sweetondean’s Wrap Up of “Supernatural” 8.19, “Taxi Driver”
I liked “Taxi Driver”, a lot. Let me tell you why. I’m not much of a stickler for the nitty gritty. I don’t watch an episode and go, wait, that doesn’t gel with what was represented by canon in episode 5.ticketyboo. I don’t really care, it’s cool if you do, it’s just I don’t. It’s not how I watch TV and as much as I can pontificate about mythology and canon as effectively as the next rampant “Supernatural” fan and as much as I have a terrifying ability to recognise a screencap and put it to an episode and a scene, I don’t watch “Supernatural” that way.
“Supernatural” to me is an emotional experience. I’m heavily involved with 2 men, who happen to be brothers, which would be weird and awkward if they weren’t fictional characters. I get lost in the moment and if the emotion is gelling, nothing will tear me out of it. That’s how I watch this show. That’s how watched this episode. I was swept up in the emotion. Yeah, there were some weaknesses in the script, these guys are not the best writers on the team, we know that, let’s not flog that dead horse, but I didn’t notice the weaknesses at the time. Because at the time, I was worrying for Kevin, I was hating on Naomi, I was wanting to kick Crowley, I was thrilled to see Bobby, I was sad for Benny, I was freaking out for Sam and I was wringing my hands with and for Dean. I was living in the now and was swept up in the story of these characters that I love and adore and gosh darn it, I guess I was too involved to notice there were any glaring issues.
I’m a fan; I’m not a professional reviewer. There are plenty of bloggers out there who fit that bill. I’m just a “Supernatural” fan who loves to enjoy this show she loves, who loves to write about this show and who loves to talk about this show. I respect everyone has their own opinions, but lately I’ve felt like the show I hold so dear and my enjoyment of it is being systematically stripped away from me and held hostage by anger and negativity and I’m tired of being bummed out by it. So I made a decision, I’m reclaiming my show for me. I’m reclaiming my squee. This show makes me, and so many people I know happy and I’m not going to let anything take that from me. Because “Supernatural” means too much to me. It’s got me through rough times, it’s brought wonderful friends into my life, it’s reinvigorated my love of writing and it’s enriched me in ways I can’t even get my head around. The amount of happiness this show has afforded me outweighs anything else. Plus, it’s still far and away one of the best shows on television.
So from now on, I’m watching my show and then afterwards, I’m sticking my fingers in my ears and going lalalalala, whilst I sit back and enjoy the afterglow of the Winchester ride (which sounds awesome and dirty). I’m not letting other opinions dimish my enjoyment. I will happily overthink the show in my own way, with excitement, curiosity and faith. It’s onwards and upwards to season infinity and beyond with my glass forever half full.
Poor old Kevin! You know, Osric Chau, man. How different is this Kevin from the Kevin we first met. He’s such a nice young performer. His deterioration is a physical experience not just for Kevin but also for the audience. And yet, some how the kid still seems to crack out the funny lines and infuse his edgy, tattered performance with humour. I’ve grown to like Kevin. At first I found him a little irritating, but I think by using him carefully and allowing the character to be almost the human representation of the audience, has helped. We’re so used to great big heroes in this show, taking the knocks and remaining standing, but Kevin is suffering, probably like we would!
The cracks were starting to show when we last saw him and Sam advised him to slow down,something he, and Dean wouldn’t hear of. Now with trial number 2 decoded, Kevin is hearing Crowley in his head,or is he? Was it actually Crowley? Was it Kevin’s imagination? Or was it Naomi, the mind manipulator pretending to be Crowley? Though, I’m not sure why she’d do that, as Kev knows nothing of the angel tablet or Castiel and Fizzle’s Folly is not warded against angels, so she could (and does) come and go as she pleased. Which Crowley, technically speaking, shouldn’t be able to do,which, I guess is why the windows blew out, destroying the demon wards and allowing him to get inside. Crowley seems to be more powerful now than ever before. But was it actually Crowley? I was saying no. I thought that all of this was inside Kevin’s head. That insomnia, overwork, whatever physical toll deciphering God’s Word is having on him, is making him buckets of crazy and imagining the King of Hell is inside his brain. I mean, when the boys arrived back at the boat, the windows were fixed, which made me wonder if Kevin just had a psychotic break and bolted. But then I listened to a podcast with Guy Bee who said outright, that it was Crowley. Of course, he could be yanking our collective chains,Lord knows it wouldn’t be the first time, Mr Beaver needs a pair of flame retardant pants these days! But, if Guy’s on the level, then Crowley has split with the kid and could now have the entire demon tablet, not just the part with the acknowledgements and about the author, and will get the heads up on what the 3rd trial is and the brothers won’t (well they will, of course, but you know what I’m saying.) It’s all very nerve wracking and exciting,except for Kevin and possibly Mrs Tran! I don’t think we’ve ever seen Crowley that angry, I loved his line “What you people never seem to understand is you are nothing, fleeting blips of light,I am forever.” Eeeep!
He was pretty pissed at Naomi too! Whatever went on in Mesopotamia,there’s no certainly no love lost now. I think my prediction of them working together is, errr, not going to happen! I like it when Crowley is all angry and mean, “Really”, flick boys halfway up a tree! Awesome. I wonder if they’ll ever kill him. Maybe at the very end? I can’t see it happening any time soon, but then,with this show, who the hell knows huh?
Naomi,yeah, you can try and sweet talk your way into Dean Winchester’s good graces sweetheart, but he ain’t never gonna trust you. There’s only one angel he trusts and even then, it’s up and down. But he’s loyal to Cass and nothing you say will change that, lady!
Pretty much every angel Dean has had any kind of serious contact with has ended up being a pain in his and his brother’s ass. Zach (I love you Zach), Uriel, Glenn Close, err Anna, Balty, Raphael, why would Dean think Naomi is any different. Cass is an angel anomaly, an angel with a affinity for humanity, not a robotic, warrior, bureaucrat, Ooooo don’t call her a bureaucrat! Geesh, that one hit a nerve! But somehow, I have a feeling Dean and Sam may end up working with Naomi in some regard, even if they don’t trust her. Because, if she can help get them to their end goal, then it may be worth the risk. Though taking a chance on something all-powerful always has its downside. She was playing her role well, but I don’t think the elder Mr Winchester fell for it one little bit.
Freeing Bobby’s spirit was a fortuitous opportunity for Naomi, because that’s something the brothers will remember, even if they see right through it. Maybe Naomi and Crowley faked the trapping of Bobby’s soul,working together to get the Winchesters on the angel’s side,see I’m not giving up on my Naomi/Crowley in cahoots theory!
Ok, let’s get to the really important stuff. How pretty is this screencap!
I like that Sam got a chance to go to Purgatory, see it for himself (and not just because the colour grade on the Purgatory scenes seems to make everyone doubly hot!) Both boys have been to Hell, Heaven and now Purgatory. It seems right to me that they’ve had these shared experiences. Their experiences were different in all places, but the fact that these two share so much can only give them greater understanding of what each has and is going through,which coming from where we’ve been to where we are now, is soooo good. These two finally being on the same page, caring for each other and supporting each other is all I ultimately want from this story,I don’t know if that’s weird or not, but I watch for the Winchesters and their relationship means the world to me. I’ll travel the bumps in the road with them, but in the end, it’s their love that I want to see on the screen.
And the way they’re interacting these days is so grow’d up. Carver promised a more mature Sam and Dean and I feel like he’s delivered on that promise. Dean’s worried about Sam and he’s letting him know. That’s ok by the way. I tell my brother when I’m worried about him and I tell him off if he does something that I think is dumbassed. Doesn’t mean I think less of him, just means I care. Dean cares for Sam, he loves his brother, he’s worried for his health and safety and you know what, so he should be. But the fact that when Sam says, I’ve got it, Dean sucks it up and just makes sure he knows the full story of what Sam’s about to do, speaks volumes to me about his growth as a character and the belief and trust he has in Sam. These two feel much more like equals than they used to. Dean is always going to be Sam’s big brother, Sam is always going to be Dean’s little brother, Dean’s always going to worry about him, that’s biology, that’s history, that’s family but their relationship has grown in leaps and bounds and I like it a hell of a lot.
Sam was in Purgatory for about 7 hours before he got to the gateway to Hell, according to what Ajay told Crowley, so I’m sure he saw plenty of action, even if we didn’t. I kinda loved that he got to grab one of those rockin’ Purgatory weapons too. It suited him and he looked awesome swinging it (as did his hair!)
I like how the show depicts Hell. I’ve always thought Hell was kind of like Heaven, in the way it’s different for everyone. Dean’s Hell saw him hung on meat hooks and ripped to pieces over and over until he broke and became something he never wanted to be. Bobby’s Hell was seeing the two people he loved most in the world, his boys, every minute of every day, taunting him. Sam’s experience, of course, was a different ball of brimstone altogether, because he was in the cage, which I’ve always assumed is not the same as Hell.
Maybe the Hell we saw in this episode is more how it really looks (obviously Crowley changed up the decor again – frustrated hairdresser come interior designer), because Sam was just a visitor, not a tenant and so would see it how it is, not how it would torture him the most. The rambling halls and the tormented souls (creepy chick was creepy), for a show that operates on a minimal budget, they sure know how to make something look expensive. Hell looked great, as did the doorway portal in the alley.
BOBBY. I wasn’t sure it was going to be Bobby. It looked like his back in the preview, but I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a trick or if Bobby would turn around and look at Sam with black eyes or something. But it was BOBBY! I was so glad to see him. He looked pretty good for a guy who’d been in Hell for a while! But he’s a strong old dude and I can just imagine him cussing out everyone down there who got in his way. Oh I loved seeing him again, I really did and I loved that it was Sam who saved him and got to spend time with him, because Bobby’s spent more time with Dean, so it was nice for Sam to have that. And speaking of big mouth Dean,I laughed so hard at the thought of him telling Sam about Bobby’s Tori Spelling and pedicure secrets! Little bastard! Just shows you how tight those brothers are!
