This is going to be a post concerned with the issues I have in general with this season. And many of you guys might not like what I am about to say, but I’m not gonna lie, it is a subjective point of view post. These are subjective issues.
And wow, there is a god damn bunch of them, some of them are old and some bloomed rather late in the final parts of the season. But all of them kind of meet in one place.
Ever since the begining of this season I have been focusing on the perception/deception aspect of its structure and Sacrifice as a whole fits into the pattern in a spectacular manner. And no, I do not mean the Metatron plot twist right now.
What I mean is, that season eight until the very end kept showing and promising the audience certain things but in the last moment, prove it being either completely or partially false.
What we percieved, was:
- Character development from the Winchesters, as in, finding a way out of the codependency
- character development of Castiel, meaning, trusting Dean completely and listening to his advice when it really matters
- a strong, wise female character who until the very end is sure of her goals
- Dean and Castiel always starting an important conversation, but never having it finished - supposedly something saved for the season finale.
- Over and over again the fact that Sam hit a dog and stopped was being stressed and it made us consider it important.
- There was so much talk about choice this season, and it gave out the impression that the choice to do something is always the key.
But we were decieved, because:
- Last minute, Dean goes with not putting anything or anyone before Sammy, ever even at the cost of not sealing the gates of Hell, which, technically, might have saved humanity a lot of problems.
- Cas in the end, did go season fucking six all over again because he allowed himself to get manipulated - okay, after what Naomi has done to him I understand that he didn’t believe a word she was saying, but he should have at least trust into Dean, especially when Dean called him out on it merely an episode ago and Cas acknowledged it and apologized and also because, Jesus balls, it always went wrong when Cas went to fix things solo. So character development on his part , when Dean says “Cas don’t do the thing”, would be not doing the thing. But guess what - Cas said “Dean I’m gonna do the thing” and he went off and did the thing, which resulted in: screwing many things up, a one happy Metatron and another addition to the abandon all Cas - separation problem. On a side note though, I gotta say, this particular choice of Castiel’s had been foreshadowed through the game symbolism (8x08 and 8x20). What Metatron had put up was nothing but a game. Dean told Cas to let go, to drop it. The only way Cas could have won this was: stop playing. And everyone had stopped playing, except of Cas.
- And yet, season 8 was a killing spree focused on female characters. Even Naomi did not make it, and what’s more to it - she had a horrible death, and by horrible I mean pathetic. She was portrayed as a warrior with goals, but she ended up literally crying about what she’s done: digging into Castiel’s head for so long did not make her suddenly remember what her mission was ( to protect what God created - which is basically something upon which Castiel’s head would provide a fuckton of enlightenment material) but one torture small-talk did it. That sudden understadning and the emotional rush caused by it is what got her dead (but nope, the show is not sexist, it’s God). And speaking of her death, what the hell was with everybody and leaving their prisoners unobserved this season?
- Dean and Castiel’s important conversation does not even require a wide commentary. Not only it was unresolved but even more was added to the problem list and on top of it: they got separated once more. Is this supposed to be a running gag or something?
I’m really not saying that in the aspect of their relationship everything was queerbaiting, because I don’t take it as such, and after the finale my point still stands that they are going somewhere with it, but it does make me wonder, what was the point of all of the parallels this season if none of it got addresed in the season finale. The season finale should at least make an attempt or give a hint at resolving the issue, not give another parallel instead.- We still don’t know why Sam didn’t look for Dean nor why did he stop after hitting that dog.
- but Cas didn’t choose to fall, the freedom of choice was taken away. Out of all the ways to fall, this is the worst. This does not bode well for season 9.
So there it is, season eight’s perception/deception.
But wait!
There’s more!
It would be great unjustice if I did not mention it here because we recieved actual development. Except that we got it really not where we thought it would happen (thus, the show decieved us again) :
- Crowley and his purification process. Now if there’s something that made me cry in that episode as a break from shouting at it aggresively, it was that. Ladies and gentlemen, from the King of Sass to The Demon With A Soul Who Only Wanted To Be Loved.
- Metatron who at first had been just a secretary, a loyal, humble scribe who cared for his father and for his family as a whole. But he got so bitter he became the new and improved Satan, banished his whole family and left them to suffer.
- The Angels - proud celestials beings and all of them will have to learn how it is to be a mere mud-monkey.
- I’m not really buying how it happened, but it’s fair to add it to the list since it canonically did happen - Naomi and her I didn’t understand my own shit but bam, now I do.
