Awkward

[astri13]

Still psyched about Jensen being announced for the "Asylum" convention. I have like no money whatsoever to spare at the moment and apparently my job-contract won`t be extended beyond Jan/Feb next year. I mean I hated it there anyway but still. :(
But again: JESNSEN ACKLES comes to Europe so I will HAVE to go. So I guess Trust Fund money it is. I`m crazy, I know.

So

Well that was...awkward, I`d say.

First off, I think I figured out why everything seemed off. The virus-thing/whole situation never seemed really dangerous or scary so subsequently all the actions seemed way out of proportion.

The huge anvil of Dean the trigger-hapy psychpath? One example. Even the infected people seemed about as dangerous as your average doped up druggie so shooting them like there is no tommorow? Didn`t work.

So it didn`t gel with Dean`s previous characterization at all. Did you see the look on his face after he offed Tom for example? Or his questioning nearly everything at the end of Bloodlust?
Yet here he acts like he has no difficulty whatsoever to pop people left and right. The Dad? Okay. The Mom? Maybe, still she wasn`t an imminent danger. Duane? Got to be kidding me.
What do people think he needs some more guilt?

And since when does he become so dismissive of Sam as to lock him in a room like a kid? That`s Dad-behaviour and not Dean. And I don`t wanna hear jack-all about the freaking secret. It apparently didn`t let Dean want to keep Sam from killing as he berated him for not offing the other Tanner boy. And it did not lead him to believe Sam would be immune so how exactly does it drive him?

Sam as the meta-exposition guy. "We`re supposed to struggle with it. That`s the whole point." Ow, Shiban, I think you got my leg. Since when is Sam the moral questioner extra-ordinaire and views hunting as soul-searching?
In the above-mentioned Bloodlust-tag Dean brought it up and Sam soothed him down.

The conversation at the beginning in the car bothered me. It was more like Sam waiting for Dean to become evil at any minute. Huh? I know Dean has had his scary moments this Season but it wasn`t that bad.

Also when will he ever get his moment of "do I kill random person X or not?" because as powerful as the moment with Dad was, that`s a whole different ball-game. And as long as he doesn`t, he can`t really understand and comment. He becomes the perpetual victim.
Oh and show, he stood right behind/beside Dean when Dean shot the woman so that`s silent agreement because 7 foot tall Sam would have been able to knock the gun out of Dean`s hands or tackle him or something if he really was against it.


Then Sam - and Dean - are so quick to give up to the terribly unscary virus? Uh uhm. I just never felt the sense of urgency necessary to make this work. Which I must point out was not due to the acting which was great. But either writing or directing just didn`t bring it.


The Croatoan exchange didn`t bother me. I thought Sam just got his geek-feathers ruffled by Dean not rememberig and then he tends to get this lecturing tone. Dean looked like he drones that out a lot. :)


Liked: Bobby Hosea as the Sarge. Nice chemistry with Dean and of course he gets Meg-ed. Bastards.

The conversation right before Sam gets infected with the "I`m gonna ask you."

Sam stretching his hand out to Dean to be helped up - such a little brother look there, almost child-like and Dean immediately reaching down. Aww.

Dean shutting himself in with Sam and being protective.

Sam in tears and begging Dean to go/shoot him/give him the gun. Double Aww.

Dean admitting he is tired. Aww honey, I know.


Their end conversation was somewhat off to. Nicely acted again but the writing didn`t draw me in.
I already called on us being Kripke-d so it didn`t bother me too much. As long as they stay away from any half-crap and saviour of man/demonkind nonsense I`m good.

Oh, and it all being a test of the Demon apparently? Whatever. This Demon`s plans haven`t made sense since Day one.
A test for a demonic virus? For Sam? If so why the elaborate set-up, there are hundreds easier ways to get some blood on Sam and see what it does. And the Demon seems to care jack-shit for the PKs anyhow. Max? Webber? Why all the hosh-posh with Sam if he is indeed no threat like the Demon said in ImtoD and what I believed him.

