Reaction: Supernatural 4.16
(Might DEFINITELY contains profanity.)
Spoiler and Theorizing Timeline
Gaaaah.
-Mar 13 IMDB. Yeah, yeah, I figured I could get straight into 4.15 and look up guest actors without seeing anything else but *headdesk*. Castiel and Dean vs Alistair. Eeeee! I'm guessing from the placement and notability of it that this is a more direct thing, and since Alastair's captured... hehe. Wonder if someone's gonna go all Jack Bauer on Alastair. Torturing a cloud of smoke... keeping him imprisoned in a holy shop vac (read that in a fic somewhere)... will Lilith try to rescue him, or will she take it as an opportunity to advance her own agenda? Or is Alastair part of Lilith's agenda, one of her agents so to speak. I figure he is, given he was trying to open a Seal, probably for her. *nods*
-Mar 15 Figured the 4.15 promo was safe now. Heh. Nooooo. *facepalm* Anna will be back and there will be talking between her and Castiel. Hmm... Perhaps a discussion about following orders regardless of any personal opinions and obedience in the face of reprehensible orders?
-Mar 17 Dean's going to torture Alastair. Really? Wow. No real shocker since Dean's the best trained torturer on earth right now, but there might be Wank visible from space inbound. Also OMG. Dean's probably going to be asked to go all Jack Bauer on Alastair. OMG. By Castiel. Or more likely Uriel. Castiel won't like that, in a big way. OMG. O.O This might be where Anna comes back and there's a discussion.... OMG!!! *flails* This might explain some hiatus kerfuffle among the spoilerphiles. Personally... Um. I want it. Like fire. From a story-telling and character perspective? Yes. A billion times yes. It'd be a way to directly confront everything about Dean in Hell, including the bits that fans are barking up a tree about. It's a chance for Jensen to get in some really twisty conflict and torment into Dean. But it's going to HURT guys. And then there's the whole range of things that can be examined with this; end justifies the means, following orders that one doesn't agree with, ostensibly evil actions taken in the name of a greater good, moral (dark) grey area conflict, all that stuff. There is so much potential for extra-series significance in this episode it's truly scary. Plus it steps up the stakes and everything and and..... This Season is going to kill us all. Aside from that, Oh god, Dean. I hope Ackles knocks this out of the park. *sets up a tent in dogder-winslow's journal in hope that this ep will trigger some more fantastic meta*
-Mar 18th TV listings ARG! Title: On the Head of a Pin. So, angels, YAY! Also, a logically impossible to answer question since traditionally the parameters are not fully defined. Ooo. The head of a pin thing has also been used as a kind of euphemism, like 'splitting hairs', for spending time arguing about things that serve no practical purpose. Hm.
-Mar 18th Discovered that Random Icon I saw yesterday is actually from a promo but I was sure was a manip but isn't and I'm really rather pissed off I got spoiled for this but I can't really think about that right now because OMG YOU GUYS CASTIEL IS FRIGGING BLEEDING!!!!!!!@~! O.O *brain goes bye-bye*
-Mar 18th Et tu, Wikipedia? *Spoiler carried forward?* someone's killing angels *spoiler carried forward?*! Eeeeek! I mean, *spoiler carried forward?*, but OMG CASTIEL! O.O
-Mar 18th Couple hours pre-show: Guys, it is SO hard not to make a giant flailing capslock 200 point post right now about OMG CASTIEL IS BLEEDING!!!! O.O!!! I've been literally twitching since I found out that icon was a spoiler. People at work suspect I have Tourette's. Well, nothing new there, really. If nothing else, this has really made me realize that to me Castiel is now on the same level of OMG DON'T KILL HIM!!! as Bobby. Dude.
*koff* So, to summarize from that massive pile of spoilers, 4.16: Someone's *spoiler carried forward?* and is killing angels, Anna shows up again (if Kripke's running true to form, she'll die.) Dean tortures Alastair (either asked or out of a sense of vengeance, but I think it'll be asked, probably by Uriel, probably with Castiel not liking the situation but following orders anyway) to get info, everyone is conflicted, we learn more about Dean and his time in Hell, we possibly get more info on the Seals, Lillith, demon strategy, Dean's capacity to cope, changes in Sam based on his reaction to Dean torturing a demon. In the end, there'll be a dead angel or two (anyone but Castiel! WHO'S BLEEDING!!! OMG!!! O.O *is so very pissed about that spoilery icon*), and *spoiler carried forward?* This is the most spoiled I've been in a while, I think. *is really annoyed*
ETA Post-watch: Carrying forward a spoiler because I don't know if it was mentioned outright yet. *smacks tv listings*
Reaction to Supernatural 4.16 - "On The Head Of A Pin"
Please Note: This reaction is solely my opinion. I don't read other reactions before I type up my notes, so I have no idea what or if there is a general consensus on the episode. This reaction is full of squee and flail. If a positive reaction to this episode bothers you, don't read this reaction.
DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAN!!!
Holy shit guys! O.O
Also? *tosses about a thousand words of pre-series fic that jumped on me today which is now laughably Kripke'd.... Maybe. Hm.*
And now, stand back as I attempt comprehensibility.
-Watched the 'Then' on the first run due to the massive amount of spoilage already incurred. Lillith, check. Seals, check. Castiel, check. Anna, check. Alastair, check. Uriel, check. ...Pam??? Did she really tell Tessa to shove it? Dean torturing, check. Sam and Ruby and hat thing they do *pleasenotboinking* Ah, I see. Pam's there for the whispering and dying.
-Oooo... pricey opening scene to film, that many wrecked cars... unless they're all repurposed from Bobby's junk yard set. Need screen caps to play "match the cars" with. ^.^
-Hee! Castiel with the car alarms. There's a useful power to have.