So there it is. Season eight had wonderful details but as a whole it failed on many levels. A beautiful ornament on a dress I still wouldn’t want to wear because it is sewn wrong.
but you know I am a woman of deep faith and I still believe that season 9 can be a glam kick-ass dress.
So that was a pretty good episode. Although I have some complicated and not so complicated thoughts below the cut. But overall I think it was very well done and I very much enjoyed it.
wow what if sansa gets to the iron throne at the end because in a way we as readers will be on the throne too because sansa is the readers pov and her getting the throne it symbolizes our journey as readers and the fact that we too made it, we won the game of thrones
Supernatural characters who deserve better #7 (in no particular order)
Meg (true name unknown)
Appearances: 12 episodes— 1x11 Scarecrow, 1x16 Shadows, 1x21 Salvation, 1x22 Devil’s Trap, 2x14 Born Under a Bad Sign, 5x01 Sympathy for the Devil, 5x10 Abandon All Hope…, 6x10 Caged Heat, 7x17 The Born-Again Identity, 7x21 Reading Is Fundamental, 7x23 Survival of the Fittest, 8x17 Goodbye Stranger (Honorable mention: 4x02 Are You There God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester— Meg does not appear here but her vessel Meg Masters does, and her presence is important) (Other mention: Meg calls Dean at the end of 7x18 Party On, Garth but it’s barely an appearance)
Description: Season 1 of Supernatural was driven by a singular story: find dad. Series creator Eric Kripke described the story line as “simple”, “emotional”, and “clean”. The simpleness of the story meant that although it drove the quest of the season, that there would not be many main story episodes. This allowed the show to explore many self-enclosed story lines. As the show continued down this road, eventually the next step into the world they were creating needed to be taken. Meg was that step. Meg helped the Winchesters take their first steps into a larger world. Writer Nicholas Knight says in the Supernatural Season 1 Companion book that executive producer Kim Manners described Meg as “desperately needed”, and that although the writers were unsure as to where to take the character, that they intended for Meg to be an antagonist for the Winchesters throughout her story arc.
Meg first appeared in 1x11 as a friend to Sam. While Dean was off involved in the monster story of the week, Sam went off on his own and spent a few scenes with Meg at a bus station, reflecting upon his emotional development up to that point. Unknown to the audience at the time, Meg was of course, a demon who was tracking Sam, trying to lure him away, but she claimed to be a normal person taking a trip to California. Meg shared a story with Sam meant to appeal to his own life, and it went, “I loved my parents, and they wanted what was best for me. They just didn’t care if I wanted it. I was supposed to be smart, but not smart enough to scare away a husband. No, it’s just… because my family said so, I was supposed to sit there and do what I was told. So I just… went on my own way instead.” While this story was crafted to emotionally manipulate Sam, it was never revealed how much truth there is to it, or what Meg’s backstory is at all, and despite her efforts, Sam went back to Dean at the end of the episode. Meg flirted with a random truck driver and then killed him, taking his blood in order to contact her mysterious master, later revealed to be Azazel, aka Yellow Eyes, whom she would later refer to as her father (she would also refer to Lucifer as her father when she served him). Meg showed up a couple more times that season, next in 1x16. She pretended to randomly run into Sam in Chicago, and criticized Dean for dragging Sam along on whatever he was doing; another attempt to split them up. Later in the episode Meg lures them into a trap, attacking them by controlling Daeva creatures. When Sam accused her of killing two people just to lure them there, she said, “Baby I’ve killed a lot more for a lot less,” when asked why she was doing this, Meg responded, “I’m doing this for the same reasons you do what you do. Loyalty. Love. Like the love you have for mommy, and Jess,” and when told to go to hell, Meg flashed a smile and said, “Baby I’m already there.” While sexually harassing Sam and Dean, Meg is distracted and the brothers turn the Daeva against her, sending her flying out out of a 10-story window. This event was important, as when she showed up several episodes later in 1x21 Salvation and 1x22 Devil’s Trap, it was revealed that Meg was possessing an innocent girl; that the only thing keeping her broken body alive was the demon’s presence, and that if they exorcise or kill her, the Meg Masters inside would die. Dean, Sam and Bobby decided to put her to rest, and after a rough interrogation with aggression on both sides, Meg only half-revealed important plot information and then was exorcised back to hell. The Meg Masters inside was released, and just before she died, she gave the Winchesters the last piece of the puzzle. Meg the demon was fierce, intimidating, surprisingly manipulative, scary as hell, had an uncanny sense of humor and was a lot of fun to watch. She was the first real threat the Winchesters ever faced and she set the stage for how powerful larger forces would be in the future. Meg brought the Winchesters into a lot of “firsts” over the course of four episodes; including first revealed antagonist, first demon, first devil’s trap, first exorcism, and first demon-vessel moral conflict. But her influence didn’t end there.
