make you understand." See? And even if he could he wouldn't. Because he's still protecting Sammy from the bad things. Even the bad things in his own head. Oh Dean.
-Ooo. Ooo! *flappy hands* I know!! Dean did this now to forestall Sam grilling him in the car going wherever they're going next! See, Dean's said, 'Yes, you're right, I lied, I remember Hell, but I'm never talking about it,' to Sam to prevent Sam from nagging him about it in the car, because getting asked questions while driving is not only annoying, it's also hard to not answer them, because you're focused on driving, so questions can sneak under defenses... Dean's doing this now and in this oddly deliberate manner to get Sam to shut up with the questions and not have to deal with that tension of getting interrogated in the car where he can't escape from the questions, and where there may not immediately be a case to deflect attention to, and where his other options for distracting and deflecting Sam's questioning or drowning out whatever memories are or are not available to him. Oh, very well planned, Dean. Nicely done. I think. *ponders more*
So. Anyway. More canon crack and funny with a giant wodge of mytharc angst in it... The sheer volume of crack so far this season is scaring me... there is a serious world of hurt inbound, I think. It's all going to balance out, and if we're getting our breather rounds now... the mid-season hiatus will likely be hell for the fandom, and the back half of this season will tear us all to shreds. Eeek.
Enjoy the silly while you can, gang. I think it may be becoming rarer very very soon...
NO SPOILERS IN COMMENTS, OR REFERENCES TO ANY PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL OR PREVIEWS FOR UNAIRED EPISODES, PLEASE.
Spoiler Timeline
-Oct 30 Promo exposure. the word "WISHVILLE" in happy postcardy letters. Heh. I wonder if they're going to lift the concept wholesale from 'Kripke's Game' over on TWoP. Wish granted in the worst way possible. Nonetheless, lots of wish-granting hootenannies in myth and legend, could be any number of things. Possibly a trickster, but maybe not. I think if we get the Trickster again, there will be some tie-in to why he's taking whatever side he did in "Mystery Spot". So, case-fic, wish-granting/twisting monster, starting out with epic yelling between Sam and Dean about angels and who's using their Demon powers even though he said he wouldn't, Sam, ending with a 'so what really happened in Hell?' from Sam and a big old mutual wall of Winchester Emo-repressage with handy sniping portals for the next ep or two.
-Nov 5th Title seen while voting in a poll. "Wishful Thinking" Hmmm... Normal Sam and Dean in a stable family relationship. Sam.... hm. Normality? Does Sam still wish for normality? Eeek. Anyway, wishes it is.
I still cannot help but think of the Kripke's Game thread over on TWoP. I've been avoiding TWoP for a long while now due to casual spoilage, but I loved that thread. Make a wish, and it gets granted, but in the worst possible way. As in, fans want Ava and Andy brought back? Okay, but she's totally unrepentantly evil and kills him messily. And so on. And I've always had a sneaking suspicion that Kripke or the writers lurk around in that thread and chortle....
So really aside from title and general plot, almost no spoilage this time! *rubs hands gleefully* Bring it on.
Reaction, incoherent meta, theory, spec and rambling for Supernatural 4.08 - "Wishful Thinking"
Oooooo.... canon crack-fic... so shiny...
-[Rewatch: Promo from last time... wow. Thanks for the episode summary...]
-Avoided the previouslies on the first watch. [Rewatch: Hm. More of a recap of what happened last week than a 'Cliff's Notes' refresher course on story arcs we'll be covering in the episode. Except it kind of is both.]
-A shower scene? Seriously? Probably be a reversal of expected shower scene, since they've already done one. Also because they're going nuts with the shots going back and forth. Shower. Wet woman. Shower! Wet woman! LURKING PERSON! SHOWER! WET WOMAN! *snerk* It's like Sesame Street with the "H" "AND" monsters.
