(no subject)

[llywela]

Pushing Daisies was back this week. Yay! I really enjoyed the episode, too: lots of fun and with character development. Enjoy it while it lasts, huh - which isn't going to be much longer. it seems. :-( I am very sad. How is it that really bad shows seem to live forever, while creative, innovative efforts like this are overlooked and end up cancelled?

Last week's SN recap is nowhere near done, I'm afraid. It's been a long, busy week, and I just couldn't get my head into it, even though I really enjoyed the episode. It'll be done when it's done. So will this one, with which I already know I will have similar problems, made worse by the fact that I didn't enjoy the episode even half as much.

...yeah, I'm having Show disquiet issues at the moment. I don't really feel like ranting - or even just sighing - right now, so won't go into all the ins and outs of what I do or don't have issues with. Mostly it's sloppy storytelling that leaves me feeling kinda cheated. My own tiredness and distraction probably doesn't help. It feels like heresy to admit it, but I'm glad for hiatus. I need a breather - the mytharc is so huge this season, overshadowing everything else, it feels like it would be more digestible in smaller chunks. I want some distance and some re-watching to regain perspective and focus.

For now, then, I will just bullet-point some of the things I did love about this episode - Chris, this will probably sound very familiar to you, since we came up with the list together, and all...*G*

1. For all that I have massive issues with the way Dean's post-hell storyline has been unfolded this season, I love that he so very characteristically decided for himself, once the pressure was removed, that he needed to explain what he could of it to Sam, and did so on his own terms. The way the exposition of it is written bugs me, but I can rationalise that it isn't easy to translate that kind of experience back into inadequate human words and perceptions, and Dean has never been what you'd call articulate. I love that Dean kept his back to Sam the whole time, and that Sam was utterly broken just listening, never mind what the telling did to Dean himself. The JJs absolutely sold the hell out of the scene, and the direction of it was lovely, too.

2. Dean grossing Sam out with the notion of Bobby in a 'banana hammock' and trucker cap. Hee. And that he kept on referring to Bobby and hedonism, just because the thought of it amused him so much. Nice way of working around Jim Beaver's unavailability while still remembering that Bobby exists, and also some much needed humour. I always prefer it when the humour flows out of the story, like this, than when it is forced.

3. Sam's reaction to the mental image of Bobby in a banana hammock and trucker cap.... I love how fond they are of him, whether that affection be for a favoured uncle or father figure

4. Dean and Anna talking about their respective fathers. They really did connect on an emotional level, and were cute together, even if the sex scene was kinda, shall we say...contrived...

5. Sam resisting Ruby's pressure to use his power again. I still don't trust her. I think she's a hell of a good actress and does an excellent job of keeping her ulterior motives well hidden while she bides her time. I also think that's what makes her a fascinating character, and so will be horribly disappointed if she turns out to just be 'a good demon' after all. I prefer the dynamic when she is at loggerheads with Dean, with Sam caught in the middle, though, than the spirit of cooperation we got here.

6. Sam admitting that he is still curious about hell, especially after hearing what Alistair had to say to Dean, but not pushing it. He's learned his lesson, and that follows on nicely from the maturity we saw last episode. Sam pulling back like that gives Dean the breathing space he needs to respond on his own terms.

7. Bobby's panic room! Still.

8. Ruby unable to enter the panic room, Dean unapologetic about it, and everyone working around that minor detail without fuss or comment.

9. "Dean, you're confusing reality with porn again."

10. Sam helping Dean up after Anna knocked him to the ground.

11. Pamela! Recovered, adapted, and her feisty self still. With so many recurring characters killed off or abandoned, we need to build up a few more!

12. The contrast between Castiel and Uriel, still - the more we see of them, the more Anna's claim that angels have no choice is proved false. They definitely have minds of their own, at the very least.

13. Sam asking Anna how to kill an angel when they threaten to throw Dean back to hell. Sam, who has always been the one with faith, who reveres (or revered) angels so much. He'd do it, too. Dean in danger sends Sam spinning off into panic mode like nothing else.

14. Dean unable to speak when he hears the angels' ultimatum, threatening to send him back to hell. The speed of the episode meant that his immediate reaction to the threat was brushed over, but it was there.

