Follow Us

 
Text Size

Let's Speculate: "Supernatural" 8.08, "Hunteri Heroici"

28 Nov 2012
  • Print
Details
Created on Wednesday, 28 November 2012 23:41
Last Updated on Sunday, 09 June 2013 22:44
Written by Ardeospina


WARNING!  If you haven't seen "Hunteri Heroici," read no further!  There will be discussion and spoilers and all that, and you really want to watch this episode for yourself to get the full effect of the hilarity!  Come back when you've watched!

So, was that fun or was that fun?  Because for me, it was pretty damn awesome.  I liked that episode a lot.  So, yes, this review is probably gonna be a love fest.  BUT!  Never fear, for I have some Questions (with a capital Q) that need answering!  And some other things to discuss.  But first off, the thing that's on my mind right now is...

The CIAngels
They don't want Cass in heaven, unless Naomi calls him up there to report.  But why?  Why don't they want him being seen in heaven?  It's obvious that some angels know Castiel is out of Purgatory because they went and got him.  I think that the CIAngels are the ones who rescued Cass, and that the other angels left in heaven don't know about the CIAngels.  Castiel was in charge of heaven for a time and didn't know about them.  The CIAngels don't want it known that Castiel is out because the rest of the angels in heaven will be pissed about it, and it will blow the CIAngel cover.

The only other angel we've seen this season has been Samandriel, and he was asking about Castiel.  The next time we see him, he's been captured and is being tortured by Crowley.  Did the CIAngels catch wind of Samandriel's questions and hand him over to Crowley?  Naomi does seem to find it imperative that she's the only angel who speaks to Castiel right now.  She needs to control him.

My Sam Theory
As many of you probably know, since I posted a link in the news section on Monday, Clarissa from TVOvermind.com and I wrote a theories and speculation article about what we think is going on this season.  If you haven't read it and want to, you can find it here.  That was before the episode aired, but I think my theory about Sam still holds true, and I'll explain why.  For those of you who didn't read that article, I'll cover my theory now.  For those of you that did, you can skip the next paragraph, if you want.

I think that after Dean and everyone else disappeared, Sam had a mental breakdown of some sort.  He ran, just like he said he did.  He reached his breaking point and just couldn't handle it anymore.  His mind shut down, and he ran.  Then he hit a dog and met Amelia.  I think those two did bond for a bit, and that they slept together.  But I think that when she kicked Sam out the next morning, that the real-life relationship ended there.  They had one night, and that's it.  But Sam needed something to hold onto, so he created a relationship with Amelia.  Everything that happened after their one night is fake, created by Sam as a coping mechanism.  And I think tonight's episode fits with this theory.

Amelia's dad is a manifestation of Sam's self-doubt, spewing all the things Sam feels about himself: that he's a mess, that he's not worthy of Amelia, that he's not good enough in so many ways.  But then a begrudging acceptance of himself, flaws and all.  And then he opens up and is actually honest with himself, lets himself admit that he ran after Dean died to someone other than sypathetic Amelia construct.  He starts to forgive himself for it, to accept it.  Which is why his brain immediately sabotages the situation by creating Don's fake return.  Like he said in his speech to Fred, he was trying so hard to hold on to that dream world that it ended up falling apart on him.  And I believe that for Sam, the dream world was a LITERAL dream, not a figurative one where it's like, "oh, in my dream world, the sun shines all the time and ice cream doesn't go straight to my hips and kitty cats and rainbows and every inch of the world has free high-speed WiFi."  Dean coming back was the punch in the gut to wake Sam from his dream world, the one his brain made up to help him cope, much like Fred Jones made up his cartoon world to help him cope.

