#having to call lata and ada to tell them

[thevioletcaptain]

I know the ask is about ships but could you make a non ship one with Dean and Carlos from the Winchesters? I can't think of an exact thing for Dean to say, but the first sentence can be what Dean would say for their first meeting. Thank you if you can (*^‿^*)

"I like your hair," Dean says, staring up from where he's clinging to the bottom of Mary's winter coat, and Carlos grins wide when he adds, with all the breathless gravity of a four year old eager to impress their opinions upon a new friend; "It's swooshy and it's pretty like Mommy's hair, and your-- your beads are pretty and shiny and shiny is my favorite color."

"Swooshy and pretty and shiny is exactly what I was going for, so thank you, little buddy."

Even with almost six years between now and the last time he'd seen Mary, Carlos is relieved to find that they still have a good sense of one-another -- can still communicate silently, swiftly, like they used to when it was life or death. He meets her eye, and her face softens, and understanding passes between them before he slides one of his lucky beaded bracelets -- the bloodstone one -- free.

Dean's eyes light up when he takes it.

When he smiles, he looks just like his mother.

[for this askbox game if anyone else wants to send me a prompt]

[flyingfish1]

I don’t think Dean HAS been looking for Cas. YET.

I think what he’s actually been doing is – and I say this with all the love and hope in my Deangirl, destiel-otp heart – fleeing in the opposite direction.

Because –

Mary: I don’t regret what happened [when we were closed into a room with only one exit, with an antagonist pounding on the door, trying to get in and kill us, and romantic feelings were expressed]. But with everything going on […] I – I’m not sure what I’m ready for. So, I – I just need time. -1x08

Lata: You know, I just – I can’t believe you haven’t been in touch with Anton. -1x09

Mary: Um, can I ask you something? About you and Tony’s dad Ali [an interspecies romantic relationship]? Ada: What would you like to know? Mary: Well, going into it, you both knew you were from different worlds. Ada: Mmm-hmm. Mary: But you went for it anyway. If you had the chance to do it over again, would you? Ada: I followed my heart. I don’t think that’s ever a mistake. Mary: Even if you’re scared? -1x05

Carlos: Listen, um – I’m, I’m sorry I never called you after our date. Anton: Don’t tell me the big, bad hunter got scared. Carlos [smiling]: Maybe! [Pause] Carlos [serious this time]: Yeah. -1x09

But it’s okay. It’s okay, because –

Ada: I followed my heart. I don’t think that’s ever a mistake. Mary: Even if you’re scared? Ada: Especially then. It’s just part of falling in love. -1x05

Mary: It’s okay to be scared. In fact, it’s good to be scared. [She glances at John.] You can’t be brave if you’re never scared. -1x05

Carlos: But, um. I’m not afraid to ask you on a second date tonight. -1x09

[Mary walks up to John and kisses him] John: What – I – I don’t understand. Mary: I don’t want to think about the Akrida. Or whether the world has a future. I want to be with you. Right here. Right now. -1x08

Mary: Listen, before you go, I have to tell you something. John: Tell me when you see me again. -1x13

Ahh, classic supernatural destiel narrative parallels, where would we ever be without you? seriously though, the instant that kiss happened – that “locked together in a room with only one exit, with death banging on the door, right before it gets sucked into an alternate realm” kiss – I just knew that Mary’s reaction would tell us SO MUCH about Dean’s reaction to Cas’ love declaration.

And I really think it did! but it goes so far beyond just that one scene. so many of Carlos’s reactions to Anton, and so many of Mary’s other reactions to John, are SO telling as well.

And I think, looking at the narrative parallels, it’s all laid out clearly:

Dean’s been scared. He doesn’t regret what happened – he’s glad that Cas said what he said – but he hasn’t known how to handle it. Of course, in the immediate aftermath, Cas was gone, and there was no relationship to handle – but after learning that Cas, it seems, is out of the Empty, Dean was confronted with the certainty of coming face-to-face with him again and having to deal with the consequences. Things that may have been distant thoughts were now extremely concrete possibilities. And it was overwhelming.

He needed to take some time to process his feelings and to figure out what he was ready for. The idea of following his heart to where his heart wanted him to go – the idea of a relationship – scared him. Maybe also the intensity of his feelings scared him. And Cas is an angel, and that element of the relationship – the two of them being from such different worlds – was intimidating too. What if something goes wrong? What if he messes it up somehow? This is Cas. This is important. So Dean avoided Cas for a while, and then he stumbled onto the Akrida threat, and it was just too much for him to deal with all at once.

But he’s looking for Cas now. Maybe he’s still scared, but he’s trying to be brave. He’s going to follow his heart. He has to tell Cas something.

[shirtlesssammy]

The Winchesters 1x08: Hang on to Your Life

Kansas City, Missouri

Outside a bar called the Knave of Hearts. (The marquee indicates that Jericho is headlining with Brock Billings. Is Jericho a nice nod to Robbie and Rich’s old show? Love it.) Brock pops out of one of the doors and wanders into a back alley. He scares a poor street cat and promptly burns up for it. 

Oh, wait, there’s got to be something more going on here. A whistling, dapper-dressed man approaches and warms his hands by the glowing charred remains of Brock. 

Mary, Millie, and John are back at Mary’s tending to an unconscious Samuel’s wounds. Ada has prescribed a magical tea to help with the nasty Akrida gash on Samuel’s shoulder. Operation Heavy Flirting has entered its next stage for Mary and John, and Millie knows when to give these two Alone Time. 

Samuel wakes and mumbles that he found a way to find the queen. 

Mary and John tell Carlos and Lata about the Akrida queen. There’s been radio silence from the Akrida since they found Samuel. Carlos did hear about a man burning up outside the Knave of Hearts though. The Knave of Hearts is THE place in the midwest to make it in music. Mary opts to stay behind to help her father mend. John opts to stay behind to simp after Mary. Carlos approves. 

“Being a hunter means living a life of sacrifice – not a lot of room for dreams. But you open your heart and get a little lucky, you’ll find you gain more than you lose.” 

(Boris puts on clown nose)

(Natasha against her better judgment, reluctantly also puts on clown nose)

Once at the bar, the duo sets out to investigate the case. Carlos interrogates the bartender with no luck. Lata finds sigils in Brock’s dressing room. They discuss the meaning of them when Carlos runs into an old music buddy, Jericho. It seems they were a duo once upon a time named Rivers Gemini and The Jericho Kid.  

Operation Flirtfest actually gets to the meat of the situation and John and Mary talk about the kiss. Neither regrets the kiss but Mary doesn’t know what the future holds.

Lata is having the Time of Her Life reminiscing with Rivers Gemini and The Jericho Kid. 

As Carlos and Lata head out, Carlos knocks a hat off the table of another customer. He picks it up and hands it back to the man. 

GABRIEL!!!!! OR LOKI!!!! OR THE TRICKSTER!!!!! THEY”RE ALL THE SAME!!!! AGGGHHHH

Lata’s van research reveals that Brock’s sigils were trying to protect him from dark magic. Lata asks if Carlos wants to go to the show that night. He declines and makes it clear that it was always a choice of careers. “It’s a matter of time before you come across a monster and then something has to die – the dream or the monster.” 

They interview the roadie. He tells them about the hat man following Brock out of the bar the night he died. 

Meanwhile, Millie and Samuel get to know each other. It’s chilly.

He doesn’t want the tea until Millie mentions that Ada prescribed it. Samuel is able to get in quite a few zingers about John. And he learns that Henry was a Men of Letters. (Or as he so Dean-ly says “Mole Men”, and then proceeds to explain the joke and it’s hilarious and not hilarious but at least we know where the Dean Dad humor comes from.) Millie makes it clear that without her “mole man” of a husband, Samuel’s daughter would be dead right now. 

