#did i rewatch this while i was sick? heck yes i did
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Actual footage of Rera telling her friends she broke up with Shinbei
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The Hargreeves Kerfuffle Part 1 : Disastrous Childhood (Prologue)
TUA Series Part 1:Â Disastrous Childhood
The Hargreeves siblings x Hargreeves!Reader (Familial Relationship)
An idea came to me at 2am after binging TUA S2 and rewatching S1 right after!
BG: The Reader is Number Eight. It follows how you fit into the structure of Season 1 and the family dynamic of the siblings.
This part follows when the young Hargreeves Siblings had their powers manifested and the development of The Umbrella Academy.
Contains: Sibling Angst and Fluff. Reginald being a crappy father but sometimes not really?
The series will consist of 10 parts. Where the reader would have a focused interaction with each sibling. (Eg. After this part, it would be Luther x Reader, then Diego x Reader and so on! âYes Ben is included)
WC:2649
A/N: This is my first ever TUA fic and Iâm doing a series. WOw ambitious I know. Anyways I hope you enjoy! And tell me how you feel about it!
>>MASTERLIST<<
>>THE HARGREEVES KERFUFFLE SERIES MASTERLIST<<
READ: [PART 2]Â [PART 3]Â [PART 4]
>>JOIN MY WRITING CHALLENGE!<<
~
On October 1, 1989, 43 women across the globe gave birth despite them not being pregnant when the day began. In news of this mysterious happenings, Sir Reginald Hargreeves immediately went out of his way to find as many of these special babies. He has successfully adopted 8 of these children and you were one of them.
One might think that when a person adopts not one, but eight kids would have so much love to give but they would be mistaken. Sir Reginald HargreevesâDad, was not a loving father. It would be a miracle for one to see the man show any other emotion apart from anger. Sir Reginald Hargreeves was distant and treated the children like they were experiments that the dynamic felt closer to a doctor/patient relationship. The children werenât given actual names, only to be called by their numbers based on the order Sir Reginald Hargreeves had procured them. It was only when Grace, their robot mother insisted they have a real name, were the children given them. And so, the children were:
Number One - Luther Hargreeves
Number Two â Diego Hargreeves
Number Three â Allison Hargreeves
Number Four â Klaus Hargreeves
Number Five â Five Hargreeves
Number Six â Ben Hargreeves
Number Seven â Vanya Hargreeves
And finally,
Number Eight - Â y/n Hargreaves
For 6 years, the only special thing about the children was that they were miraculously conceived and birthed within a day, the same day. However, on the 7th year , October 1 1996, more strange things started to happen to the children.
It first started with Ben at breakfast. Dad as usual is cold and strict more so in the early morning. âSit up straight Number Six.â He directed without even a glance up from his newspaper at hand.
âYes Sir.â
Beside him you place your hand on his and whispered, âYou alright Ben? You look sick.â
He gulped. âYea y/n.â Wiping the cold sweat off his forehead.
âYou sure?â you questioned, not buying it.
âUmhmm never bett-----â
You expected vomit to come out but what happen next is something you would never though was possible.
Screams broke out everywhere.
You feel yourself being raised above the table. Looking down, you were 5 feet off the ground held by what seemed to be tentacles.
âTake that!â You hear some shout then a thud. Diego had brought down a knife to the tentacle that had suffocated him and in now laying on the floor covered in green blood.
The sight finally snapped you out of your shock, your fight or flight reflexes kicked in.
A quick sweep of your surroundings showed Five and Klaus on either side of you, they too are struggling with the ever-tightening grip of the monstrous arm.
While on the ground, Vanya and Allison are making their way to Ben in hopes of helping him control whatever all this that was coming out of his body. While Luther is fighting off the arms away from Diego who seem to have broken his leg from the fall.
Dad, Mom and Pogo are nowhere to be seen.
You move your head to the left, knowing that Klaus doesnât do well in small spaces. âKlaus itâs okay buddy, Dad would find a way to fic this. Just breatheâ You choked out âJust breathe Klaus, everythingâs gonna be alright.â
âmmmm!â That was Klausâ only reply but you were thankful to see him to fidget less. He seemed to have taken your advice â how much of the second part of that advice be true, you genuinely donât know.
You try to move your head to face the right towards Five but no dice. The arm was wrapping itself closer to your neck. âFiveâ you call out, but it was barely a whisper. âfive..â
âY/N!!â Fiveâs scream was the last thing you heard before everything went black.
~
âSheâs broken a couple of ribs and sprained her neck. Butâs sheâs gonna be okay. Just needs time to rest.â
âAnd how long would that time Pogo?â
âShe would need to say in bed for 2 to 3 months, Sir.â
You open your eyes and are greeted with blinding white light. Dad, Mom and Pogo surround your bed.
Grace tucks a stray hair behind you ear. âMy baby, y/n. How are you feeling?â
âSore.â You reply, noting the coarse sound of your voice. âHowâs Ben? Klaus? Vanya?ââ
Grace cut you off. âTheyâre all fine y/n. Though Ben is a bit roughed up.â She says truthfully.
âNumber Six has appeared to have powers of summoning monsters with his body and he is currently under supervision.â Â Reginald stated.
But something didnât fit right. âBut how did you calm him down? The whole fiasco back there was in total chaos?â Voicing out all your thoughts and questions. âNo one could get him to take back control, unlessâŠ..â You couldnât continue the thought. Your eyes go wide. There was no way. It was too harsh, but it was dad after all, he would do whatever means necessary to get what he wants.
Your dad smiles proudly âAh yes. Y/n ever the cleverest of the bunch.â You had observed that he had addressed you in your actual name instead of your number for the first time in your whole existence. Â âUnfortunately, I had to sedate Number Six. You do understand that it was the only way.â
You open your mouth to argue.
âNo buts, Number Eight!â Ah and now weâre back to number, you thought.
âIâll have Grace by you side whist you recover and Pogo here would relay your recovery progress to me daily.â
He was almost to your door when he faced you again. âOh and Number Eight, When you feel something different or unusual. Do inform me of it immediately.â And with that he left.
âPogo? What does he mean by feel different?â Your nerves go up, worried about your siblings. âIs anyone hurt?â
Pogo sighs, after much contemplation he begins âY/n dear. Todayâs happenings uncovered that there are stranger yet special things about you children.â
You nod, not wanting to interrupt but also wishing he would hurry up and continue.
âBen isnât the only one who have gotten powers today. During the kerfuffle, Diego has shown skill with a knife, Luther immense strength and Five had shown ability to teleport.â
Once again you found yourself in shock.
âYour father has gotten the idea that you children have varying power wish are âactivatedâ so to speak when reached the age of 7.â
âHaha-OWâ You clutch your side.
âCareful y/n, try not to do sudden movementsâyes and that includes laughing too.â Mom says, caressing your cheek.
âWhen can I see them?â
âIâll try to persuade Reggie to allow them for a visit dear. But now I need you to rest.â
~
Sibling Visits are limited to 30 mins a day, right before the bedtime curfew.
All your siblings (expect Ben who was still under strict supervision and is recovering himself) came to see you the following night.
Allison was the first one through your door and ran to give you a hug. âY/n! We are all so worried!â
âAww thanksâOW OW OWâ
âOops sorryâ releasing you from her death grip of a hug.
Seeing that movements still hurt you. The rest opted not to hug you, Klaus and Diego held your hand, Vanya is sitting on the edge of you bed, Luther gave you forehead a quick kiss and Five being Five, greeted you with the typical sibling teasing. âGlad to see you not drop dead in front of me.â
Diego showed off his leg cast and asked you to sign it, which you happily did so. Signing âBadass as always. -y/nâ beside Benâs note of âDiego is cooler than Batmanâ
The 30 minutes consisted recaps of what happened the day before, the gushing of the boys showcasing their powers and debating on whoâs the most powerful.
And just like that, the time was up and each had to go to bed. Everyone kissed your head for goodnights, even Five.
âYou know I love you right?â His eyes softer than you ever seen before
âI knowâ
âYou really scared me yesterday when you blacked out.â Five had his tough façade down. âI thought you died y/n.â
âBut I didnât.â You reach up to wipe his tears away. âItâd take something bigger, if you wanna get rid of me.â
He chuckled. âNight, y/nâ
âGood night, Five.â
~
3 weeks had passed, and your siblings never failed to visit you. Over that time, Klaus and Allison had manifested their powers. Klaus can conjure the dead while Allison could ârumorâ people to her will.
Ben came by 2 weeks later. His color is back to normal, not like the blueish tint it had the last time you saw him. Though he still had a few remnants of bruises and scars across his arms and face.
âIâm sorry y/n.â He said leaning on your door frame.
âBen!â You exclaimed. âIâm so glad youâre back up and running!â
Ben was caught off guard. âYouâYouâre not mad at me?â
âWhy would I be mad at you?â You questioned, genuinely confused at your brotherâs words.
âCause, Cause I almost got you killed. I am a monster.â
You sat up straight at those words, your ribs hurt a bit at the sudden movement, but you didnât care. Your brother was blaming himself for something he couldnât have controlled.
âNO BEN!â
Ben jumped from your sudden outburst.
You motioned for him to come closer.
âBenâŠâ looking into his eyes. âBen you are no monster.â
âButââ
âuuh uh Iâm not doneâ You held his hand in yours. âYou are no monster what happened then was an accident, nobody knew, heck nobody expected powers to just show up. It was beyond anyoneâs control. It took us by surprise.â
His shoulders relaxed.
âIt wasnât your fault. I donât blame you for what happened.â
He gave you a bone crushing hug. âThank you y/n. You donât know how guilty I was feeling.â Voice muffled by your shoulder, which is now wet with his tears. âI kept thinking about the pain I caused you and I wasnât allowed to leave my room even when I begged dad to see you and say sorry. y/nâ
âShhh shhhâ Rubbing his back. âItâs alright Ben. Whatâs important is that weâre all here now. Alive, Safe and sound.â.
~
You still have a month left for recovery.
Only you and Vanya are the one left who havenât had their powers revealed.
Dad had created a group called âThe Umbrella Academyâ in which he trained your super powered siblings. He even given them codenames to go along with their newfound powers.
Number One - Luther Hargreeves aka Spaceboy
Number Two â Diego Hargreeves aka The Kraken
Number Three â Allison Hargreeves aka The Rumor
Number Four â Klaus Hargreeves aka The SĂ©ance
Number Five â Five Hargreeves aka The Boy
Number Six â Ben Hargreeves aka The Horor
With this new training program comes with the downside of spending less time with your siblings. Your traditional Sunday afternoon sister bonding time Allison and Vanya is basically non-existent now. Sure the rest of siblings still drop by to check up on how youâre recovering but it is not as frequency as they once were- you totally understand though, it must be tiring to be part of âThe Umbrella Academyâ but girl were you still hurt and wanted more than anything to be a part of it.
So, you spend most of your time with Vanya nowadays. You didnât mind, it is nice to have someone along. Most of the time Vanya practices her violin in your room.
âThat was beautiful Vannyâ you commented after she finished a rendition.
âThanks y/nâ Her face flushed. âMaybe someday Iâd be a famous violinist!â
âI know you would.â You say truthfully. âAnd I better get the best seats at your concerts okay? Nothing short of VIP treatment for your favourite sister!â
âDonât worry, Iâll make sure Allison would get that.â Vanya teased.
Placing a hand dramatically to your chest âuhh I am offended! I thought I was your favourite sister!â
âwell... you thought wrong.â Vanya tried to keep a straight face but failed. âYou y/n are the VVIP guest!â
âNow thatâs more like it.â
~
That night you were tossing and turning in your bed.
In the training room, huge boulders were being tossed onto Lutherâs back. He currently had 3 on him. âMoreâ he cried. It was an impressive feat to see. A 7-year-old carry the what had to be at least 5 times his weight.
It was at his 6th block when his legs start to shake.
âStraighten up Number One!â Reginald voice came through the speakers.
âI-Iâ
âFix your posture! And stop babbling!â
He was trembling all over, the weight was far too much and carried far too long for just a young boy.
Any second now, he is gonna be crushed by the boulders.
âLUTHER!â You screamed. Cold sweat was plastered all over your face. You were still in your room- but it all felt so real.
You look over to your bedside table, 9:07
Training would have started an hour ago. You had time.
You took the stairs two at a time, bursting into the training room. âSTOPâ
Reginald stood from his seat. âNumber Eight. What in the world are you doing here?â
âSTOP! Luther is gonna get hurt please stop it--.â Ignoring his question.
âNumber Eight, what are you talking about? Number One is doing perfectly fine!â He gestured towards the front.
He was right. Luther looks fine. In fact it looked like it was carrying a light backpack instead of 3 boulders. âBut- But I sawââ Then it hit you 3 boulders. 3 not 6.
âMoreâ You heard him cried out, just like you had in your nightmare.
You stared at Luther, how could this be?
âI saw him sir, he is gonna collapse from 6 boulders.â
At this, Reginald took interest. âYou saw?â
âYes, I-I must have dreamt it.â You slumped against the free chair, defeated. âbut it felt so real.â
âLet me everything you saw, and donât miss a single detailâ
And so, you did. By the time you finished, Luther was with his 6th block.
It was exactly like how things went down in your dream. âNo No NOOOO!â
âRelease him!â Reginald called at the last second. Standing he faced you. âNow y/n dear would you please come with me.â
He didnât speak again until you were both in his office. âIt seems to me Number Eight that your powers have finally manifested.â
âwhatââ
âA slight delay compared to your siblings, but I presume that it was due to you recovering from your injuries that your body had focus on your recovery first then powers.â
âWhat about Vanya? Would she have powers?â
âIt seems that Number Seven has no powers gained.â Standing in front of you. âBut no matter now, whatâs important is that youâve got them.â He placed his hands on your shoulders. âYou would do great things Number Eight. To see into the future is a valuable asset to have indeed. For this I shall name you Foresight.â
This was it! You own codename!
Number Eight - Â y/n Hargreaves aka Foresight.
âIâm gonna be part of The Umbrella Academy?â Overjoyed by your father taking pride in you that every other thought left your concern.
âYes Foresight. You will.â Standing straight again. âHowever, your training would only start once you have fully recovered.â
âThanks Dad.â Hugging him and for once showed the affection back.
You wish you could say that it was at this point where you and your siblings finally gotten a loving and healthy childhood. But you were wrong. Things only deteriorated from here on out with the Hargreeves household and by extension the dissolve of The Umbrella Academy.
END OF PART 1
READ: [PART 2]Â [PART 3]Â [PART 4]
Taglist [All]: @gruffle1
Taglist [TUA]: @herecomesthesun1969 @ultraviolet-mâ @winterierwriter @lordofthunderthrâ  @alabaster1223
#the umbrella academy#tua#the umbrella academy imagine#luther hargreeves#diego hagreeves#allison hargreeves#klaus hargreeves#five hargreeves#ben hargreeves#vanya hargreeves#the umbrella academy x reader#the umbrella academy imagines#fandomscombine writes#luther hargreeves x reader#diego hargreeves x reader#allison hargreeves x reader#klaus hargreeves x reader#five hargreeves x reader#ben hargreeves x reader#vanya hargreeves x reader#reginald hargreeves
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After Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, you should replay Breath of the Wild.
Warning SPOILERS mainly for Breath of the Wild, but some for Age of Calamity!
I finished Age of Calamity and I wanted to talk about how it impacted me in terms of Breath of the Wild.Â
So, I never finished Breath of the Wild properly. Breath of the Wild was a fun game and I love it, but I am a person who loves the lore and story of a game and those are what drive me. With Breath of the Wild, we get fragments of an incomplete memory and somehow these fragments are meant to make us want to save these spirits. While exploration is fun for me, emotional connections are what motivates me to finish a game and Breath of the Wild is designed to make the player feel isolated and alone a lot of the time. I notice I hang around places in Hyrule that are more often filled with people and when I get sick of it, I go out into the vast world, but I go more often to places I find beautiful and relaxing, like Satori Mountain or the Tabantha areas of Hebra or the Zonai ruins area and just stay put there for a while.Â
Now when I stopped playing Breath of the Wild, I was really close to finishing it. I only had the last few Koroks or so to collect and well, I got spoiled for the ending where Zelda asks, âDo you really remember me?âÂ
It bothered me.Â
I felt guilty to even attempt the ending, even though I had gotten all of the memories because while yes, I, as Link, knew Zelda, Link didnât remember everything. Linkâs memories are fragmented and I felt so guilty to even try for the end because I felt like since I only had pieces, it wasnât right.Â
Anyways, I stopped playing and while I deep dived into lore (ie. I purchased Creating a Champion, etc.) to try and figure out Linkâs past from 100 years ago, I didnât feel like returning to the game. Then Age of Calamity came out and while I consider it only semi-canon, I felt like I understood everything a lot better and I decided I was going to finish Breath of the Wild.Â
Since I finished Age of Calamity, I decided to rewatch all the cutscenes so I could remember what had happened and it HURT A HECK OF A LOT MORE THAN I REMEMBERED. Let me explain.Â
As each Champion is describing the Blight and that it killed them, I could see the fights from Age of Calamity and I could picture how each one died. It made me feel a lot more sense of loss and anger because I now truly knew these Champions, I got to really see their personalities and who they were, and how haunting and awful it really was.Â
When I got to Miphaâs freed spirit looking over to the Zoraâs Domain and asking, âFather, are you well I wonder?â I began to sob, startling my family. When I first played Breath of the Wild, I felt sadness at this scene, enough to tear up a little, but I didnât full on cry. But now because of Age of Calamity, I now really felt the true depth of the loss.Â
The other Champion I cried at was Urbosa. Urbosaâs words to Link to help Zelda shed her worries now really stuck with me because Urbosa could not do that for Zelda during her lifetime, no matter how hard she tried. It was a regret she had and she was entrusting the task on to Link as she could no longer attempt to do that for her best friendâs daughter.Â
As for Daruk, I chuckled when I first watched his freed soul scene, but this time, I actually teared up. I knew Daruk better now and it was so bittersweet to see him see Yunobo and realize his people had survived the Calamity, even if he had not.Â
Itâs well known to my friends that I despise Revali. His attitude in the memory, âRevaliâs Flapâ made me so angry I went and finish a ton of side quests before I finished Vah Medoh because I was infuriated at the level of mockery and antagonizing he gave Link because Linkâs spirit has to reincarnate every time Ganon comes into Hyrule thanks to Demiseâs curse and I was so frustrated that Revali would state that he should be one to fight Ganon, when Linkâs spirit doesnât ever get to rest eternally thanks to an eons long curse. Getting to see more of Revaliâs antagonizing of Link in Age of Calamity really did not improve my opinion of him and I have purposefully left him as my weakest hero out of sheer spite. I hated how he called Link lucky because I had felt he had not changed at all. However, when Revaliâs soul was freed, this time I could recognize the growth heâd had due to his death and being imprisoned for 100 years and I felt a little less antagonistic towards him. Heâs still not my favorite, but I lost some of the vitriol I had before.Â
Iâm getting ready to finish Breath of the Wild now and I feel a lot more confident about that ending. Do I really remember Zelda? Not exactly in a pure canon way, but I now have such a level of understand on everything that it feels right to answer that question with a resounding yes. I will probably cry when I get there, but itâll feel a lot more personal to me now.Â
In short, if you want a Try Not to Cry Challenge, after you finish Age of Calamity, play Breath of the Wild again. Age of Calamity gives you context and makes the Calamity and the effects of it so much more painful and the ending that much more bittersweet. At least, in my opinion.Â
#i did not expect to cry#hyrule warrior spoilers#age of calamity#breath of the wild spoilers#breath of the wild#link#princess zelda#the legend of zelda#botw#urbosa#botw daruk#daruk#mipha#revali
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Rewatching Trollhunters season 3 while waiting for Wizards đ
Here we go, last season... not sure if I'm ready to rewatch this đ±
Thinking about it, so much needs to happen here! How did they put everything within 13 episodes without making it look rushed?? This show is WOW
After this thinking that Blinky apparently is not with Jim in Wizards and is probably worried sick breaks my Trollhunters shaped heart đđ
Bless Anton Yelchin for his phenomenal work on this show
I love the way they handled the change between his voice and Emile Hirsch in the episode with the Gravesand. I ADORE when a change of voice actor is handled in a smart, thoughtful way đ
Bad Coffee is one amazing episode, it hit me as a filler at first, then slowly became just another meaningful character development point. A very big one, between Steve and Coach Lawrence's bond, Mrs. Janeth viewpoint about teaching (I think her confidence got better, another reason why I believe she took position with Senor Uhl in the Krel vs Seamus situation in 3Below), Strickler still loving Barbara. Like, secondary characters get such a development it's magic đȘđȘ
Okay, this
I didn't notice at first đ A fanfiction would be great to show the moment Steve gave it to him. Did he craft it himself? That would be even better! đ
Reason number 138 why I can't wait to see Morgana again in Wizards: Morgana possessing Claire is kind of hilarious really, I wanna see how she is... or she was? Still not exactly sure how it will play out đ€
Also she seems so proud of her "I have many names" đ
Forgot to mention NotEnrique, freaking, he's got such a development since the beginning and he is so lovable!!! đđđ
The parents finding out and being supportive, absolutely amazing. I genuinely can't name another show with something like this, it's usually all about staying in the dark until the very end. Barbara is an MVP in this episode, and in general đȘđȘ
Also I appreciate how much is evident that Jim did train a lot, like he never could have done some of the moves he is pulling this season, and sometimes he is even without amulet. Proud đ
I'M AM
NOT OKAY đđđ
And after seeing him die again I am on such a high level of not ready to see Draal again in Wizards I don't know what do to with myself, Seklos and Gaylen HELP ME đ±đ±
Now that I rewatch it, in general Merlin doesn't bother me... at first. BUT, I hated how he kept dissing Blinky and Strickler đĄ
Just by this you know this woman will end up dating a deadly general đ
I've decided to give a personal rewatch of 3Below without making a post... mostly because I rewatched it too much on my own đ
Also I think I don't have many interesting thoughts besides KREL YOU BEAUTIFUL BABY ILY đđđ
Speaking of, another thing I love about this show is that you think you know a character, then you actually see their point of view and BOOM, everything changes
We saw Krel from the Trollhunters' point of view and without shame I thought he was super annoying... now if anything happens to him in Wizards I'll kill everyone in this room and then myself đ
This consideration actually makes me curious about Douxie, because yes it bothers me a bit that he seems to be flirting with Claire, but I know that he will be one HECK of a character judging from @tenyai's beautiful arts đ So definitely looking forward to that
Mm, I noticed that In Good Hands does show similarities between Aja and Krel and Merlin: they are all very unusual, kinda sounds like they know better (more for Krel and Merlin at least) and definitely seems like they haven't been out much. Besides this kinda forshadowing that the Tarrons are not from this planet, it also makes me wonder what we will find out about Merlin since Wizards is a time travel
He is also... kind of coherent? He doesn't really lie about what he wants and what he thinks it's right. He justifies what he is sure needs to be done by the "centuries" he went through, and feels like he is above everyone. That is something very clear
I'm not saying Merlin is not a jerk. HE IS. AND HE IS SO ANNOYING LIKE HE IS ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT GUILT OR SORROW FOR POOR JIM
This is not a justification for what he did to Jim and how he did it, this is merely what I think might be his point of view. But I do like his character a lot. And I'm looking forward to what exactly turned him into the man he is now. Maybe to see the pure heart he said to have had once?
Man the transformation scene is breathtaking. The ultimate act of Jim the best boy, everything in order to protect the one he loves đđđ
THE SUPPORT JIM GETS FROM HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY, I LOVE THIS SHOW SO FREAKING MUCH đđđ
Kind of hilarious that while all this mess happens, there are two extraterrestrial children running away from dictatorship and trying not to get Earth destroyed by an evil general. Poor Arcadia đ
The story of this show is so good sometimes I forget the animation is AWESOME SAUCE đđđđ
If you're asking yes, I did cheer when Morgana was beating the crap out of Merlin, sue me đ€·ââïž
Also I somehow imagine Blinky having this pic in an imaginary wallet
Just showing it to everyone being like "This is my son, he is the coolest, I love him"... and he would don't lie to me đ
ANGOT ROT OMG HIS ENTIRE ARC WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING
It feels weird rewatching the finale of Trollhunters knowing that in two days Wizards will make this amazing story continue. I know 3Below did continue it already, but we'll see the original trio again!! Doing stuff!! STUFF!! đ€©đ€©đ€©
Alas, the rewatch is over. I'll forever be sorry for those who haven't watched this amazing show, because it really is wonderful đ
So... here we go towards our final part of the trilogy, the videogame in September, and the surprises coming after. I feel like we're not at the end after all đ
Well my friends, see you on the other side!
#i love this show#so much#wizards: tales of arcadia#wizards#toa trollhunters#trollhunters#tales of arcadia#toa#jim lake jr#claire nunez#toby domzalski#barbara lake#walter strickler#trollhunters strickler#blinkous galadrigal#aaarrgh
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AWAE 2x9 rewatch: thoughts and reactions
This review is dedicated to Dalila Bela, who turns 19 today. Happy birthday!
After a long wait, there she is at last - Muriel Stacy, decorating her new home with potato stamps. What a lovely way to show she is a kindred spirit. Sheâs basically like an older Anne.Â
Marilla and Anne utter the same words upon passing Miss Stacy, who is cycling in the opposite direction at top speed -Â âMy heavens!â - except their intonations are so different. Marilla is shocked at the sight of the unconventional-looking stranger, while Anne is in awe of her, and especially the fact that sheâs wearing trousers. I donât think the women of Avonlea, be they progressive mothers or not, wonât be so fascinated with her, though.
And again, Miss Stacy acts exactly like an older Anne, going on and on about potatoes and tardiness and motorbikes before sheâs even caught a breath. I canât wait for Anne to finally meet her. And that concludes the cold open.Â
I donât care what Prissy and Josie, or their mothers, say about Miss Stacy- Iâm with Anne on this one. They shouldnât judge their new teacher before theyâve met her up close. Sheâll warm her way into their hearts, Iâm sure. I actually know it for a fact.
I simply cannot believe Billy brought a gun to school and is openly proclaiming heâs about to kill an animal, a living being, with it. And itâs not just any animal - itâs the fox, Anneâs fox. What has it done to him that heâs so personally violent towards it?
Again, Gilbert alone is the voice of reason (unlike season 3 Gilbert, who is the most confused individual Iâve ever seen and has the eyebrows to prove it). âThereâs no fox here, so how about you put the gun away?â Itâs as if he speaks for me.Â
Who does Billy think he is, calling his teacher âlittle ladyâ? Heâs lucky sheâs not Phillips, otherwise he wouldnât get away with such disrespectful behaviour.Â
Once again Anne uses the exact same words as someone else, but with a different intonation. Prim and proper Tillieâs âOh my goodness!â is one of disapproval (which sheâs not to blame for, thatâs probably just what her parents have taught her), while Anneâs is an expression of pure admiration and fascination. [Side note: Letâs put things into perspective, though - what would you think if your new teacher showed up to school with no bra on, on her first day at that? I donât really know what to think of corsets anymore, so Iâm not sure how to take this. You tell me.]
What, now Matthew and Jerry, two of my favourite AWAE men, want to catch the fox too? I understand itâs stealing peopleâs chickens, but hey, a fox must eat too, and itâs not like it can get its food in another way.
Whatâs happening to Bash? Is farm life not his speed? Iâm worried about him, I hope heâs alright.Â
For this next scene, the introductions, Iâll insert a note from when I first watched this episode. I notice Iâve been doing that a lot lately, but well, it seems Iâve got quite a lot of first impression notes on this season written down, so why not make them public now, here where itâs appropriate? Here goes:
And, just as I was fascinated, things got dramatically bad. Anne wouldnât stop saying quite private things about everyone who spoke, and Miss Stacy reprimanded her for spreading gossip, resulting in her being unable to come up with words to describe herself (the method used for introductions was everyone would use words starting with their initials to describe themselves. I really wanted to know what Anne would have said about herself, as nobody else seemed to struggle much with the exercise (although I myself always do when asked to do it).
Alright, now Iâd like to add something to this. When Ruby describes herself as âromanticâ and looked for a G word for âGillisâ, I could swear she thought of a certain young man right to her left - heck, she even looked at him before quickly blurting out âgirlâ. Well, yeah, she is a girl. But sheâs also defining herself through Gilbert too much. I hope she knows how much potential she has beyond him. Besides, he only has eyes for Anne. I wish weâd got another season so we could see how far Ruby and Moody go. I liked them, but we saw too little of them together. #renewannewithane
Ok, but... it was like Miss Stacy just finished Anneâs sentence. âRuby has a crush on...â âGilbert Blythe?â Well, yes, but thatâs not what weâre talking about. See, Iâm noticing details I did not deem significant enough to note down the first time around. This is what rewatches are for.Â
Rachel Lynde needs Marillaâs help. Thatâs a first. Oh, well, itâs rumours, what else. Sheâs against Miss Stacy. I really donât like her right now.Â
No, seriously, what is happening to Bash?
Of course, what the mothers of Avonlea fail to see is that, female or not, trousers or nor, corset or not, Miss Stacy is much more capable of teaching the young minds of Avonlea school than her predecessor. Or at least sheâs much more willing to educate them properly. Of course sheâll tutor Gilbert. And Anne will soon find her way into her good graces. I hope. Nay, I know it.Â
âAppalling, stupid, clueless...â this is what I hoped wouldnât happen, but it happened anyway. Now Anne is beating herself up for the scrape she got into by complete accident. Gosh, I hope someone can fix this.
From my old notes:Â And again, Cole knows how to fix things, and he does so, brilliantly I would say. Also, with the way he goes out into the nature, raises his hands and shouts out âCome to me, Muse!â, I can totally see him being a pagan... and whoâs to say heâs not? I mean, Anne has the makings of one too, remember the Beltane ritual in season 3?
Rachelâs only job seems to be to stick her nose in other peopleâs business. She has no right to go around asking about Murielâs marital status and whether she wants to be an old maid. But as anyone whoâs watched the full series knows, this will be carried over into season 3.
Seriously, Rachel right now reminds me of Anne earlier with all the gossip, and I see now why she (Anne) made such a bad impression on Miss Stacy. Unfortunately, she (Miss Stacy) cannot assign Rachel Lynde an essay.
Anneâs mind is all taken over by the fox... so much that sheâs fallen asleep over her papers... and now, disaster after disaster lead to a small fire, which grows into a bigger fire. If Anneâs essay burns in it, Iâll literally cry. I know a thing or two about lost work. Why, half of this very post I had to write a second time after my computer decided to restart the page with the unsaved draft open. But hey, this is not about me.Â
So I guess theyâve figuratively and literally forced Miss Stacy into a corset. Thatâs sad. But I see sheâs not giving up on her unique identity.
Oh, great, now the found brothers are fighting. I guess it turns out Bashâs problem is heâs inexperienced in farming and he needs help, but Gilbert is pursuing his own future now and doesnât seem to care all that much. I feel bad for Bash. But we know Gilbert will stay at least another year and Bash will figure farming out by the time he has to leave.Â
Ah, I see Anne is feigning sickness so as not to go back to Miss Stacy after yesterdayâs fiasco. Well, Iâd do the same if I were her, but Iâm not quite sure thatâs the best solution to the problem at hand. Marillaâs suggestion seems much better to me. Going together so Anne has someone to vouch for her... reasonable and concerned like a true mother.
I see Bash is trying to figure out horse-riding on his own. It looks tough. But he can manage it.Â
Itâs a shame Jerry wonât help Anne with the trap... but well, he was promised good money, and his large family is so poor... the ends sort of justify the means here. Still, Matthew is not in the right to plan on skinning the fox for money.Â
Gosh, things are heating up between Shirbert. Anne seems to be all the more determined to find and develop her vocation now that Gilbert is working on his. And he doesnât seem to care much about her feelings right now, being so busy studying and all. But I wonder how this whole thing really makes him feel.Â
Hey, there are the potato light bulbs! The first science lessons Miss Stacy teaches the class. And they never forget it. How inspiring!
Hey, I just realised something. In her ramble in the cold open, Miss Stacy mentioned that you can use potatoes for a lot of purposes... well, hereâs the second one she demonstrates in this episode. Stamps and... lighting a bulb.