The Sam not looking for Dean thing came up again. That seems to have been happening a bit of late. To tell you the truth, there was a moment at the end in the car where I thought Sam was about to say something. But nope. Like I’ve said before, if we never hear anything more, I’m cool,I’ll survive and I won’t rage about it, but I’m certainly curious, so I’m hoping that something more is revealed and by Sam. With so many little mentions, it feels like it might be going somewhere.
Bobby is… such a Bobby! He can’t help but tell Sam off for reneging on the “non-agreement”, then having a dig at Dean about his vampire friendship and then saying that without him the brothers really went off the rails! Awwwww bless his heart. Of course they’re doing fine or as fine as they ever are, but I’m sure a bit of Bobby wisdom and a kick up the pants would do them both good, every once in a while.
Bobby was sad and beautiful as was Jim Beaver’s performance. He said he wanted to stay to fight, though I’m sure he probably wanted to stay just for his boys, but you could tell that he knew it was impossible. I’m glad he’s in Heaven and I’m glad we know it. He should be there. He has friends there, a wife. I hope he’s happy and I hope, somehow, we get to see him again. Bobby and Sam’s reunion hit all the right notes. Just the right level of emotion for a couple of hunters in a sticky-wicket and this is where this episode soared, emotionally it was a cracker.
With Naomi coming to Dean to tell him about Purgatory, Dean discovers Ajay dead and realises his little brother is now trapped with no way out. It must have taken a lot to ring Benny, but then again, it probably didn’t. When it comes to Sam, Dean will do whatever it takes to keep his brother safe, including asking a friend one hell of a favour. This scene between Benny and Dean is the scene Jensen told us about in his meet and greet at VegasCon. While discussing a question regarding directing actors, he spoke of how sometimes, if an actor makes themselves emotionally available for a scene, it can go an unexpected direction. This is what happened with this scene between Benny and Dean. It wasn’t written with so much emotion, but something in the two actors took it to that place. Both were surprised. Neither of them saw it coming. They had a bit of a laugh about it afterwards, but once they’d identified it, it went to that place every take. Guy Bee was as surprised as Jensen and Ty; he hadn’t seen the scene like that on the page. Jensen said it was because it wasn’t on the page; it was just one of those magical moments that sometimes happens. What we got as viewers was a performance so raw that, I don’t know about you, but it stopped my breathing. Dean’s need for Benny to say “Yes” was etched into every line on his beautiful face. He was in a state of desperate despair.
The words may have never came out, but we all knew what was being said. Dean was asking to cut off his friend’s head, a friend who means a lot to him and who’s shared a lot with him, to save the brother that is the world to him. Benny’s struggles topside probably made it easier for him to say yes, but I have a feeling the vampire would’ve said yes anyway. Dean thought Benny would come back with Sam, or at least hoped he would. The sheer devastation on Dean’s face as he pulled Benny into a hug before throwing his arm back and in a one swipe, killing one of the few friends he’s ever had in his life, was, well,*sob* What a scene. Jensen is the master of emotion. The chemistry between Ty and Jensen has always jumped off the screen, but this scene was something else.
I’m glad Sam got to see the side of Benny that Dean connected with. I always considered it was strange that Sam, of all people, wrote Benny off without a second thought. The fact that Benny’s sacrifice allowed Sam to return to his brother, release his father figure to Heaven and finish the 2nd trial shows that Benny was on the up and up and I’m glad Sam now knows that. I don’t think he’d ever really accept Benny, which is fine, but I do think being in Purgatory and seeing that Benny was a “man” who could be trusted was another important step forward for the brothers. Admitting when you’ve misread a situation doesn’t make you less of a man, in fact it’s the opposite, it makes you more of a man.
Which brings me to what was my favourite part of the episode (can you guess what it is?) When Sam returns to Dean. When Dean is pacing and waiting for Sam, Bobby and Benny to emerge from Purgatory, he looks terrified. Then when Sam comes out of the light,oh Dean’s face, Then Dean pulls his jumbo sized little brother into a hug that actually looked like it hurt it was so powerful. A powerful hug, eyes closed, brothers wrapped around each other in relief. A great big Winchester love filled hug. If there’s anything better, I don’t know what it is.
The way Sam tells Dean about Benny choosing to stay behind is so gentle. I loved that moment. I loved Sam for being so gentle with his brother’s feelings. I loved that Dean tried to correct his disappointment over Benny with happiness for Bobby, “I mean, that’s fantastic about Bobby.” You can see he’s on the edge of a thousand emotions. You can see Sam is reading every one of them. These guys, seriously, Jensen and Jared, give them a scene together like this and it’s jaw droppingly good. They’re so damn GOOD. Will somebody give them a bloody award or something! Man.
Then, finally the Winchester brothers watch as Bobby’s soul soars to Heaven. Beautiful.
“Taxi Driver” hit so many perfect emotional notes for me, that any other criticism of it was rendered meaningless. Even just writing this and going back and checking through scenes and dialogue as I go, had me feeling all the feels. Like I said, it’s why I watch the show and when a show gives me a punch in the gut as good as this,well then, I’m going to sing its praises loud and proud.
Two-week hiatus, people. BOOOOOOOO,and then…DEAN IN UNIFORM! YAYYYYYYY! I knew there was a reason I loved Robbie Thompson! I have a feeling it’ll be another play, pause, rewind, play, pause, rewind, play kind of episode,
Thanks for reading, see ya later.
-sweetondean
Love your review. You are right. It’s time to put aside the plot hole issues and just enjoy the Winchester ride. I am still giddy from watching this episode and nothing can bring me from my Oo La Laa land.
Yes purgatory color grade does make everyone hotter. I am so jealous of Jared’s hair. Has nobody ever asked him the secret of his luscious ever flowing mane??
[quote]But, if Guy’s on the level, then Crowley has split with the kid and now has the entire demon tablet, not just the part with the acknowledgements and about the author, and will get the heads up on what the 3rd trial is and the brother’s won’t (well they will, of course, but you know what I’m saying.)[/quote]
If you recall Kevin actually freaked out and hid the tablet (and refused to tell Dean where he stashed it). So perhaps Crowley doesn’t have access to it?
I got the feeling that it WAS actually Crowley but he cleaned the place up afterwards to make it LOOK like Kevin had cracked and done a runner – which was precisely what Dean assumed. Mission accomplished?
[Quote]
I’m watching my show and then sticking my fingers in my ears and going lalalalala[/quote]
I got this far in my reading of your article and had to 🙂 .
Thanks, Sweetondean.
Thought you might like that 😉
Me too. I was 😀 out loud.
And my dearest Sweetondean (and let’s face it who isn’t??? I mean he is just amazing)… your attitude towards the show have been mine for quite a while. After two seasons (6 and 7) with so many ups and downs with some many things happening that I didn’t agree and cringed (Bobby’s death, coming back and dying again, for example) I’m in for the ride, love this show, love the fact that it brought to my life a lot of people from different parts of the world, that like me, love this show…
So, let’s do this way I watch in Brazil and go lalala and you in Australia (you live in Australia right???) go lalala, and we are very happy, thank you very much.
Take care hon, and amazing review…
Cla ; }
Lovely review.
Additional comment, perhaps with a slightly shallow side, because yes, I watch Sam’s shoulders… 😳
When he was walking down that alley with Ajay, JP showed so much of what Sam was feeling – the weight of the worlds on his shoulders – with that slightly bowed over stance. It was not the normal shoulders-thrown-back-standing-tall-and-proud walk of Sam Winchester, but more like a world-weary warrior.
Wish I had a screen cap to show…
Right on sista!! Yes to every word you wrote. Thank you for the perfect review and the luschious screen caps. I really do wonder if it was Crowly or Naomi who took Kevin. I wonder if Sam’s not looking for Dean issue is being brought up again is going to have a payoff in the season finale? But I’m with you and will be fine either way. This show is truly my favorite on TV and Taxi Driver is a great example of the fine work by a team that deserves many awards. Thank you, Amy, for your awesome recap. Cheers!
Thank you so much for your review. I appreciate how you celebrate the positive parts of the show even if there may be a few wobbly plot points. So refreshing when there is so negativity right now.
Thanks for mentioning Bobby’s wife. I love the thought of him reunited with the love of his life.
Oh, Sweetondean, your “unprofessional” writing is amazng – you really could bring a halfdead fan to the show and make them drink – that is watch and enjoy. It’s a pity that my button for exclamation mark doesn’t work, or there will be dozens of them on the page. When I am reading your reviews I feel almost like I am rewatching the episode so thank you. (There should be at least 2 exclamation marks, damn it).
Best review Amy
I watch for all the same reasons.
I have always thought that Sam was always the one to give someone the benefit of the doubt. And the reason he was so passionate about Dean’s feelings for Benny was pure jealousy. Besides the unexpected return of his brother which unleashes guilt about abandoning him to pursue his dream of a normal life. Dean comes back with a substitute “brother” . I see Sam caught between a rock and a hard place. Feeling guilty that he was not the one who saves Dean… as he knows darn well he should have…. and now playing second fiddle to a stranger who just happens to be a vampire… and wait Dean who shoots first and asks questions later has adopted this guy and usurped Sam’s place. Yeah like that would ever really happen–Sam,Sam get a grip. You know in your heart your brother is devoted to you. But Sam is emotionally wrecked here and just sees how Dean defers to Benny while chiding Sam’s choice of a normal relationship with a DOG and a Girl… !
