Supernatural 5.6
Trying something a little different this time. Well, different for me. With apologies to kroki-refur for stealing her formula. Or something. Anyway.
Caveat lector: I am pro-pretty-much-everybody. I am biased toward Dean, though, no point in denying it.
Caveat vector(?): I've been experimenting with GIMP for these screen shots. I finally came up with a process I like, but these pics are all over the place, really. You can practically watch my technique evolve as you scroll through these. So...don't expect just a whole lot, is what I'm saying.
I liked the episode, I did, but it also left a bad taste in my mouth. I couldn't stop thinking about it, about why I felt that way, whether it was actually the text making me freak out internally or because I already knew how fandom would react and that bothered me. (I don't want fandom to make me trepidatious about my favorite show. That's not how it works. Fandom should make you more squeeful, not less. At least, that's how I see it.)
So I decided to go through the episode step by step and pick out all the things that made me happy. And while I was at it, I picked some things that made me think, too.
Okay, so how many people named Jim have there been on the show now? There was Pastor Jim, Jimmy Novak, that hunter in 5.3, and now this Jimmy kid. I absolutely loved this boy, btw. What a little cutie, and a prankster after Dean's own heart. I hope he's not scarred for life by this.
I loved how, after the doctor explained what a phantom itch is, both SamnDean had 'em. ::pets their iddle heads:: So KYOOOOOOT.
Dean was particularly pretty in this scene. Just thought I'd mention it. Even his forehead is beautiful. ♥
Oh, Dean with kids! ♥ He has such a way. When he leaned down like this, all gentle, I totally expected him to reassure the boy that it was okay, whatever he saw, Dean would believe him. But no, he THREATENED the poor child. Like I said, I hope Jimmy isn't scarred for life by this. (Look at his FACE, OMG.)
I absolutely adore how Sam knows that itching powder is made of ground-up maple seeds. Just the sort of random stuff my own silly brain is always packing away somewhere. I love that about him. ♥
Aw, this poor guy. When his voice broke on "I didn't think it would work," my heart broke a little, too. Hopefully he'll pass it off as a bad dream and go have some applesauce.
Oh, boys! ♥ ♥ ♥ I love all their precautions for dealing with this little toy. The huge rubber gloves, the thick welding glasses, how Sam is standing like fifty feet away from the table. Heeeee! And their clever use of ham made me wonder if they're Mythbusters fans, because those guys are always saying that pig cadavers are the best human body analogues, always blowing up pig bodies and pig heads to see if whatever myth they're testing is actually dangerous to humans. And the aluminum roasting pan! ♥ It's so domestic. And Bill Nye the Science Guy-y, too.
Of course, Dean was electrocuted once and almost died, so their caution makes perfect sense. That doesn't stop it from being highly amusing.
Just wanted to point out that Sam's nose is quite pointedly pretty, right here. ::waves to kroki-refur::
Dean's food face! Sam's weirded-out-by-Dean's-food-face face! WIN! \o/
You'd better believe that I was yelling at the screen for Dean not to eat that the first time I watched the ep, though. It looked disgusting. But, of course, it's food, and it's Dean, and he can't leave it just sitting there. The universe might implode from the sheer improbability of such an event, and they already have one Apocalypse on their hands.
Recently I've been noticing more and more how tired Dean is looking, how the wrinkles around his eyes are starting to show and the weariness of this life is starting to tell. But then he goes and does something that makes him look like a six-year-old, and my silly little heart skips a beat and swells with love. Awwww, Deeeaaannn. How do you make me feel that way with a whoopie cushion? It's some kind of magic.
Of course, Sam is completely unimpressed. But I like to think that, somewhere deep inside, he's content and happy to see his brother looking so gleeful, after all the pain he went through last year. ♥
BWAHAHA THIS GUY! This guy is so awesomely bitter. The way he welcomed them in was amazing. Are you sure you aren't actually a disillusioned teenager yourself, mister? You're certainly channeling the sarcasm and general displeasure with life of one.
