"Behave yourself. No homework. Watch porn."

[llywela]

Um. So, this recap got rather, um...long. I'm not really sure how that happened! I started writing, and then all of a sudden there were more pages than I had ever written about an episode before.

So. Here it is: so many pages I'm not even going to tell you the count, in which I rattle on at length about self-referential internal meta, the awesomeness of Sam and Dean, data protection, the awesomeness of the Prophet Chuck, the formation of mythology and folklore (what? It's totally relevant), Show's ongoing exploration of destiny versus free will, the brothers' fumblings attempts at pretending things are normal between them, the joys of domesticity, the consequences of Sam's lies, Dean's lack of faith in his brother, objectivity, flight versus strategic retreat, role reversal and the brothers' massive difference in outlook, the pros and cons of confronting Lilith, Dean's protective big brother instincts, Sam's conflicted motivations, Chuck as a counsellor, the ludicrousy of the Winchester Gospel concept, prophets in the Supernatural universe, the desperation of both brothers, Castiel being deliciously devious, why Lilith is such an ineffectual adversary, and lots more beside.

To read the recap, click the link below. But you might want to put the kettle on first!


"Self-sacrifice is the Winchester way, after all."

Screencaps found at Screencap Paradise and marishna.

Do let me know if you actually read the whole thing, and I will award you virtual cookies and gold stars!

Comments

[bogwitch.livejournal.com]

Long is good. :)

Although there goes my afternoon...

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

If you made it through the whole thing, you get gold stars. But only virtual ones. *G*

[wickedgrdn.livejournal.com]

And here I wondered what I was going to do with my morning, LOL. *pulls up a chair and grabs the coffee*

:D

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

*puts kettle on for you*

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Man, that was a monster! *g* But a really,really good one. Totally loveable. Heh. Excellent analysis of the brother's state of mind! ♥

While Sam has been drawn as Fabio
Okay, I cave. I’ve read that a couple of times, but who the hell is Fabio?!

Sam thinks Dean is too cautious since his return from hell. Dean thinks Sam is not cautious enough since his time alone. Sam wants Dean to be more gung-ho. Dean wants Sam to be less gung-ho.
It’s also a complete reversal from their PoVs in S3, where Dean felt he had nothing to lose and was the reckless one and Sam reigned him in for not being cautious enough. Nowadays Sam thinks he has nothing to lose and wants it to end by all means, no matter the cost, while Dean is the cautious one, because he thinks he might lose Sam, and this time for good.

Chuck sees something happening, and that is what makes it inevitable.
Hm, not quite. As you said earlier, it happens because it already happened, from God’s point of view. It’s simply a record of something that already has come to pass, because God already has seen Dean making his choices. It’s not that it becomes inevitable, because Chuck has seen it (meaning Chuck seeing it manifests the course of action), but rather the other way round, Chuck sees it, because the choice has already been made.

Overall I’ve come to the conclusion that we have to make a distinction between prophecy and destiny/fate. The prophecy is the word of God, a prediction about what is going to happen, based on the fact that God is all-knowing. God has seen past, present and future, he knows how a person decides in a given situation, but that doesn't mean that he interferes with it or that the individual had no real choice in that decision. So, in a way the prophecy is simply a record of something God has already seen come to pass, relayed to an unknowing recipient, and as such it is completely in accordance with the postulate of free will. It’s also in accordance with the discrepancies we see in this episode between the written word and the vision Chuck receives, the human factor is an unstable factor in the prophecy, but that doesn’t change the accuracy of the prophecy itself.

Fate, on the other hand, states that no matter the choices, the end result will always be the same, rather than the end result being the logical conclusion of a certain choice. That’s what we see when Dean tries to avert the prophecy by doing everything opposite. In these instances the episode seems to say that prophecy and fate are the same thing and that's more difficult to consolidate with free will, and I think that’s the part where Supernatural becomes increasingly murky. Does that make sense? Man, this is confusing!

When he was alone with Chuck we saw his fear, but in front of Dean there is nothing but bravado.
Ha, and if that isn’t all Dean I don’t know what is. Sam might not have always have the best grip on who his brother is, but that one he learned from the master! *g*

Does the power Ruby gives Sam wear off after a while?
Well, that’s implied in Heaven and Hell, when Ruby tells Sam that his powers got flubby ever since he stopped drinking her blood. It seems that it is only temporary.