-So, that would make the ominous lurker an amorous boyfriend about to emphasize the benefits of water conservation, would it? Whoops, he disappeared. Ooo, okay, so it is a ghost then? I'm getting mixed signals... *whacks self in head*
-Hand wipe through steam effect coooool. Ah. It's watching. Ahhhh, okay, it's a guy who wished himself invisible.
-Hee, cheeeeezy footprints. Awesome.
-TOWEL!! HAHAHHAHAAHAHAHHA!!! That was funnier than it had any right to be. Hee!
-Three shots? Dean better not be driving.
-Hm. Why does Ted Raimi sound familiar... [Rewatch: *swats idiot self*]
-Ah. Sam's picked a euphemism for Hell that passers-by will not be easily alarmed by. *nods* Or Sam might think Hell really is in Australia. Maybe he had a bad 'Yahoo Serious' experience in his youth. Maybe he mistook "Young Einstein" for a documentary and had to redo a science report in elementary school because he wrote about Einstein's quest to split the Tasmanian beer atom with a chisel. Yeah, that must be it. *nods*
-However, he also gave Dean an easy way out of the 'look me in the eye' test there with his word choice. I forget where I heard it, but there's some "interrogation resistance" technique I heard about once in a movie or something; take the question asked, reword or re-arrange it in your mind to a question that has the answer you want to give and answer that question instead. Sam asks, "Then look me in the eye and tell me you don't remember a thing from your time down under?" Dean looks around and blinks a bit while he mentally remaps the question by taking 'Down Under' as Australia. Since he has likely never been to Australia, he answers truthfully, "I don't remember a thing from my time Down Under," and shows admirable restraint in remembering not to snark about kangaroos. *nods again*
-Heh. "You know everything I do. That's all there is." Sounds a lot like DEAN-ial.
-Waiter-boy with his epilepsy-inducing suspenders needs to stop mainlining the espresso. And coming from me? That's serious. Not that he isn't cute, but aggressive customer service and me are not compatible.
-Three shots and a beer chaser. Dude, really, Sam needs to get your keys if you're keeping on like this. *is concerned*
-Concrete, Washington! Yay for visiting a state Vancouver can mimic without effort! Concrete, Washington also had an incredibly ill-timed power failure during the airing of "War of the Worlds" in 1938 which caused mass panic.
-"Eye-witness reports of a ghost that's been haunting the showers of a women's health facility." *splorf* Women and showers! Ha! It's the case Dean's waited his whole life for, I bet. *pats Dean* [*rewinds a few times to watch Dean splorf*
-Written by Ben Edlund, king of crack, and Lou Bollo, who is... Hey, waaaaitaminute. Lou Bollo's the Stunt Coordinator! Wha? Okay, maybe he's branching out somewhat. Hunh. Good for him! You go, Lou! :-D Also Edlund had a Teleplay credit. Is that normal? Directed by Robert Singer. My what an interesting combination.
-Chieftain Hotel, another prominent Hotel shot, not like that's new, but I still think they're stocking up shots for something. Incidentally, the Chieftain Hotel in Squamish, BC appears to be well-cast as a Washington state hotel; it offers in-room Starbucks.
-Also, this being Squamish would make the mountain in the background "Cascade Mountain as portrayed by Whistler Mountain" and a sterling job by Whistler on that. *golf clap*
-"The working title is... Supernatural." *headdesk* And that's when I flipped off the TV. No, no, not turned it off, 'flipped off' as in gave it the finger. Prolongedly. No need to be a smart-ass, show. *snerk*
-Hunh. Sam's abnormally interested in random kissing people since when? That's weird. Okay so the kissing people are obviously going to be significant in some way to the plot. Still seems weird that they drew Sam's attention just by kissing. I mean I've heard louder impassioned smacking and groaning from my coworker when she eats an apple with cheese. Now, if they were getting so into it they'd knocked something off the table I could see Sam taking that much note. Hm. Weird. Oh! No wait, she laughed. Laughter is obviously something that Sam is disturbed by now. *nods*
-"Don't tell my mom!" HAHAHA. Yep. Invisible pervy kid.
