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3.03 Bad Day at Black Rock
Bad day? No kidding – it certainly was for Sam!
I've only watched the once so far, but will try to string a few thoughts together.
Start at the beginning. Dean seemed to be a bit off-kilter again, after being so much more like himself last week. He gets a bit loud and hyper when he's uneasy, and was pretty loud and hyper in that opening scene. Sam has told him about his encounter with Glossy Blonde, hence his uneasiness, which translates into over-the-top reactions. I'm kinda disappointed, by the way, that Glossy Blonde has been named off-screen as Ruby. I mean, she seemed to be hanging back on giving her name to Sam last episode, which I'd presumed was to increase her air of mystique and keep him on the back foot. And now he just suddenly knows her name out of thin air? That's disappointing.
Anyway, Sam has told Dean about his encounter with Ruby, but only the edited highlights – he's related her offer of help, without mentioning anything about what he learned from her of their mother, and continues to deny that there was anything more to it. And Dean is wigging, because he has a very black-and-white view of demons, and rightly so, based on experience. Demons are evil. You see one, you exorcise it. You don't stand around chatting. The fact that Sam did hold a conversation with this one he finds worrying – which implies that the YED's insinuations about Sam not being 100% Sam are niggling at him a little. So Sam has to spill the beans on Ruby's offer of being able to help get Dean out of his deal with the Crossroads Demon. Sam wants to hope for the best – any possibility is worth exploring, from his point of view – but Dean thinks the very idea is ludicrous. He considers that deal completely airtight, and won't even consider the possibility that there might be a way out, which from his point of view means, logically, that Ruby is playing Sam. Which she clearly is, of course, and Sam knows it. But he also wants, very much, to make use of her, find out if she can come good on that offer. Because it would mean saving Dean, and Dean is his big weakness, and even Dean knows that perfectly well and is not afraid to say so.
Is it good or bad that they are so aware of how chronically co-dependent they are?
John's old lockup just killed me – that he'd hung onto bits and pieces of the boys' childhood but didn't tell them. That he allowed himself that sentiment and nostalgia, but couldn't let them know. Such a hard, hard man. So very screwed-up. Oh, and that Sam won a trophy for soccer and John secretly kept it, after all Sam's resentment in season one episodes of his dad's disapproval of him playing such a useless sport. I notice that time and healing has given Dean a much more rounded view of the old man – he's allowing himself to see and speak of John more as he really was, warts and all, whereas while John was alive he tended to close his eyes to the flaws and only allow himself to acknowledge the good. It was part of his emotional defence. The fact that he still keeps John's old phone charged up so long after his death, and that Sam didn't know, that killed me again. In case any old contacts call? Surely they would all know by now that he's dead, hunter's grapevine being what it is. But it paid off, with the discovery of that lockup.
Dean: "No destiny. Just a rabbit's foot."
The cursed rabbit's foot was a good device for a lot of silliness and a generally fun and light-hearted episode – although some of the themes being dealt with within the episode were pretty dark, when you think about it. I mean, Sam got pretty badly beaten for information and was then shot, all of which was glossed over in the extreme because the thrust of the episode was for humour. It would be nice to see some of the themes raised here being dealt with in more appropriately dark fashion at some point. The humorous touch here worked, though – a lot of the episode is absolutely hilarious. Who knew Jared had so much slapstick in him? *G* Heh, and Sam got strangled yet again.
The guy falling on the toasting fork, though? That was gruesome. And signposted beforehand – the moment he stuck it in the drainer prongs-up like that, with the fallen bottle lying around to slip on, I slapped my hand over my eyes and cringed in anticipation of what was to come. Ick!
So. We again have the two brothers working their way through separate storylines and themes, but with a lot more shared screentime in this episode than last, not splitting up until late in the episode, which is all to the good. Is it just me, or is Dean taking a bit of a step back from his almost obsessive 'protect Sam!' credo of last season? He honestly believes the need for that neurotic level of caution is past now, that it is safe to let Sam stand on his own two feet again. Even when Sam was falling around all over the place because of the bad luck curse, Dean wasn't too worried – it took Bela shooting Sam in the shoulder to get him really shook up. Not having heard Bobby's message of doom about the curse with his own ears no doubt contributed to this laid-back approach. With Sam cursed to bad luck and ultra-clumsy as a result, their behaviour kind of reverted to how things must have been when they were kids, when Dean hit an age where he was old enough to be a bit more independent, but was held back by a little brother still too young to keep up. The scene where he dumped Sam in a motel room with the injunction not to turn the light on, or off, or even scratch his nose was highly amusing, especially since Sam turned out not to be safe even just sitting in one spot barely moving a muscle! And poor Sam so outraged that he didn't even have to do anything for the worst to happen.