-Yep, dead angel. Kind of traditionally garbed dead angel with the white floaty robey thing. I really really really wish I hadn't been spoiled for that, because that would have been one hell of an OMG moment. It was done subtly too, just with the mayhem and quiet understated "Goodbye, sister." It would have been one of those sneaky ambush realizations that goes off like a flare. Aaaaarg. *kicks spoilers*
-Ooo! Cops too! Loads of cop cars. Or a few filmed repeatedly. Wonder if the corpse is gonna disappear. No, right. Angel possession. They'll find the corpse of some poor woman who invited an angel to sleep over in her skull.
-Hm... the woman playing he dead angel looks familiar is she from HOLY CRAP WIIIIIINGS!!! Burned in to the pavement! WOW! Oh DAMN! That's fantastic!!! I means seriously, something like an angel, something that's supposed to be immortal dies, there should be some kind of massive thing that happens to make it different from us regular mortal dorks dying. Also, it'll make the authorities they've got a really bizarre serial killer on the loose, who grabs random unrelated (possibly all devout) people from all over the country, hides them for months and then stabs them and makes wing patterns around their bodies in public places and sets off explosions. Crossover fodder! *glee*
-Hm. I wonder if "On the Head of a Pin" also implies a kind of butterfly collection thing? *ponders*
-Sam's driving! A leeetle bit over the centre-line there Sammy. And talking about Ruby. And Dean's in the car? ...Did Sam drug Dean or something? Ah. We're being morose and guilty over Pam and not giving a crap about Ruby. Gah. Like I said, just what Dean needed, more guilt. [OMG DEEEEEEAN! o.O]
-"I'm tired of burying friends, Sam" That's not a foreshadow. Nuh uh. Nope. Not even slightly. No. It's not. *whimpers*
-Uriel, hee! He likes lurking in hotel rooms in the dark. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
-I think maybe Dean's working on the getting angry thing Sam suggested. *nods* Ooo, shouting, yay!
-"And WE don't care." Oooooo! Rift in the angel ranks detected! Also, Castiel's face is now killing me.
-Their garrison??? Well, I guess that sounds more badass to the general population than 'choir'. Although the missed opportunity for snark is lamentable:
Uriel: "Seven angels in our choir have died."
Dean: "I don't- wait, did you say 'choir'?"
Uriel: "Yes."
Dean: "...choir? Seriously."
Uriel: "Yes. Seven of which have died."
Dean: "Were they tenors or sopranos?"
Sam: *appalled* "Dude!"
Dean: "Hey, if you have four left, you could do, like, a barbershop quartet."
Uriel: "This is pointless."
Dean: "Oh, don't worry, you could still sing bass, Junkless."
Sam: *facepalm*
Dean: "Whoops, right. Make that castrato."
Castiel: "We've gotten sidetracked. A choir of angels is a unit of organization. Not a musical grouping."
Dean: "No kidding. I've heard your voice Cas. Talk about making people's ears bleed."
Sam: "I'm sorry. He does this under stress sometimes. He could be like this all night."
Uriel: *glares*
Castiel: "Must we start over?"
Dean: "Yeah, Cas, take it from the top. C'mon, once more with feeling!"
Uriel: "Apparently."
Castiel and Uriel: *simultaneous 'angels call do-over' finger poke*
Anyway, moving on now.
-Definite rift in the power structure. Little sparks of 'don't correct me in front of the mortals' from Uriel, and Castiel trying so hard to communicate around Uriel. *nods*
-Yep. The angels ask Dean to torture Alastair, and there is mass conflictedness everywhere. *nods*
-Written by Ben Edlund. *does a double take* Wait. King of Crack Ben Edlund? Ooookay....
-"Who said anything about asking?" YOINK! Hee. Also, so very not cool.
-Directed by Mike Rohl. Another new guy? Nope, he did Usual Suspects, Folsom Prison Blues and Bedtime Stories. Hmm... [AND HE CAN COME BACK ANYTIME!! OMG!!]
-"DAMMIT!" Yay Sam's lungs! Haven't heard a good Sam bellow in a while.
-Old Enochian, eh? Nifty. I'm guessing that's an older version than the 16th century version Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley were messing around with. Enochian is supposed to be the language Adam is supposed to have used to name everything in the garden of Eden, that died out before the biblical flood of Noah's Ark fame, the last speaker being Enoch. Hm. Not sure exactly how that translated into a Devil's Trap, but whatever. *handwaves*
-Sam's in Cheyenne. Where's Dean?
-Castiel is conflicted, Uriel's a domineering ass and Dean is borderline freaking out, YAY! \o/ And Dean doesn't trust Uriel! Yay!
-"I think I'll go seek... revelation." Now there's a new euphemism for using the john if I ever heard one.
-Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Uriel's the funniest angel in the garrison. *falls out of chair laughing [and again on re-watch]* Heeeee! I have no idea why that's so funny, but it is. *pats Castiel* Hang around Dean some more, you'll develop a sense of humour or go insane. [Or both!]
-Castiel got reprimanded for developing emotions. Seriously, is Heaven the planet Vulcan or what? Awww. Just plain awwwwwww.
-Ooooo... "You will not like what walks back out." Oooohoohoo. Oh Dean. "I would give anything not to have you do this." Oh Castiel. I don't know who Castiel's immediate CO is, but I kind of want to belt him/her/it for making them do this.
-Oh god, I don't care what Dean has to do as long as it makes Alastair STOP SINGING!!! Arg! Although Hee! at Alastair's wiggling toes as he sings.
-The Brando voice is driving me up the wall. At this rate I'm willing to torture him to make him shut up.
-Torture tools. Physical torture still makes no sense, it's just hurting the host. Glad to see a massive jug of holy water though.
-What did Alastair say? "Maybe you're all scared to?" Maybe you're a scarecrow?" "Maybe Euroscare tow?" Gah.
-Wait, what? Part of Dean got left behind in Hell? Does he mean that literally?? o.O
-Oooo. Oh yeah, dude. Bring up John. See what that gets you.
-"He can't get the job done, he's not strong enough."/"and you are?"/"I will be." Oh shit Sam! O.O
-John didn't break. Hunh. (Damn. Unstuck just got Kripke'd... unless Alastair's lying... or was lying in Unstuck. Yeah, that works. Sure.) That's... hm. Something... Needs more brain.
