Let’s Speculate: Supernatural 10.13 “Halt and Catch Fire”
This episode was written by Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder and is a MOTW focused on the digital age, digital natives, yeah, the young ‘uns and their damn technological devices.
The episode opens with a boy and girl in a truck. They are using a navigation app called Trini that eventually takes control of the car, tells the girl to get out and then drives the boy to his death with a great one liner.
The episode has an old school case feel even though the mark still haunts the edges of the story. The plot reveals that a ghost is hunting down and killing college kids. Sam and Dean follow the case and investigate the murders.
They figure out that the murders are being committed by a ghost who’s haunting wifi signals and as they learn, the ghost is one Andrew Silver who was killed in a car accident. One of the college girls reveals that she and her friends, the ones who were murdered, caused the car accident when they were playing on their cell phones. While Andrew didn’t die from the impact, he did die from being electrocuted and burned by a broken power line.
As Dean is protecting the last surviving member of the group, Sam goes to see Andrew’s wife. She knows about Andrew, as he’s been keeping in touch with her online and she is having a hard time letting go, even though he demonstrated strange behaviors and was focused on revenge. As Andrew’s ghost goes after Dean and the girl, Sam gets the wife on the phone and she video chats with her husband’s ghost, pleading with him to let go, which he does.
The episode ends with the girl going to the wife’s house to seek atonement while Sam and Dean discuss the mark. Dean decides he just wants to live, help people, and do what he is doing until he can’t anymore. Sam balks but Dean seems resigned to there being no cure for the mark.
Usually I try to avoid judgment of episodes but this was a first class effort in my opinion for the latter years of the show. It had a great old school feel and the storyline was very much a stand alone but connected emotionally to what the brothers are experiencing right now without anvilish or cartoonish comparisons. Well done, Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder.
Questions:
What do you think of Dean’s attitude about the mark now?
Return of SmartSam! Yay! So what do you think of Sam’s reaction to Dean’s emotional statements tonight?
Writer note: Don’t text and drive. It’s not cool.
So what are your thoughts, reactions, feelings? Leave them here!
That opening was BITCHIN, and to come out on the day
they reveal your TV’s are always listening to you….
PRICELESS…
[i]What do you think of Dean’s attitude about the mark now?[/i] It seems to be pretty healthy, if he can maintain it. I remember in season four when Sam said he was going to stop using his powers then found himself in the position where the only way to stop Sam Hain was to use them and so he went back to using them. Dean may well find himself relying on the violence associated with the Mark out of necessity. In any case, Dean needs to find his way to deal with this, not Sam’s.
[i]Return of SmartSam! Yay! So what do you think of Sam’s reaction to Dean’s emotional statements tonight?[/i] I think Sam has been working very had to be supportive of Dean this entire time and I think he continues to be supportive. I’m happy with his reactions. I do think he is aware that things can still go wrong and that he has reason to want the Mark gone, if possible.
[i]Writer note: Don’t text and drive. It’s not cool.[/i] Absolutely!
[i]So what are your thoughts, reactions, feelings? Leave them here![/i] I really enjoyed the episode. It was a nice throwback to early Supernatural, something I have missed. I was really glad to have a supernatural being that isn’t a demon or an angel. I also liked the merging of the ghost with technology and getting the ghost to move on himself. I really liked this. Heck any episode that doesn’t have Sam incapacitated and useless is a win!
I loved this episode! It was an old school Supernatural ghost hunt, crossed with I Know What You Did Last Summer. Remember that book? I think the girl who sent flowers was named Julie and a redhead in the book – and that is how the brother tracked the kids down. Also loved that they continued the larger MOC story, and the great banter between the brothers continued. Really liked last week’s episode, and this one’s even more. This is the show I fell in love with 10 years ago! And next week, Cain is back for a big MOC episode before the mini break! All good!
You know, it was fine, and I think was a unique twist on a ghost story, but is it just me that I’m tired of the dour brotherly talks at the end of each episode? What happened to a smile, a slight celebration for a win, and a rocking tune? This was again too slow for my tastes and I’m still trying to wrap my head around the so called parallels. This show just doesn’t excite me anymore or energize that passion I used to have in hunting for clues.
It was unimaginative television at its most average. Formulaic to a fault, and a clear indication there’s a severe lacking of true creative souls in the writers room; in the director’s chair; and running the show. Nobody has any vision. Even the return of Charlie from Oz spent the first half of the episode as if it was just another random MoTW procedural piece of hackery. Where’s my [i]”Faith”[/i], or [i]”Born Under a Bad Sign”[/i]? No vision. No creativity. Just more of the lame.
The only enjoyable part of this episode was seeing the impala drive off, and it not being CGI. [i](That’s two episodes in a row. Holy smokes!)[/i]
[quote]This show just doesn’t excite me anymore or energize that passion I used to have in hunting for clues.[/quote]I agree
A sure sign it’s S10 for me,this was the first time I did not watch
LIVE. I dvr’d then watched while fast forwarding the ads.
I have given up on THE VEIL, THE MOL survivors, the express
elevator to heaven, canon etc. I just enjoy what I can.
I liked it a deal better than last week. And there was a bright and shining moment at the end which last time I felt that thrilled about what might, and then what DID, happen was Sam’s ‘So’ speech in Sacrifice. I really thought for a moment Dean actually recognized the parallel in what he said, and we were going to get an ACTUAL moment. But he didn’t and I am back to wondering.
And it really wasn’t a moment because there was no logic at all to what he said. Just none. When he was going to live until he went to Hell in Season 3, THAT was going down swinging. But Dean in this scenario CAN’T go down swinging. He is alive, then he is evil, then he is dead, then he’s a demon, then he’s cured, then alive again (rinse and repeat). He knows this, Sam knows this, Dean going down swinging is going to take out everyone around him, it is the worst result. So it wasn’t very uplifting 🙁
What am I missing logically here?
