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Nov. 15th, 2008 08:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llywelaI am made of fail this week where show watching is concerned. I still haven't managed to catch up on last week's Merlin, and also haven't yet seen the premiere episode of the Beeb's new supernatural drama Apparitions. I recorded it on Thursday night because I was absolutely knackered and knew I couldn't stay awake for it, just went to bed and zonked out instead. Must find a spare hour for an actual viewing. I want to see it because a) Martin Shaw, and b) I'm curious to see how the concept plays out. I'll get there in the end – just that this week has been manic and I'm shattered.
I did manage to watch the new SN, however. The recap for last week isn't up yet, I know – it is complete, honest, rather to my amazement given how little time I've had this week. It just needs more editing before I can post. I found that the closer I looked at the episode, the less I liked it, so the recap got a bit ranty in places and may need some smoothing over before posting. It'll be up in the next couple of days.
This week's offering, on the other hand? Felt like the real Show was back again.
I loved seeing the boys hustling pool together. I loved that Sam was the one doing the actual hustling, with Dean as his side man – it is the first time in three and a half seasons that we've either seen or heard of Sam being the one earning their daily bread. Even though he didn't actually close out the game and in fact lost his money, it was clear that before the interruption he was going to clean the guy out. Fabulous!
I loved that we got to see actual first aid. I did wonder why Sam was stitching himself up rather than popping Dean's shoulder back into place first and then letting him do the stitching, but I can live with it and come up with explanations. I just really loved actually seeing the first aid, rather than just having it implied. I especially loved how matter-of-fact both brothers were about it. There was no whining, no fussing and no stoicism. They just got on with patching themselves up because it needed to be done. Perfick.
I love that Sam compromised. I can't remember many occasions where Sam has been the one to back down and make the first move. At first, in that very uncomfortable car scene, he was characteristically adamant in his refusal to talk about his summer unless Dean talks about his first. So it felt like a sign of growth and maturity that he later recognised that sometimes you have to give a little even when it is painful to do so. It probably helped that Dean was so non-accusatory, just genuinely wanted to know and understand. And so Sam made his confession without Dean having given up anything first, which felt like something of a first.
Boy, but that must have been some awkward three-day drive. I'm puzzled, though…was Anna supposed to have been hiding out at that church for three whole days, without having been found? She must be starving! I liked her, what little we got to see of her. I really enjoyed her immense relief when the brothers found her, so delighted that someone believed her and didn't automatically think she is crazy. And I'm intrigued by her psychic powers and hope to learn more next week.
I was also a little intrigued by Anna's neat little précis of the divide in angelic ranks: some think Dean can help save the world, some don't like Sam at all. That doesn't sound like a united taskforce to me.
I love that the demon Dean recognised was called Alistair. Hee.
Judging by the flashbacks, it is now six months since Dean died, which means two months since Dean returned. So, Show is pretty much following Real Time so far this season – I wonder how hiatus will affect that?
I really enjoyed the flashbacks of Sam's time alone – they filled in an awful lot of blanks and explained so very much. They also tied in strongly with a lot of predictions about how the sequence of events might have played out. I was very intrigued by Ruby. When she first got out of hell and jacked the secretary's body, she was very much her old self, abrasive and demanding, goading Sam like old times. But it backfired on her and that's where the change in attitude came in. It was very much a deliberate choice, recognising that if she wanted to get Sam back onside she was going to have to change her tactics. Hence the "socially conscious' body of the unidentified coma girl, a host Sam can't object to.
I've always believed that Ruby is very clever and manipulative, and that belief was further cemented by this episode – as a character, she is intriguing, although I would still really love to understand her true ambitions. I think Dean was absolutely spot on when, after hearing the first part of Sam's story, he said she was playing mind games. She manipulated Sam's grief to draw him closer to herself and make him trust her: a very clever, slow long game.
She plays it very softly softly, expresses sympathy and understanding of his grief, facilitates his self-destruct by seducing him – there is nothing comforting about that sex scene at all; it is all about hate and rage and self-loathing. And then she strings Sam along further and integrates herself into his life and trust further by always referring back to Dean. Sam even admits in the episode that he started trusting her because she was saying all the things that Dean would have said. That's clever.
And the very first time Sam exorcised a demon with his mind was to save Ruby.
It was striking how very quick Sam was to agree to her deliberately tentative suggestion of using his powers. No hesitation at all. He absolutely jumped at the chance, and it couldn't have been more than a few days or maybe a couple of weeks after Dean first died. She'd already offered him the bait, Lilith, and that was all it took to reel him in. But even there she has been very clever, taking it very slowly and therefore maintaining control over Sam and his powers, making sure he remains dependent on her, both emotionally and otherwise.
Yeah, Ruby's in this for the long haul, and always has been. Dean's return must have been an absolutely enormous spanner in the works for her, but even there she has managed to twist the situation to her advantage, in line with her new tactics. She took a step back, encouraged Sam to do the right thing, remained meek and mild and helpful…and thus completely undermined all Dean's arguments against her. However little he trusts her still, he can't deny that she has been useful and kept Sam alive in his absence. And with Sam so wholeheartedly supportive of her, trusting her so completely, Dean is left in a very awkward position, as we saw with his fumbling apology, which was all about his relief that Sam is still alive and had nothing to do with trusting Ruby.