-Dean dreamt in Hell. Ooo.
-Holy water injections, there's an idea. Won't be great for the host, but it'd hurt Alastair. *nods*
-Oh Castiel... Listening. Oh...
-Ooo! Nifty map fire spell! And if I'm seeing correctly, an easy effect to accomplish cheaply. Although the fire alarms in that hotel suck. Mine goes off anytime I use the oven, nevermind have a giant open flame on a table. (Though that may say more about my cooking than the quality of my fire alarm.)
-Wyoming has a lot of crap going on in it. The Gate from AHBL was in Wyoming, wasn't it?
-There. Still about a ten mile radius, if not much more, so have fun randomly checking places for hours.
-I'm so very totally kicking someone's ass if the thing Sam has to do is boinking Ruby. Seriously seriously kicking someone's ass if it's boinking Ruby. Seriously- oh thank fuck it's just drinking her blood. Phew. They really were pushing that right to the last. Geez.
-...which means in a kind of sick way, Ruby is nursing Sam. Oh wow. Surrogate mother??? That's a different way of establishing a bond and control. A much better one, given Sam would have some lingering psychology stuff since he was six months old and likely not weaned yet when Mary died. Also booster shots of demon blood, all of which still works with my theory, so yay! Plus, pseudo-vampirism, and arguably addiction! Also, very very very fucked up. And I think I just heard a thousand kinky Sam/Ruby bunnies go stampeding around the fandom.
-AND YAY FOR AN OVERT "I'M ACTUALLY PLOTTING SOMETHING" LOOK FROM RUBY FINALLY!!! The whole 'she's doing this because she wuvs him' thing was giving me hives.
-Aw come on, Dean, think logically. Why torture the meat? That Holy Water syringe was a great idea because it wouldn't hurt the poor schmoe that Alastair's riding around in, much. Since it's a possession, I'd imagine Alastair could easily dissociate from any pain the body was feeling, otherwise how the hell would demons cope with injuries the hosts get while they're possessing them?
-Actually, never mind Alastair started talking again, and I kind of want his tongue cut out. I don't know why the voice is so annoying!
-Ackles rocks. That is all.
-Oooo. Dripping pipes. Ooo. Who did that? Alastair shouldn't be able to exert any power outside the trap... I think... gah.
-Oh Castiel. Misha Collins rocks too.
-Flickers! Oh hi rescue squad that's arriving because the angels didn't ward their location? No, it's Anna. Aaaand cue the conversation about orders? Yep.
-"Where's Uriel?" / "He went to receive revelation." He had the five-bean chili for lunch. And prune juice. Don't go back there, it's unholy.
-Anna's got a point there. A little disconcerting that God's got a mole in his organization, but kind of an easier to take option than having any major religion's primary Deity issuing orders like this one.
-Wow. Anna's a little... gropey. For an angel. And what string did she pull with who to get her human body back? She stole her holy glowstick back. She's also a leeeeettle too intent on getting Castiel to disobey... Wonder if she's the mole who issued an order that would make Castiel feel as conflicted as possible in order to try to get him to fall. Hm. Leaves old Uriel out in the cold, but whatever.
-"You fell!" Ooo. Castiel sounds pissed. Well, for Castiel. *glee*
-"Go." *flails*
-"Reality is too concrete." Dude, I know. Not being able to repeal the laws of nature at will sucks. ...what?
-Salt, yes, better idea, although you might have started there and gone to the knife later. Hypertension's more survivable than having your entrails removed. Evisceration is like a zombie chicken that way. *nods like that made any sense at all*
-What you really did for us. Oooo. See, this is why I wanted them to go here, much as it is going to scar Dean and put a bunch of torture on my screen which is *shrug* meh. Not my thing. I wanted this so we can get more about Dean in Hell, because given that's where Lilith wanted him, there's got to be more to it.
-Oooo... It was supposed to be John ... Righteous man sheds blood in Hell is the first seal and OH HOLY FUCK!!! O.O Dean breaking in Hell was the First Seal!! Oh no. Oh no, no way, oh Dean! The GUILT!!! OMG Dean's face is killing me!!! Chin wibbles, jaw clenches and, and just *flails* Whoa. O.O
-Angels need to develop a better sense of operational security. Castiel doesn't have any way to sense that the trap is broken? Or is he just too distracted?
-Dean's being choked! Um. Wow. That thumb dug into Ackles' throat under the jawline looks like it might have actually hurt... so um. Good stage fighting! I hope! O.O
-Castiel being all stabbity to save Dean! With added angelic psychic magic knife twisting! Woo! \o/
-Um. Dean's not looking so healthy...
-"Gnyaaaaah!" Aaand there they go again, demons and angels, fighting by whacking their meat together. Still seems pointle- CASTIEL'S BLEEEEEDING!!!! *flails*
-Holy crap, Alastair hung Castiel on a coat hook by what, a rib?? Frigging OW!!! *winces* [*winces again on re-watch*] Though the "wait, what?" look on Castiel's face is great.
-Celestials!! \o/ Alastair called angels 'celestials'! The more I watch this show, the more certain I am that Kripke used to play "In Nomine"
-Nonononono. No exorcising the angel. No! Bad Alastair!
-YAY PSYCHIC SAMMY! Oh. Oh crap. Oh Sam.
-What did Alastair say? "Stupid Patrick's?" Stupid Patrick's what? No, wait. "Stupid Pet Tricks." Maybe?
-Ooohohoho, that was some look from Castiel there. You know, Sam, Castiel's going to eventually have a long uncomfortable chat with you about this. 'Cause if Pam can see what's inside you when you do things like this, Castiel sure can.
-Lilith's not behind it. Not surprised. I doubt it's a demon at all, now that God apparently has a mole infestation.
-"Now I can kill." YEAH SAM! And, um also more than a little "Oh shit!" The look on Castiel's face, again, some more! Although really, Sam's first psychic-powered demon kill could not happen to a more worthy demon. Bye Alastair, won't miss the voice one bit.
