Season 8: Torn and Frayed

[cherry916]

Well, tonight was a very interesting night.

I went in with a lot of anxiety. I mean we came off a really terrible mid-season finale that made a lot of us lose a lot of faith. I wasn't even really excited for Supernatural to return, that's how low I had gotten.

I was increasingly fed up with the brothers inability to talk to one another and Carver's glee at rehashing issues Sam and Dean have already previously worked through. The tension and intense resentment felt really forced like it was coming out of nowhere. It was disconcerting and made the first half of the season really miserable.

And Amelia, ahhh Amelia. I have tried SO VERY HARD to like her. To like Sam's story line to try and understand it. But alas after this episode I still couldn't relate. Maybe I wasn't looking to deep but Amelia still seemed to be manipulating Sam and using his obvious love for her against him. That's just what I saw. The sex seemed unnecessary, to me at least, it seemed she wanted to make Sam feel guilty.

Honestly, I am just very glad that story line is done for. I still don't understand how Amelia and Jess, in Sam's mind, are being on the same pedestal.

Never the less. I was increasingly agitated with the soap opera story line and I am happy to see that dealt with.

Now onto the episode.

Dean's attitude up until the very last moment bothered me a lot honestly. He was irrationally angry and even when he said he was wrong he still had to add 'well if you didn't do this then this wouldn't have happened' I sighed. I can see Dean's character development still needs a lot of work. He still can't seem to utter the words I'm sorry sincerely but it was a step in the right direction at least.

Honestly, I felt bad for Sam. He seemed to be stuck in the middle. Stay with Amelia, someone he loves, or stay with his brother, Dean, who he fucking loves to death. But I'm sure at the moment he was thinking about how tense things were between them but I think in the end he saw Dean's olive branch for what it was. Dean's trying and if Dean can let go of Benny, Sam can let go of Amelia.

Because in the end, it's about family. No matter how angry or messed up you are. Family is all you got and they let go of their own happiness to be with one another. Something I don't think, early on in this season either of them would have done.

Basically the plot to this episode was rather boring honestly. I'm not really engaged in the tablets and Crowley and Kevin. Which is really BAD. Because that's the potatoes to the meat. But I am trying to follow along.

Samandriel, baby angel Alfie as we call him, was really sad. I hated to see him get tortured and even worse in the end lose his life.

Okay, I know Castiel wasn't under full consent when killing Alfie but OMFG CASTIEL JFC HE HAS LIKE THE WORST PENCHANT FOR KILLING GOOD ANGELS.

Castiel was well over Dean and Sam's shit as we could see. He wasn't taking any of Dean's crap or arguing and was very gentle shall I say with Sam this episode. I liked seeing that. Because at least someone was noticing Sam wasn't dealing well with this shit.

Though, Misha god love him. I found the terrified looks so unbelievable. It reminded me of Misha in the french mistake. I understand Castiel is getting tortured? But Castiel didn't even look like that when he taken Sam's hallucinations on. Was he scared? Yes. But not like that. It was too comical for me.

And let's all give a HUGE round of applause for whoever decided to bring by the dramatic zooms that are in no way dramatic!



It was also very obvious Benny is going to feed again. Sometime soon. I guess he depended on Dean for his blood supply? Which really a vampire depending on a hunter is irony right there. Now that Dean has finally cut the ties will Benny feed again? I don't think this is the last we will see of him honestly.

And I will close out this review with saying, it's a damn shame that we had to sit through 10 episodes of intense anger and resentment. Sitting uncomfortable and sad at the brother's episodes to finally get something at the end of 11. Does that mean I am not happy? No I'm happy things are looking brighter but it could have been executed ten times better so the show didn't lose people along the way. Because like it or not, that was really painful to watch and not in the good way, because a lot of people lost faith that things would even be fixed again.

At least the next episode looks lighthearted! Sam and Dean have MILES to go before they ever get better. But this is a start.

My ideal version is Sam and Dean being happy with ONE ANOTHER again. Not just staying out of principle. But because they love each other so much, and enjoy each other's company and despite what's happening to the world would still stay together until the end.

And I will also close this out with saying this: "They chose family and isn't that kind of the whole point?" -Chuck (Swan Song)

Comments

[percysowner.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I am just very glad that story line is done for. I still don't understand how Amelia and Jess, in Sam's mind, are being on the same pedestal.


I don't think they are on the same pedestal. Sam fell for Amelia during one of the worst times of his life, when he thought Dean was dead. When Dean sent the text, it stirred up the fact that every single person Sam has ever loved has died, including Dean. His anger was about that, IMHO.


Dean's attitude up until the very last moment bothered me a lot honestly. He was irrationally angry and even when he said he was wrong he still had to add 'well if you didn't do this then this wouldn't have happened' I sighed. I can see Dean's character development still needs a lot of work. He still can't seem to utter the words I'm sorry sincerely but it was a step in the right direction at least.

Honestly, I felt bad for Sam. He seemed to be stuck in the middle. Stay with Amelia, someone he loves, or stay with his brother, Dean, who he fucking loves to death. But I'm sure at the moment he was thinking about how tense things were between them but I think in the end he saw Dean's olive branch for what it was. Dean's trying and if Dean can let go of Benny, Sam can let go of Amelia.