-"Damn right I wanted to save some naked women!" Poor Dean. It's the case he's waited his whole life for and he doesn't even get to be a perv.
-"Run, Forrest, run!" ...I'm not sure if that line's supposed to be funny, or Dean trying to get Sam to be exasperated, or some kind of retroactive supporting evidence for Dean being a dick, so I'mma pass on that one, m'kay?
-"Sumpin's goin' oan." Hee. Accent FTW. *pats*
-Hey, Gus the hunter is a 'that guy' actor. Where's he from? [Rewatch: Credit analysis tells me he is 'Sean Devine' and has had parts in many Vancouver productions including the 4400, but none I recall seeing, so not sure where I recognize him from. Maybe he's giving me a 'Red Green' vibe. I think he also may have gotten the only 'sonofabitch' of this episode...]
-"That... is a big foot." Yay, Sammy's got his Captain Obvious cape on!
-Hey Dean shoplifted some booze! I had a coat with pockets like that once. I got frisked by the cops at 'Dry Grad' because I was carrying a hardcover copy of "The Complete Book of Swords" and hey thought it was alcohol. I love pockets. I just don't put booze in them.
-Lang's Liquor has a small front bench. Lookit those kneeeees! XD I'm really quite surprised neither of them has posited the Trickster being involved yet. Maybe Sam's implied post-"Mystery Spot" détente with the Trickster eliminates him as an option? Hm...
-...do I want to know what David Duchovny's been up to lately? I'm... going to assume a big 'no' on that... *is unsettled*
-Hee! The boys trying to do their usual door trickery on a kid is priceless. Except it works on the young missy here because she is a danger to herself with the 'fling the doors wide open, no my parents aren't home, come on in tall strange teddy bear doctors' thing. I'm suddenly VERY GLAD the boys got there before anyone else did. O.O
-Incidentally TEDDY BEAR DOCTORS!! \o/
-*takes a moment to laugh again because VCR has paused on Sam with the "Teddy Bear Doctor" badge up beside his face and he looks like a chipmunk*
-I love this little actress! She's very earnest.
-"Close the frigging door!" Yeah! Oh the stunned, stunned faces on Sam and Dean!!!! Hee!
-[Damn those toilet paper bears! I find it disturbing that the young bear's football coach is so concerned about toilet paper on the bear's behind, but I find even more disturbing the concept of naked football. Yes, I know bears are naked all the time and don't play football except in Chicago or something but whatever. Just, gah. DO NOT WANT! Evil toilet paper bears.]
-"Now he's sad all the time, not ouch-sad, but ouched-in-the-head sad, says weird stuff and smells like the bus!" I. Love. Audrey. She has no basic sense of 'home alone' safety and all, but she's just frigging adorable. If her parents never come back from Bali, can Dean adopt her? She may already have experience getting monsters to behave, at least in a crossover universe. *is insane*
-Time is 9:33, according to the clock on the girl's bedroom wall. ...I'm thinking that's wrong, since it's November at least, and still daylight out in Washington State. Unless Sam and Dean are way way way too efficient and have gotten to town, interrogated witnesses, ogled kissing people eating in a chinese restaurant first thing in the morning, lurked in women's shower facilities, tracked 'Big Foot' and found this kid's house all before ten AM. Not that they couldn't, just that the rest of the world may not be as efficient as them. Hey! Maybe the girl re-set her own clock and got her little hand and big hand mixed up. Yeah! That's it! Daylight savings would have happened pretty recently! So who knows what the time is, really. I'm thinking afternoony. *dusts hands at solving a puzzle no one probably wanted to know the answer to*
-"Tea parties? Is that all there is?" Aw, poor teddy watching the news. Cheer up, emo bear. This is why stuffies should not interact with the grown-up world in a conscious way. They care too much and want to fix it all, because that's what stuffies do, but can't, so they... uh... get wasted and read porn. Hm. I thought I had something there but it got away from me. Anyway, a giant drunk teddy bear experiencing existential angst. Wow. Edlund brought out the high-test for this ep. That's just... wow.
