Previously... Season 1:
Part 1 This post covers Bloody Mary through Bugs. Yes, Bugs. Only the most triumphant example of how love, beauty and badassery can overcome even the stupidest plot known to genre. \o/ You will learn to love it as I do, or you have no heart. NONE. >:'|
On with it, then! And like before, this post is not dial-up friendly. Sorry!
BLOODY MARY
This episode still freaks me out, but I braved on for your enjoyment. *shiver*
We fall in with the boys as Sam is having a nightmare about Jessica, and abruptly wakes up in the Impala. We learned in previous episodes that he was having trouble sleeping, being unable to sleep or being plagued by nightmares when he did. So it's rather sweet to me that he has several times now been shown to have fallen asleep in the Impala, where that sense of family is strong and he feels comfortable enough in her space to ease up on himself just a bit. Aww, Sam. Also sweet: the fact that Dean was apparently waiting there, letting him sleep, until the nightmare intruded.
Also sweet: Jared's acting choice here as Sam stumbles out of the Impala. Well done. ♥
All this sweetness overcomes the
PRETTY yet maddening !
STOCK FOOTAGE ! which only serves to make me wonder where the hell that road is, since it seems to lead everywhere at once.
But back to the Impala, and this is again what I mean by how S1 used her so well in the background. She is everywhere in this episode, quietly framing the shots. Can you spot her?
I thought I was seeing things in this one. Surely it was the curtain or shadows outside. I saw her because I wanted to.
And then they pulled back for a wider shot, and I knew. There she was. That's her.
They
vroom around for a bit until things come to a head and they find themselves on the side of the road in the rain, debating the greater good merits of Sam's currently quite suicidal tendencies. And it's a heavy moment, which I'll touch on, but more importantly, let me say that I think I love rainy shots of her more than any other. She wears rain so well. ♥
Bloody Mary is full of
interesting shots like these, shooting the boys from angles around the Impala or through the rain-streaked windows. It's something I found I missed in later seasons, when Impala scenes were filmed mostly in tighter focus with barely a sense of the outside world, or else from outside the Impala with her serving more straightforwardly as a car rather than providing equal amounts of atmosphere and character. I dunno, blocking the world out entirely makes it feel less... lonely? So often in S1, the outside world was present in the shots, but it was as if the Impala served as some cocoon around the boys. It's like staring through the windows of their house, as if we're intruders. The next three seasons were all enjoyable, and two of them even brilliant for a great many reasons I care about. But I still missed this feeling later on, the sense of being lonely together in a vast, indifferent world. It was never as strong an impression, visually, as it was in S1.
(Totally unrelated to anything Impala whatsoever, but I love that during this scene, the only time Sam broke himself out of his bleak mindset was to make it a point to look at his brother and say "I don't blame you." I sort of love that a lot. /manlove tangent)
Anyway, the boys triumph at some cost, as they always do, then drive the PIP home and drive off again in one of these wide swooping shots that never fail to make the the Impala and her boys look beautiful.
♥
EPISODE TALLY:
Driver!Sam: 0
Dean Lovin': 0
Into the Horizon? No (Ends with a closeup on Sam after seeing the image of Jessica.)
SKIN
Just bask in the lovin'. It's not entirely physical, but it's damn cute, all the same.
I could be wrong, but in the four seasons I've seen, I think I've only seen the boys
actually fill up the Impala or have her filled up four times: here, the pilot, Scarecrow and Are You There, God... Am I missing anything?
In any case, this also deserves basking in.: one of her memorable badass vrooms. ♥
Being spoiled by Bloody Mary, I kept looking for her everywhere, thinking during the overhead city shot that follows "That's her! ...No, it's not. Wait, that's her! No, it's not." Then she showed up in the oddest place: above Dean's head.
Here, she makes like the coolest "cop" car ever, Ford Gran Torinos and Bluesmobiles included. No, I'm not biased at all.
But more importantly, note where she's parking, and now take a look here. Am I projecting? Is this the Impala?
(CLICK FOR DORKY EMPHASIS)
The next morning, she drives up very sleepy but businesslike, and it's Dean's turn to be groggy around her.
I love how he stands here, staying pretty close to her, like his body is too pooped to do anything but sway halfheartedly away from her. Hee. Meanwhile she's thinking, Sit down before you fall down. And he does. Aww. ♥
The boys rummage through her trunk for their guns, but unfortunately we don't get a good shot of her, and the next time we see her, she is soon to be under Not!Dean's ill-intentioned control.
Now, I realize Not!Dean is not Dean, thus all signs of love and lust are irrelevant, but I still thought it was nicely done, the way even fake Deans are drawn to the badassery of this car. Not to mention the first baby angst between the Impala and her boy, for while
Not!Dean eye-fucks the Impala,
Real!Dean is
plagued by this very image. Aww, Deans. ♥
I love how both boys are happy at seeing her again, but for very different reasons: Sam = guns, Dean = There's my baby! ♥
And let me just say, that is the guiltiest happy look she's ever expressed, isn't it? Aww, Metallicar. ♥
It's sweet and perfect that the first image of either of them post-Not!Dean's death is of them blended together.
