Mastodon Mastodon Mastodon Mastodon Mastodon Supernatural – Episode 10.03 – The Gripe Review


    Enable Dark Mode!

  • What's HOT
  • Premiere Calendar
  • Ratings News
  • Movies
  • YouTube Channel
  • Submit Scoop
  • Contact Us
  • Search
  • Privacy Policy
Support SpoilerTV
SpoilerTV.com is now available ad-free to for all premium subscribers. Thank you for considering becoming a SpoilerTV premium member!

SpoilerTV - TV Spoilers

Supernatural – Episode 10.03 – The Gripe Review

25 Oct 2014

Share on Reddit

I spent this episode saying "What?", "How?", and "Why?" ever so often to my screen. There were so many WTF moments there, I eventually gave up on the plot - as you would with a silly Hollywood blockbuster movie - and decided to just enjoy the ride. Unfortunately it didn't work, as those pesky thoughts of logic, cause and effect, and character identity kept seeping into my head and messing with my fun.

That is until my eureka moment arrived about ten minutes into the episode, when I realized things would make a lot more sense if I assumed Castiel was either Dean's boyfriend, or Sam's boyfriend, or in a three-way relationship with both of them. Putting that idea into effect made everything fall into place in a loosely stitched, telenovela fashion that strangely kept the plot from sinking. If I didn't know this duo of writers I would've thought this was an Edlundian prank on their part to mess with us worse than The French Mistake. If you don't believe me, read on.


Sam and Dean: Sam and Dean spent the entire episode playing hide and seek and "@#$%^ my bro says!" in the bunker. This was interspersed with Sam injecting Dean with blessed human blood, and calling Cas to run the results by him. For me this was the most enjoyable part of the episode because Demon Dean was delightfully mean and sort of right about many things he said (except that thing about their mother. That was a low blow.) Sam was equal parts bulldog and puppy dog and tried too hard not to let the scattered truths Dean spouted get to him.

Dean Question #1 (for 200 points): What exactly is Demon Dean? They somewhat lampshaded this in the episode when Sam told him he wasn't his brother, and Dean said he was. If it was a regular possession all the torture and stressing would cause the demon to smoke out of the human body. But in this case I'm not exactly sure what Sam was trying to achieve. As far as we know Dean's body is dead, killed by Metatron last season. The demon's awakening brought it back to life but in the absence of black, red, or white smoke, who is throwing those barbs? And how could human Dean still be in there if Dean is dead?

Castiel and Hannah: Meanwhile in b-plot-ville Hannah is using every trick in the book to keep Castiel from getting to Sam and Dean, such as putting his sick ass behind the wheel again, losing their map, and taking all the wrong detours. Once they are good and lost she goes all, "Oops, I'm sorry, don't know how to human yet," then snuggles up to him like a lonely divorcee. Cas' phone, mercifully, rings at that moment, prompting me to chant ‘Sam, Sam, Sam’ as Cas grabs it and says, “Sam,” without looking at the screen. He looks like a man just saved from a swarm of piranhas, and Hannah makes this face:


Anyone else is reminded of love triangular romantic comedies? Those where the mean, popular girl attempts to steal the hot guy from the main character, while the main character, by some act of fate, calls her boyfriend at the right moment to foil her plan. So if Hannah is the boyfriend stealer, what does that make Sam? Castiel's girlfriend?

Close to the end of their journey of 1000 miles Cas and Hannah arrive at a gas station. There, Cas suddenly starts telling Hannah Piranha how important ‘this mission’ is (me: What mission? Saving Dean? Killing dissenting angels?) and how easily distractions can occur.  I hear it as, "Cut it out, biatch. I'm onto you. You can’t stop me from going to my boyfriend(s).” Hannah takes it like a trooper and pretends she’s only worried about him losing his grace.

Castiel Question #1 (for 300 points): It’s been asked before, here as well as other places: Why is it implied that if Castiel loses his stolen grace he dies? In fact, why is he even sick, when last season, before he stole grace, and after he lost his own to Metatron, he was just fine?

Bonus Question: Similar to the one about Dean, who and what is Castiel exactly? If his grace is stolen from some other angel, and the body belonged to Jimmy, and he doesn’t have a soul, then what makes him Castiel?


Crowley: Crowley is back to being the king of Hell. He presides over a court of demons who look like they've raided the fallen angels’ closets after they left Heaven and are now sporting their fashion.

This interesting fellow appears.


He tells Crowley that Castiel’s grace is burning out and it’s a good time to off him. (me: Why?) I can’t think of one good reason why Crowley should care about Castiel. But then Crowley becomes pensive, and daydreams a montage of his and Dean’s greatest hits. That’s when I say, 'a-ha' once again, and think it’s probably because the guy knows Cas is Dean’s bf and imagines Crowley would want to get rid of him to eliminate the competition.

They lay the whole Crowley missing Dean idea on pretty thick. Another guy even offers himself as his replacement, to be the king’s new boytoy (his words, not mine,) but Crowley won’t have it. He decides to go after Castiel.

On the Castiel and Hannah front, random angel #62 shows up, transforms into a Generic Revenge Angel (GRA,) then knocks out Hannah and beats up Castiel. Crowley appears and kills her, stealing her grace and healing Castiel with it. Once again I ask why. Is it because Cas has a solution to fix Dean? Even if that's true, why would Crowley care for it when any solution from Castiel most likely involves either curing Dean or killing him, neither of which would bring his demon buddy back into his arms?  What does he think Cas could do that he hasn’t already tried with Sam? This one I can’t even explain with the boyfriend hypothesis.


Cas arrives at the bunker at last. The door is apparently sealed with a magic phrase that he could only use since Hannah doesn't enter behind him. He stops Demon Dean just before he and Sam stare each other to death while holding and not using weapons, and he does it by giving Dean a mighty hug from behind. I didn’t know the ability to incapacitate Knights-of-Hell level demons through hugging was part of the angel arsenal. I can’t fathom how Cas did it unless I accept that he is Dean’s bf and hugging him made Dean feel his... love and broke the spell.

