SPN 5.17 "99 Problems"

[thegrrrl2002]

Hi Micheal Shanks! Good to see you, lookin' all sexy and scruffy and militia-ey.

I really enjoyed this ep, aside from the final scene. Which I didn't hate, but it didn't work for me, either. More on that later. First of all, scary Lutheran town is scary. Loved how the sense of community and working together to fight the demons fell apart and they ended up attacking each other. People are way scarier than any monster on this show. (Except maybe for that scarecrow. S2, I think?). And the "prophet". She was creepy from the start. Had that wide-eyed crazy fundie look to her. Nicely done, show.

I'm glad that enochian exorcism turned out to be fake. I kept thinking "jeeze, that was quick, why don't Sam and Dean use that one?" Castiel was so cute with the goat joke though, waiting for Sam and Dean to get it. Hee!

I could have done without all the "whore" business, though. ::sighs::

And now Dean is broke. All out of ideas and energy and hope. Saw it coming, but ouch, it's painful and heartbreaking to watch it happen. It's interesting to see Sam being the strong one, the one who still wants to save people, who still wants to try, and who still needs Dean by his side. Aw, Dean, your little brother needs you! And the fact that it didn't change Dean's mind is what is truly heartbreaking. Dean has always been all about being the big brother. But now he's heading off to say yes to Michael. I guess it's not a huge surprise, but it still hurts. I guess it's easier for Sam right now, in the sense that there's really no temptation for him to say yes to Lucifer. That wouldn't save anyone. His only choice is to stick around and fight. Dean, though, can say yes to Micheal, and maybe even save the world in the process, especially if Lucifer is weak and not in his proper vessel. He has an opportunity to sacrifice himself, an opportunity that Sam doesn't have. And if there's anything these guys are good at, it's sacrificing themselves.

It was really hard watching Dean. The fact that he was able to kill the false prophet was because he had already decided to say yes?

I absolutely loved Cas. Drunk, belligerent Cas, who managed to be hilarious, heartbreaking, and smokin' hot all at the same time. On a bender, indeed. Misha Collins is beyond awesome, all growly and sexy. I've rewatched his scenes several times now, just to make sure that he's absolutely sexy. And yes, he is, each and every time.

As for the final scene...meh. I get that it's probably more about the fact that Lisa and Ben represent a normal life, but it just felt kind of weird and clunky to me. If they wanted to let us know that Dean's plan was to say yes with specific conditions attached, they could have done it a better way. I would have preferred it all come out in a phone call to Sam or something. Or Bobby.

I'm a little peeved at the show for yanking me out of the moment with that scene. But everything else was awesome, so show, I forgive you.



A moment of weirdness today - I've been dvr'ing the reruns on TNT, and they've just finished Season 4 and cycled back around to Season 1. I turned it on today and was all 'who are these wee little boys?'.

Comments

[wpadmirer.livejournal.com]

I am really unbothered by the "whore" thing and having some trouble understanding why it's an issue. I mean, the "Whore of Babylon" is Biblical. That's what she's called. To call her anything else would be meaningless.

Just me.

WP

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

I think if they used the entire "The Whore of Babylon" title it wouldn't have irked me. But "hey, we get to kill a whore" made me wince. It had a whole different feeling to me.

[trobadora]

Yes, that's a huge difference. That line really threw me out. :(

[wpadmirer.livejournal.com]

But that would be such a clunky line. I guess I'm looking at it strictly from a writer's viewpoint, and I knew exactly what it was referencing, and knew Dean and Cas well enough to know they wouldn't use the word EXCEPT for this one instance.

WP

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

True, I see what you're saying. Maybe they could have gone with "the whore" instead of "a whore"? A minor detail, overall, but I hated that it threw me out of the moment (because it was a really fabulous moment!)

[sheron]

It threw me out too, but it was also kind of a "how pathetic are we" moment not a moment of glorifying their exploits, so I slid right back in, keeping that in mind.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

I have to admit, upon rewatching, I did get more of that kind of vibe from Dean. He's just so damn weary in this ep, it breaks my heart.

Thank goodness for cuddly puppies. They make every better! Thank you, sweetie! *g*

[sheron]

Very welcome :)

[fanaddict.livejournal.com]

Sorry to wander through so late - the whore line threw me out because it made me think "Really show? You had to go there?" I mean it's a cheap line that was unnecessary - Dean and Cas could have shared a hopeless moment some other way. All I could think about for a while after that line is that a show that brings us fangirls writing wincest and Prophets writing the Book of Winchester knows fans and as such they don't get a pass on a cheap mysogynistic line that they know will light a storm of controversy in an ep/season already on overload. It was both unnecessary and a thumbing of their nose at fans who are on their case about gender issues - so that makes it poorly done in my book.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was a very big distraction for very little (or no) payoff. All it did was annoy fans. Not really sure what the writers were thinking with that.

[ariadne83]

Yeah, that line was awful. Why couldn't he just have said "some days we get to kill monsters"?

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Yes, that would certainly have been an improvement!

[tabby333.livejournal.com]

Misha Collins is beyond awesome, all growly and sexy. I've rewatched his scenes several times now, just to make sure that he's absolutely sexy. And yes, he is, each and every time.

Ahem. I may also have rewatched his scenes. While at work. *hangs head in shame* My research confirms that he's absolutely sexy. Smokin'!

Poor Castiel, but my goodness, was he funny. I even laughed when he said Sam was an abomination. I wasn't laughing at the end when he said he wasn't a good angel. Sniff.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

I think work should understand that you had important research to do. After all, this is Cas we're talking about.