Jericho’s set has begun. Lata spots Gabriel Loki jamming out in the back of the room and alerts Carlos. Jericho starts to smoke and Carlos grabs him and drags him off stage. Lata goes to confront Gabriel Loki but it’s no longer him. Meanwhile, the bartender burns.

Lata and Carlos head backstage later to find Jericho hurriedly packing up. He’s somewhat reluctant to talk, but quickly falls sway to their puppy eyed earnestness. He explains that his solo career fizzled until a few weeks ago. He met Loki and, while drunk, agreed to some kind of deal. He woke up with a flaming tattoo on his forearm. 

After that, his songs light the audience up inside…but in the bad, SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION way. Each night, one member of his audience dies a terrible, fiery death. If he doesn’t sing to someone (and sentence to burn), then the curse will burn him up instead. When Brock tried to get cut into the mad profits of Jericho’s rising career, Jericho killed him off. Tonight, he tried singing to the guy in the suit who bound him in the deal - some guy named Loki. 

At Casa de Campbell, Samuel stumbles his way into the den, apparently with the intention of grilling John about his dad. Instead, Mary cuts him off. She wants to know more about what Samuel was mumbling in his sleep. How can they find the Akrida queen? Samuel explains that he picked up on some signs and decided to check them out. He’s got three rolls of film (THOSE WERE THE DAYS AMIRITE?) for them to develop and figure out clues. Mary stalks off to play photo lab. John confronts Samuel and tells him to treat Mary like a daughter “and less like a soldier.” Oof. 

Back at the hunt, Lata, Carlos, and Jericho head for the van. Inside the van they find Loki lounging. “You were right about this one,” he says to Jericho, gesturing to Carlos. “He’s got pluck.” 

Jericho’s largely unsurprised to see him, and we quickly find out why. Loki made a deal with Jericho - if he can pass on his curse to another then he can be free from it. Jericho led Loki to Carlos. Before their eyes, Loki transforms, proving his powers, and tells them that Carlos taking on the Mark - I mean, the tattoo - is the only way he can save his friend. Former friend? 

Loki reads us Carlos’ resume, which is very enjoyable for me AND for him! It includes:

Love of modern dance

Gifted typist

Musician, hunter, hair model

He also sees Carlos’s nature, and knows that Carlos won’t walk away and let his friend remain cursed, or die. Against Lata’s protests, Carlos agrees to take on the curse.

Loki zaps Jericho away. Where did he go? “Oh, please, nobody cares. At least I don’t. He’s like a security deposit. Move on from that.” He hands Carlos a.k.a. Rivers Gemini a concert flyer for…his own comeback show. Carlos needs to play that night or face the consequences. 

They bring the news back to the Campbell house. John suggests just removing the tattoo. Please. The only way you can do that is by magically de-aging Carlos for the duration of the episode via an ancient witch’s curse and who has one of THOSE just lying around? The team sets to their research tasks with gusto. 

Samuel watches them spring into action. Carlos and Lata have come very far in just a few months, according to him. John earnestly tells him that it’s all down to Mary’s leadership. The gang settles in for a good old fashioned research and strategy session. Millie hands Carlos a pile of research, and heads off to prepare the “family special” dish for the somber occasion of Carlos’s maybe impending death. Millie’s special dish turns out to be a regular slice right out of my childhood. It appears to be something like…beef stroganoff over toast, with boiled green beans!

As they eat, they continue to research. Lata discovers a clue. Loki’s power is tied to a hand mirror he keeps with him. And sticking with the shiny objects theme, Samuel finds some guidance that says Loki can be killed with a shiny knife imbued with the hunter’s own blood. The gang prepare to slice their palms to seal the magic into their knives. (“Not the palms, my god you need to fight!” I hiss at them, but it’s like I’m watching them on a screen or something and they ignore my sage advice.) 

There’s a brief hiatus where Mary pulls Samuel aside and tries to order him to stay home. It turns into a confrontation about him leaving on his secretive, solo hunt. He tells her that he tries to stay under her radar. He didn’t want her to die like Maggie did. He got her into hunting, just like his dad did…and he hates it. OH THE REGRETSSSS. “When I put that knife in your hands, I chose this life for you. I forced you to follow in my footsteps, just like my dad forced me. It was wrong.” I can barely hear him over the deafening sound of Cat’s in the Cradle and glass crunching between my teeth. But! Mary’s a glass case of emotions as Samuel tells her that he wanted to get rid of all monsters so that Mary could live a life free of hunting. Instead, he stumbled into the looming threat of the Akrida. 

Back inside, the team imbues their knives with blood mojo and then they all head to the bar to finish their hunt. Loki shows up, sassy and saucy and shaking up a cocktail. He sizes up their bloody blades and intentions, and suggests evening the odds. We get a lovely fight scene of Loki, Loki, Loki, Loki, and Loki versus the gang. 

They scuffle to the tune of Saturday Night’s Alright, until Samuel gets pinned down. Mary knifes Loki and smiles triumphantly at her kill, only for Samuel to tell her he won’t fall for any more of her tricks. Samuel knifes her in the gut and then twists it. Mary morphs back into Loki, who topples to the floor, apparently dead. Samuel tells everyone that Loki/Mary attacked with his left hand, so it couldn’t have been Mary. 

Everyone regroups for a moment, until Loki hauls himself up again. ‘Twas but a flesh wound! He gleefully watches as they realize that Carlos still has the tattoo. He snaps his fingers, and the scene gets set. Carlos gets a wardrobe change and appears on stage, decked out in finery with a guitar. Mary, John, Lata, and Samuel immediately find themselves bound to chairs. Just behind Carlos, Jericho sits bound and gagged. Loki suggests Jericho as the ideal target. After all, why should Carlos suffer for Jericho’s misdeed? 

Carlos lifts up the guitar as though to play and then ��

Smashes it! Carlos gives us a wild window into his soul, and it’s beautiful. He sacrificed music to hunt, but he gained more than he ever thought he would. Carlos starts to burn when all of a sudden…the smoke rising from his arms turns to GLITTER. NOW it’s a PARTY!

The tattoo zaps away from Carlo’s arm. Loki screams at Carlos and tells him that humanity should always choose the selfish way out. “I am not gonna lose to you!” he exclaims. Just then, a hand mirror crackles from the table. Loki gets sucked into the mirror and a moment later, everyone’s free. Lata delightedly taps at Loki’s trapped visage. 

Carlos tells everyone that they’re his family. HEARTS!

The next day, Millie heads out with the box. She tells a skeptical Samuel that she’s going to try to repair it. She IS a mechanic after all. Samuel tells Millie that she has a “good kid.” You did it, bbys. 

Mary brings out the newly developed photos from Samuel’s reconnaissance. The photos are barely legible - mostly washed out and useless for intel. Samuel tells Mary to take John to reassess the locations. While they do that, he’s headed to Ada to work on figuring out some magical means to defeat the queen. Samuel hands Mary a little recipe for a magical ant-Akrida tattoo. Handy! 

At the venue, Jericho contemplates his guitar. He plans to turn himself into the police, but Carlos tells him that’ll only get him in an institution. Carlos suggests an alternative: move on and put some good in the world. Jericho convinces Carlos to play one last concert. ONE. MORE. TIME!

Cut to the concert, where Lata shrieks at Carlos to play some Sabbath (she’s more of a metal girl). Readers, I love her. 