Sam and Cas tie Dean to the same chair, inject him with the same blood, but this time it magically works. At this moment I’m fully immersed in my Cas=Dean&|Sam’s bf theory so I rationalize it as Dean seeing Cas reunited with them and coming back. Whether he’s Dean’s boo, or part of a threesome with them, in the end Demon Dean was cured by true vuw, or Team Free Will's power of the heart.

Dean and Cas: In a true Destiel fanfiction move, Sam goes out to get food, or to get drunk, or both. In any case, he makes himself scarce so that Dean and Cas finally get to be alone together and have their first meeting since the season started. They do and it's so awkward it wants to grow legs and scuttle away.

Basically this is what happens (the way I read it):

Cas: You look terrible!

Dean: Gee! Thanks. You look good though. Do you want to stay (…and do stuff with me, on my bed?)

Cas: Um, no…, long story. There’s Crowley, you see (he might murder me if I did,) and my stolen grace (might knock me out under stress,) and a female outside in the car,(my wife, I think, not quite sure about that, though she's the jealous type,) so... another time.

Dean (awkward pause): Ok? No problem. Do you think Sam’s getting a divorce?

Cas: Oh, no. Sam’s a champ. (Why are we talking about your brother after just talking about getting funky on your bed?)

Joking aside, that was an embarrassingly, awfully written scene, following one of the most disappointing conclusions to a cliff hanger arc. Nobody wants the writers to write Dean and Cas making out on a bed. But these two are long-time friends, who have been through battles together. If this is their reunion after one just came back from the brink of death, and the other is close to dying, the writers either don’t believe in that friendship (which then begs many questions about spell-breaking hugs and Dean's impromptu cure,) or don’t know how to write it.


Castiel question #2 (for 100 points): If Heaven and Hell are reasonably back in order – even though nobody knows who's currently running Heaven – then why can’t Castiel stay with Sam and Dean, at least for a while? He advices Dean to rest, yet doesn’t take his own advice. What possible reason could he have for turning his back on Dean and leaving the bunker? (and no, ‘next week is a filler episode’ doesn’t count.)

My overall impression of the episode: Should be obvious from the review. I was confused, and blasé, through most of it. I have long accepted not to take what this writing due produces seriously. I know of their lack of attention to detail, refusal to respect canon, and the callous way they inject their story ideas into the overall mythology of the show.

I am certainly disappointed in the not-even-there solution they presented for Dean’s demon issue, but it was miles better than if they had Sam, or Cas, beat the living snot out of him (or he them) to pull his real self out into the light. So that's a blessing.


Kudos: The scenes I enjoyed most were Sam and Dean’s chit chat and chase in the bunker, even though they were loaded with the typical ‘Dean is gone/not gone,’ and ‘No my brother is still in there somewhere,' overused lines. I still liked Demon Dean and cheered for some of the truths he spoke of, like having to save Sam’s hide all the time, and their dad brainwashing them. I wished they'd let these two explore those issues more extensively instead of sweeping them under the ‘Oh, but that wasn’t the real you’ carpet again.

Another part I liked was the revelation of Sam’s involvement in Lester’s contract. It tied that storyline with Sam’s quest to save Dean beautifully and gave me some nice season 2-3 vibes, you know that time when plots made sense and one didn't have to invent fictitious character romances to explain the story.

Don’t forget to post your comments below. Next week we’re back on the filler dock so it will most likely not be as fun.


Tessa

tessa-marlene.tumblr.com/
twitter.com/tessa_marlene 

72 comments:

  1. I didn't know this show was still on the air until I saw that IMDB had season 10 episode slot summaries available.Obviously it is getting a bit overtired.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The overall theme of the show just doesn't seem to want to evolve. They are trying desperatly to keep the show together as if it was the same storytelling as season's 1-5. I just feel that the writers have no idea where they are going with the show and Sam and Dean are just kind of reacting to events constantly. Where it used to be they were searching for the events. The show used to be very personal and simple for them, and somehow the writers lost that. I feel as if the show was great concepts that they can do amaizng things with, but they just squander them and ruin them without fully realizing what they truly have in front of them. I mean the whole purgatory concept could of been used in a way greater, more personal function. Bringing back the monsters that their father had killed or they had kiled in the past. Giving them a true purpose to hunt those down who they already had hunted. The tablets seemed to have been wasted in general, as well as pretty well dropped from the story now entirely. The alphas have yet to be seen again, the Cambion has not been heard of, the Nephilim was wasted and loosely thrown in without planning or thought. The mark of Cain and hell knights were squandered in many ways. The idea of Cain being a distant ancestor of the Winchesters makes even less sense now. In my opinon they have focused too heavily on the plots that don't need to be focused on and less on the beautiful material they have at their disposal. The Men of Letters is something that could of been used as a plot focus for an entire season. I think I have begun rambling now, overall I love the show and am patiently waiting and hoping that they truly give the show a well-thought out direction in this season or the next. The show is still worth watching and does have epic scenes strung through each season. However the entire plots of the seasons just seem to be loosely strung together concepts without much thought behind them.