Meg returned in a couple episodes over the course of the next few years; though as the world of Supernatural grew, her role and sense of power diminished in the scale of it. She returned in 2x14 Born Under a Bad Sign possessing the body of Sam. She committed murder, kidnapped and flirted with Jo Harvelle, and tattooed a sigil onto Sam’s body so she couldn’t be exorcised back to hell. Dean found a method to exorcise her anyway, but this time she wasn’t sent back to hell, bur rather just out of Sam’s body; somewhere out there, waiting to strike again. She had returned with a thirst for vengeance after all her suffering in hell, not concerned with the larger war that was brewing in the background… what she had previously worked towards. Meg claimed that she has many names; that Meg is just one of them. This episode served several purposes, but the most important one was scaring Dean and Sam as to what Sam might become in the future after John Winchester’s warning. Meg was chosen because she had a personal motivation to strike at the Winchesters, and she served as a personal connection to the Winchesters’s past. In 4x02 although the demon Meg did not appear, her presence was felt— the actual Meg Masters appeared and tortured Sam and Dean with grief over what they did to her in 1x16 and 1x22, one of the not so many situations in which the Winchesters are confronted with the results of their actions. After her disappearance, Eric Kripke repeatedly asked the writers what the demon was up to. Considering her a really formidable adversary to the Winchester, Kripke wrote Meg into 5x01, casting a new actress to play the part. Meg returned with orders to get the Winchesters, seemingly back to serving someone else ever since the larger war broke out, loyal to Lucifer, and kissed Dean, but failed and escaped before the Winchesters could get her. She made an appearance in 5x10 as one of Lucifer’s lackeys, holding Castiel hostage (before being tricked) and sending hellhounds after the Winchesters and the Harvelles. Meg delighted in sending the hellhounds after Dean, the very same creatures that killed Dean and sent him to hell, laughing as they chased after him. After that, Meg disappeared until after the apocalypse was finished.
Her depiction post-season 5 caused confliction of opinions among fans as the writers attempted to give the character more depth. In 6x10 Meg returned as a reluctant ally to the Winchesters, on the run from Crowley, new king of hell, for being a “Lucifer loyalist”. During the episode she kisses Castiel to distract him so she can steal his angel blade, and Castiel returns to her an even more passionate kiss, surprising her, as he mimics the actions of “the pizza man” from earlier. Enduring torture, hellhound attacks and general murder, Meg retains her loyalty and attempts to kill Crowley in the end. She fails, and Castiel shows up with Crowley’s bones and burns them (which was later revealed to be a distraction). Meg disappeared after the deed was done, realizing the Winchesters would have killed her if she stayed longer. Meg returns in 7x17 after hearing about a mysterious healer named “Emmanuel”, and becomes reluctant allies again with the Winchesters again, not wanting Crowley to get his hands on the former Castiel, still showing her sense of loyalty. She appears even more weary of the world than before. When the Winchesters leave to pursue the leviathans after Sam is healed, Meg works at the hospital to keep an eye on Castiel, the only thing in her life she has to dedicate herself to. In 7x21 Castiel awakes and Meg contacts them. Meg had been planning on running and taking Castiel with her to keep him away from Crowley, hoping that he would trust her. Plans go amuck and that doesn’t happen, but she stays with the Winchesters as an ally still. Near the end of the episode, Meg confronts two demons that had been tracking them. She could have turned the other three over for herself, but she doesn’t. She tricks them into revealing that they’re the only two who know about them, declaring “I love demons,” at their ambition, stupidity and selfishness, and then she kills them. Returning to Castiel and the Winchesters, Meg reveals why she’s doing what she’s doing. ”Look, I’m simpler then you think. I figured one thing out about this world, just one pretty much; you find a cause and you serve it. Give yourself over and it orders your life. Lucifer and Yellow-eyes, their mission was it for me. I’m talking cause, as in reason to get up in the morning. Obviously these things shift over time, we learn, we grow.” the Winchesters let her go and let her lay low from the conflict. In 7x23 Castiel brings her back to help. She offers advice, is threatened by Crowley, and then disappears again.