Carlos plays the theme song of the episode: Hard Times Come Around No More. We flash back to Mary handing her dad his hat and giving him a farewell hug. Elsewhere, Millie opens up the box. In the clubhouse, Lata locks away Loki’s mirror in a trunk. 

Carlos’s song is lovely and all, and I’m experiencing emotions, but also. ALSO. CHUCK IS THERE. IN THE BAND. PLAYING KEYBOARD. Guys. We get some good, clear close-ups of Chuck to really drive it home. Amazing. Love it. 

Later, John and Mary look at the photos and make out. Mary’s ready to take the leap with John. They’re about to kiss again, when John looks down at one of the barely developed photos. He recognizes the man in the photo as being the same person who gave him his dad’s letter. It’s…..

……

……………….

DEAN BEAN WINCHESTER!

For I’ve Got Him, He’s Right Here Science:

Natasha: Okay, Dean in the past is VERY IMPORTANT TO ME but did anyone else get some serious Book of Job / God placing bets for and against humanity. Who was Loki/Gabriel playing against that got him trapped in the mirror? It was someone who thought humanity would pull through and be selfless…

__

Oh Quote Times Come Again No More:

Lata, let’s boogie

I don’t know why everyone that comes in here thinks I’m a shrink. If you wanna cry on something, cry into your glass

It’s a matter of time before you come across a monster and then something has to die – the dream or the monster.

Doctor who?

The least you could do is treat her more like a daughter and less like a soldier

Hey guys, monsters that kill to feed and survive are one thing. Ones that kill for kicks - we’re in for a fight

Weird sensation but contemplating my mortality has surprisingly made me hungry. 

For the brains of this operation, you are not the smartest cookies. Cookies aren’t smart to begin with. Think on that.

__

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[kazashiniwielder]

Okay but the new The Winchesters episode (8) is giving me IDEAS! Like imagine the Monster Club and Friends decide to focus their energy on finding Dean now, wanting to know who exactly this man is who not only apparently knows about the Winchesters BUT The Campbell’s too, even before the two families met.

So they start looking around they manage to catch glimpses of Dean in the Impala. So they set a trap. But Dean is a better hunter then all of them by now (because Dean’s soul is over 80 at this point which Samuel is probably only pushing 30) and Dean has more experience and knowledge then ALL of them so he sees it coming but he he just lets them ‘corner’ him.

So Dean is surrounded by John, Mary, Carlos, Lata, Samuel, Millie, and Ada. And they are just like ‘alright, who the hell are you?’ and Dean with that cocky grin of his is just like ‘The names Dean. Dean Vanhalen.’ And the Monster Club is just like ‘okay Dean, how did you get Henry Winchester’s letter?” and Dean is like ‘oh that? Well I’m a hunter and a legacy.’ and Millie has to explain to everyone that a legacy means that Dean’s parent was a Men of Letters but Dean wasn’t. Dean goes on to explain that it was actually his grandfather who ‘died’ when he was initiated so his father and therefore Dean was never actually part of the Men of Letters but Dean knows all about it and has a few connections even though they are long dead.

So they group is starting to get frustrated because it’s apparent Dean is just doing part of this for his own amusement (because Samuel Campbell did leave Dean to be eaten by ghouls and after the shit Mary and John had put him through, Dean is defiantly having a little fun stringing them along) but then Samuel screws up by threatening to shoot Dean if he doesn’t get answers. And while that doesn't phase Dean in the slightest, it enrages Jack and Cas enough for them to make their appearance.

And everyone is just like ‘who the hell are you two? How did you just appear here?’ and Jack is like ‘Hello. I’m God, but you can call me Jack.’ and Cas is like ‘I am an angel of the Lord and the current ruler of Heaven.’ And the group is like ‘you really expect me to believe that?’ and while Dean keeps trying to keep these two from giving too much information, they pretty much spill everything about their credentials, how Dean is related to them, and so on. The Monster Club are so confused, Dean is frustrated, and Jack and Cas are just like ‘were we not supposed to tell them that you’re related to them?” and Dean is like ‘NO!’

[noybusiness]

I think the biggest divergence point between the timelines is John getting the letter from Dean, because it leads to him getting involved in hunting. Without Dean, he never gets Henry's letter, never goes to the Men of Letters (heh) clubhouse, and never sees Mary fighting a demon. I imagine the impact of Vietnam on John was the same in both universes.

All the irony in John calling Dean "sir". It also, again, makes me want a show where Dean serves as the adult mentor to the Scooby Gang/Monster Club without John and Mary knowing he's their adult future/alternate son. Did you see the original Scooby Gang show, i.e. Buffy?

Nice to see Samuel behaving like a human being. I have issues with how he was written in Season 6. Like no one pointing out the incredibly obvious fact that sacrificing his grandsons to bring back his daughter would have resulted in her hating him forever, and that the boys were Mary's own legacy.

Too bad we only hear about the offscreen fight between Joan and Dean and don't see it.

I was expecting Ada to keep her secret for ages, based on her not telling them last episode, so I'm very glad that wasn't the case! 

"(second round of applause for this, especially since it’s so rare that we get actual contingencies set up before the really risky move is executed rather than scrambling for a patch work after the fact)" 

!!!

I didn't see the episodes of Supernatural with Cuthbert Sinclair, but it's interesting Henry was involved in some way with two Men of Letters who went evil (Cuthbert Sinclair and Jack Wilcox). I almost would have liked to see Jack and Dorothea in John and Mary's bodies temporarily, except John would be speaking with that horrible Southern accent unless Drake Rodger's attempt was much better than Charles Shaughnessy's.

Do you remember Kindred: The Embraced?  https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/KindredTheEmbraced

Interesting that you assume William was her lover and Supernatural Wiki assumes he was her husband. It could also have been her son.

"-Cutting off Mary before she can say anything to John as they’re saying goodbye essentially, after he more or less poured his heart out? A choice on the writers part that I wholeheartedly agree with. Love the implications here."

I, too, prefer it that way.  I wrote both answers to the Headscratcher about it here: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Headscratchers/TheWinchesters

I can't wait till they retcon 15*20 away.

Funnily, we barely saw Dean's journal in Supernatural, just enough to know that he had one in Season 1, despite his sarcastic reaction to the shapeshifter therapist asking him if he journaled.

Yeah, how long do we think Mary's no-hunting life is gonna last. Ten seconds or five?

Glad that Ada's problem was fixed, was concerned she would gradually go all Dark Willow next season, though it does seem a bit rushed and possibly related to the show's on-the-bubble status. They so need a beach episode! Don't like how the show tends to separate John and Mary from Carlos and Lata.

Still excited at the idea of what they'd encounter next.

Still disappointed that the simultaneous Save/Renew petitions for this show and Gotham Knights didn't help. If you haven't seen Gotham Knights yet, I recommend it; it goes well with this show, stars Misha in an important role, and Jensen was supposed to cameo as Bruce Wayne originally.

The Winchesters 1x13 Review

Let’s just dive into this, it’s been a looong time coming:

-I completely forgot that John had had no idea what to do until he got the letter. I wonder if this is something that may have happened in OG SPN? Also, adding to this, we know that when Henry leaves in SPN, the Winchesters are still in Illinois, but in TW they are already moved. I want to know if there is a thread that matches the OG universe and if so when exactly it diverges. Like, did SPN!John have this feeling of complete loss of purpose when he returned from war? We have some hints to tell us yes, but ultimately we don’t know. Did SPN!John know Murphy? Did Murphy die/was his death impactful to John in SPN as it is in TW? I wish we had a bit more details about the similarities and differences in the universes.