-Awkward. So. Just killed a Demon. And not a minor one. Without so much as a nosebleed. Right in front of your brother's Angel. Who has a very freaked look, for an Angel. Hm. Yes, Sam, there is a very long awkward conversation in your future.
-Oh crap, Dean's hospitalized and comatose-ish! He got beat up worse than it seemed! ACK! DEEEEEEEEEEEAN! Aw, puppy Sam. Whoops, looks like awkward conversation time maybe? Or maybe not.
-Hee! Sam. "Miracle. Now." *snerk* You can tell he's the baby of the family. (So am I, so I can say that.)
-The trap shouldn't have broken, the demons aren't killing the angels... it's really not looking good for Anna right now...
-"I've received revelation from our superiors." Aw. Doesn't sound like a euphemism now, darn.
-SNOW! YAY! There's visible SNOW!!! On the ground! \o/ Woo! Yay BC weather! Robert Wisdom must've froze his butt off sitting on that park bench if that's the snow time from last winter that I'm thinking of. One of the coldest cold snaps on record for the region. He needs a toque, a parka and some cocoa. *nods*
-Uriel's got quite a bit of emotion going on there. Hm.
-*flails all over the conversation between Castiel and Uriel* It's just so damn cool to see Castiel using initiative, reasoning and trying to figure out what's going on. Even though the whole obedience of orders thing is huge, it's fantastic. Plus, the dialog pacing is snapping back and forth really well, and given the angels usual stilted and careful speech patterns, it makes this conversation seem that much more frantic by comparison. Awesome.
-"Well I won't wait to be gutted." And Uriel's out. Wow. Nice. Uriel is a giant chicken. Wouldn't have expected that.
-"It's time to think for yourself." Oooo.
-FORENSIC!CASTIEL FTMFW!!!!! \o/ Hee! Examining the crime scene, tracking the source and cause of the break in the Devil's Trap. *glee*
-Hey! It's the barn/warehouse thing room from 4.01! With stuff in it! Re-use of set, yay!
-Angels as the agents of fate! Faaaate! *glee*!!!
-"Seems like forever." ...weeeeell, maybe because it was? Duh?
-Oh wow. Uriel did it? WHOA. Uriel went darkside??? Holy crap I didn't see that coming! Hard ass rules lawyer to obedience, but... Wow.
-Heh. The channel this airs on in Canada now is a multi-faith family programming broadcaster. I'm kind of bemused that the ads that are playing during the commercial breaks here are for the channel's various spirituality programs. It, um. It's an interesting background thing.
-Ooo. Of course. Set Alastair loose, he kills Dean, Castiel has massive, massive guilt over getting Dean to do that in the first place and throws himself entirely into blaming the demons, no longer doubts orders, wherever they are issued from, and they all thunder on down into a rolling dogfight and the apocalypse. Hunh. Uriel's got a plot. Who knew? Well obviously someone because I doubt Uriel's in this alone.
-Conversion. Ohhh. Uriel's a nutbag. Okay then.
-Ah, I stand corrected. Uriel's a racist speciesist anti-mortal ...massively prejudiced nutbag. Who thinks Lucifer had the right idea and wants to not only be on his side, but to raise him. Well, shit! O.O
-"Swining, puking, larva." Yeah, thanks Uriel.
-"You want to believe in something, Cas, believe in him." Gee... Um. No. Uriel hid his crazy well. Although he was the funniest in the garrison. Beware of funny angels, for they are secretly batshit.
-"Help me bring on the apocalypse." Annnd fuck you too.
-And Castiel belts him! Fuck yeah! Go Castiel!
-Fight! No smiting in the house, boys. Although the lack of smiting doesn't seem to be slowing down the structural damage much. Castiel's bleeding agaaaaaain EEK!
-"You can't win, Uriel. I still serve God." *FLAIL!* GO CASTIEL!!! Get down with your bad good self! \o/
-YEAH!!! Hi Anna! Little over the top in the 'Hah I killed you, you bastard' speech department, but oh well. Bye Uriel! Don't blow up the building on your way out. Hmm... Is it just me, or was that a little convenient. *is still massively suspicious of Anna*
-BURNED IN WIIIIIIIIINGS!!!! OMG. *flails through the entire commercial break* I love that they made Uriel's wings like the shadow we saw briefly in Heaven and Hell, all sort of sparse and semi-skeletal, with long primaries. I love that 'burned-in wings' effect. Though I hope we don't see it much more in the series because there's only two angels with speaking parts left. *whimpers*
-Aw. Castiel's waiting for Dean to wake up. Sam probably just stepped out for a second to receive a revelation find a washroom. What? *koff*
-"Is it true?"/ "Yes." Oh fuck. Deeeeean! The guilt!
-Sieeeeeege! There was a siege! OMG yay, siege! Angels besieging Hell! Yaaaaay! *glee* OH! OH! OH!!! They laid siege when they found out Lilith's plan for him! NOT AFTER HE BROKE THE SEAL, BUT BEFORE!!! *forces self to stop abusing capslock* They laid siege to try and prevent it from happening, and, and....*flails for unexplainable reasons*
-FAAAAAAAAAAAAATE!!!!! Fate! Dean's the only one that can stop it now! Oh wow! (Massive pile of speculation and meta moved to a separate post for the sake of the spoilerphobes also avoiding spec. *waves hi at malevolent73*)
-*flails all over the place at the hospital conversation*
-Oh Deeeean. It's going to take a while of slamming up some big hefty emotional walls and hiding deep in his snark, beer and wenchery armour before he can approach coping with this bit of news, methinks. He's going to be so deep in denial he'll have Egyptian riverbed clay between his toes.
-Loads and loads and loads of "Oh Dean." Not enough "Oh Dean" in the world, guys.
Eeeeeee! So. Much. Awesome. Also, SO. MUCH. MYTHARC DATA!!! \o/
This is going to take a long while to fully process.
