SPN 8/23 reaction
Some thoughts on Supernatural season finale and season 8 generally...
I pretty much disliked the first half of this season generally. There were some nice moments, some great characters, a couple of okay episodes, and Jared and Jensen were as always wonderful. However I did not like the choices that were made for Sam, which were guaranteed to inflame the anti-Sam sentiment in those quarters of the fandom where it smoulders and always will. That's what fandom has done to me - I see the show for myself but I also see the reactions coming and it affects my enjoyment.
After the mid season hiatus, things seemed to improve in terms of specific episodes. I wish it could have happened sooner.
In that context, the build up to the finale seemed to work better that the first half of the season, and I actually got some interest back (beyond just wanting to see my boys move around and talk and stuff :P).
So, finale.
It was good. Some really nice energy, unexpected twists, some good intensity. Dean was on his game, Sam broke my heart (I've concluded that's his job finally), Crowley finally got, or just about got his comeuppance, and Hell did not get closed -- Heaven did! That was a nice twist, and good for the series because, really, if Hell is closed, the series is over. There aren't enough monsters and ghosts to keep the boys in business without their chief enemies, in my op.
Things I liked:
Dean was finally back on his game - tricking and trapping Crowley was very nicely done. Especially loved the, "I can do this all day" line (callback to Captain America, bitches! :D) Poor Crowley, so clever, but thinks he can out-bash a Winchester? And that particular Winchester? LOL! Dean, as is usually the case, had to do his job of figuring out what was important in the series of surprise events and pulling it back to what was important (to him!), and it was good to see after he spent so much of the first half of the season ragging Sam to bits.
Poor, poor Sam! Jared was so real, so heartbreaking, and nuanced. He has truly grown into an amazing actor. This episode pulled all the threads of Sam's season 8 journey together revealing a gutwrenching pain and determination. Sam's confessions... off-scene of course, because if you haven't figured out by now Sam will always be the one with hidden or obscure motivations and emotions, you haven't been watching 8 seasons. Sam fans complain but I honestly think this mystery that is part of the character is also part of his allure. I think it is for me.
Crowley - I love this turn for him! I love the "denim-wrapped nightmares" getting the better of him - he cleverly kept all demons away from the boys, thwarting the third trial, but then became the only option for the guys to use to finish it. Delicious! As the treatment commenced, the resemblance to a cult or drug addiction deprogramming/detox (albeit a far more extreme version) was striking. And wouldn't Sam know all about that, from being on the receiving end so many times? Mark Shepard was fantastic and those scenes between Crowly and Sam were riveting.
Metatron turning out to be a bad guy - brilliant! :D First, I have to say I was very pleased to see Curtis Armstrong when the character first showed up, because, really? Dudely "Booger" Dawson as the Scribe of Heaven? Outstanding!!! :D If you don't get the reference, just let it go. Curtis has done a lot of things since Revenge of the Nerds, he's a lot of fun to watch period. But this show is very media/meta conscious in their casting, that's clear, so allow me my squee. :)
I read a review this morning online that said it was tiresome to have yet another angel have some kind of douchey, selfish motivation, but folks, it's consistency. Angels in SPNverse are not good people, with the rarest of exceptions (Joshua). So Metatron wanting revenge for the archangels making him flee Heaven makes sense. I also liked the revelation that Naomi had a connection to the archangels, it gave her a more distinct identity (right before she bit it, but hey).
Kevin Tran - yay, still alive! Probably. :) Kevin is awesome, so it's good he's still with us. I liked Dean giving him the key to the Men of Letters secret clubhouse and basically giving him retirement. Downside, Cas, but that's my next topic of comment.
So once again, Castiel is led astray, after being used and manipulated the whole season. Sucks to be Cas.
So did anyone really think Cas was going to be smarter? Was going to not be taken in and go on another noble mission which turns out to be for the wrong side?
Apparently, that was not in the plan for anyone this season. Just saying. ;P
Now, since I have, as I mentioned, looked at a couple of reviews online, and the comments to said reviews, I'd like to state my (not so) humble opinion, which since it's mine, I take to be fact until proven otherwise.