In 8x17, her final episode, Castiel and the Winchesters find that Meg has been held captive and tortured by Crowley’s minions during much of her nearly two year long absence. Crowley even forced her to dye her hair blonde, like her previous vessel. After being freed, Meg shares a moment with Cas. She admits that her feelings for him were genuine and flirts with him as Castiel reflects the favor. She promises him that once this is all over that they’ll “move furniture” together. The four of them depart for Lucifer’s crypt, and while Meg and Sam stand guard outside, Sam shares the story of his time with Amelia. Although Meg tries to deflect it with humor, she admits that she understands what he went through. As Crowley descends upon them, Meg offers to keep his forces at bay so that the others can escape, and says that Castiel was her “unicorn”, much like Amelia was Sam’s. This was meant to be a “hero’s death” as described by episode writer Robbie Thompson, as Meg’s affection for Castiel inspired her to fight for something other then herself. Crowley tries to get her to join him, saying that their plans will lock all demons in hell, including herself, but she refuses. Beaten bloody, Meg persists, fighting back against and sassing Crowley as the Winchesters escape, and in that rather abrupt and short-cut scene, Crowley kills her and drops her onto the ground.
“The other day I met this man. A nice guy, you know? And we had a really good chat, sort of like this. Then I slit his throat and ripped his heart out through his chest. Does that make me a bad person?” - Meg 1.0“You ever miss the Apocalypse? I miss the simplicity. I was bad, life was easier. Now it’s all so messy. I’m kinda good which sucks.” - Meg 2.0Since her first appearance, Meg has always been a reminder to the audience of how much things have changed since the beginning. She was there at points all over the series in which the story, context, tone and stakes were different. Her role is fascinating, in that she’s very much a reflection of the series at any given point. She was, for a while, the longest living recurring side character in the show, and for a while, the only female recurring character period. In a way, after a certain point, her recurring nature came to help define who she was as a character. The writers didn’t know where they were going with her at first, gave her an ambiguous ending— and then kept bringing her back, because they could use her. Meg is in this sense like Crowley and other cockroach villains, in that she kept living so that she could be used at some point in the future. Unlike most of those characters though, Meg’s insistence on surviving came to mean something and crafted her into a rather unexpected character. This is both a good and unfortunately a bad thing, as the series needs always came first, and Meg as a character, while evolving beyond what she initially set out to be, was exploited in turn by the writing and in turn, the narrative.
The early seasons are defined by shadows… back when the world of Supernatural was big, and everything was new and scary. This is true of many long running stories that follow the typical hero’s journey. When the heroes of a story first enter an unfamiliar world, there is a sense of discovery and danger. The antagonistic force early on is oftentimes seen as “the other”, or more of an abstract concept rather then a fully realized, detailed character. It’s not just the antagonist, it’s everything in the world of the story. Shadows are running all over the place— because when a character begins a journey to grow, the forces they encounter will change them and force them to face their problems in ways they can’t imagine— and that’s just it, they can’t imagine them, because they haven’t faced them. These shadows are in part the horrors and problems that prevent us from growing in our lives; they’re the unresolved stories, the cautionary tales, the deep unrelenting darkness we’re so afraid of looking into— our greatest fears. Look at most stories and you’re bound to notice this as well. In the Harry Potter series, Voldemort was like this— he was much more of a children’s shapeless nightmare than a complex character, and it was only later in the series that as the characters grew and the audience grew that the story’s comprehension of him became increasingly fully realized. It is only once our eyes adjust to the darkness that we can begin to see the shapes that lurk within. Azazel is an example of this force and Meg is as well, and she even kept a bit of that nature as time went on due to her unknown background. While Azazel was the looming force that manipulated events of the story, Meg was the first they ever directly faced. She brought the Winchesters through a lot of firsts, and with the demon-vessel moral conflict that came from her temporary demise sprang larger consequences, more awareness and greater evil. She was villainized because of her role in the story at the time. When she returned for vengeance in 2x14, her story was more personal. In 4x02 when Meg’s presence was felt, calling back to Meg Masters’s death and the death of others helped remind the Winchesters and consequently the audience of how much things were changing and how these consequences lasted, putting them in perspective of what was happening at the time. By 5x01 the stakes of the apocalypse had been set, and Meg’s intentions as well as the intentions of the series were both very defined and on route with the end of the world. Her final season 5 appearance in 5x10 cements traits she’s had from the beginning— the nature of her loyalty, her attitude, her joy in other people’s pain and her iron will to survive. Post-season 5 things become more complicated. With the first major arc of the series over and both god and the show runner gone, the series attempted to play with ideas of the consequences of free will and messing around in a world without destiny and rules. While Meg’s motivations largely stay the same— survive at whatever cost— the context begins to change. The series began to muddle around in grey areas with Meg’s motivations and bring more depth to her character in a world that was different. It began with questioning her loyalty in a world where that meant something different now, it continued with going to the root of Meg’s will to survive, and it ended with Meg supposedly redeeming herself because of her interactions with Castiel (not necessarily because of them— we’ll get to that later). Meg’s nature reflects the season that she is in. The show tried to explore the grey areas of Meg’s character, but with it came even more instability than before, much like in the larger themes of the show. Seasons 6-8 slowly built up a redemption arc for her, which in 8x17 she completed, by exploiting her character using many of the same tropes and inconsistencies that so many characters before her have fallen to before— and many of these things go back to the very beginning of her character.
