Some initial thoughts on S5...
So, the season five. I don't normally do episode reaction posts, preferring to get my squee on in meta-post comments, but these two episodes have quite pleased me and I want to jot out a few thoughts. I thought both of them were generally tightly plotted, brilliantly acted, and that the cinematography (particularly in 5x01) was just delightful
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Comments 54
I want to join you "Hate Bobby Club"! For more than two years I've found myself cringing when his name comes up in the opening credits. I hate that they've expanded his character so unrealistically. Bobby is just a friend and a resource should be treated as such. It irks me to no end to see Dean and Sam practically genuflecting at the alter of his greatness.
As for Bobby and John breaking hold of the demons, I read another meta where it was suggested they didn't. That it was DEAN who pushed the demon back when he, under extreme emotional distress, called their names and said no. I found this interesting.
I think they sort of screwed the pooch though in terms of how they set up Bobby's disability.
I think you're wrong here. I got the impression Zachariah took away Bobby's ability to walk. We see him stumbling into the ER, so it would seem he had the use of his legs then.
I like the concept that Bobby will have to struggle with this and overcome it.Does it make me a bad person to want to see Bobby-The- ( ... )
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As for Bobby and John breaking hold of the demons, I read another meta where it was suggested they didn't. That it was DEAN who pushed the demon back when he, under extreme emotional distress, called their names and said no. I found this interesting.
I think I read that meta! The concept that if Sam could control demons due to his bloodline (rather than the demon blood) then potentially Dean could as well? I like the concept a good deal - sleeper!powers FTW! I'd love that for a few different reasons. For one, it would mean that Sam's powers are officially not evil (and I love me some powers!Sammy). For two, it would explain why Bobby was freed relatively easily while John had to struggle - Dean was already grievously wounded when John broke free. For three, did I mention sleeper!powers FTMFW? We did sort of get proof from baby Rosie in Salvation that the powers were innate rather than granted through YED's blood, though I was never quite certain whether that was retconned or not since the issue never ( ... )
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Okay, so it was supposed to go to John, but wound up going to Dean.
Maybe Bobby didn't know all of its properties, just that it was special or some sort of holy relic.
He probably wanted John to have it for protection on his hunts. When Sammy gave it to Dean, maybe Bobby decided the boys could use the protection as well, since they were left on their own a lot.
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Popular fan opinion before 5x02 was that it was a minor protection charm and I can see Bobby thinking that was the case as well. Or perhaps he thought Sam had given it to John who in turn gave it to Dean for reasons of his own. John Winchester is as John Winchester does, after all, and his logic wasn't always known to mortal men. *g*
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I wouldn't be surprised if it DID have some sort of protection effect. Dean's gotten himself in some pretty dire straits and come out of them with less damage than you would expect -- or gotten rescued in the nick of time.
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But you're right too. Dean should have several scars that he's lacking. And sure a lot of those were under his clothing (that brand mark from the Benders definitely wouldn't have healed without a scar for one and we know he's been shot a few times for another), but what about when YED slammed him face first into a tombstone? Dean should have had a scar on his forehead from that, yet by 3x01, it was completely healed.
Okay, that's probably TPTB not wanting to deal with injuries in the slightest, but still! It's fun to consider otherwise. :)
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I can understand your complaint about Bobby. Most people's big beef with Bella was that she made the boys look dumb, but Bobby essentially does the same thing with his deus ex machina thing, especially lately. On the other hand, I think the whole John and Bobby fighting possession thing might have less to do with them and more with Dean. In my meta I posited that Dean, like Sam, might have the power to exorcise demons; he just has no idea he's doing it. And I also agree about Bobby's injury. It's exact nature makes no sense based on the position of the stab wound unless Zachariah paralyzed Bobby while he was threatening Dean and left him that way. Either way, it is an interesting opportunity to see Bobby developed as a character instead of a plot device ( ... )
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Bobby can make the boys look stupid as well, but he's less malicious about it. And maybe that's actually why I dislike him more - Bella was an antagonist and I read her as an antagonist. Bobby is supposed to be a hero and I've got less patience when the good guys are showing the brothers up. But more than that, I like me some smart!boys. Every time Bobby pulls a deux ex machina, we lose an opportunity for smart!boys and that's just a waste ( ... )
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And nope, you're not making it up all. Sam was released by Castiel, likely acting at Zachariah's bequest. I very much hold Castiel responsible for that and moreso for not telling Dean that Lilith was the final seal for so long and then on top of that, not moving to help Dean until it was too late. Just think about it - if Castiel had made up his mind even five minutes sooner, Dean could have gotten to Sam before Ruby slammed the door shut on him and the whole thing would have been avoided. Probably avoided. If Sam were willing to listen.
(I really hope that Sam would have been willing to listen.)
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Sera Gamble confirmed in the commentary of When the Levee Breaks that the symptoms were real.
Dean is the one who rejected outright Castiel's gift (and it was a gift) of eternal peace and rest, things that Dean in particular should have craved
I didn't see it as a gift at all. In Lucifer Rising, Dean had just told Castiel "You know what's real? People, families -- that's real. And you're gonna watch them all burn?, and Castiel's reply was " What is so worth saving?" He's trying to convince Dean that it's ok to go ahead with the Apocalypse (even though billions of people will die). Castiel's talk about paradise, and that Dean will be at peace, even with Sam, is what Zachariah wants him to tell Dean. Dean was right to reject that.
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Sam certainly seemed different when hopped up on the demon blood. He was colder, crueler, and far more dangerous. I like his withdrawal symptoms being real because that allows me to explain his mood shifts as being mainly due to the blood and not Sam himself as well. I guess I take it like alcoholism; being drunk doesn't put bad thoughts into your head or make you any crueler than you can be when sober, but it removes a lot of your inhibitions. And when you come off a binge, you get one hell of a hang over.
I didn't see it as a gift at all. From Castiel's ( ... )
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What role did the demon blood play in modifying Sam's mood and thought processes? Was Ruby right when she said that it was in him all along or did the blood change his powers and how they could be used?
I agree that it def had an effect on him, and brought on some personality changes. Like you say, it removes inhibitions, and it also made him more agressive, brought out more of his dark side. I've also wondered about what Ruby said, because does this mean that Sam can use his powers without drinking the blood?
But that doesn't change the fact that Castiel thought it was a good thing. He's seen Dean miserable and he's seen humanity suffer.It's true that he may have thought it was a good thing, but what seemed scary to me is that Castiel didn't even consider how much misery and suffering there would be if billions of people die, and what kind of life they'd suffer through before their deaths. It's more like he wants the end result (paradise), ( ... )
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