-OMG, the face on Dean, as he turns and slooowly walks away and slooowly shuts the door. AH hahahaha! Mind-blown looks good on Dean.
-The how to waste a teddy bear discussion, complete with the faces of "I cannot believe we are seriously discussing this" is sheer awesomeness. However, are we not even going to check to see if it's just some freak in a giant teddy bear costume, guys? Admittedly this is an episode of Supernatural and not an episode of Criminal Minds or Law and Order: SVU or something where some freak in a teddy bear costume might be going around... yeah, 'nuff said. Just check the bear for a zipper before you jump to conclusions, okay? Please? Unless there's an olfactory component or something that doesn't transmit through the TV to the bear's presence that makes 'guy in bear suit' not work? Yeah, that must be it. *nods*
-Lollipop Disease. (Which sounds like a euphemism for diabetes.) Highly contagious. M'hmm. Wow. This is the most credulous kid ever. I'm even more glad Sam and Dean found her before anyone else could. *shudders*
-Hey, it's the bullied kid! Man, he's got seriously evil eyebrows! He made a wish! Go get 'em, kid! Wish up a Luck Dragon! Well, except the special effects and licensing budgets aren't up to that. Hm.
-JALAPENOS! I am inordinately thrilled that Dean likes jalapenos! *feels kinship*
-That's why Sam was staring at the couple before?? Okay guys, firstly, neither of those people are notably unattractive, one's just wearing glasses and could use some more assiduous grooming habits. Secondly, attractiveness is in the eye of the beholder, and it's not solely physical appearance-based; maybe the guy's a fantastic conversationalist with a great sense of humour and/or caring and stuff and/or can tie a knot in a cherry stem with his tongue, who knows. Certainly not anyone who writes him off as unattractive and not worth knowing beyond the surface appearance. And thirdly, why is it considered so notably weird to have 'attractive' and 'unattractive' people together as a couple? It happens, it's hardly a sign one of them has wished the other person's free will away. Oh wait, right. This is the CW plot filter. Unattractive people do not exist or are skeevy. *growls at CW* Sorry, rant over now. *pats show reassuringly*
-ID's! Dean's little pocket search for the appropriate fake ID for the occasion! Perfect! When in doubt, carry all of them, but remember which went in what pocket. Makes perfect sense! Sure! And if someone searches you and finds three different fake ID's it's already too late because they're searching you and have found the weaponry. Because you know Dean is probably one brass paperclip away from clanking when he walks. *nods*
-Hey! It's Princess Pei Pei's dad! I think. It's been a long while since I saw the movie. *waves*
-Oooo... Random infraction codes. Hee. I feel like a tiny bit of " Laundry Day" just got confirmed in canon. Sort of. *resists looking the codes up, barely looks up the codes but doesn't find anything*
-Oh Dean. He's been trying to protect Sam his whole life, and getting "I'm not that guy anymore" and is just... ow. And Sam's new wish. OW, Sam. Also OW writers. We're all coasting along in a happy fluffy pile of crack and suddenly run smack into the mountain of Sam's simmering need for bloody vengeance. Awesome. And jarring as hell, but yeah. It's like that. La la la la la *wham*. OW!
-And then all the walls go up because "We're on a case and do not have time to interact and deal with the emotional damage right now" and GOD DAMN IT ALL TO HELL, JOHN WINCHESTER! Sigh. Love John, he did the best he could, but he and his boys are experts at repression.
-That coin wiggled. It did. It's stuck down there with gum or something. Must be that super-gum I heard Smallville had last year. Also, well done to the set design crew for making sure all the coins but the weird one were American. *nods*
-More random health codes! Love the random health codes! *glows* Also, the delivery. "I don't wanna slap you with a 44/16, but I will!" *side eyebrow* *serious health inspector face is vry srs* Heee!