    PS. does anyone know what the hell the different demonic eyes really mean. In the beginning they made sense but know I have no clue how to tell demons apart anymore. I mean if Lilith was the original ruler of hell and had pure white eyes why doesn't crowly when he took over the mantle. Same question for Alistair why does he have pure white eyes when he is not a ruler. One coulde argue they were more powerful demons sure but then wouldn't hell knights have pure white eyes than? We know red eyes means crossroads demons and black eyes was supposd to mean regular demons. I assumed Yellow eyes was taken to mean something specific but they never elaborated and I always hoped they would give a real answer on how the demonic tiers of power worked, but have yet to see it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. They are trying desperatly to keep the show together as if it was the same storytelling as season's 1-5.But they aren't just reitterating old storylines, they're doing it badly so the final product isn't even all that great. I would have accepted same old if it was at the same level of quality.he show used to be very personal and simple for them, and somehow the writers lost that.Simple and personal seem to have been reduced to a few catch phrases like, "We are brothers," "I know you're in there," "It's you and me." It has lost its meaning a long time ago. They just repeat them like a pair of parrots. I feel as if the show was great concepts that they can do amaizng things with, but they just squander them and ruin them without fully realizing what they truly have in front of them.Because it takes a lot of mastery in the art of writing to be able to utilize those amazing ideas. So they take the easy road and hence, as you said it "focus on plots that don't need to be focused on and less on the beautiful material they have at their disposal."

    ReplyDelete
  4. what I meant by "keeping the show together by using the same storytelling" was that they seem to just keep the boys going on with we need to save the world. Creating massive events that only they can solve, But they are doing it sloppily. I mean they keep going in circles bad event only they can stop, they stop it at the cost of one of their lives or health. Rinse and repeat exactly how they wrote the stories for season 1-5. Only they are now compacting the plots to single seasons.


    Simple and personal in the way of they were hunting yellow eyes to avenge their mother. Then Lilith to help Dean survive and then stopping Lucifer. Now they are just taking on huge events like closing the gates of hell or heaven for no other purpose than that they think they should.


    If I were writing the show I would be sure to take it in a very personal and simple direction, not making it more convulded or complex than it already is.


    I am also curious where the seraphim are? Seeing as God is not in heaven it would seem they are free. Since they are the most powerful angels it would be likely they wouldn't be dead. I desperatly want to see a seraphim shadow with six wings!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think Crowley helped Castiel because he likes Dean, demon or not

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am a forever-defender of this show and will continue to watch as long as they'll give me Sam and Dean on a screen (even if they are going to brush their teeth for 45 min), but I have to agree with you on certain points:
    1. I did not like the anticlimactic way Dean was cured. It was so plain and unexciting that I start to think something hasn't been shown for a reason. Like I cant wrap my mind around the fact that Carver, and episode writers and JA as a director on a top of it, all of them just glassed over the scene with is suppose to be highlighted and emphasized . Why? Just a regular blood injection, that's it? Where is "miraculous" event JA was talking about in his interviews? Blood injections has been a known cure and feels as miraculous already as angel's healing ability or any other routine spn act.
    2. Sam goes dark and too far in order to find his brother. Hmmm. I liked Sam/Lesters story and I though it was pretty smart to insert something like that but .."who is a real monster" thing? Sam even tried to stop the guy from making deal, so is it suppose to make him a monster? And again, based on Carvers interviews, Sam did something bla-bla, and after Dean is cured they'll have to deal with aftermath of Sam's actions. Unless he was talking about Sam delivering First Blade to Crowley I don't see any other aftermath of Sam's dark actions to be dealt with.
    3. I am not even commenting on Cas's storyline. I am skipping the Cas/Hannah part, pretending it wasn't there. But Cas's hug to stop DD? That's all angel full of power can do, just restrain from the behind? I remember scene with Cas and Crowley over an angel tablet, that's how ( at minimum) that angel-demon fight has to be shown, 2 supernatural beings. But no, we 've got good Samaritan trenchoated neighbor stopping violent drunk guy by jumping on his back. I was waiting for DD to start spinning with Cas sitting on his back like in old cartoons. I don't know why JA as a director haven't change this part of script and made it more wow.
    4. Crowley's "bad judge" scene was totally off and I don't understand what they were trying us to tell. That he is grieving the breakup? That being The King of Hell is boring and full of motions? That he is ready to move on something bigger?
    Now parts I liked: absolutely everything Sam/Dean. Acting was superior by both Js, what a great actors we have in this show, what a amazing chemistry. They are the reason I am planning to stay with this show to the bitter end.
    I liked some decisions JA made as a director: lighting, pathetic Hell Throne Great room (in contrast with GoT I think), bright sunny outside and red dangerous inside of the bunker.
    I did like Marks performance in scene with angels.
    Again, I love this show, I truly am. Despites all ups and downs I am looking forward to new episode every week and I will to the very end. But sometimes I just want to go violent or ask some of the writers: why? Why do you think you can write? It is hard, I know, as any other job. Why do some people do something they have no skills to do good? If you cant write a decent script - go somewhere where your lousy job wont affect my happy after-work TV hour. This is just a shame that Jensen got this kind of writing to deal with as a director in such an important episode from storytelling standpoint.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I agree. It's like they reinvent the wheel every season, adding corners and bumps, but see no problem with it because hey, it still keeps turning.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What does he think Castiel could do? Did he know about the magic bearhug?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well Cas is one and has been since Swan Song. It would be interesting to see if he retained that status even though he has to use stolen grace. But even when we've seen his flying wings we've never seen those covering his face and feet. Probably no need to but it would be a neat effect. But then again no angel has wings since they're either burnt off or seriously damaged.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Where is "miraculous" event JA was talking about in his interviews?Sam, Dean and Castiel were in a scene together. That's magical these days and so rare it cured demon Dean.That's all angel full of power can do, just restrain from the behind? I remember scene with Cas and Crowley over an angel tablet, that's how ( at minimum) that angel-demon fight has to be shown, 2 supernatural beings.Could you imagine how epic it would have been if Cas and Dean had gone full angel-demon on each other and unleashed light vs. fire and brimstone? I don't even remember seeing Demon Dean show any mad powers except use the blade and have his eyes ink over.Crowley's "bad judge" scene was totally off and I don't understand what they were trying to tell us. That he is grieving the breakup?That's my guess, judging by his dream sequence. It was probably a way to rationalize him saving Cas and sending him to Dean.But sometimes I just want to go violent or ask some of the writers: why? Why do you think you can write?Then you'll have a jolly time reading these reviews because that's mostly what I talk about, amongst making fun of the more ridiculous parts of the scripts. I've said multiple times that this show's number one problem are its writers who lack major skills.