The thing is, Meg isn’t actually her original name. Her real name is unknown to us. Yet she’s okay with identifying as Meg and with others doing the same to her. This is the crux of her character and the way she was treated— she identified as Meg, but aside from a brief moment in 2x14, the show never pointed it out. The show never explicitly called into question why Meg identifies as Meg. The show let her go on carrying around this name without posing it on the narrative— it’s just something that they sort of let happen without ever bothering to deal with. We don’t know Meg’s backstory, we don’t know what gender, sexuality and otherwise she identified as when she was human. How did she end up in hell? Is the story she told Sam true to some extent— did she maybe make a deal to get herself away from her family, possibly in some other time period? Did she make a deal to save someone and promised to only look after herself after what it cost her? How did becoming a demon change her exactly? Who is she really? And if the show wanted her to be someone nameless, someone mysterious, it should have dealt with that, but it never really decided. Much like how the character grew to have a role in the series, Meg’s nature just sort of happened without the series ever really dealing with it. This was a problem before, but it got bigger as the series went on and didn’t take advantage of the character it had. It is in this seemingly small detail of Meg’s name, the answers to how and why her character was so underused as the series went on.
Meg was unrelenting and took what was hers with blood. While her story is a mystery, the series implies how she got to be the way she did; she went through hell, literally. She went through unimaginable things of every kind. She used her sexuality as a weapon; a reflection of what she probably went through in hell, taking control of whatever situation she can impose. She takes joy in causing the pain and death of others. The extent of her loyalty is both dar reaching and short sighted— she jumps ship for whatever she can to do save herself, but when she commits, she commits. And when looking at her nature as a demon and an apparent female character, there are larger issues that come into play.
Taking Meg’s name into consideration, at the center of all of this comes a few big problems; the Winchester moral compass of the series, the demon problem, and Meg’s status as a female character. Meg was deemed evil for a long time, and her redemption was only possible as soon as her interests aligned with the Winchesters. This has been a major problem of the series— having most of the moral judgement of the show stem from the Winchesters being the center of it. Many characters have been punished for not siding with the Winchester’s interests— from big characters like Anna, Gordon, Bela, and Adam, to smaller ones like Isaac and Tamara, and even Castiel at one point— and many others have been saved from the consequences of their actions for going along with their interests— Gabriel, for starters, and especially the Winchesters themselves. Meg’s development relied on this. The issue of loyalty and surviving was brought up, but only when it finally worked with the Winchesters. Supernatural has this issue where it forces characters into these roles so that the Winchesters and thus the narrative can clearly know who they are. As soon as Meg allied with the Winchesters, which was strange enough in and of itself after what she did to them (which wasn’t dealt with either) she became “kinda good”. The thing about redemption arcs is that they’re usually very forced, but this is especially a problem in Supernatural. Characters don’t have to be put through a list of tropes in order to half ass some sort of point that the story is trying to make. Characters can allowed to continue to be complicated without being judged by the narrative— they can find their own path and forge their own identity. Meg had a lot to answer for and a lot to discover for herself, but she doesn’t have to answer entirely to the Winchesters; they should not be the center of the universe, and Meg shouldn’t have to be flattened in order to fit into the Winchester-centric narrow mindset of the show. And it’s not that Meg can’t have a redemption arc, or that she can’t do anything at all— but that she shouldn’t have to do it in the context that this series provides, because it’s exploiting who she is. Or rather— it did already exploit her. This becomes even more of a problem when you take into consideration the different issues that Supernatural has had when it comes to writing demons. For a while demons were more of an abstract force as I described before, as the series started. Eventually though, it did try to make demons into more complex people. This can be seen in season 3 especially with Ruby and Casey— but of course, Casey was killed off in the same episode she was introduced in, and Ruby— well, that’s a long story for another time, but the results are quite visible. Supernatural threw this development under the bus and demons were relegated to being one-dimensional villains, even if they retained some complexity like with Meg. Because of this, it’s hard to tell exactly how we’re supposed to understand Meg’s return to humanity— if humans slowly lose their souls when they become demons, can they grow them back? And how? How much humanity can demons retain exactly? There are many issues that come up when these questions are raised.