Marilla, who took up Miss Stacyâs offer to stay and observe, seems to be a new supporter of the young teacher. See? If people only gave her a chance and saw what she does and how she does it, she might soon be a hit in town. But no, some choose to condemn her instead, as if sheâs ever done them wrong. Just like the fox. Except the fox stole some chickens. Miss Stacy is perfectly innocent.Â
And... poor clumsy Moody had to ruin everything just as Rachel and the ProgressiveTM mothers came in. Too bad. But hey, itâs him who recalled this very first lesson later on when they were graduating, isnât it?Â
Hey, Bash has gone to see Mary. Things are getting serious. I guess.
Alas, the mothers are not too pleased with how the lesson turned out. Luckily, Marilla was there to see the whole thing from beginning to end and can support Miss Stacy in front of the rest of the women. And it seems Gilbert and Anne are ready to step in and defend her as well. On their second day with her. That speaks volumes.Â
Oh, so heâs visiting Mary to talk about Gilbert. But he also talks about himself and his idea to go deep into farming. His story is truly an inspiring one. And also, heâs staying with Mary for supper. As I said, things are getting serious.Â
Anne decided to show Miss Stacy the story clubhouse... nice. But sheâs made another blunder in doing so. Sheâs forgotten Cole is hiding there from his parents. And now theyâll force him into farming again... as my younger self said when I saw this for the first time, âthis episode is one of the most devastatingly dramatic ones of this series â ever. What a way to lead up to the season finaleâ. I think that says it all.Â
Ah, yes, nobody told Gilbert that Bash wouldnât be home for supper this evening. Too bad... now heâll think Bash has run away on him. Meanwhile, Bash is having a good time with Mary. But thereâs no way for Gilbert to know that. How unfortunate.Â
One shot, one gunshot and... wait, it seems the fox has not been killed yet. But the poor clubhouse... Billy is the worst person in this series, hands down. I canât even. Iâm crying. Real tears. Right now.
See, Anneâs blunder was not telling Miss Stacy about Cole. After all, she swore her to secrecy. But it was a blunder nonetheless because Miss Stacy takes her duty as a teacher more seriously than her promise to Anne. If only sheâd known the full story... Cole might have been saved.Â
Miss Stacy riding with Harmon Andrews... I wonder what Rachel, aka the Avonlea yellow pages, will make of that.Â
âSometimes you just have to use your imagination.â This is powerful because it comes from Marilla. Also, perhaps this is the hidden sense of humour that L.M.Montgomery talked about in the book, which Iâm currently rereading.Â
I canât, I just canât. Now Cole feels betrayed by Anne, and Anne is devastated about the clubhouse.... and the women of Avonlea are against Miss Stacy, and Matthew disappointed Anne... can nobody be happy in this episode? Itâs truly tragical and devastating. I should not have opted for rewatching it right before going to bed, on a school night at that. How will I sleep now?
Gosh, Cole really has had it now. Iâm not saying Billy Andrews did not deserve it (he did and he does), but violence is never the answer. Still, I guess itâs justified now. Too bad it will probably lead to even more trouble for Cole. See, even heâs scared of what heâs done. He surely didnât mean for it to go that far. And to the creators - this is no way to end an episode.
Letâs sum up: we meet Miss Stacy; intonation matters; the fox is in danger; Billy the bully has a weapon now - how bad can things get?; Bash struggles with farming; Anne accidentally makes a bad impression on a kindred spirit; appalling, stupid, clueless;Â âCome to me, Muse!â; Rachel Lynde sticks her nose into things that are not her business - what else is new; potato light bulbs; Bash visits Mary; the clubhouse is destroyed; Anne accidentally betrays Cole, leading to dramatic consequences; a disastrous ending to a devastating episode.
#anne with an e#awae#anne shirley cuthbert#gilbert blythe#diana barry#ruby gillis#prissy andrews#billy andrews#moody spurgeon#muriel stacy#marilla cuthbert#matthew cuthbert#rachel lynde#renewannewithane#renew anne with an e#saveannewithane#save anne with an e#jnk#jnk watches awae#awae 2x9#queue're bigger than that
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 5
1. Favorite character of this season?
Anya, I love her arc this season. She's just kind of been... there, in season 4, running along. No one really acknowledged the demon thing, there was no real bonding between Anya and everyone, she was just there. This season, finding her place in the world? Working at the Magic Box, then her in The Body â I mean seriously, her confronting mortality like that, I love it. I love her growth.
2. Outstanding minor character (positive or negative)?
Dawn. Sure, technically you could argue she's a âmain characterâ, however... she's barely even a character, she's a plot-device so that really qualifies her as a minor character for me.
I always disliked Dawn, even when I was a teen myself. With some things, perspective shifts when you grow older, but Dawn just... always sucked. As a teen, I found her to be a cringey parody of the teen girl experience and now as an adult I still think that this is the peak of what a middle-aged man thinks the teen girl experience is. She's a cheap, one-dimensional caricature of a teenager.
She is a whiny brat, she constantly acts like âno one sees the real meâ, she becomes a kleptomaniac to try and gain attention, she acts like no one loves her even though everyone constantly fawn over her every chance they got, she is a spoiled little brat that is completely unappreciative of all the things she gets. It's like they crammed every single shallow teen stereotype into this one character, making her a very one-dimensional character. Which is a bafflement considering Willow, Xander and Buffy started out as teenagers but they were always fully fleshed out characters with actual personalities. Heck, Cordelia was the most stereotypical character in the teenage years but even she got more depth and individuality.
Though I'd like to point out that while, as a character, Dawn is incredibly obnoxious, I do like her as what she is â a plot device. The way she creates new dynamics among the Scoobies, how other characters play off her and grow on her existence, the villain-plot she triggers.
3. Favorite character dynamic?
Too many, honestly. I adore the way Tara-Buffy grow in this season. Generally the friction between Spike and the Scoobies. Spike and Dawn in particular. The Buffy-Dawn dynamic too â Dawn being such a blank slate of Teen AngstTM allows for the other characters to shine in comparison. They get a new dynamic here, through the New Kiddo that puts them in perspective. Caring, gentle. The sisters-angle is a new one for Buffy and I do love her as a big sister, even if I wished her retconned sister had like... an actual personality.
4. Favorite canon romantic ship?
Spike/Buffy. Sue me, I'm Spuffy trash. Always been. The way he cares for her, the things he's willing to do. The little things. The self-sacrificial side, how he drops everything to help her whenever she needs him. And, I know, I give other ships flag for things equal or less in comparison to some of the shit that's happened/happening between Spike/Buffy, but see that's where taste comes into play. Liking and disliking things is just... all about that taste and tastes differ. For me, Spike/Buffy hits all the right spots. I love them so much.
5. Least favorite canon romantic ship?
Riley/Buffy. Once again. Seriously, this is just such a bad relationship. From the get-go she constantly put herself down to lift him up. Holding back her powers â which, of course, because otherwise she'd snap him in half during sparring â but pretending that's the max. She is always going out of her way to make him feel special and useful.
And he goes and gets fed on by a vampire and has the audacity to blame it on Buffy, because Buffy doesn't make him feel wanted enough. Even though she continuously tries making him feel important. It's ridiculous. Complaining that she didn't think about calling him when her mom went to the hospital, like she didn't have something else in her mind there? Setting her an ultimatum that she has to give him a reason to stay. After he essentially cheats on her, by sneaking around with vampires and letting them feed on him for the rush.
Now to go and leave with his little military buddies once more. After everything the military has done to him...? Their relationship was so bad for Buffy.
6. Favorite episode?
The Body. This is the singularly best episode... ever. In all television I've ever seen. This episode is overwhelmingly good. Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting is overwhelming in this episode. The choice to exclude music entirely, not even sad ones. How silence is allowed to longer, how unnerving the background noises become due to this silence.
The writing too, of course. Anya's words about death and mortality are so intense, they'll always stick with me. And not just her. Xander, Willow, Dawn, how they all handle this in a different way.
The choice alone that Joyce dies from something so fundamentally human, something no one could have prevented, something Buffy couldn't have fought. And â yes, that reaches ahead some â but the fact that the next episode also serves to have this unfold. It's not just âdeath and move onâ. It's being dealt with, it's being digested, it's being taken seriously.
Too many writers feel the need to fun things up when it's getting serious, because they are afraid to lose their audience if there isn't a joke every five minutes. There is not a single joke in that entire episode. This show is funny as hell, but they know when not to joke. There is nothing to be made light here, this is serious, they are truly suffering. They know how important that is.
I've seen this episode surely a dozen times now. I cry so much every single time. Not just once. There are so many well-written, well-acted and well-executed moments in this episode. It's brilliant TV-making. It encapsulates what's so brilliant about this show overall; the human element, suffering, pain, dealing with pain, the balance between seriousness and humor and knowing when not to use humor.
7. Least favorite episode?
Episode two Real Me. It's the Dawn introduction episode and I've made clear what I dislike about Dawn; this episode introduces it all in the most teen angst cliche possible â writing a diary entry about how no one sees you for who you are and like no one could ever actually understand you.
8. Favorite Monster Of The Week?
...Dracula. I still... I consider that episode a fever-dream. It's one of the ones I opt to forget about whenever enough time has passed since my last rewatch because it just... doesn't fit into this show at all, it feels like a whacky filler arc in an anime, or a one-shot comic spin-off. But it's fun.
9. Least favorite Monster Of The Week?
This season doesn't actually have much of those. There's 4 or 5, depending on how you'd count, out of those 22, because this season is very streamlined about the Big Bad, more so than previous seasons were, and it is also very focused on the human issue â on Joyce's sickness and then her death. Out of those few, I guess the âlet's split Xander in halfâ demon from episode 3 was my least favorite. It was... boring and due to this season's streamlining the fact that this was the most fillery filler episode felt a bit out of place, really.
10. Rate the overarching villain!
SO FREAKING GOOD.
Glory is a truly glorious villain. She's a god. But she is so â so frantic, so manic. She is fun to watch as a villain. The sheer size of the threat too. Which, it figures. There's always an escalation of threat.
(We will get back to that in the season 6 review though.)
Glory may just be my favorite Big Bad on this show, which only adds to how much I love this season. It's one of my favorites. Granted, I have a lot of favorite seasons.
Bonus: Other thoughts?
I love this season so very, very much. The human element, the growth, the villain-plot, the relationship developments. It's an incredible season. I'll get back to this when I finish my rewatch and actually do my ranking of seasons, but I am rating each episode â 1 to 5 â and getting the point-average, to have a more factual look at how much I loved a season. This one is through the roof, it scored an entire 1,5 more in average than season 4 did. There's only one episode in this that I gave a 1 to, but there are so many 4s.
That ending, to truly kill off your main character like that. So many gut-punches â but deserved gut-punches, not the ones that come out of nowhere and only serve shock-value.
I greatly enjoy and love seasons 1 to 3, but this season â this season reminds me why Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the best damn TV show ever created.
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i obviously did not think this through
So the other day I thought it would be fun to make up my own Essential Rewatch List leading up to 15.01, and boy howdy was I ever wrong! This post is the result of that. Instead of a conveniently streamlined list of important episodes for meta and character development highlights, instead have this 15k word probably-useless behemoth...
I debated not even posting this on tumblr because itâs just so massive. But heck this was a lot of work so here it is.
For reference purposes, I refer a lot to my rewatch notes, but mostly in later seasons. If youâd rather just go to the beginning of my tag for the most recent rewatch, 1.01 is the last post on this page, and then you can just continue chronologically from there:
https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/tagged/s14+hellatus+rewatch/chrono/page/3
If you want to read more about a specific episode, every singe episode is filed on my blog with the episode tag. For example, all posts about 1.01 are tagged like this:
https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-1.01
To find a different episode, just plug in the correct episode number and voila.
If youâd prefer to skip an episode but donât fully recall it and just want a quick refresher, every episode is linked on this page of the superwiki. Those links will serve you up a tidy synopsis as well as link you to the transcripts for every episode (linked at the bottom of each episode page):
http://www.supernaturalwiki.com/Category:Episodes
I started out making reasonable, logical entries for every episode, and then... kinda went off the rails toward the end... apologies for how chaotic this might read. Most of it was typed off the top of my head, and I havenât edited it so apologies for any errors. Under a cut because FIFTEEN. THOUSAND. WORDS.
Good luck.
1.01 Pilot Obviously this episode sets up everything that comes after, and gives us a platform from which to understand exactly how the showâs mythology will eventually evolve. It also establishes a baseline for understanding Sam and Dean and their personal character evolutions and family dynamics. Probably essential viewing in any rewatch...
1.02 Wendigo Like so many early episodes, we learn more about Dean and Sam, and the missing father theyâre searching for. And here we get âSaving people, hunting things, the family businessâ that becomes the motto of the Winchesters.
1.03 Dead in the Water
Sam is shocked to learn that Deanâs good with kids, and how Dean was traumatized as a 4-year-old. Like, dude, he practically raised you, Sam⊠makes sense heâs good with kids...
1.04 Phantom Traveler Specky the Wonderdemon, who was terrifyingly beyond their pay grade at the time. Kinda hilarious in retrospect⊠(also first use of Deanâs homemade EMF meter)
1.05 Bloody Mary Aah, Sam is keeping secrets from Dean (about his psychic powers and that heâd foreseen Jessâs death), and we learn ghosts can be attached to items that must be destroyed to banish the ghost.
1.06 Skin ooh Dean, take off that shirt yes⊠no⊠wait⊠stop⊠you can stop with the shirt you donât⊠no please put your skin back on⊠(no, seriously, we learn A LOT about Dean from the shapeshifter, and so does Sam⊠Thereâs a heck of a lot Dean keeps buried. Also a reminder that shifter episodes tend to involve these sorts of buried secret things for Dean. Also Deanâs first âlegal deathâ even if not actual death)
1.07 Hook Man Another ghost attached to an object, Samâs first flirtation with anyone after Jessâs death, and Deanâs proficiency and innovation in hunting techniques continues to surprise Sam-- with the first use of salt shells for a shotgun.
1.08 Bugs Oh look more first season talking of their different experiences and memories of childhood and especially their very different relationships with John. If you can ignore the bug-related portions of the episode. Also I think still the only time in canon Sam and Dean have used umbrellas.
1.09 Home
Well if you absolutely need an in-depth exploration of the Winchester Family Dynamic as it stood in s1, this is a good baseline episode. Maryâs guilt expressed by her ghost in the house where she died, more exploration of Samâs psychic powers, and we first see John on screen in the âpresent day.â Sam also learns it was Dean who carried him out of the house when he was a baby, and uses the exact same line John told Dean in this episode (take your brother outside as fast as you can and donât look back)
1.10 Asylum So much of s1 was Dean getting orders from John and⊠following them. We get an interesting glimpse inside Samâs head (having heard some of Deanâs dark secrets in 1.06) and via ghost interference Sam says some pretty bitter things to Dean (and wouldâve shot him if Dean had been dumb enough to hand him a loaded gun. lucky Deanâs smarter than that). But now we have their baseline issues laid out on the table for us.
1.11 Scarecrow Sam is sick of taking orders from John and decides to go find John on his own rather than following another order. He meets Meg hitchhiking, and she tries to lure him in. Luckily Sam realizes Dean is in trouble and goes back to save him. They decide to stick together again. Of course.
1.12 Faith Here we go⊠the first moment the show realized it had the potential to be something bigger than a MotW horror/fantasy road trip. Deanâs first brush with capital-D Death (in this case, a reaper). The first time in canon anyone suggests that Dean was âchosen by the Lordâ for a greater purpose.
1.13 Route 666 Racist Ghost Truck. But also the first time we learn an important difference between Dean and Sam. Sam hid everything about his life from Jess (a woman he was planning to propose to), but Dean fell in love with Cassie over a matter of weeks and told the whole truth to⊠and she dumped him for it because she thought he was lying to her. That heartbreak goes a long way toward the cavalier attitude Dean puts on toward relationships in general in the early seasons. Tell them the truth and theyâll leave you for it, but he wonât live the lie that Sam was perfectly happy to...
1.14 Nightmare Aah, more of Samâs powers (darkest timeline edition with Max), and Sam credits John for being a better father⊠until he sees Deanâs reaction to that comment⊠and we get that Dean stood between Sam and Johnâs⊠lack of parenting skills >.>
1.15 The Benders âPlain old people are often worse than monstersâ
1.16 Shadow The return of Meg, who is Up To No Good messing around with scarier demons than good old Specky was. We finally have John in the picture, but he deems it too dangerous for them to stick together, blaming their vulnerability on their care for each other, and just PFFFFFFT how often has the show kicked this notion to the curb? Give it a few more episodes⊠Sam also expresses his desire to finally get their revenge so he can leave hunting for good and go back to his ânormal life.â Dean is crushed and upset by this revelation.
1.17 Hell House Aah, the prank war :â), and the idiot ghostfacers :â). Itâs a tulpa.
1.18 Something Wicked Well if you need your heart ripped out with Dean Feels, youâre in the right place. Sam learns even more about Deanâs struggles as a kid under Johnâs orders, and what âfailureâ to obey meant to Dean-- that it once almost cost Sam his life. Sam gets a better idea of the burden of guilt and the weight of responsibility that Dean has carried for far, far too long. And Dean gets a bit of closure, finally killing the shtriga.
1.19 Provenance Sam gets to unburden himself a bit from Jessâs death and make a real connection with a wonderful woman who gets a real peek into the reality of their lives and the supernatural. Still, he walks away, and completely loses touch with her for like⊠7 years...
1.20 Dead Man's Blood Sam and Dean are sick of blindly following orders, and sick of wild goose chases. And they demand answers from John. We learn about vampires for the first time, and are finally introduced to The Colt, which will take on so much significance over the seasons that itâs RIDICULOUS. A weapon Mary heard bedtime stories about as a child, now become real to be used to get their revenge on the demon who killed her? Which will resurface again and again to either become their hope or destroy their hope⊠so much baggage attached to a single gun.
1.21 Salvation So much plotting, but the demons get their way and get the Winchesters separated and set up. Sam fails to shoot the demon with the Colt and John is captured.
1.22 Devil's Trap As the title suggests, this is where we learn about the Devilâs Trap. And see the âsingle stepâ exorcism performed (not the two-step Specky exorcism from 1.04). Dean rejects Johnâs orders and âwastesâ a bullet from the Colt to save Samâs life. But itâs still all a trap, because the demon is possessing John. Dean realizes it when John is NOT FURIOUS that he âwastedâ that bullet. It nearly kills Dean, and Sam refuses to kill John in order to kill the demon. The demon escapes, the Winchesters have one bullet left in the Colt, and then theyâre run over by a demon-possessed semi trucker.
2.01 In My Time of Dying Deanâs second brush with Death (again, reapers). He learns a lot while mostly dead that unfortunately he wonât remember for a long time (until 4.15, to be precise) about reapers and their powers (manipulating reality, etc.). Sam is desperate to save Dean, and John trades his life (and the Colt) to the Demon for Deanâs life, lays one HELL of a burden on Dean-- either save Sam, or youâll have to kill him. No further details, just that horrific fact which Dean will try to shield Sam from as long as he can, which will (as per usual) probably only make things worse when they eventually come out. Dying wishes on this show SUCK DONKEYS. Remember that when we get to 5.22...
2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown Spoiler alert: nobody actually loves a clown, especially not Sam. But heck Dean driving the soccer mom minivan is priceless. And weâre introduced to Ellen, Jo, and Ash at the Roadhouse. Sam and Dean are like⊠whoa there are actual hunter gathering places? And begin to uncover just how sheltered and weird their lives have been, even for hunters.
2.03 Bloodlust like 1.15, âsometimes people are the worst monsters,â with a generous side helping of âsometimes monsters arenât actually monsters.â Dean gets to question a lot of what he was taught his whole life by John, via the proxy of Gordon Walker and his hate-on for vampires. But Dean realizes thereâs a limit to killing everything not-human⊠the beginning of the era of âkilling what deserves to be killed and not just anyone will doâ
2.04 Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things Zombie. Considering Jackâs longtime fascination with zombies, and how 14.20 ended⊠possibly relevant thematically on several levels⊠Girl resurrected by a dude for love (she didnât love him in life⊠but was basically a âsoulless personâ as a zombie, as we will come to understand in later seasons). Itâs a terrible idea to try and bring back the dead⊠>.> But this is all wrapped up in grief and how Sam and Dean each deal with grief in their own ways, and how they donât really understand how the other is processing Johnâs death. In the MotW language of the show, zombies are about grief for the past and an inability to express it or move past it. Theyâre just emotional baggage (like shapeshifter eps reveal hidden truths and vampires are about revenge)
2.05 Simon Said More special children affected by the demon exhibit psychic powers⊠Sam is unsettled by the mind control, but unlike Dean heâs immune to it⊠Heâs scared heâs gonna turn âevilâ (and this is the first hint he gets that Dean might feel the same, based on the horrific dying promise John extracted from him that we still havenât heard, and which weâre reminded is clearly weighing on Dean anyway)
2.06 No Exit Aah, Jo. They hunt the ghost of HH Holmes with her and learn some terrible things about their fatherâs history-- that he probably played a part in Joâs fatherâs death. We also learn Dean sleeps real funny in chairs...ow it just looks so dang painful :âD (but they do comeuppance real well on the ghostâŠ)
2.07 The Usual Suspects I love this just for the structure of the episode, showing us Hunting with Sam and Dean 101-- how to avoid arrest and imprisonment edition. This just gives us so much insight into how well they work together as a team, and the degree to which theyâve developed code words and references and how they are able to craft seamless backstories in the event a hunt goes south. Itâs just⊠delightful.
2.08 Crossroad Blues The introduction of Crossroads Demons. And the first confirmation to Dean that John did indeed sell his soul for Deanâs life. Uncomfy revelation. The demon offers Dean a deal⊠his father resurrected and ten years to enjoy his company before Deanâs soul would end up in Hell instead. Dean declines. But their arsenal of weapons against demons (and the newly-introduced Hellhounds) grows to include goofer dust.
2.09 Croatoan Aah, a terrible time was had by all⊠the demons are scheming, creating demonic viruses and testing Samâs immunity to them. But of course Dean and Sam donât know that⊠Deanâs comment as they leave town: âI'm already starting to feel like this is the one that got away.â And ends on a cliffhanger of Dean about to tell Sam what John told him in 2.01.
2.10 Hunted Sam is enraged Dean would keep that from him, and wants to seek out more Special Children to learn what they can, but Dean wants to hide out and bide their time for safetyâs sake. And maybe itâs just because I was in my 30âs when I first watched this show, but Sam pulls what I still think of as one of his signature childish moves and runs away in the night. But down that path lies revenge against the demon, so of course Sam runs into vampire-adjacent Gordon Walker. We learn more about how the Winchesters work together, the secret code word âfunkytown,â and that sometimes they actually get the authorities to work in their favor. Theyâre good at manipulating the system...
2.11 Playthings Ghosts, Hoodoo that wasnât to cause harm, but to protect against the ghost. Sam gets spectacularly drunk and makes Dean promise to actually kill him if he goes bad. Yikes. We also have the âwhy does everybody think weâre gay,â and Samâs reply of âyouâre kinda trying too hard to be butchâ that Dean⊠doesnât have a response to. Sam gets to SAVE somebody (he puts a gold star in his book as proof heâs not turning evil yet)
2.12 Nightshifter This is one I recommend actually watching⊠another shapeshifter (not a mandroid), so uncomfortable truths time. Sam lies thinking heâs protecting someone from danger, but it just drives Ron into even WORSE danger (and gets him killed). Everything about this hunt goes sideways, except they do actually kill the shifter, but now theyâve got the FBI on their tails. This is Winchesters Scrambling In A Tight Spot nirvana.
2.13 Houses of the Holy The first hint that the show⊠could possibly someday include angels, but theyâre still on the BS list by the end of this episode. We learn more about Samâs belief in God, Deanâs utter disdain for the idea of God, and the fact that Mary had believed in angels. Dean witnesses something he canât explain, and Sam points in Deanâs direction when asking, âThatâs Michael, right?â
2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign From holy to Hell⊠Sam is possessed by Meg, who leads Dean on a wild goose chase and does some pretty horrific stuff with Samâs body. >.> They learn about the antipossession charms from Bobby (and probably get the tattoos shortly after this). Dean still refuses to kill Sam even when he begs (though we learn it was Meg testing or goading all of them).
2.15 Tall Tales Weâre introduced to the Trickster (whoâs even tricking them about his actual identity). Sam and Dean are completely bamboozled until Bobby shows up and points them to whatâs really going on. Thereâs a lot of fun stuff about Sam and Deanâs relationship and how they see themselves and each other in here, though. And of course we know who the trickster actually is, which makes this all so much more interesting in retrospect⊠bit of comeuppance and lessons learned.
2.16 Roadkill An interesting take on a ghost MotW episode, where one of the ghosts doesnât realize sheâs dead, and how Sam and Dean work with her to save them all.
2.17 Heart Samâs first actual sort-of-relationship with a woman. Who happens to be a werewolf⊠oops. Thereâs a lot of Sam Pain in this one, and Dean feeling like heâs failed in protecting Sam, yet again. But we are introduced to werewolves, which take on the monster meta shorthand of exposing or understanding their own inner monstrousness.
2.18 Hollywood Babylon And itâs Deanâs turn to have a little fling, where their concept of a âvacationâ is âdeal with mysterious haunting and death on a movie set.â And like in 1.12, this all comes about because some dingdong thinks he can do whatever he want. ALSO! The true monster of the week here⊠IS A WRITER. A writer who is furious that his story was trashed, and produced into something unrecognizable as his actual writing. I think this one might be HIGHLY relevant to 14.20, just for that. For the deadly tantrum of a writer who didnât get his way. (plus the brilliance of Dean going from complete noob to the best PA in the history of Hollywood in like⊠a day⊠heâs just that good :âD)
2.19 Folsom Prison Blues In doing a favor for their fatherâs marine corps buddy (so the ghost of John hangs all over this one), they deliberately get themselves arrested and put in jail. Dean fits in there just as well as he did as a PA. Heâs⊠really just that good at acting. Now I have Green Onions stuck in my head and I want a milkshake. And a donut.
2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be DJINN. aka the monster meta signal of deep personal introspection. What we learn about Dean in this episode is just heartbreaking. What he would wish for (Mary alive, Sam happily at Stanford Law School engaged to Jess) and the consequences heâs willing to endure for that to be a reality (his own lifeâs work negated, where everyone assumes heâs a drunk and a thief and a loser).Â
2.21 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part One Dean just wanted pie. Instead Sam gets taken by demons. We finally find out what the demon wanted with him (sort of). Sam plays in the Demon Hunger Games, and loses at the last moment⊠(Dean gets to feel what itâs like to have a psychic vision, and hates it)
2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two Dean sells his soul to resurrect Sam for the bargain price of one year before heâll be dragged to Hell. Well learn about Samuel Coltâs Hellgate, which can ironically be unlocked with the Magic Kill Anything Gun (the Colt). In retrospect, this was just the beginning of the larger narrative arc of the Apocalypse, where Azazel released Lilith (along with a lot of other demons) to get that party started now that they had their hooks in Deanâs soul, but hey, at least Azazel wonât live to see it all happen (Dean finally shoots him with that last Colt bullet, rendering the gun useless but at least it did what they needed it to, with an assist from Johnâs ghost).
3.01 The Magnificent Seven The Seven Deadly Sins, the introduction of Ruby and her Magical Demon Killing Knife. Dean tells Sam he canât be saved because if he breaks his deal, Sam would die.
3.02 The Kids Are Alright We meet Lisa (who Dean had a fling with years earlier) on Deanâs ârelive his greatest hits before he goes to Hell denial roadtrip.â And Dean thinks he has a son for a hot minute (he does not, but he likes the kid anyway). Weirdness with them will ensue until they finally get to move on with their lives in s6. >.> But weâre introduced to our first fairie-adjacent creatures: Changelings. And Sam learns Ruby is actually a demon...
3.03 Bad Day at Black Rock Sam lost his shoe. We learn about curse boxes, Sam and Dean learn that John kept a secret storage unit full of weird and possibly dangerous stuff. But also some relics from their childhood-- Samâs soccer trophy, Deanâs first sawed-off shotgun. And if that isnât shorthand for the fact they had very different childhoods, I donât know what is. Anyway, we meet Bela, and are entertained by good luck going bad⊠kinda the theme of s3?
3.04 Sin City more demons, we learn more about bigger plans they had for Sam, and Dean comes THIS CLOSE to actually considering letting a demon go⊠but Ruby helped Bobby make the Colt work again, and Sam kills both demons.
3.05 Bedtime Stories A pseudo-ghost of a girl trapped in a coma acts out fairy tales as a cry for help. Dean doesnât want to kiss a frog. The pie is poisoned and Dean has to fight the big bad wolf⊠I swear that all makes perfect meta sense.
3.06 Red Sky at Morning Bela again. And like the ghost theyâre hunting, we learn she got her revenge against a family member. The first use of the name âCastielâ in the spell to summon the ghostâs brotherâs ghost so they could splish-splosh each other out of existence. Thatâs⊠all you really need to know.
3.07 Fresh Blood Gordon Walker, vampires, and vengeance. Taken to an extreme. Dean basically throws himself into danger because what does he have to lose if heâs already destined for Hell? But heâs beginning to crack, and Samâs getting pretty desperate to get Dean to admit heâs scared and do something to save himself. Gordonâs desire for revenge gets him captured by a vamp and turned⊠and Sam ends up beheading him with razor wire. Yikes⊠so much for that revenge, eh?
3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas Yuletide fun and eggnog. Pagan gods they end up killing with a Christmas tree. But they do reach a personal emotional plateau with Deanâs whole âhalf a year to liveâ clock ticking down.
3.09 Malleus Maleficarum Witches. Ruby. And a demon who knows Ruby leading a coven of suburban housewives who believe theyâre just doing something harmless and not slowly selling their souls to said demon. Ruby saves Deanâs life, earning his reluctant gratitude for the time being, but not exactly his trust. This is the first we learn of Lilith, the demon apparently leading all the rest of them. Dean also learns that demons are just human souls that have been tortured in hell, and thatâs what awaits him after he dies.
3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me VERY IMPORTANT EPISODE. African Dream Root, which mimics the sort of djinn-dream experience. Dean has to literally confront his demon self. For the first time he admits he didnât deserve any of this, any of what John put him through. And he admits to Sam that he is scared of going to Hell. Oh, and Bela steals the Colt, aka the only weapon they have against Lilith.
3.11 Mystery Spot If 3.10 was about Deanâs internal trauma, 3.11 is about Samâs. The trickster puts him through a time loop forcing him to relive endless Tuesdays, and Dean dies each time and he wakes up again. The power to do this is just⊠insane. Just when they think theyâre out, Dean apparently dies âfor real,â and it drives Sam on a six month long rather terrifying revenge mission. Only to finally come face to face with the trickster again after having proven the horrific lengths heâs willing to go to in order to save Dean. Also a very, very important episode. Trapped eternally in someone elseâs looping story and forced to act it all out endlessly? Yeah. Thatâs not 14.20 at all >.>
3.12 Jus in Bello very nearly the series finale. They work with Ruby after FBI agent Henriksen discovers they werenât lying about the supernatural and they exorcise him from demon possession. Dean gives him The Talk about whatâs real, and refuses to sacrifice someone to perform Rubyâs spell that would supposedly save them all and kill all the demons. Everyone lives⊠for a little while, at least. At least Sam and Dean are marked among the dead, so they wonât have to worry about law enforcement chasing them for a while, but Ruby holds this over them (in addition to losing the Colt, if theyâd just listened to her everyone would still be alive⊠in theory⊠sheâs really good at this manipulation thing!)
3.13 Ghostfacers And interesting perspective to see what Sam and Dean would look like uncensored and unbound from the traditional episode format, and through the eyes of other people.
3.14 Long-Distance Call Crocotta. Dean is lured in by Johnâs voice over the phone, believing it might be a ghost situation, and that John may have a way to save him from Hell. Itâs all just a trap that leaves Dean feeling even more hopeless, knowing he canât expect John (or anyone else) to save him from this.Â
3.15 Time Is on My Side Sam gets desperate, and we have another mention of zombies⊠which if youâll recall, signals grief and desperation and an inability to let go of the past. Which kinda defines Samâs state right now. Dean tracks down Bela to retrieve the Colt (but itâs long gone, and Belaâs about to be dragged off by hellhounds herself). Sam tracks down Doc Benton hoping to get him to share his secret for immortality as a last desperate attempt to save Dean. But Dean doesnât want to live like that, killing other people for their organs as his would wear out, just to keep himself out of Hell. And honestly good for him because ugh.