    ReplyDelete
  11. "Then you'll have a jolly time reading these reviews because that's mostly what I talk about"
    Unfortunately I wont, it's painful for me . It is painful that this kind of reviews even exist this days. I don't feel any love coming from your reviews. Thats a problem for me. Not criticizing where its fair, but feeling like you hate-watching this show. Sorry if I've got a wrong impression. You have great analytical skills and I appreciate that but this is my beloved show we are talking about. Show some love and then smack it if it deserves. If you know what I mean.

    ReplyDelete
  12. And how is that relevant to the conversation? How do you know show is "obviously a bit overtired" if you had no idea it still on air? Jeez.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I have been thinking it would be interesting if the Seraphim were simply sleeping since God has left an d have yet to be awoken. I don't know if Cas was ever considered a Seraphim as he would of easily been able to destroy Raphael if he was but was unable to even attempt to injure him in any capacity until he swallowed the souls of purgatory. I would like them to make a legit attempt at a Nephilim. I mean if a Cambion who is half demon and half human is able to recreate reality and become one of the most powerful beings in existence, one would think that being half-angel and half-human would make one more powerful than a Cambion as a angel is more powerful than a demon.

    ReplyDelete
  14. "it was about physical power no more!"
    Exactly, and thats was a problem for me. There are 2 supernatural beings we have , angel and demon. There are SFX people on payroll somewhere there too. Hello! Show us some wow special effects. But no, we've got black and blue eyes even 5-grade kid can do with Photoshop.
    I feel like Jensen had to deal with a very tight budget, as SPN lately. We are barely getting any cool special effects anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  15. From the comments in the review, the plot summaries on IMDB and the episodes I caught up on on Netflix until the end of season 8 when they (again) missed the end of the world by the skin of their teeth and kicked the angels out of Heaven. I'm not being snarky when I'm saying I'm sorry for not making myself clear about my research. I did kind of catch up.

    ReplyDelete
  16. 2. I do think there is more to what Sam did in his search, there was the thing the demon he was torturing said, she heard "rumors" and about how Sam wasn't sticking to his "code" anymore.


    3. The reason there wasn't a big knock down drag out fight between Cas and Dean is two fold. 1. Cas is a full juiced angel, Dean was human enough to walk out of a devil's trap, it wouldn't be much of a fight. 2. Why Jensen didn't change it? Simple answer time and money wouldn't allow for it, he's learning the choreography for a fight and directing it might be a bit much, especially considering the pace TV shows film.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I am writing a summary of season 6 - 10 in how I wish the story would have progressed just to see if it sounds any better. Trying to make it move in directions that are more pungeant and profound for the brothers.


    Yeah it is a shame that the Angels and Heaven have been vastly misrepresented and misused recently. And damn I miss Death and the other horsemen. Some of the coolest characters that will probably never make a return. Also would like to see more done with the alphas, however I doubt the story will ever return to them. *sigh*

    ReplyDelete
  18. I believe that Tessa was speaking more metphorical as the events just seemed to be so ridiculously thought out that it seemed laughable. I mean thinking from a logical point of view there would be no way to cure Dean, we know that Crowly may have been cured if the injections continued but he had a massive amount of injections and still remains a powerful demon. Powerful enough to rule hell. We also know that if there was a cure I am sure that Cain would have already tried it. Seeing that Dean has the mark it is fair to assume that he is also the same class of demon as Cain, a Hell Knight. I would also assume that Dean is able to feel and everything the same way that Cain was able to, but maybe just refused to follow his emotions as the whole concept would be very new. Either way the cure was very sloppily done and Cas stopping Dean seems ridiculous if he is as powerful as Cain or even Abbadon was. Who both I would assume are stronger than Alistair who was able to overpower Cas with his own grace. It seems like Dean would have been able to overpower Cas regardless of the Grace. I however thought that scene was quite poignant and thought it was a beautiful shot with both thier eyes coming to life.

    ReplyDelete
  19. of course he knew about the magic bearhug that is lesson one for king of hell 101 obviosuly

    ReplyDelete
  20. I'm aware what happened. I thought there was so much more they could have done to cure Dean (IF they had to cure him so soon at all,) than, Cas restraining him with his amped up angel powers and Sam giving him a gallon more blood. Why didn't they invent a Deus Rx Machina drug and say that cured him if they were aiming underwhelm us?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Season 2-5 are still my favorite hours of television. I don't hate the show; I hate what's become of it and this is my way of dealing with it, or rather dealing with that pain you mentioned cause I feel it too. I work through it by taking the show apart with humor and criticism and highlight what still works for it in hopes the writers reduce the bad parts and increase the good ones.

    ReplyDelete
  22. 2. That what I am hoping for. I think we haven't seen some things Sam had done just yet. They introduced Rowena for a reason.
    3. Yes, Cas is full juiced angel. Show it to me. Make me wow and impressed with his power. Make almost-human DD scared even for a second. IMHO they could do something more entertaining than simple hug from behind. Even with low budget. Even with 5-grader behind the computer.

    ReplyDelete
  23. What ?

    SPN never had a big budget, but seasons 8 and 9 had the best special effects the show has ever had. Special effects in the first seven seasons were ugly as shit.
    And since when has a demon/angel battle been anything more than a regular fist fight with characters flying all over the place ? There was never a need for SFX in this particular scene.

    ReplyDelete
  24. If it was physical power alone, then why did they go through all of that last season to kill Abaddon. Why not just have Cas bear hug her to death ????