-The fact that TW!John called Dean “sir” hurt me as much as it hurt Dean. You can see the pain. I also want to know how Dean left so quickly. Like suspension of disbelief is fine, but considering we have pictures of him in 1970s Lawrence in his car going place to place makes me think he’s at least somewhat constrained to physicality. So did he just dash? Also how did he get upstairs so quick also? So maybe he isn’t as constrained as I was picturing?

-Speaking of, how did Dean get that letter? I may be misremembering things here cuz it’s been a while since ep 1, but I always assumed that Dean would’ve gotten it from the MOL clubhouse prior to him deciding to interfere right? Is did we ever get this answer? If so though, I want to know how long Dean’s been in TW universe because it’s much longer than I remembered it being and how long did he ponder whether to interact with one of his folks? 

-I fully believe Dean lied about the “one last hunt” to Bobby. There are reasons for this and I will mention it a bit later, but for now I want to mention that he can keep this promise and claim a loophole if he so chooses. He hadn’t left Heaven to hunt, he went searching for something personal and stumbled upon the Akrida. He’s still Dean Winchester, there was no way he’d be able to walk away and not at least try to help, nevermind the Akrida showing up because he and Sam defeated Chuck and he’d likely feel even more responsibility.

-I know this ep is coming full circle on all of aur characters growth, but I need to shout out Samuel here for asking Mary and actually backing away once she clarifies her own uncertainty despite his clear shock. The Samuel we met in the beginning of this wouldn’t have stopped until this devolved into a huge fight because Mary isn’t doing what he wants from her. Same to Millie, she just subtly prompted John about Mary leaving hunting and how he’s dealing without badgering or pushing. I also deeply appreciate both Samuel and Millie here inquiring about their kids’ emotional states, great progress. 

-Joan mention! I cannot wait to get into this once she shows up fully.

-And speaking of growth of characters, I also love that for all we see everyone having evolved and developed, they are still to some degree who we met: case in point Mary’s knee jerk reaction if to withhold information. She ends up not really doing this, even trying to have a proper conversation with John later, but her reflex is still to withhold. It’s just that now she’s aware enough that she’ll change her approach.

-Adore the foreshadowing for the Akrida’s defeat “anything not of this Earth”. Especially with the sheer focus on Dean from both in-universe from the Scoobies and out of universe from the fans. 

-Speaking of things I love though, can we just give a full round of applause for Ada not lying and keeping the secret about the spell from everyone? How many times has stuff exactly like this led to worse outcomes exactly because people didn’t communicate? And what’s more, it’s exactly because she mentions this that Lata gets a head start into a solution (second round of applause for this, especially since it’s so rare that we get actual contingencies set up before the really risky move is executed rather than scrambling for a patch work after the fact) and they don't end up using the spell until it’s really unavoidable which leads to the third round of applause for Carlos who prevents Ada from preemptively using the spell (hello direct answer to Jack turning himself into a bomb for Chuck and the plan derailing completely cuz they jumped the shark with it).

-Something to note though: souls function differently in TW apparently. In SPN the closest similar spell we have to what Ada has is Lily Sunder’s angelic magic which also uses fragments of soul as fuel, however unlike SPN where Lily burns piece by piece but ultimately still has the remaining soul after the spells, in TW they clarify that Ada’s soul will slowly dissipate if they take a fragment of it. It's so interesting to see the difference. I wonder why? Maybe souls evolved differently here, maybe the spell, by virtue of being one of Rowena’s (be it her own making a la soul bomb to kill Amara and save the sun or Book of the Damned bomb using your own life as sacrifice to close hell) makes it act differently? I really want to know. 

-The bar being filled with Akrida possessed people is such a call back to the demon filled bars of SPN days and I love it.

-I do think that Joan knowing Dean couldn't interfere too much/make waves is very interesting. Especially since the Akrida are a Chuck designed failsafe.

-Also how did they get him into the portal? I need to know. 

-Joan saying “his body will be torn to shreds for centuries” is doing multiple things for me. One, it’s recalling hell - especially having it be connected to Dean in pain for an extended period. Two, it’s giving us a hint of how Dean will survive while maintaining the stakes for the Scoobies (and to some degree for us since at this point on a 1st run through since we didn’t know how the portal would interact with Dean - dead or not he had a body that could be interacted with).

-“I’m not Akrida. I was human once” is sooo much fun to consider. Joan is very much this amalgamation of so many things, her former humanity, her ties to the Akrida and all that monster essence, and she’s essentially done it to herself, created Frankenstein’s monster outta Frankenstein. No wonder it went off the rails. She and Cuthbert Sinclair are two sides of a coin for me to be honest in this regard.

-It’s also here at the bar that Joan’s main strategy for dealing with the Scoobies gets shown, trying to appeal to the versions of them she has info on. Something that to be honest would’ve worked at the beginning of the season, even maybe halfway through the season might’ve worked. She tries with Samuel first, bringing up the hunting legacy of her family, then with Mary and John. Then when she gets to the clubhouse she goes for Lata, and in the final fight she once more hits John, Samuel and now Carlos. And she clearly pushes very specific trauma triggers for each, focusing most on John’s anger and Mary’s disillusionment with hunting because I think those are the ones she most relates to. Meanwhile with Lata and Carlos she almost pushes opposite by trying to point out how their changes are detrimental. By this I mean, with Mary and John she’s trying to reignite those feelings in them because she can tell they are still there to some degree (as mentioned they’ve both grown but still have a while to go) meanwhile for Lata and Carlos their growth was more foundational since they actively tried to heal versus Mary and John’s pushback against the healing. I hope this makes sense to y’all.

-Having Joan’s motivation be keeping hunters alive initially is so much fun to dig into. Everything she says to them about why she’s doing what she’s doing is something we’ve heard people talk about before, especially in SPN, especially Dean tbh. We’ve seen Dean struggle with the endless loss, with the weight of the responsibility to keep humanity safe, the toll saving the world took on him. Having Joan act as this dark mirror was a great choice. But also Dean would have never reached this point. Even at his darkest moments, he always drew a clear line about what he’s willing to sacrifice - yes, he also never had to deal with the loss of literally everyone everyone, there was always at least one thread, one person, but still. 

-Lata fighting against the Akrida possessing her? Absolute queen behavior! Love her so much. Also Joan reducing her choice to be a pacifist as a black or white thing is very in line with what I was trying to say above. I can exemplify better here though so bare with me. Lata’s pacifism is both a very personal choice that means a lot to her and gives her personal meaning, is a part of her values. But it also used to be a literal blockage for her before ep 11 where any type of violence coming from her side reminded her of her father especially and of that trauma. More specifically, Lata also felt she had to be a pacifist otherwise she would be exactly like her abusive father. Ep 11 had her confronting her trauma and coming to terms with it, something she was already trying bit by bit to do, and re-evaluate what pacifism means to her. So Joan trying to reduce Lata attacking her to say that hunting has tainted Lata, is to completely ignore the complexity of Lata’s choice to be a pacifist and to ignore the very complicated relationship that Lata has to fighting. In this instance, Lata choosing to fight is a testament of how rooted in her sense of self she has become. She can fight back and not feel the guilt she used to, not feel like it’s a failure on her side to do so because anger and fighting do have a purpose and are important sometimes - like when your life is being threatened. 

-Having Joan’s lover be the final thing that got her down the path of destruction is absolutely a choice on the writer’s side that I adore - definitely tying into the SPN!John of it all. I also find it interesting from another perspective. When I 1st watched the bar scene, Joan’s like of “that’s the John I know” had settled into my brain very differently to the point that I was almost certain they were going to reveal that Joan is actually another version of Mary a la Apocalypse world Mary who lost both her family and John, but much earlier. Basically, Joan is continuously this amalgamation of multiple things at once, the worst parts of each.

