I get the distinct feeling that the writers for “Supernatural” are trying to bring some of the lighter moments into the season early because the latter half of the season is going to be the darkest stretch yet. Even episodes like this, clearly based on an idea with pure comic potential, comes to a close with a heavy dose of dread. Considering that it’s the apocalypse, that’s probably not a huge shock.
Comedy is subjective, but I thought it was great to see the writers spoof their own most difficult timeslot competition. “CSI” has some truly awful writing and acting across the board, and “Grey’s Anatomy” is overwrought soap opera. I loved the sitcom opening credits and the “Knight Rider” spoof, and that commercial fooled me the first time through.
Not everything worked as well as it could have. I thought the Japanese game show segment had the right idea, but the real thing has a much more frenetic energy to it. I think the director played it too straight. And I was also a bit annoyed with the fact that Sam was getting the short end of the stick too often. Sure, the previous Trickster episode was rough on Dean, but it seemed a little one-sided.
I will give the writers credit for not beating the audience over the head with some of the context. When Sam brought up the idea of allying with the Trickster against the rebellious angels and demons, I was sure that Dean would rip into Sam with a laundry list of past transgressions. After all, after all that Sam did in the fourth season, making that suggestion is a questionable move. But Dean didn’t need to say anything; his expression more than said it all.
The heart of the episode, however, comes with the final act. I’m not sure about the revelation that the Trickster has always been Gabriel. While it does explain his ability to keep coming back for more and the similarity in powers, it does seem like unnecessary retroactive continuity. Despite that, it was a great opportunity for the writers to dispense some story exposition with a twist.
At this point, we must assume that the rebellious angels are unreliable in terms of information. They have their own perspective on matters, and that perspective is often skewed by their own assumptions and bitterness. Angel dialogue is as much about reading between the lines as anything else.
So I accept the idea that the Brothers Winchester were chosen because of their relationship to their father. It ties the whole second half of the series thus far to the first half, which is a brilliant move. Clearly the writers designed the whole God/angels/Lucifer dynamic around the earlier John/Dean/Sam dynamic, and that makes sense out of a lot of what has happened since the beginning of the fourth season. (And perhaps this will prove to those still insisting this is intentional Christian-hating blasphemy that they have been barking up the wrong tree.)
In fact, Gabriel’s explanation provides two strong clues that there is, in fact, a God waiting to be uncovered before the end. First, Gabriel says that Sam and Dean were always destined to play the roles of Michael and Lucifer, because the angels knew from the moment that God’s plan for humanity was set in motion that this was going to be the trigger for the end of the world.
While Christian lore is certainly different in the “Supernatural” mythos, this plays on the traditional notion that all things have evolved along a path that God determined was necessary for humanity. All the good and bad things are the product of events set in motion at the dawn of time. The subtext of that worldview is actually quite clear: God knew that this moment would come. In other words, if he’s absent from the perspective of the angels, it’s because that was part of the plan. And logically speaking, if the angels were always meant to stray and “go rogue” as part of the plan, they would not be privy to any outcome of the grand design that countered their anticipated result. The angels wouldn’t see another possible end to the apocalypse, because they were never meant to see the big picture. (Hence, why their perspective is unreliable.)
That means that God could still be out there, waiting for the Brothers Winchester and Castiel to find him, so that the real conclusion to the plan can unfold. This is supported by the “as above, so below” parallel. Sam and Dean both had their Daddy issues, and John was absent for a good long while, but John never really gave up on his sons. So it stands to reason that God is waiting for the right moment, and that he has his own ideas of the destiny for the Brothers Winchester.
To take the parallel further (and perhaps to reveal how long the hints of the parallel were right there to be found), John regretted bringing Sam and Dean into the hunting world. When he had another son, Adam, he chose to take a different path and give Adam other choices. In other words, Sam and Dean were given a path to follow and a life mission to obey, whereas Adam was given free will to make his own choices, good or bad. The writers clearly intended the parallel between the angels (Dean), Lucifer (Sam), and humanity (Adam).
It’s also worth noting that everything prior to this episode was simply the introductory phase of the season arc. This episode shifts the story into the complication phase, and that is typically when a lot of assumptions are proven wrong. At the same time, this is clearly the climax phase of the five-year plan, so even minor situations hold a powerful weight.
John Keegan
Reprinted with permission
Original source: c. Critical Myth, 2009
All rights reserved
Link: http://www.criticalmyth.com
The highlighted bit I TOTALLY agree with. _________________ ~ When the tough get going, the going get Winchesters ~
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~Sitting in the glass-half-full waggon watching ames drag it along~
Idk I mean my thing is, people, angels hell even Demons can say it's destiny for the brothers to fight each other and it's kill or be killed but I truly cannot believe that.
The boys will not consent to being a vessel and Im pretty darn sure they wont kill one another. Things may not always be as they seem, especially on this show. I try to keep up with the arc but honestly I dont always b/c it ican be hard to follow sometimes.