Stalemate. It is actually kind of awesome that these two are both so very powerful, and yet cancel one another out, so that their big showdown sees them reduced to trading verbal blows.
Exactly! And that has to be where Dean comes into play, no? I figure he has to be the one how tips the scale and I can’t wait to find out how!

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

It’s not that it becomes inevitable, because Chuck has seen it (meaning Chuck seeing it manifests the course of action), but rather the other way round, Chuck sees it, because the choice has already been made.
Yeah. I know. I worded it clumsily. It isn't the act of him seeing it that makes it inevitable, but the fact of him seeing it. If Chuck sees it, that's it, set in stone, because what he sees is a record of the future, not a mere possibility. But, of course, since he is viewing from the outside, his interpretation of what he sees can cause fuzzy areas - a bit like if I was to stand outside someone's window and watch them going about their daily business. I could describe what I saw, and it would be true, but I wouldn't necessarily interpret everything correctly!

Does that make sense? Man, this is confusing!
It is VERY confusing! But yes, your analysis makes perfect sense, very well reasoned.

who the hell is Fabio?!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabio_(model)
http://www.fabioinc.com/

(too lazy to make a proper link)

that’s implied in Heaven and Hell, when Ruby tells Sam that his powers got flubby ever since he stopped drinking her blood. It seems that it is only temporary.
*nods* I'm just not sure how that ties in with the 22 year incubation period after the initial ingestion of the YED's blood, and the fact that practice then made the powers stronger - Andy was proof of that. So I'm wondering why Ruby's blood works differently. Curious!

that has to be where Dean comes into play, no? I figure he has to be the one how tips the scale and I can’t wait to find out how!
YES!

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Hey, where are my cookies and my gold star! *g*

Okay, now I understand why everybody jumped on the Sam=Fabio wagon for the covers. LOL

I'm just not sure how that ties in with the 22 year incubation period.
Uh-huh. Show needs to be careful to not undermine its own mythology. This season especially they deliver new facts and developments that put everything we know so far into question. I don't expect them to come out completely consistent in the end, but I would be grateful if they come up at least with some explanations.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

*showers you with stars both gold and silver and cookies of your choice*

[slightlyjillian.livejournal.com]

hurray! *goes to read*

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I love your sneaky icon!

[percysowner.livejournal.com]

I did make it all the way through and here are my thoughts
1) On the not ever using the Winchester name especially John's voicemail message in season one, for example. Curious.

This actually makes sense. John and the boys have always used fake ID's and John has been portrayed as a bit paranoid, so I can see John telling people if you need me again call John at this number. So his actual VM message would be this is John, if you can't reach me call my son Dean.

2)And apparently he's writing the Gospel of Us."

I love the fact that Dean still includes that Sam is part of the Gospel even though he fears that Sam will become something evil and there for not part of a Gospel, merely a player in the Gospel of DEAN Winchester.

3) "Prayer is a sign of faith," Castiel's even voice intones from somewhere behind Dean, with a tiny thump-flutter of wings as he lands. "This is a good thing, Dean."

You are absolutely right praying to Angels he knows exist and whose power he has seen is no more faith than begging a parent you know has money for a loan. Sam OTOH DID have faith, praying to God and believing in Angels with no proof whatsoever, yet the Angels have pretty much distrusted him from the get go.

4)And my fourth thought is that if archangels are heaven's most terrifying weapon, why the heck have they not been deployed in this war against Lilith? Why has clueless Castiel been sent to flail around in ignorance, when a few strategically placed archangels could wipe Lilith out in one fell swoop? Or is this something else that is all about what is prophesied, since prophecies can't be interfered with?

My own personal view is that I'm not all that convinced that the Angels want to STOP the Apocalypse. They say they do, but certainly Revelation says that in the end they win. I am actually hoping that the Angels are manipulating Dean as much as Ruby is manipulating Sam and that Dean is mirroring Sam in as much as he has put his skepticism about them away and is beginning to believe in them against his original instincts. Castiel himself may be being manipulated from above, but I don't trust the Angels totally. Admittedly, because it would redeem some of Sam's actions if Dean was also being played.

5)Right. And she knows this how, exactly? As far as I recall, demons can't usually see the future…although, having said that, Sam's visions came from the demon blood, so who knows? But even if she has got her hooks into a psychic of some kind, they don't usually see that far into the future. It is curious, not least because if Lilith is telling the truth and really has foreseen her own doom, she clearly believes that she will be able to change that fate, much as Sam managed to change the outcome of events from several of his visions – the difference between a psychic and a prophet, I suppose.