-Humanity wasting their second chance speech is giving Jigsaw to me tbh. I vibe.

-I love them figuring out that they can use the journal to bring Dean back, but imagine the version of this story where unsteady they use the journal to defeat Joan. It would’ve been hilarious.

-Love that the one Akrida that has had it out for John especially is the one possessing Lata btw. It makes the vitriol feel more personal and makes me think of both the Leviathan’s who hated playing Sam and Dean and of the disdain Lucifer has for humanity, but especially the Winchester brothers. I love this being another creature who is so pissed to deal with Winchester adjacent people that it’s begun just personally having a vendetta against all of Earth. 

-“How many Campbells and Winchesters have to die” goes so unbelievably hard. Especially in the finale of the show now rewatching, but even on 1st watch I remember being hit right in the heart by that line. It’s the fact that I actually completely understand that reasoning and even agree with it that makes the Akrida and Joan especially so fascinating to me. She does have a point is the thing, especially considering the very personal interest God has had in the Campbells and Winchesters bloodlines. And following this up by talking about how history and legacy are playing a heavy role in this continuous suffering is also fantastic, because it is true, but it’s not the whole picture either. It’s not the only legacy and history the Campbells and Winchesters have to tell.

-And once again Chuck had done what he does best: created another world ending being that he then locked away to ensure the world doesn’t get destroyed ahead of time. He did this with Amara, Lucifer, the Leviathans, the Shedim, angels and demons getting thrown in the Empty counts too, the monsters being thrown in Purgatory also falls under this pattern of behavior. He really is a one trick pony on every level.

-Adore that Ada didn’t even hesitate to use the spell to save Lata. And even more love for the fact that everyone is sharing info so they can make a plan together, no one going off on their own like a moron, god the satisfaction of seeing this is unmatched.

-Cutting off Mary before she can say anything to John as they’re saying goodbye essentially, after he more or less poured his heart out? A choice on the writers part that I wholeheartedly agree with. Love the implications here.

-I also adore that it’s a swordfight. This show has gone out of its way to ensure minimal gun use and I think it was a great choice. Also love that all three of them, Samuel, John and Carlos get attacked at once by at least 2 Akrida. 

-BABY!!! (this was the only reaction needed here - just BABY!!!)

-I wonder if Josie existed in this universe? Like did Joan just get rid of the MOL before Henry and Josie went to the church and meet Abaddon? Does Abaddon just not exist in this timeline? Did Henry even try to do field work in this universe? I have questions!

-Dean saving Mary will never not make me emotional ok? That’s what he’s wanted since he was 4! 

-I also love that we have the most roundabout way of referencing Sam here. I will go into more detail why I especially love it, but just know I do.

-I do hate though that Dean still looks surprised that he got into Heaven and the reminder that he’s dead. I hate remembering that 15x20 is a thing that happened still. 

-Living for Dean instantly jail-breaking Heaven though and then basically breaking his parole to interfere when he found the Akrida. Of course he couldn’t help himself, it’s Dean, he has never been able to ignore when something is wrong and he can help.

-Jack saying it’s time for Dean to return to his own story… I don’t disagree but I do object to the “there’ll be peace” mainly cuz Dean clearly isn’t done. And now I need t go into this a second. Because Jack is treating this situation with the Akrida as though this was Dean’s goal here. But the Akrida are the side quest, the thing that derailed the actual thing Dean’s been looking for when he took off from Heaven. Dean isn’t done. This may have helped him make peace with a chapter of his story, but that’s just it. It’s a chapter, the one about this parents’ tragedy. But he’s still looking. He didn’t leave heaven cuz he was looking specifically for John and Mary, he left the second he say Baby with no clear objective but the knowledge that he had to go. He found some meaning in his restlessness by looking for a version of his folks where they’re happy, but that’s just part of it. And you can see it by how he responds to Bobby in the beginning, how he talks to Jack here at the end. He isn’t done. 

-“They’re family” is one of my favorite moments in this finale tbh. Because not only does he say this explicitly, he does so after introducing them by name. Which brings us back to what I was saying about Sam. In choosing to not name Sam to the gang, but explicitly naming Jack and Bobby who are Dean’s chosen family, it narratively sends a message that goes in direct opposition to what 15x20 was pushing. And to be clear, we do get Sam mentioned by name too, because Sam isn’t important to Dean just because he’s blood related to him, Sam is just as much part of Dean’s chosen family, but Sam is mentioned to Jack and Bobby, who, like us the audience, already know this information about Sam’s importance as opposed to Jack and Bobby who (and I am aware we the audience is aware of their importance too) are representative of all the other chosen family that gets pushed aside in 15x20 in favor of the blood relations. Sam here is important because of what he as a person means too the 3 of them, not because he’s Dean’s blood relative, but it does bare repeating that Jack and Bobby, not blood relatives, occupy the same level of importance in Dean’s life. This went so far in patching up some of the bullshit 15x20 peddled imo. I love it.

-I do gotta say I still think Jack was changed by the god power and I still don’t like it. Chuck won theory or not, Jack is visibly acting different from what we’ve become used to in SPN and that is a sadness I cannot begin to explain to me. He also deserved to live his life free of all this responsibility thrust upon him since he was conceived.

-Oh, I am so emotional about Dean imparting his journal to John and the Colt to Mary. I was mentioning earlier about legacy and history and this is exactly the part that contributes to that discussion. John, the MOL legacy gets the journal - the theoretical help more or less, especially with Dean’s journal having focused, as opposed to SPN!John’s very practical entries, on the emotional and mental side of hunting and how to handle all that hunting will throw at you. And Mary, the Hunter legacy gets the gun - the practical help, but even here, having the Colt be one of the only guns in the series makes it stand out without you needing to know the full significance of it being the Colt, and moreso, Dean is giving it as a protective measure as we the audience know it’s the only thing that can kill the yellow eyes demons. More than that, he is also actively healing with these both of the trauma’s SPN!John and SPN!Mary impart to him - with John the emotional absence and with Mary the physical absence while still helping these versions of them John with his still existing anger issues and Mary, as she’s navigating this no-hunting life, having the means to ensure she survives it. And on top of this, he is reclaiming the legacy/history of SPN!John’s journal and SPN!Mary’s death this way. I love everything about this choice.

-Now the ending scene. 1. The fact that we full on get to see that Ada will eventually be fine, adore it! 2. The reference to the famous beach episode wth, unmatched joy about it. 3. Mary and John actually compromising and finding a way to meet in the middle with everything? Fantastic. 4. Millie letting John go easily? Such a departure from the acidic words she’d thrown his way at the beginning of the show. 5. Samuel actually letting Mary know he’s going and saying he’ll keep in contact? Same vibes as Millie, love to see it. 6. Mary’s iconic baby blue car? I have missed it so much!

-And now, Ramble On closes us off and what a fantastic choice that they got it. It truly is the perfect song for this story. Because it makes it clear that this isn’t an ending. It’s a moving on to something else once you’ve finished whatever/wherever you were at. Dean’s story here has come to a close but he’s moving on to something else, he’s still behind Baby’s wheel searching. John and Mary’s story has ended for now, especially this chapter that had interference after interference from on high (Chuck’s especially via the Akrida and then Dean’s trying to clean up Chuck’s mess) and they can move on both from Lawrence geographically and from this predetermination that said interference was pushing via calling back to SPN as much as it was, now they can live their own lives, like Mary said, she saw every possible version of her and chooses to make her own path instead. (I do wonder what Dean saw, he was there much longer than her). So yea, the story has ended and the story goes on. Perfect choice for song closer.

