#season twelve scorecard

[variousqueerthings]

i went and read through all the scorecards and commentary you’ve written so far, and i just have to comment that i think you’ll have a much better time rewatching twelve’s era - it’s got its own problems, of course, but it’s such a breath of fresh air. i think m*ffat actually took some of people’s biggest criticisms of s5-7 to heart - the hamfisted sexiness is toned way down, and he did away with the whole “the doctor is the center of the universe and the most specialest guy ever” angle almost entirely. honestly, i almost have a hard time believing both eras were written by the same person.

hahaaa thank you, and idk why the below got so long, when your ask was relatively simple, blame it on the hyperfixation!

I acknowledge I tend to write m*ffat (mainly because im not trying to put stuff in tags to be a buzzkill but also as a joke about censoring him), but I do think he got... better

in the sense that he was overall less sexist and more character-driven later on and seems to have really run with a lot of what people wanted set up in terms of genderbending Timelords and queer lead characters, although I am finding s6 has some really good stuff... not.... his episodes so much lol...... but I'm liking it more than s5 which runs contrary with my assumptions/memory of his era, which is pleasantly surprising

I don't think he's egregious in the way writers like, say, Joss Whedon were, I've not heard stories of him being an asshole on set (except for that one story about him throwing a hissyfit about not getting the horse through the mirror in GitF back in s2), which may just be me missing stuff, so can let me know, BUT... nothing I know of. and while he's said some... Highly Dubious Shit About Women Especially and also asexuality, I genuinely think he's been working on some of those biases and fucking nonsense

we went from the Doctor kissing a lesbian without her consent to Bill Potts (who has some flaws -- the fat joke I've been seeing mentioned on Tumbls, the somewhat off-centre flirtation with the one-night stand she doesn't get to have that seems more like it comes from girl-on-girl porn than like a way lesbians might speak with one another)

from writing Rants about the dullness of asexuality that assumed a cis- and heteronormative perspective of the Doctor (he's a bloke of course he'd want to have sex was a lot of the Vibes of it) to in a "confused but got some of the spirit" writing about how the Doctor wouldn't understand human definitions of sexuality and monogamous relationship structures (there's a post about that somewhere in the depths of my blog @fabiansociety made some excellent points)

from describing the original first casting for Amy as "wee and dumpy" to... well, actually can we have some clarification there sir, also the shit you said about Karen Gillen basically just being cast because she was hot (I'm not saying I am super Yay Moffat after all), but at least toning down the sexy sexy talk on the show from what you say!

also maybe a smallish thing, and idk how much power he had and and and, buuut I appreciate how he went from the way he talked in GiTF about how Reinette was "worthy" of the Doctor because she was cultured and educated and whatnot... when Rose is literally the companion of the season and semi-textually Created Ten (regardless of youknow, reads of the relationship and all that, definitely important to the narrative and the Doctor), to having Rose appear as The Bad Wolf in the 50th anniversary special... haunting the naaarrative baybey

and I remember feeling like "Missy" when introduced was just a rehash of River Song rehash of Irene Adler (or whatever way around those characters existed) but then Gomez is actually amazing as The Master, to the point that she's the Number One thing I remember from that era of the show

and he's not an asshole about trans people, which, low bar perhaps, but not in this flipping country, especially not saying so out loud, which, like... Doctor Who is a big deal in this country and RTD is obviously a big ol' queer who's been yelling from the rooftops from Day One, but to not just have it be him, to have a cultural institution firmly in our corner, it's good feeling-wise, and Moffat is a part of that too

and what you're saying, which I cannot quite remember the details of but will eventually reach, the pivot from how the Doctor is portrayed in the Eleven arc vs the Twelve arc, and what the core of that story is, and the glory of Capaldi!

the limitations of this praise then come in the fact that he was learning this stuff while running two of the biggest British institutions, a version of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who, and so the above Things that he was a dick about, alongside the mocking of fandom during Sherlock and the weird "queer but not queer" stuff with Sherlock/Watson (look, the fucking... BBC marketed it through the lens of a ship, and then there was a whole idk... campaign to make fandom seem weird and over-invested, and then of course Sherlock actually sucked as a show for so many reasons...) means that he's managed to be a prat in real time and it's meant that what should have been fun engagement in storytelling wasn't so much for many of us wincing through the shit he was saying and writing in his shows