-Finally, you bring a chisel. No wait, it's a crowbar, and a mallet. Meh, close enough. Still won't work, or will do bad things. See, told ya.
-Rubbing! Okay. Hee. I cannot explain why Sam taking a rubbing of a magic coin makes me gleeful, it's just... glee. Like a completely impossible secret shout-out to a character I had in a role-playing game once.
-Something about the woman's hair being completely dry while the invisible guy is still dripping wet is vastly disturbing me. O.O
-My, what an evil looking child. He's got that kidney-liquefying glare down cold. Love those eyebrows!
-Revenge of the sandwich! Oh, poor Dean. Jalapenos hurt. *pats*
-Why, if the hotel they are staying at is the 'Chieftain', is there an advertising standee for the "Tall Totem Lodge" on the fridge Dean gets the beer out of? And for that matter, why does it say "Tall Totem" on the wall opposite the door when Sam opens it? Maybe some kind of hotel-twinning thing? Or cooperative advertising among rustic-Native-American-stereotype-themed hotels in the greater 'Concrete, Washington' area? Yeah, that must be it. No! No wait! It's the part of the hotel they're in! There's the 'Tall Totem Lodge' rooms, and probably the 'WigWam Wing' and other rustic-Native-American-stereotype-themed sub-sections. *nods*
-Cursed Babylonian coin! Yay cursed object! Tiamat? Ooo, they did check Wikipedia for that one. Yay! (I thought it was pronounced TEE-a-mat, not tia-MAT, though.) Although since Kripke has at some point in his life played and run D&D, I'm thinking this might have influenced the choice of deity. Sam and Dean vs a Chromatic Dragon. Heeee. Tiamat's apparently got a Challenge Rating of 102 in the d20 system. Gonna need more than a salt-gun for that one. *nods*
-*snerk* Yeah. They totally checked Wikipedia. *eyes text under coins picture on the laptop, smirks and says nothing more*
-Hehe. The way Sam mispronounces E. Coli makes me think it should be shouted from the mountains by two guys with an alpenhorn.
-Aww... Suicidal teddy. Maybe he needs to meet "Prozac the Bear" from Triangle and Robert, which none of you have probably heard of, and is exceptionally surreal, soooo, moving on.
-[Random free-associations are random. I blame the flu shot.]
-Anyway, shame on Audrey's parents for leaving their rifle accessible to their daughter's suicidal teddy bear. *frowns*
-The pan back and the drawn-out wait of "are they really going to...?", and then stuffing! Stuffing everywhere! The horror! Bwah! XD I know, it's bad and wrong and it's a teddy bear blowing its frigging stuffing out in a fit of existential angst, but HA!!! Besides, stuffies can't die. It's a fact. *nods and will not hear otherwise*
-[Holiday commercials are not allowed to exist in my world yet. Come back at the end of November *waves away commercial*]
-Ooo. Nightmare Deaaaaan! The twitching! The little noises- gah! *fights overwhelming need to tuck Dean in and turn on a night light for him* Damn, that kicked me unexpectedly in the maternal instincts!
-"Sleep well?" There is no need to be an ass, Sam. *looks sternly* Still, that's about what Castiel said in "In the Beginning" so I guess Sam's in good company.
-Um, Dean? Waking up to a stiff belt of alcohol is very much not good. Also, again, Sam had better not be letting you drive. Even is he is being an ass. *is truly concerned*
-"Careful what you wish for." And Dean deflects the inquiry and brings attention back to the case. Oh, Dean.