It was refreshign to see that even the angels have a dysfunctional dynamic. Gabriel could have just done what he did to Sam and Dean in MS to help jumpstart the decision for the boys eventhough back then they didnt know what they do now.
perhaps he though if he showed sam how it would be after dean's deal he thought Sam would just agree after a while had gone by without dean.
who knows really and Im sorry if this doesnt make sense im kinda loopy at the moment. _________________ [/img][/img]
Idk I mean my thing is, people, angels hell even Demons can say it's destiny for the brothers to fight each other and it's kill or be killed but I truly cannot believe that.
The boys will not consent to being a vessel and Im pretty darn sure they wont kill one another. Things may not always be as they seem, especially on this show. I try to keep up with the arc but honestly I dont always b/c it ican be hard to follow sometimes.
It was refreshign to see that even the angels have a dysfunctional dynamic. Gabriel could have just done what he did to Sam and Dean in MS to help jumpstart the decision for the boys eventhough back then they didnt know what they do now.
perhaps he though if he showed sam how it would be after dean's deal he thought Sam would just agree after a while had gone by without dean.
who knows really and Im sorry if this doesnt make sense im kinda loopy at the moment.
Yep, lol. But by all means, if someone can put a positive spin on it, by all means, you go for it. I'd be happy to hear. But this episode fell ten stories for me. _________________ ~ When the tough get going, the going get Winchesters ~
Credit for banner goes to Spaceseeker - font credited to Felina-Cat Credit for Avatar goes to Tammitam
Credit for banner goes to spaceseeker
~Sitting in the glass-half-full waggon watching ames drag it along~
Oh that would be just great, have Sam die or just have Sam forgot he has a brother. It's freaking fantastic. Lets just get rid of Sam's memory of Dean being his brother and the whole problem is just solved, the base of the show it being about brothers could just all up and go away with this idea, lovely sounding huh?
Gosh sounds like I really freaking love it doesn't it?
Oh, you're right it would ruin the show, but I feel the show got ruined when it decided that Sam was the worlds worst betrayer who does not deserve to have any character examination at all. I started watching a show about two brothers who were devoted to each other and now I am watching a show where Dean has taken Sam back, not because he cares about him, but to try and make sure Sam doesn't get taken over by Lucifer and destroy the world. I am seeing a show where an Angel is being portrayed as Dean's BFF and Sam is irrelevant.
All last season, no one, except a demon expressed any interest in the pain Sam suffered while Dean was dead. That indifference continues to this day.
I just sat through a show where Dean acknowledges that Sam lived for 3 months watching Dean die and six months living with Dean dead and in Hell, and all he cared about was that someone DARED kill DEAN, not how any of that affected Sam. I just got through seeing a show where Sam gets hit in the nuts and Dean winces in sympathy but is not angry that it happened, while Sam figures out a way to keep the same thing happening to Dean and gets not one word of thanks. I just got a show where Sam is, yet again, called a betrayer and a show that specifically says that i Sam had not been born the world would be a better place. I have, yet again, had a freaking Arch Angel say that Sam alone released Lucifer. So yes, I am bitter and I came up with a scenario that stops my bitterness. In fairness, what I want is for Dean to have to live with what Sam lived with for all those months, having his brother dead and the only sober contact a supernatural creature who was part of the reason his brother is gone. Sadly, there is no indication that Dean would really care. After all, he has made it quite clear that he cares nothing for Sam's emotional state and very little for Sam's physical condition. Sorry to bring my bitterness here, but I need to get it out somewhere. If I am overstepping I will delete my posts. _________________ A life lived in fear is a life half lived.
Don't worry about it Percy. Much of what you said, I am also feeling. It's insanely frustrating. _________________ ~ When the tough get going, the going get Winchesters ~
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~Sitting in the glass-half-full waggon watching ames drag it along~
Location: *HOW DO U TRICK A CROSSROADS DEMON - I WANNA KNOW SO NEXT TIME THEY DONT TAKE A WINCHESTER*!
Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 2:20 pm Post subject:
This show is fudged up, why even put that stupid question in the mix, I mean really why, if they were going to put it in there at least put it in there so he could have understood it and well answered his actual answer.
That's why I am pissed. _________________
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Location: Helping the Winchesters lock Lucifer back up into his cage
Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:00 pm Post subject:
Spoilerwolf wrote:
So basically I'm asking myself:
So.... all this crap, all this pain the boys have gone through, Mary's death, etc, was for what?
Seriously, what?
Wouldn't it have been easier if YED had never touched the Winchesters - had let them grow up normally, then when the apocalypse started, whisk the boys away and they would have most likely said yes, cause they wouldn't have known SQUAT about the Supernatural.
Seriously, Sam's going to get killed by Dean's hand - watch the 'previous' tape. "Dean is going to be the death of you Sam."
So... bets anyone?
Stupid writers. I get mad that I expect better, that they wouldn't do something so freaking clique as to do a 'bro vs bro' showdown at the end. *shakes head* I think that was asking too much.
Btw, Dean/Michael will kill Sam/Lucifer with Lucifer's own sword - only an angel can kill an angel, as they say.