3.16 No Rest for the Wicked Deanâs seeing through the veil, able to see demonsâ true faces, and the hellhounds that are on their way. They steal Rubyâs knife and go after Lilith, and fail completely. Deanâs dragged to Hell, and Samâs immune to Lilithâs powers.
4.01 Lazarus Rising CAS GRIPPED DEAN TIGHT AND RAISED HIM FROM PERDITION. Honestly if you donât know the meta import of this episode, this list ainât gonna help you.
4.02 Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester We really learn about the Apocalypse, the seals breaking that will eventually free Lucifer. Supposedly the angels want to stop them from breaking⊠and Dean and Cas have their first real conversation about all of this. And this is the episode my tag for God comes from, âIf you say mysterious ways, so help me I will kick your ass.â Deanâs already set himself up with Cas to defy God.
4.03 In the Beginning Angels can send you back in time! Dean sees Mary and Johnâs relationship, the death of Maryâs parents, and the fact Dean talked John into buying the Impala AND now feels responsible for having lured Azazel to Mary in the first place⊠he witnesses the deal she makes to bring John back that would effectively shape the entire narrative on both sides of this episode. The things we do for love⊠Cas told Dean to stop it, and in the end tells him he never couldâve stopped any of it. It is what it is. Itâs the first instance of Dean getting this glimpse at the bigger picture, and taking away his OWN lesson from it rather than the one he was supposed to learnâŠÂ
4.04 Metamorphosis Dean finds out about Sam working with Ruby to exorcise demons with his psychic powers. And the inevitability of falling victim to those psychic powers plays out in the MotW, the rougarou who gives into his hunger. Sam promises to give up using his powers lest that happen to him.
4.05 Monster Movie A straightforward, black and white case. A shapeshifter (so buried truths), but this one becomes Hollywood movie monsters trying to give the monsters a happy ending⊠essentially trying to rewrite his own story. Sound familiar? Dean gets the girl, at least. I love this episode.
4.06 Yellow Fever Dean vs his own fear, compounded by the fear of a ghost who infects him with ghost sickness, inflicting his own suffering on Dean. This was Dabbâs first episode, and as such, is definitely worth watching for the themes, and what Dean is truly afraid of-- i.e. of going back to Hell and being tortured by Lilith, of Sam being a yellow-eyed demon. The rest is just awkwardly fun watching Dean squirm.
4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester Sam breaks his promise not to use his powers when Samhain rises. We meet another angel- Uriel- who isnât as fond of humanity as Cas. Sam meets Cas, too. But this is truly the episode where Cas begins to differentiate himself and show his doubts in Heavenâs orders. He warns Dean that bigger tests are coming, but he doesnât know what they will be yet. This is still the true foundation stone of Casâs entire personal character arc for the entire series, when he went from maybe-three-episodes-then-dead interesting side character to 11-years-and-counting truly a Winchester.
4.08 Wishful Thinking I love this episode⊠you canât just wish for what you want without consequences. This was like primer-level Cosmic Consequences stuff.
4.09 I Know What You Did Last Summer Dean learns what Sam was up to while he was in Hell being tortured by Alastair (conveniently the antagonist in this episode), why he trusts Ruby now, and voluntarily works with Ruby to save Anna-- a woman who hears angels talking. This is effectively continued in:
4.10 Heaven and Hell Where Anna remembers that sheâd been an angel who fell from Heaven by choice, removing her grace to experience life as a human. Which⊠is kinda important a concept to know exists⊠>.> Heaven (and Cas) judge her harshly for that choice, and yet⊠thereâs just too much just go read my rewatch notes from this episode at the very least.
4.11 Family Remains They think itâs a ghost but itâs not a ghost. All you need to know is this is the episode they wrote on a dare to see if they could write an episode that the network would refuse to air ever again. They were actively trying to write the worst possible episode they could imagine, and this is the result.
4.12 Criss Angel Is a Douchebag
Sam had a thing for stage magic as a kid, but now he runs around with a demon. The concept of âwill we be in this life until we die or it kills usâ and âwhat would life even look like to us if we were actually to grow oldâ is batted around for possibly the first time.Â
4.13 After School Special
From contemplating retirement to flashbacks to high school. Another look at Sam and Dean and who they are as people, and how their very different childhoods shaped them into who they are now.
4.14 Sex and Violence Deanâs Siren was a dude. (oh, and the director of this episode? whose last episode was 6.15? is directing 15.03, so maybe worth a peek...)
4.15 Death Takes a Holiday Dean vs Death again. The return of Tessa the reaper from 2.01, and Dean finally remembers. They save Tessa, save a seal, and capture Alastair, but discover theyâve been manipulated into doing it by Cas/Heaven. Heaven loves its manipulations⊠Pamela the psychic warns Sam that what heâs doing, despite his intentions, is not good. He ignores that advice. At the very least read my rewatch notes for this one. >.>
4.16 On the Head of a Pin There is absolutely too much going on in this episode to sum up in this post. Read my rewatch notes, read the superwiki, watch the episode. This one is huge, for Dean and for Cas.
4.17 It's a Terrible Life Heavenâs Grand Manipulator, Zachariah. Or he thinks heâs pretty grand⊠heâs really not all that good at his job
4.18 The Monster at the End of This Book CHUCK. The inevitability of destiny, or at least his attempt to write that version. In this episode, all of Chuckâs plans go according to plan⊠until Dean drags him back into the story and forces a different ending. (and we learn Samâs demon blood drinking is so distasteful to Chuck he didnât even include it in his books) Remind you of anything? Like, oh, 4.22, or 5.22, or 11.23, or 14.20? Yes, this episode is the key to everything.
4.19 Jump the Shark Since Adam will reportedly be back in s15, watch this one and understand Dabbâs exact intention in creating the character in the first place-- literally as a decoy who never existed with any narrative weight of his own, as a ghoul (a creature that feeds on the dead and takes their shape). I wrote about this one recently, so I wonât waste space repeating myself here.
4.20 The Rapture CAAAAAAAASSSSSS. He gets dragged back to heaven for disobedience, and is tortured back into obedience. Obviously this one is huge for Cas as a character, and for Deanâs relationship with him. But they both learn about why Samâs powers were getting stronger, and are not pleased...
4.21 When the Levee Breaks Samâs detoxing from demon blood until Cas lets him escape. Cas rounds up Anna and has her sent back to Heaven for her own round of torture/reprogramming. And Dean and Sam have her Big Falling Out that drives Sam to do the horrific⊠however good his intentions are, what heâs doing is still bad.
4.22 Lucifer Rising The grand manipulation is unveiled. Dean talks an angel into rebelling from Heaven to stop the apocalypse, but theyâre still not in time to stop Sam from breaking the world. Chuck⊠is less than fully helpful, despite Cas literally volunteering his own life to protect Chuck. Pretty sure this is a critical episode for rewatching. Chuckâs mostly pleased his story is going to plan.
5.01 Sympathy for the Devil Ugh, no we do not have sympathy for the devil on this blog. Chuck recruits his biggest fan to deliver cryptic messages to Sam and Dean. Dean learns heâs Michaelâs true vessel, destined to be his tuxedo for the apocalypse. Cas returns without having a clue how heâs even alive. And itâs all Chuckâs doing⊠even if we donât know that yet.
5.02 Good God, Y'All
The apocalypse is in full swing, and the Horsemen are coming out to play. In this case, War manipulating people into destroying each other. Cas sets out on his mission to find God and convince him to help stop this mess. We learn Deanâs amulet had the power to find God all this time, and theyâd never known it until now. Convenient!
5.03 Free to Be You and Me Just watch it already, you know you want to. Defines Dean and Casâs relationship for years to come, though. Plus Sam learns heâs Luciferâs destined vessel. Iâm sure that will all go fineâŠÂ
5.04 The End I know most people will disagree with me on this, but the only useful meta takeaway from this episode is the same as one from 4.17: Dean doesnât learn the lessons heâs âsupposed to.â He makes his own lessons. There is literally zero other relevant information to take from this episode, aside from it being Cas who saves him from it. Watch if you enjoy it⊠but literally nothing about it is any more real than the djinn dream in 2.20 or the dreamroot dream in 3.10, and itâs all been rendered irrelevant by later canon anyway. Especially by 14.20 and that moment Dean refused to play Chuckâs game anymore.
5.05 Fallen Idols More John baggage disguised as an old god. Worth watching just to hear poor Consuela the housekeeper wail about Abraham Lincoln killing Mr. Hill, and Sam being attacked by Ghandi.
5.06 I Believe the Children Are Our Future Dabbâs second gag on the fandom⊠the antichrist. Dean admitting Cas is his friend. :â)
5.07 The Curious Case of Dean Winchester Dean gets to be an old man for a day.
5.08 Changing Channels Just watch this one, read about it, whatever. Refresh yourself on it. The trickster is unmasked as the Archangel Gabriel, and heâs attempting his own ploy to force Sam and Dean to âplay their roles.â They convince him theyâre not gonna do that, but to break out of the endless loop of literal television shows heâs forcing them to act out for his own entertainment (and sort of to teach them that lesson), theyâve got to do more than just refuse to play their roles, theyâve got to best him at the game. Kinda like theyâre probably gonna have to do with Chuck in s15.Â
5.09 The Real Ghostbusters Oh, speaking of Chuck⊠here have a Supernatural fan convention, and a key piece of information on what actually happened to the Colt after Bela stole it. But most importantly, Dean gets to yell about how much he doesnât appreciate the story of Supernatural.
5.10 Abandon All Hope⊠They find the Colt, and Crowley, and discover it never wouldâve worked against Lucifer anyway, and then promptly lose the Colt again. Lucifer gets to stare down Cas and Cas doesnât blink, Megâs hellhounds kill Jo and Ellen, and really everythingâs kinda bleak. Lucifer raises and binds Death.
5.11 Sam, Interrupted WRAITH, aka a monster that uses mind altering venom to âcookâ her victims to perfection, so like a djinn and other mind-altering, perception-altering creatures, when they sneak up on you unawares, things get⊠complicated. Massive insight into the essential character of Sam and Dean.
5.12 Swap Meat Body Swap. That one time Sam was actually Gary.
5.13 The Song Remains the Same More time travel, Samâs second resurrection, we finally meet Michael face to (Young John Winchesterâs) face. Mikey seems pretty confident in his âdestiny.â Deanâs second warning to Young Mary about her death is wiped from her mind. Contemplation of Cosmic Consequences: itâs better never to be born if it means stopping the Apcoalypse-- clarified in 12.23-present that⊠nope, definitely worse. âTeam Free Willâ coined. Watch this one. Itâs the stage on which all the s12-present Family Dynamics will be set.
5.14 My Bloody Valentine We learn Heaven set up John and Mary, that they couldnât stand one another before Cupids intervened and made them âthe perfect couple.â Iâve written a lot about the effect the Horseman Famine had on all of them-- especially Dean and Cas, with the reminder that s5 was the season of âlol nopeâ to the category of beings attempting to manipulate all of them, including the Horsemen. Important just for all of that (and Edlundâs confirmation that Casâs cravings were actually his own, and that my read that he was being a shifty liar blaming it on Jimmy was correct-- Cas does have his own human cravings, going all the way back to this point, that he was ashamed of, or terrified of, or both...) As well as Samâs struggle against demon blood addiction, and his fear of and gradual acceptance and internalization of his own powers)
5.15 Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid ZOMBIES. ZOMBIE PIE. JODY MILLS. As Iâve said above, zombies are grief and unresolved baggage from the past, and in this episode, the denial was so strong even the normies in town were willing to accept the return of their dead loved ones, clinging to them until they âturnedâ and devoured them⊠the Mary parallels, Karenâs talk with Dean about what we do for the people we love⊠this oneâs important.
5.16 Dark Side of the Moon Dabb, and our first look at the structure of Heaven, and how human souls see the place. Probably one of THE most misunderstood episodes in the entire series. Please see everything Iâve ever written about it for reference. FINALLY they toss out the toxic, worthless samulet. (which we literally learn in 11.20 that chuck âswitched offâ and INTENTIONALLY rendered worthless, because it suited his plotline and amused him). Still think this is vital to understanding Dabb Era overall.
5.17 99 Problems We see what it looks like when Dean gives up, loses hope, and is about to do Stupid Thingsâą. Cas too. Probably useful just for that.
5.18 Point of No Return We finally see Cas really let loose on Dean, and admit what he gave up because he believed in Dean. Because Dean asked him to. Dean nearly gives in to destiny, but because of Cas, because of Sam, he fights through it. Zachariah and his manipulations end (getting stabbed in the face tends to end that sort of thing). Also the irritating return of Adam only to be the meatsuit for Michael when Dean refuses. (and we learn the truth about Adam-- that everything ghoul!Adam told them had been a straight-up manipulation, and Adam only ever cared about his mom. by the time he learns the truth, itâs too late for him, the gullible idiot vs the power of propaganda)
5.19 Hammer of the Gods The return of Gabriel, aka Loki, and a ton of other pagan gods Lucifer will slaughter. Interesting in light of Gabrielâs return in s13, and because of the mirror of Chuck in each of his archangels. And the Winchesters win another angel to TFW.
5.20 The Devil You Know Crowleyâs good at manipulation, but again proves himself to be⊠mostly trustworthy (as long as theyâre all working toward the same end). And re: manipulation, Sam gets a glimpse of just how thoroughly his entire life has been manipulated by demonic forces, which⊠relevant to the revelations of 14.20 vs Samâs persistent faith in God despite everything.
5.21 Two Minutes to Midnight Cas is effectively human. Bobby sells his soul for Deathâs location, and Pestilence falls to teamwork. Cas learns the value of a shotgun. Dean has pizza with Death, who WANTS him to succeed at locking Lucifer back up and explains exactly how to go about doing it. Sam thinks he can overpower Lucifer if he gives in and says yes.
5.22 Swan Song Sam was not totally wrong in 5.21. Cas resurrects Bobby, and explodes and is resurrected (again!) himself. Sam drags two (2) archangels into the cage and is promptly pulled out (only missing one critical bitâŠ). Dean⊠actually tries to live up to at least one of Samâs dying wishes, and it basically ruins his life for the next year. Chuck is a smug, self-satisfied bastard who pats himself on the back for a story well-told before flapping off and proceeding to write variations on his original fic using his favorite characters. >.>
6.01 Exile on Main St. All I can hear is Deanâs heartbreak and anger that Sam had been âaliveâ for a year and forbade anyone from telling Dean that he wasnât actually suffering tortures in Hell all that time. If ever there was a YIKES moment on the show, this is it for me. This oneâs probably good to watch just for the setup of soulless!sam and s6 in general.
6.02 Two and a Half Men Deanâs even good with monster babies. And after a year of unsettled living with Lisa, heâs more duty bound to protect them than he is wanting to stay because heâs actually happy there. Sam is a creepy hunting machine.
6.03 The Third Man CAS! But heck heâs acting shifty, but soâs Sam, and Deanâs feeling even more alone now. The introduction of the concept of Angel Marks on souls, the Profound Bond, and biblical weapons. And the war in Heaven, and the seasonal antagonist stepping up into Michaelâs shoes: Raphael.
6.04 Weekend at Bobby's BALLS. Woodchippers trump everything. We discover that burning a demonâs human bones will perma-kill them, and learn a bit of Crowleyâs backstory.
6.05 Live Free or Twihard Dean becomes a vampire for a hot minute. We learn there is a vampire cure that works as long as they havenât had human blood yet. And we learn something really, really is wrong with Sam...
6.06 You Can't Handle the Truth Dean is now 100% positive that something is horrifically wrong with Sam, and is distraught that nobody else seemed to know it for a YEAR.
6.07 Family Matters Cas figures out whatâs wrong with Sam and promptly becomes even shadier around the Winchesters. We meet the Alpha Vampire. And vampire eps are about revenge, right? There is a LOT of shady going on here.
6.08 All Dogs Go to Heaven weird dog episode that I always forget exists between rewatches.
6.09 Clap Your Hands If You Believe⊠hands down the best soulless!Sam episode. You fight those fairies! Iâm still waiting for another fairie episode where Dean can still see them and nobody else can :âD. Just watching Sam try to logic his way into being more human is educational about the struggle to be human in general.
6.10 Caged Heat Family betrayal, Sam and Dean nearly get fed to ghouls, Cas would rather be with them then fighting his war in Heaven. Angel blades can kill hellhounds. They finally entrap meg into working with them instead of always trying to kill them >.>
6.11 Appointment in Samarra I think this is still in my top five favorite episodes ever, and one I think everyone needs to rewatch. Dean and Death episodes usually are. And in this one, Dean IS effectively Death for 24 hours. But there is a LOT in this episode, from Death âtestingâ Dean on multiple levels-- forcing him to make choices AND process the consequences of his actions and how it affects other people⊠this is a big one for the cosmology of the SPN universe and Dean specifically. Even in Dabb era.
6.12 Like a Virgin Dragons are a thing. Eve pops over from Purgatory.
6.13 Unforgiven Samâs soul/hell flashbacks start when he goes poking at the wall, but he keeps poking anyway. Giant spider people. Eurgh. But unfortunately the whole âweb of lies unravelingâ thing kinda fits.
6.14 Mannequin 3: The Reckoning The haunted kidney episode. But Dean finally breaks it off with Lisa (again⊠>.>)
6.15 The French Mistake We actually learn something about the angel wars⊠sort of. We also learn AUâs are actually real. (this was also the last episode the director of 15.03 directed, so probably worth watching if theyâre bringing him back after all these yearsâŠ)
6.16 ...And Then There Were None Monster Possession is apparently a thing now. The last of the Campbell hunters die (that was a quick trip through the family dynamics there >.>). The main takeaway here is from Rufusâ funeral: Lifeâs short, and itâs not worth carrying guilt and regret (takes them a really REALLY long time to actually internalize it with each other, but at least they got the spirit)
6.17 My Heart Will Go On Cas just lying to their faces, creating an alternate timeline just to generate souls as a power source (the specific number of 50k souls comes up, and will come up again in 6.20, as the number of souls Crowley âloanedâ Cas at the beginning of the war in Heaven, with the suspicion that Cas was attempting to âbuy his way out of their dealâ, but the plan fails and heâs forced to put everything back⊠but he does ensure Sam and Dean both remember the entire experience, but we get an idea of the extent of the power angels can actually wield.
6.18 Frontierland Dabb has referenced this one several times during his era, but again, the history of the Colt is involved, a Phoenix, and Dean in a cowboy hat. We learn even the other angels think Cas is up to something super shady. But itâs their first real moment of hope.
6.19 Mommy Dearest Eve uses Maryâs face to torment Dean, we learn Crowley is not dead, and Cas⊠has been doing shady things with him. Cas is again effectively human for an episode.
6.20 The Man Who Would Be King Well this is where everything both falls apart and comes together. This episode makes sense of the entire rest of s6, as painful and sad as it is. If you only watch one episode from s6, it should probably be this one.
6.21 Let It Bleed Deanâs worst fear comes true, and people he cares about but leaves behind for their own protection are used against him. Not just by bad guys, but by Cas. Ouch. Still incredulous that Dean did recognize HP Lovecraft, or even make a Metallica reference at the mention of âCall of Cthulhu.â
6.22 The Man Who Knew Too Much Sam putting himself back together. Cas tearing things apart.
7.01 Meet the New Boss That one episode where it looks like Cas will be the unwitting bad guy and s7 will be about saving him, until itâs really really not. That whole exchange between Dean and Cas about forgiveness and finding some way to make it up to him, though⊠thatâs what will carry us through the bleak middle of s7 and generate the grief arc for Dean in the meantime.
7.02 Hello, Cruel World It looks like Cas is really, truly gone, and all Dean has of him is his trenchcoat. And weâre stuck cleaning up his oozy black mess for the next 15 episodes before getting him back again. Samâs Hallucifering all over the place and finds a connection to reality through squeezing the scar on his hand, which will become a symbol in show for reconnecting with reality for him for years to come.
7.03 The Girl Next Door Sam thinks pie and cake are the same. In their own respective messed up mental states, Sam thinks Amy is worth saving, Dean doesnât trust that and kills her. Let the guilt ensue.
7.04 Defending Your Life A good setup of Sam and Deanâs issues for s7.
7.05 Shut Up, Dr. Phil I canât believe they melted Tulaâs painting. But it takes a couple of bickering witches for them to finally get a hold on the Leviathan, so thatâs something.
7.06 Slash Fiction Aah, going back to the beginning as a trap for Sam and Dean-- the Leviathan using the Supernatural books to lay a trail case by case from Sam leaving Stanford (Crowley will do the same in 8.22, and the end of 14.20 gave a lot of people the impression there will be a similar progression in s15⊠but honestly thatâs really only sustainable for a single episode, but this may be relevant for like⊠15.01-02). Also, Dean finds it satisfying to behead himself (or the leviathan version of himself)⊠so yikes.
7.07 The Mentalists I love this one just for the Dean feels. Heâs really hurting.
7.08 Season Seven, Time for a Wedding! Samâs love-spelled. Mind control is always a terrible thing. Demons trying to game the system and cash in on deals ahead of schedule. So thatâs a thing.
7.09 How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters I love this one. Poor Dean. This is the first time heâs actually felt good in like⊠ever. Too bad itâs from monster goo.
7.10 Death's Door Bobby :â( And Dean essentially falls apart.
7.11 Adventures in Babysitting Vetala. Which only Dean knew hunt in pairs, so hunter after hunter had been falling victim to them, including Sam. Meanwhile Dean finally got a decent nap.
7.12 Time After Time Dean gets booped back to the 1940âs to hunt with Eliot Ness. Still, they defeat Chronos, yet another god whose prophecy will be tossed aside by the Winchesters.
7.13 The Slice Girls Dean accidentally has a monsterbabby, Sam kills her. Amazons.
7.14 Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie Just watch it. This is the only episode in the entire series that just⊠is purely good and fun. Sam has to confront his fear of clowns, Dean faces a villain who was blamed for his brotherâs death when he was just a kid and his parents shouldâve been doing their jobs instead. I mean...
7.15 Repo Man The guy who was trying to lure back âhis demonâ exorcised during the Apocalypse era, by continuing his murder spree. Sam loses to Hallucifer by acknowledging his existence as separate from Samâs own subconscious. Thereâs⊠a lot in this episode. At least read my rewatch notes.
7.16 Out with the Old Sam eventually succumbs to his Hallucifering, Dean nearly succumbs to a pair of toe shoes. Peter Yankit of Johnson Lane nearly succumbs to a cursed porn magazine. Cursed objects are fun.
7.17 The Born-Again Identity CAAAAASSSSS! Heâs back, even if he doesnât remember who he is. Dean tries to break it to him slowly, but instead unburdens a lot of his personal hurt over Casâs actions to the oblivious âEmmanuel,â And Cas tells Dean his feelings are completely understandable. This is setting up the entire rest of Casâs arc, probably through the end of the series. This is what motivates him, his need to repent. And He gets a start by taking on Samâs trauma, healing Sam.
7.18 Party On, Garth An alcohol spirit enacting personal revenge, and despite all evidence, Sam continues to doubt Deanâs theory that Bobby is somehow still around. Deanâs season-long grief-drinking becomes a punchline, and Deanâs literally the only sober one in the final fight scene.
7.19 Of Grave Importance Yep, Bobby is a ghost, been there all along. Also, ghosts can sort of⊠cannibalize each other? For their power? whatever, moving on.
7.20 The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo CHARLIE.
7.21 Reading Is Fundamental KEVIN. But also CAS! Is awake but not quite himself and in full denial mode, like he was awakened against his will before he was done cooking >.>. we learn a bit more about prophets as we see Kevin awakened to serve the Leviathan Tablet.
7.22 There Will Be Blood more manipulation, and the Alpha Vampire is back, so we get a double whammy of manipulation/deceit AND revenge. The alpha vampire cooperates with the Winchesters. So does Crowley.
7.23 Survival of the Fittest Cas doesnât want to fight, but in the end he steps up. They get the Leviathan, Dean and Cas are beamed to Purgatory, and Samâs left alone and pulls a Sam. He runs away from reality.
8.01 We Need to Talk About Kevin Dean comes back from Purgatory without Cas, but with a vampire friend⊠so s8 is about Dean making pals with revenge. This will fuel his arc for a good long while to come until he can finally make his peace with it. It affects his interactions with Sam for most of the first half of the season⊠because while Dean was fighting for his life, Sam was⊠pretending to be a normal guy and ignoring everything else. Including Kevin.
8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy? The push to do something drives them to seek out the Demon Tablet with the promise of closing the gates of Hell forever at Kevinâs suggestion. Plutus, the God of Greed is the baddie in this one, if thatâs any sort of meta statement on their overall plan to take this particular course of action⊠the narrative basically condemned their plot before the season even started. Hubris, ahoy. But we also find out why Cas ran away in Purgatory-- to protect Dean. And why he wanted to stay-- guilt and penance.
8.03 Heartache Oh, a case where a curse is passed on to others after death? And the original death didnât actually end the curse as intended? Nice.
8.04 Bitten I love episodes were we see Sam and Dean through other peopleâs eyes. And this one, an episode where we learn new things about werewolves (remember: an examination of inner monstrousness).
8.05 Blood Brother Iâd point out the agony of Winchester Secret Keeping being toxic, but since weâre largely out past that by the end of s14⊠*shrug emoji*. Dean helps his vampire friend get revenge against the vampires who killed him. Double revenge! And Sam⊠does not like Benny. But we know exactly why DEAN does⊠he literally saved Casâs life in Purgatory, despite repeatedly wanting to leave Cas behind. He saved Cas for Dean.
8.06 Southern Comfort Garth again, and his serenity is basically there to point out how toxic Sam and Dean are by comparison. The spectre that possesses Dean to leech off his vengefulness has zero effect on Garth. But Dean gets out his feelings of anger that Sam never looked for him in Purgatory, so thatâs on the table to provide drama for years to come.
8.07 A Little Slice of Kevin CAS IS BACK AGAIN! But he has no idea how he got here (heâs been mind controlled by Heaven again, and is desperately trying to make amends, but is literally blocked from doing so at every turn, which is a tidy mirror for what Chuckâs done to the entire story since⊠forever⊠so this is probably a must-watch episode, or at least read my notes on it.
8.08 Hunteri Heroici This oneâs fun, until itâs owie, and then sad. Magical powers donât save the day, they only end up hurting people. Cas desperately wants to make amends, but he is afraid to face what heâs done. Instead, he just gets manipulated even harder. At least read my notes for this one, too.
8.09 Citizen Fang Oh, manipulation moves directly to the Winchester brothers, no heavenly interference required. Vampires again, but this time Dean again sides with Benny, but against Sam⊠who again refuses to hear the truth and pulls another Sam. He forgot the lesson that sometimes itâs not the monsters being monstrous, and itâs important to kill the RIGHT monster, not just the convenient one.
8.10 Torn and Frayed Just like the episode sounds⊠Cas goes to Dean for help, and then brings Sam onboard and asks them to stow their crap. By the end of the episode, Sam and Dean will have resigned themselves to being on their own again because Cas is⊠something is not right with him...
8.11 LARP and the Real Girl CHARLIE! Fairies! Dean does one (1) fun thing for his birthday. But this is about using a book to manipulate events to suit the Bad Guyâs whims. Sound familiar?
8.12 As Time Goes By Sam and Dean meet their grandfather, fill in a huge gaping hole from their past, and discover their legacy, the Men of Letters, and the Bunker that will become their home.
8.13 Everybody Hates Hitler Yep. Itâs true! Nazi necromancers, and another new ally in Aaron. They settle in to the bunker.
8.14 Trial and Error They take their first steps toward closing the gates of Hell, killing a Hellhound. I wrote about this one recently, so go read that. :âD
8.15 Man's Best Friend with Benefits another weird dog episode
8.16 Remember the Titans Prometheus, Artemis, and Zeus. Curses passed down through families to fall on innocent children. And Zeus is delighted because it causes even more suffering.
8.17 Goodbye Stranger oh the agony. We see what it took for Heaven to control Cas, and what it took for Dean to break through to him, only to fall to yet another mind whammy by the angel tablet. Of course Dean takes this personally, abandoned again. Definitely watch this one. Read the notes. All that.
8.18 Freaks and Geeks In case anyone missed the point, we have manipulation and vampires. And Dean reminding everyone that finding the truth is important (letâs not be so bloodthirsty that just anyone will do).
8.19 Taxi Driver The second trial, the horror that Bobbyâs wrongfully been in Hell all this time, and Sam is stranded in Purgatory until Benny shows up to escort him to the portal. Sam finally gets why Deanâs loyalty to Benny never wavered. He was literally willing to die for Dean. This guilt will carry Sam into the third trial eventually but for now...
8.20 Pac-Man Fever Letâs look at Deanâs guilt/fear. That heâs failed to protect Sam and wonât be able to save him from the trials. Fear is a terrible thing. But we have djinn AND dreamroot, so all the false realities.
8.21 The Great Escapist This is still among my favorite episodes, but Cas finally begins fighting for himself, and we uncover the extent of Heavenâs duplicity, and meet Metatron, aka Chuck Lite. Definitely watch or at least read.
8.22 Clip Show Aah, I mentioned this one back in 7.06. This is Crowleyâs turn to use the boysâ history against them, but instead of manipulating them, they trap him (at the beginning of 8.23, after whoopsie accidentally freeing Abaddon because of Crowleyâs manipulation distracting them from their jobâŠ) We learn that âcuring a demonâ is a thing.
8.23 Sacrifice Cas is so embittered by his experiences with heaven that he refuses to believe Metatron is lying, and thus falls victim to the worst manipulation yet. Samâs dying from the trials, Cas is human, and angels fall. (and also some of the worst, most toxic relationship stuff between Sam and Dean, which contributes to all of that, along with their hubris to think this was a good idea in the first place⊠I mean itâs literally what the big bad of s9 did to Heaven so why were they trying to do the same to Hell again?)
9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here Cas is human, confused, and alone. The big bad is basically Diet Chuck, and Dean is manipulated into doing a Terrible Thing to save Sam that will strain their relationship for the rest of the season. (Donât worry, Sam will return the favor in s10 >.>) Buckle in for a season all about manipulation by more powerful cosmic forces but with all new levels of guilt over having caused these problems in the first place!
9.02 Devil May Care Abaddon makes a play for the role of big bad, but will ultimately lose the title to Metatron.
9.03 I'm No Angel The Worst Possible Take on Human Cas. Mostly I ignore this episode.
9.04 Slumber Party Oz. Dorothy. Wicked Witch of the West. Samâs angel possession gets a bit tricky⊠Direct mind control instead of the manipulative sneaky kind we usually see. and CHARLIE. The Winchesters lives are directly compared to Dorothy Baumâs, where her âfictionalizedâ version didnât even come close to describing the horror of her lived reality. (also that one line swap incident that still pisses me off⊠and pissed Robbie Thompson off enough to write a whole SCENE in 11.04 they couldnât screw around with like that⊠âgod helps those who help themselvesâ)
9.05 Dog Dean Afternoon oh look another weird dog episode
9.06 Heaven Can't Wait the Best Possible Take on Human Cas. Well, while Deanâs still being held hostage against telling the truth to him about the angel possessing Sam⊠and not being able to just bring Cas back home with him. :â)
9.07 Bad Boys Sam learns another major lesson about just how much Dean was manipulated into lying to him his whole life, and another look at what Dean has given up over the years to protect Sam. The origin of my âthe story became the storyâ tag.Â
9.08 Rock and a Hard Place Breaking vows is frowned upon. Vesta. And Dean tries to tell Sam about the angel possessing him, but heâs prevented from doing so. And heâs really beginning to realize just how bad a decision this may have been...
9.09 Holy Terror Cas is back in town. He canât stand by when he might be able to help, but again Gadreel (because now we know thatâs the angel possessing Sam) refuses. Gadreel is lured in by Metatron, and things for Sam go from bad to worse. Cas steals another angelâs grace because he had no choice. And Gadreel kills Kevin and runs off. All of a sudden, Deanâs alone.
9.10 Road Trip Just when Dean can finally tell the truth to Cas, Cas isnât human anymore. They literally never got to actually just BE. Crowley poughkeepsieâs Sam into kicking Gadreel out. Abaddon is becoming more of a problem. Probably at least read the notes on this one. At the end, itâs Dean that âpulls the Samâ and runs away. Which is interesting because theyâre essentially gonna swap narrative roles for like⊠the next season and a half. Buckle up. Things get rocky >.>
9.11 First Born And definitely watch this one. Cas and Sam bonding hour, while Dean goes off with Crowley and is manipulated into taking on the Mark of Cain so heâll be able to kill Abaddon for Crowley⊠(and for everyone else, but mainly for Crowley).
