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keep_countingSupernatural, s5 eps 8 & 9
CHANGING CHANNELS:
THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS:
A part of me wants to be offended at the portrayal of Becky as a fangirl and the overall fandom community, but honestly? It's just so much fun. And I don't get left with a bitter taste in my mouth over this episode, like the writers are making fun of the fandom out of annoyance or for the sake of being cruel; I think they are perfectly aware that there are very sane, very normal fans who still like to flip out over stuff like Supernatural, and that going to conventions, dressing up, enjoying a fandom isn't about obsession or anything. Furthermore, if you choose to write a story about a Supernatural convention on the Supernatural show itself, how the hell do you do it without poking fun at these things? Involving things like this in a show takes a lot of nerve, and I honestly think it's better for it. PLUS I LOVE CHUCK OMG CHUCK HOW ARE YOU SO AMAZING TALKING ABOUT THE LOSS OF YOUR VIRGINITY TO DISTRACT YOUR POOR FANS OMG NO WONDER THAT ONE GUY TRIED TO LEAVE HE PROBABLY HADN'T EVEN READ YOUR BOOKS I CAN'T!!!
I really liked the two fake Sam and Deans (whose names I've forgotten and OMG TURNED OUT TO BE GAY AND PARTNERS, DEAN I WILL NEVER GET OVER YOUR FACE NOT EVER!!!) and it was a nice meta on the way Sam and Dean sometimes act - they also brought up a lot of tension all the way back from S1 which I frankly think is amazing. The ghosts where really creepy, and the twist was good, I really hadn't seen that one coming as it just seemed like a throw-away monster of the week but actually turned out to be much creepier than that.
I was a bit sad they offed scarecrow-guy with the cool accent, he cracked me up so much. And I loved the: 'Saving the world every day with a brother who loves you so much he would die for you. Who wouldn't want that?' because everything has just been spinning downhill ever since... well, the freaking start of the show and Dean's outlook is so bleak on everything and I tend to adopt Dean's overall attitude so everything's been bleak for me as well, and this was just... such a nice, simple comment and way to summarize what this show is really about, at its heart. It made everything seem a little okay again (of course it's not and I know I am going to have my heart ripped out soon again and I am not prepared!)
Also, Becky/Chuck forever and ever and ever and ever(or Chuck/Me forever and ever and ever and ever)
And... CROWLEY! IS THIS THE CROWLEY EVERYONE'S BEEN TELLING ME ABOUT?? THE ONE I SHOULD BE EXCITED FOR - IS IT REALLY THE GUY WHO PLAYED CANTON ON DOCTOR WHO S6 I LOVED THAT GUY OMG... Hrm, yeah. Eagerly awaiting Crowley!
This episode also brought even more hilarious Sam and Dean faces. 'The homo-erotic subtext of Supernatural' BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!well between dean and castiel of course
CHANGING CHANNELS:
How much fun do you think the boys had filming this one?
(Jared: 'THIS much fun!')
But on to the review: When Richard Speight Jr first appeared on Supernatural way back in S2, I was so excited to see him there - and dissapointed that he was apparantly only a one-time villain. Of course, the ending to that episode delighted me, as it practically spelled out for the audience that we would see more of the trickster. See? Praying to J.K Rowling does sometimes work.
Of course, then came S3 and for once I was perspective and went '... but why would he care? Why would he go through all this trouble with Sam and Dean in particular?'. I know, obviously, a lot of the time we have characters doing seemingly random or OOC things for the sake of the plot or a good episode - and Supernatural's take on the good ol' day-repeating-itself trope was very good! - but at this time I knew that Kripke had the overall storyline for the first five seasons fleshed out: in fact Supernatural was only supposed to be five seasons long to begin with. Of course there was a lot of crap he hadn't planned, but the main arc of the demon getting to Sam in an elaborate plot to free Lucifer, thus involving the brother's in hunting for the rest of their lives - Kripke had that penned down from the start. So having a seemingly random and unimportant character appear like this - aiding the boys a bit, actually - could easily mean that there was more than meets the eye.