When I first heard about how the goal of the season was to close the gates of hell, one of the first things I worried about was whether or not they were going to resolve Meg’s story in anyway. I figured that they might, and that if they did that Meg would be killed— because to the writing staff of this show, closure means death rather then dealing with a character beyond a certain dramatic point in their development. Eventually it was announced that she was coming back. I worried still, remaining uncertain, and when the episode finally rolled around, I was still shocked at just how much they messed this up. Meg got a magic-love-redemption-story; she was forced into a rather nonsensical romantic connection with Castiel that wasn’t developed very well or clearly in the show, it magically “healed” her, and she was sentenced to die for it. And it’s not that Meg can’t have romantic connections, emotions or do anything at all, as I said— but in this context, it doesn’t work. And even worse is that Meg has to die at the hands of Crowley, a character who’s been mistreated as well and been used for far too long… and someone who’s used and abused her, and Meg is left with so much unresolved, and the Winchesters get to drive away again, not mentioning her or thinking about the consequences.
Why did this have to happen to her? Why couldn’t Meg have been used more in the series? Fleshed out? Why couldn’t she have arrived at this point naturally or any other identity without forced romance or half assed morality? What if Meg had played a larger role in closing the gates of hell, what if she un-demonized herself somehow and was able to remain on earth after the gates closed, which could have played really well with continuing to mirror the evolution of the series? Why couldn’t something else have happened? Why didn’t she get real arcs? Why wasn’t Meg treated better at all?
The answers lie in the show’s continuing sexism, misogyny, other issues and the general ignorance of good storytelling and what they want the show to be. It’s honestly just mind boggling at this point how much the show is afraid to grow. Sam and Dean are not allowed to have anyone in their lives too much, good or bad, because the narrative demands otherwise. Almost everyone has been killed or written so the Winchesters can continue to hide in their secret clubhouse, and even if they’re still alive they’re suffering anyway because they’re not being treated as they should be. The only recurring female character at this point is Charlie Bradbury, and the only reason she’s still alive is because she’s a lesbian and as far as the show is concerned, she doesn’t have to choose between which dick is going to kill her— and even the people who work on this show are smart enough to realize how much backlash they would get for that. Even if Charlie and other characters continue to be mistreated, I hope that they don’t have to suffer what Meg suffered here. Both Nicki Aycox and Rachel Miner did an excellent job bringing their own layered interpretations of Meg to the table that also managed to blend together nicely, despite the material that they were given.
Meg is like a crackle of sparks in a cloud of smoke; visible, complex and beautiful in how it operates, dangerous and adaptable— but her true nature, her true self and her true potential was always just beyond reach… shapeless, unattainable and easily blown away. Supernatural took it’s sweet time to get there, but it finally managed to fuck over one of the most interesting, long time-recurring characters it’s ever had. At least we can appreciate what and how much we got of her, especially versus other characters, but we shouldn’t have to settle, and it doesn’t change that Meg deserved better— that everyone deserves better.
Well that was a odd episode. I would say more but I don’t think I liked it I wanted to but yeah it just did not do anything for me.
Things I noticed in the episode was the Tardis translator thing was working and Clara was speaking in Russian and hearing in Russian. Is that something since it…
When I watched this for the first time, I commented that Superantural’s goal seemed to be to take things I wasn’t afraid of—like bugs and flying—and fix that. Except, my fear (or non-fear) isn’t what this episode is about.
This episode is about Dean being a BAMF.