    ReplyDelete
  25. Basically, what the show has done is turn the two heroes into monsters. I get that the writers don't think hunting is a worthy occupation, but making the heroes into monsters is...odd. Maybe they just needed something supernatural in the show to offset all the 'feelings' melodrama that it has become. The show is called 'Supernatural' after all.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I think the reason there wasn't a big fight is because there wasn't time. The Winchesters are only getting a third of every episode these days, so we have to spend all of that time on the worthless and uninteresting Cas/Hannah thing. That is Cas' story.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Actually, both Sam and Cas did Crowley's bidding for him. I expect Dean will soon join Team Crowley in his Hell problem. Crowley's problem was an uncontrollable DDean and Crowley's minions were mocking him. He didn't care if Cas/Sam cured or killed Dean, as long as his Dean problem was solved. Besides, Sam gave Crowley the only weapon that could kill Dean in return for giving him Dean's location so that the DDean problem could be solved. So, yeah, both Sam and Cas ended up working for Crowley.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I remember a time when I felt like I was sitting in the back of the Impala and was an intimate participant in the Winchesters' lives. That was when there were good writers on the show, before the entire tone of the show was changed by Carver, and when they were actually hunting evil and saving people, as opposed to wallowing in the same danged 'feelings' year after year.

    ReplyDelete
  29. There where nice scenes like Cas/Crowley over the tablet, Gadreel and demon solders - recent ones I remember. It was not enough for me, not this time, not in that contests.
    I know that SPN has low budget and always had. That's a shame and very unfortunate.

    ReplyDelete
  30. You probably right. That and no money.

    ReplyDelete
  31. And I am sorry being too aggressive, but man, how tired I am from comments like "oh, this show is still on air? It sucks! I haven't watched it since forever but I read comments on the discussion boards!"
    Because reading comments is the most un-representative to any topic, not just Tv show. Like me, I only participate in discussion when I need to vent and totally unhappy with episode. When I liked most of it I am happily switching to other things still presented in my life :)
    If you find it tired and uninteresting - that's totally fine as long as its your own opinion and not what-some pissed off fan via internet.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Well I admit I still read it. Painful or not :)

    ReplyDelete
  33. I as well remember feeling like there were actual stakes to what was happening, now it feels more like the stakes don't even matter or are completely irrelevant to the brothers. I mean the last time I remember being truly emotionaly effected by the series was with Charlie and her mother. Which had nothing to do with the brothers. And the last moment that effected me with the brothers was with Bobbies death, even then though it felt detached and thrown together. Really the last truly emotional impact was the season 5 final scene between Sam and Dean. After that it hasn't really catered to the emotional side of things very often. More the down to business have to save the world and get angsty type plots.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Great review, I basically agree with all of it. You know, in the earlier seasons the wounds they kept giving the canon did not bother me too much as overall I still enjoyed the storylines and a lot of stuff was still great (Men of Letters, Kevin Tran, the Mark of Kain, demon tablets, angel tablets and whatnot). Turning Dean into a demon also looked like one of those twists still able to keep Supernatural alive despite canon being messed with here and there. But this season and this episode in particular have already been a mortal wound, I suppose. But hell, I could even take messing with canon if the outcome was actually good slash exciting. And it's not.

    Trying to answer your questions:

    Dean question:

    That one is pretty easy. It's Dean's soul turned into a demon. Ruby explained to him once that all demons used to be humans, but due to their time in hell they turned into demons. It basically means Dean's soul turned into black smoke.
    Back in the days they used to exorcise demons (God I miss those times), then they found magic weapons to kill them (the Colt was my fav, long gone of course...), then they found a cure that can turn black smoke back into a human soul. At least that's how I understand it. So that's what they pretty much did to Dean, I guess. Which still doesn't explain how the hell his dead body can still be alive if no demon is there to keep it going. PLOTHOLE #1

    Castiel question #1:
    Unaswerable hence PLOTHOLE #2. An angel without a grace becomes a human, something we learnt from Anna back in season 4. Unless a stolen grace burns you from the inside because it knows you're a thief and decides to take revenge.

    btw, HATE the Hannah/Cas storyline to pieces. Somebody just kill the bitch already, I beg of you. I was so disappointed Crowley didn't. And isn't it completely out of character for him not to?

    Bonus question (Cas):
    I believe angels do have souls. Cas was still Cas when Metatron took his grace. I don't think grace defines an angel's personality, it just defines their power.

    Castiel question #2:
    They want us to believe Cas is still on some kind of mission which is getting so OLD by now. Seriously. I enjoyed angels so, so much in seasons 4 and 5. But then they spread all over the show like cockroaches, stopped being bad ass and started being lame and annoying. Just take them back to Heaven please.

    A couple more episodes like this and I will seriously give up on SPN forever, something I would've never thought I'd say some seasons ago.

    ReplyDelete
  35. No the show has stated he's a Seraph. He was massively upgraded when brought back in Swan Song. He also said in Purgatory that he was a seraph. Now in Christian lore Seraphim are the top rank with archangels quite a bit lower. But Spn is following their own made up changeable lore and in that the archangels are at the top.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Okay to explain further with the Dean question. We know that demons are souls that have become twisted. Now to answer the question of how Deans body has returned to life, I would assume that the body was never dead, kept in stasis through the mark of Cain. Once the blade and mark were reunited the body returned from stasis and the soul became twisted through all of the evil that the blade had been apart of. Then when Dean's soul was returned to normal through "the cure" he returned to the state before stasis since his body was now healed.


    Alright Castiel question. I would say the best explanation would be that stolen grace breaks down the angels body like a cancer. Infecting the body the longer it is in use until the angel simply breaks down and dies. Each new Grace introduced will sustain the angel longer but result in the same ending. With the original grace being the cure.