NO SPOILERS IN COMMENTS! Definition of spoiler in sidebar.
Spoiler and Theorizing Timeline
Gaaaah.
-Mar 13 IMDB. Yeah, yeah, I figured I could get straight into 4.15 and look up guest actors without seeing anything else but *headdesk*. Castiel and Dean vs Alistair. Eeeee! I'm guessing from the placement and notability of it that this is a more direct thing, and since Alastair's captured... hehe. Wonder if someone's gonna go all Jack Bauer on Alastair. Torturing a cloud of smoke... keeping him imprisoned in a holy shop vac (read that in a fic somewhere)... will Lilith try to rescue him, or will she take it as an opportunity to advance her own agenda? Or is Alastair part of Lilith's agenda, one of her agents so to speak. I figure he is, given he was trying to open a Seal, probably for her. *nods*
-Mar 15 Figured the 4.15 promo was safe now. Heh. Nooooo. *facepalm* Anna will be back and there will be talking between her and Castiel. Hmm... Perhaps a discussion about following orders regardless of any personal opinions and obedience in the face of reprehensible orders?
-Mar 17 Dean's going to torture Alastair. Really? Wow. No real shocker since Dean's the best trained torturer on earth right now, but there might be Wank visible from space inbound. Also OMG. Dean's probably going to be asked to go all Jack Bauer on Alastair. OMG. By Castiel. Or more likely Uriel. Castiel won't like that, in a big way. OMG. O.O This might be where Anna comes back and there's a discussion.... OMG!!! *flails* This might explain some hiatus kerfuffle among the spoilerphiles. Personally... Um. I want it. Like fire. From a story-telling and character perspective? Yes. A billion times yes. It'd be a way to directly confront everything about Dean in Hell, including the bits that fans are barking up a tree about. It's a chance for Jensen to get in some really twisty conflict and torment into Dean. But it's going to HURT guys. And then there's the whole range of things that can be examined with this; end justifies the means, following orders that one doesn't agree with, ostensibly evil actions taken in the name of a greater good, moral (dark) grey area conflict, all that stuff. There is so much potential for extra-series significance in this episode it's truly scary. Plus it steps up the stakes and everything and and..... This Season is going to kill us all. Aside from that, Oh god, Dean. I hope Ackles knocks this out of the park. *sets up a tent in dogder-winslow's journal in hope that this ep will trigger some more fantastic meta*
-Mar 18th TV listings ARG! Title: On the Head of a Pin. So, angels, YAY! Also, a logically impossible to answer question since traditionally the parameters are not fully defined. Ooo. The head of a pin thing has also been used as a kind of euphemism, like 'splitting hairs', for spending time arguing about things that serve no practical purpose. Hm.
-Mar 18th Discovered that Random Icon I saw yesterday is actually from a promo but I was sure was a manip but isn't and I'm really rather pissed off I got spoiled for this but I can't really think about that right now because OMG YOU GUYS CASTIEL IS FRIGGING BLEEDING!!!!!!!@~! O.O *brain goes bye-bye*
-Mar 18th Et tu, Wikipedia? *Spoiler carried forward?* someone's killing angels *spoiler carried forward?*! Eeeeek! I mean, *spoiler carried forward?*, but OMG CASTIEL! O.O
-Mar 18th Couple hours pre-show: Guys, it is SO hard not to make a giant flailing capslock 200 point post right now about OMG CASTIEL IS BLEEDING!!!! O.O!!! I've been literally twitching since I found out that icon was a spoiler. People at work suspect I have Tourette's. Well, nothing new there, really. If nothing else, this has really made me realize that to me Castiel is now on the same level of OMG DON'T KILL HIM!!! as Bobby. Dude.
*koff* So, to summarize from that massive pile of spoilers, 4.16: Someone's *spoiler carried forward?* and is killing angels, Anna shows up again (if Kripke's running true to form, she'll die.) Dean tortures Alastair (either asked or out of a sense of vengeance, but I think it'll be asked, probably by Uriel, probably with Castiel not liking the situation but following orders anyway) to get info, everyone is conflicted, we learn more about Dean and his time in Hell, we possibly get more info on the Seals, Lillith, demon strategy, Dean's capacity to cope, changes in Sam based on his reaction to Dean torturing a demon. In the end, there'll be a dead angel or two (anyone but Castiel! WHO'S BLEEDING!!! OMG!!! O.O *is so very pissed about that spoilery icon*), and *spoiler carried forward?* This is the most spoiled I've been in a while, I think. *is really annoyed*
ETA Post-watch: Carrying forward a spoiler because I don't know if it was mentioned outright yet. *smacks tv listings*
Reaction to Supernatural 4.16 - "On The Head Of A Pin"
Please Note: This reaction is solely my opinion. I don't read other reactions before I type up my notes, so I have no idea what or if there is a general consensus on the episode. This reaction is full of squee and flail. If a positive reaction to this episode bothers you, don't read this reaction.
DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAN!!!
Holy shit guys! O.O
Also? *tosses about a thousand words of pre-series fic that jumped on me today which is now laughably Kripke'd.... Maybe. Hm.*
And now, stand back as I attempt comprehensibility.
-Watched the 'Then' on the first run due to the massive amount of spoilage already incurred. Lillith, check. Seals, check. Castiel, check. Anna, check. Alastair, check. Uriel, check. ...Pam??? Did she really tell Tessa to shove it? Dean torturing, check. Sam and Ruby and hat thing they do *pleasenotboinking* Ah, I see. Pam's there for the whispering and dying.
-Oooo... pricey opening scene to film, that many wrecked cars... unless they're all repurposed from Bobby's junk yard set. Need screen caps to play "match the cars" with. ^.^
-Hee! Castiel with the car alarms. There's a useful power to have.
