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careful what you wish for
Hmm.
I'm really enjoying this season. Taken as a whole, it has been remarkably strong, and although some episodes have been stronger than others, even the weaker episodes have tended to be better than the fizzlers of previous seasons.
Having said that, though, I'm kinda dissatisfied with this one, and I've been trying to put my finger on why. I think it's maybe a pacing issue – that and the fact that the a- and b-plots really aren't balanced at all well. It's all rather disjointed, really.
Also, I was rather thrown by Dean's admission at the end that he remembers everything about hell, since I haven't read his behaviour this season that way at all. It has seemed to me to be played very much as if brief flashbacks of the kind we've seen have been it, with full conscious memory firmly repressed. And, you know, I really would have expected him to be a hell of a lot more messed up than he is if he had full recall. So the question is, I suppose: did he remember everything from the start, and lie to Sam about it in Lazarus Rising? Or are we supposed to have understood from previous episodes that his memory has been slowly returning, with Yellow Fever maybe intended rather more clearly than came across as the moment he stopped denying it to himself and realised consciously that yes, he does have full recall, buried beneath those layers of denial? I'm not sure, because even last week it came across more as fleeting flashback, there one second and gone the next, than part of any larger, more permanent, conscious memory.
Here, as in those previous episodes, Dean just doesn't seem messed up enough for someone who truly remembers every detail of his time in hell. So when he says he remembers it all, does he really mean that he remembers every detail, or does he maybe just mean that he is very aware that the memories exist, but is still very actively repressing them – more actively than ever, in fact – because facing up to them means exploring them means re-living them?
Going to have to ponder that one a little more, because the way it came out in this episode really wasn't the smoothest of transitions from previous development.
Also, there has been no sign at all in previous episodes that Sam has noticed Dean's sleep being disturbed in any way, or that Dean has been drinking to excess, and yet here Sam was banging on about how he is with his brother 24/7 and therefore knows all about his nightmares and drinking. I know Sam was just trying to prove a point, hammering on Dean's defence mechanisms every bit as heavy-handedly as he so often has in the past, but it just doesn't tie in all that smoothly with the continuity of previous episodes. I mean, Dean drinking heavily in this one I can understand as a knee-jerk reaction to Sam pressuring him about his memories of hell, goading him to remember something he wants very much to forget. But there has been no sign of heavy drinking in previous episodes, other than when he was in the throes of that ghost sickness. Sam hadn't noticed anything wrong at all before Uriel put the idea in his head. Still. Maybe he has just looked back, with that clue, and noticed a pattern he had previously been blissfully ignorant of – all the more determined to find evidence because Dean is being so evasive.
It just isn't entirely clear, and the mytharc/character development tie-in being so clumsy makes it hard to enjoy the rest of the episode as much as I'd like to, which is a shame because it is entertaining, and very funny in places, the reactions throughout hilarious. I found a fair bit of the humour a little awkward for my tastes, but I often have that trouble with episodes that are designed to be funny – I like my humour natural rather than forced. Overall, the MOTW part of the story was just light-hearted fun, and I did enjoy it. I just wish that the episode as a whole balanced better, and tied in more smoothly with previous episodes.
I did love how very season two both brothers were here, Sam hammering on Dean's emotional defences while totally unprepared for what he might find on the other side, and succeeding only in stressing his brother out, because Dean is trying so very hard to repress those memories Sam is goading him about.
I love that Dean wished for a sandwich. That was just perfect, because…well: a) Dean + food = OTP, and b) it probably seemed like a safe, sensible thing to wish for, in terms of empirical testing of the wishing well! Eating it maybe wasn't so sensible…but Dean would probably argue that that was part of the experiment...*G*
Ted Raimi! Man, timing is everything. I've lately been indulging in a bit of a seaQuest DSV nostalgia-fest, I'm a little embarrassed to admit. That show suffered from everything that was wrong with TV in the early 90s (and earlier) from lousy plotting to virtually non-existent continuity. But I loved it as a mid-teen who knew no better, and have had a soft spot for the characters ever since. So it was kind of a geek thrill to see Ted Raimi popping up here.
Loads more details, of course, that I don't have time to get into right now. The process of recapping this episode will probably clear up a lot of details I'm fuzzy on or less than satisfied with right now, but I'm not sure at the moment just when I can expect to have it finished. My overall reaction as of right now can be summed up as: hmmm. Fun episode, but not a fave.
