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Nov. 22nd, 2008 03:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llywelaPushing Daisies was back this week. Yay! I really enjoyed the episode, too: lots of fun and with character development. Enjoy it while it lasts, huh - which isn't going to be much longer. it seems. :-( I am very sad. How is it that really bad shows seem to live forever, while creative, innovative efforts like this are overlooked and end up cancelled?
Last week's SN recap is nowhere near done, I'm afraid. It's been a long, busy week, and I just couldn't get my head into it, even though I really enjoyed the episode. It'll be done when it's done. So will this one, with which I already know I will have similar problems, made worse by the fact that I didn't enjoy the episode even half as much.
...yeah, I'm having Show disquiet issues at the moment. I don't really feel like ranting - or even just sighing - right now, so won't go into all the ins and outs of what I do or don't have issues with. Mostly it's sloppy storytelling that leaves me feeling kinda cheated. My own tiredness and distraction probably doesn't help. It feels like heresy to admit it, but I'm glad for hiatus. I need a breather - the mytharc is so huge this season, overshadowing everything else, it feels like it would be more digestible in smaller chunks. I want some distance and some re-watching to regain perspective and focus.
For now, then, I will just bullet-point some of the things I did love about this episode - Chris, this will probably sound very familiar to you, since we came up with the list together, and all...*G*
1. For all that I have massive issues with the way Dean's post-hell storyline has been unfolded this season, I love that he so very characteristically decided for himself, once the pressure was removed, that he needed to explain what he could of it to Sam, and did so on his own terms. The way the exposition of it is written bugs me, but I can rationalise that it isn't easy to translate that kind of experience back into inadequate human words and perceptions, and Dean has never been what you'd call articulate. I love that Dean kept his back to Sam the whole time, and that Sam was utterly broken just listening, never mind what the telling did to Dean himself. The JJs absolutely sold the hell out of the scene, and the direction of it was lovely, too.
2. Dean grossing Sam out with the notion of Bobby in a 'banana hammock' and trucker cap. Hee. And that he kept on referring to Bobby and hedonism, just because the thought of it amused him so much. Nice way of working around Jim Beaver's unavailability while still remembering that Bobby exists, and also some much needed humour. I always prefer it when the humour flows out of the story, like this, than when it is forced.
3. Sam's reaction to the mental image of Bobby in a banana hammock and trucker cap.... I love how fond they are of him, whether that affection be for a favoured uncle or father figure
4. Dean and Anna talking about their respective fathers. They really did connect on an emotional level, and were cute together, even if the sex scene was kinda, shall we say...contrived...
5. Sam resisting Ruby's pressure to use his power again. I still don't trust her. I think she's a hell of a good actress and does an excellent job of keeping her ulterior motives well hidden while she bides her time. I also think that's what makes her a fascinating character, and so will be horribly disappointed if she turns out to just be 'a good demon' after all. I prefer the dynamic when she is at loggerheads with Dean, with Sam caught in the middle, though, than the spirit of cooperation we got here.
6. Sam admitting that he is still curious about hell, especially after hearing what Alistair had to say to Dean, but not pushing it. He's learned his lesson, and that follows on nicely from the maturity we saw last episode. Sam pulling back like that gives Dean the breathing space he needs to respond on his own terms.
7. Bobby's panic room! Still.
8. Ruby unable to enter the panic room, Dean unapologetic about it, and everyone working around that minor detail without fuss or comment.
9. "Dean, you're confusing reality with porn again."
10. Sam helping Dean up after Anna knocked him to the ground.
11. Pamela! Recovered, adapted, and her feisty self still. With so many recurring characters killed off or abandoned, we need to build up a few more!
12. The contrast between Castiel and Uriel, still - the more we see of them, the more Anna's claim that angels have no choice is proved false. They definitely have minds of their own, at the very least.
13. Sam asking Anna how to kill an angel when they threaten to throw Dean back to hell. Sam, who has always been the one with faith, who reveres (or revered) angels so much. He'd do it, too. Dean in danger sends Sam spinning off into panic mode like nothing else.
14. Dean unable to speak when he hears the angels' ultimatum, threatening to send him back to hell. The speed of the episode meant that his immediate reaction to the threat was brushed over, but it was there.
15.Dean choking up and his voice breaking when he tells Anna he doesn't want to talk about hell - that he can't talk about hell.
16. Anna reminding Dean that he is not alone, referring to Sam, and telling him it wasn't his fault.
17. Dean choosing Sam over Anna - even if it did turn out to be a ploy, we all know it is true.
18. Dean skin! Even if the sexin' was overly schmoopy. I can't help but appreciate the contrast with the demon sexin', however thick it was laid on. Because it isn't just about the contrast between Dean sleeping with an angel and Sam sleeping with a demon. It's also the contrast between them, and always has been. They've each had two sex scenes now (in three and a half seasons!). Both times, Sam, who comes across as the gentle, empathetic one, was all fierce and grabby and kinda rough, while Dean, who is the womaniser, was very gentle and tender. Neither is quite who he appears to be, on first impression.