... that time he was like "people are accusing me of being sexist, but I love strong, sexually confident women who can step on me, and having a dominatrix kink that I'm projecting onto my female characters onscreen is the opposite of sexism actually Check Mate" (that paraphrasing was mean, sorry not sorry, but also.... I could find the quote or just a handful of handy videos that have aaaaalll of the quotes... because they were happening.... in national newspapers and in interviews and panels and twitter and.... like.... not in private... there's more I'm vaguely remembering but not sure enough to just throw out there, so yeah... but he did not shut up!)

also I will never think he's a good writer so much as Very good at thinking up cool concepts that others might be able to run with or work with him on, and he should never ever be left to his own devices and encouraged to do whatever he wants (... Sherlock..... Jekyll.... from what I've heard, Inside Man....) AND I think generally and hope that RTD2 is going to be about heralding in the next gen of creators, including perhaps... a future showrunner who didn't grow up when Classic!Who was in its infancy (I don't mean that as a diss, I just mean that we've had three of those showrunners so far), and perchance isn't a cis man, because I think a lot of cool shit that could have been better might have been if moffat wasn't learning the ABC's of third wave feminism at the same time

Gosh and he's the least sexy writer I have ever come across... maybe not ever, but considering how confident he was being about allosexual alloromantic Doctor, that man is as sexy as getting slapped by a wet fish (unless you're into that, in which case insert something else here)

ALL OF THIS TO SAY... yeah, I'm excited for Twelve. and I'm enjoying Eleven more by watching the way I'm watching and being able to set criteria for worse and for better!

[thevioletcaptain]

12.20 Twigs & Twine & Tasha Banes

THE VERDICT

Have I mentioned how big a fan I am of Steve Yockey? Because I’m a big fan of Steve Yockey. The new writers that joined in S12 are fucking amazing.

Also, I am in love with Speight’s direction. This episode was gorgeous, and I’m thrilled to know that he’ll be directing again next season. Seriously, he’s been added to my slightly absurd mental list of people I’d love to have direct my scripts when I’m a wildly successful TV writer.

A play-by-play recap with meta-adjacent notes is under the cut!

ALL THE THINGS

THEN!

“Dad’s on a hunting trip, and he hasn’t been home in a few days.” Hey it’s that classic song from the first album! :P

Witches exist!

Max and Alicia also exist! And are witches! And also hunters! And are also super cute!

Ketch put a sneaky sneak device in the bunker!

Mick met an untimely death right when I was starting to like him!

The colt is a liquid!

Cas got beaten up by Dagon & now he’s hopped up on Nephilim KoolAid!

Sam appears reasonably concerned about this! Dean probably cried about it!

NOW!

Thunder and rain… ominous.

We’re in Rock River, Wyoming! Wikipedia tells me this small town is home to less than three hundred people, a quarter of whom live below the poverty line. There’s not a whole lot else I could find about it beyond the fact that in our world, there’s only one restaurant in town, and it’s not vegan :P

Anyway. This is a very pink house.

The very pink house is called Mountain Slumber Boarding House. Two black mountains and a pair of pines.

Tasha Banes drives a smart car, and the idea that she is an anti-John Winchester just went from “plausible reading of the subtext” to “so parallel that Quinn Mallory is trapped inside the concept”

(I don’t care that this reference barely makes sense and is about 20 years late to be topical. I’m still firmly in the parallel worlds are gonna factor into the finale camp, and I’m going to make as many references to Sliders as I possibly can)

But really, Tasha is the anti-John. 1. Had kids with a hunter, but knew about the supernatural beforehand 2. Raised her kids in the life as a single parent but didn’t traumatize them or force them to fit into a mould 3. Openminded, sociable, warm

IDK man I think if I sat here and listed all the things that make her an obvious anti-John I’d be here all day. There’s a lot, is my point.

Anyway.

This rude-ass woman in the foyer needs to be less awful

“I could cleanse your aura, if you like. Looks a little… muddy.” *applause*

Andy the hotel clerk is the cute kind of awkward so natch he’s gonna die :(

Tasha has Alicia and Max as her phone background :’)

Glowy purple eyes! I think the last time we saw purple eyes was Calliope in 10x05

I absolutely adore the way this sequence was shot. It’s beautiful. I don’t know how much of Tasha’s tracking spell was Yockey or how much was Speight, but the result is a gorgeous sequence that is among my favorite visuals this show has ever done. Just… the way the pendant pulls her through the house and outside… I love it.