-Yep, dead angel. Kind of traditionally garbed dead angel with the white floaty robey thing. I really really really wish I hadn't been spoiled for that, because that would have been one hell of an OMG moment. It was done subtly too, just with the mayhem and quiet understated "Goodbye, sister." It would have been one of those sneaky ambush realizations that goes off like a flare. Aaaaarg. *kicks spoilers*
-Ooo! Cops too! Loads of cop cars. Or a few filmed repeatedly. Wonder if the corpse is gonna disappear. No, right. Angel possession. They'll find the corpse of some poor woman who invited an angel to sleep over in her skull.
-Hm... the woman playing he dead angel looks familiar is she from HOLY CRAP WIIIIIINGS!!! Burned in to the pavement! WOW! Oh DAMN! That's fantastic!!! I means seriously, something like an angel, something that's supposed to be immortal dies, there should be some kind of massive thing that happens to make it different from us regular mortal dorks dying. Also, it'll make the authorities they've got a really bizarre serial killer on the loose, who grabs random unrelated (possibly all devout) people from all over the country, hides them for months and then stabs them and makes wing patterns around their bodies in public places and sets off explosions. Crossover fodder! *glee*
-Hm. I wonder if "On the Head of a Pin" also implies a kind of butterfly collection thing? *ponders*
-Sam's driving! A leeetle bit over the centre-line there Sammy. And talking about Ruby. And Dean's in the car? ...Did Sam drug Dean or something? Ah. We're being morose and guilty over Pam and not giving a crap about Ruby. Gah. Like I said, just what Dean needed, more guilt. [OMG DEEEEEEAN! o.O]
-"I'm tired of burying friends, Sam" That's not a foreshadow. Nuh uh. Nope. Not even slightly. No. It's not. *whimpers*
-Uriel, hee! He likes lurking in hotel rooms in the dark. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
-I think maybe Dean's working on the getting angry thing Sam suggested. *nods* Ooo, shouting, yay!
-"And WE don't care." Oooooo! Rift in the angel ranks detected! Also, Castiel's face is now killing me.
-Their garrison??? Well, I guess that sounds more badass to the general population than 'choir'. Although the missed opportunity for snark is lamentable:
Uriel: "Seven angels in our choir have died."
Dean: "I don't- wait, did you say 'choir'?"
Uriel: "Yes."
Dean: "...choir? Seriously."
Uriel: "Yes. Seven of which have died."
Dean: "Were they tenors or sopranos?"
Sam: *appalled* "Dude!"
Dean: "Hey, if you have four left, you could do, like, a barbershop quartet."
Uriel: "This is pointless."
Dean: "Oh, don't worry, you could still sing bass, Junkless."
Sam: *facepalm*
Dean: "Whoops, right. Make that castrato."
Castiel: "We've gotten sidetracked. A choir of angels is a unit of organization. Not a musical grouping."
Dean: "No kidding. I've heard your voice Cas. Talk about making people's ears bleed."
Sam: "I'm sorry. He does this under stress sometimes. He could be like this all night."
Uriel: *glares*
Castiel: "Must we start over?"
Dean: "Yeah, Cas, take it from the top. C'mon, once more with feeling!"
Uriel: "Apparently."
Castiel and Uriel: *simultaneous 'angels call do-over' finger poke*
Anyway, moving on now.
-Definite rift in the power structure. Little sparks of 'don't correct me in front of the mortals' from Uriel, and Castiel trying so hard to communicate around Uriel. *nods*
-Yep. The angels ask Dean to torture Alastair, and there is mass conflictedness everywhere. *nods*
-Written by Ben Edlund. *does a double take* Wait. King of Crack Ben Edlund? Ooookay....
-"Who said anything about asking?" YOINK! Hee. Also, so very not cool.
-Directed by Mike Rohl. Another new guy? Nope, he did Usual Suspects, Folsom Prison Blues and Bedtime Stories. Hmm... [AND HE CAN COME BACK ANYTIME!! OMG!!]
-"DAMMIT!" Yay Sam's lungs! Haven't heard a good Sam bellow in a while.
-Old Enochian, eh? Nifty. I'm guessing that's an older version than the 16th century version Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley were messing around with. Enochian is supposed to be the language Adam is supposed to have used to name everything in the garden of Eden, that died out before the biblical flood of Noah's Ark fame, the last speaker being Enoch. Hm. Not sure exactly how that translated into a Devil's Trap, but whatever. *handwaves*
-Sam's in Cheyenne. Where's Dean?
-Castiel is conflicted, Uriel's a domineering ass and Dean is borderline freaking out, YAY! \o/ And Dean doesn't trust Uriel! Yay!
-"I think I'll go seek... revelation." Now there's a new euphemism for using the john if I ever heard one.
-Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Uriel's the funniest angel in the garrison. *falls out of chair laughing [and again on re-watch]* Heeeee! I have no idea why that's so funny, but it is. *pats Castiel* Hang around Dean some more, you'll develop a sense of humour or go insane. [Or both!]
-Castiel got reprimanded for developing emotions. Seriously, is Heaven the planet Vulcan or what? Awww. Just plain awwwwwww.
-Ooooo... "You will not like what walks back out." Oooohoohoo. Oh Dean. "I would give anything not to have you do this." Oh Castiel. I don't know who Castiel's immediate CO is, but I kind of want to belt him/her/it for making them do this.
-Oh god, I don't care what Dean has to do as long as it makes Alastair STOP SINGING!!! Arg! Although Hee! at Alastair's wiggling toes as he sings.
-The Brando voice is driving me up the wall. At this rate I'm willing to torture him to make him shut up.
-Torture tools. Physical torture still makes no sense, it's just hurting the host. Glad to see a massive jug of holy water though.
-What did Alastair say? "Maybe you're all scared to?" Maybe you're a scarecrow?" "Maybe Euroscare tow?" Gah.
-Wait, what? Part of Dean got left behind in Hell? Does he mean that literally?? o.O
-Oooo. Oh yeah, dude. Bring up John. See what that gets you.
-"He can't get the job done, he's not strong enough."/"and you are?"/"I will be." Oh shit Sam! O.O
-John didn't break. Hunh. (Damn. Unstuck just got Kripke'd... unless Alastair's lying... or was lying in Unstuck. Yeah, that works. Sure.) That's... hm. Something... Needs more brain.