Perhaps the demons have their own "Bible" with its own prophecies, after all both Casey in Sin City and the CRD in What You Did Last Summer both indicated that Lucifer is their version of God. Alistair himself called not talking under torture "a religious thing" Maybe somewhere a demon is writing the Book of Alistair, or the Book of Azazel. Some demons were fallen angels, so they may well have the same powers to cause prophecy.

6)"I've got to warn Sam and Dean," he declares

I love that Chuck cares about BOTH Sam and Dean. There is a growing faction in fandom that is committed to arguing that the only way Dean can be good is if Sam is and always has been evil at his very core. That coupled with the growing distance between Sam and Dean have made the SamNDean relationship seem expendable in favor of a DeanNCastiel relationship. Chuck wants to protect both boys, which gives me hope that the show will eventually repair their relationship.

Finally I had some trouble with the slap as slash fans. I didn't mind the mention of them, but to so totally indicate that their world view is icky and wrong bothered me, as a slash fan,. I wish the conversation would have gone
Dean "Don't they know we're brothers?"
Sam "They don't seem to care"
Dean "Why does everybody keep thinking we're gay, even in books?
Sam shrugs.

My virtual cookie of choice is peanut butter and I love gold stars.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

*tosses stars at you like confetti*

want coffee with your cookies?

So his actual VM message would be this is John, if you can't reach me call my son Dean.
Okay, that makes sense. It still feels weird to me that Chuck could write that many books without mentioning the name once! Would give his characters more of an air of mystery, though, if they had no name.

Sam OTOH DID have faith, praying to God and believing in Angels with no proof whatsoever, yet the Angels have pretty much distrusted him from the get go.
An irony the writers have played on muchly, that the brother with faith has only a demon to believe in him, while the brother with no faith has the actual angel on his shoulder.

I am actually hoping that the Angels are manipulating Dean as much as Ruby is manipulating Sam and that Dean is mirroring Sam in as much as he has put his skepticism about them away and is beginning to believe in them against his original instincts.
It does seem pretty likely that there will be all kinds of twists and turns before the story is done. I really can't (or don't want to) see anything good coming from Ruby herself, but I do feel that Sam's powers will be important in the end - I'm still hoping that it will be the combination of Dean and Sam together that wins the day, independent of those seeking to manipulate them both. One thing's for sure: it's going to be a real rollercoaster ride, that's for sure!

Chuck wants to protect both boys, which gives me hope that the show will eventually repair their relationship.
*nods* I have never doubted that the relationship will eventually be repaired, because it is the central core of the show. It's just a question of how long it will take to get to a point where healing becomes possible, and then that journey provides still more storytelling depth, just as tearing it down has become.

As for the slash thing, well, I don't do slash at all, of course, so my perspective is immediately going to be different than yours. I had no problem with it, other than the sheer cringe-worthiness of fandom being so overtly mentioned in the first place - fans of all varieties were mocked in a variety of ways. And the slap was at the incest factor than the concept of slash itself - it wasn't about casual observers seeing two men together and automatically assuming gay, which previous gay jokes have been. It was the fact that fans know that these characters are brothers and still write them having sex, despite the fact that incest is a major societal taboo! It doesn't bother me at all that the characters of Sam and Dean, being both straight men and brothers, would find that concept disgusting. It is a natural squick. *shrugs*

[littlepunkryo.livejournal.com]

I haven't finished it yet - and I am enjoying it as usual - but the Laundromat part - when my family lived at an apartment, we used one to do all our washing, and my whole family pronounced it as "laundry-mat" too, so maybe it's a US/UK thing? Or just my lazy family pronunciation, I dunno.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

But it is spelled with an 'o'!

Maybe it's a dialect/accent thing.

[littlepunkryo.livejournal.com]

I don't get it either that's just how I've always heart it said?

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

*shrugs* Dialect/accent thing, then. It's still wrong. *G* And it's still very Dean!

[patty1h.livejournal.com]

I adore reading your episode recaps. Amazing meta and I appreciate the love, intelligence and insight you put into these reviews.

I totally have a glow of 'show love' after reading these.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Aww. Thank you for taking the time to comment. Have some virtual cookies and gold stars!