I too am very satisfied that Sam got to see the side of Benny that won Dean’s trust. One brotherly crisis resolved.. and Benny gets to return to Purgatory to perhaps try and enjoy the “purity” of it’s simplicity.
I am so happy you wrote this review, and will look for anything else you write. These actors do a hell of a job and deserve to know we support their efforts. I would guess that they are well aware of some flaws in dialogue and story content but act the lines and live the story for us. After 8 years I couldn’t imagine Sam and Dean without Jared and Jensen. Their dedication to seeing the Winchesters through to the end wherever it takes us and them is wonderful. I applaud their dedication…. some of these scenes blow my mind with their ability to get into the characters like slipping into another’s skin. That scene between Ty and Jensen was raw and heart stopping. Simply .. its why I watch.
Lovely review as usual sweetondean – and I am with you 150% about why you enjoy this show. I am going to be honest with you. The perpetual negativity on this site lately was getting to the point where I was going to take a hiatus away from Winchester Family Business even though I love the spoilers and everybody’s reviews. But I decided to hold off for your review of this episode. And I am glad I did. I will continue lurking and also stick my finger in my ears and do my best to ignore the nitpicking and embrace the show that I enjoy greatly. Thanks for reaffirming my faith in WFB, sweetondean 🙂
Great review. This episode was so emotional but wonderfully so. If this is the last time we see Benny (I loved Ty and the character) it was a great send off. I have really enjoyed this season and I really love the more grown up relationship between the brothers.
Well, if it’s weird to be watching for the Epic Love of Sam and Dean, then I’m right there with you. In the end, if Sam and Dean are written as the characters I recognize and love, and if Ackles and Padalecki (and many of the guest cast) keep knocking it out of the park with their acting and the powerful emotions between them, I’ll keep watching with my box of tissues nearby. My review travelled some ups and downs, but ultimately I ended up right there with you 🙂
http://fangasmthebook.wordpress.com
Yes, in the end that’s all it’s about 🙂
You are my hero! Or I guess I should say, heroine! Thank you so much – for the review and your approach to the show. It is so wonderful! I love this show, and it hurts when people pick it apart because it does not go the way they want. Really – it makes me want to cry. It is fiction – therefore, by definition, whatever they do is accurate and consistent. In real life, what is canon and accurate changes over time – the same, but more so, in a fictional show. Some day, when I write a show that gets bought by a network and causes people to invest millions of dollars in, and runs for nine years, I will get to decide what is accurate, what the mythology is, and what changes over time. Until then, I am going to watch this wonderful episode agin. Thank you again for this great review and commentary.
Yes, sweetondean, thank you. I have been feeling much the same way lately, but I will not air that out here. I watch the show emotionally also and this one was a great one in that regard. Many wonderful moments.
The Dean/Benny scenes were heartbreaking. How much more does Dean have to do to show his love for his brother? To show that Sam is the most important thing in his life? To show that Sam is not the lesser brother?
The Sam/Bobby scenes were touching and if Bobby were anything less than the cranky guy he is then it wouldn’t have been believable to me. He had something to say about both brothers. I still have no doubt he loves and misses them enormously. Hope he can find some measure of peace in his heaven.
I have grown to like Kevin very much and appreciate how Osric is portraying his deteriorating state.
The hugs, all of them, so emotional and satisfying.
Jared and Jensen were both so completely awesome in this one. The acting was superb and Sam’s body language just screamed how much he is pushing through and how much he is suffering.
I will miss Benny and hope he will return. I didn’t much care if he ended up good or bad, but I am glad he turned out good, in spite of some fans contention that it made Sam’s instincts look bad. I feel that Sam was right then to be suspicious and right now to feel differently.
Thanks again sweetondean, I am glad I came here this morning. 🙂
Ditto on all you said. I see this show and my boys in the same way..love the emotion and could care less about the other stuff. You write the best reviews!! I love how I can relive all that emotion while reading them. Thank you for all you said here..I’m in totally agreement.
Take care,
jane
[quote]“Supernatural†to me is an emotional experience.
[/quote]
Amen, amen, and amen! 😀
[quote]And the way they’re interacting these days is so grow’d up. Carver promised a more mature Sam and Dean and I feel like he’s delivered on that promise. …their relationship has grown in leaps and bounds and I like it a hell of a lot.[/quote]
Carver has delivered…big time! And I like it, too. 🙂
[quote]I like how the show depicts Hell. I’ve always thought Hell was kind of like Heaven, in the way it’s different for everyone. Dean’s Hell saw him hung on meat hooks and ripped to pieces over and over until he broke and became something he never wanted to be. Bobby’s Hell was seeing the two people he loved most in the world, his boys, every minute of every day, taunting him. Sam’s experience, of course, was a different ball of brimstone altogether, because he was in the cage, which I’ve always assumed is not the same as Hell.
Maybe the Hell we saw in this episode is more how it really looks (obviously Crowley changed up the décor again – frustrated hairdresser come interior designer), because Sam was just a visitor, not a tenant and so would see it how it is, not how it would torture him the most. The rambling halls and the tormented souls (creepy chick was creepy), for a show that operates on a minimal budget, they sure know how to make something look expensive. Hell looked great, as did the doorway portal in the alley.[/quote]
Wow…love this. This is officially my new head-canon.
[quote]The way Sam tells Dean about Benny choosing to stay behind is so gentle. I loved that moment. I loved Sam for being so gentle with his brother’s feelings. I loved that Dean tried to correct his disappointment over Benny with happiness for Bobby, “I mean, that’s fantastic about Bobby.†You can see he’s on the edge of a thousand emotions. You can see Sam is reading every one of them. These guys, seriously, Jensen and Jared, give them a scene together like this and it’s jaw droppingly good. They’re so damn GOOD. Will somebody give them a bloody award or something! Man.[/quote]
YES. I had my hands in my hair going “awww…awwww!” during that entire scene. 🙂
[quote]“Taxi Driver†hit so many perfect emotional notes for me, that any other criticism of it is rendered meaningless.[/quote]
I agree. And your review hit so many perfect emotional notes for me! Thank you for such stunning screencaps (the one where Dean is hugging Sam – eyes closed!!) and beautiful writing. You see the heart of this show so clearly and capture it in every review.
Sweetondean-
SPN drew me in because of the raw and real emotions both Jared and Jensen portray in their interpretations of their characters. I am rarely disappointed because I feel they knock the emotional components of their characters out of the ball park week after week.
The major premise of the show is that “family” gives you the strength to do what you must do. Of course, it is only logical that both Kevin and Benny would suffer and that Crowley would taunt Bobby sending black eyed demons as his beloved boys. I loved the juxtaposition of those ideas. Kevin is lonely, scared and wants an ending. Dean’s inability to “cushion” the truth for him, left him as bereft as Benny. Benny, who lost his family connections after discovering his girlfriend was turned into a vampire and had, unlike him, lost her humanity, and his beloved granddaughter was tainted from crazy Martin’s actions. Purgatory offers home because he knows where he fits in it and what he must do to survive. Kevin is homeless and while I don’t know who is talking to him, Crowley or Naomi, we know that being separated from family has never benefitted anyone on SPN.
I watch SPN to be entertained and for the interactions between Sam and Dean. Both characters have been allowed tremendous character growth and I know, as a viewer, I am better for it. Real people, adult people, who work to make relationships work, talk, argue, disagree, agree, laugh, conspire, align, plot, cooperate, mourn, forgive, accept and ultimately use love to get them through the toughest times. We have seen both Sam and Dean employ these behaviors as they continue to handle both the challenges of the “job” and being brothers. Would that in the real world, we had someone to script our lives so we could continually move on to our true potential.
SPN forever!
I enjoyed your review and I like the fact everyone says Sam has to do these trials on his own well he isn’t really he wouldn’t have gotten through purgatory with his brothers help might have been from where he was but he got his friend to go show Sam the way out. And Naiomi helped because she needs Dean and she wants his trust and so he can get to Cas and the tablet and Dean is her way in and I like that you added what Jensen said at vegas about the scene between him and ty thanks for that. And i like how Sam understood now how much Benny meant to Dean and the sacrifice he made and why he didn’t mind his saving his bones.
I think most of us were drawn in by the emotional strength of the brothers and that bond which is why I love the earlier seasons so much .And why I love the hug in this episode so much .
And it is admirable that reviewers like Sweetondean hold true to that aspect even though some with valid reason feel that has come under pressure in recent seasons.
However people can only respond to the writing they are given and when canon is changed that has holes in it you can drive a bus through then naturally questions will be asked.
But everybody is entitled to see the show in their own way 🙂
Thank You Sweetondean, for reminding me why I love this show. I will endeavor to watch with the same spirit with which you have approached the show.
I really enjoyed your review. Reading the fans comments on the show can be very upsetting at times. I think the crew, cast and writers of Supernatural are doing a fantastic job of entertaining and I appreciate all there long hours and hard work.
Thanks for taking the time and writing about the show, I really enjoy reading you reviews.
Great review Sweetondean, I appreciate you sharing it. I wanted to comment one thing, not to get into a big discussion, but to explain how I feel. Yes, I was disappointed by this episode as I have been with others this season. But I think that this idea that you EITHER watch Supernatural “emotionally” OR “critically” hurts my heart a little. I have been feeling very lost from my show and from my fan family part of this season and I don’t think it’s because I must not be a true and emotionally connected fan. I too connect to my show on a deep emotional level, so why do i feel as if I have suffered a loss? Why do I feel so desperate to understand why watching my favorite show is now sometimes making me so angry, so sad?