-EDIT: I forgot to add about the title... oops! Basically, it's kinda tied to what I was saying about the song choice as well aka it's not an ending so it's not a goodbye per se. Something you have echoed actually by Mary and John twice in the episode. And it works as a pushback toward 15x20.

And so I am done too and figuring out what I’m moving on to! I’m sure there are still things that I can come up with to say about this show, and probably will continue to for a long while yet, but the reviews are done now and I’ve said most everything I wanted most to say so til I get something else I feel like mentioning, see y’all in the reblogs! Hope this was fun for you and I deeply appreciate all those who have been patient and stuck around to hear my opinion on this. Bye bye!

@shallowseeker, @noybusiness,@inspnity17, @pleaseraisemefromperdition, @doctorprofessorsong

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

A non-exhaustive list of scenarios:

- The Winchesters leads to the original Supernatural canon. Likely, John loses his memories of his hunting adventures with Mary and the gang (possibly losing all his memories of Carlos and Lata and Ada and everything). My spec in this case: a desperate Mary is responsible for erasing John’s memories, as she wants a safe hunting-free life and the only way to get that is for John - who has fully embraced the hunting life - to forcibly be taken out of it. Millie dies. The others possibly die, or are forgotten by John and get out of Mary’s life because they don’t agree with her choice, or something like that. Dean is in heaven, possibly browsing heaven to go get Carlos and Lata and reuniting them with Mary and John so that they can be together again in the afterlife. (Dean says #polycule rights.)

- The Winchesters leads to the original Supernatural canon, ending up with John and Mary in heaven, but Dean is somehow able to give his parents a second chance, going back to their youth and be able to live their life as they want instead of the way god and angels and demons wanted, finally free thanks to Dean (Dean says #polycule rights). My lil cute idea for this scenario: he tells Mary “if you have a son, don’t call him Dean, because there’s already one Dean Winchester, the cool uncle that drops by sometimes to visit” and she replies “what if I want to name my son after his cool uncle :)”. Okay, this might be cool for a fic. But the show could make something similar to this, somehow. Also, possibly, the ending of the show opens the path for a Dean-focused narrative where he goes and fix his own life (get Cas back and whatnot).

- The Winchesters does not lead to the original Supernatural canon, but somehow rewrites it retroactively. Wibbly wobbly timey wimey etc etc. Dean somehow heals the past of his family, possibly giving also Henry and Millie a happy ending, and Samuel and Deanna a second chance where they just . . . don’t die, nothing weird happens to them ever again, and they and Mary heal and reconcile. And that’s it! Dean knows what happened in the original timeline, but he says #polycule rights and shoves Chuck’s version into the trash can. Too sugary? Maybe, but maybe we need something wholesome and gentle for once. And again, Dean fixing is family is the first step to go and fix his own life (in a gay way).

- The Winchesters does not lead to the original Supernatural canon, but is a sort of alternate timeline. De facto this is not very different than the previous one, because, well, rewriting the past in a way that still allows Dean and everyone else to exist with their own past is basically to create an alternate timeline, so the difference would only be in how the show frames it. So, basically, Dean says #polycule rights and writes his own AU. Well, an AU where the characters are free to make their own choices. Which is what Dean is a fan of.

- What we (and Dean) know as the original Supernatural canon is actually false, and Dean is dicovering the truth. So it’s not an ontological rewrite, but an epistemological rewrite. Maybe John did know about hunting all along, but for some reason did not discose that to his sons. Maybe he promised Mary that, even if she died or anything, he would not let their kids know about her past as a hunter, or something like that.

- What we know as the original Supernatural canon is false. Dean is somehow fourth-wall-breaking telling us the truth to us. (Unlikely, imo. I think Dean is out-story talking to us but also in-story talking to someone.)

- The Winchesters does not lead to the original Supernatural canon, but it’s still just as tragic as the original canon or worse. Aka the evil scenario. Please no.

- The Winchesters leads to the canon of Apocalypse World. Well, that would totally suck. But also why would that be an option. And Dean’s role in the show would make no sense. So, nope.

- The Winchesters is another one of Chuck’s alternate worlds, one of the ones he destroys in season 15. Also a sucky option that would make no sense. Again, nope.

[kagesdumpsterfire]

The Winchesters Season 1 Episode 2: Teach Your Children Well

I had to be a good friend last night which meant putting off The Winchesters until this morning, but seriously, everyone refusing to watch it, is MISSING OUT!

SPOILERS AHEAD

Characters

ADA

This is the character I didn't know I needed in the mothership and I'm so glad we have her now.I absolutely adore her. I love a mystic anyway, so she was already on good ground but damn. I love that she is able to get her point across without being agressive about it. Her talk with Millie was such a good moment. The Jasmine vine thing made my heart clench a little.The shadow writing was cool as hell.My only complaint is that there wasn't more of her. I need a whole Ada backstory plotline.

MILLIE

Millie is a hardass, but with good reason. To play devil's advocate, as a mom, I 100% get where she is coming from with John. It's not that she doesn't believe in him, she just doesn't want to lose her son. She already lost her husband ( and btw she's not gonna heal instantly now that she knows Henry didn't just walk out on them. Years of bitter resentment don't wash away over night). Parents make mistakes but a good parent knows when to apologize for them and explain themselves, and Millie is a damn good parent who loves her son(and knows how to tell him so[meaning the Winchester Emotional Constipation comes from John]) I REALLY wish she was around for Sam and DeanI and I am so not looking forward to whatever the hell is going to happen to her.

*also, fuck Abaddon for taking Henry away from them. I know the whole " if she hadn't AB&C wouldn't have happened but still.

LATA

She is so smart. I love that the group has an eager bookworm. I feel bad for her when it comes to her friends both having such...strong...personalities, while she is a pacifist. It seems to me that she often gets caught in the middle of their nonsense and that is never a fun place to be. But she remains loyal and patient and I think that brings such a nice balance to the group. Proud of her for sticking to her guns when Mary shut her down.

CARLOS

Carlos is love, Carlos is life and if they harm one glorious hair on that precious baby's head I will riot. I feel like it's too soon to call Carlos my favorite character, but he is definitely the most relatable to me, I don't know why (says the bisexual latina with a love of all things music) he just is. He has his fun goofy streak but knows when to keep it serious. I love a character who is not afraid to be 100% themselves despite time and environment. He says what is on his mind. He talks to each person in a different manner acording to their personality.He loves what he loves and will defend his beliefs (I also would have given Mary the silent treatment, Cabaret is a fucking masterpiece). And I really do love the free love hippie vibes. I know there was some discourse last week about making the Latin/Bisexual character a promiscuous stereotype, and look, I get it. I do. I think I have quite a good grasp on how both of those demographics have been presented in media and how disappointing it can be. HOWEVER, knowing what I know about the time setting AND how storytelling works, I'm not personally upset by it.

It's the 70s. If you have ever sat down with someone who was young around that time and talked to them about the culture, you will know there is no more explanation needed than that. If you dont have acces to a person then I suggest looking into any media or major events from that time to know what that means

One of them had to be a slutty character. If you look at television and movies (even books) where there is a core group of teens/adults ( young or old) there is always a character who is more promiscuous and/or wild than the others. It's just a basic archetype.