Liked the tie-in with Roanoke and Croatoan though. *history geek*


So all in all: average - good moments with great acting but clunky on the whole


Oh, and it`s time for a new hitlist of the episode 2.06 -2.09 so here comes:

1. Crossroad Blues
2. Usual Suspects
3. Croatoan

135. No Exit :-P

Comments

[legoline.livejournal.com]

In Dean's defense - he found an empty car with shattered panes and blood all across the seats. And those men tried to stop him from leaving town, pointing guns at him - I'd say he did have reason to be genuinely freaked out, and so did Sam.

[astri13.livejournal.com]

Thing is all the people didn`t seem any more dangerous than your average Bender. So if they`re coming at you with a knife I can see shooting them but if they`re huddling in a corner crying it seemed overkill.

And when Sam got infected and was all: "I`ll blow my brains out now", I just thought: "before you scream, run a round through the room and smash a vase"? I know the writing tried to tell me how very dangerous Sam would be and how everything was over now but I just didn`t feel it so subsequently I was more like: "chill, it`s like a bad flu".
It was too much tell and not show for me. The urgency was missing. :(

[legoline.livejournal.com]

Well, a friend recently told I'm notorious about seeing the positive rather than the negative in everything so maybe that's why I rather liked it :-) I liked Sam's "silence", you know - kind of like he was in shock. And I guess Dean's trigger happiness is just... a signthat he's losing it, you know?

[astri13.livejournal.com]

And I guess Dean's trigger happiness is just... a signthat he's losing it, you know?

But he was resolving that in Bloodlust, in CspwdT and in Crossroad Blues. He was questioning himself so all of a sudden he is worse than ever before? I thought his psychoness was out of character.
And Sam`s role has been reduced to standing at his side, wringing his hands and gaping in horror at what PsychoDean does. Victim extra-ordinaire. I think both their characters suffer from this simplistic Demon-Angel-view.
Sam becomes self-righteous if he spouts morality and Dean becomes an ass.

I would have no problems with either character going dark or both but please stop it with the anvils, writers. :(

[legoline.livejournal.com]

I thought his psychoness was out of character.


Actually, I think not. I mean, remember Faith? He would have killed Roy, too, without further proof :-p

I think it's funny how before the season started you feared Dean would only be a bystander, and now it's Sam :-)

[astri13.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think not. I mean, remember Faith? He would have killed Roy, too, without further proof :-p

He was a hell of angry at his healing and thought Roy was the culprit so yes, he was all gung-ho about going and killing him. But would he have actually pulled through and marched up to a blind man and killed him just like that? Wanting and doing things are pretty different and Sam could talk him out of it rather easily.

This time he didn`t seem bothered by killing at all - which I find inconsistent with Dean`s character. He looked for all the world like: "who can I shoot next?" I mean he didn`t even shoot to incapacitate them. He pumped them full of bullets like a cold-blooded maniac. It was like he channeled Gordon.

I think it's funny how before the season started you feared Dean would only be a bystander, and now it's Sam :-)

Dean certainly has been given a lot of focus this Season so far and up until this episode I didn`t have a problem with his characterization.
I still hope he won`t be a bystander in the Demon storyline though and that they won`t use Dean as a negative example of how not to be, to make their points.

Weird thing is, popular belief has it Sam is gonna go dark/evil or whatever and Dean will have to bring him back/stop him. Right now though it would make sense to go the other way around. I mean Dean is the one with blood on his hands - and his face as seen in Bloodlust while Sam makes large puppy dog eyes.
If I were evil!Sam and Dean would try to stop with some moral speech me I`d laugh my ass off.

But I don`t want to bring down your squee. I just was rather disappointed with this episode. And the ratings. :(

[legoline.livejournal.com]

He looked for all the world like: "who can I shoot next?"

But he's been like that all season :-) I don't think it's inconsistent. With the weight he's got on his shoulders...well, I dunno, I dunno how to explain it but to me it seems logic.

What about the ratings?

