Supernatural 4.16, Episode Review
I haven't rewatched the episode yet, so this review is much shorter than normal!
But here are my initial thoughts. (Cross-posted to Crossroads on ff.net)
:D Dean woke up.
I can take a guess at the overall fan reaction to this episode. (passes Meggin tissues and a stiff drink) I was very happy with it, though. And not just because Edlund wrote it. :P See, he can do more than humor!
So many good things came out of this episode. We have confirmation that John never broke. We saw fantastic examples of free will in the angels (yes!). We found out that only angels can kill angels. We got some serious character depth on Castiel; my love for the guy grows exponentially each time I see him. (Btw, KandKL: "exponential" is Dustyn's new word, apparently, and he definitely doesn't know what it means. Lots of lip-biting.)
My heart just broke for Dean, though. It got to the point where I honestly don't know how the writers are going to have him bounce back from this. I almost wonder if he will get mad, now, and just plain want nothing to do with hunting or the Apocolypse. I would imagine he's feeling awfully helpless, right now, and that makes me nervous for his safety. It was nice to see Sam actually concerned, though. Not as concerned as old!Sam would have been, but at least we got something. I've never been so relieved to see Sam using his powers. Sam will need to keep a careful eye on Dean, I'm thinking.
If Sam has been relying on Ruby's blood (EW), then we still have some hope. Yeah, he has his own powers, but if he's relying on something else for power, too, then he can still pump the brakes. And, hi, I still don't trust Ruby at all. Did you see the look on her face when Sam was drinking (EW)? Don't trust her at all. But, I don't know that Sam does completely, either.
One thing about Sam: When he was driving, it seemed like his eyes...they didn't go completely black, but it looked like his pupils dilated so that they took over his irises. Two seconds later, KandKL sent me text saying the same thing. And then when he was fighting Alistair, I swear I saw a glint of yellow. Now, I haven't rewatched the episode yet (hence the relative shortness of this post! :P), so I haven't confirmed either of these things. But the fact is that these are far from being the first sightings of eye changes in Sam, and although each other time I've (we've) dismissed it as coincidence, I don't feel comfortable doing that anymore. I'm not saying that Sam's eyes are changing for sure, but I am saying that I'm not going to go forward anymore being blinded to the possibility that they might change in the future.
Oh, Dean. And Castiel. And Uriel! He was SO freaking to the letter with theology and legend. This is one time that I enthusiastically applaud Kripke's choices with that character. Alistair had me grinning at times with his badass-ness, and I found that I didn't mind Anna as much this time (probably because she wasn't trying to reclaim her grace or any such nonsense). Other than the truly Harry-Potter moment at the end with fate, I was pleased with this episode.
And, what will this episode be followed by? Tell 'em what she's won...an alternate reality episode! Ding ding! (laughs and groans, all at the same time!) How else would SPN do it? :P
ETA: More (lengthy!) thoughts on Castiel, Uriel, Anna and fate can be found here.
But here are my initial thoughts. (Cross-posted to Crossroads on ff.net)
:D Dean woke up.
I can take a guess at the overall fan reaction to this episode. (passes Meggin tissues and a stiff drink) I was very happy with it, though. And not just because Edlund wrote it. :P See, he can do more than humor!
So many good things came out of this episode. We have confirmation that John never broke. We saw fantastic examples of free will in the angels (yes!). We found out that only angels can kill angels. We got some serious character depth on Castiel; my love for the guy grows exponentially each time I see him. (Btw, KandKL: "exponential" is Dustyn's new word, apparently, and he definitely doesn't know what it means. Lots of lip-biting.)
My heart just broke for Dean, though. It got to the point where I honestly don't know how the writers are going to have him bounce back from this. I almost wonder if he will get mad, now, and just plain want nothing to do with hunting or the Apocolypse. I would imagine he's feeling awfully helpless, right now, and that makes me nervous for his safety. It was nice to see Sam actually concerned, though. Not as concerned as old!Sam would have been, but at least we got something. I've never been so relieved to see Sam using his powers. Sam will need to keep a careful eye on Dean, I'm thinking.
If Sam has been relying on Ruby's blood (EW), then we still have some hope. Yeah, he has his own powers, but if he's relying on something else for power, too, then he can still pump the brakes. And, hi, I still don't trust Ruby at all. Did you see the look on her face when Sam was drinking (EW)? Don't trust her at all. But, I don't know that Sam does completely, either.
One thing about Sam: When he was driving, it seemed like his eyes...they didn't go completely black, but it looked like his pupils dilated so that they took over his irises. Two seconds later, KandKL sent me text saying the same thing. And then when he was fighting Alistair, I swear I saw a glint of yellow. Now, I haven't rewatched the episode yet (hence the relative shortness of this post! :P), so I haven't confirmed either of these things. But the fact is that these are far from being the first sightings of eye changes in Sam, and although each other time I've (we've) dismissed it as coincidence, I don't feel comfortable doing that anymore. I'm not saying that Sam's eyes are changing for sure, but I am saying that I'm not going to go forward anymore being blinded to the possibility that they might change in the future.
Oh, Dean. And Castiel. And Uriel! He was SO freaking to the letter with theology and legend. This is one time that I enthusiastically applaud Kripke's choices with that character. Alistair had me grinning at times with his badass-ness, and I found that I didn't mind Anna as much this time (probably because she wasn't trying to reclaim her grace or any such nonsense). Other than the truly Harry-Potter moment at the end with fate, I was pleased with this episode.
And, what will this episode be followed by? Tell 'em what she's won...an alternate reality episode! Ding ding! (laughs and groans, all at the same time!) How else would SPN do it? :P
ETA: More (lengthy!) thoughts on Castiel, Uriel, Anna and fate can be found here.