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"No matter what I do, you die. And then I wake up. And then it's Tuesday again."
Feel a little calmer today, thanks everyone.
Once upon a time I had so much more time available to play with recaps and editing and graphic making and stuff.
Still, having said that, this week's recap practically wrote itself, unlike the last one, and spilled over onto a record 33 pages without even trying! I really, really am far too wordy.
So, here it is: 33 pages in which I ramble on and on about Sam's emotional progression throughout this ep versus Dean's position on the outside of events, Sam's tunnel vision and how incredibly like his father he is, the Trickster, and all kinds of other stuff.
To read the recap, click the link below:
"Nothing good comes out of it. Just blood and pain."
Header made with caps by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
marishna, with thanks. A pox on the CW for that stupid, stupid Pussycat Dolls logo plastered across half the screen.
Once upon a time I had so much more time available to play with recaps and editing and graphic making and stuff.
Still, having said that, this week's recap practically wrote itself, unlike the last one, and spilled over onto a record 33 pages without even trying! I really, really am far too wordy.
So, here it is: 33 pages in which I ramble on and on about Sam's emotional progression throughout this ep versus Dean's position on the outside of events, Sam's tunnel vision and how incredibly like his father he is, the Trickster, and all kinds of other stuff.
To read the recap, click the link below:
"Nothing good comes out of it. Just blood and pain."
Header made with caps by
marishna, with thanks. A pox on the CW for that stupid, stupid Pussycat Dolls logo plastered across half the screen.
no subject
Another reason may be that it is one of the few episodes in this season that has just the boys, something we were used to in the first 2 seasons and it's still my most comfortable place. Bobby is part of the family anyway and the Trickster is a great recurring character. So, yeah it feels like old times.
My resentment against the death by desk, death by axe and death by retriever is still there, despite the fact that it is exlained by the Trickster's MO (slow dancing aliens someone?!?) and I will probably never be able to see that without cringing, but well ... it became unimportant in the greater scheme of that episode.
I mean: it's implied that that's what they do a lot of the time, but we've never seen it onscreen or even had it mentioned definitively as something that has happened. Well, in AHBL II Dean mentions that Bobby patched Sam up and Sam mentions that Dean wouldn't be able to treat a serious wound like that, but that's the only time we get it to mention. But we have at least a Jo patches Dean up scene. *g*
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*sighs* I still feel there's a lot more I could say about this one, or that I should have worded differently, but overall I think I got my point across. I really love this episode.
My resentment against the death by desk, death by axe and death by retriever is still there, despite the fact that it is exlained by the Trickster's MO (slow dancing aliens someone?!?) and I will probably never be able to see that without cringing, but well ... it became unimportant in the greater scheme of that episode.
I barely even notice those any more as supposedly humorous elements, maybe because I'm so focused on Sam's actions and reactions; Dean's deaths are pretty much by-the-way by that point!
Well, in AHBL II Dean mentions that Bobby patched Sam up and Sam mentions that Dean wouldn't be able to treat a serious wound like that, but that's the only time we get it to mention. But we have at least a Jo patches Dean up scene. *g*
That's kind of my point. We've had those couple of references, and saw Jo digging that bullet out of Dean (a very slapdash and rushed patch job it was, too!) but we've never actually seen Sam and Dean patching one another up, or talking directly about having done so. It's all implied rather than overtly stated. I want to see it!
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Heh, well I am at work, have free internet access here and it's a very slow first day, so I took the liberty to just indulge me. :D
I want to see it! Who doesn't?!?! My inner h/c freak would probably die from excitement on spot if we'd ever get a boys-patching-up scene! :D
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I am at work, have free internet access here and it's a very slow first day, so I took the liberty to just indulge me. :D
Perfect job! Now if only they were paying you, and would pay me as well...
My inner h/c freak would probably die from excitement on spot if we'd ever get a boys-patching-up scene! :D
We can only wish *G*
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Seriously, why the heck does it have to be so big? And SPN does a lot of close-up shots, so people are going to start thinking Dean has that label stuck on his face or something.
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*rolls eyes*
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Mystery Spot. It's tacky and bizarre, typical small-town tourist trap.
I like how the laws of physics don't apply=a giant shark head coming out from the wall. I'm still scratching my head over that one.
Dean gasps and chokes and clutches at Sam's shirt, his eyes fixed on his brother's face, needing that contact now more than ever, with pain and fear and confusion and, yes, still that concern for his little brother playing out across his face.
That almost made me cry, because Dean didn't look away once. I also like how he didn't say anything, just like Sam didn't in AHBL.
The scene with Sam stitching himself back together breaks me heart too. I still think that if John hadn't had the boys, this is what he would have been like.