Except Dean never told Sam he's let go of Benny. He has left Sam with the impression that he hasn't, because Dean doesn't do chick flick, I pick you moments. I am very annoyed that Dean didn't say he was sorry he hurt Sam. It left a bad taste in my mouth.

It was also very obvious Benny is going to feed again. Sometime soon. I guess he depended on Dean for his blood supply? Which really a vampire depending on a hunter is irony right there. Now that Dean has finally cut the ties will Benny feed again? I don't think this is the last we will see of him honestly.

I did not care for Benny. I felt he was used to make Sam look bad. That said, I don't think Benny depended on Dean for his blood supply. He depended on Dean for a family and support system. Monster lore has been fluid. But the one thing that has remained the same throughout the seasons is that vampires form nests. They seem to be programed for a social support system. Benny ran from his when he fell in love with Andrea. He killed his nest and Andrea. As a creature that needs a social group, he is in bad shape.

[jamie-love13.livejournal.com]

All of this Cherry, all of this. -sighs-

[cherry916.livejournal.com]

It had some good parts but yeah sigh

[clean0002.livejournal.com]

Well said Cherry. You said a lot of similar things I said in my review. Everyone is pretty over the moon about the episode and while I think we are headed in the right direction, I wasn't overly thrilled with the episode as a whole. Some of the dialogue was supper cheesy, along with that dramatic zoom, and there is still a long way to go with Sam and Dean. Yes they chose to stay together but that does not mean their issues are resolved. Far from it imo. They took the first step and now they have to take the rest. And they better have Dean apologize for the voicemail or I will be ticked.

[cherry916.livejournal.com]

I feel the same way you do. It's hard to run around squeeing when there is still a lot wrong and it doesn't bring back or restore the faith I lost in Carver as a showrunner.

[ladybastet92.livejournal.com]

And I will close out this review with saying, it's a damn shame that we had to sit through 10 episodes of intense anger and resentment. Took the words right out of mouth. I mean, I very, very happy to see that that crap is done with, but at the same time...I feel like I lost my faith in Carver along the way? Because that tension served no purpose, and made me sincerely doubt that he understood these characters. As happy as I am that they chose each other - that should've been an obvious choice. And the fact that is wasn't for them just...makes me feel like these characters aren't Sam and Dean anymore. And I don't mean that they're old and weathered or whatever, but that they aren't the Winchester brothers. It pisses me off a lot when writers create tension and tear relationships apart for no reason whatsoever, and the fact that Carver spent the last ten episodes doing just that? Makes so, so much harder for me to believe in him for the rest of the season.

And fucking bless that the Amelia plotline is over. I mean, now that is it, I have to look back and think...that was it? It doesn't build up to anything? I guess the build-up is to Sam choosing Dean over Amelia, but again, we all knew that was going to happen. It isn't a big shocker here. Sam has, and will, choose Dean over any and everything. So, yeah, that whole plotline was idiotic. I can say it now. (And, wow, way to make her character leave on a low note by having her have sex with Sam when she's still with Don.) Dean "breaking up" with Benny felt the same way - and, yes, we all know that Benny is going to leap off of that bandwagon. There is absolutely no suspense to his plot whatsoever now, and it's a shame, because his character had a hell of a lot of potential.

I did like the fact that Sam brought up what a horrible thing it was for Dean to make Sam think Amelia was in danger, and that he reminded Dean of Jess. Not gonna lie, I'm still a bit pissed at him about that, but at least he apologized. And he finally seemed to grow some maturity by letting Sam make his own choice, and saying that he wants him to be happy. The problem is, he never should've taken so long to get there, especially since he had already reached that point with Sam at the end of season 5. And Carver basically freaking wiped Dean's development slate all over again at the beginning of this season. But at least Dean's bullshit seems to be done, too, and he can all fucking move on. Apart from a few episodes, and Castiel - what a waste of a first half of a season.

Putting more hope in the second half of season 8 - at least next week has Felicia Day in it, so it's bound to be fun, at least. And Naomi's intentions are still in the dark, so there's a (REAL) sense of suspense with that as well. The Team Free will interactions were easily the best part of his episode, with how well balanced they all were, and I hope we see a lot more of that in the future. (Sam and Cas seem to be interacting at least minimally, and their interactions really were interesting for what they were, so bless that.) And now maybe Sam can be a character again, imagine!

[cherry916.livejournal.com]

Bless you.

YOU took the words right out of my mouth. I seem to get the 'aren't you happy! Told you you should of had faith' and like sure I'm happy but this whole Benny/Amelia/anger out of nowhere/we suddenly have a lot of issues storyline was so fucking corny, soap opera-ish and made many fans outright stop watching! Or like you said lose faith that these are Sam and Dean anymore.

Carver has wiped both of their development away and created his own. It's a disgrace. I too hope the second half is better, at least the next twp episodes look promising.

