Episode 11.09 Reaction Post (contains spoilers for 11.09)
I should have known this season was too good to be true.
As episodes go, it wasn't that bad. It wasn't the best episode to start out with, but my expectations from a Bruckner-Leming episode are low to start with. I was willing to sit back, put my feet up and enjoy Rowena's sparkly dress.
Because Rowena's costume was awesome, let's face it.
The ending just... it ruined everything. It ruined everything. By "everything" I mean I'm regretting every minute I've spent on this show since the end of season 5.
Don't get me wrong. The acting - by everyone, not just Jared, was phenomenal. While the Lucifer plotline in and of itself wasn't compelling, Jared truly conveyed Sam's fear and bravery and desolation.
The big reveal, that it had been Lucifer speaking to Sam the whole time, undoes everything that Sam accomplished with his sacrifice.
It doesn't matter that Sam saved the world. It doesn't matter that he struggled through re-integrating his soul, it doesn't matter that he struggled with Castiel's act of supernatural terrorism against him. It doesn't matter that he managed to hunt - successfully - for months while battling the flashbacks and hallucinations Castiel caused.
It doesn't matter what Sam did during the Trials. It doesn't matter that Sam expelled Gadreel. It doesn't matter that Sam saved all those people in that hospital from their Darkness-induced infection, with nothing but the power of his own brain.
He's been reduced to the level of a fool, someone whose entire purpose in life is to get tricked and then get rescued by the knight in shining armor.
The show didn't used to be like this. There used to be balance between the brothers. It's become a caricature.
It would be nice to have faith that Sam will get himself out of this, but let's face it. Carver doesn't have as much respect as he has for the gum on the bottom of his shoe. This was done just to give others the chance to shine at Sam's expense, and it's disgusting. They're deliberately reducing Sam to a foil, and resorting to rape as a cheap ploy for laughs and "thrills."
It's not compelling. I don't feel drawn in, desperate to rush back in six weeks to see what's become of Sam. I'm pretty sure I already know how it will play out, and I've had enough of Samsel-in-distress. Lucifer was a great villain in his time, but now he's warmed-over meatloaf. I already know what it tasted like the first time, and the second. I don't need more of the same, especially when the parts of the recipe that worked so well the first time have all been taken out.
If I'm wrong, that's great. Someone will come and tell me that Sam saved himself and I'll be perfectly happy to watch again. Right now, though, I'm just...
As episodes go, it wasn't that bad. It wasn't the best episode to start out with, but my expectations from a Bruckner-Leming episode are low to start with. I was willing to sit back, put my feet up and enjoy Rowena's sparkly dress.
Because Rowena's costume was awesome, let's face it.
The ending just... it ruined everything. It ruined everything. By "everything" I mean I'm regretting every minute I've spent on this show since the end of season 5.
Don't get me wrong. The acting - by everyone, not just Jared, was phenomenal. While the Lucifer plotline in and of itself wasn't compelling, Jared truly conveyed Sam's fear and bravery and desolation.
The big reveal, that it had been Lucifer speaking to Sam the whole time, undoes everything that Sam accomplished with his sacrifice.
It doesn't matter that Sam saved the world. It doesn't matter that he struggled through re-integrating his soul, it doesn't matter that he struggled with Castiel's act of supernatural terrorism against him. It doesn't matter that he managed to hunt - successfully - for months while battling the flashbacks and hallucinations Castiel caused.
It doesn't matter what Sam did during the Trials. It doesn't matter that Sam expelled Gadreel. It doesn't matter that Sam saved all those people in that hospital from their Darkness-induced infection, with nothing but the power of his own brain.
He's been reduced to the level of a fool, someone whose entire purpose in life is to get tricked and then get rescued by the knight in shining armor.
The show didn't used to be like this. There used to be balance between the brothers. It's become a caricature.
It would be nice to have faith that Sam will get himself out of this, but let's face it. Carver doesn't have as much respect as he has for the gum on the bottom of his shoe. This was done just to give others the chance to shine at Sam's expense, and it's disgusting. They're deliberately reducing Sam to a foil, and resorting to rape as a cheap ploy for laughs and "thrills."
It's not compelling. I don't feel drawn in, desperate to rush back in six weeks to see what's become of Sam. I'm pretty sure I already know how it will play out, and I've had enough of Samsel-in-distress. Lucifer was a great villain in his time, but now he's warmed-over meatloaf. I already know what it tasted like the first time, and the second. I don't need more of the same, especially when the parts of the recipe that worked so well the first time have all been taken out.
If I'm wrong, that's great. Someone will come and tell me that Sam saved himself and I'll be perfectly happy to watch again. Right now, though, I'm just...