I love how Dean can look utterly serious and badass while doing something as ridiculous as melting a rubber chicken with a joy buzzer.
I also love Sam's incredulous eyebrow-raise. \o/
Ugh, all right, this scene was definitely the creepiest in the episode for me. I'm not scared of scratching my own brains out or being killed by a joy buzzer, but someone holding me down and pulling out my teeth? ::shudders:: Worst thing ever. I was glad nothing happened to the little girl, though, but I liked the dad, too. (He's also quite cute. I'm not the least bit ashamed of pointing it out. And apparently no mom for that adorable little girl? As my sister dickensgirl said when we watched the ep together, hey, I'll sign up for that job.)
THIS FACE MADE ME VERY HAPPY.
So did the way Dean looked slightly embarrassed before and after, as if he wasn't looking for any opportunity to make that face at his brother. (YOU KNOW HE WAS.)
I loved Sam's epic eye-roll at the thought of running into another Trickster (again, some more), though I was really sort of hoping for it. Poor Sam's had enough of that guy, I guess.
"We don't have a fridge!" Okay, I laughed at Dean's utter defensiveness and indignation, here, but like smilla02, I also found it almost reflexively sad. Dean's obsession with food has always been a little poignant for me, pointing to a time when he didn't get to eat all he wanted, or what he wanted, or when he wanted. (I remember in 4.04 when Travis asked, "Have you ever been really, really hungry? As in starving?" and Dean immediately, strongly answered, "Yes.")
He's always so happy to find free food, always so happy to find good food. And here he is, again, not letting any at all go to waste just because it happens to have been cooked by a magic toy and also be really gross-looking. Food is precious in Dean's world, and sometimes that's not funny at all.
HE GOT BORED! ♥ \o/ ♥
Oh gosh! When they were so startled to find a kid at the door, as in 4.7, I totally expected them to wiggle those badges and go "We're teddy bear doctors!" Alas alack, this child is a little more worldly wise than Audrey was.
Sweet Jesus on a bran muffin, what a beautiful child. And truly, it makes sense for "the anti-christ" to come wrapped up in such a pretty package. (Maybe that's why Sam is Lucifer's "perfect vessel?") I'm sure the demon chose his genetic makeup very carefully. Such a sweet face will open many doors. We let our guard down around beauty, and too often that's a mistake. Even Sam and Dean...I wonder how much harder it would for them to talk their way into so many homes and businesses and libraries and police stations if they didn't look like such nice, normal, beautiful boys.
Also, Jesse is awesomely skeptical here. What a great kid.
It's appears that he's not skeptical all the time, though. Aw, that little start of fear when he saw the toy in Dean's hand! I think he had a bit of a lisp, too, when he said, "It'll electrocute you!" ::pets him:: What a sweetie.
Okay, when Jesse led them into the house and there were no parents and soup on the stove (is he even old enough to be using a stove?), I wondered if this kid was in trouble. Abandoned or a runaway, alone in this old house in the middle of nowhere, neglected or forgotten. I thought of Something Wicked, Sam and Dean alone in that dumpy motel room, and I wondered how they would react to this.
If they saw a kid being treated the way John treated them, how would they handle it? Would they be displeased, try to do something about it? Would they accept it as just the way this particular family worked?
What if they met a hunter who was dragging kids around while pursuing this hard, risky life? Would they try to dissuade him? Give the kid a Snickers bar? Team up for some target practice? I wonder. I would be so happy to see an episode dealing with something like that, though it might be straying a little too far into "a very special episode of Supernatural" territory, and we don't want that. I guess that's what fanfic is for.
Fortunately, Jesse does appear to have parents who love him very much, though we didn't see them in action at all. Maybe they were both out working the fields or something.
Okay, THIS! This made me very happy, too. And I don't care what anyone says, there was no way Dean would have risked that unless he was absolutely certain that it wouldn't hurt Sam. I'm sure he enjoyed the look on Sam's face, though.
Yeah, that one. ♥
This is a great shot, so strange and distorted and claustrophobic. How oppressive it must be, to look out at the world through that lens.