So... I'm giving this a 6, and the only reason it isn't lower was because of the funny bits.
Mytharc wise, this episode just washed away 3 seasons - even 4 seasons of previous mytharc to mean absolutely f-ing nothing.
I agree with most of what you said but the show wouldn't called Supernatural if the YED whisked them away after allowing them to grow up normally, "playing little league and chasing tail" as Dean told Cas in ITB it would be called "Apocalyptica" or something like that .
I'm so peeved that Sam entire mytharc (and Dean's) has been boiled down to "You [both] were always supposed to be earthy mudmonkey/hairless ape versions of my big, obedient, loyal brother Mikey and my little rebellious, betrayer - brother Lou, so suck it up and play your roles so I can go back to playing my XBox game 'SIM Pompous Virtual Earthlings' in peace". You're right, Jess, it's as if the writers flushed three seasons of Sam's complex mytharc down the toilet.
I'm also upset - beyond the show making a fabulous, almost antihero PAGAN demigod the Trickster into another petulant archangel (although RS did a beautiful acting job of shifting gears ) the anvils keep falling and the death knell just keeps on tolling for Sam. But Dean said NOTHING about the effect of seeing him die over and over again had on Sam; instead Dean sounded more as if he wanted to get VENGEANCE on the Trickster for killling him a multitude of times. Isn't that what Sam did in hunting the Trickster and later in hunting Lilith?
I'm not sure if the bro vs bro thing will play out. "God" didn't order Michael to kill Lucifer the "first time around" and may not "this" time either. The Angels (Zach & Co i ncluding Rafe, Gabe and Castiel originally) were betting heavily on Mike killing Lou but that's just a bet on the possible outcome. Lucifer having been imprisoned for millenia growing angrier and angrier just might be able to mop the floor with Michael and even kill "God/Father" as encore.
But there's a chance that if/when "God" appears the final story could play out like a version of the "Prodigal Son" rather than a Cain vs Abel story that doesn't really fit Sam and Dean's birth order. Gabriel might play mediator between Michael and Lucifer and the story could end up with them shaking hands and returning to one big happy family.
But if Sam does say yes to Lucifer, I think he'll do it because he trusts that Dean will kill him this time and the world will be saved; he and Dean are back together now and he's not alone and despairing this time. Maybe "God" will test both Sam and Lucifer - and simply agreeing to be sacrificed will "save" them. I just don't think Kripke will actually "kill" Lucifer - reseal him, possibly.
Another thing - Sam wanted to propose an alliance with the Trickster; Dean didn't want to - OK. After Sam asked the Trickster for help when the boys "made" the Trickster and he have his snarky reply, Dean said something like "Good plan -asking "Monsters" for help" But the absolute irony about this whole Trickster is really Gabriel thing is that Sam wasn't really asking a Monster (like Sam feels he is) for help, he was asking an "Archangel" for help without knowing it. And the Trickster was the same "species" that Dean "swore" his obedience to.
BUT if The Trickster/Gabriel does end up helping the Winchesters in any way in a later episode, it will be only because Dean's speech about "family" swaying him that will be remembered and unlikely NOT because Sam originally wanted to ask the Trickster for help. And if so this will become another of Sam's S5 strategic suggestions that was "snaked" by another character - the first being Sam's suggestion in S5.01 that they go after the Colt that was "snaked" by Castiel in the beginninng of 5.04. _________________ Exquisite banners and Avi by Fandrea
What! Samifer reads.
Last edited by Scifidiva on Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:46 pm; edited 1 time in total
Location: Helping the Winchesters lock Lucifer back up into his cage
Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:44 pm Post subject:
I think the “anvils” that Sam is a “sexually dirty”, evil, betraying liar (who is also shouldering the entire blame for freeing Lucifer) who either never should have born or needs to be killed off ASAP to make the world a better place are falling too fast and furious in S5 to not give me some hope that maybe it’s intentional.
I’ve read- third hand - statements from Sera Gamble that say <paraphrasing> that most of the actions good at heart Sam Winchester takes thinking they are the best course available end up blowing up in his face. My gut feeling is that Sam’s “epic fails” are leading to a “major win”, maybe even world saving through sacrificing his life, even if Dean “kills” him (to “save” him). If Kripke is still even crudely following books on “Heroes Journeys”, Sam and Dean are clearly different Heroic Archetypes. (And yes, if there’s a S6 Sam will have to be resurrected). _________________ Exquisite banners and Avi by Fandrea
If they pull that line of cosmic crap they won't have to worry about me being around for S6. I will no longer watch. AS it is I'm having a hard time loving the show as I used to. I never even wore my SN shirt once this summer and that was my fav t-shirt. Come to think of it.. I haven't rec'd the show to anyone in ages. Hm...
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I will no longer watch. AS it is I'm having a hard time loving the show as I used to. I never even wore my SN shirt once this summer and that was my fav t-shirt. Come to think of it.. I haven't rec'd the show to anyone in ages. Hm...