Sam: "You're wrong, about all of this."
Plot-of-the-week aside, Sam's story in this episode was all about the impossibility of shaking off the YED's legacy. He's got a demon after him, at least one, convinced there's something special about him still. And he's got hunters after him, convinced he's evil. Sucks to be Sam. All he wants is to get on with the job and find a way to save his brother, but all this stuff that was done to him not by him keeps getting in the way, dragging him back down just when he thought he was free of it at last.
Kubrick: "God led me to him, and His will is clear."
Gordon: "O-kay. That's great. Glad to have you on board."
It figures that any hunter Gordon persuaded to pick up the Sam-hunt for him would be completely nuts, and this Kubrick guy totally was. Gordon's reaction to him at the end was absolutely priceless. But he'll take what he can get, and use the guy's fervour for his own ends. Gordon is very driven, and he believes, 100%, that he is right about this. He will hunt Sam and try to kill him not because he wants revenge at all, but because he believes it has to be done to save the world. That's not going to be an easy opinion to shake, and with Gordon seeming determined to get out of jail, this looks set to be yet another ongoing plot strand for the season, of which we already have quite a few! It was interesting to hear Gordon dismissing Bobby's evidence in favour of the Winchesters as unreliable, and persuading Kubrick to think likewise. I've been wondering if Bobby's loyalty to the boys would have repercussions for him, and it seems that it is.
Bela: "I procure unique items for a select clientele."
Dean: "Yeah. A thief."
Dean's story, meanwhile, tied in with the introduction of the very smooth, very immoral Bela Talbot, who looks with open eyes at the same dark, deadly supernatural world that our boys and their fellow hunters do, but whereas the boys and their fellow hunters see work to do, Bela sees opportunity to make money – something she clearly already has plenty of. I liked her cat! I also liked that in their first moment of meeting, Dean easily got the better of her. Even if she later went and turned the tables back on him, it was still his win in the end. I always enjoy it when Dean manages to out-think an opponent, since he's not generally viewed as the brains of the operation.
So Dean was uneasy at the start of the episode, not liking what Sam had to say about Ruby and, as already noted, uneasiness tends to make Dean pretty over-the-top. The notion of the cursed rabbit's foot he found hilarious, inevitably so, it being the kind of thing that always appeals to his sense of humour. He was certainly delighted to take advantage of Sam's initial good luck streak and then later his own. I couldn't help but note that Sam didn't tell him straight off just how bad the curse could be, that it was designed to kill and inevitably would. Sam's inclination this season is to not tell Dean anything that could have negative connotations for Sam's own continued good health and wellbeing, which figures, since the stress of being under so much pressure to save Sam last season was what led Dean to sell his own soul ultimately. If Dean is Sam's weakness, the reverse is also very true.
Oh, and what's really awesome? The scene where Sam is talking to Bobby about the curse on the phone, and in the background we can see Dean labouring over his calculations, trying to figure out how much money they've won on the scratch cards. Hee. And Sam cringing away from the gun pointed at his head in the background of the scene where Dean turned up to save him and had it out with Kubrick was almost as funny. I love seeing actors acting and reacting in the background of scenes they have no lines in.
Bela: "We're all going to hell, Dean. Might as well enjoy the ride."
Dean: "I actually agree with you there."
Most of the way through, Dean was playing things pretty light, no big deal, all a big game – nasty problem, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. Even once he realised the curse could turn out fatal, he didn't see it as anything that couldn't be fixed, more of a temporary setback that required taking precautions. Sam spiralling bad luck shifted his mood more toward weary resignation – lots of eye rolling over a) Sam's clumsiness, and b) the implications of Sam's clumsiness. And poor Sam even more fed up with his run of truly appalling luck. But Dean still wasn't overly concerned – Sam was alive, anything else could and would be dealt with. Oh, but the way his mood just flipped the moment Bela shot Sam. Absolute outrage. That was the moment it stopped being a game, stopped being routine, and became personal and deadly serious.