Okay, it's time to bullet point the rest of the episode.  Shall we?
  • Cass as a hunter was just precious.  He was trying so hard, bless him.  He got some of the best lines of the episode, too.
  • TALKING CAT!!!!!!!
  • The cartoon physics and rules were just great.  It was just enough to be awesome but not too much.
  • There was a great balance of humor and tragedy in this episode.  I mean, Fred's story was so sad.  And Castiel being suicidal...man, that was heartbreaking.
  • It was great to see Castiel find some peace at the end of the episode, though.  He realized that helping people didn't have to mean hunting.  It could just be sitting quietly with them, even if they didn't really know you were there.  It reminded me a lot of Cass' heaven, actually, watching the autistic man fly a kite.
  • "There was a pastry mishap.  The frosting reached near supersonic speed."  Anyone else think the cake wasn't the only thing that exploded at first?
  • Sam's facial expression "bemused reaction to Cass and Dean antics" is getting quite the workout lately.
  • The fight between Dean and the creepy doctor was epic!
  • "What's up, Doc?"  "That's all, folks."
  • How great were the VFX tonight, especially in Fred's head?  That was cool.
  • CASS TRIED TO CRACK THE TALKING CAT!!!!!!
  • Aw, Cass was gonna get to ride shotgun because he "done good."  That's so adorable.  Also hilarious was Sam totally hipchecking him out of the way.
  • Don's alive!  Didn't see that one coming.  How do you think this is going to play out?
I could go on and on, but I think I'm going to stop now and open the floor to comments.  Remember, this is a free zone for commenting, but please be respectful of each other.  Free zone doesn't mean license to be mean, and we will be editing comments that are out of line and not in accordance with our commenting policy.  Thanks!

Comments   

 
#181 anonymousN 2012-12-02 12:32
@Prix68-Yes but since this is not real life what i was saying was the writers could have had Sam telling and more justly them showing what Sam went through.When Dean did crossroad Deal, Sam did not ask him what he did as Sam did not know he was dead.So why show what Dean went through?They showed it because they wanted US to know and more importantly for us to feel what Dean is going through.At this moment i give a rat's ass if Sam tells Dean or not what happened.I want to know what happened,that's it.
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#182 anonymousN 2012-12-02 12:38
Quote:
Benny said even in purgatory that he had stopped drinking blood
But he has killed humans hasn't he?Amy would stop after her son got well.So Dean did jump the gun there.Quote:
There is a difference.
Actually the only difference is She killed them now and he killed them before.Both have killed,from a human standpoint Amy is more sympathetic then Benny IMO and after her son got well both were equally harmful/harmles s.What Amy did was like a Tiger killing a doe.Tiger has to survive so it kills not for fun.
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#183 Fluffy2107 2012-12-02 12:46
Quoting anonymousN:
Quote:
Benny said even in purgatory that he had stopped drinking blood
But he has killed humans hasn't he?Amy would stop after her son got well.So Dean did jump the gun there.Quote:
There is a difference.
Actually the only difference is She killed them now and he killed them before.Both have killed,from a human standpoint Amy is more sympathetic then Benny IMO and after her son got well both were equally harmful/harmless.What Amy did was like a Tiger killing a doe.Tiger has to survive so it kills not for fun.
But Sam DID catch her, trying to get her next victim...

Not, that I say, Dean was right. I don´t like it, that he killed her either.
But he might have had a point here...
This would have been a classic "wait and see"

Only Dean hasn´t been the wait and see type before Benny
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#184 anonymousN 2012-12-02 12:52
Quote:
But Sam DID catch her, trying to get her next victim...
Yes,so?I was saying that Amy was killing now...... i didn't understand what you meant there.
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#185 percysowner 2012-12-02 13:42
Quote:
Sharon- Benny said even in purgatory that he had stopped drinking blood by killing humans and Dean has said at least twice that if Benny starts killing and drinking people then he should be killed.
Yes, Benny said he had stopped drinking people in Purgatory. Frankly if I were a vampire wanting to get out of Purgatory by riding in a hunter, I would say I stopped drinking people too. Now in Benny's case it turned out to be true and that's great. But he only abstained for one year when he was with Andrea. Since there weren't people in Purgatory to drink from his 50 years there, that doesn't count. It's a good start and may well continue, but it isn't the same as Lenore who drank cattle for years and actively resisted drinking Sam's blood when it held over her mouth. Amy didn't kill people for at least 11 years (the age of her son) and possibly since her mother died. To be fair, she didn't eat the pituitary glands either, so for her it isn't like an addict going back to a habit and then having to detox and go back eating dead brains. Amy had a far better track record in terms of time than Benny has.

Amy is an iffy situation. She actively found a way to feed herself and her child for many years. She didn't break because she had a sudden longing, but to save her child. OTOH, she was killing. I think wait and see was a legitimate option. Sam did tell her if she did it again he would come after her.