15.Dean choking up and his voice breaking when he tells Anna he doesn't want to talk about hell - that he can't talk about hell.

16. Anna reminding Dean that he is not alone, referring to Sam, and telling him it wasn't his fault.

17. Dean choosing Sam over Anna - even if it did turn out to be a ploy, we all know it is true.

18. Dean skin! Even if the sexin' was overly schmoopy. I can't help but appreciate the contrast with the demon sexin', however thick it was laid on. Because it isn't just about the contrast between Dean sleeping with an angel and Sam sleeping with a demon. It's also the contrast between them, and always has been. They've each had two sex scenes now (in three and a half seasons!). Both times, Sam, who comes across as the gentle, empathetic one, was all fierce and grabby and kinda rough, while Dean, who is the womaniser, was very gentle and tender. Neither is quite who he appears to be, on first impression.

19. Pretty, pretty outdoor shots.

20. Dean.

21. Sam.

'Nuff said?

Comments

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

I'm not really reading this as I'm nowhere near this episode, but I just read the bit about feeling like you need a break, and I feel that too. Once I get to the end of S3 (I've got 3 eps left), I'm going to stop and wait til S4 gets started again - maybe till it all finishes before I start watching it. Some of S3 has been incredible - the Christmas episode, Fresh Blood. And Mystery Spot dropped my jaw the way it packed so much sheer stuff in there. But I'd like to go back and soak up S1 aand 2 again at leisure, where I quite literally enoyed every single episode. I miss the monochrome, I miss the rain, I miss the ghosties, and I miss the John Winchester/ Yellow-eyes/ What-will-become-of-Sam myth arc like an ache.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

I just almost screamed when I saw your name - 'get away from this post! Spoilers!'

How near to the end of S3 are you? I think taking a breather before plunging on is definitely a good idea - the show benefits massively from repeat viewings, as hindsight adds so much depth and meaning to earlier episodes. It'll be interesting to see if you manage to keep that resolution, though!

Remember when you get to the finale: the rest of us had four months between the end of S3 and beginning of S4.

I was talking to galathea_snb last night, and we agreed that we both miss the first two seasons, which are like light relief now, looking back. Positively fluffy in comparison. Life was so much simpler for the boys then.

Also, yeah...S3 is much brighter. That was an experiment in filming technique that resulted from studio pressure (sigh) and everyone was annoyed - we all love the de-saturated tones of S1 and S2 so much. They've found a happy compromise that works for S4, thankfully!

I love Mystery Spot so much - a definite fave.

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

How near to the end of S3 are you? Just watched Ghostfacers, which was..different! And okay, with a couple of great crack up out loud moments and lines. But I remembered what you said about this one being the one back after the writers' strike, and I kept thinking, 'wow, considering they've only got 4 episodes left instead of ten to get it all resolved, this is incredibly indulgent!'

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Um, yeah. The trouble was, Ghostfacers was pretty much completely written before the strike took effect, it just wasn't complete enough to go into production. So when they came back after the strike and were in a massive rush to get as many episodes produced as possible in the very small amount of time available to them, they had to stick with the material they had, rather than wasting time re-writing. Which is why we got Ghostfacers taking up one of the four remaining episodes.

Show does love to play with something completely different once in a while. Sometimes it works better than others - Ghostfacers is one of those that you either love or hate! I actually really like the episode. It is very different, but I enjoy the complete outsider's perspective on Dean and Sam, and there are a couple of very telling moments where we clearly see the strain of Dean's fast approaching deadline

Also...I feel like I'm always throwing information at you! But, see, Mystery Spot and Jus in Bello were originally intended to air in reverse order, so that Mystery Spot would have been episode 12, right before Ghostfacers. It works pretty well the way they aired, as we can interpret Sam's ruthlessness in Jus in Bello as stemming from his horrendous experience in Mystery Spot. But I really appreciate the fact that Ghostfacers comes next, as it creates something of a narrative break, meaning that the next time we are in the boys' POV time has passed, and Sam has therefore had time to adjust to everything he went through with the Trickster. I like that because otherwise I might have to be cross that there wasn't more overt follow up of that experience seen in Sam!