Also, the boys sure are putting a lot of faith in their forgery this episode, aren't they? First they had to hand a badge over to Jesse, and then both badges to his mother. I guess that where the kid gets it.
I found it interesting, how Julia was shot in this scene, with images of her isolated mouth and eyes. It was as if we were focused entirely on her, her perspective, her words, the haunted looks and the hesitant syllables. Nothing mattered but what she had to say. And her story was truly horrific. I was very glad to see a woman with some strength and agency, but it's awful that it's had such a terrible effect on her and her life. Poor lady needs some protection, and I can't believe that the boys wouldn't at least try to help her. It was just so bad all around that I...I don't even want to talk about it anymore.
Because next we have...
CASTIEL SITTING ON A WHOOPIE CUSHION! \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/
Okay, there was some serious stuff in there, too, about a cambion and everything, but c'mon.
FART NOISES COMING FROM ANGEL BUTT.
This is my favorite part, when Castiel looks away all befuddled-like, not sure if he should be embarrassed or if it was even possible to be, and Sam just glares at Dean.
Or maybe this is my favorite part, when Dean looks slightly away for a moment, and then jerks his head back when there's one more poot and IT'S STILL GOING. Obviously he is quite impressed with that cushion. A+++++, would prank again.
And Castiel just looks at him all full of angelic disapproval and it's THE BEST THING EVER OMG. I laughed SO hard. EVERY TIME. I dunno how many times I rewound that bit and watched it again. For reals. I guess I have the sense of humor of a nine-year-old, too.
But seriously, there's going to be prank!fic, right? With Castiel trying yet another way to assimilate into human culture and Dean being all happy to teach him and getting him horribly every time and Castiel having really odd ideas of what constitutes as a good joke and Sam being entirely disapproving of the whole thing but finally being dragged in when Castiel accidentally freezes his underwear instead of Dean's, right? There are going to be a bunch of those, surely?
OH PLEASE SAY YES.
And this next part is going to take a LOT out of me and it's very late and I've had a rough day already, so we'll break for tea here.
♥
Part 2
Caveat lector: I am pro-pretty-much-everybody. I am biased toward Dean, though, no point in denying it.
Caveat vector(?): I've been experimenting with GIMP for these screen shots. I finally came up with a process I like, but these pics are all over the place, really. You can practically watch my technique evolve as you scroll through these. So...don't expect just a whole lot, is what I'm saying.
I liked the episode, I did, but it also left a bad taste in my mouth. I couldn't stop thinking about it, about why I felt that way, whether it was actually the text making me freak out internally or because I already knew how fandom would react and that bothered me. (I don't want fandom to make me trepidatious about my favorite show. That's not how it works. Fandom should make you more squeeful, not less. At least, that's how I see it.)
So I decided to go through the episode step by step and pick out all the things that made me happy. And while I was at it, I picked some things that made me think, too.
Okay, so how many people named Jim have there been on the show now? There was Pastor Jim, Jimmy Novak, that hunter in 5.3, and now this Jimmy kid. I absolutely loved this boy, btw. What a little cutie, and a prankster after Dean's own heart. I hope he's not scarred for life by this.
I loved how, after the doctor explained what a phantom itch is, both SamnDean had 'em. ::pets their iddle heads:: So KYOOOOOOT.
Dean was particularly pretty in this scene. Just thought I'd mention it. Even his forehead is beautiful. ♥
Oh, Dean with kids! ♥ He has such a way. When he leaned down like this, all gentle, I totally expected him to reassure the boy that it was okay, whatever he saw, Dean would believe him. But no, he THREATENED the poor child. Like I said, I hope Jimmy isn't scarred for life by this. (Look at his FACE, OMG.)
I absolutely adore how Sam knows that itching powder is made of ground-up maple seeds. Just the sort of random stuff my own silly brain is always packing away somewhere. I love that about him. ♥
Aw, this poor guy. When his voice broke on "I didn't think it would work," my heart broke a little, too. Hopefully he'll pass it off as a bad dream and go have some applesauce.