This is followed by one of my favorite distance shots of her. It's so vibrant and adventurous. ♥
They drive out of "Skin" on this image...
...and I realize how many times I've given this episode hearts. Skin = ♥. The end.
EPISODE TALLY:
Driver!Sam: 0 (Does holding the keys count?)
Dean Lovin': 0 but epic love is epic all the same.
Into the Horizon? Yes \o/
HOOK MAN
This is just a pretty episode, full of fluff and fun and not much else. A pretty car with her pretty boys driving or lounging around, looking pretty. That said, no episode should start on a !
STOCK FOOTAGE ALERT ! That's just wrong.
She rolls into town with style, however.
Though not quite as omnipresent as in Bloody Mary, she still shows up behind the boys to frame the shot.
I love this scene, and I have nothing of meta to offer, except for an interesting role-reversal shot
here, where Sam's arms are framing the Impala's headlights.
You just know that her reaction here was the series' first ever "Oh, boys."
Back in the sunlight... I don't care if my boyfriend and best friend had been brutally murdered over the last few days. If a car like
that pulled into my life, I'd be staring soulfully at it, too. WOOF!
I love this scene, not only for the pretty but for how it's shown that Dean takes care of his baby in the naughty ways as well as the nice. And can I just say, what with all this picture-perfect lounging around that they do so often, they really needed a boat of a car. Sorry, a ship. It really wouldn't have worked on a Honda Civic or something.
Like other episodes before it, Hook Man takes a moment to linger in or around the Impala before proceeding to the action or coming in for a closeup on the boys.
In the end, Dean once again skips out of town with her before the heat closes in...
...and they take a moment together to wish something sweet and nice for Sam. I love how this was framed. They had a similar sweet moment in Provenance, but here, the Impala was very much part of the scene. ♥
I'm glad they leave Lori behind, though, as they drive off on a nice into-the-horizon shot.
EPISODE TALLY:
Driver!Sam: 0
Dean Lovin': 1 (I say the ticket counts.)
Into the Horizon? Yes
BUGS
The episode opens with Sam lounging sexily on the Impala's hood. Your arguments are already invalid.
Ignore the sole Impala-related hiccup of the episode, which is !
STOCK FOOTAGE ! from Phantom Traveler, which I do not approve of, but hey, at least they picked a pretty one rather than that one road which seems to lead everywhere.
But as I said, that is one hiccup in a glorious episode. Now, bask. Bask in this amazing episode.
I
mentioned this once before, but it bears repeating because it is a beautiful thing.
Yes, he did. An honest-to-god ass-slap. \o/
I love that you can hear the Impala before you can see her. Such a growly girl. ♥
They putter around looking glorious for a while.
Then the thing momentarily comes to a screaming halt when I notice... this. >:|
NO. Just NO. (Okay, so there were two Impala-related hiccups.)
But that is soon forgotten, as we get another glorious scene that is not only pretty with the light shining on Jensen Ackles' crotch, but also adorable in all the most wonderful touchy-feely ways.
The next day comes and will you just look at this gorgeous lady? Just look at her in the rain, how it brings out her sleek lines. Have I mentioned how much I love her in the rain? Because damn.
♥ ♥ ♥
Then she's back to vrooming around in the sunlight and lounging about with the boys looking sexy all around her. I have no complaints whatsoever.
When it's all over and insta!morning comes, she rolls back into the scene in her usual badass way.
But what I love even more are little touches like this:
Sam smiling, Dean helping a dude load his truck, and the Impala ever-present behind them. It's a perfect picture. ♥ Then the episode ends with the Impala welcoming back both of her boys after a stressful episode, and, really, isn't that the most beautiful part of it all?
To sum up:
Both Sam and Dean drove the Impala.
She was filmed beautifully in the rain.
There was impromptu Dean/Impala love.
There was impromptu Sam/Dean love.
Sam lounged on her hood.
Dean gave her an ass slap.
Plus:
Sam
stripped out of a layer.
Dean
showed his belly and his
steam-showered face.
There was manlove all over the episode.
And in the end,
they rubbed shoulders as they leaned against her.
I tell you, I will not hear any complaints about Bugs. I will not. Bugs wins at Dean/Impala, Bugs wins at Sam/Impala and Bugs wins at Brother/Brother. Bugs wins. That is all. Period. The end. Insta!morning, bees and plastic spiders be damned. It's the silliest episode ever and I LOVE IT.
\o/
Cue triumphant exit shot:
EPISODE TALLY:
Driver!Sam: 2 \o/
Dean Lovin': 1 \o/
Into the Horizon? Yes \o/
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
// TO BE CONTINUED.