-Oooo, a very very clear pause on printed material! From the Engagement announcement: Wesley Mondale and Ms. Hope Lynn Casey have announced their surprise engagement, Wesley's parents are Cheryl and Thomas, Hope's parents are Candace and Nicholas, both grew up in Concrete, to be married at the earliest possible date. The wedding will have a sort of 'Japanesey-*blurry*' theme. "The bride to be gushed about her bridegroom; 'We *blur* grew up here, but I never really *blur*'" Also, under birthdays, Stephanie and Ashley are turning 16, Alexa is 1, Vanessa and Michael appear to be turning 13. In 'Remembering' we have Marion Anderson who died peacefully at 52, Francis Anne died at Glory Park Nursing Home in his 80th year, and his wife's name was... Mike L. Anne. *shrugs* Fair enough. He was also a mother *double-take* Uh, yeah, mother to... er Peter and his wife Meridel. Both of them?? He was... sister... of Mickie... Okay, so obviously Francis Anne was transgendered and the family has issues with it to the point they couldn't agree on what gender pronoun to use in Francis's Obit. That's sad. Kind of disturbed Francis's children married each other, but whatever, I guess. Also, it seems Francis may have been living a double life as William Harmenson who also died in Glory Park Nursing Home in his 80th year, and had a wife named Margaret but aside from that was a brother to poor Mickie instead of a sister, was father to two kids of the same names as the Anne kids who also married each other... And neither of the dead people are having a funeral service! Screw the wishing well, boys, I think you might have a nest of... I dunno... shapeshifters or something there! o.O
-[Sorry, sorry. Ever since the rubber pajamas of Steve Wandell's daughter, I read all the prop material that's legible, just in case. I love you, Supernatural Art Department! *offers cookies*]
-Heh. "Captain Blood" is playing on the guy's TV. Yay Warner Brothers! This show really needs to do pirate ghosts. No "Red Sky" doesn't count. I will not be happy until I see Dean swinging from a chandelier and doing other swashbuckley things with an air of total glee while Sam rolls his eyes and huffs. *nods*
-JOXER??? HOLY CRAP IT'S JOXER??? Oh! Ted Raimi! Right! *slaps self in forehead* I'm a frigging moron. Also the voice of Invader Skoodge on Invader Zim, if I recall correctly.
-'Snack' is an entire roast chicken on a bed of vegetables. Hm. Maybe a snack for Henry the 8th.
-Gahhhh.... this scene with the Stepford girl is creepy and wrong, with the 'she had to' and "I love you more than anything." and... Gah. *shudders*
-"I'll try to be happier. I'll start right away." And the pleading not to be angry- *shudders again* *has personal issues that this scene is nailing far too well* *moves on*
-Wow. Fastest cover story ever. There wasn't even a second between her answering the door and turning around and going on about florists. She either assumed that's what they were or they had ID's ready and just said "Florists" which I would understand given how many changes of cover story they've done this episode. Poor things are too tired to do the full schmooze. *pats* What does Florist ID look like anyway? *ponders*
-"On Thursdays we're teddy bear doctors." So, was that yesterday on the show or is this the same day and Dean was just taking a power nap to sleep off the E. Coli? Wonder if they're keeping up the parallel to airdate time line still or if we've gone further along. If they are keeping it up, wonder if it's for a reason... *ponders*
-Wow, and I thought Sam was bad at evasions.
-Ah. Japanesey-Ikebana. Gah. She's like a parrot. *shudders*
-Eeeek. The wished-for girlfriend hearing them plot the end of the fake relationship isn't going to go well for anyone, not even the girl.
-"Ha ha, no, I'm not." Okay, Wesley, you know she's unnaturally bound to you, you were showing some semblance of a conscience, but now you're still gonna take advantage like this? Come the hell on! Unwish her, get over whatever lead you to wish her into this mess and get to know someone for pete's sake. Or get to know her! For real! Start a conversation! Did you ever mention your awesome coin collection? It's impressive as hell. Give it a shot. This, the way this is, just- Grr.
