Robin’s Rambles – “Hammer of The Gods”
“Hammer of the Gods”
–Robin’s Rambles by Robin Vogel
Poor cop–I wonder what he was doing there, anyway? Weird goings-on to investigate? Why didn’t any of his fellow officers follow up? Why did the tulip come back to life? Why do gods eat people, anyway? That’s not nice!
The gods fight like children, are full of many ugly human frailties–vanity, foolishness, violence, cannibalism, cruelty, bullying, mine-is-bigger-than-yours, etc. It was really quite unattractive to watch! Gabriel shows up, surprised to see the Winchesters, and worried, since they know who he really is. Indeed, Dean threatens to out him if he doesn’t help them free the hotel guests who are locked up as future meals.
Sorry to say, Gabe’s attempt to steal the blood vials while romancing Kali doesn’t work, and she ends up with his blood, too. Good try, Gabe, bad result, but she already knew the truth about you, anyway, so no matter what you did, you were up the creek. It bugged me that Sam, who was so upbeat and hopeful last week, wanted to throw their lot in with these terrible gods in case they COULD kill Lucifer. Dean was upset that Sam was so ready to throw in their lot with them. Gabe assured them that Lucifer was more powerful than any of these gods. I had no trouble believing that, given that the gods seemed to have only their own individual agendas at heart, with no hope of common ground! Quite frankly, given how powerful they are SUPPOSED to be, I felt that they were far too easily killed. Then again, what do I know? I didn’t like them, and even though Lucifer is such a danger to the brothers, he was still more likable (and a far better actor, frankly), than those irritating gods!
Poor Sam and Dean! They think they’re in a nice place, but of course they’re not–eyeballs in the soup, a guy’s head on the silver plate–and THEY are, against their will, the guests of honor! How sad to hear Sam sound so different from last week–burnt out? Not sleeping? Dean enjoys the live peep show of the pair making out, but they just disappear! A man turns from elephant to man? The clerk Sam’s chasing turns a corner and is simply gone? What IS this place?
“I got wings like Kotex.” LOL! I laughed so hard at that line, but was so sad when Kali shoved that knife into Gabriel! I should have known it wasn’t real, but it sure looked it! She is one weird, scary chick, and I have no idea what Gabe sees in her! She appears to have no real emotion, or at least no positive ones, yet he still cares so much about her. I was also trying to figure out if I disliked her because she seemed to be a terrible actress.
Odd. I have to admit, too, that Kali’s speech gave me much to ponder–the earth DOES have many religions, many different gods, yet Lucifer claims the earth is HIS, others think the earth is THEIRS, and all want to take it from the HUMANS! WTF? It’s ours, leave us alone!
It’s SO GREAT to see Dean back to his old self, giving this big, bluff speech to these gods who could kill him with one look if they wanted to! He casually pours a drink, calls them names, tells them he’s going to help them kill the devil, bring him here, let the hostages go, we kill the devil together or you can eat me–literally! That was the brave, crazy Dean we all know and love–but the wondrous Sam from last week seemed to have retreated into his shell, and I missed him!
Then, DEAN gives the big speech to Gabriel in the Impala, ordering him to man up and face his brother–kill him, if necessary! Gabe insisted he can’t do that, and all I could think was, DEAN, COULD YOU???? While I was thrilled to see the return of brave, confident Dean, the Sam of last week was no where to be seen. I missed him!
Trickster’s final death at the hands of his brother was truly sad. I loved the Trickster, and that’s who he will always be to me, a good-time guy who put those who deserved it in their places. I’m so proud of him for getting into the fight. Whether it was Dean’s pep talk, his love of the icy Kali or both, he faced down Lucifer and told him he was on the side of the humans. In doing that, he signed his own death warrant, of course, but at least he went down fighting, and as Dean’s kindred spirit, I doubt he wished for anything more. What’s ironic here is that Gabriel used a trick that has fooled many other enemies, but not his big brother–who taught it to him! Surely Gabriel knew that? It couldn’t have been easy to kill his own brother, but Lucifer did it, and with genuine sorrow. I will miss the character so much, because Richard Speight Jr. was hilarious, boisterous and so very funny. I hope they find some way to bring him back in season 6. Notice how very easily Lucifer dispensed with all the gods! Even though his meat suit is disintegrating, he’s still the strongest son of a bitch in the valley!
Kielbasa, Gabe, REALLY? How cliche! Room 69? Even more so! Still, I laughed. I mostly laugh at porno films, which is why my husband never takes me to watch them. I wondered why Sam and Dean didn’t seem more upset over Gabriel’s death–or Dean didn’t seem more proud of what he’d done at his urging.
Now, learning that they need two more rings, Sam is full of sarcasm: “That’s all?” I ask again–where’s last week’s Sam? He blew his wad getting Dean back to his old self, and now Sam himself has lost his mojo? NO! I demand our old Sam back!