-Dean dreamt in Hell. Ooo.
-Holy water injections, there's an idea. Won't be great for the host, but it'd hurt Alastair. *nods*
-Oh Castiel... Listening. Oh...
-Ooo! Nifty map fire spell! And if I'm seeing correctly, an easy effect to accomplish cheaply. Although the fire alarms in that hotel suck. Mine goes off anytime I use the oven, nevermind have a giant open flame on a table. (Though that may say more about my cooking than the quality of my fire alarm.)
-Wyoming has a lot of crap going on in it. The Gate from AHBL was in Wyoming, wasn't it?
-There. Still about a ten mile radius, if not much more, so have fun randomly checking places for hours.
-I'm so very totally kicking someone's ass if the thing Sam has to do is boinking Ruby. Seriously seriously kicking someone's ass if it's boinking Ruby. Seriously- oh thank fuck it's just drinking her blood. Phew. They really were pushing that right to the last. Geez.
-...which means in a kind of sick way, Ruby is nursing Sam. Oh wow. Surrogate mother??? That's a different way of establishing a bond and control. A much better one, given Sam would have some lingering psychology stuff since he was six months old and likely not weaned yet when Mary died. Also booster shots of demon blood, all of which still works with my theory, so yay! Plus, pseudo-vampirism, and arguably addiction! Also, very very very fucked up. And I think I just heard a thousand kinky Sam/Ruby bunnies go stampeding around the fandom.
-AND YAY FOR AN OVERT "I'M ACTUALLY PLOTTING SOMETHING" LOOK FROM RUBY FINALLY!!! The whole 'she's doing this because she wuvs him' thing was giving me hives.
-Aw come on, Dean, think logically. Why torture the meat? That Holy Water syringe was a great idea because it wouldn't hurt the poor schmoe that Alastair's riding around in, much. Since it's a possession, I'd imagine Alastair could easily dissociate from any pain the body was feeling, otherwise how the hell would demons cope with injuries the hosts get while they're possessing them?
-Actually, never mind Alastair started talking again, and I kind of want his tongue cut out. I don't know why the voice is so annoying!
-Ackles rocks. That is all.
-Oooo. Dripping pipes. Ooo. Who did that? Alastair shouldn't be able to exert any power outside the trap... I think... gah.
-Oh Castiel. Misha Collins rocks too.
-Flickers! Oh hi rescue squad that's arriving because the angels didn't ward their location? No, it's Anna. Aaaand cue the conversation about orders? Yep.
-"Where's Uriel?" / "He went to receive revelation." He had the five-bean chili for lunch. And prune juice. Don't go back there, it's unholy.
-Anna's got a point there. A little disconcerting that God's got a mole in his organization, but kind of an easier to take option than having any major religion's primary Deity issuing orders like this one.
-Wow. Anna's a little... gropey. For an angel. And what string did she pull with who to get her human body back? She stole her holy glowstick back. She's also a leeeeettle too intent on getting Castiel to disobey... Wonder if she's the mole who issued an order that would make Castiel feel as conflicted as possible in order to try to get him to fall. Hm. Leaves old Uriel out in the cold, but whatever.
-"You fell!" Ooo. Castiel sounds pissed. Well, for Castiel. *glee*
-"Go." *flails*
-"Reality is too concrete." Dude, I know. Not being able to repeal the laws of nature at will sucks. ...what?
-Salt, yes, better idea, although you might have started there and gone to the knife later. Hypertension's more survivable than having your entrails removed. Evisceration is like a zombie chicken that way. *nods like that made any sense at all*
-What you really did for us. Oooo. See, this is why I wanted them to go here, much as it is going to scar Dean and put a bunch of torture on my screen which is *shrug* meh. Not my thing. I wanted this so we can get more about Dean in Hell, because given that's where Lilith wanted him, there's got to be more to it.
-Oooo... It was supposed to be John ... Righteous man sheds blood in Hell is the first seal and OH HOLY FUCK!!! O.O Dean breaking in Hell was the First Seal!! Oh no. Oh no, no way, oh Dean! The GUILT!!! OMG Dean's face is killing me!!! Chin wibbles, jaw clenches and, and just *flails* Whoa. O.O
-Angels need to develop a better sense of operational security. Castiel doesn't have any way to sense that the trap is broken? Or is he just too distracted?
-Dean's being choked! Um. Wow. That thumb dug into Ackles' throat under the jawline looks like it might have actually hurt... so um. Good stage fighting! I hope! O.O
-Castiel being all stabbity to save Dean! With added angelic psychic magic knife twisting! Woo! \o/
-Um. Dean's not looking so healthy...
-"Gnyaaaaah!" Aaand there they go again, demons and angels, fighting by whacking their meat together. Still seems pointle- CASTIEL'S BLEEEEEDING!!!! *flails*
-Holy crap, Alastair hung Castiel on a coat hook by what, a rib?? Frigging OW!!! *winces* [*winces again on re-watch*] Though the "wait, what?" look on Castiel's face is great.
-Celestials!! \o/ Alastair called angels 'celestials'! The more I watch this show, the more certain I am that Kripke used to play "In Nomine"
-Nonononono. No exorcising the angel. No! Bad Alastair!
-YAY PSYCHIC SAMMY! Oh. Oh crap. Oh Sam.
-What did Alastair say? "Stupid Patrick's?" Stupid Patrick's what? No, wait. "Stupid Pet Tricks." Maybe?
-Ooohohoho, that was some look from Castiel there. You know, Sam, Castiel's going to eventually have a long uncomfortable chat with you about this. 'Cause if Pam can see what's inside you when you do things like this, Castiel sure can.
-Lilith's not behind it. Not surprised. I doubt it's a demon at all, now that God apparently has a mole infestation.
-"Now I can kill." YEAH SAM! And, um also more than a little "Oh shit!" The look on Castiel's face, again, some more! Although really, Sam's first psychic-powered demon kill could not happen to a more worthy demon. Bye Alastair, won't miss the voice one bit.