-I kind of love that Dean's the one pointing out that the 'relationship' Wesley has with Hope is not functional. That's its very own class of special, because of Dean's usual horndog reputation and practices, and his obvious overwhelming expertise in functional relationships of any sort, it's kind of cool that he expresses what's probably the closest thing to concern for Hope that we've seen in the episode. *moves on*
-"I wished she would love me more than anything." Hm. Punctuation is your friend. "I wished she would love me. More than anything." He may have originally intended the 'more than anything' to modify how much he wished for it, not how much she loved him. Either way, not hitting the 'undo' right away when he realized the damn thing actually worked is not cool. Taking a person's free will away for personal gain is not cool. *glares furiously at Wesley*
-Heh, VCR has paused with an expression on Dean's face like 'Ohhh, look! Baby deer. Aw.'
-Naked kid should not run around invisible and naked, especially not in Washington state in November. Brr. Must have been a glancing hit from the Impala, or the kid would be bumper paste. Except it seems like he was run over.... *brain stalls* ...Naw. Had to be a glancing hit. Maybe there was one of those notorious 'hidden under a puddle' potholes right there, that's why the Impala bounced. Sure. *nods*
-Shut. Up. Wesley.
-Little kid rolling over the SUV full of bullies. Oh yeah. Hey, wait! *pauses* The head bully there, the 'just hit the button!' one, with the ears! He was on the show before! He was... ah crap. A kid, somewhere, looking Oliver Twisty, getting rescued, there was a girl too... uh... FAITH! He was in the closet at the start, hiding from the Rawhead! \o/ If it's the same character, he's obviously chosen a maladaptive response to the trauma by becoming a bully. Needs therapy. *nods*
-KNEEL BEFORE TODD!!! YEAH!!! YOU GO, YOU EVIL-LOOKING BULLIED CHILD YOU!!! \o/ I want that on a t-shirt! KNEEL BEFORE TODD!!!
-Heeee! Dean's about to get the crap beat out of him by an eight-year old, isn't he? Hee.
-Bullied. Couldn't stop them, couldn't do anything. Hm. Possible parallel to Hell much?
-"With great power comes-" a great uppercut apparently. Hee. Dean is getting beat up and intimidated by a lot of traditionally un-intimidating things this season. Although I do find Todd's evil eyebrows awesomely intimidating. Don't ever let them do a thing to your eyebrows, kid-who-plays-Todd [AKA Ryan Grantham]. They're frigging fantastic!
-HOLY CRAP! WTF??? ZOT??? THE HELL? Was Uriel unable to contain his pent-up smiting from last week or what!? Ohhh, right. The wish-controlled girlfriend. Crap. Yeah.
-Hee! Dean's getting choked by Todd! That must've been a hoot to shoot. They had to have fun on set with all the herds of kids in this episode.
-According to Wes's watch the time is just past 4:00. Scene in the restaurant was well-acted. *has personal issues* *moves on*
-Aw, Dean covers the kid's reputation in front of the bullies. Yay Dean! Also HA!!! And yeah, the bully leader is totally the kid from Faith.
-Ooo.... COIN ON THE WALL!!! Totally! A coin that can grant any wish? Including smiting the demon-ray-gun-proof Sam, with no resistance? It's on the wall. *nods*
-*futilely tries to see a date on newspaper and tactfully ignores the... repetitive article text*
-Aw, poor teddy with the red band-aid. It's a fixable hole though, and as soon as mom or dad or someone who can thread a needle can do so, he'll be good as new. Aw, waving Dean.
-"Well. Ah. Coin's melted down." Sure you melted down the coin, conveniently off-screen and out of Dean's sight. Suuuuuuure, Sam. Even if you showed a puddle of slag I would not believe you. Coin is still totally on the wall. Just like angel time-travel. Ready for 'deus ex machina' usage, or in the case of the coin, available to be stolen by Lilith as a workaround for getting rid of the immune-to-demonic-nuking Sam. *nods* Also, Sam, if you did melt down the coin, Tiamat's gonna be pissed at you, with the whole 'knows the name of every coin in her hoard and will track it to the ends of the earth' schtick. Buuut I don't think the budget's up to doing a full-on Chromatic Dragon so no worries I guess.