No lie. Watch it.
Or just keep reading.
I am loving season 8, I really am. With a few exceptions, every episode has been exciting and emotional. I am also really intrigued as to where the writers are going with it. There are so many big questions, most notably Naomi, Crowley, and Castiel. I look forward to seeing the rest of season 8 play out.
However, the episode Taxi Driver did throw me for a bit of a loop. It looks like it is so full of continuity errors and could have been so great. I have read some really interesting theories about those apparent plot holes and what they may mean, along with some other oddities we have seen this season. That is what I love about this fandom, it is so much fun to discuss and digest this show and read other’s thoughts and opinions. I love you guys.
So first, what I loved about this episode, then a few ideas for small things that I would have loved to have seen that would have closed those gaps.
Hell – it pretty cool looking. I just would have loved to see the demons in true form. The door to hell’s back door looks kind of like the TARDIS? Nice one, Supernatural!
Kevin – “Frying pans, who knew?” I was a little disappointed in Dean and Kevin’s interactions. Dean has gone through a lot of character growth this season so I was surprised how cold he was with Kevin. I wanted a little more big brother support. Kevin is on the edge, can’t you see that Dean? Talk him down. Now the big question, did Crowley really get Kevin or was it all in his head and he took off on his own? The windows were intact when Sam and Dean showed up so it could go either way. I guess if Dean had been more supportive, we would have gotten this mystery though, so it makes sense.
Dean and Naomi – this was probably the most interesting conversation of this episode. We could analyze this one to pieces. Amanda Tapping is awesome! So convincing and manipulative, heck, she almost had me believing that she is just here to help. I really wouldn’t blame Dean for questioning his belief in Cas. He has been flaky at best since the end of Swan Song. He spent season 6 lying to Dean, early season 7 as murderous Godstiel, married a girl who found him wondering naked, didn’t remember Dean when he saw him, then spent the rest of season 7 crazy after taking on Sam’s hell. Season 8 he has been “off” as Dean put it, even beating the pulp out of him two weeks ago with no explanation of how he broke his connection to Naomi. Yes, Dean loves Castiel, but he definitely has reason to question what the heck is going on with his friend. Nevertheless, my heart hurt during Naomi’s speech to Dean. You could see the raw pain on his face when she knew that Dean was hoping for Cas to return to him. Her character is so intriguing; I can’t wait to see what the writers have in store for us with her. We heard angel wings when she left, but not when she arrived. What the heck?
Dean and Benny – beautiful acting from both Jensen and Ty. I have to admit, I never really connected much with Benny. I thought he was an interesting character and I was happy he helped Dean get out of purgatory, but I never really cared if he stuck around or not. The scene between him and Dean was great, though. It really showed how much those two had actually bonded in purgatory. I was waiting for Benny to ask if Dean wanted him to get Cas out of purgatory as well because he probably doesn’t know that he is out.
Now, a little bit of negative and my random thoughts on how Supernatural could have closed some of the plot holes (assuming of course that they weren’t intentional).
First, why did the CW tell us in a preview that Bobby was the one in hell? They released their own spoiler. Why, CW, why? That would have been a great OMG moment but it was spoiled by a dumb preview decision. I am going to try to stay away from their previews going forward.
The trial – I loved the idea of this trial. I mean these trials are supposed to be things that are so difficult they would be an almost impossible achievement. We know from season 4 that demons and humans pretty much all believe the only thing that can swing this is an angel and it took Castiel and others 40 hell years to do it (of course in season 6 it only took Cas a couple of weeks to spring Sam so maybe it isn’t as hard as we were led to believe). So, it first struck me as taking away from Cas’ achievement and the awe we all felt in season 4 that Sam was able to do this in less than 24 hours. He busted in the back door (which is a rock by the way), found a pretty unscathed Bobby in a few minutes in an unlocked cell, and escaped facing only a few demons in meat suits.
So what could TPTB have done to make this better? Simply adding a little more drama and danger would have been great. Show Sam struggling with a few flashbacks, disorientation, wincing from the smells, losing footing, etc. The reaper could have given him some kind of compass or something that would have led him to Bobby, thus explaining why he was able to go directly to his cell. A simple explanation from Ajay that luckily for Sam, Bobby isn’t in the top security section of hell that a VIP like Dean was, he is in an outer ring and shouldn’t take long to find. He could have also given him maybe a special watch explaining how time would go by differently in hell so it would seem like Sam was there for more than 40 minutes. All of these little explanations that only take a few seconds of screen time would have explained a lot to the audience and given the trial more danger and tension.