19. Pretty, pretty outdoor shots.
20. Dean.
21. Sam.
'Nuff said?
Last week's SN recap is nowhere near done, I'm afraid. It's been a long, busy week, and I just couldn't get my head into it, even though I really enjoyed the episode. It'll be done when it's done. So will this one, with which I already know I will have similar problems, made worse by the fact that I didn't enjoy the episode even half as much.
...yeah, I'm having Show disquiet issues at the moment. I don't really feel like ranting - or even just sighing - right now, so won't go into all the ins and outs of what I do or don't have issues with. Mostly it's sloppy storytelling that leaves me feeling kinda cheated. My own tiredness and distraction probably doesn't help. It feels like heresy to admit it, but I'm glad for hiatus. I need a breather - the mytharc is so huge this season, overshadowing everything else, it feels like it would be more digestible in smaller chunks. I want some distance and some re-watching to regain perspective and focus.
For now, then, I will just bullet-point some of the things I did love about this episode - Chris, this will probably sound very familiar to you, since we came up with the list together, and all...*G*
1. For all that I have massive issues with the way Dean's post-hell storyline has been unfolded this season, I love that he so very characteristically decided for himself, once the pressure was removed, that he needed to explain what he could of it to Sam, and did so on his own terms. The way the exposition of it is written bugs me, but I can rationalise that it isn't easy to translate that kind of experience back into inadequate human words and perceptions, and Dean has never been what you'd call articulate. I love that Dean kept his back to Sam the whole time, and that Sam was utterly broken just listening, never mind what the telling did to Dean himself. The JJs absolutely sold the hell out of the scene, and the direction of it was lovely, too.
2. Dean grossing Sam out with the notion of Bobby in a 'banana hammock' and trucker cap. Hee. And that he kept on referring to Bobby and hedonism, just because the thought of it amused him so much. Nice way of working around Jim Beaver's unavailability while still remembering that Bobby exists, and also some much needed humour. I always prefer it when the humour flows out of the story, like this, than when it is forced.
3. Sam's reaction to the mental image of Bobby in a banana hammock and trucker cap.... I love how fond they are of him, whether that affection be for a favoured uncle or father figure
4. Dean and Anna talking about their respective fathers. They really did connect on an emotional level, and were cute together, even if the sex scene was kinda, shall we say...contrived...
5. Sam resisting Ruby's pressure to use his power again. I still don't trust her. I think she's a hell of a good actress and does an excellent job of keeping her ulterior motives well hidden while she bides her time. I also think that's what makes her a fascinating character, and so will be horribly disappointed if she turns out to just be 'a good demon' after all. I prefer the dynamic when she is at loggerheads with Dean, with Sam caught in the middle, though, than the spirit of cooperation we got here.
6. Sam admitting that he is still curious about hell, especially after hearing what Alistair had to say to Dean, but not pushing it. He's learned his lesson, and that follows on nicely from the maturity we saw last episode. Sam pulling back like that gives Dean the breathing space he needs to respond on his own terms.
7. Bobby's panic room! Still.
8. Ruby unable to enter the panic room, Dean unapologetic about it, and everyone working around that minor detail without fuss or comment.
9. "Dean, you're confusing reality with porn again."
10. Sam helping Dean up after Anna knocked him to the ground.
11. Pamela! Recovered, adapted, and her feisty self still. With so many recurring characters killed off or abandoned, we need to build up a few more!
12. The contrast between Castiel and Uriel, still - the more we see of them, the more Anna's claim that angels have no choice is proved false. They definitely have minds of their own, at the very least.
13. Sam asking Anna how to kill an angel when they threaten to throw Dean back to hell. Sam, who has always been the one with faith, who reveres (or revered) angels so much. He'd do it, too. Dean in danger sends Sam spinning off into panic mode like nothing else.
14. Dean unable to speak when he hears the angels' ultimatum, threatening to send him back to hell. The speed of the episode meant that his immediate reaction to the threat was brushed over, but it was there.
15.Dean choking up and his voice breaking when he tells Anna he doesn't want to talk about hell - that he can't talk about hell.
16. Anna reminding Dean that he is not alone, referring to Sam, and telling him it wasn't his fault.
17. Dean choosing Sam over Anna - even if it did turn out to be a ploy, we all know it is true.
18. Dean skin! Even if the sexin' was overly schmoopy. I can't help but appreciate the contrast with the demon sexin', however thick it was laid on. Because it isn't just about the contrast between Dean sleeping with an angel and Sam sleeping with a demon. It's also the contrast between them, and always has been. They've each had two sex scenes now (in three and a half seasons!). Both times, Sam, who comes across as the gentle, empathetic one, was all fierce and grabby and kinda rough, while Dean, who is the womaniser, was very gentle and tender. Neither is quite who he appears to be, on first impression.
19. Pretty, pretty outdoor shots.
20. Dean.
21. Sam.
'Nuff said?