CASTIEL DID NOT FALL.
Seriously. I keep seeing these references to Cas falling, and I'm a word nazi. So, Cas did NOT fall.
He was pushed.
Falling in my book would either mean voluntarily ripping out his grace, like Anna, or being forcibly ejected for cause like what Metatron did to all the other angels in Heaven. That was most definitely a Fall.
Cas... I think it's safe to say he's human, but could get his grace back. Will it happen? No idea. But whether they ever choose to explain why or not, Cas has always been a special case, a rule breaker. Mostly I think because the showrunners wanted him back and don't care that much about having a rule for how that's possible.
So... last thing that I liked (or last one I'm listing at the moment): both Winchesters are alive and in the same place. Like S4, they may begin season 9 where this season left off... or not. But it's certainly a possible option.
Things we're left with from the cliffhanger:
1. Sam is major fucked up. What aborting the last trial will do is an unknown. (Or, as we say around my house, it could mean nothing at all...)
2. Dean & Sam are together, emotionally as well as physically. This is a Good Thing in my estimation.
3. Crowley... is 3/4 cured... but not wholly. He has regrets, he wants forgiveness... he wants to be LOVED! :D :D :D That is completely priceless.
4. Abaddon is still out there. New meatsuit, new actress but definitely still a player.
5. All the angels in Heaven are now Fallen and locked out of Heaven. Are they dead? Don't know, but from what Naomi said, I got the feeling they wouldn't be dead, but wandering the Earth. Doing what???
6. Cas is alive, on Earth, without his essence. Mortal. I've seen some comments regarding whether he has amnesia but I saw nothing to indicate that either way, so why assume?
7. Kevin is alive and in the Men of Letters clubhouse... probably. Unless it blew up. Ack.
8. Metatron is up in Heaven enjoying Paradise. And human souls will still go there when people die (if they don't go the other place).
Apparently Season 9 will move the show to Tuesday night and start in October. So... let the wailing and gnashing of teeth and/or the wild speculation commence!
8.23 "Sacrifice" - 8.5 stars out of 10
~
"Even angels fall..."
I pretty much disliked the first half of this season generally. There were some nice moments, some great characters, a couple of okay episodes, and Jared and Jensen were as always wonderful. However I did not like the choices that were made for Sam, which were guaranteed to inflame the anti-Sam sentiment in those quarters of the fandom where it smoulders and always will. That's what fandom has done to me - I see the show for myself but I also see the reactions coming and it affects my enjoyment.
After the mid season hiatus, things seemed to improve in terms of specific episodes. I wish it could have happened sooner.
In that context, the build up to the finale seemed to work better that the first half of the season, and I actually got some interest back (beyond just wanting to see my boys move around and talk and stuff :P).
So, finale.
It was good. Some really nice energy, unexpected twists, some good intensity. Dean was on his game, Sam broke my heart (I've concluded that's his job finally), Crowley finally got, or just about got his comeuppance, and Hell did not get closed -- Heaven did! That was a nice twist, and good for the series because, really, if Hell is closed, the series is over. There aren't enough monsters and ghosts to keep the boys in business without their chief enemies, in my op.
Things I liked:
Dean was finally back on his game - tricking and trapping Crowley was very nicely done. Especially loved the, "I can do this all day" line (callback to Captain America, bitches! :D) Poor Crowley, so clever, but thinks he can out-bash a Winchester? And that particular Winchester? LOL! Dean, as is usually the case, had to do his job of figuring out what was important in the series of surprise events and pulling it back to what was important (to him!), and it was good to see after he spent so much of the first half of the season ragging Sam to bits.
Poor, poor Sam! Jared was so real, so heartbreaking, and nuanced. He has truly grown into an amazing actor. This episode pulled all the threads of Sam's season 8 journey together revealing a gutwrenching pain and determination. Sam's confessions... off-scene of course, because if you haven't figured out by now Sam will always be the one with hidden or obscure motivations and emotions, you haven't been watching 8 seasons. Sam fans complain but I honestly think this mystery that is part of the character is also part of his allure. I think it is for me.