I thought the episode was a lot of fun, and even old-school creepy, especially the cold open! And respectfully, Alice, I disagree – I thought the pacing was pretty good in this episode. I do agree, though, that it would be nice for the boys to celebrate their victories instead of moodily reflecting on things at the end of *every* episode. But hey, an entertaining episode is an entertaining episode!! (Though I do wonder if they had to raise their budget for this one, what with burning trucks, car accidents, smashed computer screens, tablets and phones…) 😀
I was hoping for a stronger lead into next weeks episode!!! A phone convo with Cas saying he’s close to locating Cain? That’s it? That’s all we get??? Meh. Good episode on first watch. Wasn’t blown out of the water tho. I loved the talk at the end. Suprised at Dean’s defeatist attitude but I think he’s just about had it. He’s done. Interesting response from Sam. He was having none of it. You know he is going to do whatever it takes to get Dean back to normal with or without Deans approval. Go Sammy!!!!! What is up with the levels of hunger and horniness that Dean is displaying? MOC or he’s just going to enjoy what he can before he flames out? He does realize that if he’s killed/dies that he will more than likely come back as a demon? Is it next week yet???
I didn’t really care for this episode. “Slapstick” Dean with the over enthusiastic eating gets on my nerves. What?! The brothers have never stopped at a smorgasbord before? Dean not knowing “nothing is ever truly deleted from the Internet”. Remember his Frank tutorial? Is the veil suddenly open now? It felt like they recycled a lot of old plot lines and it was a strange set up for next week’s return of Cain. At least Sam was involved this week and didn’t get knocked out.
The talk at the end was really not what I was expecting but that may have been because of our “Threads” discussion last week. The way it was set up I actually thought I was wrong and JC was going to revisit the possession. I thought Dean was going to say something in the way of an apology to Sam, not about saving his life, but about how he did it. Was this a set up for keeping the MOC into S11? May have to rewatch at least the end.
I agree with your comments and others’ too – I don’t get the writers turning the main characters into cartoon characters every other episode. Dean has always been enthusiastic about food but eating like a pig with food hanging out of his mouth? Really? The powdered doughnut gag was more than enough a while back. Why do the writers have to do this? Yay! Sam is smart in this episode so it’s time to make Dean an idiot? and he’s SO old now, he doesn’t understand social media or cell phone apps? I was thinking the exact same thing about Frank giving him the tutorial in S7, Dean was pretty quick to pick things up and even show Sam a trick or two. Dean has never been stupid why is he now? He’s in a different “generation” than Sam – since when? Why do the writers have Sam treat him like an out of it grandpa? I’m really not impressed by the lazy writing.
A creative spin on ghosts, with a great opening sequence; it was good by S10 standards. It did have an earlier season vibe to it. The gluttonous Dean stuff is getting tiresome, could do without it. Since Sam is a walking and talking wifi hotspot, I was concerned he would end up being possessed by the ghost. They are definitely pandering to a younger audience now; if they’re going to do this, maybe they should have thrown in a pillow fight between the two female roommates before the girl got killed :D:D
And there was the usual complete disregard for canon; I would expect nothing less at this point in the game. Aren’t all the souls still suck in the veil, in which case where did Andrew Silver go at the end?
I think the ending was to setup Sam going off to look for a fix/cure to the MoC himself; they can’t keep things all puppies and rainbows between the brothers for an entire season, can they?
I’ve read an article on the net that was about a spoiler from the producers in regards to Sam’s so called arc this year saying that Sam is going to leave Dean towards the end of the season to find a cure for the MOC which to me fits with Dean’s defeatist attitude and Sam’s disagreement of Dean’s assessment that there is no cure. Basically it seems Dean’s going to try to live with MOC and Sam is going to have to find a cure on his own.
please share the link.
http://hwhills.com/new-supernatural-season-10-big-sam-split-up-spoilers-revealed-by-producer/
TYVM, ParadiseHeat.
Huh… I guess that will mean that we won’t be seeing Sam at all in the final episodes.
For those who know me on twitter, you will not be surprised when I say this: I have not been kind to the show for the past few seasons. In my reading, and again this is my reading, the show has experienced a structural collapse – the overall plots have been weak and the monsters of the week have read more like an anthology series than an integrated part of the Winchester story. With that said, I did enjoy last night’s episode for a few reasons. First, it had a classic feel about it – it was a ghost story and a case that seemed solid and well paced if slow at times. Second, the monster was not a direct parallel to Sam and Dean but rather a different version of their struggle, meaning I could see the themes of letting go and acceptance that we heard Dean speak about at the end but it wasn’t so anvilish that I had to bandage my toes after being dropped on. Finally, after being bombarded with the most rank form of emotional manipulation via the brothers’ angst in the past few seasons, it has been nice to see them together fighting something instead of constantly fighting each other. I don’t think Dean’s talk at the end was defeatist but more like so many talks they’ve had before – this is something that’s happening and we just need to keep keeping on with our own work, etc. It’s what Sam said during the trials. It’s what Dean said during the run up to hell. And that’s part of the show’s issue – it keeps thinking character redundancy is character growth and it’s not.
Is it as good as other MOTWs? No. This is a show that has too many classics against which to compare. And the fix on the veil issue was not a fix at all. The show has suffered too many retcons and dropped storylines over a series of ten years not to have eroded in story quality, but for this week, outside the parameters of the myth which is no myth at all, it was a nice break. That’s my read anyway.
Meh… not bad; and I guess for season 10, I’ll count that as a win. I agree with Prix in that I am tired of ‘comic relief’ Dean. Nobody eats like that in real life. The scene in the cafeteria looked like gag reel material and although I love gag reels I don’t want to see something like that in an actual episode. There was zero reason for that silly take of Dean slopping his food to be left in the actual episode except as cheap laugh. And I also could have done without Dumb “I’m useless at computers” Dean as well. Um hello??? Remember Frank? He showed Dean a lot, stuff even Sam didn’t know.
