Season 8: Blood Brother

[cherry916]

Well to be perfectly honest the episode didn't do it for me.I suppose I was thinking of something more Halloween and it just didn't deliver.

While sad Benny's story was more confusing then anything and seemed to lag on for too long. I really don't even remember his full story or the names or anything. It was really boring to me.

Dean is just...I know I'm walking on egg shells here when I say this but his attitude has been really shitty thus far. I know, PTSD, purgatory it messed him up. He feels betrayed by Sam. I get that BUT I don't quite understand how he is failing to see the obvious parallels here between Benny and Ruby. It's so clear it's smacking me in the face. I don't understand how he can't SEE that he's basically doing what Sam did in Season 4. We all have our excuses and reasons I ain't begrudging Dean that but in hindsight I figured he'd, ya know, LEARN from that little disaster seeing how horrible it turned out.

Guess not.

We don't know enough about Benny to judge but I don't buy the whole friendly vamp act. I honestly don't. Not after everything we've seen on this show.

The flashbacks with Amelia didn't really paint her in any better light then before. She's said some really horrible and insulting things to Sam which he seems to have brushed off rather easily, but I suppose Sam has always been like that. We don't know enough about Amelia either to judge but quite frankly she's coming off as a bitch but I'll refrain from making any other assumptions about her yet.

I feel really bad for Sam because he's getting the really shitty end of things right now. Since we don't know enough about his year with Amelia him not looking for Dean isn't yet explained (even if I can perfectly understand his reasons I just like canon confirmation) and I'm sure Dean's little elephant ala Benny wasn't too reassuring for Sam either. His obvious panic and worry over Dean just killed me. Because Sam cares SO MUCH. And I know Dean does too but these two....argh sorry. I'm just frustrated they don't seem to UNDERSTAND that they BOTH still love each other VERY much.

Some key points for me was that Sam mentioned that motels weren't part of the town they were not part of anything. It's interesting and very sad because that's likely how he felt as a kid. An outcast, not really part of anything, even in his own family. And to see him STILL believing in it is just really disheartening.

Another was the silent communication between the boys at the end. As soon as Sam shook Benny's hand his face changed, he knew something wasn't right. He reached for his knife but Dean gave a head nod telling Sam no and Sam went with it. Just like that.

Of course Sam was pissed! Which really, I'm glad he is. It's been so long that Sam has rightfully been angry at Dean that I'm happy to see him express anger towards Dean. Because while Sam has done some shitty things in Season 8 and previously, I think Dean's attitude right now is spectacularly shitty so I'm happy to see Sam expressing some form of emotion instead of just silently going with everything Dean does.

Wow that was a lot but overall I was more confused then anything. I think this episode wasn't well articulated. It just felt like the scenes weren't meshing. Does that make sense? Anyone the promo looked way better then the product. Here's hoping next week is better.

Comments

[jamie-love13.livejournal.com]

ALL.OF.THIS




But you knew that, aha. I'm really excited for Dean to get punched though. I want Sammy to kick his fricken ass, aha. Maybe it'll knock some sense into the hypocritical dean douche dean we've been seeing.

[vanaynay67.livejournal.com]

Yeah I agree with u. The episode was pretty dry and didn't really click. Too many stories:bennys, deans flashbacks, sams flashbacks. Idk it didn't work.
Amelia...idk if its bad acting or just the character but I dnt like her just yet.
I was awwwwing at sam worrying for dean! It was so adorable! And sad :'(
The promo makes me nervous but excited! One of them better b possessed!

[etoile444.livejournal.com]

Sam's anger at the end was refreshing given that he has been "Spock" thus far. Nice to see some emotion, and also him rushing to save Dean, too little too late Sam/.

Sam's flashbacks were bizarre, okay, just let's look at an ice machine and fondly remember. I so don't want a normal human storyline for him. He's a freak, I love him as a freak. As he even said, motels don't belong to anywhere...nor did he! Freak!

I liked Dean, like Benny, never know what to think in terms of trust. That Benny is quite the thinker. Love how he and Dean silently communicate also.

I don't get why Sam thought he should kill Benny when he met him??? I'm confused, but again, loved the silent conversation between Sam and Dean.