And then there was that dramatic cliffhanger ending, with the angels entering the fray, not to help but to complicate the situation even further. I really appreciate the small detail that whenever Castiel enters a scene his eyes immediately search out and lock onto Dean. That's very nicely done.
How the various parties are likely to react to one another next week? I can't wait to find out!
I did manage to watch the new SN, however. The recap for last week isn't up yet, I know – it is complete, honest, rather to my amazement given how little time I've had this week. It just needs more editing before I can post. I found that the closer I looked at the episode, the less I liked it, so the recap got a bit ranty in places and may need some smoothing over before posting. It'll be up in the next couple of days.
This week's offering, on the other hand? Felt like the real Show was back again.
I loved seeing the boys hustling pool together. I loved that Sam was the one doing the actual hustling, with Dean as his side man – it is the first time in three and a half seasons that we've either seen or heard of Sam being the one earning their daily bread. Even though he didn't actually close out the game and in fact lost his money, it was clear that before the interruption he was going to clean the guy out. Fabulous!
I loved that we got to see actual first aid. I did wonder why Sam was stitching himself up rather than popping Dean's shoulder back into place first and then letting him do the stitching, but I can live with it and come up with explanations. I just really loved actually seeing the first aid, rather than just having it implied. I especially loved how matter-of-fact both brothers were about it. There was no whining, no fussing and no stoicism. They just got on with patching themselves up because it needed to be done. Perfick.
I love that Sam compromised. I can't remember many occasions where Sam has been the one to back down and make the first move. At first, in that very uncomfortable car scene, he was characteristically adamant in his refusal to talk about his summer unless Dean talks about his first. So it felt like a sign of growth and maturity that he later recognised that sometimes you have to give a little even when it is painful to do so. It probably helped that Dean was so non-accusatory, just genuinely wanted to know and understand. And so Sam made his confession without Dean having given up anything first, which felt like something of a first.
Boy, but that must have been some awkward three-day drive. I'm puzzled, though…was Anna supposed to have been hiding out at that church for three whole days, without having been found? She must be starving! I liked her, what little we got to see of her. I really enjoyed her immense relief when the brothers found her, so delighted that someone believed her and didn't automatically think she is crazy. And I'm intrigued by her psychic powers and hope to learn more next week.
I was also a little intrigued by Anna's neat little précis of the divide in angelic ranks: some think Dean can help save the world, some don't like Sam at all. That doesn't sound like a united taskforce to me.
I love that the demon Dean recognised was called Alistair. Hee.
Judging by the flashbacks, it is now six months since Dean died, which means two months since Dean returned. So, Show is pretty much following Real Time so far this season – I wonder how hiatus will affect that?
I really enjoyed the flashbacks of Sam's time alone – they filled in an awful lot of blanks and explained so very much. They also tied in strongly with a lot of predictions about how the sequence of events might have played out. I was very intrigued by Ruby. When she first got out of hell and jacked the secretary's body, she was very much her old self, abrasive and demanding, goading Sam like old times. But it backfired on her and that's where the change in attitude came in. It was very much a deliberate choice, recognising that if she wanted to get Sam back onside she was going to have to change her tactics. Hence the "socially conscious' body of the unidentified coma girl, a host Sam can't object to.
I've always believed that Ruby is very clever and manipulative, and that belief was further cemented by this episode – as a character, she is intriguing, although I would still really love to understand her true ambitions. I think Dean was absolutely spot on when, after hearing the first part of Sam's story, he said she was playing mind games. She manipulated Sam's grief to draw him closer to herself and make him trust her: a very clever, slow long game.
She plays it very softly softly, expresses sympathy and understanding of his grief, facilitates his self-destruct by seducing him – there is nothing comforting about that sex scene at all; it is all about hate and rage and self-loathing. And then she strings Sam along further and integrates herself into his life and trust further by always referring back to Dean. Sam even admits in the episode that he started trusting her because she was saying all the things that Dean would have said. That's clever.
And the very first time Sam exorcised a demon with his mind was to save Ruby.
It was striking how very quick Sam was to agree to her deliberately tentative suggestion of using his powers. No hesitation at all. He absolutely jumped at the chance, and it couldn't have been more than a few days or maybe a couple of weeks after Dean first died. She'd already offered him the bait, Lilith, and that was all it took to reel him in. But even there she has been very clever, taking it very slowly and therefore maintaining control over Sam and his powers, making sure he remains dependent on her, both emotionally and otherwise.
Yeah, Ruby's in this for the long haul, and always has been. Dean's return must have been an absolutely enormous spanner in the works for her, but even there she has managed to twist the situation to her advantage, in line with her new tactics. She took a step back, encouraged Sam to do the right thing, remained meek and mild and helpful…and thus completely undermined all Dean's arguments against her. However little he trusts her still, he can't deny that she has been useful and kept Sam alive in his absence. And with Sam so wholeheartedly supportive of her, trusting her so completely, Dean is left in a very awkward position, as we saw with his fumbling apology, which was all about his relief that Sam is still alive and had nothing to do with trusting Ruby.
And then there was that dramatic cliffhanger ending, with the angels entering the fray, not to help but to complicate the situation even further. I really appreciate the small detail that whenever Castiel enters a scene his eyes immediately search out and lock onto Dean. That's very nicely done.
How the various parties are likely to react to one another next week? I can't wait to find out!