Dean has said that Benny should be killed if he reverts, but he told Sam that some other hunter would have to handle it. Sam asked what if Sam had to handle it and Dean was we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. That is very different from Sam being willing to kill Amy if she slipped.
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#186 PaintedWolf 2012-12-03 01:43
Hey that's cool. I'm from SA too, so I totally get it. I don't know about you, but it's not often that I find a fellow South African SPN fan on the Internet. :lol:
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#187 kaz1 2012-12-03 11:38
Hey paintedWolf my SAn. Sorry to get back so late but some locals did some affirmative shopping in our house last night, it has been a mad rush with locksmiths and insurance. Am so dam grateful they left my PC. I am so glad that I have a local fellow SPN fan. Only started watching last year and am totally addicted. Loving this season, but like you I only have the web to keep me informed as I want to wait until the series comes out on DVD before I get stuck in. I think Sam is going to be exonerated from not looking for Dean this season, what do u think. The way they have depicted the FB makes you wonder. I just love the acting this season and feel that they are keeping their fans on their toes with all this guessing which makes for good TV I suppose
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#188 eilf 2012-12-03 11:57
So sorry to hear that! Glad you got to keep your computer. :-) My sister was in her house the other day when someone came in and stole the TV - she doesn't ever watch TV so no one noticed it was gone for 2 days... 'Affirmative shopping' is the best description for getting burgled I ever heard though!
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#189 NOLANOLA 2012-12-04 01:00
Thank you Fluffy for helping me out. Very kind of you. Happy Holidays....... ..... :roll:
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#190 NOLANOLA 2012-12-04 01:02
Thanks so very much Kaj. I really miss this site. Have a safe & Happy Holidays....... .... :-)
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#191 PaintedWolf 2012-12-04 04:58
Hey, kaz, sorry to hear about that. Yeah, I've experienced "affirmative shopping" a time or 2 myself. Glad they left your computer, though. I'm also glad to have found a local fan. Seems not a lot of us pop up on the internet. I usually get some of the eps sooner than most over here (I work in IT, so I know people ;-) ), but I spend a bunch of time here reading what everyone has to say. I've been a fan since the show first started here, but before it became as popular as it is now, so it was a bitch to actually find dvd's to catch up back then, though I own them all now and have already convinced a family member to buy me season 7 for Christmas...
I'm pretty sure there's more to Sammy's story than they're letting on right now, and I've always loved the guessing, so I'm completely content to wait it out and see what happens. I like that SPN isn't predictable. I think my favourite theory is that all/part of Sam's relationship with Amelia isn't true, it's one of the first things I considered.
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#192 kaz1 2012-12-04 07:22
Just had another look at the Amelia/Sam/Dad dinner scene, and it occurs to me that Sam's pov is sidelined for Amelia and her dead/not dead husband. Amelia's Dad speaks to the audience on her behalf, and again poor old Sam is misunderstood and sidelined. Crowley was right, he REALLY IS all alone, even with Dean at his side. I do think he is protecting or hiding something tho (whether it is his mental state, or angel/demon/luc ifer? influence). The only way Sam not looking for Dean/Kevin would be acceptable was if he was protecting them somehow. And just who says that Lucifer has gone?
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#193 ciar 2012-12-04 12:26
I second your 'ugh' - I'm not watching Supernatural for the romance, I'm watching it for the Winchester brothers hunting things and saving people. If I wanted a show about romantic love and relationships à la soap operas, I'd watch a soap opera.

I really enjoyed the first series of the BBC's 'Being Human' (Carver was involved in writing the US version of this, wasn't he?) because in the first series the show stuck to its mission statement of 3 supernatural people trying to live normal lives without hurting ordinary people. But then, from the second series onwards, I felt that the show became all about romantic relationships for the characters which meant the cool world-building and sci-fi elements took a back seat. I stopped watching because of that change in the show's emphasis and I'm really hoping that Carver isn't planning to do the same sort of thing with Supernatural.

