1. Supernatural had treated its fans to about 4 giggle-inducing episodes in a row, and this booster shot of SPN humour seems to have been done in preparation for this gruesome episode that amounted to a Greek-like tragedy.
2. The teaser opens up very beautifully, with this overhead shot of the overlapping highways. It’s crossroads, but urban and modern, not at some backwater area.
3. The sight of Castiel voyeuring over the dealing men makes the beginning look like a spy movie.
4. This homophobic 60-something banker wants his business back in shape, as far as I get it, and the demon Crowley (nice to meet you, new character) gives him 10 years of prosperity. Sealed with a kiss (so, Castiel, now you know how to do that). The banker was expecting a bonus – if he’s selling his soul, at least he’ll get to tongue a beautiful demonic woman, but what a shameful disappointment! By the way, it’s the first gay kiss on Supernatural ever. And a brilliant example of “fans disservice”. You want a kiss between men? Get it. Oh, between the men? Maybe next time.
5. I kinda like Crowley
6. So, maybe that’s Crowley Crowley Crowley
7. Dean, you call Castiel “Huggy Bear”? Are you sure he’s getting your pop culture reference?
8. There’s a lot of work for the design crew, chalking all these sigils into the gates and walls of this house – all for a couple of seconds of screen time.
9. Angels can locate demons, my question from the late Season 4 is answered.
10. Didn’t even recognize Jo in this long black dress and with this hairstyle. She rocks. Just as she began to be a really good hunter, she has to die. Oh well.
11. It was surprisingly easy for the boys to find Crowley Crowley
12. This episode is so dark, literally and figuratively.
13. Crowley
14. He wants a face-to-face talk with the boys. How naughty. Want to have the Colt back? Here you are. It’s so easy it can’t be good. Boys, you’ve just accepted a job from a demon. Like Ruby was not enough. They’re even worried about Crowley
15. Ritual insults! I missed Dean making a fool of himself parroting his rivals’ dismissive remarks (“… functioning morons” – “You’re functioning morons, moron”).
16. We’ve got a rebellious Angel, now there’s a rebel demon thrown in for symmetry.
17. So what, Lucifer’s ultimate goal is to destroy everyone on Earth, humans and demons including, and be the king of Nothing, the New Chaos? How anti-social.
18. Crowley Crowley
19. Castiel is learning more and more human skills every day. He could take part in drinking championships. Dean must envy him. Guess the next time Castiel has a “last night on Earth” he might go for a hooker, after all.
20. So you’re not afraid of hangovers, boys and girls?
21. Dean, you’re seriously hungry for love, man. Yeah, Jo, beat him with his own stick. Cas, you gossip girl.
22. When was the last time we saw Sam and Dean like that, peacefully chatting over a couple of beers? *melts*. “Sam Winchester, having trust issues with a demon. Well, better late than never”. Really. Dean is a king of sarcasm. “Thank you again for your continued support”. Yeah, Sam, you’re the queen of irony. Dean seems absolutely indifferent to the prospect of losing his life in the fight they face the next day. Dean, don’t be scared, Lucifer won’t force Sammy to let him in, even if he keeps him a prisoner. And, guys, five against the Devil? Clever.
23. “If we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna do it together”. In Season 4 Sam was all I’m-old-enough-let-me-do-it-myself, unlike Dean, who wanted him to be his brother again, but now it’s vice versa – Sam’s begging Dean to do their cases together, while Dean, once bitten twice shy, is somewhat cautious of that.
24. Cf. “The End” – abandoned town, major casualties, Lucifer, the useless Colt (the Colt is a con!). “Anti-God Is Anti-American” banner. Boys, since when do you need the police to help you out?
25. Reapers. Like you never knew the Devil’s presence can cause massively weird effects, Castiel. The angel says they appear en masse only in times of great trouble – and cites, as examples (a) fire in Chicago; (b) earthquake in San Fransisco; (c) Pompeii. Really, Pompeii was nothing compared to Chicago – I mean, there is a marked American-centric approach to history in Supernatural, as is typical of many American films, like the major events all happened in the USA
26. Lucifer’s been to Jerusalem
27. Is it the first time Lucifer meets his very younger angel brother? He tries to forge a friendship with him on the basis of their rebellion. And looks like Castiel could become the second/substitute Lucifer. And why is Heaven all like an Italian mafia clan – once you’ve betrayed it, you’re done?