    As for the angels having souls, I am not sold on that theory. The reason why Castiel remained himself after his grace was stolen and didn't revert back to Jimmy. I would guess that Jimmy no longer exists since the end of season five when Cas was brought back after he was destroyed on the molecular level. The same reason why Jimmy didn't return when Cas was destroyed by the leviathans.


    Cas question two. I believe that the writers have no idea how to treat Cas anymore. They want to keep him in the story but have no clue how to do it. So they throw bandaid solutions at it until they fall off than reapply another bandaid solution over and over until they can figure out what to do with the character. Maybe the angels in general are in the same situation. I mean the angels used to be epic and strong forced characters who had purpose and now have been reduced to pathetic creatures roaming lost with no reason, becoming more useless than demons and more pointless than levitahans'.


    However I guess most of my theories are not ever going to be proven by the show one way or the other. They are the most cohesive reasons I could come up with though, hope they suffice for now ;)

    ReplyDelete
  37. disappointing if true that they are going by their own made up hierchy of angels. I believe that Zachariah was also a seraphim, which makes sense as he was directly under Michael. I don't like that they haven't really stated which angels are what. We know that there were at least 4 Archangels but that would theoretically leave 3 missing and unaccounted for. Hmm and what angels like Matatron or Joshua would be classed as. Even Uriel as he definitely wasn't an Arch in the Supernatural lore.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Agreed on Jimmy. I think it was even mentioned at some point that Jimmy's soul has been released and put to rest (probably when Cas died for the first time?). So of course, no going back to Jimmy. But with no Jimmy and if a grace=an angel, there would be no inhabitat in that body so to say.
    So I don't believe a grace = an angel. Like I said, Anna did not have a grace, but was still Anna. Cas without a grace was still Cas, not an empty shell. He simply lost his powers. I think accepting that angels have some sort of an equvalent of a human soul is the only valid explanation, otherwise it's another plothole :P

    ReplyDelete
  39. Agreed, Angels have something similar to a soul, just am not sold that it is a soul. I imagine that whatever it is they do have, is powered by grace. So when the grace is taken they are simply just an angel with no batteries. SImilar to how Cas was when he had no power during the Lucifer arc. When the grace is not there own it sickens them as it is used up.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Re: Dean not being dead. The MoC has self physical healing powers, and we have seen that, so Dean should not be dead. He actually should be immortal.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Zachariah would be a cherubim since he described his true form as having the face of a lion. But the show also called cupids third class cherubs.

    ReplyDelete
  42. They never mentioned what happened with Jimmy, that will happen this season. If he did finally actually die it was probably in season 7, as after his death in season 4, Castiel said that Jimmy was desiring red meat in "My Bloody Valentine" and Famine said hunger comes from the soul, so Jimmy was at least still around throughout season 6.

    ReplyDelete
  43. While I disagree with a number of things in this review, and I generally, somewhat enjoyed the episode... This review made me laugh so much! Loved it! It brings up a few good points, but for the most part it didn't hit the nail on the head for me. Still, again, hilarious :) gotta love those magical angel healing hugs! Though the reason the blood worked the last time is because the demon cure always did require multiple doses.

    ReplyDelete
  44. But I thought Dean died in the S9 finale? Didn't Sam take his dead body from wherever he died back to the bunker? Without the MOC, he should die, right?

    ReplyDelete
  45. I understand. There seems to be a dearth of original thought on the internet or even in the world for that matter. But, as they say, " haters gonna hate"

    ReplyDelete
  46. lol. It depends on if the writers remember the immortality thing or make up new canon about it. I'm actually curious to see how they handle the immortality thing.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Crowley told Dean that it was not death he was feeling, it was a new kind of life. Regular old demons don't have immortality, as we have seen the Winchesters kill them (remember Sam killed Alistair), we've seen angels kill them, and we've seen Cain kill them. Dean, Cain, and Abaddon (a Knight of Hell) can only be killed with the First Blade. Demons also cannot physically self heal. Physical self-healing means immortality.
    Why did it take so long for Dean? Writer's license for drama, perhaps. Maybe it took that length of time for Dean's soul to be twisted (not corrupted, because Dean never went to Hell).

    ReplyDelete
  48. Yeah he did, "die" but because of the mark of Cain. Dean cannot be killed, and until the mark is reunited with the blade. Dean is kept in a stasis neither alive nor dead. The mark is than activated when the blae is present and twists the soul while healing the body.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Well now that the blade is missing in action, it would be assumed that Dean would "die" the same way he did in the finale until reunited with the blade.

    ReplyDelete
  50. The weapon that could kill Crowley

    ReplyDelete
  51. "Which still doesn't explain how the hell his dead body can still be alive if no demon is there to keep it going."


    It does, actually - Dean was able to heal himself when he was a demon - something we saw in the last episode.

    ReplyDelete
  52. "Demons also cannot physically self heal. Physical self-healing means immortality.
    Why did it take so long for Dean?"


    Clearly, Dean can heal physically - but it does take some time. So the explanation would be that Dean's body took long time to heal from Metatron's mortal wound while his soul was being demonized.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Because:
    1. Hugging Abaddon would've restrained her at best - like with Dean here. They were aiming to kill her.
    2. Dean was weakened by human blood and Abaddon wasn't.

    ReplyDelete
  54. I'm not getting the complaint here. They have a known way to cure demons - something that's been around for more than a season. And they used that way to cure demon Dean. Its canon compliant. While the fact of curing itself can be a cause for complaint, the method is not.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Okay. I guess I wasn't paying much attn last year. Haha!



    So, what will happen when Dean loses the MOC? Will he die from the knife wound or has his body already been healed from that wound?

    ReplyDelete
  56. So, has his body been healed from the wound Metratron gave him? Will he need to be healed again once he loses the Mark?

    ReplyDelete
  57. "We know that Crowly may have been cured if the injections continued but
    he had a massive amount of injections and still remains a powerful
    demon."
    I think the frequency of the injections matters as well. The injected human blood doesn't stay in the system and as it burns out, the power returns. Crowley has been human blood free for quite some time now.