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

Thanks for all the background info! You're brilliant:))) Yes, I enjoyed Ghostfacers. As a semi-comedic epsiode it worked much better than that godawful one near the beginning of S3, the one with Dean, an ex, and the possible kid of his? "Uchavee", as we used to say as kids in Swansea.*g* That one was horrible, this one was entertaining. And did I really hear the line: 'Nah, just a couple of gays' near the beginning? When the Ghostfacers are observing the house and Sam and Dean drive slowly past?

[bogwitch.livejournal.com]

I never did gather my words together about last week, but I didn't enjoy it at all.

There were still problems this week (mainly Anna not being as interesting as she should have been and the flat sex scene amongst other things), but I enjoyed this week's so much more.

We're not going to agree on GC's Ruby. I've got to the point where I can't stand the sight of her (though she was a little better this week).

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Funny how reversed we are about these two episodes! I preferred last week's to this - it felt like a strong set up to something that never quite paid off.

I can live with Ruby, in any incarnation, as long as we eventually get some payoff. I refuse to believe she is a good demon who does what she does out of love for humans in general and Sam in particular. Man, that would be so lame. I enjoy the dynamic she brings to the show only if I can believe that she is devious and manipulative, playing Sam (and Dean, when she possibly can) like a fiddle and biding her time in hopes of an eventual, as yet unclear, payoff.

Episodes like this make it hard to hold onto that belief - it was just so action-packed the characters ended up coming off flat and two-dimensional a lot of the time because there just wasn't time or space for depth. But then I look back at her track record and remember that she didn't meet Sam by chance but deliberately sought him out, I remember all the ways in which we've seen her manipulate him to this point...yeah. I'm convinced there's more to her than meets the eye. I'd really like some insight to confirm it! But I'm sure.

I prefer the dynamic when Sam is torn than when Dean is making an effort to trust and include her, though.

[bogwitch.livejournal.com]

>>prefer the dynamic when Sam is torn than when Dean is making an effort to trust and include her, though.

Definitely. I don't trust her either. I couldn't buy her seducing Sam out of the blue though, whatever her motivations.

I do think I need to sit down and watch these two eps together as a whole, which might make me appreciate the first part more. I suspect a lot of why last week disappointed me was that I was more spoiled for it than I'd realised. Usually, even spoiled there's tons for fresh stuff to be revealed, but I felt there was nothing to Sam's story that wasn't already inferred or could've been easily guessed. Maybe they should have told us all that much earlier in the season (much like if they had told us Bela's story a bit sooner, we might have liked to hate her a bit more. I like Bela now!)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I understand why they try to hold stuff back - they enjoy retro-active storytelling, and after getting their fingers burned with the Roadhouse gang were trying to give Ruby and Bela both more of an air of mystery and enigma, I guess, hoping that we'd be interested in finding out more, rather than reacting against having them forced down our throats too much. Given Bela's story too early, we'd all have complained that she was getting too much focus.

It's all about balance, though, and it isn't easy to get right, I suppose. They took Bela too far the other way and she paid the price. The one example of where they really did get it absolutely right was Dean in S2, where we could see clearly how desperate and burdened he was, and knew it was because of what John whispered to him, but didn't know exactly what that was. We could hazzard a good guess, but that didn't detract from the final reveal at all, because it was well played.

I think they've been trying to do something similar with both Sam and Dean's stories this season, but it isn't working as well, Dean's especially. Sam's has worked better, for all that there was nothing surprising in what his flashbacks revealed.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Muahaha, you piled up our list of love for 4.10! *is pleased that it wasn't lost on MSN* ♥

I am still writing on my own review, fighting my way through it and trying to be not ranty and hopefully mostly succeeding, but I need a lot of breaks while writing this one up, which I mostly fill by entertaining myself with catching up on Merlin! *g*

Loved the new Pushing Daisies as well. They do such a nice job with the different character plots this season, it's really a damn shame to see the show go. :(

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Taking breaks while trying to recap is how I still haven't finished the transcription stage of 4.09 even now! I decided that I had to save and post that list of love because if I didn't I would just end up ranting and I don't want to do that. I want to sit back and regain perspective.