9.12 Sharp Teeth Sometimes family can be a werewolf pack. And Garth is now part of one of those, but thereâs still zero monstrousness in Garth. As Deanâs beginning to wonder if he should regret taking the Mark (just as Cas wondered if he should regret cannibalizing grace⊠which he said made him barbaric)
9.13 The Purge A genuinely altruistically intentioned monster, or at least one who attempted to use her monstrousness for good. But her blind spot was her brother, out there just devouring whatever he wanted and not wanting to play by the rules of society or worrying about staying hidden and safe. Plus, DONNA. Even if she doesnât get to play a big part in the monster hunting.
9.14 Captives We learn more horrors about the s6 angel war from Bart, and pushing Cas toward siding more and more with humanity and against all the heaven nonsense (until heâs manipulated back in DIRECTLY by Metatron and his magic typewriter⊠but thatâs four episodes in the future yet). Linda Tran gets a bit of revenge for being held prisoner for half a year anyway...
9.15 thinman ghostfacers, back to face their own ghosts. If you like getting hit in the face with anvils...
9.16 Blade Runners Crowleyâs addicted to humanity. Dean finds his own addiction in the First Blade. And we get our first glimpse of the darker side of the MoL.
9.17 Mother's Little Helper Misha directed it, and itâs got one of the most beautiful scenes in the whole series (Sam freeing the stolen souls, but Dean drinking and playing pool ainât half bad either). Soullessness, which Sam handles on his own, and learns the truth of how Abaddon infiltrated the MoL.
9.18 Meta Fiction A MUST WATCH. Writers lie. Read my posts. What makes a story? Seriously, Metatron is just Chuck with training wheels.
9.19 Alex Annie Alexis Ann Vampires. More revenge. This time for stolen childhood and lost family. Plus Jody, and the first seed that would become Wayward. Dean is also beginning to succumb to the Markâs darker urges.
9.20 Bloodlines Dabbâs idea of a joke, Iâm pretty sure.Â
9.21 King of the Damned Well, Abaddonâs dead, at least. Time trave wtfâery. Dean is⊠not okay...
9.22 Stairway to Heaven Sam and Cas pop culture road trip. The level of Metatronâs manipulation becomes horrifically apparent. And Cas gives up his army because he refuses to kill Dean. (also Dean really loses it at the endâŠ)
9.23 Do You Believe in Miracles? Crowley reveals the truth about what the Mark is doing to Dean, and we see the final truth when Dean wakes up as a demon.
10.01 Black Demon Dean Part 1. Bad karaoke and random murder. Cas is languishing because of stolen grace, and Sam is off the rails interrogating demons for Deanâs location.
10.02 Reichenbach Demon Dean Part 2. Cas struggles to teach Hannah about humanity, Sam struggles to find Dean.
10.03 Soul Survivor Demon Dean the conclusion. Cas hugs the demon outta Dean. Er⊠thatâs what happened, pretty sure. But heâs still got the Mark.
10.04 Paper Moon More fun with Werewolves: Siblings edition. While Dean struggles to come to terms with his own literal inner monster...
10.05 Fan Fiction Just watch it. And read my rewatch notes for it. I mean, itâs about rewriting the story. And Chuck shows up at the end and gives it a âNot bad.â Probably kinda relevant.
10.06 Ask Jeeves Supernatural: Clue edition. With a shapeshifter that Bobby had known about for decades. Buried secret things again.
10.07 Girls, Girls, Girls Our first real introduction to Rowena. :â) Sheâs not a friend in this one...Hannah finally gets a taste of humanity through her vesselâs grief and pain, and decides that itâs wrong for her to remain in her vessel. She returns to Heaven, and Cas is left to ponder how he affected Jimmyâs family (since Jimmyâs long dead now) by his possession.
10.08 Hibbing 911 DONNA AND JODY. Donna gets âthe talk,â in a vampire case, and finally gets to prove her mettle as a hunter.
10.09 The Things We Left Behind Cas has found Claire Novak, and does what he can to help her. Sheâs been taken in and manipulated by an unsavory character, who Dean kills in a fit of mark-induced violence (granted he was surrounded by dudes who wanted him dead, but it was still upsetting and mirrored his nightmare from the opening scene). The burger date. (go ahead and watch it)
10.10 The Hunter Games More Claire drama, but this time she stops it. The Longing Retcon. Cas uses emoticons. And Dean nearly kills Metatron while demanding he tell him how to cure the Mark. Things are getting kinda desperate on that end⊠All Metatron says is âthe river ends at the sourceâ
10.11 There's No Place Like Home OZ. CHARLIE. At least read my watch notes. Iâve been banging on about this episode since it aired. But at the very least read the last round of watch notes. Possibly relevant again because of how it was relevant to Chuck and Amara in 11.23 (yes, this is basically how Dean saved the universe).
10.12 About a Boy Dean gets zapped into a 14-year-old version of himself by a witch. Plus: the mark disappeared for a few days, probably giving him a mini-vacation from enduring it and refreshing his control a bit.
10.13 Halt & Catch Fire ghosts in the machines⊠plus a John reference that is reinforced when a clip from this episode is reused in the horror movie trailer in 14.04 (so skim my rewatch notes for that if youâre still following along for that sort of thing⊠post 14.13⊠*shrug emoji*)
10.14 The Executioner's Song Watch it. Read the notes. This is a big one. Free will-wise.
10.15 The Things They Carried Khan worm: homoerotic sweat lodge edition.
10.16 Paint It Black Worth it just for Deanâs confessional scene. At least read my rewatch notes.
10.17 Inside Man We learn some interesting things about Heaven, Cas gets Bobbyâs help to break in and talk to Metatron, they sneak him out, steal his grace, and have their leverage over the one person who might know how to cure Dean AND get Cas whatâs left of his own grace back⊠Meanwhile Rowena tries to kill Dean, and he has a heart to heart with Crowley about what Family really means. Definitely watch, or at least read my notes. A lot happens in this one.
10.18 Book of the Damned CHARLIE. And the wtfâery of the Styne family begins >.> Sam has a good chat with Charlie about his own life. Metatron leads Cas to another book containing his grace and then escapes with the demon tablet. Family dinner. At least skim my notes on this one. (basically anything with metatron is probably relevant to Chuck stuffâŠ)
10.19 The Werther Project Watch this one. I just wrote notes on it. The beginnings of an interesting relationship between Sam and Rowena (yes that started in 10.18, but this is where it gains weight in Samâs own subconscious). Dean confronts himself in his own vision about the burden heâs laid on Cas (to kill him if he goes off the rails again). Thereâs a lot of emotional baggage in this one, too. But seroiusly-- watch this one for the Sam and Rowena stuff, because Rowena⊠isnât even really thereâŠÂ
10.20 Angel Heart Claire, and Casâs finally laying to rest his baggage associated with the Novak family. Dean and Claire finally bonding. Dean and Cas went to the Hot Topical.
10.21 Dark Dynasty w. t. f. (if you want to be pissed off, give it a watch)
10.22 The Prisoner If you just want the comforting revenge portion of the program, just watch this one instead. Or if you canât bear to, at least read my notes on it.
10.23 Brother's Keeper Whoopsie, Dean kills Death. Whoopsie, Sam doesnât stop everyone else from executing the spell to cure the mark. Whoopsie, that releases the Darkness. Also for people who donât âsee Samwitch,â uh⊠please note that this is a major inciting incident in Sam and Rowenaâs relationship-- sheâs being held prisoner to complete this spell, and literally kills the only person she ever loved for it, on Samâs order⊠(technicallyâŠ), which will fuel the ongoing antagonism of early s11. Their relationship isnât fluffy. Itâs built on this mutual pain.
11.01 Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire Amara. I think a lot of s11 is gonna be relevant thematically to s15, but...
11.02 Form and Void I think a better focus of âwhat is relevant thematicallyâ will be found by looking at Dabbâs episodes and influence over this season⊠Iâd start a rewatch with this one, and the introduction of Billie, who will become Dabbâs in-show avatar as he takes over the reins.
11.03 The Bad Seed Rowena finally undoes the spell sheâd cast on Cas. but theyâre all traumatized. Please at least read my notes on this one, too.
11.04 Baby This episode sets the new tone for Sam and Deanâs relationship going forward. They are more open with one another, and the main drama isnât them hiding things that eventually blow up in their faces like it had been in the past. Thereâs still elements of that, but things never really go back to the toxicity of s9 and s10 after this. Ghoulpire.
11.05 Thin Lizzie Fake haunting at Lizzie Bordenâs house, Amara eats souls.
11.06 Our Little World Cas is clearly struggling with PTSD, hiding in the bunker until he spots Metatron by chance and finally gets upset enough to go after him. Deanâs first confrontation with Amara outside of his Darknado Vision, and she⊠tosses him aside like a used tissue. Samâs still having visions of the Cage and still thinks the visions are coming from God⊠>.>Â
11.07 Plush Donna! And haunted masks! Foreshadowing that Samâs about to confront Lucifer in the cage-- creepy clown in the elevator.
11.08 Just My Imagination Samâs childhood imaginary friend was actually real.
11.09 O Brother Where Art Thou? Dean is yoinked from a park by Amara to have a chat about how theyâre destined to become one and all that creepy nonsense, while Sam decides to go directly to Hell to talk with Lucifer and doesnât wait for Dean. Granted, Rowena has been manipulated with lies from Lucifer in this scheme⊠but sheâs about to learn how bad a decision that was. Dean does get to see just how casually Amara can destroy angels, though⊠which will become relevant it...
11.10 The Devil in the Details Where Dean tells Cas to run if Amara isnât actually dead⊠but Cas is convinced heâs useless by the end of the episode and says yes to Lucifer. Owwwwww. At least read my notes on this one. Theyâre from last week...
11.11 Into the Mystic We meet Eileen, and I just wrote notes about this episode a few days ago. Banshee, which feeds on broken hearts, Deanâs told heâs pining for someone, and is concerned that Cas doesnât seem himself⊠>.> Heâs also asked if he wants to know the secret to a long and happy life⊠âFollow your heartâ (and he confesses his powerlessness in Amaraâs presence to Casifer) https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/186891847375/1111-into-the-mystic-heck-ive-written-a-lot
11.12 Don't You Forget About Me Wayward! Family learning what it means to be family. Vampires-- so the element of revenge, but this time itâs the vamps seeking revenge on a human.Â
11.13 Love Hurts Quareen. A monster that basically feeds on obsession, toxic âlove.â For Dean, that manifests as Amara trying to rip out his heart. I mean⊠this is the episode he confesses to Sam that he canât control himself in Amaraâs presence, and Sam reassures him itâs not his fault. And he explicitly says itâs not love. Itâs horrifying to him, because this episode, this monster, had nothing to do with love, but with possession and control.
11.14 The Vessel What a wonderfully apt and layered title. Thus begins Deanâs s11 âpining for Casâ arc, where his entire focus shifts to Cas after unburdening his Amara issues onto Sam in 11.13. I also consider this episode to fall definitively into Dabb Era. Probably goes for episodes back to 11.10, but this is where that shift is truly evident to me. Definitely watch this one, read my notes, etc. etc.
11.15 Beyond the Mat https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/186962895400/1115-beyond-the-mat-jerry-wanek-directed (just read my notes, this is a Dabb co-writing credit episode)
11.16 Safe House Maybe I should just start copying my rewatch notes here for every episode⊠https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/186963627365/1116-safe-house-more-blasts-from-the-past-in-aÂ
11.17 Red Meat You should just watch this one, and remember this episode isnât glorifying the codependency between Sam and Dean, itâs shattering it⊠Itâs werewolves, after all (inner monstrousness brought to light) and read some of my past notes on it.
11.18 Hell's Angel The first half of the episode is just a lot of talking, but hooboy.. Rowena is back from the dead and we learn more of why she seeks out power-- self-preservation. Worth watching just for the second half, the failed Poughkeepsie scene, Deanâs heartbreak and fear for Cas, and Amaraâs shock that with Cas standing between them, she doesnât seem to have any affect over Dean at allâŠÂ
11.19 The Chitters For a MotW episode, I think this really captures on a meta level what Dabb intends for the whole series. Itâs worth watching for itself, but have my notes as to why: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184690946610/weve-finally-hit-1119-on-the-tnt-loop-this
11.20 Don't Call Me Shurley Chuck, and Metatron. I think everyone really needs to watch this one, just to remember how absolutely shady Chuck was. Basically from here right through the end of s11, if you pay attention to these episodes, nothing about 14.20 is the least bit shocking...
11.21 All in the Family Just like 11.20...
11.22 We Happy Few Just like 11.20 and 21
11.23 Alpha and Omega Do we not all think s14 is gonna end on a similar thematic note? Minus all the cliffhangery stuff?
12.01 Keep Calm and Carry On I can picture Dabb rubbing his hands together preparing to run the narrative in loops ad infinitum until he gets word theyâve got one season left to wrap it up. Worth it for the Dean and Mary and Cas. :â)
12.02 Mamma Mia https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184126233100/cass-flashback-to-his-time-hunting-with-mary-as (written recentlyâŠ)
12.03 The Foundry The companion notes to the link in the last episode: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/187007192830/1203-the-foundry-yes-ive-already-writtenÂ
12.04 American Nightmare If you havenât noticed, Iâm just pasting rewatch notes links now⊠>.> https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184740345285/im-watching-1207-on-the-tnt-loop-and-yeahÂ
12.05 The One You've Been Waiting For See the link at 12.04 (Dean also killed Hitler)
12.06 Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox see the link at 12.04 (Also Billie is in this one, so of course I think itâs important to the ongoing Dabb Era narrative)
12.07 Rock Never Dies see the link at 12.04 (Luciferâs nihilism laid bare, no different from Michaelâs in s14)
12.08 LOTUS The episode that brought us Jack. Well, eventuallyâŠÂ Iâm putting these notes here, even though they also cover 12.09: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184761652205/so-the-tnt-loop-has-continued-into-s12-and-afterÂ
12.09 First Blood (see above, plus Billie, plus Cas laying it out on the table what he will do because he loves the Winchesters... he does a lot of pining for Dean)
12.10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets Nephilim, Lily Sunder, Human souls as angelic power sources, the deceptions of heaven (and love versus obsession again). https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184762915965/last-ep-on-the-tnt-loop-today-1210-remindersÂ
12.11 Regarding Dean Watch this one, 100%. But also have my whole tag for this episode⊠I havenât actually made rewatch notes for it recently, apparently? Which is a shame, because we have Sam working with Rowena, Dean riding Larry BEFORE losing his memories to a curse. Thereâs a lot of excellent character stuff in this one, for all of them.
12.12 Stuck in the Middle (With You) Watch this one. Cas is family. He loves them. This is the point I became frustrated with myself because thereâs a huge gap in my hellatus rewatch notes that I thought I covered and apparently⊠did not⊠I donât have recent notes to point you toward for convenience...
12.13 Family Feud Rowena gets her revenge on Crowley for making her kill Oskar in 10.23. Too much time travel wtf to even bother mentioning anything else.
12.14 The Raid The lengths Sam will go to to have any sort of relationship with Mary⊠including lying to and manipulating Dean. Vampires⊠and the Colt, and Sam finally kills the Alpha Vampire.
12.15 Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell between the Crowley and Lucifer drama, Sam kills the Alpha Hellhound (essentially). A lot of other deceptions and lies come to light though, and Cas disappears off to Heaven and from just one call, Deanâs already concerned about him. https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184853801830/still-on-s12-in-the-tnt-loop-and-heck-s12-looks
12.16 Ladies Drink Free (covered in the notes linked in 12.15) Werewolves, and an actual werewolf cure.
12.17 The British Invasion (covered in the 12.17 post) Eileen is back for her last real episode.
12.18 The Memory Remains https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184854556715/that-last-scene-of-1218-where-sam-and-dean-areÂ
12.19 The Future https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184875554515/i-find-it-endlessly-fascinating-that-i-can-rewatch (this post covers⊠most of the rest of s12 and loads of s13)
12.20 Twigs & Twine & Tasha Banes (see the link in 12.19)
12.21 There's Something About Mary Mary is being stripped of her will. And Free Will has been what this show has been about⊠forever. And what will be recontextualized in the wake of 14.20.
12.22 Who We Are And hereâs where Maryâs will is restored to her.
12.23 All Along the Watchtower The proof of the spiral narrative. But also the point writing this post that Iâve determined this is all probably neither useful nor interesting to anyone other than myself, and I lose the ability to simply discuss these episodes individually anymore. From here on out, it becomes a weird blur of everything. This post is already over 14,000 words long and I still have 43 more entries to make, and I have no idea how to convey the meta import or Character Development highlights from this point forward. I donât even know how to eliminate most of these from a watch list of essential character and meta points. So Iâm just gonna⊠wing itâŠÂ
13.01 Lost and Found Watch this one for the soul-crushing agony, and our intro to the Nougat.
13.02 The Rising Son Jack is nearly manipulated by the Kentucky Fried Demon
13.03 Patience Our second Wraith. Watch it for, if nothing else, Dean shouting down Sam about Cas.
13.04 The Big Empty TFW in group therapy with a shapeshifter. Cas vs the Empty, defending his life with a statement that he wants to live, but⊠again he is unclear on his mission going forward.
13.05 Advanced Thanatology Must watch for Billie, for Deanâs complete loss of hope, and Samâs inability to âfix himâ with things that worked in the past.
13.06 Tombstone Yeehaw! Cas is Deanâs big win.
13.07 War of the Worlds Michael has been effectively âplaying Godâ in the AU. The first rumors that Rowena is actually alive after 12.23, and Cas is captured by Asmodeus, who manipulates the Winchesters into thinking Cas is still at liberty⊠Thatâs probably all you need to know. >.>
13.08 The Scorpion and the Frog https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184946657745/so-im-still-out-ahead-of-the-tnt-loop-but-i (this also covers 13.15)
13.09 The Bad Place Wayward!
13.10 Wayward Sisters Wayward again!
13.11 Breakdown Donna! Wayward part 3! And the reminder (via Vampires) that not everyone who has a brush with the Supernatural will feel compelled to pick up a life of hunting.
13.12 Various & Sundry Villains Zombie! (which makes it relevant to Jack stuff even indirectly) Rowena! And Sam giving Rowena what she needed to protect herself, which honestly is what sheâs been seeking since her introduction in s10. Sam. Just handed it to her. Let that sink in. Maybe watch the episode. Itâs fun, anyway.
13.13 Devil's Bargain Heaven sucks. The bits about Sister Jo describing the feeling of weakened grace allowing her to feel a little bit human is relevant to our interests, though.Â
13.14 Good Intentions Watch this one. It sets up Casâs special power to strip memories from a human mind, and the results of that. And Deanâs wishy-washiness about just telling Cas heâs wanted, not just needed.
13.15 A Most Holy Man (see 13.08)
13.16 Scoobynatural Dude⊠itâs scoobynatural. just watch it because you want to.
13.17 The Thing this post covers 13.17-13.20, for convenienceâs sake: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184996231285/so-ive-watched-four-more-episodes-since-my-lastÂ
13.18 Bring 'em Back Alive (see above)
13.19 Funeralia Billie and Rowena, Samâs âdestinyâ to kill Rowena, and Castielâs forgiveness by Naomi in Heaven as she explains how badly heaven is broken and shows him to the door, knowing he wonât stay. This is a must watch.
13.20 Unfinished Business Revenge doesnât fix anything.
13.21 Beat the Devil https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185000752455/still-watching-s13-and-1321-is-owie-but-imÂ
13.22 Exodus (see 13.21) https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185000920730/dean-in-1322-so-close-to-ready-to-letting-allÂ
13.23 Let the Good Times Roll (see 13.21) But I have a list for this episode⊠maybe just read my tag starting with the posts I made on May 19, 2019⊠https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185002926095/1323-vs-1420-lets-start-with-1323-jack-tell and https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185003462010/1323-was-so-ridiculous-i-mean-dean-basicallyÂ
14.01 Stranger in a Strange Land At this point, I think everything is at least tangentially relevant⊠I mean look at this nonsense: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185004920575/on-to-s14-and-one-of-dabbs-big-pet-themes-for
14.02 Gods and Monsters https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185014835950/aah-only-18-more-episodes-to-go-and-48-hours-to
14.03 The Scar https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185016627975/aah-1403-power-doesnt-fix-anything-dean-isÂ
14.04 Mint Condition https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185018115175/im-gonna-lump-1404-and-1405-together-here-forÂ
14.05 Nightmare Logic (covered in the post linked for 14.04)
14.06 Optimism https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185030339610/1406-jack-im-already-writing-isnt-that and https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185030940270/jack-vs-zombiesÂ
14.07 Unhuman Nature (see that first post in 14.06)
14.08 Byzantium https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185042798280/omg-wait-literally-in-1408-while-theyre-allÂ
14.09 The Spear https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185043896890/haaaaa-1409-and-michaels-speech-at-the-endÂ
14.10 Nihilism Not rewatch notes, but a post made after the episode aired: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/182171684160/were-working-on-the-power-of-love
14.11 Damaged Goods https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185047861195/the-boxes-of-1411-omfg-a-demon-trapped-in-a-boxÂ
14.12 Prophet and Loss https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185048948905/aah-1412-tony-you-cant-you-cant-do-thisÂ
14.13 Lebanon https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185050918250/ive-been-holding-off-starting-1413-because-iÂ
14.14 Ouroboros aka the point where I firmly believe they were 100% sure s15 would be the final season, and began actively setting up the endgame. (I mean I think they knew well before this, but this was where the turn happened narratively) https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185052705595/i-wrote-a-little-about-1414-earlier-today-inÂ
14.15 Peace of Mind WHEEE! My delightful personal vendetta against Chip, the MotW, the direct Chuck parallel who even called himself a god, and who manipulated everyone else around him to make HIMSELF happy⊠like seriously, major definitely must rewatch. https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185074234960/mittensmorgul-once-again-in-1415-cas-is (I wrote so much about this episode itâs ridiculous)
14.16 Don't Go in the Woods https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185056380525/so-i-started-watching-1416-intending-to-writeÂ
14.17 Game Night (see 14.16)
14.18 Absence https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185065385445/1418-and-1419-both-will-require-additionalÂ
14.19 Jack in the Box (see 14.18)Â
14.20 Moriah Writers lie. I think this is now officially my favorite episode of the seriesâŠÂ
#s14 hellatus rewatch#spiders georg of the tnt loop#how the heck else can i tag this one i mean YIKES if any post ever qualified for the tag#too many episodes to tag them all#it is definitely THIS one yikes#and i never ever tag my posts this but#supernatural meta#destiel#samwitch
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Clone Wars    Episode 2
     Rising Malevolence
 Starting off I really like the title which implies things are going to get a little heated
 Title scene sequence still the same
  Nice
  Ok this timeâs quote is a little bullshit
 Belief is not the matter of choice      But conviction
  Conviction is literally how much energy    you put into a choiceÂ
  Little worried considering last episodeâs good quote   left with an okay episode
  Okay, whoa, whoa, got a lot of things, at once
  Firstly, Ahsoka Â
  Her face looks lumpy?
  The narrator...sounds kinda - bored
  Lot of things happening at once
             Not really tied together
            Itâs-
          Someoneâs really               abusing            the jump cut
          It literally gave me nausea looking at it
           Not cool              dude
  Then again   I guess theyâre going for     Fast thrown together war footage
  But seriously    chill dude    On the jump    cuts
 And   nothing  seems   to   match  up
 If    I  can  actually   remember  what   happened    from  this  jump  cutted  mess   I  would  make   a  joke  about  the   off   piece       /   paced    sync     Up    But    for    the   sake     of    me    I     canât   (And    Iâm    Not    Back    rewatching)
(I Â Â Tried...)
 Oh  hereâs   one;   Growing    Fear      The  enablers    Just  Standing  around   Mate,     I  donât  give    a  shit  about  them   (And  those   words  donât  match)
The    Pictures
Still   recovering...   from   seasickness
So  excuse  my  scrawl   not  being   on  point
      Iâm sorry, I was sea sick      Something about menace Â
       Not happening again Â
      Fear Â
      Of the thing they enabledÂ
     I have, no idea, what is going on.     And Iâm too afraid, of the editors, to go back
   Whatever, things are - moving -forward
   âparently
   Red sun like planet
   Ships heading towards it
   Little stabilized
   Person
  Plo Koon       Standing      In Front
  Oh good     We get to    see what the other enablers are up to
  Thatâs nice
  Would be thrilled
  If the jump cut abuse     Hadnât left me       In a state of not being willing    to handle the enablers-
  Weâre not jumping straight into that   Right?       Like,     this       is      a    quick     photo    shot?
  Okay never mind we are
  Fuck me up episode
Someone- Â
 Realizes-  Â
Tracking- Â Â Â Â Thatâs not so bad
 Hahaha
 Okay, giant ship in front of the Sun, Why!!?
 I am no longer hung over
 Iâm good
What the frick?
 It looks like a shark
 It looks deadly    what the heck   is going on?
  Why is the boss music playing?
  I mean itâs thematically appropriate and more than we got in the last episode
  Just wasnât expecting music
     Or Obvious Villain
    Before I think about it too much
    Detail
    âOh my Red!â
    That is a lotta Red.
    I donât think you could get much Red
  âWe are tracking republic cruisersâ
  Okay wait, We were on Ploâs   ship
   Now weâre on Dookuâs
 âShips in the area...
 Iâm assuming theyâre going to    intersect
 And is Dooku -     Is Grievous  Dookuâs apprentice?      I guess that would make sense     Given      That last episode       We learned          Of Yodaâs and Dookuâs        Connection       Learning       more about the villain isnât such a      bad idea
    No more jump cuts please though
    â-Doâ
    âJam their transmissions,â
    Alright, straight to the evil    no hesitation       Possibly ending in murder?         What? It says âRising Malevolenceâ!?        Murder would do that!
    The Fleet is holding itâs position sir
   Why?
   âI think itâs wise to report our position before we attack,â
   Good plan
   âSkywalkerâs fleet is nearbyâ
   A teenager, youâre trusting this to a teenager?
    I mean they have to obey orders      Youâre trusting a teenager that Obi-Wan order programmed?     A less developed version of Obi wan?      I know Yoda has a seat at the head of the garbage fire council
    But Obi-Wan has a seat there for a reason
    - note Iâm pretty sure this is true for all continuities       so Iâm not calling out movie Obi-Wan specifically Â
      All of his continuities         Garbage fire
      Which doesnât have to be a bad thing...
       Logic sin
       âPerhaps he can reinforce us,â
       Teenagers canât reinforce shit
       But they can pick you up
       Like a taxi service
       â From what I hear Skywalkerâs always looking for a fight,â            Great, Obi wan ordered him to give only aggressive answers and self destructive orders                   /answers
        Kidâs going to get killed           If any adult sets their mind to it
        * Which seeing as you set him to âattack attack attackâ
 Well, someone to be preparing his gravestone
       Good job, Obi wan          Dumpster fire
       I do not regret it
       âSo Iâve heard,â
        And enabled!
        Trash Fire Council, everyone
        â~~~~, Master Ploon,â
        â~~~~, Ahsoka,â
       Oh they share a languageÂ
        Interesting
       âhowâs the hunt for the mystery weapon going?â
       They actually tell him things?           Instead of just yelling orders at him?
       Also, so thatâs what they were doing
I   was  spinning
       âWeâve tracked it to the outer Greknow (excuse spelling) system,â
        âI need reinforcementsâ
        Wait, need?
        Earlier, it was a â it would be nice,â
        Now you need the teenager to hold your hand while you confront the other adult in your stupid war?
        â I have to ask the council Mr. plo I was given strict orders,â
         Translation; I need to ask Obi-Wan                  Also; this, this is how you write teenagers
       A little bit too much energy
       But this is how one would react
        If confronted with an order and ordered to give that response
        Good job, writers, you used your experience ( and knowledge) as a human being, to create a realistic human being
        Get a cookie for that
        Carry on
       Breaking up
       Signal jammed
     Oh yeah clearly shows that Ahsoka is asking âwhatâs wrong?â         Immediately move out the general area   also is someone not monitoring interference?      Shouldnât alarms be going off?
  â whatâs wrong with the transmission,â
   A) youâre the leader you should figure that out
  B) asking a in superior isnât going to help
    - if itâs their chosen thing then just let them do it without      leaning on them
  Nothing ever got better from micromanage
  âThereâs too much interference, sirâ
 Run
 Weâve lost them
  âYou heard Master Ploon, he needs her support, we need to go help him,â
    Good job writers, that is how a teenager would react, you even got the stunted - robotlike speech down - and energy level
    Another cookie for you
    âWeâve got to go help him,â
    A bit of energy there but still good
   âWe have to see what the Council says first,â
   Anakin, Perfect, 10/10, you know how to write children,       Perfect monotone
Fantastic   Job  writers
 *And      Actors
      The logic was pretty sound to
        âThis is an important meeting, Ahsokaâ
       Perfect
 Iâll  stop  gushing  about   that
     âSpeak only when spoken to,â
     Perfect
     âDonât I alwaysâ
     Okay,       little noticeable breach         there
     Little       too       much       energy            Children         Donât         Have       Person        alities-         Still       Developing-
    Nor      Attitude
    This    mystery     weapon       has       Strucken         a     dozen     systems        And   disappeared    without      a     trace,â
   That      Sounds      Really        Severe
   Only       Wish       Iâd        Know        What        It       Does
   We    cannot    afford       to     lose     any    more    ships    my   phone
  âOh,â
  How -      One       Of    you     had      to    order    him
  The      Chancellor     must    not    of   been   there
 âThe   Enemy    ship    is  closingâ
 Well    it    makes  sense   that   they  arenât    running
 As  contacting   others   with   their  location   and  getting  reinforcements    was  something     that     they   were   supposed    to    do   and   âwould    be     niceâ    respectively
 And     they   did   both
  * Technically
  âGeneral Greivous,â      Oh so now we get to learn of the relationship      Or what Dooku claims it to be
   âThis will be       a suitable test        for     our new weapon,â
     Oh, or that
     They       have        the      weapon
    Interesting
    Also       a       great      excuse       to      show       Plo      Koon     suddenly     getting       his      shit     recked
  âYes     My     lord,â
  [Oh    wait    now     I   remember     heâs    Ventressâs    master
  General       Term       Is       Lord]
   Does       he     have      a     button?
   âA    large     energy    reading    from     the    target,     sir,â
 Run!
 âOpen     Fire,â
 Then     Get     Out      Of    Range
 âFire!â
 âBrace     For    Impact!â
 Wait     You had Three whole ships  and you decide to clump them all together       Approaching from the same direction        Towards a giant space hole?          You...         You got what you deserved
    âWeâre losing all our power,â
   No duh      Space wave      * Shock wave
 Energy field , defenseless
   No duh
  â Their shields are down      Full cannons,â          âtheyâre tearing us apart, one by oneâ
   Uh, Space             pods?
     â[Ship explodes]
      Well I hope they got to the escape pod
      Quickly, into the pods!
     [ Plo being Captain Obvious]
    Well one fricker hit debris and exploded
    Really stable pods
   Well shit         It was just a ship     At least everyone    who wasnât an idiot    is alive
  â that was a successful test wouldnât you say, Count?,â
  Thatâs     surprisingly normal given the side is supposed to be the  overinvolved                                                   negative
   Iâm surprise he isnât abusing his in superiors by now
   Then again his âabuseâ style, based on name, is tech  Â
    Which isnât an abuse style Â
    Or negative thing
    âMaulâ
    Is either a weapon or to chew something     savagely
   Sidious       Is     just     this   versionâs   Absolute    evil  (Human,  Sentient  version)
Dooku    .....   I     have   no  idea
Heâs  clearly  meant    to    be  conflict    in  general    But    The    Name    ....     I  have   no  idea
Sorry  went    on   a  name  rant
   â I    want       all      of    those     life    pods     destroyed,â
  Brutal
  What    was      the     deal     with     the    sound   Greivous     was    making?      And     why      is     that    droid    laughing?
