"It doesn't matter what you are. It only matters what you do."

[llywela]

This week has been crazy - absolute bedlam. And it isn't over yet.

Therefore, this recap isn't as polished as I'd like it to be - there just hasn't been time this week. So there is probably a lot more meta in the episode that could be teased out...but I seem to have found plenty to say anyway, as usual. *G*


"This is my choice."

Screencaps found at Screencap Paradise, marishna and oxoniensis

Comments

[littlepunkryo.livejournal.com]

GAH!! STOP DOING THESE BEFORE I UNLAZIFY MYSELF AND READ THE OTHER ONES!!! LOL.

No seriously, tomorrow I'm sitting down and doing it, I promise.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

ROFLMAO I can't help it - I'm on a deadline!!

[sevenandthree.livejournal.com]

will read when i wake up!

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

They have a prisoner, a demon-possessed man (…) What I find intriguing about this exorcism scene in the beginning is that it shows exactly what Sam has to fear from his powers. The demon easily goats Sam into acting out of anger. Sam may have the best intentions in mind when using his powers, but it’s very easy to distract him or play on negative emotions of his'. How long until Sam crosses a line with his powers and acts out of revenge, anger or with the intent to kill rather than save? If it is this easy for a low level standard demon to get a reaction out of Sam, how simple would it be for a demon who knows exactly where to hit him?

Oh man, that cap where Ruby smiles down on Sam is creepy. The pure undiluted satisfaction and delight in her expression is unsettling. I think maybe people are wrong to bash Cortese for her acting as Ruby, I still think that it is very likely that the changes in her are indeed lead by her motivations and less by the new actress.

Does she (Ruby) care about the life of the man she is helping? I sincerely doubt it. I think it’s utterly clear that she doesn’t give a damn about the victim. Remember 'Jus In Bello' where she slaughtered her way through the demon!possessed crowd into the police station and then had the nerve to make that obnoxious quip about brain matter in her hair? Not exactly caring, is it? Her soft stance here is clearly directed towards Sam.

Travis knew to contact Sam on a number we know he has had for less than 5 months. I think it is entirely possible that he tried to contact Sam, found the number disconnected and contacted Bobby instead. We know that Bobby practically knows everybody in the hunter circles. In any case Bobby could have given him the number, rather than Sam himself.

"Yeah," Dean fervently nods. Ah, Dean and his stomach. Man, I kind of had this suspicion that Dean’s fast answer to Travis question if they have ever been really hungry was more an allusion to the fact that there had been times when they were kids, where they had to go days without food, because John came back late from a hunt or didn’t leave them enough money. :(

Sam immediately objects to his use of the phrase 'this guy', pointing out that the man has a name: Jack. Heh, they have the same conversation in 'Bugs', where Dean always says ‘spider boy’ and Sam repeatedly tells him that his name is Matt. *g*

You know, I really get the annoyance a lot of people have for the anvils in this episode, but I do feel that the episode took us a step further with Sam and Dean. Sure, they had similar arguments before, but it was always as a hypothesis, never directly about them. The way the episodes reflects back especially on issues they already had in S2, highlights Sam’s change from S2 to S4 perfectly. Overall the excellence of the arguments between the brothers made it easy for me to just forgive the anviliciousness of the plot. :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Hi, hon.

What I find intriguing about this exorcism scene in the beginning is that it shows exactly what Sam has to fear from his powers. The demon easily goats Sam into acting out of anger.
And this is one of the reasons why Sam using his powers scares me as much as it scares Dean! It can go wrong far too easily, and Sam may not even realise until it is too late. And on the one hand it bothers me that Sam can't seem to make right choices on his own - I'd like his stab at independence to be a little more successful! But on the other hand, it is very in character for Sam to resolve on a course of action and follow it blindly - and it does make for nice, juicy angst and meaty plotlines!

that cap where Ruby smiles down on Sam is creepy.
Totally! To me, that image sums up everything about her current approach with Sam - and her satisfaction at how well it is working.

I think it’s utterly clear that she doesn’t give a damn about the victim.
Utterly clear based on what we understand of her character and history - not so much based on a superficial reading of the scene. She's a good actress, is Ruby, most of the time. But her underlying personality still shines through in unguarded moments.