Ooh, Merlin. It's on tonight. Must remember to check the time - it tends to move around a bit, the Beeb and Saturday evenings being what they are.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Regaining perspectice certainly is in order. After I finished this review, I will let it all lie for a while and then start the season over fresh and see how it works for me as a whole, you know, the hindsight thing often works wonders. :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

My plan is to try and finish the recap for 4.09. Or at least get the transcription done. And then take a break - watch some episodes through again, maybe finish that List of Love for Faith. And then see if I can get my head around 4.10. I might do Monster Movie first, perhaps. We'll see!

the hindsight thing often works wonders. :)
Don't it just! I love that hindsight adds so much depth and meaning to the show. I do sometimes wish certain episodes worked better first time around, though...

[karenmiller.livejournal.com]

The trouble is, I think, the disconnect between internal reality and external construction. We have to accept that within the bounds of story reality, this is what happened, even though we know we're only seeing an edited construct of events -- the Readers Digest version. But what we've seen are the important linking things, and it is what it is. And then, dammit, as readers of the text, we have to find a way to reconcile that with the execution because -- and it makes me sad to say it -- execution this week was problematical.

However. *g*

That said, for me there was much to like about this episode. In random thinkiness ..

- loved the Dean/Uriel arc. They started off as antagonists, and they ended up as antagonists. Interestingly, Castiel made no attempt to stop Uriel thumping the crap out of Dean in the beginning, but physically restrained him at the end. Most telling moment for me was Uriel to Dean in his dream: You're just crazy enough to do it, aren't you? Until that point, I think Uriel had Dean pegged as a worthless mud monkey who didn't show enough respect. But he could see how utterly terrified Dean was at the idea of going back ... and saw him choose suffering for himself over punishment for Anna. And even though by his lights Anna deserves it, because she broke the rules, and he's a kind of rule-following type ... I think that earned Dean props. Like I said, doesn't stop him wanting to beat him again for interfering with angel business ... but there's been a shift in perception, I think.

- The through-line with Dean and Anna. Love it. Love their private conversations. Love that even though technically speaking Dean is older than Anna, once her memories have returned she is way, way older than he is. In a weird way she's timeless. And even though she doesn't have her angel powers, she has the dual perspective of ancient wisdom and human experience. She's the only person who can counsel Dean at this point. Not even Castiel, bless him, has a hope of understanding where Dean is right now. But she does. And her willingness to touch him, and be touched by him, when he knows she knows the depths of depravity he's plumbed ... wow. Her utter kindness to him, when she tells him she knows, and for the first time we're given a sneak peak at the state of his soul ... talk about torment ... God, he so needed a kind, non-judgmental moment. I think she gave him the line about 'my last night' as a way for him to give himself permission to lose himself with her. It's a direct reflection of last week. Sam tried to bury his pain in Ruby, and now Dean's trying to bury his pain in Anna. But, as you say, the point is not that the boys had sex, but what we were shown of them in the act. And the contrast is ... well, I think it's quite devastating. Because both boys have good reasons to hate themselves in those moments ... and yet Dean seemed to find a brief measure of peace. And is that because his partner was an angel, and not a demon? Different energies, different impulses, different motivations? Ruby is trying to bind Sam closer, make him more hers, and Anna is trying to free Dean from himself?

- I didn't see Sam's response to the threat against Dean as panic. He just took charge. You're sending him back? I do not think so. I will end you if you try. No fear there, just implacable resolve. The fear was Dean's -- a flash of Yellow Fever Dean -- and take-charge Sam is in overdrive. It's Dean who's appalled by the idea of killing an angel, not Sam. He's down with it. Wow. When you're inside a season like this it's easy to get lost. But when I think of Sam from Faith ... and Sam now, my heart breaks.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

We have to accept that within the bounds of story reality, this is what happened, even though we know we're only seeing an edited construct of events -- the Readers Digest version. But what we've seen are the important linking things, and it is what it is