   Weâve     had     no    further    contact     with    General      Plo         KoonÂ
   And     nobody     is   panicking
  Then   everyone     else     is    enablers     so     Iâm     not   surprised
  They    knew    what     they       were  getting    into   with   this   stupid   war
 âThe  absence   of  distress  beacons     indicates    that    his   fleet   was,â
 Destroyed    killed
  Also   thereâs    no    beacon     or    way     to    signal    for    help    in   those  light   pods  Â
The     Galaxyâs   huge
â-wasâ  A  bit  too  much  hesitation   there
      Iâll         accept        a       slight        bit       that       Anakin         was      ordered        not        to         talk       about           death        in       front          of        Ahsoka
     But        a       bit       too      much      emotion
     & personality
    And it isnât overrided by one of his elders,       Obi wan specifically
    Or Understood by      the others
   Weâre about to   launch a   rescue   mission
 Hasnât clone intelligence reported this weapon   never leaves any survivors?
  But not that they had a giant stab wound through the  chest?
 Enablers, man
 Again, children donât care about them
  They havenât even developed a personality
  Nevermind the ability to form and remember    healthy preferred relationships
   With individuals
   Of their own age group
   When theyâre Adults
   This âeveryoneâs afraid to say âdieâ in front of Ahsoka Is bullshit
   Even    the        expression      doesnât       feel       natural
    They are tidy they donât want any witnesses
     See, thatâs even acknowledging that they know some foul play is about
   âTheyâ is not the weapon
   Itâs a personÂ
   â these losses are tragic,â
   Not enough to stop the stupid war and       stop enabling
    What great friends    Plo Koon has   Â
   â prevent more, we must,â
    You arenât doing  shit
    Capsule
The Music    just    give    me    the   feeling    that    theyâre    sitting    around   playing    cards
 âThe power grid is burned outâ
  Okay and that took out this whole life pod  functionality?
  Like are these not for emergencies?
  Shouldnât have multiple backup power sources?
  Or some rudimentary fuel Â
   Also, the force,
   Like with it you can exactly  have any moments of tension
    Like  normal humans
    Like       if you want to get out of the situation   thereâs like 10 options
  Humans are space orcs
  Like just use the force to    paddle to safety
  Or power the ships
  This is  definitely  not as bad as a situation  as theyâre going to make it out to be
 âLife support recharge.â
 Well good thing none of you is dying
  Oh did they mean   oxygen recycling?
  My bad
 So weâll just sit here
  And hold our breath
 Snarking doesnât really help it
  âsomeone will come looking for us, right?â
 Generally speaking, yes
 You clearly sent out   communications
 And abided by all the  rules     But you signed up with the enablerâs United Toxic Foundation, while everyone did sign up for a basic war - Palpatineâs things that one kid in the E for for everyone Minecraft letâs play role-play that insists everyone be allowed to swear
Like yeah everyone agreed not to do that    But you still donât kick him
And the second you avoid accountability  things were on rocky basis
 You can kick him to a higher level of accountability
   (Or lower)
  But not accountability
  I donât think thatâs coming back from levels this  tox
 And   Everyone knew    it
  Including    this    guy
  â letâs get the power restored   , so weâre here to be foundâ
  REASSURING
  Also if you could do them  why were you wasting time?
I know the address theyâre assholes who donât care about their own     life
But still dude
 Logic sin
 [not storytelling]
 Holding a bit too long on his face  for a jump cut
Ships
â All our battle convoys will be sent to guard our  supply lines,â
 Meanwhile them selling them out
 Including yours  Skywalker
 Nice friends    you have there,    Plo Koon
 âiâm sorry we canât risk any more ships with the rescue missionâ
 Any more
  Meaning you sent some
  âwait just because there hasnât been any survivors...â
  Dude
  Bit too animated
  Like holding on the thin string of   orders
 And    still it should be                 stunted
Even   under the order of                      âfeel sadâ    their eyes would still be moving around like they donât know what                     theyâre doing
â doesnât mean they wonât be any this time,â
 Animation...a little choppy
 Like beforehand the stiff moment really worked with the fact that they were children
    That I thought it was  intentional
 This little awkward bit of moment  doesnât
 Maybe itâs the   overall movement of an of Ashoka as a  character
  It doesnât work
  â boldly spoken for one so young,â
  And almost unrealistically   so
  If not for the string of  orders
 I could possibly be reasoned by  Plo   issuing an overriding effect
 Assuming he was her first   and longest caretaker
 His order   if Iâm in danger do this    Might still be  in system
But   it  wouldnât  cause   an  outburst   like   that
 Not   that   loud
 Or  emotional     at   least
 Just   monotonously    Repeat      ing      the    line
 Which  would   still   get   the  same  reaction
Working      better    with      the    military     child    soldier    theme
  â Yes she is learning from Anakin,â
   Theyâre child soldiers
     Theyâre both still operating under your   orders
 Anakin likely taking her up under  your orders
[If Common sense is    to be    believed]
  If anything âshe sounds like  Plo Koon,â would be a better  option and highlight the  his-tory, they have  together as well as makes sense why  she would be  sentÂ
 â Excuse my Padawan,â
 Excuse that   bullshit
  [I have a thing against     un child like      behavior]
  â I will deploy as  instructed   master,â
 Ahsoka    [turns her back and   leaves]
  I swear   if this leads  into a fight
And   one   with   them      not   talking       like     robots
Are  emoting
Iâm   calling   bullshit
 If theyâre not just repeating orders at each other
âAhsoka,â
  How long do you think Anakin heard that tone of  voice?
  [Because heâs not doing it on his own]
 Little more   disappointed computer   needed  Too much  vitriol      But   Still   valid
  âif  anyone  could  survive,â
Stunted   tone   good
 Few   jumps   in  logic
And  conclusions    that   donât   think   they  couldâve   ordered
 But  overall  serviceable
 âI donât  understand,â
 âwhat you donât  understand,â
Well there are remarkedly  a few bumps here and  there,   This does play out   The way two  assumed authority  kids   would   play out
 Good job writers,  actors  and  animators,   you   did   a  good  job
  â....Jedi protocol,â
  Know your place     My Padawan
  âKnow your place,â
  Too      much      Energy
  âAdmiral,â
   Anakin Â
   Has too      much energy Â
   And perso      -nality
   Never   mind       itâs fine
     â isnât that        risky?â
      No, approaching/confronting an enemy from only one Direction when you know they have an unpredictable weapon, is risky
        And stupid
        This is a patrol         and as such          itâs a relatively good move
      â The mystery weapon out there,â
      No, Plo Koon    wouldnât have found himself       in that situation     had he done this
   Also are you mouthing off    to    a superior
  Fair    enough      youâre       older       and       have      nothing       to       fear       from        a       child
     But    you        agreed       to        serve          under        said         child
      Stop       breaking      immersion
   I    like    the    fact    that    they  immediately    show    that   Anakinâs  superiors    are  abusive     to     him
 While   itâs   true  Anakin   broke   code    by  addressing  someone    of    lower     rank
 This   dude    is   lower   than   him  Â
(And    older)   And  still  gives  back  toxicity
(No ne   Reflect  ed)    Too
 âIt might be,â
 âBut I know you   wonât argue my orders,â
Wow,     Not a really good picture of   Obi-Wan   weâre painting
 He possibly  (very often)   compared  Skywalker   to his    in superiors   Derogatorily       Or  at least gave him   an order   to do  so
 Yikes!
 Come   on     Snips   Â
  Come on      [Pet name]
  Bit    too    much  personality
  But   Still   managed    a   lot
âThe    air     in    here       is  getting      a     bit      stale,â
  Then     stop     using      it       up
    And      focus        on       fixing
    âDonât      look       at       me         itâs       Boost        sir,â
       Tox
*also     no one keeps a plant    on them?
   âHe only takes a bath when   heâs     on    leave,â
  Dude seriously not cool  throwing someone under the bus   like that
    â save it work on fixing the  pod,â
  Yeah youâre running out of air   and this seems to be the only dude that doesnât wanna die
  â Not your jokes,â
 Theyâre toxic anyway
So the air quality isnât getting much  better
â Do you think weâve got a chance, Â Â Â Â Â Â Â General?â
You have several  chances Â
You have a  Jedi   on board
You could    doggy     paddle    to   the  nearest  station
âI know if we walk together we will stay alive,â
 No, youâll run out oyour oxygen, and die
Also the rest of you are doing    nothing
Lay down    And save some oxygen
If youâre not going to be  helpful
Someone will find us
 Yeah, God
Or, in this case, hell
  If you believe in    that sort of thing
     And         Not      secure    nothingness
â With    all    due respect,â
Strategically     it  doesnât   make   sense    for  someone      to    come    look     for     us
 Yeah   youâre    all   enablers    no     one    has     more  inherent   worth    than    the   other
  If I was in command Iâd be hunting that weapon down
 Humans are more important than weapons
  Our decisions decide    whether our time together      Will be pleasant      Or     non-    pleasant
 I value your lifeÂ
  Involved in this war that will likely take it
  â-more than finding that weaponâ
As  noted  thatâs    a  valid  thing
But  doesnât   have   much    value    in    an   enabling     war    and     a     poisoned   generation
  âSir,    thereâs     another    pod      out     there,â
  No    duh
  You   launched    from    the   same   place
 The       only     people   dead    are    the    ones     that    ran    into    that    debris
  And  exploded     On   contact
 There   was     a    gulf    of   flame
 Likely   from    the   impact    of    the    ship
 But   no  indication   that  anyone    else      died
 (Not    like    he  couldâve   just  willed    them   out    of   the   way   with   the  force     Or   not  splurged    on     the  exploding  escape   pods)
 âIf only if we had power we could contact them,â
 Again you should be working on that
 Also what would that do?
 Youâre both
 âhelplessâ
  In the   pods   how  about    we just wave  Hello  when the viewfinder  comes back around?
Because that implies it will  rotate
 *Waves hand*      See?
 Completely    preventable
  Can   get out of this situation   at any time
  How?
 Like that glass is supposed to be  surprisingly strong
 Like plastic
Iâm calling  bullshit
âTheyâre dead,â
One-hand   that extremely sucks     (The loss of life is a   terrible    thing)    Then again   completely   preventable
â Someone     busted their pod    wide open,â
  Oh,     thatâs clever     writers
   But    that looks shattered     from the impact
   That glass    is some      weird       stuff
    Really      Iâm      just     sinning      the      fact        that      they     would      have     glass    anywhere      on       this    supposed      to      be     very    durable     space     pod
   Like     that     shitâs       a    safety     risk   regardless    of  where     it    is
 Time    to ravage their ship for any supplies Â
 What, theyâre dead?
They     wonât    be   using    it
 And     this     is  supposed    to    be     a    âlife     or     death   simulation,â!
  â Weâre     not     alone     out       here!â
  Really?!
  Also    this     is    why     itâs     a    good    idea    to    get    down,   fix     the      ship    And   Get   Out
 (Why    you   even    have    a   window    when  cameras   would  suffice      ...)
 â Set those coordinates,      R2,â
  Cool
  â I should tell you why    I spoke up   before,â
  That   would    be   nice
But   if itâs Overinvolvement of Plo Koon    in your      upbringing
  A few things should be     more   obvious
  âYou donât have to explain,â
   Anakin     was taught not to question                     things
    Including dedication to       previous scouts
  Oh, the deadpan
Ahsoka       is having a bit too much  reaction
But otâs justified   in    confusing      orders
  Good start
 OoohÂ
 Thatâs    a lot of Ships
  Nice music
  Very uppity
  With a sense of   authority
  Our ships   are in defensive formation      sir
 âOh Obi-wan,â
 âAlright commander   Iâll check on Anakinâs progress,â
 ASSUMED  A U T   HORITY!
 âAdmiral,â
 Youâre not   supposed to be here
 âHow    goes     escort,â
He looks   terrified    of him
 Convoys   Are   preceding on schedule general
The  fact   heâs  used   to   answering   to  him   says  something
âNo      sign of enemy              activity,â
Liar
 âand    whereâs     Skywalker,â
  Susp.ic
   âThe     general felt the redeployment of this fleet would increase our defensive perimeter,â
    Dudeâs      really on his case on respecting the       Councilâs orders
    âI see     thank you       Admiral    that will be all,â
  Nice    chat
 Problem     Sir
âAnakin   has    just  redeployed   himself,â
 How     is   that   sus?
 Didnât      You    Give       Him     Orders?
  Someone had to have given him some orders    that got missconstrued
  Again
  Then   someone    else    gave    him   orders?!
Weird
Rt,   set up the   scanner
Mystery Weapons  Â
No Rt,  tune the scanner   for life forms   Highest sensitivity
Interesting   Anakin was given more  orders    To value human  life      over objects/    The  Mission
Interesting enough  this couldâve been   what they referred to  as any more ships
As an    Anakin  and   Ahsoka   had  already   been  assigned
And  given  specific  orders  by someone  who spends more time with Anakin therefore has more authority  to ignore the other orders
My  moneys   on  the   chancellor
Heâs   supposed  to be  grooming  Anakin
And   it makes sense   he could get away   with   a   âno other Jediâ order    without including    himself
Not to mention   get more time    with Anakin  to justify   the authority  override
I would  also  make   sense
Given  Obi-Wanâs   -bluff-?    (Whether    you  believe    he    did    or    did    not     know   about    the    order)       That     he      was   surprised     that    Anakin     wasnât    responding      to      his     seniority*
 *Face  Value
â Why  would   we    Scan   for  lifeforms    to   find    an  enemy  weapon?â
 Too   much     energy
Droids
âThe Abogado systemâ
Too   much   amazement
  More   âstatementâ    needed
  Smirk
   Do you know normally I would     criticize this     but it has the perfect      half      assed     energy
   So      good job everyone involved     that took  skill
   â so itâs fine when you donât follow what the council    says,â
  Ooh    thatâs a      miss
Doing  what   the  Jedi  Council  says  thatâs  one  thing
 How   we   go  about    it,    thatâs  another   thing
 That could possibly count for double  answers
 And does count for  misconstrued orders
Considering a lot of orders can be fit into a      lifetime
Some do contradict and mix  to form up   interesting  combinations
And results
âthatâs what Iâm trying to teach you  my young Padawan,â
Good  answer
âSo  you  always  meant    to   come   out  here   for  survivors,â
Better    Read
âLive are in danger of   Ahsoka,â
âWe just   canât turn  our backs  on them,â
âThatâs    what     I,â      No     good    try    thatâs    too    much   emotion
  Tip     toeing     into  emotion  adult
 Watch it
  â I know        But     the     way     you     said     it      was    wrong,â
   Now Anakinâs following
   Got to watch that     realistic tone
   Itâs hard    not to write  emotional characters
  But it makes  the moments when they are  all the more sweeter
Iâm really looking for that  âI realized my life was a lieâ moment
âWe havenât got much   time-â
 How?
âNo      thatâs not it-â
  Time for the  idiots!
   Well honestly the time with our Villains - enablers        - are just as    entertaining
itâs slow burn       But decently so
âWe    donât  want    to    make   things     worse,â
  âHow    can    we     make   things   worse?â
 Death isnât fun
â When     you    ask    for    trouble,     you    should     not      be  surprised    when     it    finds     you,â
  OK    Boomer
  Who     has     never     helped      at     any      point       in      this     procedure        (And       is        the       big         g        est        enabler        of      anyone        here)         *Tox
â I think trouble already found us, sirâ
  Good job!
What if we connect these two   wires right here
Itâs an   electrical  puzzle game
 I thought  something  was  actually  broken
â Iâm   getting     something,â
 Great
There are 14 minutes left
What goes wrong?
Despite   maybe a  fight
 Oof
 They managed to figure  it  out  quicker
Now we get to listen to someone dying
In    extreme    detailÂ
 âThat signal is weak, it must be close by,â
  Uh, what?
   I think      he mightâve     misspoke
    What?!
   Thatâs       a Â Â Â ïżœïżœ giant     Crane!
    I     donât     know      what     to     expect
  But    that    was    not     it!
  Go      Get      âUm      Boys
  Theyâre     Normal      Droids
  âPodââ
  âThe     Droids      Are    Cutting    Behind     Us,â
Cutting. Â through
  They    just    sat    by and watched as their friends die
 And we know  Â
Plo Koon can move  the  ship
Brutal
â Things got a lot worse,â
 And you watched   it happen
 Soco     -paths
 âThe Scanners are practically useless â
  How?!
  The Ship left
Shouldnât the jamming signal  be gone too?
â Got anything   on the emergency channel   R2?â
How  do you not?
Also  Â
please save those guys
Like theyâre enablers
But Iâm a fan of  accountability
Not    death
You  canât  hold  dead   people    accountable
â We  might   find  something   you  donât  want   to  find,â
â heâs   one    of   my  oldest  friends,â
 That    is   the  perfect   tone  good   job
-everyone
âIt was Master Plo  Koon Who found me  and brought me to the temple  where I belonged,â
Oh yeah  that doesnât  smell of indoctrination!
HaHaHa
(help!)
â I think someone noticed   Weâre gone,â
Too much Emotion!
âAnakin,    where    are   you,â
Conflicting   orders
 â we are making a quick stop    in the Avogadro system,â
 On point
  âA rescue mission I suppose,â
  âYou had other    orders, you know,â
  I donât like that someone else is    ordering you around    And has  higher  authority     Then    Me
â it  was   my  idea  Master  Obi-Wan,â   Â
Too   Much   Argh-
â oh Iâm sure,â
Youâre both child soldiers  Â
but Iâm going to blame the  oldest
Despite  all orders
â Well, have you found any survivors?â
 âNo,â
 That is an âorder to be sadâ   Eye flicker
Good job
â all the more reason for you to join the defensive  escorts,â
Adding  pressure to break  authority
âYouâre    Going    to   Miss  the    rendezvous    With    The    Fleet      If    You    Donât    Hurry,â
  I   want  you   to    be    my   back    up    escape   not     Ploâs
âWeâre    on   our    way,â
  So  whoever   gave   him   this  order  didnât  give    him   an  order   that  would  contradict  joining    the  fleet  afterwards?
â iâm sorry     Ahsoka,â
 Wait,   what?
 Heâs  getting  over  written?
 By   that?
*Squeaking*
  âR2-ooie     Thinks        Heâs      Got     Something        On        The      Emer      gency,â
   Please-      Stop      calling      him        R2-ooie
   âCan he trace it?â
    Hopefully
   âLetâs get going,â
    Too-
â I think they see us,â
Wait,    what  âUh     -oh,â
  Thereâs   another     pod     over     there
  The    droids     got       a     lot     less     cute
 âDadada,â
 Ominous
   Also     the     droids     are       so      cute      for
  Genocidal       Manics
  âIt     is     time     to     go,â
  âGo?â
 Yeah your boss has essentially been letting you die this entire time
  âOutside, to destroy the enemy,â
  Again, couldâve done that anytime
  â I can withstand the pressure for a  brief time,â
   Oh, thatâs the   excuse
   To be fair I donât think humans can be  either
   Not without seriously draining...
   I will give him that  notion
  Not, however,  not moving the   ship
  To safety
In fact all of this is just    badassery Like he couldâve easily rescued those guys and stop the, from the safety of the inside of his pod and without wasting the probably be limited oxygen     By going outside
  But     enablers
   â Put     your       helmets      on,â
    Iâm     about        to suck        all the oxygen       out of this         damn           thing
        âIf            you             say            so            sir,â
          âIâm           willing             to             die             for             this,â
          That            one            sane            guyâs             like
           â This              is              a               difficult            situation,â
            Yâall               making               it
â There remains a possibility we will  survive,â
 Great!
Thatâs good enough for   me
Everyone besides that one dude is   down   for  death
Love  how  that  one  dudeâs   just  staring   at  them
âKick   their   ass,â
Also you waited till they were right on top of you
âWolf  keep  the  communication  signal  aliveâ
I mean is the oxygen on, is the  electricity?
Like you could do more than just   fight?
âItâs  our   only  chance  someone  will  find  us,â
Bull
â Letâs just hope someoneâs looking for us,â
This is enabling  hell
â Are   we still  picking up  that  signal,â
â but   why   arenât   we   finding  anybody,â
 Are  you  following  the  signal?
â I donât know,â
I donât know either
â whatâs      a    Jedi     doing    out   here?â
 Real question   whatâs a random person  doing out here?
Like  are   these   droids  Plo Koon     fanboys?
*Shoves*
Weak
If is anyone out there, Â Â Â Â This is Ahsoka Tano,â
Seriously, you werenât trying the transmissions  before?
 Oh so those guys had blasters?
And can stick to the roof
But   those  other  two  just  got  blown  out
Didnât  want   to  fight
Accepted   Death
âI canât get a clear shot,â
How?
â Time to put the squeeze on them,â
  What?
â is there anyone out there?â
Dude not paying attention
 You had           One Job
â Itâs Ahsoka,â Just press buttons
He canât hear you  heâs outside in space
â keep the signal  alive  commander,â
What-
He has  a point
Dudeâs   been  slacking
 âBoost    the   receptionâ
âArgh,â Â - - -
âWeâre     Losing    The   Signal,â
He  just   threw    a  fricker
Seriously
 Thatâs all     it  took?
Death  seekers
âUh-Ohâ
 Karma
â Sir,    we have lost contact with the   Pod hunter,â
 Only   one?
Also yeah, after multiple people died   Plo Koon   finally decide to do something
â Perhaps some survivors are putting up a fight,â
Big leapÂ
 More likely your  robots    fell off   something
â that is something we  cannot  allow,â
Cut     To the  Senate
Okay...
We must find a way to destroy   this mystery weapon
Donât fly right into it
âend this war,â
Not gonna  happen
âDooku   always  seems,â
âTell   me,!â
Oof
Looks   proper   creepy
âMaster Plo    koon    Or     his   fleet,â
âNo,  we must fear    the worse,â
After we did nothing to stop it
Go, enablers!
Survivors
On whose  authority?
âHis own  Iâm afraidâ
Bullshit
Someone   gave him an    order
 âHis ownâ   only means you donât know    Or are lying
But Iâm going with   face value  for  Obi-Wan
With    His  flight   out  of  position
You trusted a teenager with a fleet
This is your own fault
Oh never mind  his fleet is fine
So Windu   was complaining out of his ass
And his Padawan
so whoever gave the order is fine with him having his Padawan
Oh yeah that does leave  Yoda sus
Twice the trouble   they have become
You gave them the order!   Abusive   old man
A reckless decision,     skywalker      has     made
  Teenagers       canât        make       decisions
     â Let          us        hope         it         is         not          a         costly        one
  âWell general another fine mess weâve got ourselves intoâ
  The tox level is getting pretty  high
â your sense    of humor    is improving,â
  No his ability to be a dick   is
  Well technically it was always there
  Heâs just really utilizing it
Right now
 Toxic bastard
â I donât mean to say I told you so,â
Dude even a slight bit of accountability is acceptable  around now
Also wouldnât the comâs guy be more accurate?
Pretty sure   he was the one   trying to guide everyone  away from death
â I never believed anyone would come looking for us,â
Enablers
â Anakin, the council was furiousâ
I decided we couldnât just give up on Master Plo Koon
Bullshit
âBut Â ïżœïżœ the council   feels,â
Please   listen to me   Anakin
Return    at  once
Okay here Iâm a little conflicted
It could be literally anyone
â Yes, Excellency,â
Nevermind
It is him
Good job  writers
â we have     to     stay,â
Note Iâm assuming the vision is a metaphor an action  order
     Because Visions   just no
     Too much emotion
     âAhsoka,â
He  allows  her  to   do  this
â sergeant why are you so certain no one is coming,â
Because theyâre enablers
And heâs   particularly   negative
Heâs    a   person  thatâs   his  choice
(That    youâre   enabling)
He   still   toxic
â Weâre just clones,sir,â
Thatâs      a   good    excuse
 The past trauma doesnât justify   creating present trauma
Youâll be   held    accountable     the    same
â weâre meant to be expendable,â
Yeah, Â doesnât justify this bullshit
â Not to me,â
Bullshit
You    were    Â
instrumental
In what occurred to   them
You enabled them
* This     Situation
 This    is    like    a    boomer   comforting     a   millennial   abuse    victim!
You    were    instrumental    in   what   happened    to   them
Point    being;      If    you   actually   cared   what    was    happening    you    wouldâve    stopped   it    before   it    began!
Now    everyoneâs   an    enabler
âLightâ,     assumed to be heroic   turns      into     actual    light
Okay, good
Was worried there. for     a second
Ready tow     cable
 Why wouldnât -
Okay,    theyâre moving him   towards the   door
Good     They     were      running     out    of    oxygen.          Sometime               There            were            no            real            stakes   Â
      â Come on           hurry!â
Whatâs the rush?
Theyâre fine
â are you ok, Â Â master Plo,â
All this work and build up    and heâs dead
â thereâs     someone      in      the     pod,â
That    poor      guy
Pretty    sure     he    was      the    one    who    least     wanted    to    die
âargh, Â Â Â Â argh,â
Oh    now    thereâs    health    problems
Now   that    theyâve     been    rescued
Was   talking    fine    just      a     few      minutes    ago
Sudden     medical   droid
When   both     Anakin     and      Ahsoka      should       know      how     to      do      first      aid
  Will      they      be      alright?
   Not        at         that         pace        they       wonât
And   with     that     actingÂ
 âThe     pressure    suits    provide      some   protectionâ
  Some?       They        were    completely     fine      up      to       this     point
  â but      they     require      a   medical    frigate,â
 Why....
 Did they bother...?
Bringing you?
  âI     will   stabilize    them     sir,â
 How?
       Pics            or             it            didnât         happen
       âYour           men            are            safe           now,â
        Dude             heâs          sleeping
âwere    there    any    survivors,â
IDK, Mister    IâČm gonna.  sit-around    while-   people-    Die!
    Probably      wouldâve         killed        them         himself
 This     was     his   favorite    unit
 Hahaha
*Fake      Guilt*
 After     he    caused       and      let      all      of      it    happen
âHuntersâ
  You      let      it   happen
  And      them
But    mostly     you
  Authority     -claimer
â Iâm      sorry,â
  Not     her     fault
  That.         This      Dude     Is          An      Asshole
 So      Heading     to      the    big      battle
 Not.       A       word
*Ploâs    voice Â
  *No       Plo*
Behind both of them??
Telling this story, why??
To a teenager??
Also    see     heâs fine
â an ion cannon,â
Standing in front of it   surprisingly didnât help
âAn ion canon,â
 Some thing neither Plo                         nor                           the Jedi Academy apparently covered
â neutralizing all power to our shipsâ
          âWow, if you knew all about it then why didnât you make some.               defenses to prevent from knocking you outâ
           âShh, Iâm sacrificing my men!â
            â Defenseless,â
             â yeah we obviously shouldnât                   alert the council       right now,â
â massive vessel approaching,â
Run!
â shut down the power systems,â
Okay, Â Â Â Boomer
Itâs not like we could contact the council
  While running!
âThe droidâ
R2-D2
Nearly     gets    everyone    killed
âSorry    Little   guy,â
Donât    get     down     or     anything
â Thatâs      one       big      cruiser       crusher,â
   Yes       and      this        idiot       went      right       into       it!
*Intense    noises *
  Dude, theyâre not going to see them
Yeah    itâs       big
âthereâs still no signal from the pod- hunter,â
 Thatâs - repetitive
 Did you think it     would beÂ
  Like itâd      suddenly         come back online??
   This stupid quest for       someone else          would end?
âReactivate your scanners,â
  Turn it back off and    on      again
   â We will find who is responsible,â
   Who could be no one
   Or left the system
â hey whatâs     with the lights,â
   âPowerâs gone out,â
 Five minutes in     and already complaining
    Also shouldnât you guys   be asleep
   After the cold vacuum of    space?!
 What did the robot     put you on??
â Maybe the     ship has returned,â
  Now Heâs     panting??
   Like dude,       didnât even fight!
   We didnât even       hear or see him get hurt          at all
    (Only         squeezed!)
      What         The-
Faker!
*Getting     Caught*.          âYou      are      too    weak,â
Suddenly      and    only    now
 Would      make      more       sense       for       one      of      the     soldier-
       For            Him-
The       Injur-
Also     doctor,        Maybe          help        him  To        The      Location,      Summon          Some         One         Or     Bring      him        to         Bed
â Let       me      go      see    what    is   wrong,â
Close
 Uncomfortable          close          up         on      face
   Two      soldier       guys     Jump    Ing       Up       -       But       Like       -
 The...      Roles   should        Be         Reversed
  You.    Should      Be     Him
  You.         Received         More      Damage...
 Anyway!
*Mischief      Music*
 Still        Looking         at     the        ship
While      their        Ship         Hurdles        (Dangerously)      Close        To       a       Star    âWeâre       Picking       up       a           faint        signal     from      a     droid,â
Seriously,     That       was       Five     minutes       ago
 That          Long?
 Catches         a         signal?
 Also,      yeah,      so     what?
âOne       of       ours,       theyâre       right       behind     us,â
 So?
âMove.             Us           Into       Attack      Position,â
 Dude,
 1 to 10
  Real        Quickly
 Like he doesnât even know   anyoneâs on there
The ship heâs about to shoot  resembles      A     Wreck
   And        Could     Very     Well         Be          One
  With     Only     a     droid      On       It
   Like          Dude       is      Just     Down       To      Blow        Stuff       Up !
   Theyâre      Coming       Back
   âAre       All      Systems...â
  AHHHHH!
 I paused    At the
 Exactly...
   Wrong
    Time
Five Nights    at Freddyâs     Bullshit
 Anyway,           After     That     Bull-   terror-     Fuel
 Yeah     Shitâs    fuck   ed
âIs there     A Pro     Blem -s    -ir?â
  âYou    for-â
 Seriously,
  That     Dude      Had      One     Use,     Not      Even      Why?
 Power    Back     On
 Which    You   shouldâve     done    from    the  beginning!
Youâre   smaller     And   faster Â
 RUN!
 âCan        I      Be      of    Assistance?â
 NIGHTMARE        FUEL!
*Who-     ever     Tho   ught     This      Thing      Would      Be       Com      Fort       ing?!       !
  That        Is       My      Programming      Sir
  Ah!
âGeneral       I     Donât     Want    Any    Wit    ness     es,â
 How?
Your  ship    Is  so  big  And   Difficult    To   Maneuver
How?!
 Any   scout    ship  could   out   maneuver!
âEn   -er    -gize,â
Still     It      Only     Points     One     Dire    -ction     And     Moves      Like        A       Barrel        Ing       Ox!
  âProgram      the      Navi     computer,â
 You- âYou       We turned     Off!â           Forgot           Him
            Appreciated but                 Still too                  Much                    Sass
   Aww, nice
  He was     gentle
  â ~~~      Droid,â
  Iâm going      to assume     âYou nearly         Fucked        Every      Thing       Up,â        Is       What        That       Means
    â Target       range       almost        locked,         sir,â
     SWIRVE
     Theyâre           Not         Gonna         Make           It        If        They        Donât       Move       Slightly         To         The        Left!
   âProgram       a    Hyper-drive,â           What?!!
   âAny where!â
    ???
   âEnemy      ship      target       ed      Gen        er        al,â
  Going     to       the    Prometheus    School       of    running     away      from      things
   (You       Can      Literally        See        The       Ed        ges)...
   Master...
    This        Was        Your        Plan
 Good job    *Turns)
 Weâre     Clear
 Plo     Koon     Not    Sitting    Down
  âErrrâ
 Possessive
  Like     How     Does       He        Know??
  Now     the    republic     will     learn     of     our     ion    cannon
       ???
      Then donât-
   Like     a scout-
           I just                Donât              Think              They              Cared
           Dooku               Quiet
            âSidious                 Is               going                  To                Beat                Our                Ass
           âYour              Failure              is              most            unfortunate,â
  Correction;     *Yours
    â I will        have        to       discuss        this        with        my         master,â
   âRawr!â
   Get Back        To       Workâ
    Thereâs          That      Abuse         Of        in superiors,        I was           Looking        For
   âRoger,      Rogerâ
 *Grievous       Head     Pressed      To     That       Board,â
   Ship        Brig       ade
    Impress       Ive
    Dock       ed      Sur       Prised
    âThanks        for        getting       us        out       of      there       in       one      piece,â
   âItâs      More      Than      Master       Koon        Would        âve      done!â
    Even         if        you      have        no     choice      since     youâre      just        a     compilation       of      orders !
   Too       Much     Personality      Also     Didnât     Happen
âGeneral Plo said someone would come for us,â nobody said in the most enabling way and seemed to imply enablers
  Also, again, child soldier
Skywalker itâs time to give our report to the council
   âRight-â
  That       Just     Doesnât-       Hit       Right
   Too      Much       Person-      Ality
  âCâmon    Ahsoka,â
  âYou     Want     Me    There,â
 He needs you  there
  The     Council       Pret    -ty       Much      Ordered      Him       To       Take      Care          Of        You      (If weâre      follow-ing      non-stupid        logic?)