[percysowner.livejournal.com]

MY PEOPLE!! I thought I would be the only one meh on this. I've been feeling disconnected from Supernatural and thought that was it, but maybe it just was the episode. They certainly are trying to say that Benny had a crisis of conscience even before he died and met Dean, so currently they are showing us from the start without saying anything to impress Dean that Benny is a good guy, unless he was acting in case Dean could over hear him.

I do hope some nice directer takes Ty Olsson aside and gently tells him that yes, it is hard to do an accent, but mumbling doesn't help the situation. I honestly couldn't follow half of what Benny said. So I will try and rewatch with closed captioning on so that I can figure out what the heck Benny was saying.

[queer-serenity.livejournal.com]

I agree with this so much!
I LOVE Sam, and really liked him being jumpy and paranoid at everything (and his near panic attack for Dean), but Dean has annoyed me so much? I'm sick of the writers pulling the same ''oh let's make them keep secrets from each other lol'' and then throwing it out to have that brother conflict. It's like the last 7 years of this show never happened.
But like you mentioned, in my headcanon, I get the reasons, especially after seeing some Jared interviews, but I'd really like it to be IN THE DAMN SHOW.
Oh god, the ending + next week's promo.. looks like it's gonna be ultra explosive, cos I can't ever remember Sam throwing the first punch apart from s4, usually Dean's the one happy to take his fist to Sam's face. :/

[glimmerella.livejournal.com]

Well, at least we've established that it's not only Sam's ex-girlfriends that Dean is willing to kill. :/

I am looking forward to the Sam/Benny dynamic, if nothing else.

[glimmerella.livejournal.com]

I'm also enjoying the disparity between Sam and Dean's flashbacks. Dean's are all stark and black and white and horrible, while Sam's are all golden and magical. You almost expect a unicorn to come running through.

The real world, is bluer, and somewhere in between.

[cheebles.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, yes, I am in agreement whole heartedly with you on this ep. I'm not convinced that Benny is trustworthy either, and I wasn't engaged in his backstory. I mean I guess we needed to know it, but despite everything else that was going on, I felt like it dragged. And, omg, his maker made me laugh -- how Twilight was he? Awful acting, I thought.

You are giving Amelia more leeway than I am though. I'm having a difficult time imagining how her rudeness and judgmental attitude can be justified even if it is all a defensive mechanism. I think Sam has way more right to that kind of shit but he doesn't treat other people like dirt. Oh, did you notice the two beer bottles and glasses on her coffee table? She was drinking from a mug though. It was as though she'd had visitors. I thought it was kind of weird too, given her freak out when she found Sam in her apartment (obviously working on the plumbing) that she'd left her door wide open. She's kind of a mystery I'm not particularly interested in solving.

I agree with you about the scenes not feeling like they meshed. It just felt disjointed to me. I'm going to watch again though. Sometimes on second viewing, I get a different feel for an ep.

[lk737.livejournal.com]

I would have to agree with everything that you stated. The episode seemed disjointed and kind of all over the place. I was incredibly greatful for the backstory on Benny. I thought that was intriguing and look forward to more depth from him. Hey, it's depth period so I'll take it. But the dual flashbacks were messy, I thought. I never think major or continued flashbacks are a good idea for any show. Watching this season unfold, I realize now I would have preferred one ep about Dean's purgatory experience so I could get carried away on the adventure with him. And one ep about Sam's normal life experiences, so I could get emotionally involved in it all. Presented as they are, I can't get drawn in or attached to anything. Bits and pieces don't open my heart.

I agree also in how Sam has been treated as opposed to Dean. And I stated as such on my Tumblr right after this aired. Dean has Cas, Benny, and was Bobby's favorite. Sam has had no real friends who know the truth about him. His perception of happy, I think, is so skewed by how horrible Lucifer made it for so long. Therefore, less than polite and pleasant Amelia. And the writers lack of effort to give Sam friends I think is reflected in the fandom.

I don't trust Benny yet (burned by Ruby). I think Dean is being a douche too. And agree he could be a better big brother. I do think Cas made amends by taking on Sam's pain. Or at least has begun to make amends. But I think more friendship towards Sam this season by, hell anyone, will be necessary for me to trust where the writers are taking me. If they do not give Sam basic human rights (like his own music, friends, and an opinion that isn't silenced), I will be forced to take Sam's side and think he should leave Dean. I'm sick of Sam getting crumbs in life and in the fandom.