Now, does it suck that it had to be the Latin bisexual? Yeah. Yeah it does. But it wasn't going to be Mary or John, as that would have messed up the story and upset fans quite a bit. It sure as hell wasn't going to be Lata, that doesn't fit her character nor does it fit Ada. That leaves Carlos. I get why people are upset, I'm not going to sit here and say you shouldn't be, but again, me, personally, I'm okay with it. That's that.

MARY

She is definitely her sons' mother. I see all the Dean-coding for sure, but I appreciate the bits of her I see in Sam( which we know Sam learned from Dean so, still heavy Dean-coding.) I still very much get Mary Winchester from her. Stubborn, pushy, badass, acting without thinking, know it all, caring about others, but not to the point it gets in the way of her goal.. The works. I still have my mixed feeling on Mary. I like her, but I resent her. I love that.

JOHN

John JohnJohnnyJohn John. What to say about Sa....I mean John Winchester. Look, I'm not saying he's a bad guy yet. He's not. He's young and bullheaded, but he seems nice enough. I really do see a lot of him in Sam ( mostly the back and forth about the self conciousness and the desprate need for approval without admitting he wants it) , which isn't a bad thing it's just....I see it, okay? I see the John Winchester I know and loathe. And I don't think it's just because of previous bias. It could be but...it's the little things. The way he treated his mother in the beginning, running head first into danger without thinking about the consequences for the people around him, the cockiness. I just can't unsee it. I'm trying, but it's hard, okay?

Story

I really enjoyed this episode. It had both MOW feels while also moving the story along. Those were always some of the best episodes of SPN. I wasn't always of a fan of plain ol' MOWs that had nothing to really move the plot forward, but when they balanced plot and monsters it was always a good time. La Tunda was a good monster (story wise). It gave Latika a chance to flex her contributions to the group with knowledge and I like that the whole "not a shapeshifter" point was there to humble Mary a bit. And the abusive parent story. *chef's kiss*. The show has so far been about two characters finding missing parents and healing from childhood trauma put on them because of those parents. I could go into more detail but it would inevitably lead down a personal patb I don't want to take, but I got a "Face that trauma head on and kill it before it kills you so that you can move on with you journey" vibe. You know? I liked that they used Ada as someone who knew Henry for a catalyst for Millie to start her healing process. Her subtle way of telling Millie that Henry put that vine there to protect them while he was gone was a nice moment. I feel like Ada knows more about the MOL than she lets on, mostly by the way she seems to feel incredibly comfortable with the workings of the chapter house (where they keep their shit for spell casting and such). Seriously cannot wait to know more about her. The moment in the hotel before the core group goes to the comune is great. It added a nice free moment for this group of troubled young folk. The zombie scene was fun and it showed where everyones strengths lie and I'm glad it gave a bit more insight to the dynamic between Carlos and Lata. (Lata trying to put the Zombies it the box was kind a funny to me idk why) Not much on the Akrida but there's still a whole season. That end though! I'm in Camp Rowena with everyone else. It's possible that it's another witch, but I don't think so. The hell hounds were a bit concerning (unless its it's a time traveling Rowena who is already queen of Hell even though it doesn't need to be because she centuries old) because the Gates are still closed but like I said, whole season ahead.

Production

It was great. The monster effects were miles above episode one with the Loup-garou ( a rugaru varient apparently) and honestly I saw no major issuse. The only thing I saw was a slight inconsistency with Mary's hair style shot to shot but that's just being nitpicky. ( Spn had whole ass filming equipment and crew members in shot before so...)

Acting

Already noticing improvements in chemistry. The cast is doing a great job.

Final thoughts

It's safe to say I'm already hooked. This felt like an episode of SPN just with different characters. With the improvements I've seen already from the pilot to episode two, I have hopes that it will only get better from here. It feels so good to have this universe back. Solid 8/10

Will we learn more about the Akrida?

Will Ada get the screen time she deserves?

Who the hell was the hooded figure?

For the love of Chuck and all that is unholy, will someone please address the RDP ( random diner patron) from In The Beginning that I know is most likely just a continuity error but I desperately don't want it to be and its been bothering me for almost an entire DECADE?!?!?!?!

Find out next week on: Kage Rants about The Winchesters To Almost Nobody But Themselves

[fallenandthefaithless]

The Winchesters 1x01 - Pilot

So now that a few days have passed and I’ve had some time to think about the episode here are my notes on The Winchesters premiere episode.

PLOT

The plot brings back the s1 framing of searching for a missing father, in this case two missing fathers - Henry and Samuel. Mary and John are both searching for their dads though in different. John is looking for answers while Mary is looking for her dad out of worry. These motives kind of mirror Sam and Dean in S1 - Sam searching for John because he wants answers about Jess’s death and Dean wants to look for John out of concern.

The plot also brings in Ada and I was really happy that she was brought in right away. I guess she’s going to kind of be like Bobby and I’m always surprised when I rewatch SPN at how long it really takes for Bobby to become a regular face so I’m really glad that they brought Ada in at the very beginning. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get much of Ada but I’m really interested to see where they take her character. So far we’ve had her help both Samuel and Henry with research - Samuel and his research on the demon box and Henry and his research on wraiths. I wonder if there’s something there about the wraiths... I might have to think on that more.

The Vietnam flashbacks have already been related back to Purgatory here and so has the symbolism of the silver in John’s arm - a parallel to both Benny (being in John/Dean’s arm) and the hallucinations of Murphy/Cas. I also think it’s really interesting that it was a religious cross and that John used it as a weapon. Of course there’s the immediate link to Cas because of the cross but the weapon aspect reminded me of how Heaven isn’t soft and kind but the angels are weapons and are “heartless”. 

CHARACTERS

Onto our new scooby gang! Heads up, there’s a strong focus on John in these notes though I briefly touch on all four of our main characters. 

I really like that there’s clearly drama going on between the hunter trio. It really highlights that John has wandered into an established dynamic no matter the arguments they might currently be having. We aren’t told just yet how Mary met Carlos but I do like that it’s been left unsaid just yet. We are told that Lata met Mary through Samuel but we still haven’t been told the full story. We’ve also been told that Carlos has lost his family but I wonder where Lata’s family is. She says when John meets her that her friends call her Lata, or they would if she had friends. Why is she so alone? She seems to have known Maggie which makes me think there’s more to that story than we’ve heard.

Also, speaking of Maggie, she and Mary seemed to have been very close - like sisters. I wonder if Maggie’s father was the unknown uncle who organised Mary’s headstone.

John is being shown to be really friendly and seems to connect with people which is ironic considering in s1 of SPN he had had a falling out with pretty much everyone. And yes, John is being very friendly but I couldn’t help but notice that it seems a bit surface level. In keeping with the parallels with John/Sam and Mary/Dean, John comes across as the “normal” one who can easily bond with people while Mary is the mean one. And yet it’s to Mary that Carlos and Lata have the deeper connection. Yes, they’ve known her for longer but I can’t help but keep coming back to this. I wrote on an earlier post here that John fought alone at the end of the episode whereas Mary, Lata and Carlos worked as a team. Despite Mary wanting to push the others away she still works so well with them.

On this topic, something that stood out in my mind are the coffee scenes. In the first John brings Mary a coffee and jokes with her and she finally tells him her name. This is early on and before John meets the others and it’s framed as him connecting with Mary. Very sweet (unlike her coffee). But in comparison Mary brings the whole team coffee at the end of the episode. She has a moment with John but then also has a moment of connection with both Lata and Carlos. I just find it interesting that John’s moment is so isolated whereas Mary’s is more about bringing the team together as a unit. And yes, I know John has moments with both Carlos and Lata but I couldn’t let that thought go.

