Supernatural report

[zubeneschamali]

Insta-thoughts on 6.06, including the previews for 6.07:


I know reactions to that final scene are going to be all over the board.  I was wincing as Dean was throwing his punches, but when it was done, after the initial "holy crap, you can't leave it like that!", I realized that I felt a lot better.  It was cathartic for Dean as well as us to lay into Sam like that, as much as it hurt to watch.  Also, that moment when Dean raised the knife towards Sam seriously gave me the shivers, but I thought Sam's response was perfect.  That must have been so hard for Jared to play that scene without being emotional, but he pulled it off.

I'm glad that they didn't drag out Dean's serious mistrust of Sam for too long.  Really glad.   Also, I might have squeed a little when Sam admitted he'd let Dean get turned because he knew he could handle it, which is exactly what I wrote here last week.  I definitely squeed when I saw the preview since I recently joined the "Sam's soul is missing" camp, apparently just in time.  There's obviously some retconning that's going to need to go on, but I'm actually looking forward to next week's episode, which hasn't always been the case this season.  And let me tell you, I would not be feeling nearly so hopeful about the rest of the season if not for the previews.

On the down side, it was a total cop-out for the writers to have Lisa's conversation with Dean while he was cursed.  I wasn't surprised to hear what she had to say, and I would have thought a lot less of her if she'd given Dean another chance, especially when he couldn't explain what was wrong (not that explaining that he was temporarily a vampire and trying not to chew on her neck or Ben's would have helped, I guess).  Still, like much of the first two episodes, it was a shoehorned-in way to move the plot along and get back to the Winchesters on the road with no home fires burning.

Continuing last week's discussion of the parallels with S1: 1.06 was "Skin", still one of my all-time favorites.  In that ep, the MOTW forced Sam to hear what Dean really thought of him; both boys were tied up at once; Sam was strangled until Dean killed the baddie; and Sam realized how much of his non-hunting life had been built on a lie and that it probably wasn't possible for him to get out.  Check; check; check; reverse the boys and check.  Now, 1.07 was "Hook Man," which aside from the wonderful old urban legend, was about Sam realizing that he wasn't ready to move forward from Jess and Dean not really understanding that, but accepting it anyway.  Hmm, maybe this one's not going to be so obvious.  I can't wait to figure out what the parallels to "Bugs" are going to be...

ETA: Come to think of it, "Bugs" was, at its core, about family and how even if they don't understand you, they'll stand by you when it counts. I'm so hoping that parallel holds true in 6.08.

ETA2: I find it...heartwarming?  A nice touch?  That Dean can still get grossed out after everything he's seen.  His reaction to Veritas chewing on the poor guy's tongue was hilarious.

Comments

[zubeneschamali.livejournal.com]

I've read other comments that Dean gets angry when he's scared, and that makes a lot of sense here, too. Something's been really wrong with Sam, and Dean's noticed it but hasn't pushed it too hard, so he's angry at himself and scared that Sam hasn't been Sam the whole time. They've certainly encountered evil before that can pass the holy water-salt-silver tests, so I think it's fear as much as anger.