Sofia's Review: Supernatural 8.07, "A Little Slice of Kevin"
Thursday, 15 November 2012 18:57 | Last Updated on Friday, 16 November 2012 08:11 | Written by Sofia | 
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Let’s face it, Mrs. Tran and Kevin have not been making the best decisions lately. First they sneak away from Sam and Dean, then Mrs. Tran hires a shady witch off Craigslist and practically gives her the top secret recipe for demon bombs. But she didn’t give her the measurements so it’s totally safe, right? I've got to say I thought Mrs. Tran was a little smarter than that. Even Kevin realizes it's a bad idea. Although he does forget to protest as soon as he get's a look at Delta. All around, these two have really been asking for it. Now they'll be under Garth's protection which makes me smile. He must have proved himself to the boys in the last episode. That or he's their only living friend. I think I prefer option A.
I really enjoyed this new idea of generations of prophets. I like the idea that there can only be one prophet at a time and that there is a whole generation of future prophets in the event that something happens to the current one. It explains how Kevin came to be a prophet, which is something I’ve always wondered. But sadly, it means that Chuck must be dead. (I still don’t believe it!) My only question is, why the huge gap of time between Chuck’s disappearance (not death) at the end of season 5 and Kevin becoming a prophet in season 7. I would assume if one prophet dies, the next one is “born” pretty quickly after that. Maybe there just wasn’t the need for a prophet at that time? Or maybe, it just wasn’t part of the plot of the show that I’m constantly reminding myself is fake. Any thoughts on why Kevin didn’t become a prophet until much later? Anyone else love the fact that the future prophets thought they were on a spaceship? The table they were sitting around was a little Starship Enterprise...
virtual veritaserum) Not only will he have to tell the truth, but he won’t remember doing it. This provides a lot of interesting plot possibilities. I can’t wait to learn more about what Heaven wants from Cass. Do you guys have any guesses?
There were some great conversations between Dean and Cass. It appears Dean was remembering his last moments in Purgatory incorrectly. Leave it to Dean to remember himself as a failure. It turns out Cass didn’t want to be saved from Purgatory. He didn’t feel he deserved to. Dean seemed to be fighting with himself about Cass being left behind. Out loud he was saying he did everything he could, that Cass wasn’t trying hard enough,
“It’s not about fault, it’s about will.”
But inside he was blaming himself for not rescuing him. But that’s Dean, isn’t it?
“You can’t save everyone, my friend. Though you try.”
Cass is right, Dean can’t save everyone. But he will never stop trying. It’s just not in his nature which is probably a big part of why he’s unable to understand Sam’s desire to stop hunting. But I digress...
So do you think Cass will ever forgive himself for his God-complex? It is so Winchester of him to feel that he doesn’t deserve a second chance. He would rather die seeking penance in Purgatory then let Dean save him. Sounds more like punishment then penance to me. And do you think Dean has forgiven himself now that he knows there was nothing he could have done to save Cass?
“Sammy, I remember every second of leaving that place. I mean I remember the heat, the stink, the pain, the fear. I have that whole ugly messy right here...and he says he has no idea how he got out? I'm just not buying it.”
I don’t know how much Sam really knows about Dean’s experiences in Purgatory. He knows Dean has changed. I think he sees that Dean is more aggressive than he was. He has hardened as a result of his time in Purgatory but Sam hasn't really asked for the details. This strikes me as odd considering how much he tried to get Dean to talk about Hell. And Dean hasn't asked Sam about Amelia. It’s clear that this last year has softened Sam. (I’m not saying he’s less of a hunter, he has just found that his priorities now lie elsewhere.) And it seems that Dean doesn’t care to know the woman Sam spent much of the last year with because it meant he wasn’t hunting and he wasn’t looking for Dean. I think these guys would benefit from a nice car-side chat. In fact, I would love to know much of this myself! I’m still dying to see how Sam decided to give up hunting and give up on finding his brother. And I’m still anxious to see more of Dean’s time in Purgatory and his bond with Benny.
All in all this episode was chock full of plot development. And while there was a lot going on I thought the pacing worked really well. There is still so much to tackle this season. Especially now that Kevin told Crowley about shutting the gates of Hell. (Well, there goes the element of surprise!) Oh, and Crowley made it out with half of the tablet! No doubt it was the good half! Hopefully Kevin has an excellent memory.
So what did you guys think of the episode? Did you like the explanation for how prophets come to be? Were you expecting Sam and Dean to still be angry with each other? What do you think Heaven is trying to learn from Cass?
Time for quotes and random thoughts!
Sam: “I was gonna say you look like you’ve seen a ghost but you’d probably be stoked.”
I laughed pretty hard at Sam quietly attempting to exorcise the teacher. It reminded me of the scene in ‘Phantom Traveler’ when Dean tries to use “Christo” in conversation.
