Comments | true_enough: SPN: Sometimes it's Terrible and sometimes it's not.

true_enough

SPN: Sometimes it's Terrible and sometimes it's not.

Mar 30, 2009 14:49

I did not like It's a Terrible Life (4x17). At all. In fact, I hated it.

( A brief rant and then I'm going to cling to all the things that I love so far. !!!SPOILER WARNING!!! )

supernatural, picspam

Comments 15

(The comment has been removed)

Re: that was a lovely and thoughtful meta... true_enough March 31 2009, 04:27:30 UTC

Thank you! This 4th season has been so good that an episode like 4x17 seems worse than it probably is. ::grin::

I just can't see Sam turning into something evil. For me, if he's a symbol of anything it's of our capacity to do good or bad and how our character decides who we are and not what was poured down us when we we were too young to decide for ourselves. He's always gone his own way (school) and even the blood drinking he uses for his own purposes. It's a slippery slope and I don't think he'll come out of it completely unscathed but the halo is well earned.

desertport March 31 2009, 06:46:40 UTC

From a meta pov, this episode was kinda whacked. The only way I can make it work is as way to highlight the angels as cold beings lacking any kind of compassion. And they really did a good job showing that.

But my emotional reaction to the ep was just... intense relief. It had Sam and Dean sans animosity, working together, snarking, being funny. No secrets, no memories of hell and death and tragedy ganking things up between them. They were friends. Apparently, I really needed a break from this season's darkness.

But I loved (as always) your picspam analysis. Thanks for drawing attention the way Castiel shook hands with Sam, the line he walks when he's in the same room as Uriel and the brothers. I also hope we get more Sam and Castiel scenes.

This demon looks like the lost Jane Doe that Ruby claimed. It has been a coup for her. I can't imagine Sam drinking from the arm of Ruby from last season with her mean-girl prettiness and snapping attitude.Aha! That's it. I can totally see S3 Ruby realizing that she's taken the wrong tack ( ... )

true_enough March 31 2009, 09:13:39 UTC

The only way I can make it work is as way to highlight the angels as cold beings lacking any kind of compassion. And they really did a good job showing that.

It seems like the angels have been so far removed from humanity for so long and now that they have to interact with us they either do it from a position of superiority and/or indifference or they're like Castiel who is well and truly in the thick of it with the brothers.

It had Sam and Dean sans animosity ...

Yes! That part was wonderful. The scene at the end of Sex and Violence where they put the onus of what they said on the siren spell without really making amends left me talking to the end credits. "No, go back! You guys have only added to the rift." So yeah, seeing them work together provides more than a little relief. It was sweet. I probably would have been OK with the episode if not for the last 2 minutes of it. ::grrrr ...::

... the way Castiel shook hands with Sam, the line he walks when he's in the same room as Uriel and the brothers.With Uriel gone and ( ... )

smilla02 March 31 2009, 07:17:14 UTC

Oooh! Mertaspam from you is always a pleasure to wake up to, sweetie. Better than morning coffee while reading the news. :D

The last episode left me disgruntled and with a weird feeling, but like Port I came to the conclusion that it intended showing that angels are indeed dicks with wings. The non-con aspects of the set up is evidence enough, but coupled with Zachariah's final speech, it seals the deal. This has the bonus of making Castiel's progression in experiencing emotions all the more poignant and HUGE, and his connection to Dean even more meaningful.

It's ironic that despite Sam's demon blood and questionable supernatural powers it's Dean who has wrecked the most havoc and that most of it has been turned back on himself. *l* People are freaking out about Sam and his demon's blood, and all I want to say is, what are you freaking out about? My boy (Dean) triggered the apocalypse because of his choices. And in that last pic of yours, you can see the heartbreaking cost he's paying for it. Of course, drinking demon's blood isn't ( ... )

true_enough March 31 2009, 20:10:45 UTC

First, a hug and a kiss because I just adore you!

This has the bonus of making Castiel's progression in experiencing emotions all the more poignant and HUGE, and his connection to Dean even more meaningful.

Yes! I took no small consolation in that Castiel didn't have anything to do with running Dean and Sam through that scenario and that if he knew about it was probably after the fact. Castiel doesn't tell Dean anymore to look at the big picture because I don't think he can look at Dean and Sam anymore as merely cogs in the wheel. They have obviously become very dear to him and I'm looking forward to seeing more of that returned back to him in some way.

Of course, drinking demon's blood isn't a good idea either, that's some sort of rule of thumb or something.LOL! I'm sure "it is written" down somewhere - or it should be. A righteous man (and Sam is righteous) shall not drink demon blood. And that's another thing: If the angels are running the show (and it looks like they are) then all those prophesies that both angels and ( ... )

smilla02 March 31 2009, 20:59:20 UTC

*squishes you in a big, big hug*
I've missed you quite a lot, but I knew you were enjoying this stuff on SPN. If I weren't feeling so slow on everything, I would have emailed you to squee about it.
♥

They have obviously become very dear to him and I'm looking forward to seeing more of that returned back to him in some way.