-Awkward. So. Just killed a Demon. And not a minor one. Without so much as a nosebleed. Right in front of your brother's Angel. Who has a very freaked look, for an Angel. Hm. Yes, Sam, there is a very long awkward conversation in your future.
-Oh crap, Dean's hospitalized and comatose-ish! He got beat up worse than it seemed! ACK! DEEEEEEEEEEEAN! Aw, puppy Sam. Whoops, looks like awkward conversation time maybe? Or maybe not.
-Hee! Sam. "Miracle. Now." *snerk* You can tell he's the baby of the family. (So am I, so I can say that.)
-The trap shouldn't have broken, the demons aren't killing the angels... it's really not looking good for Anna right now...
-"I've received revelation from our superiors." Aw. Doesn't sound like a euphemism now, darn.
-SNOW! YAY! There's visible SNOW!!! On the ground! \o/ Woo! Yay BC weather! Robert Wisdom must've froze his butt off sitting on that park bench if that's the snow time from last winter that I'm thinking of. One of the coldest cold snaps on record for the region. He needs a toque, a parka and some cocoa. *nods*
-Uriel's got quite a bit of emotion going on there. Hm.
-*flails all over the conversation between Castiel and Uriel* It's just so damn cool to see Castiel using initiative, reasoning and trying to figure out what's going on. Even though the whole obedience of orders thing is huge, it's fantastic. Plus, the dialog pacing is snapping back and forth really well, and given the angels usual stilted and careful speech patterns, it makes this conversation seem that much more frantic by comparison. Awesome.
-"Well I won't wait to be gutted." And Uriel's out. Wow. Nice. Uriel is a giant chicken. Wouldn't have expected that.
-"It's time to think for yourself." Oooo.
-FORENSIC!CASTIEL FTMFW!!!!! \o/ Hee! Examining the crime scene, tracking the source and cause of the break in the Devil's Trap. *glee*
-Hey! It's the barn/warehouse thing room from 4.01! With stuff in it! Re-use of set, yay!
-Angels as the agents of fate! Faaaate! *glee*!!!
-"Seems like forever." ...weeeeell, maybe because it was? Duh?
-Oh wow. Uriel did it? WHOA. Uriel went darkside??? Holy crap I didn't see that coming! Hard ass rules lawyer to obedience, but... Wow.
-Heh. The channel this airs on in Canada now is a multi-faith family programming broadcaster. I'm kind of bemused that the ads that are playing during the commercial breaks here are for the channel's various spirituality programs. It, um. It's an interesting background thing.
-Ooo. Of course. Set Alastair loose, he kills Dean, Castiel has massive, massive guilt over getting Dean to do that in the first place and throws himself entirely into blaming the demons, no longer doubts orders, wherever they are issued from, and they all thunder on down into a rolling dogfight and the apocalypse. Hunh. Uriel's got a plot. Who knew? Well obviously someone because I doubt Uriel's in this alone.
-Conversion. Ohhh. Uriel's a nutbag. Okay then.
-Ah, I stand corrected. Uriel's a racist speciesist anti-mortal ...massively prejudiced nutbag. Who thinks Lucifer had the right idea and wants to not only be on his side, but to raise him. Well, shit! O.O
-"Swining, puking, larva." Yeah, thanks Uriel.
-"You want to believe in something, Cas, believe in him." Gee... Um. No. Uriel hid his crazy well. Although he was the funniest in the garrison. Beware of funny angels, for they are secretly batshit.
-"Help me bring on the apocalypse." Annnd fuck you too.
-And Castiel belts him! Fuck yeah! Go Castiel!
-Fight! No smiting in the house, boys. Although the lack of smiting doesn't seem to be slowing down the structural damage much. Castiel's bleeding agaaaaaain EEK!
-"You can't win, Uriel. I still serve God." *FLAIL!* GO CASTIEL!!! Get down with your bad good self! \o/
-YEAH!!! Hi Anna! Little over the top in the 'Hah I killed you, you bastard' speech department, but oh well. Bye Uriel! Don't blow up the building on your way out. Hmm... Is it just me, or was that a little convenient. *is still massively suspicious of Anna*
-BURNED IN WIIIIIIIIINGS!!!! OMG. *flails through the entire commercial break* I love that they made Uriel's wings like the shadow we saw briefly in Heaven and Hell, all sort of sparse and semi-skeletal, with long primaries. I love that 'burned-in wings' effect. Though I hope we don't see it much more in the series because there's only two angels with speaking parts left. *whimpers*
-Aw. Castiel's waiting for Dean to wake up. Sam probably just stepped out for a second to receive a revelation find a washroom. What? *koff*
-"Is it true?"/ "Yes." Oh fuck. Deeeeean! The guilt!
-Sieeeeeege! There was a siege! OMG yay, siege! Angels besieging Hell! Yaaaaay! *glee* OH! OH! OH!!! They laid siege when they found out Lilith's plan for him! NOT AFTER HE BROKE THE SEAL, BUT BEFORE!!! *forces self to stop abusing capslock* They laid siege to try and prevent it from happening, and, and....*flails for unexplainable reasons*
-FAAAAAAAAAAAAATE!!!!! Fate! Dean's the only one that can stop it now! Oh wow! (Massive pile of speculation and meta moved to a separate post for the sake of the spoilerphobes also avoiding spec. *waves hi at malevolent73*)
-*flails all over the place at the hospital conversation*
-Oh Deeeean. It's going to take a while of slamming up some big hefty emotional walls and hiding deep in his snark, beer and wenchery armour before he can approach coping with this bit of news, methinks. He's going to be so deep in denial he'll have Egyptian riverbed clay between his toes.
-Loads and loads and loads of "Oh Dean." Not enough "Oh Dean" in the world, guys.
Eeeeeee! So. Much. Awesome. Also, SO. MUCH. MYTHARC DATA!!! \o/
This is going to take a long while to fully process.
NO SPOILERS IN COMMENTS! Definition of spoiler in sidebar.