[astri13.livejournal.com]

But he's been like that all season :-)

I didn`t actually get that. Apart from Bloodlust he wasn`t that much different and even there I didn`t find him to be all that gung-ho. So he was mean to some people but he didn`t shoot them.
Here he didn`t seem to struggle at all with the fact that there was a sobbing human woman before him. Just BAM. In no episode so far would I have believed that of Dean. Not last Season and not this one.

What about the ratings?

Well, it was 3,20 Mio which considering Grey`s was a repeat and the episode had actually been promoted a bit was disappointing. Only slightly up from last episode.
Retention out of SV was good enough though.

I think it was the OC and Scrubs. They both upped their viewership.

Other CW shows like VM and OTH went out on a real high-point. So poor SPN is limping a bit into the hiatus.
Though OTH will get to face American Idol next year so it will plummet quite a bit.

[legoline.livejournal.com]

Hm, I just think after what he learned about his Dad last episode he hates demons even more than he usually does...

Man, I do hope ratings will go up...

[dotfic.livejournal.com]

Since when is Sam the moral questioner extra-ordinaire and views hunting as soul-searching?
In the above-mentioned Bloodlust-tag Dean brought it up and Sam soothed him down.

Yes, thank you, my brain keeps poking at Bloodlust in relation to Croatoan and you've hit on what was bugging me. Dean had a moment of revelation regarding the killing of evil things.

Now he's shooting infected *humans* right and left? They aren't wendigos, they're humans that as far as Sam and Dean know, may or may not be curable.

Then Sam - and Dean - are so quick to give up to the terribly unscary virus? Uh uhm. I just never felt the sense of urgency necessary to make this work.

That ties in with Dean's tiredness, though. A complete change from IMTOD and "there's always a choice." I was okay with it because it was consistent with how Dean's evolved this season.

The shooting stuff I had more problems with, not his tiredness and turnaround to giving up and not fighting to the end against the notion that Sam was doomed.

If so why the elaborate set-up, there are hundreds easier ways to get some blood on Sam and see what it does.

Heh. That's what I said on the phone to someone after the ep. They had to involve an entire town? Of course that could be to camoflage what they're up to.

[astri13.livejournal.com]

That ties in with Dean's tiredness, though. A complete change from IMTOD and "there's always a choice." I was okay with it because it was consistent with how Dean's evolved this season.

I can buy Dean`s burn-out syndrom. ImtoD was before the Secret and Dad dying for him so that would have brought him down quite a bit. :)

I also don`t believe that his pseudo-suicide talk means that Dean never believed in hunting and only did it for John`s approval. He was very passionate and genuine about it in Season 1.
So now he might have thought if Sam dies than he could be free too.
Can buy him wanting to just rest for a while. He has been due for a major breakdown now for 1 and 1/2 Seasons IMO. The well is dry sometime.

Heh. That's what I said on the phone to someone after the ep. They had to involve an entire town? Of course that could be to camoflage what they're up to.

Only that would mean Sam has a snowball`s chance in hell against the Demon. Which right now I don`t believe.
So either the Demon is one hell of a drama queen and likes everything big or it really fears Sam getting on to his plans. If it is so mighty why not simply march up to Sam, do the infecto-presto and neener, neener away?
I think I`ll go with the drama queen. ;)

[andromakhe001.livejournal.com]

Word, astri. Big time word.

[andromakhe001.livejournal.com]

PS: So pissed they killed Sarge.

Awesome guest character=Dead
Suck the life out of the show guest character(aka Jo)= still here

The hell?

[astri13.livejournal.com]

The hell?

Exactly. And hey, I didn`t make a pact with a demon. How come I have to suffer in the fiery depths? :-P

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

PS: So pissed they killed Sarge.

Me too!

Awesome guest character=Dead
Suck the life out of the show guest character(aka Jo)= still here

The hell?

Too true.

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

I'm late here, but...ITA with pretty much everything you wrote here. This whole episode was off because they didn't sell the danger part of it, and it seemed like everyone was overreacting the whole time in pretty much every scene. From that perspective, I just went with it and enjoyed the same parts you mentioned. *g*

135. No Exit :-P

LOL