-Oh, BTW, all the people who were hoping for a dragon to show up ever since the show started and I know there are some of you out there? *points at Tiamat* Wish granted, maybe?
-Uh oh, confessing time? Is that the same confessing lake? *scrutinizes* I can't tell. Dean's very... calm at the outset of this confessing thing. Hm.
-Ooo. Dean remembers everything that happened. Ooo. Which means I'm wrong about the forgetting part of this, but still, ooo. Ah! But does he remember or is he telling Sam this to get Sam to stop asking? It seems rather deliberated at the start... Hm. Have to see what show does with it. Also Dean has a different kind of emotional wall than Sam... *incoherent rambling about Sam and Dean's emotional walls redirected to secondary post* It's going to bear some serious pondering. *ponders*
-Seems odd that Dean'd remember everything and still be capable of functioning, but... maybe he's lying about remembering, and also, he's got repression down to a fine art, and might barely be keeping the memories dissociated from his conscious mind with the denial and alcohol... not healthy, regardless. *ponders more*
-"No. I won't lie anymore. But I'm not gonna talk about it." Gnh. The break in the voice. Arg. If he's lying to get Sam off his case, he's doing a damn fine job of selling it. Could be the 'answer the question you want the questioner to hear the answer to' thing again. "I remember what happened" doesn't say what happened. He's not saying anything about this, which if it's true may be what Uriel was hinting at, and may be something that's bolstering his ability to cope with the other memories. Gnaaaaah.
-"You've gotta let me help."/"How." There's no way. If Dean does really remember Hell and it's not just a smokescreen, even if he had the words to describe it, he wouldn't tell Sam. Even telling Sam he remembers it has the potential to make Sam feel guiltier than he already does over Dean's trip to Hell. Even this won't help Sam in that department, but maybe Dean's telling him this to try to steer him away from using the demonic powers... hm. But that will backfire, possibly as Sam diverts the guilt into further anger at Lilith and further need for vengeance. Hm. Needs more pondering. And coherence.
-"The things that I saw... there are no words. There is no forgetting. There is no making it better. Because it is right here, forever." That entire statement could still apply in either case. Arg. This is ridiculous. I've gotten far too attached to my stupid theory.
-"You can't understand, and I could never make you understand." See? And even if he could he wouldn't. Because he's still protecting Sammy from the bad things. Even the bad things in his own head. Oh Dean.
-Ooo. Ooo! *flappy hands* I know!! Dean did this now to forestall Sam grilling him in the car going wherever they're going next! See, Dean's said, 'Yes, you're right, I lied, I remember Hell, but I'm never talking about it,' to Sam to prevent Sam from nagging him about it in the car, because getting asked questions while driving is not only annoying, it's also hard to not answer them, because you're focused on driving, so questions can sneak under defenses... Dean's doing this now and in this oddly deliberate manner to get Sam to shut up with the questions and not have to deal with that tension of getting interrogated in the car where he can't escape from the questions, and where there may not immediately be a case to deflect attention to, and where his other options for distracting and deflecting Sam's questioning or drowning out whatever memories are or are not available to him. Oh, very well planned, Dean. Nicely done. I think. *ponders more*
So. Anyway. More canon crack and funny with a giant wodge of mytharc angst in it... The sheer volume of crack so far this season is scaring me... there is a serious world of hurt inbound, I think. It's all going to balance out, and if we're getting our breather rounds now... the mid-season hiatus will likely be hell for the fandom, and the back half of this season will tear us all to shreds. Eeek.
Enjoy the silly while you can, gang. I think it may be becoming rarer very very soon...
NO SPOILERS IN COMMENTS, OR REFERENCES TO ANY PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL OR PREVIEWS FOR UNAIRED EPISODES, PLEASE.