   â I figure      because       of         before,â
   He HAS TOO
    âAhsoka,â
    âI was ordered to       by a bunch of Deranged sociopaths       who think child soldiers       was a good idea,â
     âYou did        A        Great job,â
     [Sigh]
    Line work,       Wasnât so      Good, near        the end
   â but if Iâm getting in trouble        for this,        You      share       the    blame     too,â
    I       feel      like      there     was      a     tortured     attempt       to    connect       it      back      to    Dooku      and   grievous     but     that     only    works  because     theyâre    adults     capable      of     Malician,â
  â Right    besides      you    Sky Guy,â
              Alright
            First off;Â
          Misleading title
          Nothing really          escalates
       (Nothing really rises         Except for         the Introductory         sec               Which           will          make          you           feel            like          youâre           in         high tides
        Before           Red            Please            For           the           Love            of            You,            Skip             to              the             Red)
       As we       donât really      have a scale
    Enablers do things
    Itâs not really a scale of an       intensity
    Nothing basic yet
   The plot I feel was on the   weaker side
   Finding a weapon from   out of nowhere
   â oh wait we know everything it does,â
   Didnât really come to a conclusion
  But assuming they might follow it  up
  As for now I feel that   they really couldâve gone for a    Fight ending
 Really hyping  up this weapon
 In Master Koonâs     Return
 Only for   us   to see nothing
 In    terms of   an equal battle
 But, hey, maybe that comes in to play later
     The one thing I can say really improved
  Or was just better/ Good to see
         Was the better writing              Of the            Child               Characters
       Although
     There were   a few     minor       Slip      Ups     Here     And     There     Especially      Near      The        End
     Where there was a line
      â You did a great                     job!â
     That sounded...
     Well it sounded like something from one of those cheap     TV shows
    Or commercials
   * hopefully not too harsh
I donât   hold   Any   grud    ges
    It was just an awfully recorded line
    Any way next is; Shadows of Maleviolence
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get to know the blogger
I was tagged by @willhernandezdraws Thank you my dude ~
last...
1. drink - water 2. phone call - Been a long while...probably my clinic 3. text message - a great friend who happens to be my ex 4. song you listened to -Â The Wind That Carries Me Away by AFI 5. time you cried - yesterday while watching Steven Universe (Iâm weak)
ever 6. dated someone twice? - yes 7. kissed someone and regretted it - no 8. been cheated on - no 9. lost someone special - yes, to time and diverging paths 10. been depressed - yes 11. gotten drunk and thrown up - no, got high and sick, though
fave colours 12. all shades of purple 13. fushia 14. Most shades of blue are amazing too
in the last year have you⊠15. made new friends - yes 16. fallen out of love - no (tried to rekindle a relation but I wasnât in love to begin with) 17. laughed until you cried - no, but got out of breath once or twice 18. found out someone was talking about you - no 19. met someone who changed you - yes 20. found out who your friends are - Sort of 21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list - yes, my ex is on my friend list
general 22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl - I knew my high school friends back then, canât say I do now 23. do you have any pets - I live with 4 cats :3 24. do you want to change your name - no 25. what did you do for your last birthday - Went to a medieval themed restaurant that I like (even though there was loud people...) 26. what time did you wake up today - 11 am 27. what were you doing at midnight last night - browsing Tumblr before bed and getting excited at my art getting notes 28. what is something you cant wait for - Living with people that have the same points of view as me so I donât feel uncomfortable 90% of the time 30. what are you listening to right now - nothing 31. have you ever talked to a person named tom - I donât think so 32. something thats getting on your nerves - My brother-in-law, my mental health not getting anywhere good 33. most visited website - tumblr, facebook, various comics and idle game sites 34. hair colour - dark blonde/ chestnut (I wish I could afford to get it bleached and coloured...) 35. long or short hair - short, used to have a shaved side and a long side 36. do you have a crush on someone - no, I donât frequent enough people for this 37. what do you like about yourself - Donât expect an honest answer to this question. 38. want any piercings? - Iâve thought about some more on the ears or an eyebrow one 39. blood type - donât remember.... 40. nicknames - Alex, Al 41. relationship status - single as heck 42. zodiac - Gemini 43. pronouns - She/her, They/them if you want 44. fave tv shows - Steven Universe (canât remember another show Iâve been passionate about and keeping up with..) 45. tattoos - got 3 ; left hand, right forearm, chest. And I want more! 46. right or left handed - right 47. ever had surgery - Got 1(one) wisdom tooth removed 48. piercings - lip ring (left), 2 on the right ear 49. sport - absolutely not, maybe swimming for leisure? 50. vacation - Iâm scared to travel outside of my province, also no money, but roadtrips are nice I guess 51. trainers - Iâm gonna interpret this as âPokĂ©mon Trainersâ and Iâd be the ghost type
more general 52. eating - Cranberry & Almond corn flakes 53. drinking - Coffee 54. iâm about to watch - nothing 55. waiting for - the week to go by, my therapist appointment on thursday 56. want - just a little bit of financial freedom 57. get married - absolutely not ; I get the importance of it for people but it just seems like a waste of money.... 58. career - I like drawing and petting animals, donât know what the heck I should do with this
which is better 59. hugs or kisses - hugs. Kisses are cool as long as itâs not french kissing 60. lips or eyes - lips, canât look into anotherâs eyes to save my life 61. shorter or taller - who cares??? 62. older or younger - Iâd prefer someone my age, but older is okay as long as itâs not too old 63. nice arms or stomach - arms, I love to fiddle with arm hair and hands 64. hookup or relationship - relationship 65. troublemaker or hesitant - I prefer âconfidentâ over troublemaker
have you ever 66. kissed a stranger - no 67. drank hard liquor - no 68. lost glasses - no 69. turned someone down - yes 70. sex on first date - nope 71. broken someones heart - I hope not, I donât think so 72. had your heart broken - yes 73. been arrested - no 74. cried when someone died - yes 75. fallen for a friend - yes
do you believe in 76. yourself -Â * cricket noise * 77. miracles - maybe? 78. love at first sight - no 79. santa claus -Â I used to 80. kiss on a first date - it could happen to others, not necessarily what I want for me 81. angels - yes, ghosts too
other 82. best friendâs name - I donât know if I have a best friend, I just annoy the hell out of anyone I try to talk with 83. eye colour - blue 84. fave movie - I have some titles I like to rewatch, but not an absolute favourite 85. fave actor - I like the appearances of many, but I donât revere anyone in particular This was Fun! And I donât dare to tag anyone, do it if you want :)
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Uh, I wanna talk about this. I wanna, I wanna. May I, greatđ
Let me tell you. I started watching Spn when I was about ten years old. My best friend got me into it, she was a Sam girl, so I became a Dean girl becauseđ€·ââïž
But then we got to episode 16 of season 1 andđł I don't know what it was about that episode that made me realise that I was into John/JDM. I think it was the realisation that John cares so much for his boys that finally sunk in completely with this episode.
Going through the whole show, season 1 to 5, it was about the story as a whole for me, so I didn't pay that much attention to specific characters. But on my rewatches, learning more and more with each season... I fell deeply in love with John's character.
For me it was hella interesting to learn during season 4 and 5 just how much influence heaven and hell had in all of this.
Mary and John getting together? Helped by/ if not entirely orchestrated by heaven.
Mary dying? Due to a deal Mary made herself which was part of Azazel's masterplan.
John being constantly on the road, on the run and paranoid as hell? All because of Azazel and his gang pulling them around like puppets.
Not gonna say that John didn't fuck up, he did, but with all that we learned in season 4 and 5 alone I gotta say, he didn't have much of a choice in the grand scheme of things. (A choice that wouldn't end with the world in shambles I mean.)
Past season 5 it's a fucking shitshow. The writers use John's character as manpain for the boys, especially Dean, so much and disregard everything that was layed out by JDM in season 1 and 2.
Gems like, "are the bruise in bad boys really from a werewolf though? John clearly beat Deanđ " While Dean and the writer of the episode say it was a werewolf, and both Sam and Dean say John wasn't physically abusive as far back as season 1.
The show took this greatly conflicted and nuanced character and just completely butchered him. JDM said he never played John in a way that there was any malice toward his sons. He played John as a man that loved his family, that didn't knew how to show his love in the right way/ the way the fandom wants, that was greatly conflicted BUT who didn't mean to intentionally harm his boys.
The fandom interpretation and misinterpretation of John is what really gets me heated up. I honest to god do not understand how, with all the info we have from season 4 and 5 alone, people actually really think John intended for any of this to happen. The man said himself that he wants for Dean to have a real home, and for Sam to go to school, and for Mary to be alife. He wanted to stop fucking loosing people.
They had such a big chance with a character like that and what did they do? They went manpain, they went the easy to swallow route that the moronic autience can grasp more easily.
Who needs nuance and grey area, and characters that are complicted and have actuall depth when your audiance is made up of people that have daddy issues for decades.
And thinking about this made me realise something: The John is bad bad bad takes didn't really start after Swan Song. They still got JDM on for season 3 to voice John in 'Long Distance Call'. The shit takes started after season 3 and with season 4. I can blame the fucking writer's strike for that one toođââïž
(John would have a second family. Give me a breakđ€Šââïž)
And yes, I am mostly ignoring everythig that happened after Swan Song. I admit I stoped watching when they killed Benny off. Doesn't mean I don't have the internet at my fingertips and that I can't get my hands on episode transcripts, and the wiki- Heck, I watched the vomit that was 'Bad Boys' only to be able to completely tear the "John beat Dean uwu" argument to shreds.
The fandom really is to blame for this. The fandom with the most daddy issues.
People saying Dean could dig his way out of his grave in season 4 cause John probably buried the boys to train them for that case???! Are yall good??! What kind of sick things did your dad do to you??!
People saying John beat Dean because he looked scared in Dark Side of the Moon' when he remembered John's reaction to Sam running away under Dean's watch?? It makes me wonder about those peoples familys because I would never interpret this as John beating Dean. Not only because Dean already said in season 1 that John didn't beat them, but also because I got yelled at for stuff my sisters did (yep even running away on my watch) and I still remember that with an underlying sense of fear. Which doesn't mean my mom is abusive, it just means that parents are only human too.
John's character is the epitome of writers fucking over and retconning an established character and the fandom being dumb as bricks and filled with daddy issues they don't deal with adequately.
Did any of you watch a movie/serie/book/piece of media when you were younger and have an opinion about it and then when you watched it again when you were older you realize that what you were watching and your idea about it was completely different? Yeah, well I do. Two things first, I am about to start ranting and two, yes this is about Supernatural. (Actually is about a lot of things but this post is about Supernatural). So here it is
When I started to watch Supernatural I was like 10, I think and I was rather naive. So when John friking Winchester has his âredemption arcâ and makes the deal to save Dean I was like, ok you know good parenting right here. Then on season 5-6 I stopped watching for whatever reason and I became an irregular watcher of the show (I watched in disorder and missed some). Fastforward to two years back when my obsession returned and I started to look for more Tumblr posts about the show and I was shocked to see a lot of people hated John and because my knowledge of the show was a little bit mushy (and at this point I had had others wake up calls where this has happened) I decided to review some scenes again and watched the evidence the posters presented and I was completely shocked because what I was seeing was not what I remember. My brain couldnt compute this version it had on my head with the version the show was portraying, so I leave it be, but the seed was planted. So again fastforward to this year where I decided to rewatch Supernatural again this time in order, and again picture me shocked because the posts somehow managed to fell short. John Winchester was a terrible parent. But, and this is where it kills me a little bit, 10 year old me had made an image already about him that 21 year old me had to tear down, and its a work in progress I am not going to lie. So somehow my views had to meet in the middle somehow and I come to this conclusion.Â
John Winchester was a terrible parent, borderline abusive (if not all the way). Did he love his children? Yes he did, Did he turned them into soldiers? Again yes, Did he tried his best? I think in his mind he did, Was it enough? No, absolutely no. Did Dean and Sam deserved better? 100% certainÂ
Feel free to ignore or if you want to add or put your experience or start a debate, also welcome, just respectfully pleaseÂ
#john winchester#john winchester defense attorney#john winchester deserves better then this dumbass fandom
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Reacting to Baby Driver
The Wright Amount
The Setup: For this post weâre thrilled to bring you two Guest Reactors, both former film school classmates of ours, and both Edgar Wright aficionados. One is Andrew, one half of the Punder Twins (we hope youâll meet the other half in the foreseeable future), and the other wanted a codename like Bats and Buddy, so weâre calling him BOB. All caps, because BOB likes that it works as an acronym for âBoring Old Bob.â
SPOILERSÂ -- and fan/re-casting --Â after the jump!
MIRI: Ok, so what did we think of Baby Driver?
ANDREW: Oh we're starting this? It was very, Edgar wright-y
KRIS: I donât know how much this will matter, but for context I thought it might be fun to start with everyoneâs favorite (pre-Baby Driver) Edgar Wright movies/moments
MIRI: I went into the movie not really expecting to like it (the trailers just didnât grab me the way they did SO MANY people) so I was actually really pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it
Ooh, I like that
What are yours?
BOB: "You ain't ever seen Bad Boys 2?" - Hot Fuzz
KRIS: With the caveat that I havenât rewatched any of them, I think my favorite is Scott Pilgrim
ANDREW: The entirety of Scott pilgrim vs the worldÂ
KRIS: which admittedly has the unfair advantages of Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza
But also âChickenâs not vegan?â
Just an insanely stacked cast
ANDREW: I was about to say that!
MIRI: Iâd have to go Sean of the Dead
*Shaun
BOB:Â
KRIS: Of the Cornettos I do think Hot Fuzz is my favorite
ANDREW: Mine too! I still wish he directed ant man. I mean, I liked ant man. But...
MIRI: Hot Fuzz is excellent, but Shaun of the Dead just surprised me so much in so many delightful ways
KRIS: Oh also I liked that in the big GQ interview Chris Evans did when he got cast for Captain America, he mentioned that his friends thought his Scott Pilgrim character was hilariously spot-on, though maybe they thought this ironically
Iâd have to revisit the piece, which I feel like is semi-legendary in entertainment journalism circles
BOB: I really like how he took that film and made it both a reflection of the action genre as a whole while also making it very much so an original filmÂ
KRIS: Iâll try to find and link
MIRI: Yeah, he does great things with loving parodies
KRIS: Shaun of the Dead was definitely revelatory, although I probably saw it a year or two too early to fully appreciate it
BOB: Which when I watched Baby Driver, you could say he does the same to an extent with heist and car chase movies
MIRI: This didnât feel as much like a sendup to me as it did just an example of the genre
BOB: It has a little Reservoir Dogs / The Killing (Kubricks) feel to it with the nicknames
KRIS: Guillermo del Toroâs very complimentary Twitter thread about the movie made a point of stressing that where Wright has previously been ironic, Baby Driver was newly and lovingly earnest
MIRI: Yeah, Iâd agree. And in some places that worked better for me than others
ANDREW: I concur with the famous director.
MIRI: Iâm curious--on a scale of 1-10 how much did you guys love this movie?
BOB: 9.5Â
ANDREW: ...8?
BOB: Maybe cause i am sucker for the non verbal acting in the first half and the syncing of music with actionÂ
ANDREW: That's true. The non verbal acting was top notch.
KRIS: Iâm probably a 6.5 - 7? I liked but didnât love it, and the framing for my expectations is that I follow approximately 3 million film critics on Twitter and everyone who saw the movie screen at Austin L O V E D it
MIRI: Iâm somewhere around a 6.5 or a 7. Itâs totally fun! The performances are great! But itâs also pretty lazy in some ways and has some plot issues. But the action is GREAT
KRIS: The physicality of Baby was definitely great
(Do we know that actor from anything?)
BOB: Fault in our stars
MIRI: Kris, I love you
Heâs also in the Divergent films
and heâs the new Han Solo
ANDREW: He is also in baby driver
MIRI: This definitely seems like a step away from the teen heartthrob of it all for him
KRIS: The new Han Solo is Alden Ehrenreich. Same initials, different dude
MIRI: Ohhh oops
BOB: Fact check - han solo is alden something
They look very alike though!
MIRI: Was Elgort in the mix at one point or am I 100% wrong?
BOB: However... he is credited as Ansolo in Bad Santa 2
Yes he was
MIRI: Ok, that makes me feel slightly better
BOB: Damn this guy is only 23!
MIRI: OOOhhh, Alden Ehrenreich is the kid from Beautiful Creatures
Iâm never going to get them fully separate in my head now
ANDREW: Bob! Don't look at ages!
It's depressing.
KRIS: (To our guests: we also have frequent and lengthy digressions)
(we very briefly tried to fight it but we know our limits)
MIRI: My favorite person in this movie was definitely Joseph, the foster dad
ANDREW: My favorite was Kevin spacey's kid.
KRIS: I kind of wished weâd gotten more of Jon Bernthal but I did love the Joseph scenes
OH YEAH
He was great
ANDREW: Oh my god, yes! I thought Jon was gonna come back!
I almost forgot he was in the movie.
BOB: Back to BD, BOB is very interested in getting his hands on seeing how much of the movie was motivated by the actual words on the page. A bevy of characters like the nephew and Jon Bernthals limited scenes. Heck even the small bits like the postal worker were interesting
MIRI: I liked the interactions with the postal worker
The headshake played really nicely
BOB: One plot hole for me was who was the hero that tried to ram them (The Flea/Brian Tee trio) because that guy had some guns on him
KRIS: I did really like how IMMEDIATELY everything went to shit in that moment
The second act really dragged for me but I thought this started and ended really strong
MIRI: Thatâs the plot hole that bothers you?
KRIS: Say more BOB
ANDREW: Damn you good Samaritan!Â
BOB: Seemed like a setup that wasn't fully explained. Was Brian Tee's character in on it? Is that why he got s bullet in the head? Or was it more so over the fact that he fucked up 3 times
MIRI: He seemed like an ex-military hired security guy to me
BOB: Mike myers, dragged getting into car, left his shotgun
KRIS: I think he was just a Good Samaritan but he had a Marine Corps hat
BOB: I noticed that hat too but unsure if there was a fix there
MIRI: Oh, I thought it was additional hired security since there had been so many robberies lately
BOB: Miri good point!!!
KRIS: Oh, I didnât think about it after the movie but in the moment I thought the lost shotgun would come back to bite them
ANDREW: Ooooh that's smart. ... I hope that it.
BOB: Yes likewise about the shotgunÂ
MIRI: Yeah, I definitely thought the shotgun would come back
I did like the clear willingness to take out allies like that
BOB: What plotholes bugged you MS?
MIRI: BUT that makes me buy Doc helping Baby TO THE EXPENSE OF HISÂ OWN LIFE even less
BOB: Yes that was good. Start of seeing how Bats was real fucked up
KRIS: Yeah, I did like the setup of Docâs operation a lot
BOB: Bats killed him
Not Doc
MIRI: I get the weird affection, but that carried it way beyond believability to me.
Thereâs no planting of that (at least not any that works for me)
ANDREW: I don't know. I bought doc helping baby.
MIRI: Oh, Bats killed him? How do we know that?
BOB: "Moment you catch feelings, moment you catch a bullet."
KRIS: But it wouldâve been on Docâs orders, right?
MIRI: But the guy didnât catch feelings, he was just bad at his job
BOB: He was already riled up. And he is very trigger happy
Perhaps Docs orders but he didn't seem type to get dirty.
He caught a feeling of being dumb then! Lol
MIRI: I donât buy Doc helping Baby. Baby destroyed his whole operation, put his actual loved ones in jeopardy, and is now leaving him meaning he canât pull any jobs for/with him ever again. Plus Doc definitely seems like a survivor above all else, which helping Baby totally invalidates
BOB: Would it have made sense if say Doc was like a relative ala how we see him train the nephew?
MIRI: Sure, but heâs not
BOB: I thought it was gonna go in that direction
ANDREW: Youâre right, but he essentially raised Baby and worked with him for like a decade. Albeit forcefully. Do you really think after all that doc would just shoot baby in the face?
However logical it seems?
MIRI: For the level of betrayal Baby has just given him, maybe
ANDREW: Doc seems likes family man to me.
MIRI: Or at least let him twist on the rope heâs put up himself
ANDREW: A sick
KRIS: I buy Doc not killing Baby, if not the risks he then takes on Babyâs behalf
MIRI: He definitely seems like a family man, but I donât think he treats Baby as family enough to justify the turn for me
ANDREW: That fair.
MIRI: Agreed
KRIS: I think meeting his son, and seeing how the kid is totally well adjusted, is part of setting that up
BOB: Doc shooting up people was a stretchÂ
MIRI: The kid was his nephew, I think
BOB: I buy the take this money and run angle a lot
Yes nephew
ANDREW: Then baby is the son he never had!
Son of a bitch!
MIRI: But heâs clearly close with him--watches movies with him, etc. He doesnât spend time with Baby outside of business
BOB: He bought him dinner!
ANDREW: He bought him dinner!
MIRI: iâm with Kris--I donât think he would have killed Baby necessarily, but he goes way further than I believe
He bought him dinner once, and partially as a chance to threaten Debbie and get Baby back into the game
BOB: He talks to him perhaps more so whenever he picks up him for a job
KRIS: I can sort of see dots to connect from Doc being willing to order terrible things but deliberately distancing himself from them to avoid catching feelings, because he knows or suspects that if he gets too close then heâll stop being the criminal mastermind he wants to be
MIRI: Heâs clearly closer with him than with most employees, Iâm not denying that!
I just donât think they put in enough groundwork to make me believe the turn
KRIS: I donât think the movie does that work for you
MIRI: The movie expects me to buy emotional connections that it doesnât show on a couple of fronts
The fact that Deborah is willing to run away with a guy she BARELY knows is ridiculous
BOB: Stop trying to catch feelings Miri!!! Bats may be listening!
ANDREW: Bro, that train I can get on.
MIRI: Even without the bank robber, just shot someone right in front of her thing
ANDREW: I kind of wanted Debra to say "thanks but no thanks" in act three.
That would have been a funny twist.
MIRI: I would have been into that
BOB: It happens... maybe she felt protected?? But they do have moments where they are similar. The love for the road, the music, the need and want to escapeÂ
Maybe she was tired of the old humdrum reality of things
ANDREW: But baby just shot a man at the diner
BOB: Ala Thelma and Louise
MIRI: Right, they have the building blocks for dating, but not âRun away from everyone youâve ever known with me foreverâ
Thelma and Louise were lifelong friends
BOB: I'm comparing the desire versus status of relationship length
MIRI: Baby and Deborah have had like 7 conversations
KRIS: (Oh god for like days Iâve been confusing Lily Collins with Lily James)
ANDREW: Most of them are about names.
MIRI: (Me too! Can I blame you this time??)
KRIS: (Yes, because you were there when I did it out loud)
BOB: Too many Lilys and Han Solo look alikes!!
MIRI: BOB: Right, but the âyou jump I jumpâ of it all makes sense because of the love thatâs already there. You donât risk it all for a virtual stranger Basically, I think some of the relationships are weak. They knew what marks they wanted/needed to hit, but didnât do the work of getting there well
KRIS: I think they do establish that Debora doesnât have anything in her life early on, but I agree that across the board the movie wants me to make emotional leaps that it doesnât work to achieve
HOWEVER
MIRI: When thereâs an actual depth of relationship like between Baby and Joseph it WORKS
Buddy and Darling work
KRIS: For the sake of argument, thereâs this âall the characters in Baby Driver are archetypesâ case Iâve seen floated
MIRI: (we have three spellings of Deboraâs name going and Kris is right about it)
KRIS: Which doesnât work for me, but I want to know how you feel about it
In fairness, I have IMDB open
MIRI: Eh. Feels like an excuse. Especially when there are the examples of genuine emotional connections
ANDREW: Can we talk about how there are only two female characters in the movie? 1 is a love interest and the other is fodder for Jon Hamm to be the villain?
MIRI: I would say that Debora and Darling fit the Madonna/Whore archetypes to a disturbing level
KRIS: AND EIZA GONZALEZ IS 20 YEARS JON HAMMâS JUNIOR
ANDREW: Genre be damned. That's a little ridiculous.
MIRI: more than a little
BOB: Hmmm interesting point Andrew! But what about the Mom? So 3?
KRIS: Sheâs not a âcharacterâ
MIRI: The mom isnât a character
ANDREW: Fodder for baby to have tinnitus?
MIRI: sheâs an excuse for maintain
*manpain
BOB: Ahh man painÂ
MIRI: She has no arc or actions, and her only voice is filtered through Baby
Also, they do an interesting thing of rarely showing her face fully, which I assume is due to his memories being limited/fading
and itâs very cool on that front
BOB: Ditto with Miri
MIRI: but also sheâs about 1/4 of the women in the entire film and we barely see or hear her
itâs not great
Can we take a moment to imagine how much more interesting the Buddy/Darling dynamic would have been if their ages and roles were reversed?
Just for fun
ANDREW: No. I was kind of hoping for something more out of Darling. But then she got shot... a lot.
BOB: Maybe if Doc was a female then perhaps the whole giving themself up in Act 3 seems more believable
MIRI: Because I would have been totally there for that
ANDREW: I was just thinking that Miri!
BOB: She got shot the fuck up
This movie put the female characters through the ringer in terms distress and pain
MIRI: The whole benevolent tolerance of Baby thing that Buddy does would have hit so harder from a potential mother figure when it went away
Yeah, itâs very lazy on that front. And--much as we love him!--not super surprising from Wright
He doesnât seem to hate women by any stretch, he just doesnât really seem to think of them much
KRIS: I want writer-directors like Edgar Wright and Christopher Nolan to have to take a seminar co-taught by like, Ava Duvernay and Patty Jenkins
MIRI: Is there more than one female character of note in any of the films heâs written and directed (not based on preexisting property)?
BOB: Now you have me catching feelings... questioning my overall thoughts
MIRI: YES
Also, I want to take those seminars too!
Sorry, BOB
BOB: Sign me up
MIRI: But also not sorry because itâs important to be critical of the media we love!
And the dude is clearly smart and awesome and I expect better of him
ANDREW: True that!
MIRI: Female Baby would have been interesting too
BOB: Very true... i guess I was caught up with the beauty of the action and syncs with music. Didn't take a step back to examine the archetypesÂ
I'm down to an 8 now
KRIS: I do think that Lily James and Eliza Gonzalez both do a lot with a little, but I also want to point out that thatâs something actresses in every genre and every budget range have to do all the time
MIRI: SO true
KRIS: Also here is a tweet for Miri:
https://twitter.com/carolineframke/status/880639492025090048
MIRI: HAHAHHAHAHA
BOB: Still thinking about your posed question
MIRI: I love Caroline Framke
KRIS: About reversing the age dynamic?
BOB: I loved Lily James in this
KRIS: Iâm trying to think of who Iâd like to see in that reversal
BOB: Daisy Ridley?
MIRI: Ooh
BOB: Or in the Buddy / Darling?
MIRI: Wait, Daisy Ridley as female Baby? Iâd be into that
KRIS: Buddy/Darling I mean
Ohhhh
BOB: Helen Mirren / Dave FrancoÂ
KRIS: I donât know that sheâs my first choice but I could see it
MIRI: Ooh, interesting! Even more of an age gap, but Iâm not it
ANDREW: No... James Franco.Â
Spring breeeeeeak
MIRI: Maybe Marisa Tomei and someone?
BOB: Susan Sarandon / Zac Efron
MIRI: (Spring Break foâevaaaaa)
BOB: Ahh Marisa! Aunt freaking May
KRIS: I almost went with like Kate Beckinsale/anyone but then I thought about all the thinkpieces about movies/TV that keep pairing brown men with white women
MIRI: Sheâs a similar level of hot and unexpected for a vicious role like this
GINA TORRES
GINA TORRES AND SOME HOT YOUNG DUDE
BOB: Hmmm let's switch it up.... Viola Davis / White dude
KRIS: Or like Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez wouldâve killed in this
BOB: Ahhh J Loooooo
MIRI: Omg yes to both of those
BOB: J lo and Drake
MIRI: Drakeâs not young enough, is he?
ANDREW: De age himÂ
MIRI: Ooh ooh ooh, John Boyega
JLo and John Boyega
BOB: No he seems to big in size
For J Los taste
MIRI: This tangent has gone wildly afield and I like it
KRIS: This is making me think we should make fan-cast pieces a regular thing on Reacting to Something, not that itâs super original but it would be fun
BOB: But i like that it'd be interesting to see her be the one in control and she is super tiny
MIRI: YES LETâS DO THAT
BOB: slap hands!! Yes
MIRI: I think JLo could play that
KRIS: Itâs also making me think of a writing exercise Writing Teacher likes to suggest, where you have a stack of locations, a stack of actors, and a stack of genres on index cards, and you draw randomly and have to come up with loglines
BOB:Â
MIRI: Wait why are we not doing that as a party game?
KRIS: Oh she also always includes tequila when she says this
MIRI: I am IN
KRIS: Literally always
BOB: I like tequila
That would be a fun gameÂ
MIRI: I might do gin instead sometimes, but I am IN
KRIS: Weâve never actually done it but she likes it as a brainstorming thing
MIRI: ok, we should maybe talk some more about Baby Driver
Letâs talk about the awesome music some, because it really was great!
KRIS: Yeah
BOB: Actually I have a game like that minus the whole actors/ actresses names
KRIS: You still have to write a Saoirse Ronan movie, BOB
Film school cohort reference, sorry readers
ANDREW: I would like to talk about something I did really like though, and that was the use and portrayal of tinnitus. I know a few people with the condition, one more severe. But whenever there isn't music, there is a faint ringing in the sound.
KRIS: (I like that the all caps just comes off as accusatory)
MIRI: Say more, Andrew
ANDREW: How itâs something he lives with, but it's also his biggest weakness.
Like when Jon Hamm blows out his ducking hearing at the end.
BOB: Don't remind me Kris :-(
MIRI: Oh I misread that as something you DIDNâT like, whoops
ANDREW: Fucking*
MIRI: OMG that was such a vicious move!
Honestly, I didnât expect it
And I may have jumped in my seat a little
BOB: It was vicious and a great line/scene
MIRI: Totally
KRIS: Yeah
MIRI: I expected the whole kill your girl thing, but the hearing was a great touch
ANDREW: It's just nice to see people acknowledge that it exists. And having it shown with accuracy.
MIRI: Did anyone else not super buy his whole Quirky Thing?
ANDREW: Which quirky thing? There are like 30z
MIRI: Exactly
KRIS: And whose quirky thing?
MIRI: Babyâs
It felt like a very deliberate persona
ANDREW: It did, yeah.
KRIS: I mostly bought the mixtape stuff etc. as an extension of his obsession with music between both the tinnitus and his mom
MIRI: I liked him a lot when he wasnât performing--when heâs dancing around in the apartment, etc--but as just a dude on the street who doesnât care that heâs walking out in front of people all the damn time itâs a bit much
The mixtapes I buy
ANDREW: I liked that he had 5 pairs of sunglasses.
KRIS: I actually bought his clumsiness on the street because I read it as a cost to having to pump music into his ears all the time
MIRI: And the iPods, now that Iâve read the Edgar Wright explanation that he finds them (and the sunglasses) in cars
BOB: I can understand it as him thinking its a little game the first time he does that
But yeah running into people is just rude!! Expected someone to deck him
ANDREW: Ooooh I like that he finds them in cars.
MIRI: He just felt like he was trying really hard to be weird a lot of the time
(Right? thatâs a nice detail!)
ANDREW: I didn't even think of that. But I love it!
MIRI: But then again, he only feels comfortable with a very small number of people, so I guess a persona is not surprising
BOB: Just thought of anther Baby - Chloe Grace Moretz!Â
KRIS: Iâll say I didnât really buy him as turning out to be a badass
MIRI: And the bigness of it all makes a lot of sense with Joseph, since ASL relies pretty heavily on exaggerated gesture to convey tone
KRIS: Iâm going to pitch Saoirse Ronan, who is also 23
MIRI: Really? It semi made sense to me as an extension of his driving insanity
KRIS: Not just because Iâm giving BOB shit
Hmm
MIRI: omg YES to Saoirse Ronan
KRIS: (BOB have you seen Hanna yet?)
MIRI: Like, heâs super willing to take risks and put it all on the line when driving. He doesnât have a desire to be violent, but when put in the position to be I believe him capable
BOB: Yeah not a badass. The him running and jumping scene when he escaped and jumps over the car was a little crazy. Only reason I could see it being believable is because he had a pull up bar in hid kitchen and he might work out or like to swing around and shit.