As far as Dean’s current attitude, at least there’s precedence for it in pretty much all of season 3… its the same defeatist attitude he had then and again for a short time in season 5. I can understand his being so down at the moment, but I am a bit confused. He can try and back to his normal hunter existence, but he’s in an uber violent profession.. the only way he could truly manage what’s he’s got planned is to quit hunting and take up bees like Cain, but he still thinks he can hunt, surround himself with violence on a daily basis and keep the mark under wraps. I think his goal is rather unrealistic. And just because you are discouraged does not mean you sit around and do absolutely nothing at all… I think that that is unrealistic as well and defeatist Dean isn’t that interesting really. I’d rather seen fighting, you;ll never keep me down Dean. Love Sam and all his support and DEARLY hope that this moment was indeed setting up a storyline for Sam to become proactive once again and, dare I hope, get an actual story line that revolves around what he’s doing and thinking and struggling with. He’s had so little to do for so long.
I also agree with njspnfan about canon. They’ve seemingly totally forgotten about the souls in the veil and that’s not even older canon that’s really recent and they still can’t seem to keep track. *sign*. I guess we are supposed to assume that the souls went to heaven through the back door even though that was not made clear at all. Which actually begs the question. If the souls can get through the back door, then what’s the point of opening the front gate? Isn’t heaven essentially open already? And if it is, that really takes the wind out of pretty much Cas’s entire “mission” and neutralizes Metatron doesn’t it? How I wish that the show would keep track of current story lines better; a simple comment by one of the brothers about “but what are we encouraging Andrew Silver to move on to, he’ll just be stuck in the veil with Kevin?” It would have taken 5 seconds to add a line like that then we could have seen the brothers emoting over that conundrum as well.
And talking about past canon. I found Dean’s “you have to own up to stuff and ask for forgiveness” speech terribly ironic. He’s saying the words but is he making the connection to himself? I wasn’t sure at all; he seemed more to be giving advice then talking to or about himself, although maybe others saw that whole scene differently. If he was making the connection to himself I suppose that this is somewhat of a first step.
‘And talking about past canon. I found Dean’s “you have to own up to stuff and ask for forgiveness” speech terribly ironic. He’s saying the words but is he making the connection to himself? I wasn’t sure at all; he seemed more to be giving advice then talking to or about himself, although maybe others saw that whole scene differently. If he was making the connection to himself I suppose that this is somewhat of a first step.”
I saw it as just giving advice. Unfortunately, I don’t think that Dean thinks about these things in relation to himself. Wish he did.
Episode was okay. It did have sort of an early series feel to it which I liked. I like it when Sam goes off by himself and hunts. And he was the one who figured out what was happening. So loved that.
Yeah… no Samsel in distress FOR ONCE. Win. 😀
This show really needs to stop pandering to the fickle elusive 14-year-old girls and get back to writing a dark, gritty drama.
I really hate it when characterization is screwed up for the sake of the plot. It looks to me like Dean needs to deal with some residual 14-year-old hormones more than the Mark.
So, the veil is a dropped plot and Dean has learned to fully control the Mark…or not. What is the plan, Dean — hunt until you hulk out and Cas will then throw you into the sun? Is Dean immortal or not? Is Dean a baby Mark-bearer, because he doesn’t have the special powers that Cain does. Yeah, the computer skills. I guess Frank Devereaux’s lessons didn’t stick. Probably due to those 14-year-old hormones.
Not a horrible episode (Taxi Driver anyone), but I would not call it close to good either.
[quote]I really hate it when characterization is screwed up for the sake of the plot. It looks to me like Dean needs to deal with some residual 14-year-old hormones more than the Mark.[/quote]
That’s been par-for-the-course since Carver took over. It seems that the characters are being bent to do all manner of ridiculous or inexplicable things, become suddenly clueless (Dean knows nothing about computers? Sam needs help hacking?) or downright stupid (leaving Abbadon alone in a warehouse so that they BOTH could go answer a phone call) whenever the plot demands it. They cease to be real people then. Instead of writing the story to suit the characters as Kripke did, they are manipulating the characters to suit the plot. It’s just bad story telling is what it is.
Well this isn’t going to be on my re watch list. I wasn’t to crazy about a 36 year old man stuffing his face (I can’t figure out if this is supposed to have some meaning or not) and ogling girls barely out of their teens. If that was supposed to be funny it missed the mark for me. It was just creepy. The ghost wasn’t very scary and the resolution was on the same level as a Charmed episode. About the only thing that worked for me was that Sam was smart and didn’t get knocked out or tied up. Otherwise it was pretty awful. I can see why this episode didn’t get a whole lot of promotion.
Of course it doesn’t help that I am watching Asylum right now. Now that was scary….
[b]What do you think of Dean’s attitude about the mark now?[/b]
I’m not really sure. He sounds like he’s just going to keep on keeping on, which isn’t really any different than what he’s been doing. And that sort of leaves Sam as his watcher and keeper, doesn’t it? He’s the one who’ll have to reign him in if he loses it, and I almost thought for a second that Dean was going to tell him that, when the time comes, Sam would have to take him out. Instead he said he’d go down swinging.
[b]Return of SmartSam! Yay! So what do you think of Sam’s reaction to Dean’s emotional statements tonight?[/b]
I love SmartSam! I love Taking control Sam (Sammy, I get all tingly…..) Sam’s expression at the end leads me to believe that he’s not going to just stop trying, which we know anyway because of statements from JC and Jared himself. I REALLY REALLY hope that it means there’s going to be an episode, or at least part of an episode where we actually see Sam get to actively DO something about it. I have yet to see this emotional journey that JC was spouting and I’m seriously dying to see at least one Sam Centric episode. I mean, I’m loving the boys being back on the same page and the honesty and MOTW and all that, but I NEED some Sam insight like yesterday.
[b]So what are your thoughts, reactions, feelings? Leave them here![/b]
Very old school. I liked it for the most part. I did find Dean’s antics with the food a little much. I mean, we know he does it to get a rise out of Sam, but someone should have reigned Jensen in a bit. It really did look like gag reel material. I’m assuming that Dean’s excessive eating is him trying to sate himself with other things besides killing, but it’s kind of weird to see him stuffing himself while a man as big as Sam drinks coffee and seems to subsist on air.