The sad thing is that I even know all that! I can argue myself round and round in circles with justifications and rationalisations, but still end up feeling kind of cheated. I watched the episode through again and had the exact same responses: started out really enjoying the pace and the action, but by the time I got halfway through my brain was increasingly tripping me up yelling 'hang on, how does that actually work?' or 'that doesn't really make sense' etc. And by the time we get to the last 10 minutes all those niggles have mounted up until I just can't suspend disbelief any more, and it frustrates me.

loved the Dean/Uriel arc.
That was really nicely done. I'm in two minds over Uriel, because on the one hand I really appreciate him as a contrast to Castiel. But on the other hand, I really love that Castiel's stylised speech patterns and standoffishnes sets him apart and emphasises his otherness. Uriel seems much more earthy, somehow. His speech patterns are far more human - maybe deliberately done for effect - and he was very quick to become physically violent. An effective contrast, but kind of ruined that carefully established sense of the angels as other, more than human.

I really hated seeing them go hand-to-hand with the demons at the end. The limitations of filming just made it seem lame - they really need to fight all their battles off-screen!

even though she doesn't have her angel powers, she has the dual perspective of ancient wisdom and human experience. She's the only person who can counsel Dean at this point.
I love that perspective. I really enjoyed the connection Dean and Anna had, even before she knew who she was. The sex scene was way schmoopy, and the tongue-in-cheek Titanic shout-out overly cheesy, but I really did appreciate their storyline and what it stood for, in contrast to Sam's.

when I think of Sam from Faith ... and Sam now, my heart breaks.
Exactly. Maybe panic was the wrong word. It's just...it's always been how Sam reacts to Dean in danger, the immediate rush of whatever it takes to stop it happening and damn the consequences, but as he has grown more ruthless over the seasons, so that has intensified and then you get this, and just, wow.

[karenmiller.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they made some story decisions that given my druthers maybe I'd like to see differently. But it is what it is. SIgh. *g*

I love that Uriel is so earthy. Ties in with the mudmonkey reference. He has no patience for humanity's frailty. And yes, he is violent. I think that's the point. As Castiel says, he's a specialist. He's the angelic nuke. His function is smiting. Now if we're talking about angels without doubt, that's Uriel. And he brooks no defiance, no insolence, which is why he wants to smack Dean so hard. Because Dean refuses to know his place.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

It is what it is, indeed. Once new episodes start airing and the direction they are taken in becomes clear, I'll probably reconcile more with what I don't like about this one. There have been other episodes I wasn't fond of in the past, and...well, I still don't like them. But I accept them for their flaws, enjoy the stronger moments, and move on. I just need to work through the issues I have with this one. The process of writing up the recap will help with that! It just won't be quick or soon.

I actually feel kind of schizophrenic about this episode! There are so many aspects of it that I can appreciate on the one hand at the same time as being wary of or not so keen on, on the other. It's a strange sensation. *G*

[karenmiller.livejournal.com]

I rabbited on too long. Here's the rest of my reply ... *g*

- Castiel. I don't know what to think of his situation. Uriel spells it out -- he likes Dean, and that's a weakness. I love that Dean saved him from Alastair. I love that it wasn't referenced. Castiel is so bloody ambiguous! I think he envies Anna for experiencing humanity. He's been among humans for such a short time and clearly he's had his head super-screwed with. The Castiel we met in LR is gone. Knowing Dean has turned him inside out. I think maybe he's a little in awe of how long Dean lasted in Hell before breaking. He understands human frailty -- I don't think he was expecting anything like Dean. So what was the deal with his failure against Alastair? I'm surely hoping that's resolved. I don't think they'd leave such an enormous story thread dangling. I don't think ... *g*

-- and then the end scene. I'm feeling a bit smug -- I guessed the only way we were going to get a reveal was if Alastair outed Dean in front of Sam. So in that sense, the choice of talking was taken away from Dean by that. Or at least, the choice of keeping Sam completely ignorant, which he took in IKWYDTLS. And lovely character work ... to go from Sam's truly out of line comment in that ep, to -- hey, I'm not pushing. I want to know, but you're calling the shots. And I wonder if it was Dean's response to his revelations last week that helped that shift. Dean was so patient and receptive and not all over him for his choices ... that took away some of his anger and gave him a space in which to stand.