I can't help wondering, though, if the cleansing ritual was that straightforward to find and put into effect – Bobby said it wasn't easy, but he came up with it quickly enough – why did John lock the rabbit's foot up like that rather than destroy it in the first place? Maybe the fact of Sam being in imminent peril provided extra motivation. How many favours do the boys owe Bobby by now?
The fact that Bela shot Sam, albeit only in the shoulder, sets her up as someone who means business and is capable of being pretty ruthless in pursuit of her goals. She opened fire on Dean in her apartment fairly readily, as well. Bobby knew who she was almost at once, based on limited information, so she's clearly earned herself a degree of notoriety within hunting circles, even if the boys have never encountered her before. This season really is opening up the world of the hunters in a way that season two never managed – randomly running into folk like Isaac and Tamara and this Bela while on the job works in a way that simply telling that the Roadhouse was full of hunters never did. So far so good on that front.
My newest theory is that this Bela will want that magic demon-killing knife of Ruby's, seeing the monetary value in it, while the boys will end up needing it as part of the ongoing demonic war, and thus all their different motivations and agendas will intersect.
And Bobby's back home with the books, it seems, since all the newly released demons appear to have gone to ground. I loved how frustrated he sounded over Sam managing to get himself cursed, like he can't let those boys out of his sight for a second without them getting into trouble.
Funny how a couple of hundred demons can just disappear like that – you'd think the hunters would be run off their feet dealing with them. So…are they gone to ground individually, because of common sense? Or are they waiting for something? They were intended to form an army, and I'm not sure we should forget that fact any time soon.
Bad day? No kidding – it certainly was for Sam!
I've only watched the once so far, but will try to string a few thoughts together.
Start at the beginning. Dean seemed to be a bit off-kilter again, after being so much more like himself last week. He gets a bit loud and hyper when he's uneasy, and was pretty loud and hyper in that opening scene. Sam has told him about his encounter with Glossy Blonde, hence his uneasiness, which translates into over-the-top reactions. I'm kinda disappointed, by the way, that Glossy Blonde has been named off-screen as Ruby. I mean, she seemed to be hanging back on giving her name to Sam last episode, which I'd presumed was to increase her air of mystique and keep him on the back foot. And now he just suddenly knows her name out of thin air? That's disappointing.
Anyway, Sam has told Dean about his encounter with Ruby, but only the edited highlights – he's related her offer of help, without mentioning anything about what he learned from her of their mother, and continues to deny that there was anything more to it. And Dean is wigging, because he has a very black-and-white view of demons, and rightly so, based on experience. Demons are evil. You see one, you exorcise it. You don't stand around chatting. The fact that Sam did hold a conversation with this one he finds worrying – which implies that the YED's insinuations about Sam not being 100% Sam are niggling at him a little. So Sam has to spill the beans on Ruby's offer of being able to help get Dean out of his deal with the Crossroads Demon. Sam wants to hope for the best – any possibility is worth exploring, from his point of view – but Dean thinks the very idea is ludicrous. He considers that deal completely airtight, and won't even consider the possibility that there might be a way out, which from his point of view means, logically, that Ruby is playing Sam. Which she clearly is, of course, and Sam knows it. But he also wants, very much, to make use of her, find out if she can come good on that offer. Because it would mean saving Dean, and Dean is his big weakness, and even Dean knows that perfectly well and is not afraid to say so.
Is it good or bad that they are so aware of how chronically co-dependent they are?
John's old lockup just killed me – that he'd hung onto bits and pieces of the boys' childhood but didn't tell them. That he allowed himself that sentiment and nostalgia, but couldn't let them know. Such a hard, hard man. So very screwed-up. Oh, and that Sam won a trophy for soccer and John secretly kept it, after all Sam's resentment in season one episodes of his dad's disapproval of him playing such a useless sport. I notice that time and healing has given Dean a much more rounded view of the old man – he's allowing himself to see and speak of John more as he really was, warts and all, whereas while John was alive he tended to close his eyes to the flaws and only allow himself to acknowledge the good. It was part of his emotional defence. The fact that he still keeps John's old phone charged up so long after his death, and that Sam didn't know, that killed me again. In case any old contacts call? Surely they would all know by now that he's dead, hunter's grapevine being what it is. But it paid off, with the discovery of that lockup.
Dean: "No destiny. Just a rabbit's foot."