I have been thinking and talking a lot about it recently. And this is what I think:
These emotional connections and the characters that bring them to us so beautifully exist in a carefully built universe with a foundation that was built over many years. Part of that universe is built by the writers of the show, the rest is filled by all the other wonderful people that collaborate to bring us these stories week after week, year after year. But this world, this universe exists only because we as the viewers, the observers believe in it on that deep emotional level. I FEEL that epic bro hug at the end of Taxi Driver because I know who Sam and Dean are in this universe. It is because I still tear up at the memory of Dean’s speech at Sam’s deathbed. Because I know that Dean was tasked with saving his little brother from the infancy of this world. I feel Sam finally accepting Dean’s tight hug because I remember his despair over Dean’s being stuck in hell and his childish joy over fireworks his big brother set off for him against their dad’s wishes.
When the writers, the showrunners start messing with that foundation, that history, the world that was created with the scenes of fire and devastation in a certain baby’s nursery, when those truths we base our emotional responses on are all of a sudden yanked out from under us, our belief in that world is shaken and it makes it no longer safe for us as the observer. It no longer makes sense, not just on a logical, critical level, but on an emotional level.
So for me, it is not about the specific storyline complaints we have seen over and over: Sam is always dumped on, Dean doesn’t have enough to do etc etc. For me some of the writing and creative choices have been tearing away at what I experience as the Supernatural universe in which Sam and Dean Winchester lead very real lives. I no longer feel safe in it and that breaks my heart.
Mieke T,
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I know that I am not an “either or” viewer. I watch emotionally and critically, and countless others do as well.
Logical consistency and staying true to canon is HUGE for me – it’s part of why I love this show, because the stories for the most track so well. Personally, I saw nothing in this episode that contradicted or shook the foundations of the universe SPN has built (and I watched a second time just to double check). Nothing. Others have though, much to my personal confusion.
However, I think what sweetondean may be speaking to is this: at some point, one must choose between being those criticisms and just be entertained. Because being too critical (nit-picky) can indeed destroy one’s enjoyment of the show. Hence, the choice (because it is indeed a choice) to reclaim that enjoyment.
I don’t think it’s shallow. I don’t think it’s giving the writers a free-pass. I don’t think it’s lowering expectations.
Rather, I think of it this way: I remember that S7 was my least favorite season, especially toward the end. I hated the pacing, what they did with Bobby’s character, what they did to Cas’s character, and the ‘trenchcoat scene’ to me, felt like a betrayal, like a slap in the face of character-canon and logic. But…I moved on. I chose to move on.
Because at the end of the day, it’s a TV show, and despite some occasional missteps, a damn good one. And you know what? It got better! I found enjoyment again in S8. For others, maybe their S8 is like my S7 was – and they will have to choose whether they’re going to let it ruin their enjoyment of the show, or if they’ll move on. [i]Not[/i] that issues shouldn’t be discussed, or complaints raised, or dissatisfaction voiced. By all means! But I do think sometimes people (speaking generally) get in these modes where they’re [i]looking [/i]for something to criticize. It’s human nature. I get there too. But that at some point – everyone has to make a decision. To an extent if one wants to enjoy the show, then they will make an effort to do so. Some seemed to have stopped making that effort. That’s a frustrating and sad place to be.
And when it gets to the point of bitterness, it’s downright toxic, infecting every comment, every thread, every episode, and every person who happens to tries to lift spirits and share their enjoyment of the show.
So…all that being said…I truly hope that SPN again becomes a “safe” place for you, and that you are once again able to enjoy the show. (And I loved what you eloquently wrote about the SPN universe – so true!)
I agree Bamboo. For me personally it is [quoting Bamboo 24] “when it gets to the point of bitterness, it’s downright toxic, infecting every comment, every thread, every episode…” that it gets to me. Very well said!! I never mind comments that are critical or offer anything constructive. It is when it switches to bitter repeated harping that it is draining. Lively debate is a good thing and I hope to see more of that. 🙂
Thanks Bamboo24, those are kind words. I guess I feel a little hurt when I feel I’m labeled not a “true” fan because an episode leaves me in tears (not in a good way!) and I look to share my feelings with others.
I agree with what you said about season 7 but somehow the issues I had with that season did not shake me as deeply as the ones I have with this season. That said, I have enjoyed much of the second half of Season 8 (and even this episode) and I have indeed chosen to make the most of that fact.
I don’t think I am bitter but apparently the foundation has been shaken enough for me that I find it tough to find my feet sometimes. I sit down for each episode with a feeling of some trepidation (I hate feeling that way!) so when I encounter big plotholes as I did in this episode it is harder for me to overlook and just enjoy the good parts.
I so do enjoy discussing the show with you all and I would hate to lose that opportunity simply because I may be considered too critical and so not a “true” fan. I truly appreciate hearing another POV because it usually allows me more clarity or a change in mine. Thanks again!
Hi Mieke T
I never made any reference to anyone not being a “true” fan and I’m sorry if that’s how you saw it. I would never be so arrogant as to do that. Being dissatisfied with a season doesn’t make you a less of fan. We all see this story differently and I’m always at pains to ensure I’m respectful of how everyone deals with the show. I’m simply saying that emotionally speaking, this is how I’m going to deal with the show moving forward.
Constructive, thought provoking, criticism is always welcome and enjoyed. I’ll often raise contentious issues myself. Lively debate can be fun and that’s certainly not what I was talking about. But like you, I’ve been facing each episode with trepidation, not because I’m worried if I’ll enjoy it or if it will let me down, but because I dread the outpouring of anger that nearly every episode seems to get these days. Having issues with canon and the writing, I’m interested in reading that and debating those thoughts rationally, but the bitterness and toxicity of some dialogue is soul destroying and discouraging. Especially when it seems to happen week in, week out.
This week was simply my line in the sand. Had it not been for our fearless leader, Alice, you wouldn’t be reading another word from me. That’s how disheartened I’d become by what I was seeing. So I had to take emotional stock and I had to make a choice for myself. I had to seriously look at why I watch this show, what it means to me and what I get out of it. I came to the decision, that to continue to write and be involved in this community, I could no longer let other people’s opinions affect how I feel about this show and this fandom, both of which I love. Consequently, I’m simply choosing to focus on my enjoyment of the show; it’s the only way forward for me.
If I choose to celebrate an episode and wave my hands at inconsistencies, I will and I won’t feel less of a fan for doing so, just as you shouldn’t feel less of a fan for focusing on them.
As Bamboo24 said, at the end of the day it’s just a TV show, albeit, a damn good one.
I hope you find your feet with the show again, I really do. Just because you find fault in it doesn’t mean you’re not a “true” fan and don’t let anyone tell you that. I certainly wasn’t. I hope to see you continuing to share your views, talking them through really can help a lot of the times. 🙂
Please don’t ever leave Amy, many of us count on you. I love all the articles and the wonderful reviews here. But when I need an infusion of love for my show I come to your threads and you never let me down. You can be critical if needed but your love for these characters and this show always shines thru. I was considering disengaging from the fandom this past week but I came here and decided that I care for this show, many of the wonderful people here and this website and I will not let a few bitter people ruin my enjoyment. Thank you for that.
I agree with Leah – please don’t leave. I love your sense of humor. And I can say that with the comments on this particular article that there is a desperate need for us viewers that naturally wear “rose colored” glasses and prefer to watch Supernatural without a lot of nitpicking to congregate. You have given us an unintentional outlet and permission that it is okay to stick our fingers in our ears and go lalalalala and I don’t see why a non-nitpicking forum can’t be created for us (and if it can’t we can comment on your review because we feel your love). Let the nitpickers have the speculative threads. I don’t care if it is the preview of the upcoming episode, review of the just shown episode, or one of your con write ups you ALWAYS make me laugh and smile when I read your articles. Thanks and I’m glad Alice convinced you to stay.
I agree with Beverly and Leah. We depend on you. Please don’t ever leave. I read you first every time. I don’t fight with anyone! I do ask questions. I never understand what people are talking about. I wrote on another thread that I was just a dumb fangirl. I need you to help me!
EVERYTHING you wrote, sweetondean, doubled and in spades for me!! 😀
I’m so very tired of the endless nit picking negativity taking all the enjoyment out of the show for me. No longer!
This episode was emotionally awesome and had everything I love about it. Sam and Dean, Sam and Bobby, Dean and Benny, Benny and Sam and Bobby. The tears were welling for both the sad and happy moments and the admiration of the wonderful actors who can grip my heart and rip it out of me! No other show I’ve every watched has this effect.
Yes, there were some plot holes (that could be explained with some thought) and things happened fast, but then we don’t see every minute of what is happening, do we? We have a window of 40 some minutes to see into the whole time the characters are experiencing. Personally, don’t care a fig about that! :zzz Means everything to some, though. 😕
Your reviews are always spirit uplifting! Thanks for that! 🙂
[quote]
Yes, there were some plot holes (that could be explained with some thought) and things happened fast, but then we don’t see every minute of what is happening, do we? We have a window of 40 some minutes to see into the whole time the characters are experiencing. Personally, don’t care a fig about that! :zzz Means everything to some, though. 😕
Your reviews are always spirit uplifting! Thanks for that! :-)[/quote]
I’ve always tried to believe this about every story I encounter from TV shows to books to movies. The characters exist in some alternate fictonal universe and what I get is a window into specific activities. I’m not privy to everything and given the budgets of movies and televison there’s a whole lot about a story that just won’t make it to the screen.
Now, you can torture yourself with these late night questions if you like: Hey how did they get to that spot? How did so and so find out about whatever? I enjoy pondering such things myself from time to time but I don’t dwell on them overmuch unless it’s especially badly done or heavy handed. (Michael Bay, I’m looking at you and this show is nowhere near that bad.)
What is of utmost importance to me are the characters relationships to each other (which is why the first 9 episodes of the season really upset me.) But for me the brothers have been set right and all is well for me,now.