I also thought the special effects were a bit cheesy. It’s like they’re spending the whole budget on pop songs all of the sudden and the SE are suffering for it. I was rooting for that blond chick to go because, WOW, she was pretty awful, but that cord around the neck was pretty sad.
And I agree with the comments about Dean and technology. It’s like, in order for Sam to look smarter, they have to make Dean look stupider, which isn’t the case. Balance seems to have flown out the window this season.
But aside from those quibbles, a fairly entertaining episode. I thought the car accident was practically a PSA about texting and driving and I expected the J’s to show up at the end to actually do a real one, lol.
This episode was, imho, very weird. Old-school Supernatural, ok, but I have the strong feeling that the last three episodes were more about keeping Dean away from Castiel than actual plot development. I think the writers got panicked after the Twitterstorm on Destiel, and they decided on the cowardly way out – a total disregard of the strong bond (friendship, affection, love?) which has been growing between the two characters for years, and was particularly insisted upon after Purgatory. I am not a hardcore Destiel shipper, but I still think it was very well acted/written and very believable – after all, Castiel saw Dean at his worst and still thought he was worth saving, and this plays into Dean’s biggest fear – that he is nobody, and nobody wants him, because he’s just not good enough. It seems likely that the writers got scared of this storyline, so they changed tacks to the point it’s not even believable – Cas is now calling Sam instead of Dean (why? never happened before), Dean is being written as a primate (checking out every @ss that comes his way, eating disgusting quantities of food, not knowing anything unrelated to ghosts, not even that nothing is private on the web) and Sam suddenly has no problem at all sticking up for him because, hey, between them things have never been better. Meanwhile, we don’t know what’s going with Metatron (wasn’t this a major problem not so long ago?) and Castiel is still dying (hello?).
Frankly disappointed. If they didn’t want us to think that something romantic could happen between Dean and Castiel, they should have kept in play a love interest for either of them, and solved it that way instead of keeping them apart. This ‘hunting monsters and eating burgers’ storyline just doesn’t work anymore – the show got too dark for it.
Just my two cents. 🙂
I do think the writers are stuck here. If they have Cas and Dean interact, certain fans read into it and when that isn’t fulfilled the show gets accused of queerbaiting. If they bring in a female love or sex interest, the writers get accused of doing it only to prove Cas and Dean are straight. Whether or not it was intentional, Destiel has taken on a life of its own and it looks pretty certain that the show doesn’t intend to canonize that relationship. So, the writers currently have moved Cas and Dean away from each other to keep the focus off of romantic implications. It seems as if the demands that Destiel become canon have only worked to take away the interaction between Dean and Cas. Perhaps they will have them as friends again if the brouhaha dies down.
I don’t necessarily see Dean being treated as a primate here. They have exaggerated some of his basic characteristics to a point that annoys me (like the eating), but the other things you cite are part of the dumbing down of both Sam and Dean. As for Sam sticking up for Dean, he has done that for most of the series, with the exception of season nine. Sam has usually been supportive when Dean gets in a bad place. In season five he never gave up his belief in Dean, even when Dean went to say yes to Michael. When Sam was soulless, he agreed that Dean was right that they should try to get his soul back. In season seven he kept Dean as stone one even after Dean killed Amy and lied to Sam about doing that. So Sam sticking up for Dean is nothing new, IMHO.
I agree with your assessment. I might add that it may also be that, just as the writers have heard the queerbaiting complaint, they may have also heard the “Sam and Castiel have no interaction” complaint, as well as the “Sam has no relationships outside of Dean” complaint. Now, he has Jody and he spent a whole episode with at least part of Charlie ;). It makes sense that Sam and Castiel work together to try and fix Dean and it makes sense that they interact more now because, as has been pointed out on the show itself as far as the mistakes they’ve made, they have more in common than Dean and Castiel do. I personally like their relationship more than Cas and Dean, although I know it’s blasphemy. And I don’t mean in a Sastiel way. I just like their chemistry as friends and allies and I think Sam needs someone who he can confide in and they both have the same goal, helping Dean.
Heh… sylvia blasphemer you! Well if it helps any then I am a blasphemer too. I like Sam and Cas’s relationship even more than Cas and Dean, especially the way that they seem to be connecting with each other (FINALLY!) over helping Dean. It’s made no sense to me that Sam and Cas haven’t been closer to one another, especially after what Cas did to him and the later for him in season 7; helping Dean seems to be the thing that’s really drawing them together into a much delayed and long deserved friendship.
And I know that this is an unpopular view, but I don’t want to see ANY serious romantic relationships on this show, straight, not straight or anything in between. Not Sam/Dean, Dean/Cas, Cas/Sam or anyone/anyone. To me, it’s simply not what this show is about. There have only been a handful of serious romantic relationships even attempted on this show and pretty much all of them have failed miserably. Dean/Lisa – everyone was waiting for Sam to come back and knew that there was NO WAY she’d be riding around in the back seat of the Impala; Sam/Amelia – just no, 1,000 times no, it was doomed to fail as much from the inorganic way in which the story was set up as to the lack of chemistry between Jared and Lianne Whosits (and she is the ONLY female that I have ever seen NOT have chemistry with Jared.. he has chemistry with EVERYONE) and Sam/Jess which was basically set up so she could be killed. All the others have been fly by nights or one night stands or fleeting connections designed to break our boys’s hearts (Cassie, Madison, Sarah).
I’m with you fellow blasphemer. I guess we’ll both go down together because I have no desire to see long term romance on this show. And I agree that they must have looked really hard to find someone with the least amount of chemistry they could find with Jared to play Amelia. Maybe that was the point.
Table for three! One of the things I still like about Supernatural is that it avoids romance. I don’t need it, I don’t want it. Not with anyone.
Mh, this is a tricky one because relationships upset the balance and the show is already great and all, but the problem is that it comes a point where it’s no longer believable. People like to fall in love, they need love, they need a bit of lust, at the very least. You can have the Forever Young thing in a comic book, but on TV people age. Sam and Dean are not the same persons they were ten years ago. The writers need to find a way to address that, which is, I admit, not easy. At all.