I genuinely prefer Sam and Dean having stunted romantic lives because it makes sense given their upbringing and the lives they live, and, frankly, it also makes the show work better.
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#194 ciar 2012-12-04 12:44
I agree, kaz, we are getting much more insight into Amelia and her Dad in those scenes than we are getting into Sam (and it's his flashback so he should get top priority in it, shouldn't he?! ;-)

I'm really hoping that Sam's life with Amelia was some sort of hallucination or the result of something supernatural because otherwise it's the most boring plot Sam's been part of. If I compare "Sam's adventures in having a domestic life with Amelia" to "Dean's attempt to have a settled life with Lisa and Ben":

- I didn't mind watching Dean having a settled home-life for the first parts of S6 because his living situation came about a) as a result of a promise he made to a dying Sam, b) because it served to show he wasn't settling down in a normal life well, and c) because it didn't last very long and Dean went back to hunting (and Sam) because it's all he knows and it's all he wants. So, Dean's adventures in domesticity made sense within the framework of the show and within the framework of the character.

- I don't enjoy Sam's decision to settle down with an angry woman, and a dog, as an alternative to looking for Dean (for some tenuous reason or other, I'm not convinced by the show's reasons for Sam's decision so far) and I don't understand why Sam does this despite resolving in earlier seasons that he had given up on the idea of living a settled, normal life because he wanted to be a Hunter. To me, Sam's entire relationship with Amelia makes no sense within the framework of the character or within the framework of the show.

So, in summary :-) I really hope that Sam's flashbacks (and year of domesticity) are hallucinations of some kind, or that he was being manipulated into doing it, because, if this isn't the case, then Sam Winchester is not very interesting and he makes no sense to me this season. Which is a very upsetting thing for me to say because I have always found both Winchester brothers to be fascinating characters (even during S4, the season I hated with the fire of 1,000 Suns :D).
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#195 Izanamii 2012-12-04 13:01
I agree with that about Dean. That seemed to be a point a lot of people overlooked when Dean was taken over by the spirit and said all those things. We still have no real, legitimate idea why Sam did not look for Dean. But then there's the fact that he didn't seem surprised to see Dean and seemed to know he was back.

There is definitely something more to these flashbacks, but I don't think they are hallucinations. I think that Sam's story is being focused on, and he's being avoided right now because there's going to be a big reveal crucial to the plot and it will be impacting.

There is the manipulation factor. This season is all about perception, so I think there is a great deal of manipulation being thrown around.
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#196 kaz1 2012-12-04 16:28
Oh my word Izanamii you are so on the button. I am so happy that someone else thinks that the writers have a beeeeeg reveal. Hope hope and hope some more (my pandora's box is stuffed) that they don't let my poor Sam down. He needs to be understood now. Pretty please
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#197 kaz1 2012-12-04 16:38
I know right Ciar. Sam's ... well I don't even know what to call it.. lapse in judgement/chara cter/presence even.. is not sitting well with me. I love the way J is playing it in some parts (he's got the sad empty look perfect, yet in other parts J is just bland). I am sure that this is how he is meant to be playing the part. But bcz we don't have ANY background on Sam, poor old J is beginning to show thru the facade if u understand what I mean. To me that is how thin Sam has become. He went to hell, faced Lucifer, demons, Lilith/every kind of MOTW & Dean's brusque manner on a weekly basis for heavens sake and here is is taking jip from someones bald father. Uh Uh not buying this.
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#198 Izanamii 2012-12-04 17:18
They have just been so damn cryptic with it! It's driving me crazy because I still don't have a solidified opinion on what is going on. I think manipulation is what they're going for. Either that, or Sam's mind is turning on him yet again, but Amelia and the dog are real. There are just so many holes in these flashbacks and I just can't peg it to bad writing because if that were the case, why have these extensive flashbacks to begin with? It would be a waste! They could have had a couple and called it done for now until they needed them again, but they keep showing us those so I'm assuming there is something going on. They are just taking their sweet time revealing what it is.

I have a feeling they're going to give us a nasty cliff hanger about Sam tomorrow night. Baha.
Quote | Report to administrator
 
 
#199 Jessi 2012-12-23 19:10
So.. you probably already know this, but I was just randomly rewatching 3x05 "Bedtime Stories," and the hospital room the girl is in a coma in is also 118. Someone on the thread probably already pointed this out or perhaps Ash48 has, but I was just watching it and that sort of blew my mind.
Quote | Report to administrator
 

Add comment

Security code
Refresh