Comments | hells_half_acre: Rewatch S6: Family Matters (6.07)

hells_half_acre

Rewatch S6: Family Matters (6.07)

Oct 13, 2011 18:52

Woo! After a week hiatus - let's get back to rewatching S6, shall we?

( When your kind first huddled around the fire, I was the thing in the dark! )

rewatch s6

Comments 19

dairygirl October 14 2011, 02:37:10 UTC

I have a question about the soul detection. In Season Six, Castiel had to perform major bodily invasion to detect souls like in this episode, but in Season Five (e.g., My Bloody Valentine), Castiel could just rest his hand on the person's (okay, corpse's) chest and state the soul is intact. What is the reason for this difference?

hells_half_acre October 14 2011, 03:47:02 UTC

Good question. :P

katsheswims October 14 2011, 03:51:38 UTC

The only thing I can guess is that it was different because it was a corpse-not an alive person. Maybe the soul was closer to the surface of the body-because it was leaving it's earthly body behind-so Castiel could feel it easier?

(Or the writers just wanted to go for something flashier when they made the soul a main theme of S6.)

hells_half_acre October 14 2011, 03:55:04 UTC

Ooo...that's a good explanation! I have a feeling it was the latter reason, but I like your logic with giving a more universe-is-consistent reason.

katsheswims October 14 2011, 03:52:34 UTC

I love these recaps.

My favorite part of that episode was the last thing you talked about with Sam getting his gun out and Dean casually making him put it down.

hells_half_acre October 14 2011, 03:56:04 UTC

Yeah, I loved that too - just the casualness of it all. Done brilliantly. :)

I'm glad you like my recaps!

percysowner October 14 2011, 05:25:25 UTC

"Well, just get it back."
"Dean"
"You pulled me out."
"It took several angels to rescue you and you weren't nearly as well guarded. Sam's soul is in Lucifer's cage. There's a difference a big difference. It's not possible."
-Why isn't it possible? Castiel tried to get Sam out himself before, when he was high on confidence? Is it not possible because he realized now that he messed up? Is it not possible because he realizes that it might be too late to save Sam's soul - that Sam is irreparably broken? Is it not possible simply because Castiel is empty of confidence? Too busy trying to hold his own against Raphael's forces?
I suspect that one reason it was not possible is that in the year that Sam was soulless, he became a valuable piece of Castiel's search for Purgatory and the souls. It was also an inconvenient to take the time and make the effort to get to Sam's soul. When Castiel first raised Sam, he wasn't in the war with Raphael. Now he is. It's far easier to say "it's not possible" than "I don't choose to make the effort ( ... )

hells_half_acre October 14 2011, 05:35:37 UTC

When Castiel first raised Sam, he wasn't in the war with Raphael. Now he is. It's far easier to say "it's not possible" than "I don't choose to make the effort".

Very true. It's a more cynical take on Cas, but then, in this season that take is probably very warranted.

The inference in the pilot was that the cousin's didn't know each other before and the several of them were possessed, not just Christian. It is hard to tell if anyone knew Christian well enough to know if he was behaving like himself or not.

Hmm, good point. I mean, I thought the cousins DID know each other, but now I realize that was just an assumption I made - and it could very well be like you said. Samuel gathered them together for sure...so therefore they may not have known each other, and we may never know what Christian was actually like.

I'm not certain that he didn't at least suspect that Sam came out very wrong. I also tend to think that once he paid attention to Sam he would have been able to sense that Sam's soul was gone. I always took the soulfisting ( ... )

franztastisch October 14 2011, 14:38:29 UTC

"How much do you sleep?"
"I don't."
"At all?"
"Not since I got back."

This is the one thing that I think was weird with the whole no soul thing. I read somewhere that the idea of Soulless!Sam was what he was following his basic instinct (i.e. why it was that he did the very un-Sam thing os FUCKING EVERY GIRL) and I like your idea of Sam following basic rules (Dean = Important, Family = trust). But that being said, sleep is a basic instinct. You sleep when you're tired. As such, surely soulless!Sam should sleep?

But anyway... this was one of the episodes of S6 that I really liked! And you're right, Gwen should have got longer on the show. She was interesting and I think she would have got on with Dean and Sam if they'd met under different circumstances. Not like buddy-buddy, but well enough.

Oh and CROWLEY. :D :D :D

hells_half_acre October 14 2011, 17:11:37 UTC

Well, I think this is a case where they go against science or logic. I mean, of COURSE sleep is a basic necessity of life. If someone really didn't sleep for a year, they would be dead or insane or both.

It seems in the Supernatural universe though - your body doesn't get tired, only your soul does...so you can just go and go without a soul. Yeah, it doesn't make scientific sense at all - but hey, centaurs are physiologically impossible too and we never bat an eye when they show up in fantasy books.

I think all my episodes from this season happened in the second half - though, perhaps not...since I'm really looking forward to Clap Hands. ;)

You know, one of these days they're going to have to kill Crowley, there will be just as much of a revolt as there was when they threatened to kill Cas. :P

franztastisch October 14 2011, 17:27:42 UTC

Yeah I get that, but I just think... well never mind. It's not like it makes a difference and it's not my biggest sticking point with S6 so we'll jst leave it. :P

My favourite, I think, is ...And Then There Were None. And I live Caged Heat. And Like A Virgin (for obvious reasons.)

THERE SO WILL. In fact, he might be in that very very small class of characters where I'd prefer Cas' death to theirs. (The other being Bobby, and Sam and Dean obviously.) BUT SHH..! DON'T TELL.

hells_half_acre October 14 2011, 17:30:29 UTC

Yeah, don't tell anyone, but I actually don't MIND the thought of Cas dying. I'm fine if he sticks around too, of course - but I really don't care one way or the other.

I really like Like a Virgin. :) I'm looking forward to that one too.

Thread 7

Interesting.... harsens_rob October 14 2011, 21:44:10 UTC

** "You better tear the attic up, find some way to help Sam."
"Of course, you're problems always come first. I'll be in touch."
- And so it begins... Cas only comes to Dean when Cas needs something from him, and Dean has too much on his mind already to realize that something is horribly wrong with Castiel too...also, Dean doesn't have the experience with Castiel yet to know when he should push, and when he should lay off...so he just lays off, and yeah... Friendships are hard to manage sometimes. Which reminds me, I haven't spoken to a friend of mine for 2 months, I really should try to IM him. **

I find this an interesting observation, because rather than observe this myself, I was more annoyed with Dean. It felt to me (I really need to get these DVDs so I can study it more) that Dean is the selfish one. Cas is in a civil war, but he's supposed to continually drop everything in order to do what Dean wants? I see this as more Dean's selfishness than Castiel's only coming to Dean when he wants something....

Interesting.

Re: Interesting.... hells_half_acre October 14 2011, 22:09:07 UTC

Oh man, I made a typo there - wrong "your"

Anyway...I think it was a mix of both. YES, Dean is an ass - but Castiel is also a bit of one, because when Dean is freaking out about Sam at the beginning of the season, Cas doesn't answer his prayers until he might have found the horn of Gabriel - so, basically, they are both pulling the same shit with each other. Dean should just know better. I mean, Dean does get WAY too wrapped up in Sam to realize that his "other brother" (ie: Castiel) needs him too.