    "We also know that if there was a cure I am sure that Cain would have already tried it."
    Actually, we know that the cure was a novel idea developed by one of MoL priests and it isn't widely known. So Cain wouldn't have known about it at all.





    "Cas stopping Dean seems ridiculous if he is as powerful as Cain or even Abbadon was."
    He wasn't. He was weakened by the human blood still in his system.

    ReplyDelete
  58. It has been healed - given that we saw demon Dean heal his own wounds.

    ReplyDelete
  59. I think there is some truth in that Cas, Sam, and Dean are now in a threesome, but Crowley wants Dean to be only his boyfriend and Hannah wants Cas to only be her boyfriend.That seems to be the only running storyline right now since there's no demon Dean anymore. DD and Dean are not separate entities. Whatever Sam was doing to DDean, he was doing to Dean.That's an interesting theory. Unfortunately Demon Dean's mythology was handled so thinly I didn't even know sanctified human blood would have an effect, let alone be the ultimate solution. I don't recall them ever mentioning that. Wonder why Cane never used it on himself.

    he likes his sister a lot and by the end of the season he will have to choose between Hannah and Sam and Dean. My money is on the Winchesters.More proof that my telenovela theory actually works. My money is on Hannah taking a hike too just like Amelia and Lisa did. It's a Supernatural thing: introduce female character, write them horribly, take them out and blame fans for internal misogyny.

    I am really getting pissed off that the Winchesters are only getting a third of each episode in their own damned show these days.One of the side effects of keeping the three regulars apart. Now they each need to have their own scenes to advance their own separate stories. If Cas was with Sam and Dean, we'd get more of Sam and Dean too instead of having to sit through Cas' boring road trip. I'm a Cas fan but even I admit he brings the show down when he's not interacting with the brothers. Heck even a phone call from Sam perks me up these days because it's better than anything between him and Hannah.

    The other thing I was disappointed in is that I did not see one set-up for a Winchester story in this episode.And that's no different from season 9. This episode wasn't setting up anything for a Winchester mythology. It was clearing the path for the slew of one off episodes that are headed our way.

    And I totally forgot about the red head at the end. For a moment I thought they were reviving Abaddon and said, 'God, no!' I'll wait and see what comes out of it. Would be cool if she has something to do with MoC but I'm not holding my breath.

    How many points did I win? In true 'Who's Line' fashion, 15000 points.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Turning Dean into a demon also looked like one of those twists still able to keep Supernatural alive despite canon being messed with here and there. But this season and this episode in particular have already been a mortal wound, I suppose.Turning Dean into a demon was a huge twist, as important as Sam being soulless, or possessed by Ezekiel/Gadreel. But while the show took its time developing those storylines they wrapped DD so quickly it felt like a mini arc rather than a myth arc and that's not ok.

    Guess it's still better than Godstiel/Levi Cas who was dissolved in a lake after 1 1/5 episode.

    Ruby explained to him once that all demons used to be humans, but due to their time in hell they turned into demons. It basically means Dean's soul turned into black smoke. There's just one problem. Ruby and the others made it very clear that it took a long time on the rack to twist a human soul far enough to turn it into a demon. Dean spent 40 years there and didn't change, John Winchester almost a century. Maybe the MoC sped things up, but then it should also have been tough a nail against the cure too.

    An angel without a grace becomes a human, something we learnt from Anna back in season 4.She also was reborn as a human (i.e. a baby) and spent all that time growing up. AND she had to find her own grace to angel back. Cas just became a doofus overnight and then took someone else's power source. Completely different mythologies which pisses me off because the angel myth used to be one of my favorites on this show.

    Unless a stolen grace burns you from the inside because it knows you're a thief and decides to take revenge.Then dispose of it and become a human again. Problem solved.

    I believe angels do have souls. Castiel said it himself in season 6 to Crowley that he didn't have a soul. But it could be another one of those things they changed their minds about, like reapers.

    I enjoyed angels so, so much in seasons 4 and 5. But then they spread all over the show like cockroaches, stopped being bad ass and started being lame and annoying. Just take them back to Heaven please.Cockroach is a good way to describe them since I refuse to call these abominations angels. I loved the S 4&5 angels to bits.

    A couple more episodes like this and I will seriously give up on SPN forever, something I would've never thought I'd say some seasons ago.I'll still watch it, if only for the fun of writing these types of reviews.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Oh yeah. I forgot about that scene. Haha! I should start paying more attn to the episodes like I used to.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Hahaha bless you for this review!!! Loved it!!! OMG can't stop laughing and I agree with you :D

    ReplyDelete
  63. Well I'm glad the humor worked. That was in a way the intention of this review as I was too confused and couldn't really make a coherent analysis of the episode even if I tried to.

    ReplyDelete
  64. My problem is the circumstances surrounding Dean becoming a demon. In some ways (vulnerability to holy water and devil's trap, and this cure) he's like any other demon. However he doesn't have a black smoke in him, didn't have to spend centuries in Hell to become a demon, and is so powerful he could kill a Knight of Hell instantly.

    ReplyDelete
  65. I don't think it was a matter of budget, just the way they wrote it. Since they made Castiel human in season 9 they have denied him his wings or any other cool angel FX. He's just a dunce with a trench coat and a pimp mobile now. And demon Dean for some reason was never meant to show any blow-your-mind powers beyond that one time he used the First Blade on Abaddon, and even then he looked completely ordinary.

    ReplyDelete
  66. "I thought - and I think they were implying that heavily on the show in seasons 4-8 - that that was the angel grace. Anna had to get her own back to be angel Anna again, and both Castiel and Raphael changed bodies by shifting their graces. Only last season they completely retconned it and made grace just the energy that powers the angel, without talking about anything else that would contain the angel's true identity."