It’s true that people need to fall in love, connect in relationships… in life. But this is TV, it is designed to be about X and in this instance X does not include romantic relationships. It’s long been established that these boys have given up all hope of that sort of thing. They will have a fling now and then, but seem to be actively avoiding any lasting relationships, and given the nature of the story, that is for the best for the very reason you state; A romantic relationship of any kind upsets the balance between the brothers and therefore will not work on this show; Sam and Dean need to be number one for each other and that can’t happen if there is some kind of romantic entanglement. Hence I don’t think there will every be anything lasting for our boys in the white picket fence department. And if you are holding out hope that something more meaningful can build between Dean and Cas, from what I’ve seen and read, I don’t believe that Jensen will ever allow such a thing. His loathing of the entire subject has been seen many times, especially recently. He won’t’ even allow questions broaching the subject at cons any more. He even went to the writers during Fan Fiction when a Dean/Cas relationship was alluded to in the young actors playing his and Cas’s parts. He will never allow a story to go in that direction, ever, no matter how well written, no matter how beautifully set up or relevant. He does not believe in it and I think, regardless of the writers, the producers etc… that Jensen would have final say in something like that. When an actor on a popular show puts their foot down, that’s pretty much it.
But this is precisely my point. Of course this is TV, but it’s TV which strives to imitate life. In the recent Special, the writers said so themselves – how in the beginning they ‘just’ wanted to make a horror show with a ‘monster-of-the-week’ theme, and then the whole thing snowballed and became much more. I mean, I don’t know if I’d like to see them married off and having kids, I agree that would sort of destroy the show, but I am talking about the Big Ending here – how can they believably end the show? Will they be 60, still single and still hunting? That’s insane. At some point (let’s hope very far in the future) they’ll have to write an ending, and I see it going one of two ways – either they settle for a more ‘normal’ life, or they die. And since I like these characters, I hope that they can find happiness at the end of the road, that’s all.
As for Destiel – as I said, I’m not a hardcore shipper, so I’m not hoping for anything specifically. I just find it weird, that’s all – that bond between them was clearly being played a certain way (not from the beginning, it started a lot later), and if they decide not to go through with it just because both characters are male, well, colour me disappointed. It’s 2015, isn’t it?
I think the best ending for the show is what the J’s have said repeatedly, they think the brothers should die in a great sacrifice. I think this is the only way too, it’s the only thing that makes sense given their lives. As Dean has always said “it ends bloody.” They live and die heroes.
percysowner, I don’t think that’s a fair assessment. It depends on how a character is introduced. And I don’t think that any old interaction between them has to be read as romantic – in the beginning, it wasn’t romantic at all, imo. For a couple of seasons, they did something very interesting with that relationship – Dean was resentfully grateful to Cas, but was also – at times – terrified of him, both of his power and of what he represented (namely, a God he’d never had faith in, and a sort of destiny for himself he never dared to believe in). I think the shift occurred later, and it was a definite shift, in the way they were looking at each other and how the whole thing was scripted. What got people angry is not that it happened, but this general subtext of, “Oh, we’re just fooling around, having a laugh, because now way two men can actually fall in love and make out”. So, well, I don’t see it as very complicated. Dean can stop licking his lips when he looks at Cas, and Cas can stop staring at Dean like he’s trying to read the Enochian runes on his ribs, and that’s it. Back to how it was on season 4. Because, I get why they pushed Lisa away, but pushing Hannah away was gratuitous. They could have used her to get out of this mess very neatly.
As for Sam, I totally agree with you. What I meant is, what happened to all that tension between them – the fact that Dean cares more about Sam than his brother does about him, and that it was out in the open all last season? I mean, Sam’s paradise itself turned out to be just distancing himself from his brother. At some point they’ll need to address this again.
We don’t see this the same way. I especially disagree that Dean cares more for Sam than Sam does for Dean. I also know that this is a no win situation where nobody is going to change their mind. Other than this post, I’m not discussing it.
I don’t want to annoy you, but I’d really like to hear your thoughts on this. I am no expert of this show, and what I meant to say is – well, it’s obvious they care a lot about each other, and that Sam loves Dean, and all, but Sam is perhaps more mature about the whole thing? The fact he tried to move on, for instance, or that he went to college? What makes Dean so interesting and endearing as a character is that he is flawed, and that he is unable to move past his childhood self – ‘keep it together and care for Sammie, because dad ain’t going to’. I believe that at somepoint he’ll succeed in moving on and love his brother in a healthier way, but, as I said, it’d be grat to hear your opinion on this. 🙂
[quote]What makes Dean so interesting and endearing as a character is that he is flawed, and that he is unable to move past his childhood self – ‘keep it together and care for Sammie, because dad ain’t going to’.[/quote]
Different strokes for different folks I guess. Dean’s unwillingness or inability to move on and progress past emotional childhood is his most unflattering characteristic, at least for me it is anyway. I don’t find it endearing at all. He’s 36 and reacting to things like he’s still a 16 year old? It’ WAY past time for Dean to grow up, treat himself like he’s worth something and treat Sam like the capable adult he is and has been for years now.
Agreed Percys. Sam has always cared just as much for Dean as Dean has for Sam… it’s just that Sam is less controlling in that care then Dean is.
I agree Percy. I also think a lot of Dean’s eating behavior, etc.is another way to appeal to the younger males who seem to find this kind of thing funny and both Sam and Dean get dumbed down. It is pretty well known that Jensen doesn’t like the Destiel ship so that might be part of the reason we are seeing less of him and Castiel together.
I loved the episode. I really liked its old school feel, and how the monster of the week connected to Sam and Dean’s storyline. And the brother moment at the end was really important!
[quote]What do you think of Dean’s attitude about the mark now?[/quote]
I liked it. Right now, Dean thinks that the chances of getting rid of the Mark are very slim, so he has to concentrate on keeping its effects at bay. His attitude makes a lot of sense. It’s very mature, in a way.