Anyhow ... my only complaint with that scene is in the editing. Two very bad editing choices, for me. They should've stayed in the truly beautiful and effective 2-shot when Dean said, for 30 years I told him and then I couldn't any more, and when he said God help me, I got off the rack. I really really really feel we should've been seeing Dean's face then, and it pissed me off that we don't. We could still see Sam's reaction, but I don't think his reaction in those moments was more important than Dean's baring of his soul. And at the very end, after the extreme closeup of Dean saying he didn't want to feel any more, when they cut back to the 2 shot it was from a different take and that jarred me a bit.

But having said all that ... damn. Just damn. The fact that Dean held it together talking about what was done to him ... started weeping when he talked about what he did ... and came within a breath of completely losing it when he heard Sam's voice break. An amazing progression of emotion. And an amazing insight into Dean's processes. Hurt me, and I can take it. Make me hurt other people, and you're killing me. Make me destroy Sam, and you have slain my soul. Or, perhaps, it wasn't until he heard Sam's voice break that he was able to admit, finally, without reservation, just how appalling his experiences were. As though Sam's pain finally confirmed his own. Can you tell I'm thinking aloud here? *g*

Whatever the underpinnings ... just, damn. I don't know how he comes back from this. All I can think of now is Frodo. Frodo never came back from carrying the ring. He survived, but he never came back. He never healed. His job was to heal the world for everyone else, and he did ... but he couldn't heal himself. And I don't care how many people tell Dean that what he did wasn't his fault -- that's not the way Dean is wired. So he might be able to sticky tape the pieces back together ... but I'm seriously wondering if he'll ever be whole again. And if that's the case, what they've done with this show is transform it into one of the greatest tragedies ever put on tv. Would they really go there? I don't know. I just don't know. But right now, they have plunged Dean into an abyss. Which on one hand I really really love - go show! -- but man. It hurts.

Finally? I really don't like Pamela. I'm sorry, honey, explain to me again how it's the stove's fault that it burned you when you were told not to touch?

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

I love that Dean saved him from Alastair.
I love that Dean saved both Castiel and Ruby, one at the end and one at the beginning, and neither was referenced. He doesn't really like or trust either one, but he saves them anyway, because that's who he is. Dean saves people, whether he likes them or not. And whether he likes it or not he has a connection with both.

Castiel is so bloody ambiguous!
Ain't he just! For all that Anna described angels as marble statues with no independent will, and Castiel so calmly agreed that he is heartless, everything we've seen about them - including her own actions - suggests that isn't entirely true. They clearly do have minds of their own, for all that their circumstances and nature means they tend never to break rank. It can and does happen, though - and it'll be interesting to see where this leads, for Castiel...

I guessed the only way we were going to get a reveal was if Alastair outed Dean in front of Sam. So in that sense, the choice of talking was taken away from Dean by that.
Yep. Once Alistair failed to die last episode, he was clearly going to be the instrument used to push Dean into opening up.

I thought the scene was beautiful. Both actors sold the hell out of it, and I hurt for both characters, horribly.

But I still have massive issues with the storytelling of Dean's post-hell experience. It just hasn't tracked. They are telling us that he remembers all that horror, but throughout the season it simply has not shown in his behaviour, not to the extent that it should. So maybe the sheer relief of being back and being whole helps him mask and repress...but we've seen how Dean reacts to trauma, and this is the greatest trauma of all. It simply doesn't ring true.

It also really frustrates me that they have him talking about hell in absolutes. "I remember everything." "It felt like 40 years, and this is what happened." It puts me in mind of what Kripke said about how they could never show what happened in hell because they could never hope to portray the scale of it. Vague glimpses are much more effective, because viewers' imaginations do the rest of the work. I feel like the same should be true of Dean talking about it. What he describes is horrific...but kind of monotonous, as the entirety of his hell experience. Worded differently, more vague hints than specifics, could convey the same information but without placing restrictions or limitations on it, allowing the imaginations of viewers and Sam to fill in the blanks and give the experience the scale it deserves.

Does that make sense? It's really early in the morning!