I realize for some people that’s not the case (not pointing out anyone specifically) and I’m sorry they’re not enjoying the show, but the constant nitpicking does get tou you after awhile and cn be contagious.
It’s the reason I had to leave a few sites I used to post on. I found myself not enjoying the show because other people were hating on it.
Yea!! I loved this episode as well. I also think Crowley got Kevin. And, WOW!!! Jensen’s performance (and Ty’s) knocked me out. I am not ashamed to admit I cried. So sad, to have to kill your friend to save your brother. Sam and Dean reunion; again, just WOW! Along with Bobby! TRIPLE PLAY GUYS!
Oh, and for the people who think it all happen to quickly in Hell; well did you ever think they they expect us (the viewers) to already know time is different in Hell. Meaning that even if it wasn’t shown, it wasn’t “quick” finding Bobby. Not at all! If 4 months is 40 years; how long is a day? or an hour?? Sam’s time was almost up by the time he got Bobby and was running to get back. (Loved the watch to mark the exit. Clever! I LOVE CLEVER!) But I am much like you Amy. I just love to sit back and enjoy the ride!!
By my calculation, if 4 months s 40 years, then one day is 4 months.
Yes, Hell-Time is about 5 days per our normal hour, so to Sam it would’ve felt like it took him a couple of months to rescue Bobby (10 hours of real time). So, for us, a few minutes was meant to represent a lot longer 🙂
I loved marking the exit with the watch too…I thought that was an awesome touch and I also made the assumption that he was on Hell time looking for Bobby, we were on earth time so we couldn’t see every moment of the search 🙂
Ooo and the other thing I liked was the three trees meeting as one that marked the backdoor to Hell. Three trees meeting as one, in my mind, must look like a Trident, which I thought was cool symbolism.
SweetonDean, I loved your review. I so agree with you. I’ve been watching since the pilot, and I just love2boys plus everybody and everything else. I hate the fighting online.
I do like to speculate some (but I’m not very good at it) and when I find something that I think might turn into a plotline I get excited. But I love the show. Most episodes I don’t even see what’s coming next!
Thanks for radiating love out from your review. I loved it. 🙂
Lovely review SweetonDean. I agree with ylu about Hell. I loved the tortured souls part. It resonated as very real to me. I felt their torture and felt horribly for them….plkus it was very unsetteling. 🙂
I really wish the writers has Sam and Benny interact just a little more. I think they should have…even if they clashed physcially. I simplu adored the short scene between them and would have loved to have seen them come to a truce/bond a little.
I adored how Sam IMMEDIATLY defended Benny when Bobby first saw him. “He’s Deans friend.”
It was both beautiful and sad. I really wish the writers would give Sam a friend. He doesn’t let many in but When he does, he’s loyal to the core. ANd as much as he loves Dean he needs a relationship where he isn’t ‘the little brother.”
This week’s episode is what Supernatural is all about! Has to be one of the best ever. I don’t pay much attention to “reviewers’ myself. They will often spark controversy just for the sake of getting more readers.
I have always loved your reviews because you speak from the heart. We like to get lost in our show & live it.
I loved the brotherly emotions, the brief reunion with Bobby & Benny’s ultimate sacrifice to get Sammy home safely. I also enjoyed the mystery that is Naomi, & angry Crowley up to his old tricks. I felt worried for Kevin.
I liked Hell but I have a feeling we only saw one small minute corner of it. After all Sam went in the back door, and was guided by his gut on where to find Bobby. I can live with that.
I love how mature the guys have become now. Their years of experience hunting is really coming through now. They are using their smarts a lot more.
I think it’s all in his head & I don’t think it was Crowley who took him… I reckon it was Cas, course I could be way off the mark, but that’s my imagination at work.
Anyway you go girl, for standing up & taking charge of your squee again!! :))
Good review, Amy.
As far as negative comments are concerned (from ‘fans’ to other fans and – unbelievably – to writers/directors/producers), I’m now at the ‘whatever’ stage. While I’m all for free speech, that doesn’t also include verbal diarrhoea. I’m not at the ‘zen’ stage, but I’m still hopeful. My main concern is that the SPN family (cast and crew) will start to see too much of that diarrhoea and assume that that is the majority speaking and not the few ‘bad apples’.
Anyway…in a nutshell, I loved the episode.
I agree with your sentiment where Sam and Bobby were concerned. It’s always Dean who seems to have the more profound emotional attachment to people (or the other way around…which is completely understandable), and not Sam. As a result, it was good to see Sam and Bobby’s ‘reunion’. Undoubtedly, you said it better. 🙂
I was completely surprised to see Bobby again. It was good to see him but I’m glad he’s moved on (although, we’ve thought that a couple of times before). A little thing I realised later was in the ‘THEN’ recap. Or, rather [i]wasn’t[/i] in the recap. If a returning character is going to be in that episode, you will see that character in the recap. That happened with Benny, so I knew he was going to be in it. However, I didn’t see Bobby in the recap, which made his reappearance doubly surprising. And I’d like to thank whomever was responsible for doing it that way. I assume it was deliberate.
Poor Kevin. Didn’t he look like shit. I like Kev. I wonder if Crowley did take him. His screams at the end of the scene seem to suggest ‘yes’.
Looking forward to the final 4.
[quote]
I think it’s all in his head & I don’t think it was Crowley who took him… I reckon it was Cas, course I could be way off the mark, but that’s my imagination at work. [/quote]
Oooo I never even considered Cass. I kinda like that idea, because that would mean he’s still keeping an eye on the boys and what’s going on with them! 🙂
Fantastic Review! I totally agree about reclaiming the show for the fans who love Supernatural just because its Supernatural. I thought it was Crowley from the very beginning. If the angels can invade someone dreams, it would seem possible for the king of hell to be able to do it too.
I was freakin ecstatic when the dude in the cage turn out to be Bobby. I was like Hell yeah.. LOL
Imho, the best scene was Benny and Dean. I cried for Benny’s pain. I thought one of my favorite movies Shawshank Redemption. And how Benny had been “Institutionalize”, meaning he’s been in purgatory so long that he doesnt know how to function in a world without bars.
Final note: I wish the next episode was an arc and not filler. After everything that just happen.. I need more not less. However, I do like Charlie.. So I guess in the end its all good.
I had to stop lurking and actually comment – Hallelujah and Thank You SweetonDean for perfectly expressing my feelings…I can’t listen to the gripers anymore. I want my squee back too, and I hereby reclaim it. I’m an emotional watcher too, if the emotions are running right, I don’t care about minor plot holes or the occasional continuity glitch. It the Boys, all the time, come hell or high water. This episode hit all the right emotional notes – I almost quit breathing when I realized Dean really was going to chop Benny’s head off – and Sam with Bobby was perfect. So the heck with the nitpickers – this was a great ep!
In the words of David Cassidy/Keith Partridge;
I think I love you!!
Always so chipper and easy going and enthusiastic and happy-go-lucky it makes me smile.
Yay! I love Bobby and I want him back.
Boo, I cried when we lost Benny and I want him back.
Wishy-washy on Kevin.
Love me some snarky Crowley.
Undecided on Naomi.
Miss Castiel.
You keep going girl!!
I really agree with your review, Amy! When Sam and Dean are on the same page, when they are emotionally connected the way they were in Taxi Driver, everything else fades away. I know there were some canon issues, but I honestly can’t bring myself to care. This ep counts as a season highlight for me. The scenes between Dean and Benny, Sam and Bobby, and of course Sam and Dean were heartwrenching and beautiful in a way that this season overall has been lacking for me. I truly hope that they can keep this level of emotional intensity between Sam and Dean for the rest of the season and into S9–that is is the Supernatural I love.
Deanie-24-
I had the same thought about Kevin- that maybe Castiel is caring for him. Remember how clean Castiel left the demon’s den in the 6th Season? Not sure how Kevin hasn’t been under the protection of angels this season, but he still has the tattoo. Pretty sure Crowley doesn’t have him.
Thank you sweetondean, sums up my feelings too, I just love this show and just want to enjoy it. Taxi Driver is one of my favorites this season, and just like a good book, you have to imagine the other hours we don’t get to see them. This episode hit all the high points emotionally for me, will watch it over and over. Everyone has a right to their feelings but I have the right to ignore them also, and so I will continue to do so. Love your reviews because you seem to watch as I do, thanks for that.!!
THANK YOU so much sweetdondean 🙂
I cried my way through the episode & I’ve just cried my way through your perfect review 😥
You’ve picked awesome screen-caps as well. Mmm, Sam in purgatory, damn! Can he go back? And… that wonderful reunion between Sam & Dean. What an EPIC hug! I love these two guys… and all the emotion they’ve shown this season. Jeremy Carver really has given us a couple of much more mature boys (I mean men) :sigh:
I also really loved this episode, but the first comments I read afterwards threatened to suck all the joy out of my experience. Then, on my second viewing, I was thinking about holes in the plot & it was annoying to me. Seriously, I don’t really care about the nitty gritty either! I have a friend that always points this stuff out, but it never worries me when I’m watching the show. Anyhow, to cut a long story short, I’ve since read a number of comments that have nicely filled many of the holes in the plot/canon and I’m back to where I was after watching it for the first time – totally blown away by all the incredible performances, the special effects (WOW), and the writing from a team I wasn’t that confident in after their last outing!!
As a result of all of the above, I’m going to take a leaf out of your book Sweetondean…
[quote]So from now on, I’m watching my show and then sticking my fingers in my ears and going lalalalala, whilst I sit back and enjoy the afterglow of the Winchester ride (which sounds awesome and dirty). It’s onwards and upwards to season infinity and beyond with my glass forever half full.[/quote]
I’ll just wait patiently for your review, which often appears on a Sunday morning, sit back with a coffee and re-live the episode with someone that I know loves the show as much as I do 😉
sweetondean, I am so happy that you have “reclaimed your squee”!!! I never lost mine, and it is so frustrating to see so many others tearing my beloved show apart. The hate that some fans post can be very disheartening at times.