    Grace has always just been considered a type of energy from the first time it was mentioned, "pure creation." So nothing has really been retconned, other than the show using blue smoke for angel possession. Which I don't have problem with, they wanted a better visual than a beam of light. And hey, they changed the look of demon smoke after the first episode, so there is precedent.

    "Anna was reborn as a human baby, with a human soul, which I thought would happen to any angel who lost his/her soul until end of season 8 when they all fell and none turned into babies."



    Angels falling has taken on a few meanings on the show over the years, from the grace ripping, becoming human type, to the more metaphorical fall that Lucifer and Castiel went through. What happened in season 8 was just a literal fall, the spell Metatron did kicked all the angels out and locked up Heaven.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Still not seeing the problem here. The canon never stated that you have to spend centuries in hell to become a demon. In fact, given that neither Cain nor Lillith say anything about it and that Hell was made after Lucifer started making demons, there is a strong possibility that demons can be created in other ways. We also saw Sam's eyes turn black when he was killing Lillith - a demon on par with knights of hell by all accounts.



    The only significant thing I see here is that Dean was turned into a very powerful demon via MoC, but he was a demon nonetheless, which is why he was vulnerable to the devil's trap, the holy water and the cure. He may also have been able to smoke out and leave his body behind - we simply didn't get a chance to see that particular skill in play.

    ReplyDelete
  68. She also was reborn as a human (i.e. a baby) and spent all that time
    growing up. AND she had to find her own grace to angel back. Cas just
    became a doofus overnight and then took someone else's power source.
    Completely different mythologies which pisses me off because the angel
    myth used to be one of my favorites on this show.

    Was Anna reborn as a human or was she simply possessing one since conception? We know that souls leave the body at death but we know nothing about how and when they enter it. When Anna fell, she didn't have a human body to go to, so her "soul" (asoul) went to the nearest body available or maybe under construction. She still retained some of her angelic qualities like recognizing demons or hearing the angel radio without her grace. In case of all the other angels losing grace, they already had a vessel handy - so they didn't need to be "born".

    Castiel said it himself in season 6 to Crowley that he didn't have a
    soul. But it could be another one of those things they changed their
    minds about, like reapers.


    I think "souls" in SPN canon refer to normal humans souls - ones that can be used as a power source and therefore ones of actual interest to demons. They haven't given a name to whatever it is that angels have.

    ReplyDelete
  69. There are problems they've pulled out of their ass - sure - but Dean's
    demonization and cure or angels without grace are things they've laid
    the groundwork for since a long time. You could complain that they
    haven't made these ideas explicit, but then I thought you preferred
    showing and not telling.I disagree. They pulled "person turning into demon upon dying after using the First Blade" completely out of their butts. They could have hinted at it in Cane's story but they were too busy reiterating the cliched did-it-for-a-woman trope.

    Angels have been a total mess. It used to take an angel a while and lots of coaxing to get the consent of a human to occupy their body (as observed in The Rapture.) That's why they were so special and rare on earth and such fierce creatures. Now they run around like D grade demons and everyone and their dog seems to be able to kill them and survive with their eyes intact. Remember how angel possession and death was this huge, terrifying thing you should have shielded your eyes from or risk your eyeballs being scorched? Speaking of scorched, what happened to the imprint of wings? Or to how one's death would resonate through everyone's connection? When did grace start flying in the air like demon smoke? When did they learn to navigate in their human bodies so well and even crack college humor jokes? You could complain that they haven't made these ideas explicit, but then I thought you preferred showing and not telling. No I want them to not introduce these ideas at all. I want my S 4-5 angels back. They have mutilated the angel mythology so badly with their non-explicit ideas so badly I don't even recognize them. People were already complaining about angels overstaying their welcome before season 8. I never thought I would join their voices but with the way Carver bastardized them I sadly have.

    ReplyDelete
  70. They pulled "person turning into demon upon dying after using the First
    Blade" completely out of their butts. They could have hinted at it in
    Cane's story but they were too busy reiterating the cliched
    did-it-for-a-woman trope.

    I think they did hint at it - as much as they could without practically giving it away. Specifically, Dean's rage issues, his ability to make the blade fly to him, his to against Abaddon's powers and his growing strength were all hints about what he was becoming. Any more explicit hints would've spoiled the ending. IIRC, a lot of fans speculated that Dean was turning into a Knight of Hell due to the blade. Which means they did lay sufficient groundwork for it instead of just pulling it out of their butts.

    Angels have been a total mess.


    I agree with most of your views on this. They have changed a lot of angel mythology and made the bunch as a whole pretty unimpressive. And most of the points you make in this post accurately describes how far and low the mythology has fallen (except for the part about scorched eyes and angel death - angels dying didn't result in scorched eyes, angels smiting did. And the dead cashier in this episode did have scorched eyes). So, as far as your arguments here are concerned, I agree with almost all of them.



    But not the ones you previously made about angelic souls. In that regard, atleast, the show has been consistent so far.

    ReplyDelete
  71. Is it wrong that I really liked this ep, and my biggest issue was Dean had been missing 6 weeks? and yet Sam went into his room and there was uneaten pie there, are we to assume
    1) Sam hadn't been in there since Dean died/left
    2) it wouldn't be mouldy and scummy after that time
    There was also (cant remember which ep) talk of Dean saying about a note, saying not to look for him, yet when we saw Sam look at a note it said Sammy let me go, it only stuck in my mind as I was watching Leverage and Eliot was in a cell with Let me go, written on the wall as promotion for Christian Kane's single with the same name, and I found it funny that Dean would have that as well

    ReplyDelete

NOTE: Name-calling, personal attacks, spamming, excessive self-promotion, condescending pomposity, general assiness, racism, sexism, any-other-ism, homophobia, acrophobia, and destructive (versus constructive) criticism will get you BANNED from the party.