[quote]So what do you think of Sam’s reaction to Dean’s emotional statements tonight?[/quote]
Since Dean can’t waste his strength on finding a cure, Sam has to… He has to keep fighting. I loved his reaction.
[quote]Return of SmartSam! Yay![/quote]
Yes! That was amazing. I also loved Dean checking out all the girls and eating like a pig. 🙂 I loved how in character they were!
I have very mixed feelings about this episode. I liked the twist on the ghost story, and the opener was great- I found it really funny that the GPS was yelling at the girl to get out of the car. The rest of the ghost plot was OK but seemed kind of generic. But the biggest failing of this episode was the many missed opportunities. I thought one of the most intriguing plot lines last year was the dead being stuck in the veil, and it’s been dropped like a hot potato. Even a line or two in some episode (like this one!) explaining that it is no longer an issue would satisfy me. I’d love to know where Kevin is, and you’d think the Winchesters would too.
But the worst missed opportunities related to the brothers. I was so excited that, while Dean was left to bond with the last surviving student, Sam was finally going to have a meaningful interaction with a guest star when he went to see the wife. But all we got was lots of emoting by her and a series of reaction shots of Sam. I guess maybe I need more anvils than some other posters, because I expected Sam to express some understanding of how one’s inability to let go of a loved one can result in bad choices- heck, isn’t that Sam’s (so-called) story line this year? And I was REALLY excited about Dean’s conversation with the student, (i.e., him telling her that maybe she needed to make things right) because (like Prix68) I thought that it was leading up to a conversation between the brothers about the possession by Gadreel and the ensuing rift between the boys. I truly thought Dean would finally apologize and tell Sam he finally understood Sam’s anger, and that Sam would express his understanding of Dean’s choice and his forgiveness. But I guess that is a conversation we will never hear, even though it was the main plot of last season, and the reason Dean took on the MOC in the first place..
Last of all, the final conversation between the boys had me scratching my head for a different reason. Dean tells Sam he wants to stop searching for a cure for the MOC, and instead just deal with it, as though this is some new idea, rather than what Sam has been encouraging him to do for several episodes. Where was his acknowledgement of this, and of Sam’s unwavering faith in Dean’s ability to resist the effects of the mark? And I hoped that Dean might even admit that this very faith of Sam’s is inspiring his own determination to fight the MOC. Even a joking reference to Sam’s cheerleading would’ve been preferable to no mention at all. Although the brotherly banter is always a treat, I feel like they continue to ignore/bury the bigger issues between them. It’s great that they’re getting along, but it seems kind of superficial to me because they don’t really hash things out the way they used to in earlier seasons. As much as I would love a (long-overdue) brotherly hug, to me it would seem forced at this point, because there is so much left unsaid between them that there just doesn’t seem to be a real closeness between them, a closeness that I don’t think we’ve seen since the last half of season 8. Ah well, there are still 10 episodes left, so I can dream.
[quote]But the worst missed opportunities related to the brothers. I was so excited that, while Dean was left to bond with the last surviving student, Sam was finally going to have a meaningful interaction with a guest star when he went to see the wife. But all we got was lots of emoting by her and a series of reaction shots of Sam. I guess maybe I need more anvils than some other posters, because I expected Sam to express some understanding of how one’s inability to let go of a loved one can result in bad choices- heck, isn’t that Sam’s (so-called) story line this year? And I was REALLY excited about Dean’s conversation with the student, (i.e., him telling her that maybe she needed to make things right) because (like Prix68) I thought that it was leading up to a conversation between the brothers about the possession by Gadreel and the ensuing rift between the boys. I truly thought Dean would finally apologize and tell Sam he finally understood Sam’s anger, and that Sam would express his understanding of Dean’s choice and his forgiveness. But I guess that is a conversation we will never hear, even though it was the main plot of last season, and the reason Dean took on the MOC in the first place.. [/quote]
Oh boy.. you read my mind. I was pretty much going to post this exact same thing, only you beat me to it and said it better! 😉 I wasn’t surprised when Sam and Dean split up, they almost always do that now, it’s become part of the formula for getting a lighter load for each of our boys. Cool, I get that. OK. So when they split and Dean gets to emote and give stirring and plot relevant advice to the chick of the week I, I wasn’t surprised (although if Dean understood that he should be taking his own advice, it sure wasn’t clear here). Then I was pleasantly surprised (shocked) to find that the camera actually followed Sam for a change! OMG, when was the last time THAT happened? Yeah! Sammy connecting with the other chick of the week! Yeah for balance! Yeah… nope. What does Sam get? Technical exposition and worried face as chick of the week II emotes all over the place, revealing loads of unnecessary personal information about her husband, and “holding on” and “doing questionable things” that we could care less about because we are never going to see her again. Why wasn’t Sam given a voice here? Doesn’t he have loads of experience in this department? Don’t the writers see that they are doing this OVER and OVER? It’s gotten to the point that I don’t even want to hear Dean speak because it’s endless “I’ve been there kid” and “let me tell you….” until I want to scream at the redundancy of it. Then they actually show Sam on screen for ONCE and what do we get? bla, bla bla wifi towers, bla bla, absorbed electricity bla bla….nothing, not one personal shred, not one connection to chick of the week II, not one bit to show that Sam has been through anything and can relate to anyone on a personal level… it’s boring as dirt. At least he wasn’t rendered unconscious and saved from the baddie of the week by a 6 year old girl in a pink party dress.
It’s almost starting to seem bizarre to me that they won’t let Sam have a meaningful conversation with the guest stars while Dean is opening his heart up to everyone he encounters. Remember when Sam always wanted to talk about everything and Dean was the one who wanted no “chick flick ” moments? Or did I hallucinate that? It’s so obviously lopsided that I can’t help but wonder how Jared feels about this and if he , too, feels that Sam is getting pretty short shrift from the writers.