The brilliance of the Trickster in S3 is that he doesn't interfere with Sam and Dean's lives - at least, not until the Apocalypse starts. In S3, we see him actually try to help Sam cope with the fact that, soon, Dean will be gone. And the thing is he knew the angels were gonna pull Dean out of Hell. As Michael's Vessel, he was going to be needed. But the Trickster was trying to make sure that Sam wouldn't completely lose his mind in whatever lenght of time Dean was gone and suffering in Hell. So he helps, because he needs a strong and able Sam that can be Lucifer's Vessel.
Now, how the hell does the Trickster have this information? And why does he even care to begin with?
Because he's an angel. Of course.
It hit me when we see Cas (It's Cas! Hi Cas! Hey Cas, I've missed you. A lot. Why so little screen-time?) rushing in to warn Dean and Sam in their little sit-com comedy show, beaten and bloodied and then getting his ass kicked some more by the Trickster. We had it pretty much spelled out in 'On the Head of a Pin' in S4 - the only thing strong enough to kill an angel, is another angel. So, the only thing strong enough to not only manipulate events, time, space and do so effortlessly while succesfully distracting another angel... is an archangel.
Because the Trickster is, you know, motherfucking Gabriel!
HOW IS THIS SHOW SO AWESOME I DON'T KNOW KRIPKE GIMME YOUR BRAIN!!!
One thing this show does so well is meta; we've seen the fans of Supernatural in Supernatural, we've had self-criticising jokes - hell, we've even had an episode with a new-found halfbrother titled 'Jump the Shark'. If that doesn't spell it out, I don't know what does. Having Sam and Dean jump from tv-show to tv-show and pointing out all the ridiculousness that is modern-day television is just pure gold. Why the hell do we watch over-sexified shows about people who do nothing but make out in elevators and wear cowboy-boots? Why do we find sit-coms lame puns so funny, with the fake, mechanical laughter in the background? Why must all the main characters on cop-shows wear sunglasses when it's dark and come with overtly dramatic one-lines all the time?How is Japanese television so great?
Again, this show respectfully criticises and makes fun of itself and its audience without telling us that watching these shows and being a fan is in any way a bad thing: it's a weird thing, sure, maybe sometimes even too weird, but there's nothing wrong in it. It's all just good fun and it is perfectly articulated by the brilliant writing and Jensen and Jare'd's hilarious facial expressions. Oh boys, never leave me!
Also, also - this episode was great because surprise!bondage! Cas, Cas, please stay?? I want more Cas, dammit!
(badass dean and sam are badass)
(Jared: 'THIS much fun!')
But on to the review: When Richard Speight Jr first appeared on Supernatural way back in S2, I was so excited to see him there - and dissapointed that he was apparantly only a one-time villain. Of course, the ending to that episode delighted me, as it practically spelled out for the audience that we would see more of the trickster. See? Praying to J.K Rowling does sometimes work.
Of course, then came S3 and for once I was perspective and went '... but why would he care? Why would he go through all this trouble with Sam and Dean in particular?'. I know, obviously, a lot of the time we have characters doing seemingly random or OOC things for the sake of the plot or a good episode - and Supernatural's take on the good ol' day-repeating-itself trope was very good! - but at this time I knew that Kripke had the overall storyline for the first five seasons fleshed out: in fact Supernatural was only supposed to be five seasons long to begin with. Of course there was a lot of crap he hadn't planned, but the main arc of the demon getting to Sam in an elaborate plot to free Lucifer, thus involving the brother's in hunting for the rest of their lives - Kripke had that penned down from the start. So having a seemingly random and unimportant character appear like this - aiding the boys a bit, actually - could easily mean that there was more than meets the eye.
The brilliance of the Trickster in S3 is that he doesn't interfere with Sam and Dean's lives - at least, not until the Apocalypse starts. In S3, we see him actually try to help Sam cope with the fact that, soon, Dean will be gone. And the thing is he knew the angels were gonna pull Dean out of Hell. As Michael's Vessel, he was going to be needed. But the Trickster was trying to make sure that Sam wouldn't completely lose his mind in whatever lenght of time Dean was gone and suffering in Hell. So he helps, because he needs a strong and able Sam that can be Lucifer's Vessel.
Now, how the hell does the Trickster have this information? And why does he even care to begin with?
Because he's an angel. Of course.
