3.09 reactions: spoilery

[ella_menno]

I’m kind of conflicted over last night's episode. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but it did leave me feeling unsettled, to the point where I had trouble sleeping.

I still can’t quite place my finger on it. I mean, I should have loved it – the sheer amount of Dean’s man pain alone ought to have knocked it out of the park for me.

It's not that I have a problem with Dean's angry outburst at John (that was my first thought about what bothered me) - because I can see all of those feelings being there. I don’t necessarily think they’re always primary in Dean’s mind, but they’re definitely there.

Plus, I have to agree with what Dean said – it wasn’t fair of John to put that burden of co-parenting on his own kid. Now, I don’t agree that John didn’t love Dean, though I can see how Dean would arrive at that conclusion pretty easily. (I’m specifically thinking here of John’s sacrifice in IMTOD: it doesn’t seem at all out of character for Dean to believe/assume that the sacrifice wasn’t made because John loved Dean, but because John had a strategic plan to make sure Sam was either protected or neutralized. Which, of course, is just another case of leaving Sam’s care in Dean’s hands.)


Things I Liked:

* Sam’s naughty dream about Bela. I think it’ll throw an interesting little wrench in all of their future interactions, and frankly, I find it fascinating in a “what’s going on in his head?” kind of way that Sam’s attracted to a woman like her: she’s on the wrong side of the law, she's mercenary, she's selfish, and, oh yeah - she shot him. Oooh, Sammy has a danger kink.

* I can’t believe they went there with Sam’s obvious glance at his lap and his “in a minute” response to Dean’s request for him to get up. Yes, I’m twelve, but we all know I’m a fan of the inappropriately timed erections make Sam flustered gag.

* Dean’s sleep-deprived, caffeine-fueled frustration, and the way Sam tippy-toed around it. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?”

* I love that Dean’s worst fear was his own self, and I love that he knew it. I love that his walls and barriers are so firmly entrenched as part of his psyche he even tries to use them against himself. I liked the way they showed how much the idea of becoming a demon is so deeply and utterly horrifying to him.

*Bobby’s wife and how what happened to her was his entry into hunting. That one understated little line: “We all got into hunting somehow” – just, ouch. Beautiful job by Jim Beaver.

* In Dean’s dream, with Lisa and the picnic blanket and “we have to pick up Ben from baseball in an hour” – it was so brief but amazingly detailed; no matter how much he denies it to Sam, Dean’s dreamed that one a lot. A lot. Someone who loves him and says so; domesticity; his kid being involved in baseball, which is shorthand for home and stability and the kind of childhood Dean didn’t get to have. Sigh.

* Shallow: Dean vs. Dean. Rawr. Sam, spread-eagled and tied up. Rrrrawr. Demon!Dean’s growly voice. *melts* I’m sure I’m missing some in this category…..

Things That I’m Unsure About:

*The boys were apart a lot, or it seemed that way to me. Maybe it was just that overall unsettled feeling the episode was going for, but it made me. Uncomfortable. For an extended period of time.

* Bela. She felt more or less shoehorned into the episode, especially given ….

* ….the clunky, overly-telegraphed way the writers set up the fact that she was going to steal the Colt. Was there anyone who didn’t immediately think “yeah, she’s taking that” during the long, lingering shot of Dean putting the herbs in the wall safe next to the gun?

* Sam’s “you forgot one thing – I took the dream root too” line. It’s not that I didn’t like the result, or the twist, but the line was a little…awkward. I don’t know. It didn’t feel right somehow. (And that’s not a criticism of JP’s acting; he did the best with what he was given.)

* The Dean and Sam talk at the end. It felt off somehow, too, and I can’t really put my finger on why that was. It wasn’t overly chick-flick; maybe it just felt weird because Dean was both calm and emotionally honest. Come to think of it, I can’t remember when, if ever, that’s happened before. Hmm.

Okay. Now I can go read what everyone else thought.

Comments

[engel82.livejournal.com]

I agree with pretty much everything you said. Their talk at the end did seem kind of weird, I'd have to watch it again to say why exactly, because I mostly remember evil dean snapping his finger. That little thing actually blew me away. If I had that dream, I would probably be completely crazy (and not in a good way).

I personally didnt think Bela was gonna steal the colt. I thought they were gonna link her to Bobby in some way, make her redeamable (something like that). Now I wanna crucify the bitch (in a love to hate her kind of way).

[karebeth.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with many of the things all ready mentioned. I loved the Sam wtdream about Bella. IT was too funny with his remarks acting like he was 13 when he responded to her with that slow take care remark. Bobby I love that character and now understand his story more too. He was really good. I did think Sam would play more of a role finding out more about how Dean thinks of himself. They were apart alot too. I didn't notice that till now. I liked the fact Dean did think of a normal life with lisa and ben. Now did Sam see the demon dean and dean interaction when he woke up thinkg it was dean sleeping in the car but it was Jeremy? I did think Dean was too calm at the end saying he wanted to be safed. The episode just left somethings unanswered and not clear.