Sam: “Dean, you did everything you could.”
Dean: “Then why do I feel like Crap?”
Sam: “If you let it, this is gonna keep messing with you. You’ve got to walk past it.”
This moment just felt so genuine to me. It wasn’t Sam telling Dean to get over it, it was genuine advice. Doesn’t feel like a conversation I’d be able to have after a big fight. But maybe that’s more of a reflection on me than the script.
Benny: “I lie, I don’t get lied to.” I am loving this guy.
Crowley: “So...read any good tablets lately?” This guy too!
Poor Kevin tried so hard to resist Crowley, but one pinky and he’s done for.
Crowley: “So far as a writer, God’s a snooze.”
Kevin: “From the archangel Metatron...”
Crowley: “The scribe...and suck-up. Took down God’s word, picked up his cleaning.”
Crowley: “It's all very West Side Story, but let's be logical. You look like hell, and I should know.”
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Comments
If I take this episode as a stand alone, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed Cas coming back, every moment between Dean and Cas was absolute gold, I enjoyed getting some actual movement on the mytharc, and I did love Naomi (even though I think that *she* is going to end up the Big Bad, not Crowley. And Dean needs to shiv her, toot-sweet).
But taking this episode in context of the season, induces whiplash. None of the characters come out well. Dean's PTSD is gone, replaced by undeserved self-flagellation and guilt (again), Sam is all sympathetic and supportive which is nice to see, but feels more like he's back on his bipolar meds because the reconciliation is totally unearned, Kevin has dropped IQ points (especially given his almost year surviving on his own), Ms Tran is a shrill caricature (and quite dumb and naive, having learned nothing from her first encounter with Crowley), Crowley just doesn't inspire Big Bad vibes, Cas is once again being manipulated by Heaven.
You get the picture.
Next week looks like filler, which I find annoying since this episode actually progressed things. I can't say I enjoy the stop-start mentality being employed (or should I say, abused?) this season. Maybe if there were several episodes in a row that progressed, and then we had a filler/stand-alone? But this one episode on/one episode off thing is just not working out for me. It makes everything too choppy and makes it seem that there isn't an overall plan for the season.
The filler is very annoying. I felt like Bitten was way too early for that type of stand alone episode, and the stand alones keep on coming. I hope this season comes together once we see the entirety of it.
Great visual effects throughout, and it really moved the mytharc along. I have no idea what Naomi is up to, but I smell bad guy all over her. When have the angels ever been anything but dicks in this show.
The Purgatory scenes are my favorite thing of the season. I hope that Cas being out doesn't mean no more of those.
Loved Dean, Cas scenes -- the acting from both guys was incredibly good. JA continues to tell us everything we need to know about Dean through his expressive acting. Throw a little Benny in with Dean and cas, and I'm totally happy.
The Trans are ridiculous and stupid -- Mrs. Tran more so than Kevin. Both can die now, but since that's not going to happen, I hope Garth keeps them busy for a very long time, and vice versus. I'd be okay with not seeing any of the three again. I thought the attempt at humor to lighten the tension with the Mrs. Tran scenes was totally out of place in this episode. The episode would have been and should have been played as powerful and dramatic. I don't even think the actress is doing that good of job in this role.
Despite the disconnect between raging Sam last week and supportive, caring and sharing Sam this week, I like caring and sharing Sam and it was nice to see some degree of him back. I have to ask, though, is Sam just mad, annoyed and unhappy all the time now? Is this the Sam we're going to see all season? I don't know if it's actors choice, showrunner choice, or multiple director's choices, but there is no fun in watching Sam anymore. He doesn't seem to care about anything.
I did love Sam's Latin-into-a-phone-call scene and Dean covering up what that was, and I loved Sam giving Dean the manly pat on the shoulder and heading into the bathroom right after the 'survivor's guilt' speech. And, thanks writers, for not making that a 'suck it up' speech for Sam to deliver.
I really liked the episode, despite some sloggy Tran scenes, but I am disappointed that the next one we see will be a comedy stand-alone. I don't like the pacing of the stand-alones either. There's some really interesting stuff going on, and I really think they should deal with some of that before throwing in so many one-offs. It's not like we're learning anything about the Winchesters for those.
Neither brother looked particularly good last week, IMO.
The writing was inconsistent for both brothers this week and frankly made no sense. The writers clearly don't collaborate to make the episodes flow from each other.
I'm sure the guy who got called out during a 2nd grade baseball game had long gotten over it. But the spectre dug up any past issue, took away his ability to rationalize, and created an irrational response to that issue.
Possessed Dean was unable to rationalize past issues, but real Dean does possess the ability to rationalize, deal with, and forgive past resentments. That's why he hasn't brought up the whole Ruby/demon blood thing in a very long time. Because real (rational) Dean has actually moved on from those issues.