So much yes! But there's a thready, fragile bond of trust already between Dean and Castiel (and maybe I can hope that as soon as Sam comes back to his senses, there will be time to build a similar one between Cas and Sam, as well) that was so satisfying to see in 4.16 especially when Dean asked to talk alone with Cas. Yes, Castiel's and his blind faith costed Dean - this can't be denied - but at the same time I don't see that bond as having been destroyed. Quite the opposite, I think it was strenghtened.

The bottom line for me is that I just can't see Sam going completely darkside. Dean has done worse, not to rub it in, honey, and I do not consider him to be evil, either.Actually, your comment about the halo in ( ... )

agree - klingoncat March 31 2009, 07:55:40 UTC

I totally loved the first 90% of the episode despite that fact that it just didn't "fit" with the story arc (just for the fun and brotherly goodness) - but after seeing the previews, figured that they would pull something like this, although I wasn't sure who would be responsible - there was no other way that I could see the first part of the episode at this juncture - and yeah - it's a reallllly lame way to try to get Dean up to the challenges ahead - and I will be disappointed if he is "cured" in the upcoming episodes - I am hoping that he will still be pissed at the manipulation and will obviously have a long way to go before he is not so much back to his old self - but more comfortable with his new since I can't imagine anyone who had been thru what he as ever being back to where he was before... - it's just too much to expect an instant fix - but that may be the point too, that the angels are so out of touch that they really think that this would work, (except Cas, I think that he knows Dean well enough to realize it was a bad ( ... )

Re: agree - true_enough March 31 2009, 21:14:08 UTC

(just for the fun and brotherly goodness)

::big grin:: Keep talking like that and I'm going to end up liking that episode. Honestly, it was that last two minutes that cooked it for me.

I think, if nothing else, Dean will feel like he has to put his game face on no matter what's going on underneath. Which is kind of a Dean thing to do anyways but now it's been given a big push from behind. Nothing could be fixed with that horrible speech. He was just told not to show it. Grrr... No love for Zach.

... and will obviously have a long way to go before he is not so much back to his old self - but more comfortable with his new since I can't imagine anyone who had been thru what he as ever being back to where he was before...Yes. It's a amazing - and kind of chilling - how often the demons tell it like it is. When Alastair told Dean that he carved him into a new animal he wasn't lying. Of course, it's an animal who wanted to kill Alastair but that was probably part of the fun for him. Dean has been through a baptism of fire and ( ... )

dotfic March 31 2009, 13:29:34 UTC

smilla02 sent me over here, and I'm really glad she did. This is a lovely meta and I especially love how you've traced the arc of Dean/Castiel while showing how indelible Sam is to that equation.

4x17 didn't sit right with me, for a lot of the reasons you've set out here. After talking about it, I think I can see how the problems with Zach's speech are deliberate--it's consistent with how dickish the angels are, how Dean is merely a weapon to them. Castiel, of all the angel characters, is the one who is evolving into seeing Dean the person, not Dean the apocalyptic-ending hammer. And when Zach said Dean finds his way back to it in the dark and is miserable without it, Zach thinks he's talking about hunting, but that applies much more to Sam.

Part of Castiel's love of Dean I feel would be that Castiel is the angel who gets the Dean-Sam bond. You've pointed to some canon moments that support that's pretty much what's happening.

Thank you for this. ♥

true_enough April 1 2009, 19:50:33 UTC

Thank you! smilla02 is made of win.

This current season is just amazing, isn't it? Especially with the casting (Collins and Heyerdahl stand out for me) and allowing the characters to chart a lot of territory that's normally subtextural. Castiel telling Dean, I'm in trouble because I love you, is just mind boggling it's so wonderful.

I think I can see how the problems with Zach's speech are deliberate--it's consistent with how dickish the angels are, how Dean is merely a weapon to them.

Yes! Now that I've had a bit of time to simmer down I think that my biggest problem with Zach's speech is that I assumed it worked. That Dean will show up the rest of the season as if he is unscathed by what has happened to him simply because Zach told him to. Which is impossible - or should be. It makes much more sense that Zach is simply a garden variety angel (i.e. kinda dickish) especially in comparison to Castiel who really is quite unique even when it comes to Anna. If I remember correctly, Anna fell from grace so she could experience an ( ... )

dotfic April 4 2009, 13:59:04 UTC

my biggest problem with Zach's speech is that I assumed it worked. *nods* Me too. It's much more interesting if it doesn't work, and it's meant as a way to show how tunnel-visioned the angels are in relation to humans. Castiel really does seem to be unique. As you said, Anna fell, but she's more about the experience overall of being human. Castiel is changing because of one human in particular. Anna could see the big picture; Castiel needed Dean as a window before he started to see what Anna saw. Which maybe fits with Anna being a higher ranking angel and Castiel being more of a...technician. And the angels are big picture oriented; Anna just shifted that from the angel way to her wish to be human. Castiel has shifted from the big picture to seeing the individuals ( ... )