And the vampire thing is maybe what scares me most of all - Sam took on a nestfull of vampires, without the Colt. The first nest they took on took planning, execution and the Colt, and all three Winchesters could have easily ended up dead. Sam has lost it enough that he took them on by himself, probably not caring if he made it out or not, beyond the fact that he would have hated leaving the Trickster unpunished if he had died.
Sam, though, Sam is long gone now, and it is awful to see. Dean would be horrified. And so would John.
You know, I really do think it would bother John to see Sam turn into the hunter he wanted - I think if he HAD managed to mold Sam into what he became, he would have always hated himself a little bit. In fact, probably the only reason Sam didn't end up like that, or closer to it, was Dean, who would be beyond horrified at Sam. Because you're right, he isn't even really Sam anymore.
The thing about this episode was, it wasn't like Tall Tales. That one was pure fun. This one, I was horribly torn between laughing and crying, and I can only imagine what Sam felt, being jerked around day after day, dealing with days and days of his brother's death.
About the Trickster - a lot of people, myself included, were thinking of the angle where the Trickster is looking at the big picture - showing Sam what he will turn into if he lets himself. Because if Sam really is the key to the apocalypse or whatever, and the fate of the world rests with him, I think it's safe to say that the Sam after Dean died would have sacrificed the world, eventually. And demons can wait an awfully long time. And, I'll bet the Trickster didn't want the world to go to hell because then where would he be? He wouldn't have people to play with anymore.
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Yay for internet. Stupid technology.
I like how the laws of physics don't apply=a giant shark head coming out from the wall. I'm still scratching my head over that one.
Um, yeah. Quite.
That almost made me cry, because Dean didn't look away once. I also like how he didn't say anything, just like Sam didn't in AHBL.
No final words. Makes it more poignant, for sure.
The scene with Sam stitching himself back together breaks me heart too. I still think that if John hadn't had the boys, this is what he would have been like.
Having the boys kept John from losing it completely, no question.
I really want to see one of the boys stitching up the other now.
You know, I really do think it would bother John to see Sam turn into the hunter he wanted - I think if he HAD managed to mold Sam into what he became, he would have always hated himself a little bit.
John was just such a complex man, because he trained his sons to follow in his footsteps, but at the same time never wanted it for them. I think he liked to kid himself that if only he could find the thing that killed Mary it would all be over, for all of them, they could stop hunting and he could give his sons the normal life they were all meant to have. But the longer the hunt went on, the less possible that could ever have been. He was proud of Sam's normality and independence, though, even though it terrified him and he was unable to express it to his son, so yeah. I think seeing what Sam became in this episode would horrify him. And we know damn well it would horrify Dean!
The thing about this episode was, it wasn't like Tall Tales.
Thank goodness. I still don't like Tall Tales. The humour in this one doesn't feel as forced and always serves a purpose - it's the Trickster's signature, a clue for Sam sitting right there under his nose that he is completely blind to. Sam is so convinced that his ordeal is all about either the Mystery Spot or Dean; he never even looks at anything else, his own actions included.
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Yes, a short stack refers to pancakes (unless otherwise specified). Usually it's 3 as opposed to 5. Which given that most restaurant pancakes sit like small lead pellets in one's stomach, I'm with Sam. Actually, I'm a French Toast girl, myself.
Since we know that the episode order was switched and this was originally intended to air as episode 12 rather than 11, we now know as a result of this comment that the boys aren't going to find Bela and the Colt in next week's episode, either, since that one was originally intended to air before this one.
I don't know if that's true. We don't know when they started scrambling the order of the episodes and it's very possible that they were able to switch some dialogue around once they decided to change the episode order, in order to slot the timing of this one in more smoothly. Note, I'm not saying whether we'll find Bela or the Colt in tonight's episode or not - just that it's very possible that they decided to change the episode order early enough that they were also able to "throw in an explainer" to quote Hollywood Babylon.
Dean plugs his electric razor into the socket and is electrocuted. Man, that one is nasty, because he was electrocuted before and almost died that time, as well.
I love the SFX on this, how cartoonish in that we actually "see" his spine through his skin and clothing like an x-ray!
Viewers now imagine Sam compiling a mental To Do list, which grows longer each time around, of all the little details he has to take care of to prevent any of Dean's previous deaths repeating.
Yes, and this is straight out of "Groundhog Day" too, only he goes in such a different direction with it. I love the "twist" on the movie plot in that sense.
So…does that mean we didn't get to see the loop where Doris shot Dean with a bow and arrow. Enquiring minds would really like to know the sequence of events there.
Yikes, I hadn't even thought of that, but you're RIGHT. That must have been what happened! Oh, gods, I really want MISSING SCENE FIC!
Man, you can just picture the two of them as teenagers. We already knew about the prank wars – now add this kind of behaviour to the picture, and factor in John's frequent absences, the constant movement from town to town…
YES, yes, yes, OMG Yes! /Meg Ryan impression
This was SO GREAT for that glimpse of how they acted. And I love that Dean reverts to this mode for dealing with being off-balance himself in the face of Sam's "proof". They are such products of their dysfunction, and yet so *normal* when they do things like that. Hee!