Crowley - I love this turn for him! I love the "denim-wrapped nightmares" getting the better of him - he cleverly kept all demons away from the boys, thwarting the third trial, but then became the only option for the guys to use to finish it. Delicious! As the treatment commenced, the resemblance to a cult or drug addiction deprogramming/detox (albeit a far more extreme version) was striking. And wouldn't Sam know all about that, from being on the receiving end so many times? Mark Shepard was fantastic and those scenes between Crowly and Sam were riveting.
Metatron turning out to be a bad guy - brilliant! :D First, I have to say I was very pleased to see Curtis Armstrong when the character first showed up, because, really? Dudely "Booger" Dawson as the Scribe of Heaven? Outstanding!!! :D If you don't get the reference, just let it go. Curtis has done a lot of things since Revenge of the Nerds, he's a lot of fun to watch period. But this show is very media/meta conscious in their casting, that's clear, so allow me my squee. :)
I read a review this morning online that said it was tiresome to have yet another angel have some kind of douchey, selfish motivation, but folks, it's consistency. Angels in SPNverse are not good people, with the rarest of exceptions (Joshua). So Metatron wanting revenge for the archangels making him flee Heaven makes sense. I also liked the revelation that Naomi had a connection to the archangels, it gave her a more distinct identity (right before she bit it, but hey).
Kevin Tran - yay, still alive! Probably. :) Kevin is awesome, so it's good he's still with us. I liked Dean giving him the key to the Men of Letters secret clubhouse and basically giving him retirement. Downside, Cas, but that's my next topic of comment.
So once again, Castiel is led astray, after being used and manipulated the whole season. Sucks to be Cas.
So did anyone really think Cas was going to be smarter? Was going to not be taken in and go on another noble mission which turns out to be for the wrong side?
Apparently, that was not in the plan for anyone this season. Just saying. ;P
Now, since I have, as I mentioned, looked at a couple of reviews online, and the comments to said reviews, I'd like to state my (not so) humble opinion, which since it's mine, I take to be fact until proven otherwise.
CASTIEL DID NOT FALL.
Seriously. I keep seeing these references to Cas falling, and I'm a word nazi. So, Cas did NOT fall.
He was pushed.
Falling in my book would either mean voluntarily ripping out his grace, like Anna, or being forcibly ejected for cause like what Metatron did to all the other angels in Heaven. That was most definitely a Fall.
Cas... I think it's safe to say he's human, but could get his grace back. Will it happen? No idea. But whether they ever choose to explain why or not, Cas has always been a special case, a rule breaker. Mostly I think because the showrunners wanted him back and don't care that much about having a rule for how that's possible.
So... last thing that I liked (or last one I'm listing at the moment): both Winchesters are alive and in the same place. Like S4, they may begin season 9 where this season left off... or not. But it's certainly a possible option.
Things we're left with from the cliffhanger:
1. Sam is major fucked up. What aborting the last trial will do is an unknown. (Or, as we say around my house, it could mean nothing at all...)
2. Dean & Sam are together, emotionally as well as physically. This is a Good Thing in my estimation.
3. Crowley... is 3/4 cured... but not wholly. He has regrets, he wants forgiveness... he wants to be LOVED! :D :D :D That is completely priceless.
4. Abaddon is still out there. New meatsuit, new actress but definitely still a player.
5. All the angels in Heaven are now Fallen and locked out of Heaven. Are they dead? Don't know, but from what Naomi said, I got the feeling they wouldn't be dead, but wandering the Earth. Doing what???
6. Cas is alive, on Earth, without his essence. Mortal. I've seen some comments regarding whether he has amnesia but I saw nothing to indicate that either way, so why assume?
7. Kevin is alive and in the Men of Letters clubhouse... probably. Unless it blew up. Ack.
8. Metatron is up in Heaven enjoying Paradise. And human souls will still go there when people die (if they don't go the other place).
Apparently Season 9 will move the show to Tuesday night and start in October. So... let the wailing and gnashing of teeth and/or the wild speculation commence!
8.23 "Sacrifice" - 8.5 stars out of 10
~
"Even angels fall..."