I think it is entirely possible that he tried to contact Sam, found the number disconnected and contacted Bobby instead.
But we aren't told, so it is kind of left hanging as a plot hole, because the backstory on Travis isn't terribly important - he's more of a plot device than anything.

suspicion that Dean’s fast answer to Travis question if they have ever been really hungry was more an allusion to the fact that there had been times when they were kids, where they had to go days without food
I wondered much the same thing, but Dean's fervent response doesn't strike me as stemming from a particularly bad memory. Could just be that he has come to terms with that part of his past - or he could just be thinking of all those hunts where they have to eat on the run.

I really get the annoyance a lot of people have for the anvils in this episode, but I do feel that the episode took us a step further with Sam and Dean.
I do feel that this is an important episode, with all the big reveals, bringing the brotherly conflict out into the open and establishing more ongoing development trends. But it is heavy-handed enough that I had to mention the anvils here and there! LOL

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Hey there! *hugs* I am terribly bored at work today. LOL

Sam can't seem to make right choices on his own. Hm, I don't know about that. Sam's choice to leave for college or his choice to not kill Jake for example were good and right choices, even if the consequences of those choices lead to suffering. I think that the show makes a good point in showing that Sam was pushed further and further ever since the finale of S2. It seems that no matter how hard Sam tries, circumstances always work against him. It's what makes his story to damn tragic. :(

But it is heavy-handed enough that I had to mention the anvils here and there. Never anything wrong with pointing out the weaknesses of an episode. I did that myself. It just didn't hinder me to enjoy the episode, while other fans obviously had more problems to get past the anvils.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

I meant just lately, about Sam - that seems to be the message this season is giving us, that he was pushed over the edge and turned the wrong way. Makes for better TV, I suppose, than Sam learning to live with his grief!

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

ROFL yeah well, Sam coping and learning to live with his grief and moving on in an entirely healthy way would kinda end the show I suppose. *lol* We have been heading towards this plot ever since the beginning I guess, it would be kind of anticlimactic to avoid it. ROFL

[bogwitch.livejournal.com]

>>although the fact that clothes have been hung up at all rather amazes me.

Hee. I thought that too. He should have just gathered them up from the floor!

>>Jack Montgomery sits at the dinner table and shovels food into his mouth.

Like the mirror thing, this another TV/film convention that you see a lot which bothers me. How does eating messily help with hunger? Shoving food into your gob with your fingers wouldn’t assuage a ravenous hunger any more than just eating fast. Helps with choking more like!

>> despite having gobbled down two already.

Why has she cooked three steaks anyway?

>>"She was awesome."

It’s very sad that Dean has to dodge Sam’s question about Mary’s happiness.

>>Sam immediately understands what the man is saying, but Dean does not, which is amusing. Sam has to explain that 'long pig' means human flesh. "And that is my word of the day," Dean decides.

I’m surprised Dean, eapecially as a hunter, has never come across that expression. Or does that just say something about me?

>>Jack stands in the garden, supposedly watering the plants but in reality just staring off into space like a statute while one small spot slowly turns into a miniature bog and the rest of the garden dehydrates.

I thought he was filling his pond/fountain. I can't be arsed to check.

>>"A little man-burger helping, may have crossed your mind already?"

Perhaps Dean did see a raw burger after all.

>> Dean's eyelashes flutter prettily as consciousness begins to return,

JA always ‘wakes up’ very convincingly, like it’s a process and not something that’s instant. It’s a nice touch that no many actors seem to bother with. He also keeps his eyes on the road more than a lot of actors do. I know US roads are straight but sometimes you see whole conversations where no one is looking at the road! I’d be in a ditch if I drove like that (I did once drive into a ditch, but it was on an icy, untreated road, I swear!).

>>Michelle is still out there, of course, with her unborn future rugaru child,

Hopefully the thought of having her monster husband’s baby will get her down the clinic.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Perhaps Dean did see a raw burger after all.
Because the Winchester brothers have Magic Binoculars!!

He also keeps his eyes on the road more than a lot of actors do. I know US roads are straight but sometimes you see whole conversations where no one is looking at the road!
Hee, tell me about it! I frequently find in films/shows that I lose track of a conversation, I'm so busy cringing, convinced they are about to hit something because the driver has not looked at the road once...

Hopefully the thought of having her monster husband’s baby will get her down the clinic.
One can only hope! Jack's mother didn't, of course, but a) we don't know how much she knew, and b) the 70s were, of course, very different. It is still a nice messy loose end.

[bowtrunckle.livejournal.com]

I'm so behind on commenting! Ack!

a whole episode told from Sam's point of view, even. That doesn't happen much any more, considering he started out as the POV character for the entire show.

