"Luck is not our style."

[llywela]

Remember, remember, the fifth of November...and the fourth, third, second...and no doubt the sixth, seventh, eighth...

Remember the days when fireworks only went off on the night itself? Yeah, me neither.

Okay, this is probably the last time for a while that I'm likely to be able to get a recap for SN done before the next episode airs, what with starting this new job next week and all. So make the most of it, those of you who care!

Here it is: 32 image-heavy pages in which I ramble on and on about Sam's cerebral versus Dean's physical, the delights of joint research, the lousiness of everyone's Gaelic pronunciation in this episode, the difference between Real Life myths and legends and the Show's version thereof, Dean's repressed memories of hell, Sam's delight at meeting an angel, the shattering of Sam's illusions, the vast gulf that exists between human and angelic points of view, the contrast between Castiel and Uriel, the meaning of righteousness, whether or not angels have free will and what this means for the mytharc, Sam's willingness to re-visit his psychic powers as a valid option versus Dean's determination not to, how much leaning upon his powers has become second nature for Sam, Dean's decision to support his brother against angelic disapproval regardless, the nature of the test for Dean here, Castiel's doubts, and much more beside.

To read the recap, click the link below:


"For us, every day is Halloween."

Screencaps found at Screencap Paradise, marishna and oxoniensis

Comments

[femsc.livejournal.com]

Remember the days when fireworks only went off on the night itself? Yeah, me neither.

I do - either the night itself or the Friday/Saturday nights either side if the 5th was a school night. Bonfire in the garden, children happily waving sparklers around making pretty patterns (no health and bloody safety rules back then!), ooh! ahh! wheeeee! whizzzz! *bang*! - and a lot of snap, crackle, pop. These days it's big bangs with attitude, and if it doesn't blow the roof of next-door-but-one's house it wasn't loud enough.

The firework season (season? When did it become a season?) goes on for so long now, that as much as I love the things it's no longer something special. Even my children are jaded by fireworks this year, and the youngest's still only 8 :(

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Night after night after night - bang, bang, bang. And I was never what you'd call a fan of fireworks to begin with. The first couple are pretty, but after that I just get bored, and I never enjoy the banging.

Maybe I'd appreciate the various displays more if I could see them from any of my windows. As it is, it is just night after night of many bangs and no accompanying pretties!

And of course the cat finds it all rather disturbing.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Awesome review! ♥ Enjoyed it a lot, even if we talked about many points already. Very clear and concise, and I loved the meta, even moreso than usual. Loved especially your take on the aspects that refer to christian mythology that I am not entirely familiar with. :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I was pleased with how the meta turned out for this one.

aspects that refer to christian mythology that I am not entirely familiar with.
It's so difficult to write about this stuff! Because they keep referring to the Bible and the Judeo-Christian tradition...but then they pick and choose which bits they will or won't adhere to, mix and match with various other religious traditions, put their own spin on it all according to their mytharc needs...all of which makes it quite hard to analyse. The attempt is a really interesting process, though.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I gather it's difficult. I am not totally clueless and I have a basic understanding of judeo-christian tradition, but I surely don't have a lot of insight in it. I guess that does have the advantage that I take what they show us in the show and accept it as show-canon without questioning it and without the urge to compare it to the actual mythology. Makes for stressfree watching. *g* I am only concerned with in-show consistency that way. :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

LOL I totally take what I see on-screen as Show mythology, independent of all external expectations, just that sometimes it can aid understanding of what they are talking about to compare it with knowledge of the traditions referred to...just means balancing a fine line - leaning on those real world mythologies enough to appreciate the meaning of the storyline without bringing any preconceptions that could confuse.

[yourlibrarian]

Maybe he hoped that by gaining a greater understanding of his abilities, by mastering them, bending them to his own will, he might have less to fear from them.

I really think that's true.

But they are unable to pull her out of the water, and then further alarmed when the water starts to bubble and boil.

It's funny too how everyone else there just stands around watching her drown instead of grabbing the tub and pulling it away.

I want to see joint research more often!

ITA. It's nice to see either one of them doing it anymore.

He says it as if Dean should know that, and my first thought is that maybe Dean would have known it if Sam had pronounced the word correctly…

LOL! Something else Dean should know about is what it takes to burn bones, which Sam later asks him in the car. But apparently while in hell he's forgotten a lot of details about his job.

You know, the small but surely pertinent detail of just how this witch comes to be centuries old and how she achieves her youthful appearance is never addressed in the episode.

Yes, if they had been in hell themselves and somehow gotten out, shouldn't they be demons? But if they're not possessing bodies, how are they in them?

But…hang on. Isn't Lilith meant to be the one breaking all the Seals? Where do this random witch and her Sam-Hayn raising ambitions fit into that?

LOL, yes there were a whole bunch of things that didn't fit together here. On the one hand, I wasn't clear that this demon-raising actually was one of the seals at all, except that Castiel mentions it again at the end. Plus, how can witches be powerful enough to hide themselves from angels? Could Sam do the same with Ruby's hex bag?

Something is happening in this one tiny town that threatens the rest of creation, and therefore if this one tiny town is removed, the threat goes away, like a surgeon excising an appendix that is about to rupture.

Except of course that since they can't see the witch they don't know that she's in the town at all. Is there some reason she has to raise Samhain there instead of someplace else?

It's at moments like this that we see most clearly just how good of a poker player Dean must be...I like the way he includes his brother in this, knowing that Sam feels as strongly about protecting the town as he does and will totally back him up on this point.

Yes and yes. I wonder though, if the angels had called his bluff, if Dean would really have let Sam die.

the utter contempt in which demons hold the humans that choose to worship them

Certainly makes you wonder what makes the angels any different.

All or nothing and no halfway houses.

I think Sam needs to respect the judgment of the people whose orders he follows. Hence his disillusionment with John, and now with the angels. It's not really faith at all, just a hope that he can place his trust somewhere where it won't be betrayed.

"Yeah, that demon-ray-gun stuff? Doesn't work on me."

Makes you wonder if that isn't why Sam has been sneaking off to fight demons on his own all this time, because he knows he's immune and wants to protect Dean.

It is worth considering that the independence of thought and opinion displayed by both Castiel and Uriel in this episode, if it can be projected onto the rest of their angelic brethren, is perhaps a very good reason why angelic forces are so rarely deployed in the world

That's a great point!

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Something else Dean should know about is what it takes to burn bones, which Sam later asks him in the car.
Totally! I meant to comment on that, but then forgot to add it in. Burning bones is their job, both of them! I wondered if maybe Dean thought Sam was asking for the exact temperature required, which he'd be less likely to know, since it's just something he does without too much scientific thought...

since they can't see the witch they don't know that she's in the town at all. Is there some reason she has to raise Samhain there instead of someplace else?
Hee. Since Samhain is a Gaelic thing, you'd think that if there was one specific location for the raising, it would be in Ireland...

Plot holes galore in this episode, it must be said. As with the previous one, it tells a good strong emotional story, but the plot really doesn't hang together that well.

Certainly makes you wonder what makes the angels any different.
Good point. I think that angels are just very, very different to humans - they have almost nothing in common. They don't emote like humans, don't think like humans, don't have the same priorities as humans. And therefore can't be judged by human standards. Lucifer started out as an angel, according to the mythology of this show, and created demonkind in his own image. So I'd say that in a sense angels maybe do have more in common with demons, the one being the polar opposite of the other. Dark and light reflections.

Thanks for commenting!