I get that some people can’t see past the plot holes and canon issues, but the amount of anger that they throw out is just incredible. Those things just don’t bother me, thank Cass. 😆
I loved the intense emotions in this one. It was great to see Bobby again, poor messed up Kevin, oh Benny 🙁
I cried at the scene between Dean and Benny, Jensen and Ty just killed it.
Fantastic reunion hug from the brothers!!!
Dying to know what really happened to Kevin, and what Naomi’s real game is. Yeah, and Crowley has turned into a real dick, pardon my French…
Can’t wait for the rest of the season, so many questions still to answer!!!
Love your reviews, you always have some wonderful insights. Keep them coming….
Well sweetondean you have done it again! Everything you said is exactly the way I feel and have felt throughout this show. I have gotten to the point where I will not even read posts from certain people now because I know it is just going to be writer/character bashing and I just don’t want to hear it or read it. I love the show for all the same reasons you mentioned and will continue to enjoy it for me.
This one had me an emotional mess by the end of it. Jensen, Jared, Ty and Jim are the best. Jensen and Jared especially deserve so much more recognition for their acting abilities then they get but at least we all know just how awesome they are.
I myself speculate that it was Naomi that got Kevin to keep him away from Crowley since she seems to know his every move and the fact that Crowley should not be able to get into the boat due to the warding sigils. TPTB sure keep us guessing though and that is just good writing.
Boo hiss on another hiatus and then only 4 more eps. Man it is going to be a very long summer. I’m already dreading it and wishing I could attend another con just to break up the time span.
Great writing again Amy though, love your reviews!
Good on ya, Sweeton! Love your glass half full viewpoint. Please don’t change and don’t be squelched by the n’er do wells. I love and look forward to your reviews.
I’m mostly an emotional viewer and except for the reaper being corporal and interacting with the living, I was so engrossed in the plot and amazing emotional performances, that I never noticed any other plot holes or real problems. I thought, and still do, that it was a stellar episode, one of the best.
I was actually kind of shocked when the bad reviews started turning up because I thought for sure there would be glee in the fandom. But when I read some of the questions and concerns, I could see some problems that had eluded me because I was busy loving the episode. There were a few, but most, in my mind, could be easily explained.
I’ve watched 3 times now, and I realized Sam left his watch at the door out so he’d know which door to exit through. Just because it looked like Bobby was ‘4 doors into hell’ doesn’t mean he was. They were scrambling to find the way out.
I totally agree that the actors totally gave over the top performances on this ep. The emotional roll was incredible. The plot was advanced. Past and present were brought together to add to the beautifully weaved tapestry of the Winchester’s universe.
I have to admit, I don’t care who took Kevin or if he lost it and left. I know they’ll find him and the other half of the tablet, and no matter what way they choose, I’m ok with it. Same with the revelations about Sam looking for Dean or who Crowley and Naomi really are. That’s all fun window-dressing for me. The lock and stock of it are the guys’ relationship. If they are huggin and happy, well, damn it, I am too!
Thanks for bring’in the joy!
That was a wonderful review, sweetondean. I love the warmth and realness of your perspective.
As long as there are new episodes and the wonderful brothers, I can overlook a few rough spots. Keep up the great writing and I look forward to many more reviews!
Beautiful! Just beautiful. Thank you for repeating what is in my head regarding this episode. This show is ALL about the emotion for me as well. All of it, good and bad. The fact a show can make me feel SO much is just, just, WAAAAHHHH. Crap teary eyed and I just started typing. I tried to respond when I first read your review, but I couldn’t see the keyboard so I had to wait a few minutes and go back to my computer. You have a way of making me re’feel’ the feels in an episode all over again. Thank you.
You hit all the high notes and like me, accept or don’t fret over the other things. Most of them I didn’t catch until my second watch because the first one was all about the love and emotion in this episode. And oh man was there a lot of both. Sam/Bobby, Ty/Dean, and the best, Sam/Dean.
For sure the J’s are both just so incredible with the emotional scenes. Why can’t Emmy people see that!!!! Hint, hint. The hug was sooooo real. All of them actually, but S/D was just the icing on a wonderful episode. I, like you, just love where the guys are at now. Mature, caring, honest, TOGETHER! Wow, I even said guys instead of boys like I usually do! I agree with the car scene. Sam looked so sad like in some of the scenes before he’d have FB’s. I almost thought he was going to say something about Dean in Purgatory too.
And the Dean/Ty scene. OMG. Whyyyyyyy??? This show has a way of doing something that tears my heart out, but yet I accept it is how it should be. And this literally tore my heart out. I so adored Benny for so many reasons. Not the least of which is because I adored Ty Olsson. I liked Benny before Vegas already, but meeting and talking with Ty Olsson in a casual setting just cemented it for me. And Ty’s personal story he shared in Vegas just added to it all. He made me tear up in his panel for God’s sake when he talked about his scars. I work in a domestic violence shelter that also gets kids in foster care so he touched my heart and I told him as much. He just has such a big heart, but I think likes to not let people see that. Kind of like Benny. Okay, now I am drifting and blurring the lines between TV and reality. Sorry, this show sometimes does that to me. Ooops, I digress.
I think Benny being out of place goes back to the premise of their friendship. Soldiers coming back from war. Some adjust, some don’t ever fit back in. And how family can play a key role in that, but even having someone love and care for you isn’t a guarantee you’ll readjust. So sad, but happens all the time.
Bobby was friggin wonderful! Loved his lines and BIG hints he’ll show up again down the road. Here’s my theory/prediction on Bobby. I think since he’s in heaven now he will come in handy in S9 when they are dealing with the angel tablet. Opens the door for an episode or two appearance, which I think is the more honorable way to treat his character, than to bring him back entirely. Take or leave it. (But I did predict Benny would help Dean later in the season regarding Purgatory, way back in the beginning of S8, and it would have something to do with the flash of light in the arm)
Sorry I went on so long. Loved your review as always. LOVE this show.
Thank you so much, Amy, for your excellent review. I’m always waiting and looking forward to it, because I enjoy your reviews the most. I decided to never read all the complaints about my beloved show, because I realized that when I read all that negative comments I get tainted and become overcritical myself. And that’s definitively not what I want to. Like you I want to enjoy this great show and this two awesome boys as I do it since Season 1. So please Amy keep writing your marvelous reviews an keep your positivity! Kind regards from Germany.
[quote]Here’s my theory/prediction on Bobby. I think since he’s in heaven now he will come in handy in S9 when they are dealing with the angel tablet. Opens the door for an episode or two appearance, which I think is the more honorable way to treat his character, than to bring him back entirely. Take or leave it. (But I did predict Benny would help Dean later in the season regarding Purgatory, way back in the beginning of S8, and it would have something to do with the flash of light in the arm)
[/quote]
I really like this idea about Bobby. I would dearly like to see him again without diminishing him as a character or diminishing his exit (which we already kind of did with all the ghost Bobby stuff). I like that we’re all assuming the angel tablet will be the core of season 9! I know I have been. Then I suddenly thought, what Cass or Metatron of Naomi or someone destroys it so that its secrets will never fall into the wrong hands – which kind of seems sensible really, I mean, Lucifer tried to lock it away for good. Anyhoooo I guess we won’t know until, like Comic Con of something when they start talking up the arc for 9! How exciting!
You are the best. And so is Supernatural. I am in complete agreement. On everything. 🙂
Dear Sweetondean, please don’t ever leave us.
I don’t comment often, as I love lurking and nodding my head in agreement or skimming past comments that disturb me, but you are one of my constants in the SPN world.
I cannot tell you how much I look forward to your Sunday reviews, I always feel like you are reading my thoughts and delving into my feelings.
I absolutely love this show and it is so obvious that you do as well (and we all know how you feel about Jensen/Dean, lol).
Like others I have never lost my squee, and you are partially responsible for that as your love and enthusiasm is infectious.
I watched this episode with my heart in my throat the whole time, so enthralled that if there were any holes (??) the acting and emotions swept them away for me. The hugs…OMG, it was man hug heaven. That whole interaction between the brothers showed understanding, love, empathy and solidarity, the J’s are awesome together (do I say awesome a lot?). The Dean/Benny encounter…I cannot even, OMG the acting was brilliant.
I am emotionally invested in this show and always watch with joy, just like you.
wonderful review, sweetondean….and i agree with the consensus that you should never leave…..there aren’t many of us glass half full posters out here and when there’s a slew of unhappiness/complaints running rampant, well your posts are an oasis in the desert of negativity. 😀
loved the eppy…plain and simple.
jared and jensen are brothers from another mother and it shows when they perform together. i never tire of the winchester lovin……
so glad to see bobby….and dare i say it …happy that benny is gone….sorry, folks….benny was boring….now if they had only made benny evil and dean’s ruby…he could’ve lasted much longer….and he wouldve been so much more enjoyable to watch…at least for me to watch….face it, with the exception of bobby….the characters that last the longest are the evil ones…..ruby, crowley, meg…..
besides that winchester hug and bobby raising hell in heaven, the best part of this ep for me was how hopeful it left me….
i’m one of those who believe there’s more to sam’s story…i have no problem with the not looking thing, but i feel there’s more to sam…
i’ve felt has been deliberately written in an ambiguous manner. there are too many inconsistencies concerning sam and he’s been acting strangely in many different eps…..
now in the last two out of three eps, not only has meg questioned sam’s sanity about his year, but now bobby has too,…..and sam’s reaction to bobby with the we had an agreement excuse….i watched it three times….sam looked…troubled, like he was hiding something….
i just know that where we heard nothing about sam’s time, now we’ve heard from two very opposite individuals how off sam seemed to them….
i think it’s leading up to something…..and by the time taxi driver ended, i was convinced and still am convinced that there’s a truth about sam that will be revealed ……
so good feelings all the way around……
nappi815, totally agree… looks like they’re setting up for a big reveal regarding why Sam didn’t look for Dean and IMO have been keeping things purposefully vague for that reason.