Oh, boys! ♥ ♥ ♥ I love all their precautions for dealing with this little toy. The huge rubber gloves, the thick welding glasses, how Sam is standing like fifty feet away from the table. Heeeee! And their clever use of ham made me wonder if they're Mythbusters fans, because those guys are always saying that pig cadavers are the best human body analogues, always blowing up pig bodies and pig heads to see if whatever myth they're testing is actually dangerous to humans. And the aluminum roasting pan! ♥ It's so domestic. And Bill Nye the Science Guy-y, too.
Of course, Dean was electrocuted once and almost died, so their caution makes perfect sense. That doesn't stop it from being highly amusing.
Just wanted to point out that Sam's nose is quite pointedly pretty, right here. ::waves to kroki-refur::
Dean's food face! Sam's weirded-out-by-Dean's-food-face face! WIN! \o/
You'd better believe that I was yelling at the screen for Dean not to eat that the first time I watched the ep, though. It looked disgusting. But, of course, it's food, and it's Dean, and he can't leave it just sitting there. The universe might implode from the sheer improbability of such an event, and they already have one Apocalypse on their hands.
Recently I've been noticing more and more how tired Dean is looking, how the wrinkles around his eyes are starting to show and the weariness of this life is starting to tell. But then he goes and does something that makes him look like a six-year-old, and my silly little heart skips a beat and swells with love. Awwww, Deeeaaannn. How do you make me feel that way with a whoopie cushion? It's some kind of magic.
Of course, Sam is completely unimpressed. But I like to think that, somewhere deep inside, he's content and happy to see his brother looking so gleeful, after all the pain he went through last year. ♥
BWAHAHA THIS GUY! This guy is so awesomely bitter. The way he welcomed them in was amazing. Are you sure you aren't actually a disillusioned teenager yourself, mister? You're certainly channeling the sarcasm and general displeasure with life of one.
I love how Dean can look utterly serious and badass while doing something as ridiculous as melting a rubber chicken with a joy buzzer.
I also love Sam's incredulous eyebrow-raise. \o/
Ugh, all right, this scene was definitely the creepiest in the episode for me. I'm not scared of scratching my own brains out or being killed by a joy buzzer, but someone holding me down and pulling out my teeth? ::shudders:: Worst thing ever. I was glad nothing happened to the little girl, though, but I liked the dad, too. (He's also quite cute. I'm not the least bit ashamed of pointing it out. And apparently no mom for that adorable little girl? As my sister dickensgirl said when we watched the ep together, hey, I'll sign up for that job.)
THIS FACE MADE ME VERY HAPPY.
So did the way Dean looked slightly embarrassed before and after, as if he wasn't looking for any opportunity to make that face at his brother. (YOU KNOW HE WAS.)
I loved Sam's epic eye-roll at the thought of running into another Trickster (again, some more), though I was really sort of hoping for it. Poor Sam's had enough of that guy, I guess.
"We don't have a fridge!" Okay, I laughed at Dean's utter defensiveness and indignation, here, but like smilla02, I also found it almost reflexively sad. Dean's obsession with food has always been a little poignant for me, pointing to a time when he didn't get to eat all he wanted, or what he wanted, or when he wanted. (I remember in 4.04 when Travis asked, "Have you ever been really, really hungry? As in starving?" and Dean immediately, strongly answered, "Yes.")
He's always so happy to find free food, always so happy to find good food. And here he is, again, not letting any at all go to waste just because it happens to have been cooked by a magic toy and also be really gross-looking. Food is precious in Dean's world, and sometimes that's not funny at all.
HE GOT BORED! ♥ \o/ ♥
Oh gosh! When they were so startled to find a kid at the door, as in 4.7, I totally expected them to wiggle those badges and go "We're teddy bear doctors!" Alas alack, this child is a little more worldly wise than Audrey was.