I give this episode extra kudos for ick factor! The severed arm, eye soup, Lucifer’s bloodied arm going through the guy, the blood of all the dead gods as Lucifer massacred them, the guy’s head on the platter, all that DISGUSTING mucus in the final scene, the buzzing flies–did I forget anything? GROOOOOOOOOSSSSSSS! Again, kudos to Richard Speight Jr. for his marvelous performance in this episode; he did Trickster/Gabriel proud! Standing ovation from me!
I liked this episode, didn’t love it. The gods were annoying. Only Kali stood out as an individual, and I didn’t care for her. That Gabriel gave his life while she remained alive didn’t seem right. She didn’t seem deserving of his love or anyone else’s. Excellent performance from Mark Pellegrino once again. His quiet menace is amazing, and once he’s onscreen, he lights it up. His scenes with Speight were electrifying, poignant, scary, and action packed. Compare that with the gods bickering, which bored me. I also enjoyed the desk clerk, Mercury, played by John Emmet Tracy. He had a clipped, concise way of delivering his lines that was especially creepy.
As for the ending, which introduced us to our last Horseman, Pestilence, all I can say is, EWWWW! I am not a big fan of mucus, and there was way too much of it in that last few minutes, ALL OVER THE PLACE! When he sneezed in the proprietor’s face, all over his glasses, I seriously wanted to hurl!
As for the flies, I used to have nightmares about them, and I swore to my mother there was one buzzing around my ear while I was trying to fall asleep! That scene of all those flies buzzing in Pestilence’s car was so gross and brought back many unpleasant memories!
See you next week, maybe!
1. What did you think of this episode and be honest!
2. Will you miss Richard Speight? Do you think he’ll be back? Reminisce about your favorite moment with him.
3. What did you think of the gods?
4. What did you think of the elaborate hotel the gods set up to trap Sam and Dean? Do you think they needed to go to such lengths to get them?
5. Do you think, as I do, that Sam was behaving 180 degrees opposite the way he was last week? Were you as disappointed as I was?
6. Did you feel that Mark Pellegrino and Richard Speight gave amazing performances in this episode, or is it just me?
Robin, I don’t really now what happened to me, but I can hardly breathe. At first I was not as affected by this but the episode crept into my system like a virus…
I will miss, miss, miss Richard Spreight. WEll, nothing’s impossible with this show, but I don’t think so that he will be back. I do hope, though, that he will.
Ah, the gods… narcissists altogether, Kali had a point though – throwing the arrogance of the Western religions back into their face. There haven’t been any wars in the name of god before we had monotheism. first time in Egypt, with Akhnaton, later, ah you know the history of the crusades et al. But, however, every one whines for his power, here, like a brat… and just as arrogant.
Hotel Elysian Fields? Hilarious. I don’t think they would have needed that hotel, but I guess they just had fun with the human buffet that came walking in.
I think Sam’s confused big time right now. He barely sleeps, we must not forget the anger he still carries within him, what about his powers… and I think Dean’s sudden turn might have freaked him out a tiny bit, too.
No, it’s not just you – Pellegrino and Spreight were at the height of their abilities here. All Hail to them!
I hope some of this made sense. I’m beat. I’m dreading the future episodes. I sound like a broken record. Damn.
Love Jas
If it’s possible to like the Devil, I love Mark Pellegrino’s Lucifer. He was way better than all those gos put together and he stole the scene the moment he showed up. I feel almost sorry to see him go.
Much as I love to see Dean back to his old self, I was disappointed with Sam’s change of behavior after all his awesomeness last episode. Maybe the fact that the confrontation with Lucifer is getting closer is starting to affect him. Or maybe the pressure of having to be strong for everybody in the last episodes is showing its effects now. And, of course, let’s not forget that the anger is still there somewhere. I don’t know, but judging by these signs and the clips for next episode, I have a bad feeling about Sam’s future.
At least Gabriel, in his hilarious turn as a porn star, gave the boys a new plan to follow–imprisoning Lucifer instead of killing him, since I really don’t think they have a shot at that. Perhaps even Michael would accept that as an alternative?
Perhaps Sam will say yes to Lucifer–as a way to lure him into the cage?
Love, Robin
According to the Bible, the Devil will be imprisoned again and left there for a thousand years. I’m please about his direction because you can’t possible kill the Devil. Something like that would ruin the credibility of the story.
In order to trap the Devil, they’ll have to lure him first, like you said. I might be completely mistaken, but my guess is that Sam is going to pretend he wants to say yes and then something will go wrong. Lucifer is no fool and he is confident – as shown in Free To Be You and Me and Abandon All Hope – that Sam will give his consent.
I agree AndreaW. It was always known that you can’t kill the devil, so putting him back is the only option. Just always thought the boys would get Michael to do it again.