Oh yes - Sam's an abomination. The way he just tosses that out is hilarious. So matter-of-fact. And poor Cas, always wounded by the end of the ep. He looked so sad on the bed. Too many eps have ended that way. :sniffs::

I am SO paranoid about Castiel's fate, how this season is going to end for him. ::flails::

[feather-autant.livejournal.com]

Oh great! Another Deal! Cuz Deals have worked out so well for them in the past.

I might have actually yelled that at the TV. *g*

Loved the goat joke! And Cas waiting for them to get it! Then sort of deflating when they didn't. I got it, though, so you keep right on with it, sweetie. :)

Now we wait. I'm feeling very anxious about it all. ::gnaws knuckles::

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Hah, good point! Yeah, "Let's Make a Deal" is not their strong suit! Time to play a different game, boys.

Cas was so adorable with his joke. Maybe Uriel really wasn't the funniest angel in the garrison. Hee!

I swear this season is going to be the death of me. I want to know how it ends, but I don't want it to end. Eeeeee!!!

[sheron]

It was really hard watching Dean. The fact that he was able to kill the false prophet was because he had already decided to say yes?

I don't think so, personally. It's probably about faith, not faith in angels, but in general (humanity, god, take your pick).

I hope Sam & Cas stop him. They have to. I have very high expectations for the newly strong Sam!

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, good point! That whole "servant of god" business is actually kind of vague. Typical! Damn angels. *g*

Sam and Cas are going to move heaven and hell to stop Dean, I just know it. And then they're going to smack him upside the head and ask him what the hell was he thinking. ::nods firmly::

[amireal.livejournal.com]

...that oath thing they made him take at one point. Does that make him a servant of heaven? Or you know it could just mean that Team Free Will is literally on the side of heaven... unlike the incredibly emo angels wallowing around up there.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, I had forgotten about the oath! But Cas made him take it, so he would have mentioned it. Unless he didn't realize the connotations of it.

Hah, emo angels, seriously! They all have their heads up their asses. I like the idea of all of Team Free Will be on the side of heaven. Or, at least, on the side of god. Which may not be the same as being on heaven's side at this point.

[sheron]

Oooh, I forgot about that. Dean actually says something like "I promise to serve Heaven and you guys" (avoiding repeating the 'angels' bits). So I figure he promised his allegiance to Cas & God. ....LOL

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Plus that whole "Like you obeyed your father" bit added on to it. I thought that was interesting.

[sheron]

I just hope Sam & Cas are in the right head-space for it. I mean, Sam's the only one showing strength in the recent episodes. Cas was totally levelled by the previous events, so I don't know how much good judgement we can expect from him at this point. He has to snap out of it!

I did so much love that Sam asks Dean for help basically admitting out loud for once that they are stronger together. He's got to be there for Dean now like Dean's been there for him for a while.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

It will be interesting to see how low Cas is going to go, if he's going to totally crash and burn or rally in time to help the rest of Team Free Will. I also wonder if all this emotion from him is a sign of him slowly becoming human.

I absolutely love how Sam has come through all this with so much strength. It's definitely time for him to take care of his big brother, and he's stepping up to the role.

[ariadne83]

I'm glad I read spoilers for this episode in advance because I had time to brace myself for that last scene 0_o

Oh Michael Shanks, you always set off my slash-goggles. Seriously, am I the only one who was captivated by the Significant Looks between him and the angsty bartender? Who always wanted to watch his ass?

*goes back to rewatch*

[pennyplainknits.livejournal.com]

You totally weren't! In the church scenes my slash-dar was really pinging!

[ariadne83]

And Rob was just so bitter and sad about how in the good old days people weren't so uptight and church-y. But still, despite his broken heart, he's willing to watch Paul's ass *snicker*

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

There's something to be said for reading spoilers. I spent the last scene being all "Buh?" instead of hearing what Dean was saying.

You're so right about that scene in the church. Shanks and Bartender Guy were being terribly flirty, weren't they? *g* For a moment I was wondering exactly what we were supposed to read into that scene.

[destina.livejournal.com]

I was wondering what we were supposed to take from those 'significant looks' too -- it was oddly coded, wasn't it?

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Very much so! I figured they were having an affair. *g*

[ariadne83]

It was very oddly-coded. We didn't really see anywhere near enough onscreen interaction between those two to suggest they were close, and yet the church scene...

They were totally having an affair before the apocalypse started. And then Michael Shanks' character decided he needed to 'get right' with God or something.

[bibliokat.livejournal.com]

I totally thought that too! I thought for sure there would be bartender/Michael Shanks in this ep.!

[ariadne83]

I decided they must have been having an affair, and Michael Shanks' character called it off after the holy-rollin' started up. Hence the bartender's bitterness about the good old pre-apocalypse days.

[bibliokat.livejournal.com]

Exactly my thoughts! :)

[destina.livejournal.com]

I always love how SPN comes back to the theme of how humans are always scarier and way weirder than the monsters -- they are their own particular type of monster. Dean saying, "Humans, man!" just cracks me up every time, because it's so true. Witches, Benders, religious zealots and child molesters...uh. The show runs the gamut, doesn't it. *g*

I think Dean was able to kill the WOB because he made up his mind a long time ago he was going to do *something* to stop this. Perhaps subconsciously, he has been fighting that impulse all along. It makes me sad.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Oh, I loved when Dean said that - was it the ep with the witches? So true. *g*