Now the Sam not looking for him in Purgatory issue is still very fresh. Hopefully once Sam opens up more about what he did in the last year, Dean can begin to rationalize Sam's choice to not look for him. I think he's already on the road to getting over it.
At any rate, he's stopped needling Sam about his year away from hunting, and Sam in turn is being more present and empathetic, so I think they are making some progress.
Yes, yes, yes! Great comment.
For the record I found both the "Midol" comment and the "hissy fit" comment were equally unbalanced and potentially inflammatory.
Exactly, I thought it was a natural progression and was completely welcome.
I hope now that Dean finally remembers what really happened in purgatory, he can stop projecting his issues onto Sam, as I believe that was the main source of the discord.
I hope Dean gets to think about what Sam said- both about survivor's guilt (and realize Sam sees it, because Sam had it) and about "walk past it" so it doesn't eat him up (because that is excellent advice).
If what Dean had said last week was the average Winchester's going at it I would agree however it wasnt and Benny still remains a factor.
Yes I think this is a big part of it. I also think a lot of the anger he directed toward Sam for not trying to find him was actually Dean feeling angry with himself for not being able to save Cas.
My guess is that Naomi has something to do with Sam's strange apathy about Dean's disappearance. She/they may have messed with Sam's mind/memories about what he did during that year. I'm still not sure if Amelia is actually real or if she's something that has been planted in Sam's mind... maybe to distract him from looking for Dean, or maybe to get him to leave Dean now to live his normal life? I don't know. But I do think it was Naomi who was standing outside watching Sam as he left for the cabin in 8.01.
I thought this was a surprisingly well done episode. From the writing to the action and even the direction. It's probably my top episode of the season thus far.
That is a really interesting idea that Naomi had a hand in Sam's apathy. It would be a very interesting twist, especially if Naomi turns out to not be real.
BTW - Great article!
Chuck could be Metatron ... it is hard to know when you can consider something canon or not but if you never heard EK talk the show itself has not said that Chuck is God (I think) it just had him vanishing mysteriously.
It is only a point if you like RB and want him back in some guise
You see it correlates with SwanSong. Where Chuck finished his Winchester's Gospel and packed his bag and vanished. All the prophet do after Chuck is reading the tablet while Chuck writing books. Books about the Winchesters.
Chuck is a writer, Metatron is a scribe.
Chuck leaves after Swansong, Metatron leaves after the end of Demon's tablet
Metatron is an angel, when angel walks the earth they need vessel. I bet Chuck is the perfect vessel for Metatron.
I'm kind of starting to suspect that Chuck will turn out to be Metatron? Who maybe fell in the same way that Anna did?
Cas was awesome and it was so good to see him all badass again. His conversations with Dean were great. I love how they're actually communicating with each other. I hope they're not done talking though. Dean has to accept that he can't save everybody, but Cas has to accept that his life means something to the people who care about him (ie. Dean).
I love Naiomi so far. I can't wait to see what the angels have planned. I do feel sorry for Cas, it's going to kill him to find out he's being used against his will to spy on his friends. But it'll be dramatic anyways, and I love drama. :)
I wasn't surprised at all that Sam and Dean had mostly moved on from last week. Sam had said his piece, and Dean accepted it. I did enjoy how much understanding and concern Sam showed for Dean. Sam's at his best when he's being empathetic.
About the bro's: I didn't find a the lack of conflict between them jarring at all and here's why. I am very close to my sister who is only a year younger than me. She and I can fight like it's the end of the world, and then 10 minutes later we are fine. For me, this is how close siblings are with one another. It doesn't mean issues won't come back again at some point, but we generally get to a place of forgiveness pretty easily and quickly. To me Sam and Dean felt like that. It seemed totally natural to me.
I must say that I disagree that this episode was filler or that any episode has been filler so far this season. Some episodes are clearly more mythology centered and some are more MOW, but all of the episodes have had relevance to the overall arcs for the season whether than be purgatory, normal life, the tablets or the brother's relationship. Each episode had fed into one or more of these overall arcs in some relevant way. I was quite pleased with the way the episode went, its pacing and it's forward movement on several of the key storylines for the season.
Heh, I think that makes her Mary Winchester! Now there's a leap.
I was happy to have Cass back. What are the angels playing at now? Cass is now their pawn, or so it seems. This whole Naomi thing is very nebulous. And this in a nutshell is why I'm loving this season, it's slow, but the story is advancing nicely. Nice job with the prophets, kind of like on Buffy, there can only be one slayer, but they are all waiting in the background to take over. I'm thinking Chuck is God, so I don't believe he is dead. Or Metatron as a few have pointed out.
Two weeks before the next episode, and it looks like it's going to be hilarious. Happy Thanksgiving week to my American friends.
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