I wonder if it's ever occurred to him to actually go the Groundhog Day route and try to right every wrong he discovers, such as Cal's robbery of Tony the mechanic. I doubt it. He doesn't seem able to see anything other than Dean and his many deaths and his own inability to prevent them each time.
Yeah, I kept thinking about that, too, and why it didn't occur to him. But I think as we see later in the episode, Sam's single-mindedness (*cough*John*cough*) distracts him here the same way it has been and continues to keep him from the point of the occurrences. It's one note: Save Dean. And he's completely blinkered to any other course of action. Just like later he becomes obsessed with finding the Trickster again, and hunting other things is secondary to his need to nurse his own pain.
That's very John, to provide information only on a need-to-know basis when he thinks he has a target in sight and knows what he's doing and doesn't want to waste time filling anyone else in on what he has planned. Besides, anything he tells Dean his brother will only have forgotten again by the time they repeat the loop, if it comes to that, and if Sam can solve it Dean need never know. But that's still very John-ish reasoning, and Sam isn't remembering the fact that he has so far only been able to work this problem even halfway effectively when he has shared that work with his brother, no matter how much time he has to waste convincing him each time that the time loop is real.
Great point! I think this episode has done a LOT to point up the similarities between Sam and his father.
TBC
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Well, quite. They've lived their entire lives in incredibly close quarters, other than Sam's time away, spend almost every waking moment together, have shared every aspect of their lives, good and bad. Personal space? What's that?
just that it's very possible that they decided to change the episode order early enough that they were also able to "throw in an explainer" to quote Hollywood Babylon.
I thought the episode order was changed quite late on, after the strike had already begun, which would mean no writers to throw in any explainers. Not that it really matters.
Yikes, I hadn't even thought of that, but you're RIGHT. That must have been what happened! Oh, gods, I really want MISSING SCENE FIC!
The potential for missing scene fic in this episode is epic, seriously.
Sam's single-mindedness (*cough*John*cough*) distracts him here the same way it has been and continues to keep him from the point of the occurrences. It's one note: Save Dean. And he's completely blinkered to any other course of action. Just like later he becomes obsessed with finding the Trickster again, and hunting other things is secondary to his need to nurse his own pain.
Oh, totally. Sam is so convinced that his entire ordeal is all about either the Mystery Spot or Dean, it never occurs to him even for one second to consider any other possibilities. Everything he knows about how to work a case and look for clues just goes flying out of the window the moment Dean dies the first time, and he never once works the situation effectively again until the answer practically smacks him in the face. He's so very blinkered, and I love that this isn't anything new - we already knew that about Sam, just have never seen before how extreme his tunnelvision could go.
I think this episode has done a LOT to point up the similarities between Sam and his father.
He is so his father's son, and getting more like him all the time.
part 2
Here, when he's telling Dean to eat and not explaining, I think there's more to it. He's not telling Dean because he doesn't want to tip his hand to the Trickster, not necessarily to Dean.
Dean shouted at Bobby in his grief, as well, but he apologised for it immediately. Dean's temper burns hot and quick and is over immediately, and he is never afraid to own his mistakes. Sam's temper is cold and hard and can simmer indefinitely, and he rarely backs down.
Ack, so true. And ack, I really should go home from work.... Must finish this later. But almost finished....
That's an interesting observation. It's all relative, of course, and I think it's safe to say that both brothers would be considered impressively dysfunctional by anyone's standards. A psychologist would have a field day with them both, but they were damaged in different ways and at different times, and that damage manifests differently. Dean's is a lot older, accumulated gradually over a long period of time stretching all the way back to his mother's violent death. His innate insecurity and crippling dependence on his family is incredibly deep-seated, although the extent of the damage only became really apparent when his life started to spiral out of control in season one, pushing him over the edge. Having been sheltered by his brother from the worst deficiencies of their childhood, the bulk of Sam's damage is more recent in origin, the result of the deteriorating situation he has found himself in, but no less severe for being so fresh. Put the two together, and the result is the incredibly extreme and unhealthy co-dependence we have watched them develop over the course of the last two and a half seasons.
I think I need to read this paragraph about 14 times and memorize it. No really.
Okay, must dash for home and NEW SHOW.
Re: part 2
True. But he's been through the whole time loop explanation in the diner before, with the Trickster sitting right there, so he could say more than he does, if he was willing to divide his attention, which he isn't. Sam doesn't really multi-task all that well. Which brings us back to those blinkers of his.
I think I need to read this paragraph about 14 times and memorize it. No really.
So my pop psychology makes sense? Good to know!
New show - yay. My dl has finished, and I have the morning off work for Car Scrapping Business (I hope)
*hurries off to watch*