It hit me when we see Cas (It's Cas! Hi Cas! Hey Cas, I've missed you. A lot. Why so little screen-time?) rushing in to warn Dean and Sam in their little sit-com comedy show, beaten and bloodied and then getting his ass kicked some more by the Trickster. We had it pretty much spelled out in 'On the Head of a Pin' in S4 - the only thing strong enough to kill an angel, is another angel. So, the only thing strong enough to not only manipulate events, time, space and do so effortlessly while succesfully distracting another angel... is an archangel.
Because the Trickster is, you know, motherfucking Gabriel!
HOW IS THIS SHOW SO AWESOME I DON'T KNOW KRIPKE GIMME YOUR BRAIN!!!
One thing this show does so well is meta; we've seen the fans of Supernatural in Supernatural, we've had self-criticising jokes - hell, we've even had an episode with a new-found halfbrother titled 'Jump the Shark'. If that doesn't spell it out, I don't know what does. Having Sam and Dean jump from tv-show to tv-show and pointing out all the ridiculousness that is modern-day television is just pure gold. Why the hell do we watch over-sexified shows about people who do nothing but make out in elevators and wear cowboy-boots? Why do we find sit-coms lame puns so funny, with the fake, mechanical laughter in the background? Why must all the main characters on cop-shows wear sunglasses when it's dark and come with overtly dramatic one-lines all the time?
Again, this show respectfully criticises and makes fun of itself and its audience without telling us that watching these shows and being a fan is in any way a bad thing: it's a weird thing, sure, maybe sometimes even too weird, but there's nothing wrong in it. It's all just good fun and it is perfectly articulated by the brilliant writing and Jensen and Jare'd's hilarious facial expressions. Oh boys, never leave me!
Also, also - this episode was great because surprise!bondage! Cas, Cas, please stay?? I want more Cas, dammit!
(badass dean and sam are badass)
THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS:
A part of me wants to be offended at the portrayal of Becky as a fangirl and the overall fandom community, but honestly? It's just so much fun. And I don't get left with a bitter taste in my mouth over this episode, like the writers are making fun of the fandom out of annoyance or for the sake of being cruel; I think they are perfectly aware that there are very sane, very normal fans who still like to flip out over stuff like Supernatural, and that going to conventions, dressing up, enjoying a fandom isn't about obsession or anything. Furthermore, if you choose to write a story about a Supernatural convention on the Supernatural show itself, how the hell do you do it without poking fun at these things? Involving things like this in a show takes a lot of nerve, and I honestly think it's better for it. PLUS I LOVE CHUCK OMG CHUCK HOW ARE YOU SO AMAZING TALKING ABOUT THE LOSS OF YOUR VIRGINITY TO DISTRACT YOUR POOR FANS OMG NO WONDER THAT ONE GUY TRIED TO LEAVE HE PROBABLY HADN'T EVEN READ YOUR BOOKS I CAN'T!!!
I really liked the two fake Sam and Deans (whose names I've forgotten and OMG TURNED OUT TO BE GAY AND PARTNERS, DEAN I WILL NEVER GET OVER YOUR FACE NOT EVER!!!) and it was a nice meta on the way Sam and Dean sometimes act - they also brought up a lot of tension all the way back from S1 which I frankly think is amazing. The ghosts where really creepy, and the twist was good, I really hadn't seen that one coming as it just seemed like a throw-away monster of the week but actually turned out to be much creepier than that.
I was a bit sad they offed scarecrow-guy with the cool accent, he cracked me up so much. And I loved the: 'Saving the world every day with a brother who loves you so much he would die for you. Who wouldn't want that?' because everything has just been spinning downhill ever since... well, the freaking start of the show and Dean's outlook is so bleak on everything and I tend to adopt Dean's overall attitude so everything's been bleak for me as well, and this was just... such a nice, simple comment and way to summarize what this show is really about, at its heart. It made everything seem a little okay again (of course it's not and I know I am going to have my heart ripped out soon again and I am not prepared!)
Also, Becky/Chuck forever and ever and ever and ever
And... CROWLEY! IS THIS THE CROWLEY EVERYONE'S BEEN TELLING ME ABOUT?? THE ONE I SHOULD BE EXCITED FOR - IS IT REALLY THE GUY WHO PLAYED CANTON ON DOCTOR WHO S6 I LOVED THAT GUY OMG... Hrm, yeah. Eagerly awaiting Crowley!
This episode also brought even more hilarious Sam and Dean faces. 'The homo-erotic subtext of Supernatural' BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