My only complaint with this episode was that it was rushed and would have been better as a two-parter.
Regarding the complaints about canon, there have been some inconsistencies for years (early on hell hounds could only be heard by the person they were coming for but that changed, maybe S3 or S5?) but I didn’t see them to the extent that others did in this episode and it doesn’t take away from my enjoyment of the show. Yes, they did stretch things with the reaper but Ajay was a rogue reaper (hell Coyote – great mythological reference btw) so different rules apply, even with getting in to and out of hell and purgatory, so I was fine with it. They’re always introducing new types of creatures (S4 – Angels, S6 – Alphas, S7 – Leviathan, S8 – Knights of Hell) so I’m good with it. That being said, I see no problems with them closing the gates of hell – the demon storyline has kind of run its course and, while I’m a big fan of Mark Sheppard’s Crowley, just not sure how much more they can do with him.
Now, my only problem is why the hell don’t the guys summon Crowley then throw a boat load of demon TNT at him 🙂
Late to the party, but nowadays, it takes me two or three viewings to really get a handle on everything that happened and process it, especially in an episode as packed as this one was.
I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by the show right now. One of the main reasons I love a show like Supernatural, that has a mytharc and deep characterization and history is that it’s fun to keep track of it all. It is what drew me to the show in the first place – the structure of two brothers who fought and survived against evil by their wits and training and the information that had been gathered by John and other hunters over the years. They had their journals, their knowledge, and their “stuff” (all so iconicly arranged in the Impala’s false trunk compartment).
I’ve always read that you have to be careful in a long story about suddenly throwing in some new game-changer – your hero’s in a tight spot, and all the sudden, he knows kung-fu, or can fly or whatever. We have had Sam and Dean gaining special powers over the years, but they were foreshadowed – Sam learned to kill demons with his mind, but we accepted it because we already knew he was different, in a demon-related way. Dean should not have been able to kill the whore of Babylon, or Zachariah, but he did, and we were okay with that because we knew by then that he was special too – the chosen vessel of an archangel.
I don’t like it when heroes or villains suddenly have powers we never knew about before, without adequate foreshadowing. It was frustrating when the Colt that could kill anything, couldn’t kill Lucifer – but he was Lucifer, so, okay. Zachariah could warp reality, warp the boys’ perception of Heaven, remove lungs, afflict with cancer and then cure it, but that was all okay because there was one thing he could not do, and that was make Dean accept possession by Michael. Strangely enough, that evened the playing field.
I did not like that Crowley, in this episode, suddenly had new and seemingly unstoppable powers. He can speak to Kevin in his mind from a remote location? Just like Lucifer could do to Sam? He can intercept innocent souls from Heaven and lock them in Hell? He can kill reapers? Well, that is a mess.
Yes, I’ll overlook most inconsistencies. They just don’t matter to me. Mesopotamia? Who cares. Rogue reapers that everyone can see? Meh. Hell looks different in different parts, and to different people? I can totally buy that. A lot of stuff just doesn’t bother my enjoyment of the show.
But the adversary (or adversaries, since Naomi is up to no good, also) having such fluid and immense powers makes it overwhelming to try and figure out how the boys are going to prevail. I know it seemed the same in season 5 when Lucifer was out and Michael and the angels were wearing Dean down. And ultimately the brothers won that one.
I like to make guesses and predictions as much as the next person, but I have to have something to go on. I guess this is where we’re supposed to be in the season – the low point where it seems that the boys can’t win. Sam is sick and damaged, Dean can’t trust anyone (and with good reason), Kevin is gone and the tablet that holds the final trial is hidden. Castiel is gone, Naomi is trying to trick the boys into trusting her.
I enjoyed the episode because of the visuals, the acting, the cranked up suspense. But ultimately, I’m going, okay, next? Show me the next thing. Give me some hope. I guess I need a clue or two to see where this is going, or at least to trigger my speculation.
I think I’m at the moment of frustration I was at in season 5 when Dean left with Crowley and Sam was so mad and he made that call to Bobby and said, “What if…?” It was a turning point, where suddenly, even though the odds were steep, there was some hope that the boys could win against Lucifer.
I’m ready for that ray of hope in this season.
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But the adversary (or adversaries, since Naomi is up to no good, also) having such fluid and immense powers makes it overwhelming to try and figure out how the boys are going to prevail. I know it seemed the same in season 5 when Lucifer was out and Michael and the angels were wearing Dean down. And ultimately the brothers won that one.
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This is where I think the problem has always lay with the angels, how do you overcome such immense power. Part of the joy of Supernatural for me is, that Sam and Dean do overcome and no matter how powerful their supernatural adversary is, their humanity is inevitably more powerful. I’ve always liked this aspect of the show. No matter what they face, as long as they face it together, they can overcome it, even if that means at great sacrifice.
As for Crowley and his new powers, that’s another reason I question if it was really Crowley doing those things, because that seemed to be the actions of a far more powerful entity, unless of course, Crowley’s been hiding his light under a bushel all this time!
What a wonderful review this is. You have voiced what I feel about this show and why I watch. When Sam went to Hell , I was so filled with emotion and fear for him, I almost had to shut the TV off. And it’s the eighth season!! I too get annoyed with all the nitpicking and think instead of making mistakes, TPTB are just adding to the mythology. Anyway, if fans or non-fans want to know why SPN has a ninth year coming up, just watch this episode.
Love your writing and your ability to just enjoy the show! When I first started watching, I had that pure enjoyment and then I discovered online fans (here and at IMDB) and while I can appreciate that some like to analyze(and many like to overanalyze) the show, it temporarily lessened my enjoyment. Reading your reviews always brings me back to that original pure enjoyment I had so thanks! 🙂
Yeah I keep throwing it out there though no one seems to be buying it that
1.The season ain’t over
2.All the little things we think of as against canon or continuity errors may turn out to be some elaborate play on per eption for us. After all we’ve seen how the writes are willing to play with not just the characters perceptions about what’s going on (Dean, Cas, and now Kevin) but audience e perception as well. What we think is going on may not be what’s actually going on and next weeks episode seems to a play on this theme too. After which we have 3 or 4 more epiosde for the motor throw all of our assumptions and speculations out the window and this show is usually pretty good at that.
Go back and watch any episode this season and see how the theme threads through all of the plotlines this season. On that the writers have been consistent, even if they aren’t consistent on anything else.
Hi Ikeke35. Yeah, I’ve been having a long drawn out conversation/debate with Bamboo24 and Ale about the nature of the plot points that seem to go against canon, but the reality of the matter is, I think that you are probably right, and I think the same. I think what ever reveal is coming down the pike will probably make many of the issues were are currently having null and void anyway!. 😀
That’s an interesting point, Ikeke35. Maybe all the things fans have been complaining about-too easy in hell, backdoor to Purgatory, rogue reaper just hanging around-maybe they’re like that for a reason and someone is [i]seriously[/i] pulling all the strings?
I’m not actually ready to judge the entirety of this season until we get to the end. There’s too much going on and it might still be some grand plan in the works. At least that’s what I like to think.
Maybe Carver hasn’t been around much because he’s giggling in the writers’ room and gleefully rubbing his hands together at how much he’s messing with us. :-*
Sweatondean, I totally agree with you on that I am watching supernatural for me. I don’t care if they come in and do a 360 of the whole show. I enjoy the interaction of the “boys” and their world. I don’t put to much stock in the negative comments and most of the time I just skip them. the brothers do seem to be more mature in their relationship, especially Dean. I am not totally sure of Sam yet, still think something is a little off about him. I am sure we will find out later down the road. The part with Dean and Benny was just so emotional that I did tear up alittle. Ah, the hug, never thought I get so done in by two men hugging but got to love it when it happens with these two.
Thanks Amy for bringing in a view point that is emotional and professional. I know what you do in real life, and I trust that your review is great every single week because you’re a true pro! You know how to watch a TV show.
Taxi Driver is such a great episode. Period! When I saw some tweets about negative comments had surfaced, I was like.. WHAT NOW? I was going to read some of it, but you know what I don’t care! Apart from a few reviews (including yours), I don’t bother with others. I cannot quit Supernatural, but I can shy away from the fandom and ‘professional reviewers’ sometimes. I have confidence in Supernatural, I have confidence in my reviews. I really write for my own record, it’s my own writing exercise. If people read it, they read it. I am not looking for agreement or anything. It’s part of the fun of watching the show.
Taxi Driver may not be the strongest written episode ever on the show, but it’s super solid. It’s ambitious to fit that much story in a 40-min episode. But it was great. Like you said, it’s an emotional experience. Whether all fans agree or not, the ep is doing something right to connect with our emotions — so we feel what we feel, like what we like, hate what we hate. I certainly appreciate everything Supernatural has given me — entertainment, friendships etc.. And I ain’t gonna just throw it away. Any Supernatural episode is better than any procedural cop, legal and medical dramas.
Keep up the good work. And yeah.. screw others, just enjoy the ride!
Tiny
xoxox
Thanks Amy for bringing in a view point that is emotional and professional. I know what you do in real life, and I trust that your review is great every single week because you’re a true pro! You know how to watch a TV show.