Sweet Jesus on a bran muffin, what a beautiful child. And truly, it makes sense for "the anti-christ" to come wrapped up in such a pretty package. (Maybe that's why Sam is Lucifer's "perfect vessel?") I'm sure the demon chose his genetic makeup very carefully. Such a sweet face will open many doors. We let our guard down around beauty, and too often that's a mistake. Even Sam and Dean...I wonder how much harder it would for them to talk their way into so many homes and businesses and libraries and police stations if they didn't look like such nice, normal, beautiful boys.
Also, Jesse is awesomely skeptical here. What a great kid.
It's appears that he's not skeptical all the time, though. Aw, that little start of fear when he saw the toy in Dean's hand! I think he had a bit of a lisp, too, when he said, "It'll electrocute you!" ::pets him:: What a sweetie.
Okay, when Jesse led them into the house and there were no parents and soup on the stove (is he even old enough to be using a stove?), I wondered if this kid was in trouble. Abandoned or a runaway, alone in this old house in the middle of nowhere, neglected or forgotten. I thought of Something Wicked, Sam and Dean alone in that dumpy motel room, and I wondered how they would react to this.
If they saw a kid being treated the way John treated them, how would they handle it? Would they be displeased, try to do something about it? Would they accept it as just the way this particular family worked?
What if they met a hunter who was dragging kids around while pursuing this hard, risky life? Would they try to dissuade him? Give the kid a Snickers bar? Team up for some target practice? I wonder. I would be so happy to see an episode dealing with something like that, though it might be straying a little too far into "a very special episode of Supernatural" territory, and we don't want that. I guess that's what fanfic is for.
Fortunately, Jesse does appear to have parents who love him very much, though we didn't see them in action at all. Maybe they were both out working the fields or something.
Okay, THIS! This made me very happy, too. And I don't care what anyone says, there was no way Dean would have risked that unless he was absolutely certain that it wouldn't hurt Sam. I'm sure he enjoyed the look on Sam's face, though.
Yeah, that one. ♥
This is a great shot, so strange and distorted and claustrophobic. How oppressive it must be, to look out at the world through that lens.
Also, the boys sure are putting a lot of faith in their forgery this episode, aren't they? First they had to hand a badge over to Jesse, and then both badges to his mother. I guess that where the kid gets it.
I found it interesting, how Julia was shot in this scene, with images of her isolated mouth and eyes. It was as if we were focused entirely on her, her perspective, her words, the haunted looks and the hesitant syllables. Nothing mattered but what she had to say. And her story was truly horrific. I was very glad to see a woman with some strength and agency, but it's awful that it's had such a terrible effect on her and her life. Poor lady needs some protection, and I can't believe that the boys wouldn't at least try to help her. It was just so bad all around that I...I don't even want to talk about it anymore.
Because next we have...
CASTIEL SITTING ON A WHOOPIE CUSHION! \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/
Okay, there was some serious stuff in there, too, about a cambion and everything, but c'mon.
FART NOISES COMING FROM ANGEL BUTT.
This is my favorite part, when Castiel looks away all befuddled-like, not sure if he should be embarrassed or if it was even possible to be, and Sam just glares at Dean.
Or maybe this is my favorite part, when Dean looks slightly away for a moment, and then jerks his head back when there's one more poot and IT'S STILL GOING. Obviously he is quite impressed with that cushion. A+++++, would prank again.
And Castiel just looks at him all full of angelic disapproval and it's THE BEST THING EVER OMG. I laughed SO hard. EVERY TIME. I dunno how many times I rewound that bit and watched it again. For reals. I guess I have the sense of humor of a nine-year-old, too.
But seriously, there's going to be prank!fic, right? With Castiel trying yet another way to assimilate into human culture and Dean being all happy to teach him and getting him horribly every time and Castiel having really odd ideas of what constitutes as a good joke and Sam being entirely disapproving of the whole thing but finally being dragged in when Castiel accidentally freezes his underwear instead of Dean's, right? There are going to be a bunch of those, surely?
OH PLEASE SAY YES.
And this next part is going to take a LOT out of me and it's very late and I've had a rough day already, so we'll break for tea here.
♥
Part 2