Just a preference here, but I would have loved for Bobby to have looked more like demon Dean from Dream a Little Dream, or cage Sam from The Man who Knew Too Much. It would have been easy to throw some blood makeup on him and would have had a more emotional punch for the audience. Imagine the emotional impact on all of us seeing our beloved Bobby having been tortured. Speaking of looking beat up, another easy fix to amp up the danger factor would have been to make the guard demons look more… demon-y. Why would they be in meatsuits? Make them bloody angry messes. All of these fixes would have been cheap, quick, and gotten the point across. The audience needs to believe that the characters are really in danger to feel it with them. It just didn’t feel like there was much danger… in Hell of all places!
Reaper with access to hell – First just a quick nod to the actor who played Ajay. I thought he was great. Sorry to see him go so soon. I have seen a lot of frustration over the rogue reaper concept. If it was this easy to pass through purgatory and hell, why did it take all of season 6 for Crowley and Castiel to find it or why wasn’t Sam able to find a reaper to rescue Dean? All very legitimate questions and concerns. This could have been solved by a couple sentences from the crossroads demon. A simple, “ever since you jokers let that angel break open the door to purgatory, its been chaos. There have even been a few rogue reapers that have started escorting souls from hell.” Boom. Done. This would have set up a lot of explanations for why the rules from seasons 1-5 don’t necessarily apply anymore. It’s now a free-for-all.
Purgatory – I liked the idea of Sam getting to see purgatory and experience a little of what Dean went through. Another complaint I have read is how quick it was to escape. I must agree this was another thing that didn’t sit right with me. It just felt too rushed. An easy fix here would have for Ajay to have said, “after your brother escaped, some of us reapers found that the location of the seam could also be used by us to transport souls back and forth.” This would have explained, again, how things have changed (even giving us a valid reason why Sam couldn’t have gotten Dean out – reapers weren’t in this business until after they realized Dean found the seam), and why Sam was dropped so close to the seam. And how much would I have LOVED for Benny to look at that weapon Sam had in his hand and say, “I see you found your brother’s axe” to tie back to Dean making cool weapons in purgatory.
So, in summary, I thought this episode had so much potential but may have landed a bit flat because some of the inconsistencies and the breakneck speed with which they were able to complete the trial. A few simple lines of dialogue I believe could have cleared these up and amped up the danger and drama. However, knowing Supernatural, these may have been on purpose to confuse and throw us off. I am so excited to see where the rest of the season takes us. Also, a final note - Jensen is an amazing actor that can convey 1000 words of emotion in the flick of his eye, a swallow, slight furrow of the brow. His talent blows me away week after week!
I finally put into words why I hate the River/Doctor relationship so much.
Each year, a host of pilots are thrown in the networks’ direction. Some make it to television, some become nothing. While there are plenty of examples of crappy pilots that turned into successful series with network execs obviously recognising their potential, many never make it to the silver screen. The obvious point: the better the pilot, the better the chance of being picked up. Eight seasons in – and with the 9th confirmed in an early pick-up – it is easy to forget that Supernatural had to go through this rigmarole as well. Its pilot episode Woman in White could have easily been exorcized to The WBs underworld and it truly would have been a Jared Pada-what. Or could it?
After 8x18, Freaks and Geeks, I was really struck by how Sam’s role has changed throughout the season. Dean has traditionally been the caretaker in the brothers’ relationship, and he definitely continues to look out for Sam in S8. But S8 is also the first season where we’re really seeing Sam act as a caretaker for Dean.
This has always been part of the plan: the show has stressed, again and again, how Dean needs to treat Sam as an equal, how Sam needs to come into his own outside his father’s (and to some extent, Dean’s) influence. But how can he do that? He can’t control Dean’s behavior - any progress on that front will come from Dean. He can only control his own behavior. He can try and provide Dean with the same type of support that Dean’s given him, time and again.
This part of Sam’s journey technically began, in my opinion, after 5x22, Swan Song, but it hasn’t been developed until S8 because of plotblocks. In S6, Sam was soulless, then haunted by Lucifer. His cage-match scars were a problem well into S7. It’s only really now, in S8, that Sam has a chance to fulfill this part of his journey.
Sam’s journey as caretaker is evident throughout his two main arcs this season: Amelia, and the trials.