Taxi Driver is such a great episode. Period! When I saw some tweets about negative comments had surfaced, I was like.. WHAT NOW? I was going to read some of it, but you know what I don’t care! Apart from a few reviews (including yours), I don’t bother with others. I cannot quit Supernatural, but I can shy away from the fandom and ‘professional reviewers’ sometimes. I have confidence in Supernatural, I have confidence in my reviews. I really write for my own record, it’s my own writing exercise. If people read it, they read it. I am not looking for agreement or anything. It’s part of the fun of watching the show.
Taxi Driver may not be the strongest written episode ever on the show, but it’s super solid. It’s ambitious to fit that much story in a 40-min episode. But it was great. Like you said, it’s an emotional experience. Whether all fans agree or not, the ep is doing something right to connect with our emotions — so we feel what we feel, like what we like, hate what we hate. I certainly appreciate everything Supernatural has given me — entertainment, friendships etc.. And I ain’t gonna just throw it away. Any Supernatural episode is better than any procedural cop, legal and medical dramas.
Keep up the good work. And yeah.. screw others, just enjoy the ride!
Tiny
xoxox
hey sweetondean… awesome review once again.. I agree with you on your point.. Like you even I am a Happy fan.. who grins from ear to ear just by looking at the Supernatural montage and the brothers.. Even I am one of those fans who just like to dwell on the Winchester love.. I am concerned with the story and plot hole as well but that doesn’t bother me much if there are some gaps.. I mean its TV and everybody takes some creative liberty.. Plus, I didn’t expect from the writer duo to come up with excellent writing as I do with other writers and after ‘Man’s Best Friend with Benefits’ episode fiasco it was fairly better.. So for me this episode was all about brotherly love and Jared’s , Jensen’s and Ty’s acting apart from the pleasure of seeing Bobby again and of course the heart melting, heart gutting, the epic WINCHESTER HUG…!! I agree there were some major mishap in the story line department but its ok.. i can live with it.. as long as they don’t screw up the brothers relationship to the worts.. I can deal with everything but that.. I hope they will answer some of the most important question that have been left hanging (hmmmm i don’t know like Sam not looking for Dean) and many other like that so that it can give the grieving fans all over the world some closure..!! Hope the last few episodes provide some heavy story arc and are not written by these two writers..!! looking forward to your reviews.. 😀
Thanks so much for an awesome review. This episode had so much going on and all of it was good. Much like you, I don’t give a toss if some things don’t jive from past episodes, that will never stop me from loving this show to the moon and back. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I’ve made a conscious decision to skip over any negative comments a little while back. I’m the type of person that can descend into a black hole pretty quickly when there is too much negativity around me. Supernatural means too much to me to continue reading those. I’m not saying every episode is stellar, but I find that what’s important usually comes through for me.
Thanks for putting the screencap of that beautiful Winchester hug. Just goes to show you that patience always gets rewarded. We’ve wanted that hug since the beginning and by Jove we finally got it! 🙂 I loved what Hell looked like (not that I want to see it for myself 😆 ), it was dark and dingy and man that little girl creeped me out! 😮 Who do you think she was praying for, and what did she do to end up there? Purgatory still looks amazing, I love the lighting. I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again, Serge Ladouceur is a genius.
Now the moment that made me well up the most was the talk between Dean & Benny. 😥 Boy, those two played the hell (no pun intended) out of that scene. Hello, Emmy, are you watching this? And how great was it to see Jim Beaver again? Bobby got to say “balls” and “idjit”. Think he’ll be back? I’d love to have him back, man he’s got great chemistry with Jared & Jensen. And I hope Benny will be back. The fact that Dean didn’t burn his bones is a good sign.
Ok, I’ll shut up now, I feel like I’m rambling way too much for a Monday morning. 😆
Hi Amy, if I may, I noticed on twitter how upset you seemed after the episode aired. Honestly, I know everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they can get you down. Unfortunately I’ve experienced that before myself, to the point where I was pretty much afraid to watch the show every week.
Since then, I haven’t let any negativity influence my watching. I watch the show because I love it, and it’s as simple as that. Always have, probably always will.
I’m not too much of a stickler for things like continuity and stuff. I actually don’t mind filling in holes, either, and I’m okay with them expanding their universe. Maybe there’s some big explanation that has yet to be revealed…
Anyhow, thanks for the review. They’re always upbeat and positive, and I enjoy reading them.
I just love your review!! it is what I was trying to explain to everyone who listen to me, I watch Supernatural because it makes my emotions explode and my imagination run faster than the speed of light.
I enjoy the ride, and of course the acting. How can anyone be critical of a show with such exquisite acting? (Not only the J’s, but most of the guest stars).
In this episode I was please to see Dean pacing like a caged rabbit, worrying about his little brother. I liked when Bobby said, “No my Dean!”, love the two! hugs. How can anybody be looking for wrong, when you have in front a superb scene like the one you described?
I like the feeling when the episode ends, that feeling of “nooo! why it has to end!!!”, ” I want more!!!”. That right there tells you when an episode is good and so far this season, almost all episodes left me wanting more.
What troubles me and I said it a lot of times is, all that negativity from fans, about the show that they said they love, it has to reflect in the ratings or at least stop others from watching or bringing new fans to the show.
Maybe I’m wrong, but this show has more good things, than bad, beginning with the two leads. Specially when you see a good quality show made with a low budget.
Thanks again for the positive review! and yes, count on me to the love for our show!!
Thanks for the great review sweetondean!
I really loved this episode too. I must confess that I made a conscious effort not to look too close at some plot inconsistencies, but it totally worked and I was swept away by all the emotions! You are right, the episode hit all the perfect emotional notes…
I loved the scene between Benny and Dean. And Sam with Bobby, and how funny is it that Dean wouldn’t tell another soul about Bobby’s secrets, but of course he told Sam! And neither he, nor Sam, nor Bobby thought anything of it! Those two are really conjoined twins! And of course, Dean and Sam’s reunion… The Hug!
I thought it was really Crowley who took Kevin. And the windows breaking and everything somehow made me think that Crowley is an angel. I’m really intrigued and can’t wait to see how this story and the tablet storyline is going to be resolved!
Amy,
Thank you for this lovely review. You always write direct from your heart and it shows here in this piece. I watch this show for oh so many reasons, but the reasons you shared here are at the top of my list. I don’t call Supernatural my Happy Place lightly. It is the honest truth.
I also know that this is just a TV Show, but as you know, I feel that I owe this show more than this show owes me. I probably wouldn’t have done the things I’ve done the past few years without it.
I love how Jared and Jensen can make Sam and Dean oh so real for us—and show us that love can make us stronger, not weaker. That’s what it really amounts to for me.
My first viewing didn’t impact me as much emotionally. I was still processing, going along for the ride. My second, however, had me in tears at various points and now those emotional moments in this episode will be some of my favorite for the season, either because they were so beautiful in their quiet joy or so sad in their tragedy.
I think you hit everything well in this episode. Hearing that insight about Jensen and Ty bringing that scene to life makes it even more special and more emotional. They brought something to it that the story knew had to be there, even if it wasn’t on the page. Thanks for sharing that small tidbit.
Great review again, Amy!
Hi Sweetondean,
This was absolutely lovely. And it struck a chord with me too.
I loved all the emotion in this episode and that’s what I watch SPN for – the way the show makes me feel.
I admit I do get frustrated by weak writing and plot holes big enough to swallow an aircraft carrier. I also find myself getting sucked down when I stumble into too much negativity.
But then I remember why I watch the show in the first place – it’s wonderfully entertaining and it makes me think and feel so many things. So I remind myself that plot holes, like pot holes, often get filled. And that I have control over what sites I visit, what tweets & comments I read.
Then voila – I’m savouring the sweet spots of an episode and handwaving at the rest.
Taxi Driver left me much to enjoy:
1. Bobby – his presence emphasized his absence and it was SO ggod to see him
2. Benny and Dean and friendship (family), loyalty and sacrifice.. Wait, isn’t that what Supernatural is about?
3. Sam’s determination to save Bobby. Dean’s determination to save Sam. Benny’s determination to save Sam. What a beautiful tragic triangle.
4. Sam & Dean’s crushing hug!
Some lovely moments indeed.
Cheers,
Pragmatic Dreamer
I am happy you all had great things to say about the show I been hearing alot of crap about it so here is my only crap about it BENNY! don’t let to door hit you on the way out. is show called SPN or what? when did we stop killing monster on this show OH when they become dean’s friends NOT SAM”S ok I am soo happy he is gone for good I hated him for coming it just said to everybody cares about dean and no one cares about sam and I crying writing this because I feel like the only one sometimes that care. so you overstayed your wellcome benny. that is just how I feel right now.
I sometimes see the pot holes in the writing and sometimes I comment back when one of us complains, but I watch every episode, sometimes twice plus reruns to check canon/facts or character traits for continuity. Some writers stay closer to the canon while others stray for the sake of creativity or a MOW episode. Fandom knows who the stronger writers are-check out who was assigned the finale episode this year. I too am bound up by the relationship of Sam and Dean for many personal reasons so I forgive the glitches, and then once I know them, I rewatch just for the pure joy of the beautiful acting performances or snarky lines that are inserted. Some folks have not liked the Benny/Dean scene feeling it was not realistic. I disagree. Watch the facial expressions of Ty and Jensen. Jared’s breathing technique and facial expressions with Bobby and that scene in Maine with Dean/Sam and the lighting was perfectly done. The two in the car at the end, classic. I care about both brothers and take no sides. As far as realistic, remember a lot is crammed into 42 minutes. Yes, it could have gone into more depth and become a two part, but then fans would complain about dragging things out. So , just enjoy and try to forgive the glitches- it goes much easier on you. Hey isn’t that similar to what Dean told Kevin? What an influence this series has on us. 🙂