The cursed rabbit's foot was a good device for a lot of silliness and a generally fun and light-hearted episode – although some of the themes being dealt with within the episode were pretty dark, when you think about it. I mean, Sam got pretty badly beaten for information and was then shot, all of which was glossed over in the extreme because the thrust of the episode was for humour. It would be nice to see some of the themes raised here being dealt with in more appropriately dark fashion at some point. The humorous touch here worked, though – a lot of the episode is absolutely hilarious. Who knew Jared had so much slapstick in him? *G* Heh, and Sam got strangled yet again.
The guy falling on the toasting fork, though? That was gruesome. And signposted beforehand – the moment he stuck it in the drainer prongs-up like that, with the fallen bottle lying around to slip on, I slapped my hand over my eyes and cringed in anticipation of what was to come. Ick!
So. We again have the two brothers working their way through separate storylines and themes, but with a lot more shared screentime in this episode than last, not splitting up until late in the episode, which is all to the good. Is it just me, or is Dean taking a bit of a step back from his almost obsessive 'protect Sam!' credo of last season? He honestly believes the need for that neurotic level of caution is past now, that it is safe to let Sam stand on his own two feet again. Even when Sam was falling around all over the place because of the bad luck curse, Dean wasn't too worried – it took Bela shooting Sam in the shoulder to get him really shook up. Not having heard Bobby's message of doom about the curse with his own ears no doubt contributed to this laid-back approach. With Sam cursed to bad luck and ultra-clumsy as a result, their behaviour kind of reverted to how things must have been when they were kids, when Dean hit an age where he was old enough to be a bit more independent, but was held back by a little brother still too young to keep up. The scene where he dumped Sam in a motel room with the injunction not to turn the light on, or off, or even scratch his nose was highly amusing, especially since Sam turned out not to be safe even just sitting in one spot barely moving a muscle! And poor Sam so outraged that he didn't even have to do anything for the worst to happen.
Sam: "You're wrong, about all of this."
Plot-of-the-week aside, Sam's story in this episode was all about the impossibility of shaking off the YED's legacy. He's got a demon after him, at least one, convinced there's something special about him still. And he's got hunters after him, convinced he's evil. Sucks to be Sam. All he wants is to get on with the job and find a way to save his brother, but all this stuff that was done to him not by him keeps getting in the way, dragging him back down just when he thought he was free of it at last.
Kubrick: "God led me to him, and His will is clear."
Gordon: "O-kay. That's great. Glad to have you on board."
It figures that any hunter Gordon persuaded to pick up the Sam-hunt for him would be completely nuts, and this Kubrick guy totally was. Gordon's reaction to him at the end was absolutely priceless. But he'll take what he can get, and use the guy's fervour for his own ends. Gordon is very driven, and he believes, 100%, that he is right about this. He will hunt Sam and try to kill him not because he wants revenge at all, but because he believes it has to be done to save the world. That's not going to be an easy opinion to shake, and with Gordon seeming determined to get out of jail, this looks set to be yet another ongoing plot strand for the season, of which we already have quite a few! It was interesting to hear Gordon dismissing Bobby's evidence in favour of the Winchesters as unreliable, and persuading Kubrick to think likewise. I've been wondering if Bobby's loyalty to the boys would have repercussions for him, and it seems that it is.
Bela: "I procure unique items for a select clientele."
Dean: "Yeah. A thief."
Dean's story, meanwhile, tied in with the introduction of the very smooth, very immoral Bela Talbot, who looks with open eyes at the same dark, deadly supernatural world that our boys and their fellow hunters do, but whereas the boys and their fellow hunters see work to do, Bela sees opportunity to make money – something she clearly already has plenty of. I liked her cat! I also liked that in their first moment of meeting, Dean easily got the better of her. Even if she later went and turned the tables back on him, it was still his win in the end. I always enjoy it when Dean manages to out-think an opponent, since he's not generally viewed as the brains of the operation.
So Dean was uneasy at the start of the episode, not liking what Sam had to say about Ruby and, as already noted, uneasiness tends to make Dean pretty over-the-top. The notion of the cursed rabbit's foot he found hilarious, inevitably so, it being the kind of thing that always appeals to his sense of humour. He was certainly delighted to take advantage of Sam's initial good luck streak and then later his own. I couldn't help but note that Sam didn't tell him straight off just how bad the curse could be, that it was designed to kill and inevitably would. Sam's inclination this season is to not tell Dean anything that could have negative connotations for Sam's own continued good health and wellbeing, which figures, since the stress of being under so much pressure to save Sam last season was what led Dean to sell his own soul ultimately. If Dean is Sam's weakness, the reverse is also very true.