Yes, finally. I've been waiting for this for eons. I think it was well timed (the rearrangement of the episodes was fortuitous) because I think I might've had to break out my "more Sam" ranty face if a Sam-POV episode had been much farther out.

It isn't about either one being wholly in the right or wholly in the wrong; it is about the unique perspective on their situation that each of them has.

Well said. And this is what makes for wonderfully round characters and an engaging story. Let's hope the Show never loses this regardless of what path they shove Sam and Dean down.

...is reluctant to let Dean actually see that New Sam, afraid of his brother's disapproval and perhaps of seeing in it his own doubts reflected back at him.

I love that the boys act as moral compasses for the other. And as Sam articulated in "FB", he's been following Dean around, idolizing him since he was four so of course Dean's opinion would matter the most to Sam. Really it seems almost counter intuitive that Sam would lie to the person he values the most, but considering how much he knew Dean disapproved of him using his powers it makes perfect (albeit twisted) sense that Sam would be reluctant to share this tidbit. However, it follows that Dean would eventually find out, something Sam doesn't deny in "LR", but I think Sam is still trying to deal with Dean being alive and back in his life and his brain has gone fuzzy with glee and shock and "Oh, crap, now I'm going to be in big trouble". He's like the puppy who was caught red-handed rooting through the garbage and doesn't quite know what to do.

has that plan perhaps been brought forward due to Sam's dogged pursuit

Excellent point! I love cause and effect in storytelling.

we can't rely on her [Ruby] to be telling him the truth at any given time, so we have no opportunity to gain insight into her motivations and ambitions.

My vote is for an outsider, Ruby-centric POV episode! \o/ How revealing would that be? Also, I'd love to see how the Winchesters look from a demonic viewpoint.

Dean went to hell rather than let Sam forge an alliance with Ruby to unlock his psychic powers, preferred to die than see his brother indenture himself to a demon and start sliding down that dark and slippery slope. So to find out that once he was gone Sam went ahead and did all that anyway must be like the most tremendous kick in the teeth, an enormous betrayal, meaning that all his suffering and torment was for nothing.

Sorry to quote half your meta, but I just agree so strongly with this and love it to pieces. Somehow my mind always snaps directly to Sam's POV and it takes me a while to get into Dean's head. I never thought Dean's anger was unjustified and him punching Sam was something that seemed in-character, but combined with your observation my heart goes out to Dean.

But it is clear that Sam has actively chosen not to explore his full range of powers in any way, but rather found just this one that seemed most benign

Again, Sam and his mile-high wall of justification. He's always been the one to build exceptions to every rule and negotiate around the facts. It's nice to see that this character trait since the beginning has been exploited and turned on its head, just another twist that makes Sam so dangerous and, at the same time, so much himself that it's delicious and worrisome to watch. *eee*

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

I think Sam is still trying to deal with Dean being alive and back in his life and his brain has gone fuzzy with glee and shock and "Oh, crap, now I'm going to be in big trouble". He's like the puppy who was caught red-handed rooting through the garbage and doesn't quite know what to do.
Absolutely! Like I said - it probably all felt so much clearer while Dean was dead and he had his grief and despair to drive him. But then Dean coming back completely threw him, and he's been off-balance ever since, no longer sure what to do for the best.

My vote is for an outsider, Ruby-centric POV episode! \o/ How revealing would that be? Also, I'd love to see how the Winchesters look from a demonic viewpoint.
Sounds awesome!

Somehow my mind always snaps directly to Sam's POV and it takes me a while to get into Dean's head.
Heh, I'm the other way around! I automatically relate to Dean's POV and have to work harder at Sam's! I struggled with this recap because I always find Sam's mindset harder to put into words than Dean's. And maybe because there are still so many missing pieces with Sam - we still don't know how he got from a to b, how exactly he slid from his promises of 3.16 to the lies of this season.

Again, Sam and his mile-high wall of justification. He's always been the one to build exceptions to every rule and negotiate around the facts. It's nice to see that this character trait since the beginning has been exploited and turned on its head, just another twist that makes Sam so dangerous and, at the same time, so much himself that it's delicious and worrisome to watch.
Totally! He didn't break his whole promise, just a tiny bit of it, so that didn't count...except that it did, and it was dangerous, and could still be dangerous. And it's just so very Sam. Ah, boys.

[bowtrunckle.livejournal.com]

Heh, I'm the other way around! I automatically relate to Dean's POV and have to work harder at Sam's!

Let's combine brain powers and take over the world. *wink*

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Hee. Let me practice my evil laugh of world domination. MWAHAHAHAHAHAH.