MIRI: (I havenât seen Hanna yet and I know I need to)
KRIS: (I FORGOT YOU HAVENâT SEEN IT)
BOB: (no ... stop making BOB feel bad)
MIRI: Him being able to outrun the cops surprised me some
(I KNOW, I KNOW)
ANDREW: I... also haven't seen it.
BOB: (Let's watch Hanna Miri)
MIRI: (Is ist streaming anywhere??)
KRIS: I almost bought the parkour-lite, because it seemed to be an extension of how in tune he is with his physicality
ANDREW: Sorry Kris.
BOB: (Checking Netflix)
MIRI: Yeah, that makes sense. Except that Iâm also supposed to be ok with him being super clumsy and unaware other times
KRIS: I forgive you Andrew
MIRI: Maybe itâs all a matter of focus?
KRIS: (Miri/BOB Guest Reaction!)
BOB: (no sadly)
MIRI: (Iâm checking Amazon)
BOB: Yes matter of focus like an adrenaline rush??
ANDREW: Yeah, probably.
KRIS: That and it doesnât involve him in direct confrontation with another human
BOB: (No to amazon)
KRIS: the same way driving is impersonal
ANDREW: I empathize with that.
MIRI: (rentable, though. We could do a watching party sometime)
KRIS: I own Hanna
MIRI: (Oh, sweet)
KRIS: shouldâve led with that
MIRI: Way to abandon the parentheses convention too
KRIS: SORRY
MIRI: đÂ
SOMEONE TALK ABOUT THE MUSIC IN BABY DRIVER
I liked it
ANDREW: Is there a reason half the convo is in parenthesis?
MIRI: Yes, because it was an aside about Hanna, not anyhting about Baby Driver
KRIS: I thought it worked the way Wright wanted it to, and BOB and I talked about how itâs almost like the logical next step of what Guardians of the Galaxy does with its music supervision
MIRI: it theoretically helps keep this tangle all straight when you read it
Does it, readers?
BOB: I liked how he used the music to drive (pun intended) a lot of the action and dialogueÂ
MIRI: Hmmm, how so, Kris?
ANDREW: Ooooooooooooooh. I get it.
MIRI: Also, how many steps between this and the jukebox musical format? Because I feel like itâs getting close
KRIS: But weâve previously established on this blog that I much prefer instrumental scores to needle drops, and at some point thatâs more a taste thing than an artistic criticism
MIRI: Not that I mind that
ANDREW: Like one. Baby needs to actually sing.
BOB: Wright had the music in mind as he wrote it ala James Gunn but it does more than just be backdrop music or something that comes on when play is clicked
MIRI: Kris hates excessive needle drops so much, you guys
BOB: I love needle drops
MIRI: Does the fact that itâs all diagetic make it more palatable, Kris?
KRIS: I guess what I mean -- and BOB please interject here -- is that Guardians uses really well chosen needle drops as a critical part of Peterâs emotional arc
Yes
ANDREW: I agree with that too, actually.
KRIS: And Baby Driver takes that to 11 by syncing it to the physical action
MIRI: Iâm with you
BOB: Like the Jamie Foxx scene where he tells him to play something funky --> shootout --> Tequila line
KRIS: That like half-second shot of Buddy cocking Darlingâs pistol in time with the music in the warehouse gunfight is super cool
BOB: The music itself lended to the shootout scene
KRIS: And of course the timing of Buddyâs shots in the shootout with the cops when Darling gets killed
ANDREW: That was pretty sweet!
MIRI: I also liked him making them wait for him to restart the song on the second job
BOB: Whenever a drum banged, a gun shot rang out
ANDREW: That's me. That's what I would do.
MIRI: God, that one was screwed from the beginning, wasnât it?
KRIS: Yeah, and I read that partly as a way he has to compensate for his hearing being compromised
BOB: Haha yes it was Miri
MIRI: Yeah, the shooting synchronization was obviously awesome
KRIS: Presumably he knows all the streets of Atlanta really well so he figures out his route ahead of time and syncs it to his playlist
Have any of you been to Atlanta?
Or I guess spent serious time there?
MIRI: Yes, but it was about 6 years ago and I didnât drive
So no
ANDREW: Nope!
KRIS: Iâve seen/heard different opinions on how well itâs used as a location
And I was just curious if any of you knew it well enough to comment
BOB: I've seen the show... that count?
MIRI: Yeah, lots of relief that something shot in Atlanta is actually being presented as Atlanta instead of New York or whatever
But some people feel like they kept it very surface level, right?
KRIS: Right
Almost touristy, I guess is that line of thought
MIRI: Iâll agree that it didnât have a particularly Atlanta feel in anything other than Babyâs accent (which ALWAYS surprised me every time he opened his mouth)
BOB: Yes much relief!! I liked that. Wish they had used Ludacris now that i think about it in the soundtrack... but perhaps since he is in F&F probably thought otherwise
KRIS: Hahaha
BOB: It felt somewhat like a different city when he walkef around during the coffee runs
Driving on the highways too.
This move may have been Miriâs favorite thing Baby did all movie
So it didn't have the NYC or LA feel to it
KRIS: Yeah, the first coffee run scene for sure definitely felt distinct in that way
âfor sure definitelyâ
shut up Kris
MIRI: Donât tell yourself to shut up, Kris
ANDREW: I didn't really realize it was in Atlanta. To me it was nameless city.
But, I don't know anything about Atlanta, so... *shrug*
Can I tell Kris to shut up?
KRIS: I also had that!
The not realizing where it was exactly
And yes
BOB: (Gonna be driving for next 10 mins - so a little radio silence on my part)
It felt like a Southern city though
Thanks to the accents
ANDREW: Good! I'm glad I'm not the only one, Kris. Now shit your pie hole!
KRIS: I need to get better at placing accents
MIRI: I guess the food didnât feel very regional to me, and I would have expected it to
Better like you didnât pick up that they were Southern? Or better like you didnât read it as Atlanta specifically?
ANDREW: The second one, for me personally.
KRIS: Both that I definitely didnât read Atlanta specifically, and that while I recognized Southern accents I didnât connect the dots to âoh this is in the Southâ
MIRI: I donât think most people not from the South would read it as Atlanta specifically, so I wouldnât worry about that
KRIS: Partly because I think Southern accents are sometimes used in kind of a tropey way with characters like Debora
MIRI: They so are
ANDREW: Right!!
KRIS: And I guess Iâm also just used to hearing Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood?
MIRI: Yeah, I think I am too
ANDREW: Me three.
MIRI: Ok, any points (or random thoughts) left to address?Â
ANDREW: Man, the last two action films I saw had Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright in them respectively...
MIRI: What Does It Mean??
I thought the dude describing guns as cuts of meat was incredibly Extra and I liked it
ANDREW: That we are in... a house of cards?!?!
KRIS: That we need a movie where Robin Wright punches Kevin Spacey in the throat
I also liked the gun thing
Although itâs hard to beat John Wick 2 for that
BOB: Lol a house of cards?!
Need to see that still
MIRI: âwe need a movie where Robin Wright punches Kevin Spacey in the throatâ YES YES YES OH MY GOD YES
I just need there to be an Antiope movie
And for most if not all of it to take place on Themyscira
I NEEEEEED it
KRIS: I feel like most people would agree this is a very surface-level movie, and that where opinions diverge is on whether thatâs A) deliberate and especially B) a good/cool thing
MIRI: Thatâs fair
Where does everyone stand on both points?
KRIS: I have definitely liked style-as-substance things very much before
I mean again, John Wick comes to mind, at least the first one for this point
MIRI: John Wick might be style over substance, but I think itâs consistently so
KRIS: And Tarsem Singhâs wild Greek mythology action movie Immortals
But I donât know, this lost me for a good long while in the middle
ANDREW: It also very auteur. In the sense of, if you watch this film, you either learn what wright is like as a director, or recognize his directing.
KRIS: For sure
MIRI: Thatâs the hanging point to me--if you want that as an excuse, you canât go deeper on some parts. You have to stay on that level and have fun thereÂ
ANDREW: Even if there are better films in his roster.
MIRI: Yeah, you always know youâre watching an Edgar Wright film
ANDREW: For me, it's more surface than anything else. Stylish and fun, but there are much better films of his, and better stylish films in general.
I guess it depends on how much you like Edgar Wright.
KRIS: Yeah, I definitely wouldnât put this in the upper half of his filmography
MIRI: Itâs definitely a fun movie. I enjoyed the whole thing in the theater, with some moments of having to just accept the flaws.Â
KRIS: Which I guess is why the reactions out of Austin surprised me in hindsight
Oh I did really like that Baby didnât get away
MIRI: Basically, if you can resist pulling the threads and you want a car chase movie itâs exactly what you want
KRIS: Although I donât know that I loved him getting out of prison early
ANDREW: Me too!!!
MIRI: Yeah, Iâm surprised itâs been as critically loved as it has (and largely without caveat)
ANDREW: What a twist!!!!
MIRI: Yes, that was an actually unexpected beat and I really liked it!
KRIS: Yeah I was really like âMan, how is he going to end this?â and then he really did the right thing and went with something that felt both surprising and inevitable
MIRI: Props to Mr. Wright!
ANDREW: I was still expecting him to escape Bourne style into the water until he got the cuffs thrown on.
MIRI: That would also have been a turn
ANDREW: Like Debora would smile as Baby swims away and the action music will play.
And credits.
KRIS: And the structural success there again makes the characterization choices frustrating to me
https://twitter.com/tvoti/status/881358030016618497
MIRI: HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA
KRIS: I didnât actually CARE that much about Baby
MIRI: Well thatâs not a great thing, is it?
KRIS: I wouldâve dug a Bourne style ending
Although I could also see it feeling tonally more like previous Wright films than this one
Because it was such a âFuck yeah!â moment in Ultimatum
MIRI: I think Debora should have busted out unexpected abilities and gotten them out
KRIS: And I guess this was generally more elegiac
ANDREW: The Baby Ultimatum.
MIRI: hahahahaha
KRIS: A+
ANDREW: Or the Bourne Driver?
KRIS: We need a Punder Twins reaction at some point
Iâm out of stuff but I want to wait for BOB to get back to check in one more time
MIRI: Btw, if Babyâs Saoirse Ronan I still want Debora to be a girl (which I know surprises no one)
ANDREW: The Punder Twins will always be there Kris, when you need us.
MIRI: Hmmmm, what should we have them React to?
KRIS: Something they could use as a Nostalgiology tie-in
#crosspromotion
ANDREW: *Shrugs* I'm up to anything.
MIRI: ANASTASIA
Because then there can be gifs of the dress to fully convey the wonder of it and I can talk more about Anastasia
Which is always a goal
KRIS: I have not seen Anastasia
MIRI: KRIS
KRIS ITâS A GODDAMN DELIGHT
ANDREW: In the dark of the night... Kris will watch it!
Watch it!
You'll get that someday, Kris.
MIRI: â€ïž â€ïž â€ïžÂ
KRIS: BOB I am starting an arbitrary countdown
I am not sure what the units are
Or how many of them
But it is happening in my head
MIRI: That is the most arbitrary of arbitrary
I like it
KRIS: What was the first song in Baby Driver? Letâs do the runtime of that
MIRI: I donât know
KRIS:Â
youtube
ANDREW: I think "Bellbottoms?"
Oh hey!
KRIS: THIS IS A VERY GENEROUS COUNTDOWN BOB
ANDREW: Let's hope he doesn't... bottoms out?
IM NOT SORRY!
KRIS: Oh now that Iâm listening to it this was a REALLY fun opening wasnât it
MIRI: Youïżœïżœïżœre never sorry
ANDREW: It was!!!
MIRI: It really was
Although!
KRIS: Offscreen action is almost always a fun choice
MIRI: Him operating the windshield wipers dry BOTHERED ME
KRIS: Like in Mission Impossible 3
ANDREW: They didn't do a good amount of off screen action.
KRIS: I guess it wasnât really offscreen here
But it sort of feels like it in my hazy memory
MIRI: But it was removed--we were seeing it from a distance
KRIS: BOB has 2 minutes
ANDREW: And the heist gone wrong had off screen action too. Before the Good Samaritan got involved.
KRIS: Oh yeah and that was used pretty well as a dramatic beat rather than a comic one
MIRI: The Heist Gone Wrong is a good title
What genre would we put this in?
ANDREW: Rom com
MIRI: Iâve seen it described as a comedy and it isnât to me
Andrew
ANDREW: What?
MIRI: If it was a rom com sheâd have held him not talking to her in front of his friends against him way harder
KRIS: Oh maybe that was also part of why it didnât totally work for me, in terms of expectations
BOB the song is over
BOB
ANDREW: I was taking about the Heist Gone Wrong as a rom com!
MIRI: A lack of communication gone horribly awry is fundamental in rom coms
Ohhhhhhh
That makes sense
I meant to ask about Baby Driver
ANDREW: Oh! Action... thriller... musical?
MIRI: Is The Heist Gone Wrong our alternate universe version of this film with Ronan, JLo, etc? Because Iâm into that
It is now
KRIS: Hmm
MIRI: Yeah, Iâd put Baby Driver as action drama, not comedy
ANDREW: Yeah, it wasn't really funny.
KRIS: Iâm thinking of how the Golden Globes lumps musicals and comedies together
MIRI: I mean there are definitely comedic beats! But theyâre not the focus. Plus way too many people die if weâre going classical on our definitions
KRIS: Thereâs an element of genre snobbery
MIRI: Very much so
ANDREW: A lot of people do die in Shaun of the dead though.
KRIS: I like action musical
MIRI: But itâs not actually a musical
KRIS: Hmm
ANDREW: Its more of a... ballet
But with driving
MIRI: Yes!
Very apt description!!
ANDREW: And murder
Why thank you!
KRIS: Yeah, thatâs good
MIRI: A...Ballet but with Driving and Murder for sub-heading?
KRIS: BOBDAMMIT
Yes
MIRI: hahahahhahahahha Bobdammit
Ok, we may just have to call it, guys
KRIS: I wonât hold anyone else hostage here if anyone needs to bail but Iâll wait it out
MIRI: Ok. I have to get my Orphan Black thoughts in order to post, so Iâll be around
ANDREW: It's up to you two. I'm a guest here.
BOB: Sorry readingÂ
KRIS: BOB!
MIRI: BOBâs back!
BOB: What's the question?!
KRIS: Just anything else you wanted to bring up
MIRI: We just didnât want to wrap up without you
BOB: In a different life I am Baby
Very interested in the idea of reclassifying films such as this one with an alternate casting
Got me thinking all types of things now
MIRI: We should definitely make that a thing we do
KRIS: I actually really want to hear more about you-as-Baby, if you have more to say about that
BOB: Overall down to an 8 after the very Wright-ful comment on lack of women
MIRI: Andrew, heâs coming for your pun king crown!!
BOB: Well based on him driving and my life as a Lyft driver i started thinking about what I jam out to
ANDREW: Welcome to the fold, BOB.
BOB: But I enjoyed the film thoroughly and as mentioned yesterday want to get my hands on the script
To see how the link up and syncing up with action and music
MIRI: I wonder if Wright is a better director than he is a writer
BOB: I believe that despite its flaws with some characters and a few plot holes, as a whole should be considered for something award worthy because of its ingenuity with music and action
ANDREW: A Wright... er.
MIRI: I wouldnât say it deserves best screenplay or anything, but a sound design nom would be well deserved
Especially factoring in the ringing
(Is that sound design or sound engineering? I always mess them up)
BOB: I think a Golden globe nod
ANDREW: I think design!
I could be wrong.
I'm probably wrong.
MIRI:Â Whichever I mean, that one!
KRIS: For the Oscars, Sound Editing is for making effects, Sound Mixing is for how you layer them together
So I could maybe see nods for both in this case
MIRI: So design isnât even an option
That seems right
KRIS: I tend to say âsound designâ as a safe/cop-out catchall
Oh I could totally see a Globe nod
BOB: How about its cinematography?
KRIS: in that weird Best Musical or Comedy category
MIRI: Hmmmm. I never really noticed the cinematography the way I did the sound
(donât tell my dad)
Miriâs dad is a camera operator
KRIS: Same, except in that single shot coffee run
MIRI: Yeah, that was fun
BOB: It was shot really well
KRIS: But I would believe it was a hard movie to shoot, since most of the effects/stunts were practical
MIRI: They ought to get recognition for the stunts/driving
ANDREW: It was shot very stylistically too.
MIRI: Is there a stunt Oscar or Globe?
ANDREW: How many cars were destroyed in the making of this film?
BOB: Not yet
KRIS: I feel like Iâve heard that stunt people have been pushing for an Oscar?
Which should definitely be a thing
MIRI: Yeah, looks like no go yet
BOB: The Wright amount of cars were destroyed
KRIS: Oh my god
ANDREW: Son of a bitch!!!!
MIRI: Roughly 150, apparentlyÂ
ANDREW: Is that really the number?
Holy shit!
MIRI: http://www.cinemablend.com/news/1665810/the-crazy-number-of-cars-edgar-wright-used-for-baby-driver
Not sure they were all wrecked!
Just used
KRIS: I think we may have a new title contender
Thatâs also going to be hard to beat as an exit line
ANDREW: I will play Angel by Sarah McLaughlin as I think of those cars this evening.
Thanks very much to Andrew and BOB for Guest Reacting! You will almost certainly hear from them again.
For even more pop culture reactions -- just, uh, mostly from people who arenât us -- follow us on Twitter!
#Baby Driver#Edgar Wright#Ansel Elgort#Lily James#Kevin Spacey#Miri#Kris#Andrew#BOB#guest reactors#movies#music#reaction#Miri had way too much fun on that photo layout for The Heist Gone Wrong#recast#The Heist Gone Wrong
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MCU Rewatch:Â âCaptain America: Civil Warâ (2016)
After everything Bucky has been through, I really wanted him to be doing better after walking away from Hydra. He DESERVED better. Iâll bet Iâm not the only person who feels the same way.
The person who really needs to be called out for their behavior is the lady who confronts Tony in the hallway at MIT. Iâm sorry, I donât care about what youâve suffered, YOU SHOULDNâT DO THAT TO PEOPLE. THAT IS JUST CRUEL.
I donât think Tony is in a good place at all in this filmÂ
I donât think I realized how deep Tonyâs daddy issues went until this movie came out
I definitely think the Staron kiss was unnecessaryÂ
but other than that Sharon Carter is a Queen(TM) in this movie and deserves respect. She deserves a mini-series/TV show.
Thunderbolt Ross is a pompus twat
Natashaâs hair in this film is her best hair
Redwing is cool, and the fact that Sam Wilson has a drone like that hints that he probably knows a bit about computers and AI--not necessarily as much as Tony Stark or even Natasha, but he knows a bit
the Lagos fight scene is so great
The airport battle is either Feels or literal LOL. there is no in-between
Brock Rumlow is a drama queen. yeah his face couldâve turned out worse but itâs not as ugly as his soul
The dead look in Tonyâs eyes when he sees Pepperâs name on the teleprompter
Natasha apologizing to King Tâchaka for the deaths of his emissaries was necessary. The Avengers owed him that much even if it was an accident. And it was.
Civil War is the darkest and most intense Marvel film. Partly because some of the fight scenes are filmed in shaky-cam mode.
It was a cute nod to Sebastian Stan to have Bucky be hiding in Romania. But was Atlanta/Berlin/Puerto Rico really the best place to film those scenes? Because I donât think Romania has that nice of infrastructure.
How much has Bucky been running? The answer is, a lot.
Also, how often has he found himself trying to escape and stuck awkwardly in the middle of traffic?
The demo âmemoryâ in Starkâs simulator at MIT is probably 90% fabricated. Tony probably didnât interact that much with his parents when they said goodbye IRL.Â
âI know that road--â In spite of how much SHIELD/Hydra covered up the real nature of the Starkâs deaths, Tony was still acquainted with what happened. Like, he had detailed knowledge of anything that wasnât covered up
I love how Vision is still loyal to Wanda even after they choose different sides. I love how he is trying to help her from the beginning, because he probably knows better than anyone that she is really down on herself after Lagos
Iâm not sure how much on purpose Rumlow and his thugs chose to go after a bio-weapon kept in a developing country, but (A) he knew the Avengers were going to catch up with him at some point, and (B) collateral damage would make the Avengers look bad--their popularity had been declining since even before Sokovia. Iâll bet Rumlow watched the remainder of the events from Hell laughing at how much trouble heâd gotten the Avengers in.Â
Plus the suicide vest: he wanted to take as many people with him as he could. He was already wearing it so he was banking on having to make a quick exit. He was even hoping he would run into Cap so he could get them both. Rumlow is SO evil.
The really unfortunate thing for the Avengers is that the people really responsible for the things that they are getting blamed for--Ultron, Hydra, Rumlow--are dead or in prison. So who do people blame? The people who saved the world from those idiots.
Vision states when explaining his feelings about the Accords that heâs noticed that in the last 8 years the number of world disasters has gone up. Heâs right about the Avengersâ strength being challenged from the Universe. It may not look like it to a normal person within the MCU but there is causality. But as much as those events are related or unrelated Vision knows thereâs something up. Itâs like he knows Thanos is coming without being able to put a name on it
Helmut Zemo may be evil but Vasily Karpov is also a disgusting human being.
Karpov in the flashbacks: heâs deaf to the sounds of suffering but he hears when there is silence
Wandaâs arc in this film is about dealing with growing up
THIS WAS THE PERFECT INTRODUCTION FOR SPIDER-MAN
If Steve Rogers was condescending to anyone, it was Spider-Man
NO ONE of the Avengers was happy to see Secretary Ross show up at their compound. Even Tony looked like he was going to be sick--if he wasnât already ill from the sheer awfulness of the situation. Like that look he gives to Steve is âIâm sorry, I donât want this either.â
Tony is just under a lot of stress and heâs desperate to keep the team together. He knows that working with Secretary Ross and trying to make his team sign the Accords is a terrible idea. and he knows Bruce would hate him for it But to him, itâs the only option.
Tony may be acting cooperative but Thunderbolt Ross still treats him like garbage and it burns me. Thunderbolt treats all superhumans like garbage.Â
Iâm not sure Tony was at all hopeful that the authorities would play nice, including Ross. But if he did, or if he thought he could protect his fellow Avengers, it was a very slim hope, and he was gravely mistaken.
However, Tony is rude and condescending to the Avengers and to Steve the ENTIRE TIME. Except for when he goes to Siberia--but as we all know that doesnât last long, thanks Zemo
The airport fight, Tony is like âYOU LISTEN TO ME, YOU ARE DELUDED, YOU ARE A PROBLEM, HAND OVER BUCKYâ, he practically yells at Steve. Steveâs âYou did that when you signedâ is a low blow but he doesnât say it in a mean way at all
Even after Natasha fought on his side in the airport battle, Tony took out his angst over Rhodey getting hurt by talking down to her--a woman he has known and respected for a long time. No wonder she walks away.
So much for Tony âprotectingâ his friends
Iâm not mad at Tony, really. Iâm really sad for him, in fact.
It can also be argued that Wanda Maximoff was genuinely mad at everyone except for Vision, she totally meant to hurt people at the airport
But tell me how that justifies the authorities putting her in a straightjacket. If Wanda has an attitude problem, thatâs her problem, not an excuse to punish her for being who she is.
One thing that has always bothered me about this film and Doctor Strange is that right before the climax, the leading female characters disappear and itâs all about the men. Not that the climaxes of either film are poorly executed but it still bugs me
okay maybe FRIDAY counts but Iâm not a huge fan of Friday
Why the heck didnât Steve or Tony or Bucky destroy the computer while Zemo was playing the video?
Steve was definitely defensive about the Accords, but he was Woke about how corrupt they were and how Zemo was bad news. True, he was going on instinct for some of it, but his instinct was correct, and experience told him that it wasnât worth trusting higher authority. He refused to compromise because of how it was unfair to his teammates, and to the world he was trying to save.
Iâm still definitely Team Cap.Â
But the Sokovia Accords were a no-win situation for anybody no matter which âsideâ they were on
Itâs kind of hard to not be on an Avengers team with Steve Rogers and not at least know that Bucky is kind of a big deal to him
The shot of the inside of Rhodeyâs helmet after he gets shot down, thereâs no AI or computer projections--that is scary
Thereâs no reason Natasha wasnât sitting in the back of the church at Peggyâs funeral. But the funeral may have been limited to just family and friends of Peggy and her family, so how would Nat have gotten an invitation?
The timing of the transition from the funeral to the UN bombing makes no sense, unless it was all happening on the same day and Sharon invited Sam and Steve to fly to Vienna with her. Which still doesnât make sense.
Look, if Steve Rogers wants to be romantically involved with someone, then it makes the most sense, at least to me, for him to pick Sharon.Â
The thing with Natasha is, her inner darkness is a lot different from Steveâs and she knows it, and thatâs why in TWS she kept trying to set him up with someone else. Theyâre friends but in my opinion they donât have to be romantically/sexually involved. In fact, Steve and Nat not dating makes their relationship stronger, in a way.
The kiss might have made more sense if Steve and Sharon had kept in touch over the last two years, but theyâve both been pretty busy
A Staron mini-series would also be great. IDK, donât tell me that Steve and Sharon werenât in touch between Germany and Infinity War.
Also Steve walked Sharon back to her hotel room, heâs not the same man that came off the ice but heâs still there with the old-fashioned manners
The authorities treat Bucky Barnes like an animal. Yes, heâs got issues, but it took Zemo specifically triggering his programming to get him to act out, and when he did the restraints were of no use. Gosh.
Two-on-one Natasha Romanoff and Sharon Carter versus the reawakened Winter Soldier HOW COOL IS THAT? Have they done that kind of thing before? Does Sharon need to be in the Black Widow movie? because she does. Does Sharon need to be a part of a someday all-female superheroes Marvel film? Absolutely.
Zemo triggering Bucky was a nightmare for everyone involved, including Bucky himself.
Call out Tony for whatever else you want but donât call him a creeper for taking Peter with him to Germany
The beginnings of IronDad are actually beautiful to watch. He may have brought in the Spider-Dad to get an edge over Team Cap but he was still protective of his charge.
I also relate to Peter Parkerâs satisfaction with nailing an Algebra test
Zemo probably had a long wait in the old bunker in Siberia.Â
During the scene after the Winter Soldier attack Ross comes to chew out Stark. Ross says out loud that he wanted Barnes dead. I donât know whether to shudder or to throw up thinking about that--and Tony felt the exact same way. Look, Tony is painfully aware of how much Bucky means to Cap. He offered to get Bucky into an American psych ward if Steve cooperated. Tony was willing to give Bucky a chance--until he found out that the Winter Soldier murdered his parents. And thatâs when Tony chose himself over Bucky and Steve.Â
Did I mention how much I hate Helmut Zemo?
Just a small observation: decisions made on impulse and based on emoton, such as attacking and murdering the person who was brainwashed into killing your parents, are often selfish
Wanda Maximoff was confined to the Avengers compound without her information or consent. How is that right? How is that fair?
Word on the street is that the Civil War comics âbent over backwardsâ to make Iron Man the villain. The movie...in some ways did that to Captain America.
Part of the reason it LOOKS like Cap is the villain is because the film is structured so that everyone is aware of how much personal and psychological pain Tony Stark is in. And unfortunately Steve isnât as aware of that. At least enough to be sensitive about it and give Tony the benefit of a doubt and compromise.
But you could also say that Tony Stark is made into âvillainâ--either because of his suffering or in spite of it
âYou could at least recognize meâ--Iâm sorry, there is no other explanation. The Red Room happened.
âIf it is any comfort, they died in their sleep.â No, that is not a comfort at all. That is horrifying.
Wanda Maximoff isnât literally a âkidâ but sheâs still vulnerable. Sheâs been through a lot and sheâs sensitive to criticism. Grown-ups can be vulnerable too. Case in point: Tony Stark.
The Raft prison scene: Clint is TICKED.
Rhodeyâs argument for supporting the Accords is pretty logical, heâs not doing it just out of support for Tony. But at the end of the day, heâs the only person still there for Tony because Rhodey is the only person that Tony hasnât been a jerk to.
Vision energy-blasted a line in the pavement in front of Team Cap. I grew up in Texas, just outside San Antonio. So Iâve heard a lot about the Alamo. I know the story about the Line in the Sand. It may be a legend, but I think it was referenced here.
Clint turns his bow into a baton/staff when he confronts Black Panther. How did we not see this as a hint at Ronin? Did anyone?
Can Tony sleep in his Iron Man suits on long flights?
âOh, thisâll clear things up.â The dynamics between the new Avengers teammates--we donât see enough of them but theâre fun to watch. Sam and Rhodey having arguments, then Vision cutting in with his uber-logic and them being annoyed with it. Darn, the new Avengers were great.
Sharon reading the quote attributed to Peggy and then looking down at Steve: I do not approve of the Accords and Peggy would not have supported them either
In the comics, the âno, you moveâ speech was originally Capâs. The fact that they changed it to being originally Peggyâs words shows that the screenwriters and Kevin Fegie and perhaps other Powers at Marvel think she is important to the MCU
I wonder how much Sharon knows about whatâs going down with the Accords? Sheâs just a CIA lackey, but who knows? Would she have told Steve more about it after the funeral? Iâll bet you she did
But that leaves me wondering what was in the rest of Sharonâs eulogy. And why she was important enough to the family that she gave that speech
Just for the love of everything LEAVE WANDA ALONE!
So did Tony actually want to kill Bucky or just hurt him really badly? Itâs hard to tell the difference.Â
The end of the fight: Steve really did ALMOST lose it and ALMOST kill Tony. But he caught himself after he broke the arc-reactor. And Steve DOES NOT LOOK HAPPY about what just happened--and what just almost happened.
If Steve Rogers compromised on one thing, it was acknowledging that he didnât deserve to be Captain America and dropping the shield.Â
Rogers didnât leave Tony to die smh, he and Bucky went to Wakanda with Tâchalla and Tony took Zemo in the QuinJet to somewhere more hospitable, where he could hand over that son of a camel to the authorities (in my fanfic they go to Japan, bc itâs probably closer to that part of Siberia than central Europe)
The post-credit scene: Aunt May isnât stupid yâall. She doesnât know the whole story yet but she knows Peter is up to something.
Mid-credit scene: I donât think Bucky consulted Steve at all about going under voluntarily. Bucky probably made the decision on his own with the doctors and then Steve was told and asked to come say goodbye ;kjfadslknj
Thereâs a shot where Bucky looks at the cryo chamber before Steve speaks to him and I wonder what he was thinking
Did Bucky even care whether or not he woke up?
On this viewing, him voluntarily going under does make some sense, his programming can cause him to do pretty bad stuff--but Iâd still rather he hadnât. I think it was partly out of self-loathing. âIâm too dangerous to have a normal life or be loved.â That thought that breaks my heart. Gosh darn it I thought this time I was over it but now Iâm starting to collapse again...
Thereâs no arguing that Steve isnât very happy about it
âAllow Barnes the dignity of his choiceâ Great insight. Where is the option for him to have a safe, normal, and happy life? Does he need to be unconscious for his programming to be fixed? Hm?
Oh yeah, I wrote a fanfic about that.
Also, thereâs a deleted scene where the other Ross informs Tâchalla that he got extradition for Barnes. So maybe the âLet them tryâ line wasnât necessary. Unless Thunderbolt was so determined to get Buckyâs head on a platter (*shudder*) that he literally did not care. Then again, nobody tries to invade Wakanda and gets away with it. Thunderbolt maybe thought it was a lost cause and he was probably right.
After I get Thanos, Iâm coming for Thunderbolt Ross.Â
And you better hope Ross got dusted and doesnât come back because it wonât be pretty.
Steveâs letter to Tony is sincere.
The Raft was already built and operational when the Accords were created, it must have been in planning way far back--this has Thunderbolt Ross written all over it.
I really need more Steve and Bucky fighting together side-by-side and being bros. But I guess that just means I need to work on my fanfiction.
At the end of the day, itâs a tragedy that these wonderful people let their differences get in the way of getting along, but deep down and in spite of everything that happened they are all still friends.
I used to hate Spider-man. Tom Holland as MCU!Peter Parker is cute. And heâs probably one of the best things to ever happen to Tony, after Pepper. He can stay.
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Rewatching âPath of the Jediâ
Iâm just coasting through most of S1 right now because procrastination is a helluva drug.