28. Castiel’s got “loyalty”. Sam Girls heart him. “You’re not taking Sam Winchester. I won’t let you”. Castiel/Sam/Lucifer’s bizarre love triangle, fandom? “I’d rather die” – “I suppose you will”. Ooh.
29. “What a peculiar thing you are”. Special Kids, Special Angels.
30. Meg calls Dean “Deano” and wants to take the tough crew to her “father”. How come Lucifer is an angel but is at the same time the father of demons? Some bizarre genetics here.
31. The Angels never knew their mother, but they had a father who’s now gone. The demons never had a mother either (the Sin, maybe?), and their father had been whiling away his time in an underground prison. But now he’s free, so the happy family is reunited. Sammy the Lawyer Boy got their Daddy out of his life-time sentence.
32. It’s amazing how little it takes to make the viewers imagine the hellhounds – just a few sound/visual effects. Very “Jaws”. Dean’s never gonna have a pet again, if he ever did.
33. So, unrequited love. Dean, I bet you never knew there were people outside your family who would die for you. Jo, self-effacing little girl. You always wanted to prove to people, Dean including, that you could be a hunter. So you did, and now this blood is on Dean’s hands, and his guilt list is one entry bigger, ‘cause you’re one more person he couldn’t save.
34. Guess he never realized how much the girl loved him – so now that he knows it it must hurt quite bad. He never knew somebody else apart from his relatives valued his life so high. It dawns on that him he probably didn’t appreciate her devotion enough. That’s why he can barely suppress crying. When did we last see him crying over somebody bar himself? “When The Levee Breaks”? And when he kisses Jo, it’s as if they’re recompensating for all the misunderstandings they had had before.
35. Seriously, why did their relationship never arrive at anything? They could’ve been a perfect match, a hunting family. But, I guess, it was out of question for Dean. The last thing he needed was a hunter girlfriend, to always worry about her, risk and tragedy always looming. A hunter brother was enough of a worry alone. And, also, he definitely wanted a girlfriend who’d be normal, not freak like him, the one who’d give him a sense of security and home-like happiness. Plus, even given that, he’d not trade his brotherhood for personal happiness anyway.
36. It’s poignant. How he talks to Bobby and how he crumbles but has to soldier on, because he’s the leader. How Bobby sees his despair through the wires and addresses him “son”, “boy”. How the two men intuit each other and cope with their breakdown.
37. Oh, ambitious show loves global things: if it’s a battle, then it’s a battle of “Hellhole”. If it’s a disaster, then it only compares to the Great Flood.
38. Lucifer wants to free the Angel of Death (an oxymoron in itself)? The brother to War?
39. Ellen can’t see the reason in living if her daughter is dead. Sam’s “Dean” to Dean when Ellen shows Jo her determination to join her. Like he wants him to stop Ellen. Like only Dean can. But he won’t – he knows what it’s like, living without the one you love, Sammy, and so do you. Jo and Ellen’s final scene is perfect and tragic. Mind you, they both save Dean and Sam not once but twice – by shooting the hellhounds and then blowing the house down. By the way, it takes skill to dispose of your characters in such a noble manner, so that they remain heroes in the audience’s memory forever. I mean, many viewers tended to dismiss Ellen and especially Jo’s characters all along. But in this episode, I bet even Harvelle-haters couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the unfortunate family. Theirs was the main emotional story here. All the other significant scenes (Castiel vs. Lucifer, Sam vs. Lucifer) were completely blown away by Ellen and Jo’s death scene. Need I elaborate on how it parallels Sam and Dean’s story and possible future? Would they die together?
40. It probably shouldn’t be like that, but it’s really funny watching Lucifer (the Devil!) working this shovel while talking to Sam at the same time. Like Lucifer can’t snap his fingers and make this grave fill with soil without dirtying his hands. Want something done – do it yourself.
41. Lucifer will never hurt Sam. Ooh.
42. Note that Dean sees the “now” Lucifer for the first time. Isn’t he a little unimpressed?
Dean: So, Sammy, is this the guy you fell for? He isn’t even handsome.
Lucifer: The last time you saw me, Dean, you were so weakened by my shining beauty you couldn’t even point your gun at me. You cried at the sight of my awesomeness.