I'm really enjoying this season. Taken as a whole, it has been remarkably strong, and although some episodes have been stronger than others, even the weaker episodes have tended to be better than the fizzlers of previous seasons.
Having said that, though, I'm kinda dissatisfied with this one, and I've been trying to put my finger on why. I think it's maybe a pacing issue – that and the fact that the a- and b-plots really aren't balanced at all well. It's all rather disjointed, really.
Also, I was rather thrown by Dean's admission at the end that he remembers everything about hell, since I haven't read his behaviour this season that way at all. It has seemed to me to be played very much as if brief flashbacks of the kind we've seen have been it, with full conscious memory firmly repressed. And, you know, I really would have expected him to be a hell of a lot more messed up than he is if he had full recall. So the question is, I suppose: did he remember everything from the start, and lie to Sam about it in Lazarus Rising? Or are we supposed to have understood from previous episodes that his memory has been slowly returning, with Yellow Fever maybe intended rather more clearly than came across as the moment he stopped denying it to himself and realised consciously that yes, he does have full recall, buried beneath those layers of denial? I'm not sure, because even last week it came across more as fleeting flashback, there one second and gone the next, than part of any larger, more permanent, conscious memory.
Here, as in those previous episodes, Dean just doesn't seem messed up enough for someone who truly remembers every detail of his time in hell. So when he says he remembers it all, does he really mean that he remembers every detail, or does he maybe just mean that he is very aware that the memories exist, but is still very actively repressing them – more actively than ever, in fact – because facing up to them means exploring them means re-living them?
Going to have to ponder that one a little more, because the way it came out in this episode really wasn't the smoothest of transitions from previous development.
Also, there has been no sign at all in previous episodes that Sam has noticed Dean's sleep being disturbed in any way, or that Dean has been drinking to excess, and yet here Sam was banging on about how he is with his brother 24/7 and therefore knows all about his nightmares and drinking. I know Sam was just trying to prove a point, hammering on Dean's defence mechanisms every bit as heavy-handedly as he so often has in the past, but it just doesn't tie in all that smoothly with the continuity of previous episodes. I mean, Dean drinking heavily in this one I can understand as a knee-jerk reaction to Sam pressuring him about his memories of hell, goading him to remember something he wants very much to forget. But there has been no sign of heavy drinking in previous episodes, other than when he was in the throes of that ghost sickness. Sam hadn't noticed anything wrong at all before Uriel put the idea in his head. Still. Maybe he has just looked back, with that clue, and noticed a pattern he had previously been blissfully ignorant of – all the more determined to find evidence because Dean is being so evasive.
It just isn't entirely clear, and the mytharc/character development tie-in being so clumsy makes it hard to enjoy the rest of the episode as much as I'd like to, which is a shame because it is entertaining, and very funny in places, the reactions throughout hilarious. I found a fair bit of the humour a little awkward for my tastes, but I often have that trouble with episodes that are designed to be funny – I like my humour natural rather than forced. Overall, the MOTW part of the story was just light-hearted fun, and I did enjoy it. I just wish that the episode as a whole balanced better, and tied in more smoothly with previous episodes.
I did love how very season two both brothers were here, Sam hammering on Dean's emotional defences while totally unprepared for what he might find on the other side, and succeeding only in stressing his brother out, because Dean is trying so very hard to repress those memories Sam is goading him about.
I love that Dean wished for a sandwich. That was just perfect, because…well: a) Dean + food = OTP, and b) it probably seemed like a safe, sensible thing to wish for, in terms of empirical testing of the wishing well! Eating it maybe wasn't so sensible…but Dean would probably argue that that was part of the experiment...*G*
Ted Raimi! Man, timing is everything. I've lately been indulging in a bit of a seaQuest DSV nostalgia-fest, I'm a little embarrassed to admit. That show suffered from everything that was wrong with TV in the early 90s (and earlier) from lousy plotting to virtually non-existent continuity. But I loved it as a mid-teen who knew no better, and have had a soft spot for the characters ever since. So it was kind of a geek thrill to see Ted Raimi popping up here.
Loads more details, of course, that I don't have time to get into right now. The process of recapping this episode will probably clear up a lot of details I'm fuzzy on or less than satisfied with right now, but I'm not sure at the moment just when I can expect to have it finished. My overall reaction as of right now can be summed up as: hmmm. Fun episode, but not a fave.