Throwback time!
I love the shot of Ezra running through the field.
What is Kanan looking at on the holocron?
Oh itâs a map
*Ezra asks if he can come in*Â I understand that yeah, theyâre hanging out in Kananâs room and Kananâs the Space Dad, but you donât have to sound like a vampire when you ask to come in.
The Force Theme!
Oooh, you [Ezra] did not just disrespect Depa Billaba in front of Kanan.
Apparently, according to some novelization of this episode (apparently almost the entirety of S1 had novelizations), theyâre [Kanan and Hera] holding hands here?
A dynamic I like: the teacher trolling the crap out of the student. Lookinâ at you Kanan.
I love how in this show, there is so much emphasis on the Force and how it works. They actually say in this episode that âall that remains is the Force.â Itâs not like TCW, where the main focus is the titular war.
Loth-cats!
Meditating!
Thereâs always this ringing sound when someone uses the Force.
Ezraâs face!
âWell dead guys are distracting!â You said it.
âThatâs what my master told me.â I donât need these feels, Kanan.
I still havenât read the âLast Padawanâ comics. I want to though.
Oh my God, Ezraâs version of âEeny Meeny Miny Moâ
Apparently the title of the soundtrack used here is called âImperial Inquisitionâ
NO ONE EXPECTS THE IMPERIAL INQUISITION!
OK, Ezra has to know that itâs a Force Vision because Kanan A) refers to Ezra as âboyâ and B) everyoneâs fighting styles are terrible.
Even in a freaking horrible nightmare of a Force vision, Heraâs still the mom figure.
How the heck is Ezra gonna keep track of what constitutes as a Force vision after this episode?
God, Ezraâs gonna be so sick of the color red after this.
Wait nope, nevermind. He trusts Maul in S2 and he opens the Sith Holocron
What is it with Sith users grabbing someoneâs face? I mean, it happened to poor Obi-Wan all the time in TCW
Oh wait a minute! Both Kanan and Ezra both had trials that involved the Grand Inquisitor!
Ezraâs trial AKA this episode had the Grand Inquisitor now while Kanan had the Grand Inquisitor when he was still a Temple Guard. Good vs. evil.
*high fives self for the meta*
Frank Oz!
God, and we get character development for Kanan!
I really need to read âThe Last Padawan.â
âI wonât let him lose his way. Not like I did.â Kanan, youâre killing me.
Ezra found his way thanks to you.
This episode and the Empire Day arc is just character development galore.
This combo of Yodaâs somewhat theme and the Force theme is really pretty.
Yay, Ezra got his lightsaber crystal!
Yeah, youâre gonna use a Jedi Temple full of dead Jedi masters as a base? Great thinking, Ezra.
âI know whatâs in there. The past.â Thank you, Kanan. See Ezra? Exactly my point.
Oh my gosh, I didnât notice Kanan looking at Hera while she was talking.
The people at Lucasfilm Animation just love screwing with us, donât they?
Ignite the blade! Yes!
I love how this episode is like âoh, Ezraâs faced many challenges but he survived and everything is good nowâ while in the very next episode (âIdiotâs Arrayâ), everyoneâs like âNOW BACK TO THIS SHITHEAD WHO HAD A LOT TO SAY ABOUT US A FEW HOURS AGO. LANDO, WHATâS GOOD?â
#swr rewatch#swr#star wars rebels#path of the jedi#ezra bridger#kanan jarrus#depa billaba#master yoda#the last padawan#character development#the blogger reacts#no one expects the spanish inquisition#the grand inquisitor
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NSFW #02: For Fun!
âSay Hey, EWC Faithful! Weâre here with you at the lovely Crystal campground in the majestic Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas.â âWeâre going camping, and youâre going to watch.â Indeed, NSFW was camping. A large two person tent was set up and just visible to the left, and framed right in the center of the shot were Bishop Church and Mike McGuire, sitting across from one another beside a large, cheerily crackling campfire. The evidence of their dinner sits atop a small cooler: hot dogs, tofu dogs, stadium mustard, ketchup, buns. Chocolate and marshmallows for sâmores. The night sky is star-flecked through the towering trees, and in the background are the sounds of rustling leaves and the babble of a nearby but unseen creek. It was a good campsite. This had been a good trip so far in general, marked by a good beginning: a Fourth of July party held at the magnificent estate of their good friend (and as far as they were concerned, the heir apparent to the EWC Undisputed Championship) Natalie Young. There had been a moment that, while perhaps not exactly pleasant, had lent some serious emotional gravity between the three of them, and though the unpleasantness had dissipated, the strengthened bond hadnât. After the eveningâs festivities theyâd been wished a safe trip and, much to Mikeâs delight, she got a kiss goodbye thatâd set her in an outright giggly mood for hours afterward. Mike pulled a speared marshmallow away from the fire, sandwiching it between two graham crackers with a piece of Hershey bar before taking a bite. Bishop held a small assortment of notecards, and Mike had some of her own sitting on the log beside her. âAs you can see, our efforts to save some cash on this cross-country roadtrip weâre doing have gone critical mass. We are Now Sleeping in the Fucking Woods. But since weâre camping⊠you wanna hear a scary story?â She leaned forward, her face illuminated by the flames in an eerie manner. âThis is a story of a man. A man who surrounded himself with people he called his friends. But little did he know that these people were not what they seemed. They were⊠FUUUUUCKING HYYYPOCRIIIIIIIIITES.â Raising her arms up, she wiggled her fingers to convey spookiness. âOur story begins on a most jingoistic of evenings and our hero had just introduced a most marvelous of notions. He would captain a squad of five like individuals. They would bring forth a new era.â John looked down at the first card in his hand and read it aloud: âThis is not a Revolution. We are not taking some grand stance against corruption or apathy or any other "cause". This is not about The Future. This is about right now. This is about bringing some fun back to the EWC. Too many competitors are wound up tighter than the blunts Smokey Jones rolls.â He tossed the first card into the fire. âOnly it turns out, this little newly formed group of ragtag misfits, Freaks and Geeks, ifân you will, has a really fuckinâ interesting idea on what constitutes âfunâ. And just to prove that we ainât just spinninâ this tale out of our asses, we did our homework. And we took fuckinâ notes. Letâs start with everybodyâs favorite stoner, shall we? Smokey Fuckinâ Jones.â She brushed the graham cracker crumbs off her hands and picked up the first card off her small stack. âJames Larson, you carry all the tools for success, but have done nothing more than play games with the likes of it. I say, you sacrifice yourself one last time. Sacrifice yourself to me in the middle of the ring and lie down on the mat for the three count and I will take you back to the top of your game.â She looked at the camera with a slightly tilted head, lips twisting into an inquisitive frown. âLet me preface this with saying I donât mind a bit of the wacky tobaccy now and then. But I, no sane person, really, goes off and demands human fuckinâ sacrifice or whatever in the name of legalizing it.â Following her partnerâs lead, she pitched the card into the fire before picking the next one up, holding onto it for the time being. âNow. I donât think Cletus literally means human sacrifice. But in nearly every one of his bouts, he has made the ultimatum that if you donât join him in The Promised Land, heâll make sure you regret it.â âYâknow, for fun!â âAnyway, Iâve already spoken at length about Orianna Johnson. She is spry and cheery. She is only eighteen-years-old. Look at the jubilation she expresses in her every word. Happy statements to Lavender like:â Next card. âYouâre about as sharp as the leading edge of a bowling ball arenât you?â âWhich is funny considering just weeks prior she stated:â "With the admiration of many, you've gained mine as well, and my respect, Lavender. You'll never hear me bragging about how I can go out in the sunlight and not be afraid. I won't rub that in your face like others have. You may not realize it, but you've won far more in life than your win/loss record in the ring says.â Whoosh. Into the flames. âA little condescending. We all have some quotient of snark these days. But Mike, thereâs just something strange about this.â âYouâre right, partner. I mean, Iâve seen that promo and rewatched it a couple fuckinâ times because it was so goddamn weird. She says somethinâ about the well deserved admiration of the people or some shit like that, and then, boom. Sheâs talking about something else out of the blue, in a different position than she was a second ago.â âMaybe she flubbed. When we started this whole ordeal, I certainly didnât feel comfortable with all of this. Still makes me tense but I can deal with it. But yes, maybe itâs a promo cut together with the best takes. Or maybeâŠâ â...given Little Miss Teen EWCâs track record on talking shit, she said something so fuckinâ untoward that even she couldnât leave it in. Cuz if she did? Everybodyâd know just what an ugly, rotten, two-faced little snake that girl is. And we canât have that. Sheâs just a CHILD, right? Kids will be kids.â âYouth isnât an excuse for being needlessly cruel. Although, this is just speculation. But weâve got plenty of tape of how she views those of a lower station than her. Orianna Johnson: Dehumanizing others by referring to them as âitâ and the destruction and theft of private property.â âYâknow, for fun!â She looked down at the card sheâd picked up, pursing her lips a bit. âNow, this one seems like a breath of fresh fuckinâ air, especially cominâ after the lovely Miss Johnson. Steve Barnes. Superhero. Would be fuckinâ bully killer. I quote.â âI am sick and tired of men like you in this business. They are everywhere, thinking they can do whatever they want, to whoever they want, whenever they want. Today that stops. Men like you are nothing more than schoolyard bullies; and I hate bullies. So, from now on, wherever there are men like you, I will be there. You want to keep coming at people like you just did, I will be there to stop you. My name is Steve Barnes...and I AM IRON MAN!â âNice words. Would be an admirable cause. Problem is? You really really suck at it. Letâs look at the night you said all this. Sure, you came out, beat up on Collateral Damage, and why wouldnât you? Beating up Draco Lazarus is fucking fun. There are few faces as outright begging to be punched as his. But where the heck were you when Az was getting shredded by a bunch of masked fuckers? I donât recall Tony Motherfucking Stark beinâ all selective about his superheroism. Matter of factâŠâ She winged the card into the fire Frisbee-style and folded her arms, smirking a little in spite of herself. â...weâre doing a better job than you. Not that weâre out looking to be the Avengers, heh, the Guardians actually suit us way better if weâd even want to go that route. But how many instances of fucking shenanigans have Draco and his cronies tried to pull lately? And whoâs usually there to beat his ass? Hereâs a hint: NOT YOU.â âYou certainly had your chance last Monday. Twice. You had a chance to make another grand statement. Instead you opted to say nothing whatsoever. When Mucho Grande! were the victims of another assault from Collateral Damage, where were you, Iron Man? If youâre going to virtue signal, at least live up to it.â âSo much for having no cause except for ZOMGOD FUN, huh?â She paused. âHey Church. You got one more card there. That who I think it is?â âYes.â John tapped his last index card against the palm of his hand. âA familiar adversary. Kendrick Kross. Mr. Lutterâs tag team partner in our upcoming encounter. Two men who prior to this alliance were embroiled in a heated contest. But now there are no agendas and itâs all about entertainment. What does Kross really think about that?â âI truly have a love and respect for Nostalgia, he is someone that I can call a friend, he has his faults just as everyone else, one of them is having to please his followers, the Sentimentalists...what is the point in that? Why should you fight and please the Sentimentalists when all that you should want and need to do is fight to please yourself, thatâs one of his faults that will get him in trouble one day, and that day will be at Scars and Stripes.â Johnâs hands are now empty as the last card joined the rest. âHis plans were put on ice that evening.â âYeah, unfortunately, Cherry Garcia decided to give him the fuckinâ cold shoulder.â They glanced at each other for just a moment, giving simultaneous slight snickers at each otherâs dreadful puns. âBut it makes me think, Mike, our cool friend essentially said that he does this for himself. That his leaderâs selflessness will cost him one day. When do you think that will happen? Maybe in Oakland?â Mike nodded grimly. âYeah, I mean, calling your tag team partner naive and prone to fuckinâ backstabbing donât exactly harbor an atmosphere of trust, and as we can tell you, if you donât have trust in a tag team, youâre fucked with a capital F. U. But I guess in your book, maybe if heâs that gullible, he deserves it, right?â âAlthough, if I were Mr. Lutter, I wouldnât take much of what Kross says at face value. I happen to remember that his evaluation of me was of little worth. He has the habit of deriding every individual he comes across with backhanded compliments that culminate in him trying to run them out of the business. Friend or foe.â âCondensation and backstabbing. Yâknow, for fun!â Silence except the crackle of the flames. John raised a finger in the air as if to correct her but then he withdrew and nodded in agreement. âYou know, youâre right. He would technically do that as he defrosted.â Mike blinked, and then broke into wild cackles, falling backwards off the log she was sitting on. âOoof. Iâm okay.â Picking herself up, she sits back down, brushes herself off, and clears her throat. âAnyways. You may notice by now that we are fresh outta notecards. Thatâs because, well, we ainât got nothinâ bad to say about Nostalgia. He ainât a hypocrite, farâs weâve been able to see: heâs the only one in this whole bunch who actually believes in his own fuckinâ mission statement. Youâre a good dude, Nos. Youâre a lot of fun, and youâre real fuckinâ talented. But when we got your manager out of a spot, and you asked us to join your group? We said weâd get back to you⊠anâ now weâve got our answer.â âNo. Not because of you. I like you. Mike likes you. Youâve been nothing but kind to us. Youâve said complimentary things about us. Hereâs the thing. If we joined you, weâd be quoting ourselves all through the night.â âWeâre just not like you. We donât fuckinâ fit in your box or anyoneâs. Do we like to have fun? Fuck yeah we do. But unlike what you said you guys are about? We DO stand for something. Weâve said it all this time, and if you missed it you havenât been fuckinâ paying attention. Nuh-uh. Weâre not freaks, or geeks. Weâre us, and ainât nobody like us.â She paused a moment, a dreamy little smile flicking over her face. âCept for maybe Miss Natalie. Sheâs so fuckinâ cool, and strong, and smart, and sheâs got the prettiest fuckinâ eyes, and it was so awesome of her to invite us over for the Fourth for that partyâŠâ âI enjoyed Natalieâs pie.â Mike sat up, suddenly looking slightly irked. âHey, I thought you liked MY pie best! I mean, you ate a bunch of it before we left the house. Eh, on the other hand, maybe it wasnât that great after eight hours in the car.â John looked directly at the camera. His words would be followed by thousands of fingers clacking away at their keyboards. âYou both had me licking the plate clean.â Mikeâs hand flew to her mouth, perhaps stifling a snicker, and her emerald eyes glinted merrily in the firelight. âAnyway. Donât take what we do to you personal, Nos, but take this right now as a warning that weâre givinâ you as friends. Iâd keep an eye on the company you keep. They may be playinâ along with you just long enough to swipe something you have that they fuckinâ want.â âStorytime is over.â John stood up from the log. âComing up, Freaks and Geeks makes their official debut in the tag team division against us. Mike, lots of folks around here like history. NSFW stands before you and well, we donât have a shot at the tag team gold. You train and train in the hopes of reaching the top and sometimes it just doesnât happen no matter how much you wanted it to. Tell them, Mike, what does NSFW do when we just fall short?â âWe pick ourselves up, fuckinâ reload, study up, and do better next time. We donât run to the back and sob like little eighteen year old girls. So weâre not number one contenders right now. We will be. We said weâre gonna be fuckinâ Tag Team Champions, and we stand by that, no matter how many times we gotta start over. And you guysâll be as good a handhold in our climb back up the mountain as any.â âAnd believe me, we arenât marginalizing you two. Champions. Main eventers. Bonafide megastars. And here we are: the upstarts. Thatâs the nature of this business. Not fun. Notsports entertainment. Ask the Madison brothers what sports entertainment has ever done for them.â Mike got to her feet as well, standing with her arms folded at her partnerâs right hand.âThatâs where fun gets you when you donât stand for shit. Goofing around, smoking a bowl, and lighting farts on fire. Is that what you really fuckinâ want, Nos? Is that all you want out of this business? Itâs clearly not or you wouldnât have fuckinâ main evented the yearâs biggest goddamn show.â âThat goes for them all. Kendrick Kross said because I didnât know why I was here that Iâd wash out. You know what? You were right. But as I stand before you with my partner, youârewrong.â John put an arm around Mikeâs shoulders. His hand hesitated for just a moment before he rested it on her bare shoulder. âNSFW. Thatâs what matters. Thatâs our cause.â âWe believe in us. And not just us. We believe in our friends. We believe in every fuckinâ person out there who takes those four letters to mean somethinâ besides âNot Safe For Workâ. We fuckinâ stand by that and nothinâs gonna budge or break us. Can you Freaks and Geeks say the same? I donât fuckinâ think you can. Itâs right there in your motto. You donât stand for nothinâ but fun, and we already pointed out where that fuckinâ leads.â Thereâs a pause then, almost if Mike was very reluctant to pull away. But she did (though she was almost too slow about it) and strode over to the tripod-mounted phone, bending down, almost staring right through it at the people she was addressing. âSee you in Oakland. I hope for your sakes you find a better fucking conviction than âFOR FUNâ before then.â The camera clicked off. After that, John and Mike set to tidying up the campsite- dousing the fire with water from the creek and stirring up the ashes, putting the food away in the cooler and out of the reach of hungry, mischievous raccoons, throwing their garbage into a sealed trash can not far from their campsite. All that done, they tucked into their tent for the night. It was one of those comfortable silences, little sound but the chirp of insects and soft rushing of the creek, the tent illuminated by the dim light of Johnâs Kindle as he finished the chapter of The Natural heâd been in the middle of. Mike smiled. Heâd really gotten the hang of using it, just as they knew he would. They could only imagine the size of his digital library. Their voice softly broke the silence. âHey, Church. Iâm glad we did this.â John clicked off his book for now. âMe too.â Perhaps a struggle, John rewinded past everything, through all of the ugliness and told them: âUsed to go camping all the time. In better days.â âWe can keep doing it, you know. If you want. I kinda like it better than seeing the same fuckinâ hotel room insides every night.â Mike propped their cheek in one hand, and as if realizing they forgot to take it off, removed their hat, setting it beside their pillow. âIf you liked it before, I wanna give it back to you.â âMaybe it isnât necessary.â Johnâs back was to them. He nestled his head into the pillow. His tone was drowsy. âMike. I donât know how to put this but I feel like Iâve come back to life. And all of this, this can be what I like now.â âYeah⊠I can see what you mean.â They closed their eyes. There was something dancing on the tip of their tongue, but it was colliding and conflicting with other things, growing affections, even. Things they felt. Things they wanted to say. It was unlike them and they found it frustrating, stewing on their words this way, but they were unable to just spit it out. It tied itself in knots, rearranged itself, and finally came out in something both completely different and exactly the same as what theyâd originally had in mind. âJohn? You⊠know Iâd never hurt you ever, right? Iâd drop fucking dead first.â Silence. â...Church?â No sound but a soft, easy, contented cadence of breathing. They smiled, shook their head, and bedded down as well. Maybe it was for the best. âGânight, buddy.â
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The Right Thing vs The Greater Good
Iâve been rewatching the middle bits of s11 on the TNT loop today (11.14-17), and throwing in 11.10 for Dabb putting his fingerprints all over the mytharc for s11, it really feels like this chunk of episodes is really when Dabb started exerting his influence all over the major themes of the series. And this group of episodes really clearly shows the sorts of themes that s12 is addressing in another way, especially since it seems like Dabb had been in cahoots with Bobo, and still is⊠:D
(pffft another way)
I included some of my chattybubble thoughts to Lizbob for both clarification and some just for funsies because I think Iâm hilarious. :D
Thereâs the extremely surface level stuff about the MoL involvement in Europe in the past, and bringing that plot to the surface (heh because those events culminated in the sinking of a submarine, I crack myself up).
Iâd like to point out that 11.14 and 11.16 BOTH deal with time travel, or stories that play with time in interesting ways, THIS is how you do time travel episodes. And the consequences of 11.14 are similar to the consequences of traveling to the past in the entire history of this show (4.03, 5.13, 6.18, 7.12âŠ) WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE DREADED BUCKLEMMING TIME TRAVEL FIASCOES. Ugh. Okay. Sorry. Just had to say that.
Most of my thoughts on 11.15 and 11.16 ended up tidily summarized in our chats, so here, have a transcript of those, followed by my runthrough of the MAJOR INPORTINT THEMES in 11.17 that are still playing out mid s12. Under a cut, because I still havenât learned the meaning of the word âbrevity.â At least Iâm still funny:
(edited for readability, and focus in on the main points. Yâall donât need to hear such bits of this as me musing over the dozens of robins roosting in my birch tree or that Lizbob went out for a walk at one point...I bolded some key things if youâd prefer to just sorta skim this...)
Mittensmorgul: oh gosh mel's texting me, and I had to tell her that I'd rewound the "travel back in time" episode, she's like "ooh wrestling ep in 4 minutes!" and I had to tell her I'm "not caught up to real time yet." I hate time travel :P
Elizabethrobertajones: hahaha you're in a time loop. amazing :P are you up to the wrestling yet? Does it look any different from a Dabb vs performing Dean hindsight?
Mittensmorgul: It's a bit like an early "ghost of john winchester" preview to s12
Mittensmorgul: Heck I feel really bad for Harley, He believed in himself, turned down a demon deal, and ended up tortured and dead because of it :(
Elizabethrobertajones: yeah :< he was a Dean mirror at the time, right? I can't remember why
Mittensmorgul: He'd spent the first half grumpy at the "old guys." He was almost killed accidentally by the hangman's noose in the ring. the one whose funeral started everything. he was a suspect at first, they thought he was the demon for a bit. he was accusing gunner of being on drugs (he saw his dealer... er. demon). He was a hothead supposedly starting trouble, but really he was standing up for the "honor" (not the right word but whatever) of what they do, working for next to nothing night after night on the road. Ends up having his soul stolen by a demon against his will anyway
Elizabethrobertajones: right, he was a worst case scenario about souls being snatched, which we were worried about at the time
Mittensmorgul: and then in the end, after all Harley's yelling at Gunner about being dirty (via drugs, or via whatever...) Dean finally breaks through to Gunner with reason, with words\ Like Dean was an older and wiser version of Harley. Harley could never have guessed that GUnner's problem wasn't "drugs" but a demon... But Dean not only understood, he empathized, and talked Gunner into choosing another way
Elizabethrobertajones: heeey that sounds familiar :P
Mittensmorgul: honesty, accepting your responsibility, "It's never too late to do the right thing."Â ack gunner "I look in the mirror and I hate the face looking back at me. I got this coming." That hasn't been Dean in a while now
HELLHOUNDS
and oh my... Dean's "It's never too late to do the right thing" which he believes because "I have to." Because at the beginning his SOLE mission was finding a way to save Cas from having said YEs to Luci
And Sam's like, "If he even wants to be saved"
Dean says "He does, even if he doesn't know it yet"
RUFUS! I've been wanting to see this episode again since reading something about the parallel between Dean and Rufus via Ketch's arrival at the bunker
It's like Bobo, Dabb, and Robbie had all conspired to this theme of "fixing the past" via actions taken in the present by finding another better way
Itâs literally it's the entire point of this episode
Where Dean's "better" spell doesn't just trap the soul eater, it KILLS it and frees everyone who's stuck "outside of time and space" in its nest
[we had a rambling discussion of just how much this foreshadowed everything that happened in 11.23]
Elizabethrobertajones: so Dean walked in and walked out And clapped eyes on a long-lost parental figure on the way out :P
Mittensmorgul: BUT in doing so he ALSO frees Bobby's soul, and the trapped kids from the past
Elizabethrobertajones: freeing the things from the past. yikes :P Like Mary was freed from the past
Mittensmorgul: This is literally the theme of s12⊠Having better tools, better info, a more complete plan for saving everything, healing the past so everyone can move forward
I remember seeing something about how 12.15 paralleled Dean to Rufus... and some of 11.16 does... literally putting Dean into Rufus's exact position as they switch back and forth between past and present. BUT THEN IT'S BOBBY WHO GOES INTO THE SOUL EATER'S NEST WITH DEAN Like Sam and Dean have flipped roles here. Or that they're interchangeably both bobby and rufus...
ACK the soul eater telling Sam "Your brother wants to go to the Darkness, NEEDS to go, but I can keep him here safe, forever." but... they ended up finding a better way through words and balance
Elizabethrobertajones: it's the only time they've seen each other since Bobby died, and Bobby's still technically alive on HIS end, so Dean STILL has never interacted with him, unlike Sam who has twice plus a dream
Mittensmorgul: We're picking at the ghost of John this season, but Bobby's a big part of "father figures" for Dean, and he's been there subtly all season too
ACK the bottle Sam and Jody found in 7.12. And the first call Bobby gets when he's free is from Dean... in the past... They're talking about Bobby maybe having been there "outside of space and time" and that Bobby had never written up his notes about that case... when Dean says "Let's get drunk and never think about this again.â Which is probably what bobby did.
AND THEN THE SAME SONG IS PLAYING ON THEIR RADIO THAT PLAYED ON BOBBY'S AS THEY LEFT
Okay, that was the end of our chat because we had to run off and do other things for a bit, but I did go on to watch 11.17 again as well. And that just neatly tied everything back together again, and there were some things there I believe are KEY to what s12 is focusing on. Back in s11 all of these topics were being dealt with âexternally,â applied to situations beyond just Sam, Dean, Cas, etc. Yeah, Dean was central to the Chuck and Amara stuff (pffft as the firewall between light and dark), but now all these big themes are being applied to the Winchester family directly in a sort of  âAs above, so belowâ sort of way.
A LOT has changed since 11.15 when Dean needed to take a break from research to clear his mind, because heâd been âspinning his wheelsâ trying to find a way to save Cas from Lucifer. But now in 11.17 itâs Sam whoâs brought him this new case. Deanâs no longer spinning his wheels even if he hasnât gotten any traction on solving the Casifer problem yet, but his drive to succeed has taken on the KEEP GRINDING motto. He doesnât want or need to distract himself with this werewolf case, but Sam thinks itâs time for another âclear our headsâ break.
Dean drags his heels, but relents.
Like many of the other âciviliansâ they encounter in s11, Michelle readily accepts the supernatural. Corbin had originally ârejectedâ the idea that these could be âmonstersâ-- specifically werewolves, and in the end heâd become the monster himself.
One of the big themes of 11.17 is miscommunication. Everything from Corbin questioning why they needed a landline phone (Donât you have a cell phone?) because there was no signal service way out there in the woods, to Corbin lying about the extent of his own injuries and making Michelle doubt the evidence of her own eyes.
Michelle: Are you okay? I thought yesterday... Corbin: Just a couple scratches.
Sheâd seen him bitten, but he dismissed her concerns over and over again, even dismissing her âoutlandishâ claims when sheâs finally at the hospital being interviewed by the sheriff.
Hereâs another lovely pair of themes from s12 illustrated very concisely:
Corbin: I... look. Hey, Michelle's real sick, but she's got a chance. Him... he's slowing us down. And if they find us... Dean: We saved you, okay? We saved both of you. Corbin: It's three lives versus one.
Both the âyou vs ALL of youâ and the theme of âthe greater good.â Compare that to I love you, I love all of you, and >.>. But also that last line, âthree lives versus one.â Thatâs The Greater Good reduced to a simple math problem, which Corbin had rigged in his favor by âkillingâ Sam.Â
(also bizarre aside, are trees out to get Dean? Here he has a fight with a tree, and in 12.11 the spell that made him lose his memories was carved into a tree and Rowena described the spell as written in âthe Language of Trees.â Not to mention the bloody handprint on the tree that spurred him to giddily remember that their best friendâs an angel⊠okay, end random tree-related digression)
(no Iâm reopening the random tree-related digression to postulate that ALL of this is down to the Vanirâs apple tree Dean burned way back in 1.11. I swear, that apple pie was probably freaking worth it... between scarecrows,pie, apples and orchards-- thinking of 7.05 here too-- and just trees in general, I think it wasnât the broken mirrors from 1.05 that have haunted them all these years, but that dumbass scarecrow... okay, moving on for realsies now)
First itâs Samâs turn to try and convince Corbin and Michelle to go, to run, to save themselves and leave him behind. Corbin sees the truth of it, though. He knows Dean wonât leave Sam there to die alone. So he makes the executive (possibly influenced by his loss of humanity, that heâs already becoming a âmonsterâ) to suffocate Sam so that Dean will have a reason to leave.
For the greater goodâŠ
And at that point, Dean still needed to be convinced to leave Sam behind, but he promised to come back. He went along with the âgreater goodâ of saving the âinnocent peopleâ since he didnât know that one of them was literally and figuratively a monster.
This also neatly captures all the duality subtext in s12, as well. Nephilim, MoL vs hunters, people as monsters, monsters as people, angels as humans, angels living in harmony with a human soul, angels trapped in human bodies⊠thereâs just a lot of this in s12. Thereâs also the lengths someone will go to in the name of âlove,â however monstrous or misguided or even unwanted by the object of that love. More on that later.
Again, like 12.12 that told the story in a non-linear fashion, 11.17 employs a similar âmessing with timeâ storytelling device, only revealing the past through the events of the present. We only understand how the story got to this point via small glimpses of ârevisiting the pastâ through the events of the present. This was a HUGE theme of s11 (most clearly demonstrated in 11.14 and 11.16, as described above), considering the end result of s11 was a resolution of the original âproblemâ that resulted from the creation of the universe. S12 is doing almost the exact same thing, but instead of being framed around the Darkness being released and eventually reuniting with God, Mary has been released, bringing that universal conflict down to a human scale.
Back to the miscommunicationâŠ
Rather than explaining that there was another injured member of their party he needed to get back to attend to, Dean fights against the sheriff and ends up tasered and arrested. If heâd just used his words, the sheriff probably wouldâve let him run back to help Sam, but then Corbin wouldâve likely killed/turned Michelle without Dean there to intervene at the hospital, and he may have killed many others, as well.
Over and over, cell phones either donât work in this episode, or theyâre only working well enough to get a word or two through.
MISCOMMUNICATION IS THE EVOLEST VILLAIN.
Or maybe itâs actually this:
Corbin: I saved us. Look, you're hurt bad and... and I love you, Michelle. I can't lose you. I did what I had to do.
Seriously, if you hear I DID WHAT I HAD TO DO and donât simultaneously hear Kill Bill sirens⊠you should be hearing Kill Bill sirens...
Meanwhile, Corbin knows exactly what bit him, and when asked directly by the doctor, he only tells her âIâm good.â He lies, he refuses to answer, he downplays the truth when someone else speaks it, even to the point of dismissing Michelleâs point of view entirely.
In the worst rendition of âunsuccessful communication,â the sheriff is unable to contact Charlie the Ranger for assistance because heâs already been killed by the monsters.
In another example of miscommunication, even between two people who are actively trying to help one another, Dean refers to Billie as a âScary, crazy death machine,â and Michelle repeats back âCrazy, evil death machine.â She reinterpreted Deanâs words, and replaced âscaryâ with âevil,â and those words just arenât synonyms, you know? Just because somethingâs scary doesnât mean itâs evil. Proof that even when two people are essentially on the same page, they might very well have VASTLY DIFFERENT UNDERSTANDINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS of the situation at hand.
*coughRashomonEffectcough*
And⊠poor Michelle:
Michelle: Corbin? Corbin: Hey, baby. Please, don't be scared of me. I didn't want this. Okay, any of this, but... it's happened and it feels so... you'll see. [Michelle whimpers.] We'll be together. Michelle: No. Please. Corbin: Forever. Michelle: No!Â
Forced love, or forced life, overriding someone elseâs will, and yet Michelle decides what she wants for herself.
And then, a theme thatâs been sort of haunting the narrative since the pilot episode, and has now been resurrected right along with Mary:
Michelle: They said I could leave... [she sighs] an hour ago. But... where am I even supposed to go? After everything we survived together... [turning back to Dean] I watched the man I love die. There's no normal after that.
This is what happened to John Winchester. He watched the woman he loved die, and there was never any normal after that. Now Mary is back, without John, and thereâs never going to be any normal for her either. But that doesnât mean there can never be anything worth living for again.
#spn 11.14#spn 11.15#spn 11.16#spn 11.17#spn s12 speculation#this is an andrew dabb appreciation blog (except when it comes to car stuff)#this is a bobo berens appreciation blog#i tag this with rewatch notes but really this is mainly for my own record keeping purposes#and is likely just an arrangement of words in the shape of a pile to anyone else but i swear it's all relevant to s12!#breaking the codependency#using your words#men of letters vs hunters#spn monsters#here have my belated thoughts on the whole love... and love#winchester family dynamics#dabb vs cars
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