Oh, and what's really awesome? The scene where Sam is talking to Bobby about the curse on the phone, and in the background we can see Dean labouring over his calculations, trying to figure out how much money they've won on the scratch cards. Hee. And Sam cringing away from the gun pointed at his head in the background of the scene where Dean turned up to save him and had it out with Kubrick was almost as funny. I love seeing actors acting and reacting in the background of scenes they have no lines in.
Bela: "We're all going to hell, Dean. Might as well enjoy the ride."
Dean: "I actually agree with you there."
Most of the way through, Dean was playing things pretty light, no big deal, all a big game – nasty problem, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. Even once he realised the curse could turn out fatal, he didn't see it as anything that couldn't be fixed, more of a temporary setback that required taking precautions. Sam spiralling bad luck shifted his mood more toward weary resignation – lots of eye rolling over a) Sam's clumsiness, and b) the implications of Sam's clumsiness. And poor Sam even more fed up with his run of truly appalling luck. But Dean still wasn't overly concerned – Sam was alive, anything else could and would be dealt with. Oh, but the way his mood just flipped the moment Bela shot Sam. Absolute outrage. That was the moment it stopped being a game, stopped being routine, and became personal and deadly serious.
I can't help wondering, though, if the cleansing ritual was that straightforward to find and put into effect – Bobby said it wasn't easy, but he came up with it quickly enough – why did John lock the rabbit's foot up like that rather than destroy it in the first place? Maybe the fact of Sam being in imminent peril provided extra motivation. How many favours do the boys owe Bobby by now?
The fact that Bela shot Sam, albeit only in the shoulder, sets her up as someone who means business and is capable of being pretty ruthless in pursuit of her goals. She opened fire on Dean in her apartment fairly readily, as well. Bobby knew who she was almost at once, based on limited information, so she's clearly earned herself a degree of notoriety within hunting circles, even if the boys have never encountered her before. This season really is opening up the world of the hunters in a way that season two never managed – randomly running into folk like Isaac and Tamara and this Bela while on the job works in a way that simply telling that the Roadhouse was full of hunters never did. So far so good on that front.
My newest theory is that this Bela will want that magic demon-killing knife of Ruby's, seeing the monetary value in it, while the boys will end up needing it as part of the ongoing demonic war, and thus all their different motivations and agendas will intersect.
And Bobby's back home with the books, it seems, since all the newly released demons appear to have gone to ground. I loved how frustrated he sounded over Sam managing to get himself cursed, like he can't let those boys out of his sight for a second without them getting into trouble.
Funny how a couple of hundred demons can just disappear like that – you'd think the hunters would be run off their feet dealing with them. So…are they gone to ground individually, because of common sense? Or are they waiting for something? They were intended to form an army, and I'm not sure we should forget that fact any time soon.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-19 09:53 pm (UTC)My newest theory is that this Bela will want that magic demon-killing knife of Ruby's, seeing the monetary value in it, while the boys will end up needing it as part of the ongoing demonic war, and thus all their different motivations and agendas will intersect.
I like the theory, and think you're right. Something I also see Bela being able to sell to the highest buyer would be our own Sam Winchester. I mean, she's obviously immoral enough to shoot the guy, handing him over to people who would either A. Kill him or B. Try to use him as a tool also seems very plausable.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-20 06:28 am (UTC)Sam is very carefully hiding the mounting danger from Dean, who has no reason to suspect that it exists - he believes the danger is over. It's one of the most interesting facets of the season so far, both the implications for the future, and the reasoning behind it. New season, new shift in character dynamics. It's awesome and I'm loving it.
Nice theory about Bela and Sam. There are so many potential twists this season could take!
no subject
Date: 2007-10-20 03:16 pm (UTC)Second it was finished downloading? Yeah, I watched it. Stayed up until half-past four, and LAUGHED MY ARSE OFF THE WHOLE TIME.