Sam: Dean, you saw him already? When? Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you shoot him there and then?
Lucifer: *smirks*
43. It’s Dean who gets to shoot Lucifer, like he shot the Yellow-Eyed Demon – in general, he takes the most important, the heaviest duties onto himself. Dean’s definitely making up for “The End” failure (he promised there that he’d track the Devil and kill him, so – man of word) – now he can do it, as long as it’s not Sam’s physical image. I even get a feeling that maybe the writers specifically made Future!Dean so tough and ruthless to demonstrate to everyone that even this “dick” version of Dean can’t cross the one last moral ground, it’s too much even for him to shoot his brother.
44. It’s funny that the “murder” happens so casually. Dean just shoots, and Lucifer just falls on the ground without a sound, and you’re like, that’s it? Shooting the Devil is that easy? Even the boys seem somewhat disbelievingly confused themselves.
45. And then Lucifer rises again. Whatever, but he’s got a good sense of humour. “Where did you get that?” Unlike his minions, Lucifer is very calm – he won’t get angry or waste words. He just flings Dean against the tree.
46. His “I don’t suppose you’d just say yes here and now” to Sam – Lucifer’s absolutely sure that Sam can do him no harm, that he can take control of the boy whenever and wherever he pleases.
47. “You of all people should understand… I was a son. A brother, like you, a younger brother, and I had an older brother who I loved. Idolized, in fact. And one day I went to him and I begged him to stand with me, and Michael – Michael turned on me. Called me a freak. A monster. And then he beat me down. All because I was different. Because I had a mind of my own. Tell me something, Sam. Any of this sound familiar?” How Sam looks at him with these mixed feelings, with torture and pity.
48. Lucifer even knows when and where (in half a year, in Detroit
49. Angry Sam, I feel you. And how he has to check himself when Lucifer taunts him, saying he’ll need this Sam’s anger when he becomes his vessel. He’s telling Sam he’s already playing by his rules. Something tells me this Sam’s anger will be a crucial factor in his and Lucifer’s connection. A lot will depend on how and if he’ll be able to control it.
50. Why does Lucifer want Sam to see the Death summoning ritual?
51. The Colt can’t kill five things – when it comes to the biggest monsters, this weapon appears to be useless. And to think Future!Dean spent five years looking for the gun. Didn’t he know? So even if he had gathered up enough courage, he still couldn’t have finished Lucifer back in “The End”. At least, now the boys know they can’t rely on any weapons but their own moral strength and brains when chasing the Devil. Frankly, it was hopeful to even think a gun can kill the monster. Satirizing itself, Supernatural?
52. Other four things the Colt can’t kill – God, surely, the other Archangels?
53. Castiel confronting Meg. “Cloud-hopping pansies” – what a gay moment. Meg’s so flirty with her “father”. “Your God may be a deadbeat… mine walks the Earth”. It’s like children boasting whose father is cooler. And when Castiel tells her that Lucifer’s secretly planning to eliminate the demonkind, too, as soon as they’ve helped him smite the humans off the Earth, she seems to be genuinely disbelieving. And when he makes this pipe fall down on her, how does she ever cross the holy oil ring? Do holy oil rings work for demons as well as angels? Or maybe any supernatural creature can freely jump into this ring, but can’t jump out of (cf. Devil’s Trap – entrance is free, exit is blocked)? Never aim sexual insults at angels, dear. Castiel’s cunning plan is totally Dean-like. Fast learner, for a cloud-hopper.
54. He can’t exorcise anymore, and did he ever use this ability before?
55. Mean Castiel. Evil Angel! He’ll go to this length to defend his belief. Action Man.
56. Castiel whisks his friends away, leaving Lucifer alone to meet and greet the Death. And Lucifer so wanted to show Sammy his skill, alas. Lucifer waking Death up is hailed by a powerful, murderous tornado. By the way, in John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” Death is Lucifer’s son and grandson at the same time, so how come his offspring seems to be mightier than the father, if Lucifer greets him with such obvious reverence?
57. The episode ends up in flames again with Bobby burning the photo he’d taken the day before on a symbolic funeral pyre, for lack of Ellen and Jo’s actual bodies. Note how at the same time he is also burning the image of himself, the boys and Castiel, as if mourning their destined, inevitable death in advance, in rehearsal.
No comments:
Post a Comment