What I would have liked to see with Benny is that, him appearing outright good throughout. But all along he had another agenda or was working with Crowley or something interesting they could have surprised us with instead of leading us down a dead end road.

[clean0002.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with he both of you. This season really has been very frustrating. I know so many people did not like Gamble as show runner but at least Sam and Dean were still very much in character when she was running things. I feel like everything has been so all over the place this season and Sam and Dean have been so petty and immature.

[cherry916.livejournal.com]

I really can't get behind him outright changing Sam and Dean to suit his own storyline and needs. Sam and Dean should be the ONE thing unchangeable on this show.

[shadowc44.livejournal.com]

Good points. I wanted to like Amelia for Sam's sake, but I just couldn't see it. It's like they were telling us, not showing us, what a good woman she was, how she made Sam happy. I didn't see a lot of that in any of the actual episodes, but we sure heard a lot about it.

I'm tired of the brothers fighting, and it seems like Dean is making it extremely difficult for Sam to choose him. Dean made it clear he thought of Benny as more like a brother than Sam lately. I dunno, Benny bugs me, and it's not just him being a vampire.

One thing nobody is bringing up, and maybe it's just me starting to get squeamish in my old age, but my god, the level of torture on this show! It's like they're constantly trying to out-do previous episodes, but I'm getting tired of all the bloodshed and violence, especially to nice characters. It just seems over-the-top and it's pissing me off, rather than making me think, "Hey, isn't that a neat torture device? Wonder how they cme up with that?" It's more like, oh no, not more of this. I don't know how much more I can take, and I'm only watching it. Sure, it's fictional characters and almost cartoonish levels of violence, but it's getting to be too much for me.

OTOH, I have to say, this episode did get me a bit more interested in the mythology, but once again, demons and angels aren't as exciting for me as they obviously are for the writers.

[cherry916.livejournal.com]

One thing nobody is bringing up, and maybe it's just me starting to get squeamish in my old age, but my god, the level of torture on this show! It's like they're constantly trying to out-do previous episodes, but I'm getting tired of all the bloodshed and violence, especially to nice characters.

I have noticed that too. It does seem over the top and really isn't coming across as believable in my mind. At least compared to earlier seasons. Like the shapeshifter shedding it's skin, or in my bloody valentine the couple eating themselves. Those were moments that were gross, creepy made you squeamish and brought gore but they worked for the episode at hand.

[glimmerella.livejournal.com]

I just hope Benny decides to feed... on Sam, and Dean has to put him down. That would make it all worthwhile.

[alienat.livejournal.com]

That's a nice one. I'd totally be on board with that. :D

[loustat.livejournal.com]

Amen to that!!

[cherry916.livejournal.com]

I am ON BOARD with this ;D

[darkrose-9.livejournal.com]

I actually liked this episode ('cept for the Samelia bits, which felt more forced than ever) but show is killing me. Samandriel died (and he needs a retcon), Cas has issues, Dean dumped Benny (to be with Sam!) etc. However, I'm still liking Season 8 better than seasons 6 and 7. At least we have an overarching plot in this season, whereas the other seasons felt all over the place. (And they killed Bobby!)

Crowley though. Was very good, and almost worth all the heartbreak.

[alienat.livejournal.com]

I was pretty torn before the episode. One way I was fearing what they'd throw at us and on the other side I was excited that SPN was back. I mean I miss the boys, even if they tear each other apart. I will love them no matter what. So I'm always glad when they're on TV just that I was a little wary about what TPTB had planned for us.

I'm so happy that Amelia and Benny are out of the picture (though I agree with you that I don't think we've seen the last of Benny - I honestly think that Dean will have to kill him in the end). And I think that the last four/five minutes of the episode definitely saved the day, with Dean admitting that he was jealous (even if it wasn't in the way I wanted ;D). I liked that and I do think that Sam needed to be either in or out completely and not half-heartedly - this goes for both Amelia or hunting. I'm glad he choose hunting, though. Of course I am. LOL

Other than that I can't really say much about this episode. Other than YAY CROWLEY. And YAY KEVIN. Love them both. I even liked Cas in this one. And I loved that he didn't take the boys shit and even told them to cut it out and get over it.

So yeah, I think it was a good and hopeful start into the next half of the season. Let's keep our fingers crossed that from now on the boys cut their crap out. :)

[cherry916.livejournal.com]

It's weird. I'm not quite sure how I should feel about the episode actually.

Agreed!

[loustat.livejournal.com]

You are so not alone in your opinions. I also feel like the end of the episode was very poorly executed. We will see Benny again for sure. Dean's expression alone when he called Benny indicated that.

I'm SO not on Dean's side right now. I just don't like the fact that he's so heart broken over losing Benny's friendship. That heartache should go out to Sammy in my opinion. Sammy's suffered for his mistakes enough I think. So yes, Dean needs to get over himself and realize he's WRONG.

Ok, I'm done for now and thanks for speaking for the rest of us who don't know how to really put our feelings into words...:-D

[cherry916.livejournal.com]

Yeah Dean's been kind of hard to try and understand during this season without me wanting to smack him upside his head. So we'll see how his story and character development goes.

And you're welcome.