From the fact that Sam really did play soccer and JOHN KEPT THE TROPHY to Dean's first sawed-off, to the bits and pieces in the locker (PLEASE, tell me we'll be going back to that locker) to the slapstick, to "I lost my shoe" and with it the glimpses of what they must have been like when Sam was eight and Dean was (still is) 12.... Freaking hi-larious.
Creepy religio-nut. Oh, boy. Choosing up sides in the war...and I actually like that he's going to stay a problem for a while. Love that he even creeps Gordon out a little. Gordy? Think about this, man. The only people who stick with you are whackjobs. Coincidence? I think not.
I didn't like Bela as much as I anticipated I would, but she gets points for style and for *actually shooting* Sam. Woman has balls, I'll give her that.
There are some inevitable continuity issues - Queens and Buffalo are SO not close to one another. The restaurant web page claims they are in Black Rock (which is in Arkansas), nowhere near New York State (there is no Black Rock, NY). When Dean walks Sammy into the motel room, he's wearing two shoes; later when he's sitting in the chair, he only has one shoe, but it's the left - he lost the right down the sewer. (Splash!)
But I LOVED their moments when the other was on the phone. BOBBY SINGER YOU ARE MY HEEEEERO, and I have such renewed love for non-psycho John (well, okay, maybe a little psycho).
I think we've clearly established that the gore this season will be more graphic than we've previously had. I can live with that, but...ick. As long as they keep telegraphing hard enough that we know when to look away.
Way to keep a low profile, boys. Do I smell FBI anytime soon? That website ought to be enough to make Henrickson's ears prick up but bigtime.
Oh, show. I love you so much.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-20 07:01 pm (UTC)I'm happy you got your download sorted at last - just when you least need computer woes, no? Always so frustrating, especially when you can see everyone reacting all around...
From the fact that Sam really did play soccer and JOHN KEPT THE TROPHY to Dean's first sawed-off, to the bits and pieces in the locker (PLEASE, tell me we'll be going back to that locker) to the slapstick, to "I lost my shoe" and with it the glimpses of what they must have been like when Sam was eight and Dean was (still is) 12.... Freaking hi-larious.
I have such renewed love for non-psycho John (well, okay, maybe a little psycho).
God, that lockup just killed me. I have such conflicted opinion of John, because I completely understand how he became who he was, and why he behaved the way he did, and some of the decisions he made are starting to make a bit more sense now. But, my God - can you imagine trying to grow up with that man? That he made Sam feel so bad about wanting to play soccer that Sam still remembered and resented it ten years later, and then it turns out that John kept his trophy but couldn't bring himself to let his son know that he was actually proud not disappointed. It just...kills me. The fact that the boys are able to remember and talk about John without pain and rancour now also kills me, and I love them for it, and I can picture them going back to that lockup time and again, when they have time and leisure to spend hours going through it, reminiscing, and learning a little more about their dad.
Sometimes I can't ignore continuity issues. Sometimes I manage to just close my eyes and look the other way. Geographical issues, though, go over my head completely, because my knowledge of US geography would fit on the back of a postage stamp. So for me, the show gets a total bye on that front. *G*
I was fairly indifferent to Bela. I mean, she worked well for this story. And if a new recurring character was going to be introduced, this was a method that worked - she was established as smart, cunning and ruthless, but Dean got the better of her twice over, so there's no cause for fan resentment. If I didn't know she was going to recur, though, I'd assume she was just another guest character never to be seen again. So we'll see how things pan out. She has potential to stir things up a little, but there's none of the mytharc intrigue that Ruby has, which is good, because we already have that and don't need more of it. Bela just widens up the SN universe a little, and so does each new hunter that we meet - Kubrick was so insane, I loved him. And I adored Gordon's reaction to him. I look forward to seeing how that story arc plays out.
Way to keep a low profile, boys. Do I smell FBI anytime soon? That website ought to be enough to make Henrickson's ears prick up but bigtime.
I cringed the moment I saw the cameras. Total FBI alert. Even if it is only for the restaurant's website, it is still a potential risk. The boys didn't seem that bothered, though. We'll see if it comes back to bite them in the bum again or not, I guess.
I think we've clearly established that the gore this season will be more graphic than we've previously had. I can live with that, but...ick. As long as they keep telegraphing hard enough that we know when to look away.
Signposting of gore is good. I like to know when to hide my eyes. Some of the suspense moments are drawn out so long that the hand drops, though, and then the gore strikes...EEK!