Really didn’t think Dean should have told Gabe to kill Lucifer either. Brothers don’t hurt brothers no matter what the family. That is not the Winchester way. And Sam being all stressed in the beginning is out of place too. Really they need to put the ‘stressed brother’ thing to rest!
Also if Gabe knew all this time that the rings would solve this, why take on Lucifer in the first place? Really wasn’t necessary, but I guess Kripke was going for the heartbreak of Gabe dying. Really, he doesn’t have to kill every one. Fans won’t leave if a few characters survive to season six!
Did look like Lucifer was affected by killing his bro though. Maybe he has some feelings for family too. Also they did a really good job of making Lucifer look very sick. Lesions, grey skin color, seemed his walk was staggering too. Plan B is NOT looking good.
I loved the gods, thought their bickering was hilarious (Don’t mock my turtle! LOL) And those “Hello, My Name Is” conference stickers, priceless. I thought Kali was awesome–powerful, sultry (As Randal emphasized), scary and yet conveyed the emotional underpinnings really well too (IMHO). It was great to see a strong female character on the show again. She loses points for her dietary choices, but scores some for awesomely shooting Dean AND his baby down! “I’m not getting in that.” Loved it. And allow me a shallow moment here: Baldur was kinda sexy. Like Patrick. Or Luther.
Re: the god bloodbath too, liked how it threw into relief just how ridiculously scary Lucifer is, and how much contempt he holds for “lesser beings.” It definitely left me with a “we are so screwed” feeling.
Interesting how Dean objected to Sam wanting to make devil’s bargain with the gods–then later went and did the same thing, at which point Sam objected. LOVED how Dean was insulting them the whole time, that scene was awesome. It really looked like he was disgusted with himself for being willing to ally with these creatures.
Agree about Dean telling Gabe he needs to put his brother down, that did seem like asking a lot. “Dean, could you?” Great point, Robin. I loved the look on Dean’s face when Gabe shows up to face Lucifer, though–he just looks so proud of Gabriel.
The “Mission Impossible” message in the form of an incredibly tacky and cheesy porno cracked me up to no end. It’s so perfect for Gabriel. Are they really that cheesy???
Agree, there did seem to be some inconsistency in Sam’s character development. The preview for next week looked interesting in that regard too…
Loved the hotel setup. I think it served multiple purposes as a cover for the gods. That was not your average conference! Considering how the motels have always been such a signature of the show, I’m surprised they hadn’t done a “Hotel California” story before.
Pestilence: I can barely watch that scene, it’s so revolting! Just when I think this show can’t gross me out anymore. It was almost as bad as the human torch scene from Simon Said, I can’t watch that one either. MBV I can more or less get through… Wow. SIKN TRD– 😀
Yeah, Richard Speight and Mark Pellegrino totally rocked this. I’ll miss Gabriel a lot–some have hoped God will deus ex machina him back to life. I’ll toss a quarter in for that.
I think killing Gabriel heightened the emotional impact of the episode, but Mo Ryan may have a point. Maybe Kripke should think about actually keeping some of these appealing characters around, you know, since they’re so cool and appealing, as opposed to his usual KILL!!!KILL!!!KILL!!! approach–let’s not deplete the character pool too much…
Thanks for the ramble, Robin! Sorry about my long and rambling response, not much structure here… Sablegreen, I hope we find out why Nick was Lucifer’s Plan B, could be very interesting…
“You can’t or you won’t?” They having Dean say these words sounds ominous to me. I can’t help associating them with John’s warning and Sam’s very strange behaviour in this episode, if you compare it with last episode. It’s as if the writers are preparing us for something.
Sorry, I already said that but I want to reinforce this point because I think it’s significant regarding the events to come. Sam was acting weird and I’m surprised that most reviews I read didn’t mention it. He didn’t eat nor sleep, he was uneasy the whole episode and he was very sensivive to everything Luci-related. He wanted to hit the road in the middle of the storm to go after Lucifer, then he jumped to the opportunity of joining forces with the gods to gank Lucifer. He was the first one to sense Lucifer’s presence and the camera made sure to show his reaction. And he seemed downright scared in Lucifer’s presence, if you pay attention. Ah, and he didn’t let Dean save the gods’ “dinner” because it was too late. What happened to his saving-people policy? Add to that the clips for next episode and I’m officially worried.
Ah, Sammy, don’t do that to me. Not after you were so wonderful getting your brother back. :cry::
Hi Robin
I liked this episode. I liked seeing the views of the other Gods. It’s funny they all hate humans but expect us to worship them.
I was wondering if the Gods get their strength by how many they have believing in them. The more believers the stronger they are. Although Lucifer doesn’t have worshippers, he certainly has a lot of believers and add fear to that, maybe that is why he was so much stronger. Just a thought.