Oh.. and something else you said that really struck a chord in me…
[quote]Where was his acknowledgement of this, and of Sam’s unwavering faith in Dean’s ability to resist the effects of the mark? And I hoped that Dean might even admit that this very faith of Sam’s is inspiring his own determination to fight the MOC. Even a joking reference to Sam’s cheerleading would’ve been preferable to no mention at all. Although the brotherly banter is always a treat, I feel like they continue to ignore/bury the bigger issues between them. It’s great that they’re getting along, but it seems kind of superficial to me because they don’t really hash things out the way they used to in earlier seasons.[/quote]
Why hasn’t Sam said even one time to Dean “Because I know what you’re going through Dean… I lived with the Supernatural inside of me my whole life, I know what it’s like…” Why? Why ignore pretty much everything that has made Sam who he is? Why not have Sam voice the way in which he can really connect to his brother? Why not have Dean acknowledge that he really had no freaking clue what Sam had to deal with all those years? And that maybe he could have been a bit more understanding and helpful. How about Dean thank Sam for his help and faith? It’s like the elephant in the room every time they talk about the Mark. Then Dean turns around an unloads all over some poor unsuspecting Victim of the Week, dispensing advice based off his troubles that he doesn’t even seem to relate back to himself. It makes all the episodes seem empty and unsatisfying as I wait around for some kind of substance based off the brother’s own rich past. What are the writers waiting for? I think that they think that they can only address these issue one time and that once the boys discuss it it’s done. Kripke knew though that they could get a LOT of milage out of a single issue: how many times in season 3 was Dean’s lack of self worth and willingness to die addressed by the brothers? Over and Over and OVER again; they fought, they talked, they snarked about it endlessly, first from Dean’s POV then Sam’s. Now they avoid all their issues endlessly only to give it a single mention in the last episode. It doesn’t work; “I’m proud of us” is proof of that.
You took the words right out of my mouth. There is so much substantive conversation they could be writing between the brothers and that I am desperately hoping for, but to no avail. I’m so glad you brought up “I’m proud of us.” I thought that was the lamest choice of last words from Dean to Sam that they could have used, and I was shocked that Carver had written that since I think he usually writes great episodes. But then I read that he had written something else in the original script and the Js wanted to change it to something they considered more suitable. The Js are great actors, but I’m thinking they’d suck as writers because I just don’t think Dean would have wasted his last breath on a line like that. And another thing that irks me endlessly- nobody has ever called Dean on the carpet for the unbelievably stupid decision to take on the MOC in the first place. In fact, it was completely OOC for him to do so. This is the Dean who as recently as the end of Season 8 was STILL riding Sam about trusting Ruby and drinking demon blood. Sam started drinking the blood so he could kill an incredibly powerful demon…now what does that remind me of? oh yeah, Dean taking on the MOC, from the Father of Murder no less, no questions asked, so he could kill a very powerful demon. Yet no one has ever confronted Dean about his action, other than a stern “what did you do?” from Cas. I would love a scene where Dean expresses regret for being so hard on Sam for Sam’s poor choices, while Sam has been endlessly supportive of Dean concerning the consequences of Dean’s poor choices. But that , of course, is a conversation we will never hear. Conversation like that (or like any of your excellent suggested topics for the brothers) would detract from the hilarity of Dean stuffing his face while Sam runs the gamut of showing every human emotion possible without ever saying a word. Do I sound bitter? Well, that’s because I am.
I think ‘I’m proud of us’ WAS in the script. [i]Sam[/i] had a longer speech that might have clarified his point from the Purge about ‘discovering’ (eyeroll) what he would and wouldn’t do to save Dean, and it was too complicated for an audience that was still arguing over the meaning of ‘same circumstances’ 10 or so episodes later – so J2 rewrote it to ‘I lied’ which wasn’t so much bad as exasperating. It shouldn’t be their job to make the storyline coherent. It shouldn’t be their job to remember when there is a storyline the writers forgot about. It never used to be their job. Now they do it on a regular basis it seems.
Because I rhink they believe Sam did not exist prior to season 8 so intergrating Sam’s own life history into current situations does not occur to them.
The conversation for no chick flick moments
[quote] Sam Winchester: Hey Dean… what I said earlier, about mom and dad, I’m sorry…
Dean Winchester: [raises hand to stop Sam] No chick flick moments.[/quote]
Basically, it was used to keep Sam from expressing something, in this case apologizing to Dean for talking about John and Mary, but it never stopped DEAN from talking about whatever he felt he needed to say. It’s only used to shut Sam down, not Dean.
Well, it seems to have worked. Sam never says anything personal ever any more. So, good job there.
I found this a better episode than last weeks. This felt more like the older seasons 🙂
Like I said earlier, I was expecting a much stronger lead into the Cain episode! Watching the promo for next week with the Dean and Cain standoff – I wonder if Dean is going to experience some jealousy and possessiveness once Cain has “The Precious” – somehow I cant see the bearers of the MOC wanting to give up their ownership of the FirstBlade?!?
H&CF was okay. I think these particular writers pen episodes that are sometimes too predictable. Also feels like they try too hard to fit in the popular catch phrases…as well as the humor. I do think they do a good job with the brothers dialogue and they are pretty consistant with that. I was so hoping coming off of last week that we would be in for another great one, moving into an awesome 2nd half and then – we get this. So Berens is the writer for Executioners Song? What do you guys think? Robbie Thompson wrote First Born, right? Almost wish he’d be the one to do this one since that was such a great episode!
I feel pretty good about Robert Berens writing the next episode. He has a pretty good grasp on the show and the brothers relationship. Although the lack of any promo shots of Sam makes me think that he won’t be in the episode very much. But I am looking forward to it.
Don’t give up on Sam’s involvement. Based on the pics it looks like the Rowena/ Crowley show! 🙂 It doesn’t even look very Dean heavy and since it’s the Dean/Cain showdown – you know that can’t be right! I think they are just keeping it close to the vest. I just hope that we all haven’t set our expectations for Cain/Timothy O’s (love him!!!) return that we get let down. AND please don’t kill him! I loved that determined look on Sams face at the end of the episode… thats a “take no prisoners” determination if I’ve ever seen one. I love Dean but I so want to see BADASS Sam!!!!!!!!!! What do you think is going to happen upon Cains reappearance?