I really don't like Pamela. I'm sorry, honey, explain to me again how it's the stove's fault that it burned you when you were told not to touch?
Hee. So very true! But the fact that Pamela is so flawed is what I like about her. I like that her over-confidence was her downfall and now she is bitter about it, but too afraid to actually put her money where her mouth is and join the fight. It makes her feel slightly more like a real person and less like a deus ex machina!

[karenmiller.livejournal.com]

Actually, the way I read the text is that Dean doesn't come back from hell with full recall. I believe him when he tells Bobby he doesn't remember after being killed by the hellhound. Then time passes, he reunites with Sam, Sam asks and again he says, no recall ... and he has his first flashback. And it's quick, and confusing, and he's not making sense of it. Further flashbacks happen, and still, I don't think he's connecting the dots. They're confusing and horrible but I think that we see is what he sees, at that point. Hints, emotions, dread, but no hard and fast recall. It's not until he's infected with the ghost sickness, and his hallucination with Lilith, which in fact is, I think, his subconscious talking to him -- yes, you do remember hell. The dam breaks, and the truth starts coming back. You follow that up with his reaction to the mask in the school, which further widens the breach in his repressed memories ... and after that, he is remembering. And then it's the serious drinking and the serious nightmare -- he's not actively nightmaring until WIshful Thinking. And he's looking really rough then. And he's remembering the facts of what happened, and what he did, but he's still holding on, all the way through to H&H.

I think the final nail in his coping coffin is seeing Alastair. After that, it really was only a matter of time before he couldn't hold himself together any longer.

I feel that Dean's coping mechanism is to go into lockdown mode.. Really, what we're seeing here is a repeat of how he coped with losing John. Tight, tight, tight ... unravel. It's like there's a time delay in place. Impact ... recoil ... wait for it, wait for it ... boom! And at the end of this ep, Dean went boom big time. But I actually have no problem with how long it's taken him to go boom.

Honestly, I think the stark recitation of what happened to him was enormously effective. Totally chilling. And my heart is still bleeding! *g*

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

See, that was how I was interpreting it: that he genuinely didn't remember anything at first. But then these last few episodes have been played so differently, it really is hard to work out exactly what they have meant by any of it - right now it feels more like we are supposed to believe he remembered everything all along, which isn't how it came across to me at all.

It isn't clear, and that's frustrating because I know the show can do better than that. It doesn't feel like a repeat of his post-John reaction. That storyline really focused on the character and his reactions in depth, as he buckled under the weight of his burdens. Here, the emotional build-up feels almost non-existent. It feels crammed in around the edges, the focus on plot and action rather than character, and what we have seen hasn't been consistent with the sheer magnitude of what happened to him. He's been calm, confident and well-adjusted all season! Even in this episode, for the most part.

Dean does go into lockdown when he's under extreme emotional pressure, that's absolutely true. But in the past it has always been clear that he was burdened and haunted beneath those defences. This time, when it should have been so much worse, we haven't had that.

Maybe my pre-conceptions are getting in the way a bit, but I think I'd feel this way regardless. Back in the summer Kripke said that Dean was going to be like a POW coming home, struggling to re-adjust to normal life after such a hellish experience. That did not happen, no two ways about it. And that's probably to do with the fact that apparently he thought this season would be the last and therefore escalated the plot - at the expense, it seems, of Dean's hell storyline.

Don't get me wrong, Dean's story has been in there, I can see that and have been interpreting it as best I can all along. It just feels like it has been over-shadowed when for his death to have its full meaning it needed so much more in-depth exploration.

I know I sound really ranty. I'm not, really - I do love a lot of things about this episode. I just feel kinda disillusioned in a few ways, and the end result feels like rather less than the sum of its parts.

[museandme.livejournal.com]

It's a shame PD got cancelled. I haven't seen season 2 yet but I hope it finishes well.

Only 13 eps though which sucks. :(

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

I'm gutted for Pushing Daisies. It's so charming and quirky and delightful! Stupid network. Bah humbug.

Happy homecoming, btw. :)

[sevenandthree.livejournal.com]

i'm so sad that pushing daisies is going to be canceled, i love that show. :(

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

I know. :( I'm mourning. I just hope at least some of the plot strands get tied off in the remaining episodes...given that I don't think they had much warning before production shut down, it seems unlikely, though.