I loved the Trickster/Gabriel, he was my favourite character outside of the main four. And I loved Richard’s portrayal of him. I hope somehow he does come back. After all it is Supernatural. However for me, Kripke is never going to be forgiven on this one.
I found it strange that they just didn’t zap them to them if they knew where they were. Why go thru all that if they didn’t have to. They obviously knew were they were by setting up the detour to the hotel.
Looking at Lucifer and how Nick’s body is falling apart, I would say Lucifer is loosing his patients with Sam and is probably getting relentless and is invading Sam’s dreams. This is probably why Sam is not sleeping, Lucifer is forever there in his mind. I think Sam believes in his heart that he is not strong enough to say no against Lucifer. He needs Dean to keep him strong and that’s why he fought so hard to get Dean’s head back into the game.
As for why Sam jumped on board with calling in Lucifer, I believe it was because he had not only Dean but the other Gods there and he was hoping between all of them they could defeat him.
They rocked, both Mark and Richard.
I figured Sam’s been stressed for awhile, but because Dean was struggling so badly and he was trying so hard to get Dean’s head back into the game, it slipped under everyone’s radars. It just doesn’t seem plausible to me that Sam, the eternal obsessive worrywart, could be sleeping like a baby all year while Dean falls apart, Bobby contemplates suicide, Castiel goes on a drinking binge, and the Apocalypse is nigh. I’m sure that, like Dean, he’s been sleeping poorly for months now. And he’s NEVER eaten much when stressed out. The difference this time was that Dean’s in a better headspace and is really noticing for the first time just how much everything’s taking a toll on Sam.
As for everything else: I used to really like the Trickster/Gabriel, but the last few episodes I’ve found him too exposition-y. After so many one-shot episodes, it feels like Show’s trying to cram too much info into the end of the season, and it’s a bit clunky to me. There’s no reason some of the recent stuff couldn’t have happened earlier on, like say when the boys were battling Paris Hilton or Dean was oblivious to a 17 year old living in Sam’s body. :roll::
Dean’s “can’t or won’t” comment is disturbing, but is sadly in line with PONR, where he resignedly said he thought Sam was gonna give into Lucifer and he’d have to stop him. I don’t mean this as a bash at all! Clearly Dean was miserable about this thought, but I do think in his recent desperation he has hardened himself to the possibility of having to kill Sam. Not that any part of him wants to, not that he won’t do anything he can to avoid it, but I think on some level he thinks it might actually have to happen. 🙁
Gabriel and Lucifer are so sad together! I never really buy the “brotherhood” bit from Cas, who seems low on the angel pecking order and not closely connected to most of the other Angels we meet- even with Uriel, they acted more like coworkers. He and Anna had a warmer relationship, but it never struck me as having “brotherhood” intensity. But Gabriel and Lucifer showed real love and history and connection between them. And the prideful, unflappable Lucifer cried after killing Gabriel.
I’d better stop before I write an entire novel! Anyways, wasn’t crazy about the epi but I guess it provides a lot of food for thought.
Jessy, I DID write an entire novel. 😉
It says a lot for SUPERNATURAL episodes that we CAN and DO often write entire novels about the episodes! They affect us that much, get under our collective skins! I know a great many folks who did not like this episode at all, especially Sylvia Bond, and she pretty much loves all the eps.
That being said, I notice that EVERYONE is worried about Sam and Dean, about their fates, their future and what is going to happen to them after five years together. Now that I’m watching seasons one and two over again, seeing how much they have grown and changed (God, even their voices!), I feel this terrible yearning that they both SURVIVE all this! I know that it’s completely possible for one or both Winchesters to die and be resurrected; hell, we’ve seen it countless times before.
This time, with Kripke leaving the helm of the good ship SUPERNATURAL, it will seem far more final. I happen to believe that the blind item being bandied around about a show moving years into the future is none other than our own SUPERNATURAL. It would make sense, especially if one or both men die at the end of this season, and give more credence to their return to life. They ARE returning for a sixth season, so some explanation will be necessary if the Krip kills them off!
Anyway, I’ve lost my point, which isn’t unusual for me, I call my column Robin’s Rambles for a reason.
I adore this show, these characters, (and damn TV GUIDE for putting a GIGANTIC spoiler right in the description of next week’s show), and I am dreading their fates as if they were real people. My former shrink never did seem to understand this aspect of my life, which is why she isn’t my shrink any longer. God, I’m sure she wrote reams about me and why a TV show is more important in my life than REAL LIFE things, but to hell with that! Does our resident shrink care to chime in here?
Thank you so much for setting me straight on both of these points, Alice. Thank God we have you to provide the facts, because otherwise, I wouldn’t know which end was up in the world of gossip as far as SUPERNATURAL is concerned.
I bow and say, “I am not worthy,” and I MEAN that!
Love, Robin