Well one speculation that I like is that Cain wanted Dean to come find him so he could get his hands back on the Blade not necessarily to kill him. Or when he touches the Blade again it starts to consume him. Maybe Cain was offered a deal with Lucifer that involved killing his brother in order to gain the power that he would get from the MOC and the Blade. All of that would mean TO would have to come back for a few episodes so that is all good. But yeah I don’t think Sam or Cas is going to have much to do in this busy looking episode. But it does look like Sam is going to go on his own journey by the end of the season. I think we are being set up to be dealing with the MOC through at least part of S11. I really can’t figure out what Castiels role is from here on out other than to help find a cure for Dean. The show is being very vague. Robert Berens is probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite writer behind Carver so I am really looking forward to his script.
Hmmmm…so the first spec would assume Cain was not able to get the First Blade once he ditched it (I always kinda thought he could if he wanted but that he was keeping to his promise he made for Collette) but needed Dean to do it for him…hadn’t thought of it like that. Cain looked alllll kinds of fearsome and badass (Oh yeah!!!!!) and unless it’s just edited oddly also appeared to be that way before he touched the FB? So he was kinda off his meds after that demon massacre from the last time he saw Dean/Crowley? Think of what’s going to happen when he gets his hands on the FB again!!! Love that magnificent beard and flowing hair! Dean looked like Dean and not in his fierce killer “I’m giving to rip your throat out with my teeth” mode, even with the FB. You know he’s going to have to seriously ramp it up if he’s going to fight Cain. Maybe he’s deliberately holding back? Maybe he wants Cain to kill him once and for all since he is the only thing that can. I thought it cool when Cain called the FB to him! Kinda like a pet returning to it’s rightful owner… “Here Slicey, come here Slicey!” Ha! I don’t know about Timothy O returning. Did Galavant get cancelled? Did I hear he has something else lined up? If Dean kills him will that be the set up for Dean to become the Big Bad? I just hope that the Cain episode kicks this season into high gear because it has seriously just been plodding along…
I don’t know how Dean CAN fight Cain. For me the whole set up for a showdown between them is problematic on so many levels. First of all, Dean is human and has no special powers at the moment. The mark is making him crave, but he’s not extra strong, extra fast or extra hyped up. Cain OTOH is the Father of Murder, the first knight of hell and an uber strong, two thousand year old demon. Dean is no match for Cain even with the mark. And once Cain get’s his hands on the blade (which given the promo, we know that he does) it’s totally implausible to think that Dean could defeat him. For me a showdown between the two is preposterous. It’s Robert Berens though, one of the shows last few talented writers, so hopefully he’s got this worked out in a plausible way.
Then there is the Rowena issue. She’s laughable, a cartoon. I can’t watch her and I can’t take her seriously. Crowley has been absolutely emasculated, totally ruined as a character by his association with her. What the hell have they done to him? I feel terrible that the fantastically talented Mark Shepherd has given himself over to this show to have his character diluted in this way; it’s embarrassing.
The number of times Dean ate, and also that he leered at college girls was kind of excessive, it was like they were making a point of it. But there didn’t seem to be any point.
You have to wonder, assuming that they ARE going after the teen audience, if emphasizing how old the brothers both are, like they have done in several episodes in this season, and having Dean behave the way he was behaving in this episode is REALLY the best way to go about it?
I do think the excessive leering and voracious food consumption by Dean seems deliberate. It has escalated week by week to the point of ridiculousness. But the point? IDK either.
First and foremost, where can I get a croisookie?
My take (for what it’s worth) is that Dean’s attitude at the end of the episode is analogous to me of a cancer patient, maybe in a temporary remission, saying no to more chemo. I’m hanging on, I’m fighting it my way, I feel good, I’m doing what I want to do. Sam, as the loving brother that he is, is of course not going to accept this. From his point of view, he sees it as giving up, and he wants a cure no matter how arduous. Seen this way, I think many of us can relate.
Well put!
Croiscookie? I’m still trying to get my hands on a Cronut! Damn this show!
You gotta admit – Show is struggling in the horror genre when the anti smoking commercials by the FDA are scarier than the current episode you are watching. But hey, at least the all important teenage demographic that the CW is targeting so hard is getting the message “Smoking bad!!!” Of course that is then offset by Dean and the copius amount of alcohol he consumes! I swear I want to drink straight from the bottle whenever I see him start to throw back shots! One good thing about this last episode is that it reinforced the other important message “Texting and driving bad!!!” Oh and the “Don’t drive with a suspended license…” Which all got lost once that damned Dean started with his liquor before beer again… Anybody got a Redbull???!!!!????
That’s funny alycat. I was just thinking those anti-smoking spots were creepier than a lot of the stuff on tv. Maybe cigarettes could be the MoW some episode or hey even the big bad. There’s even a contract involved.:)
So this is the second episode that has used a current pop song instead of classic rock. I do love Hozier’s Take Me To Church and it was well used. Are pop songs replacing classic rock?
Heathen! Blasphemer!!! Shun! Shuuuunnnnnnnnn!!!!! I hope it was an anomaly and there will be no more pop princesses… On second thought if anything would bring Kripke back, this could be it! 😉
NOOOOOO!!!! The show was built on classic rock. I found it blasphemous that Dean suddenly liked Taylor Swift because he heard it on the bus when he was in his teenage body. Could you see Season 1, 26 year old Dean, commenting on his new found like for Taylor Swift music! The writers are killing Dean….. again!
Could this be part of the seeming current trend to attract younger viewers? There are some pop(ish) songs that I think would fit and have been used in fanvids (Mumford and Sons comes to mind) But that takes away from the lmidwest on the road killing monsters rock that we love. I don’t know about this we will have to see where this is all going.
maybe Dean is still suffering from being in puberty. j/s
food/ogling chicks etc.