Speaking of his moments with Carlos and Lata, he has two with each of them. With Lata the first is when they first met and it’s a little flirty and it’s fun and sweet. With Carlos it’s when he gets John to exorcise the demon and jokes about getting him some new clothes. Both of these are fun and I think offer John a very lighthearted view of these people and their place in the world. Yes it’s dark but look at their bond and he’s so excited by his successful kill at the end of the episode!His second moment with both of are sadder and hint at the reality of their world. Lata is terrified before the hunt and Carlos says he lost his family and he hints at the horror about the hunters life by mentioning how awful the end will be for them.

There’s something I also wanted to note about Mary and her relationships, particularly with Carlos and Latika. Over the course of the episode we see Mary push both of them away, she won’t talk to them, she didn’t want to call Carlos etc. The last fight scene is really important with them. To start with they’re all separated - Mary is with John, Carlos left to go to the van without telling Lata and Lata doesn’t know what to do - but they all come back together and work to save Ada’s life. She reaches out to them both verbally during the coffee scene as I mentioned above which brings them back. I feel as though Mary realising that she cannot do this alone is going to be important to her story.

I cannot wait to see what happens in 1x02 and how these characters dynamics develop. I really want to see how Millie fits into the story. I want to see just how much she really knows. I can’t wait to see more of Ada’s character. And I really hope we see Deanna at some point.

[shirtlesssammy]

The Winchesters 1x3: Bullet Point Rambles

When the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars, Boris and Natasha actually get to watch The Winchesters live and create...Bullet Point Rambles <3

My heart is so warmed by the cold open before I remember that this is Supernatural The Winchesters. UGH hands emerge from a bag and snatch a little girl. NO. Just no. NOOOOOOO (Boris: I’ve been watching horror movies all month and I’m desensitized to this)

Lata nudges John to ask Mary out on a daaaate and lord, everyone’s slow on the uptake. Nice try, Lata!

Carlos’s bell bottoms ARE AMAZING

It turns out the kid (Carrie) was Mary’s neighbor and at the crime scene, John reconnects with Betty (oooOOOoo), a cop to whom he awkwardly introduces Mary to as his “friend” “a friend” um

While investigating, Mary wonders what life as a normal kid would have been like. “Being a kid who killed monsters was my only option.”

John wanted to play pro baseball as a kid. (Boris: John never once took his sons to a baseball game. Uh, except for Adam. Can’t forget Adam! John sure didn’t…)

In the Boogeyman lair, it’s a blanket fort filled with children’s toys. Not creepy at all! (Very C R E E P Y)

The girl’s brother Ford is spiraling Dean Winchester style - he was supposed to look after his sister and she got taken. He wants to go after the monster!

Mary and John set out protection charms around the house and tell him they’re part of a monster hunting club and…First rule of monster club: Nobody talks about monster club

A demon tries to get the jump on Carlos and Ada (they’re doing a stakeout) and Carlos gleefully squirts him with his holy water squirt gun. Love him.

Ada convinces Carlos to take the trapped demon “someplace quiet” - smelling some torture in the air tonight

Lata identifies the monster. Bori Baba - the Sack Man (a North Indian monster). He gives people what they were looking for and then steals them. Mary thinks it’s odd that they are encountering more monsters out of the usual North American boogie oogies

John asks if Lata can ask her parents for more lore - we learn that both her parents are dead. John. Foot. Mouth

The sack thwacks down on Ford’s porch and he leaves the protection of the house to check out the sack. The monster drags him inside. 

During the commercial break, we talk about how much we’re enjoying The Winchesters. They’re doing a very good job of capturing the Supernatural monster of the week vibe, with engaging characters and humor

We lay out our bets. Boris thinks Cas or possibly all of TFW will appear on the series by episode 13. Natasha thinks we’ll only see Dean in flashbacks, but we’ll get teased with a future crossover IF ONLY WE BUY MORE EPISODES

John and Mary are back investigating. John awkwardly chats with Betty while Mary checks for Ford at his house. She finds the piece of the Bori Baba’s bag and knows what happened…

John’s SO awkward with Betty. He reminds us very strongly of young Sam. He tells her he got wrapped up with drama about this dad. (Boris hisses, “it’s been fifteen years…”)

Mary calls up John via CB radio and she tells him she’s ready to climb into Bori Baba’s sack. “I’ll kill Bori Baba, you get us outta the sack.” John races for Mary to try to stop her. (Boris: Ooo Dean gets jumping over fences from his dad)

Mary finds her dad’s hat in the sack (Indiana Jones ALWAYS saves the hat). When John gets there, she’s gone and the sack is empty

It’s demon time with Ada and Carlos. She sets the bonsai down before the demon and we learn that demons can be forced to inhabit…plants? I think Ada is playing the demon but anyway, the demon is too scared by the threat of bonsai eternity and spills the info

The Akrida leader is hiding inside a human, a woman

Ada drops a bit of blood in front of the demon and sucks him into the bonsai (DANG) New lore!

John flails at Lata and begs for a way to help Mary. “None of this works without Mary”

Down in the monster’s blanket fort, siblings flee the monster. Suddenly, limbs get hacked off! The monster falls to reveal Mary behind him with a knife and her dad’s hat. LOVE THAT SHOT

Boris is loving the monster! YOU DID IT, show!

We go back to talking about the show and what to expect. We both think a twist is coming but WHAT WHAT IS IT TELL US BUT ALSO DON’T TELL US. Natasha keeps obsessing about Dean’s conversation in Baby about John teaching him to drive in a world where he wasn’t raised as a hunter

Lata talks to someone on the phone and tells them that they can tell her MOM that she’s okay. Well well well

The bag monster leaves pieces of its sack behind and if it all gets destroyed, that’s how to kill it. But first they have to get the kids and Mary out of its lair. To escape, the kids and Mary have to willingly give up the item they thought they lost. (I’m reminded of Charlie having to let go of her mother when she was trapped by the djinn)

John and Lata decide to use a CB radio to try to reach Mary - she hears him in the air … and tracks the radio to a storage compartment. They get the low-down on how to escape

The kids are AMAZING. Carrie rips the head off her bunny and Ford breaks the charm. They immediately disappear. LOL love it. (We literally laughed out loud)

Mary tries to burn her dad’s hat but the lighter won’t work. CURSED with malfunctioning monster lighters, her whole line!

John and Mary speculate on why she can’t burn the hat. John thinks that there’s another thing holding her back. Mary worries that finding her dad means she’s done hunting and “hunting is all I have” She never dreamed she could do anything else. John talks her through it. “It’s time to start dreaming about what’s next”

Mary finally escapes. They all celebrate with hugs and joy when the monster emerges! Lata shoves it, John beheads it, and Carrie kicks it and calls it a “stupid monster”

Betty shows up to close up the police report. She gives him back A RING which is a lot to unpack for us. (Boris: What was he, like 16 when he proposed???)

Mary tells John she’s going to take the evening off of the hunt and we cheer for her. (Boris: My god why are they so cute)

Mary heads to the movie alone. Some random guy hits on Mary at the ticket window and they decide to watch a movie “alone together” -__-

In the background later, Rocket Roxy, a DJ, tells viewers that hellraisers are on their way to Lawrence. In the closing scenes, a scorpion monster from last week creeps in and grabs the bag man’s sack before it burns! It delivers the bag to the DJ. She sucks a red light from the bag into her vial. Dun dun DUN

We love that Mary wasn’t supposed to have agency in Supernatural but this show is allll about exploring that. What did Mary want to do with her life instead of hunting? This was NEVER answered in SPN and we are here for it!