Also, the pendant is giving me Chuck and the Samulet thoughts, but that is possibly (probably) just me

Anyone reminded of Scarecrow all of a sudden?

OH SHIT

EVEN THOUGH I ALREADY WATCHED THIS EPISODE, TASHA GETTING STABBED STILL SHOCKED THE HELL OUT OF ME

UGH I’M SO SORRY YOU WONDERFUL LADY WE HARDLY KNEW YE

*deep breath* okay cold open over, lets go

SHIT SHIT ABORT MISSION CLOSE UP OF HANDS

Dean is in prayer pose right now and I need to take a moment

He might be talking to Sam out loud, but everything about the way this shot is framed, especially while paired with the topic he’s focused on, says that he’s praying in Cas’ direction right now

“Okay, so last night…”

:’(((

“That Super-Mario power up crap? That wasn’t Cas.” :((((((((

So there’s a tweet going around at the moment that summarizes the season as Sam being sensible and Dean worrying about Cas, and this scene is the epitome of that. While Dean frets and paces and chews on his fingernails in the background, we see Sam thoughtful in the foreground.

“Cas said that he had faith in Lucifer Junior? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” :((((

“Up until now, if Cas messed up—if he did something wrong but he thought it was for the right reasons, I got it. Right? But last night? When I looked at him? I did not recognize the guy staring back at me.”

Dean is on the verge of tears. This is fine. I’m fine.

But seriously though, that quote ^ is SO MUCH, and not just because Dean is acknowledging their ridiculous staring by saying that it wasn’t the same—though that is also A Lot. He’s saying that he understood that Cas has always had their best interests at heart. Ugh, he loves him so much.

Sam whipping out the broken colt with a distinct air of “oh look, a distraction!” is one more thing to add to the Sam:head vs. Dean:heart pile

The most supernatural thing about this show is how long the batteries last in their spare phones

BANEEEESSSS god they’re both so attractive how dare

Alicia’s repeated use of “we” when the truth is “I” is certainly interesting… >_>

Dean rolling his eyes at Sam agreeing to the hunt is everything

“What the hell, man? What about Cas?”

YEAH, SAM. WHAT ABOUT CAS.

I wonder if Jody’s APB on Cas & Kelly is the reason she’s going to pop up somewhere in the final two episodes? She might be the connection somehow.

(also, you’d better believe that my Jam-shipper brain is filling in the gaps here, because Dean sure as hell didn’t call her)

(sunglasses emoji)

“Their mom’s on a hunting trip, and hasn’t been home in a week.”

OKAY SO REMEMBER WHAT I WAS SAYING ABOUT TASHA BEING THE ANTI-JOHN????

*GESTURES WILDLY*

If Dean’s sad reluctant face in this moment wasn’t literally shattering my heart, I’d probably have thoughts about it. But it is, so I can only say D: D: D: D: D:

Just look at him:

That’s a man thinking “keep it together, keep it together, keep it together” on repeat ad infinitum

WELP OUT COMES THE CELL PHONE

I’M ALREADY UPSET

YIKES THOSE SCREWS IN SHIFTER!MARY’S CHEST ARE RIDIC

Ketch is a goddamn creep and I really look forward to his death

“Mom—hey, I just wanted to let you know that um, me and Sam were, um… we’re heading out on a case with those witch twins, Max and Alicia. Um… I’ll text you the info. But, uh… I know the Brits have got you runnin’ non-stop, so if you can help out, that’d be great. Um… and even if you can’t swing by, can you call me back? Just, some stuff goin’ down, it’s… kinda got me spun out. Be good to talk to you.”

I’m speechless.

I am entirely without speech.

That. Was. HUGE.

Dean doesn’t even want to go on this hunt—he clearly thought it was a non-event, a waste of time just like Max seems to think—and it’s obvious from the way he’s constantly saying “um” and “uh” through the first part that he’s stalling before he gets to the real reason he called. He doesn’t want Mary’s help with the hunt. He wants to talk to his mom. He’s reaching out for EMOTIONAL HELP. Because “some stuff goin’ down” has kinda got him “spun out.”

THE STUFF GOING DOWN IS CAS BEING SOCKPUPPETED BY LUCIFER JUNIOR

HE WANTS TO TALK TO MARY ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON WITH CAS, NOT BECAUSE HE THINKS SHE’LL HAVE A SOLUTION, BUT BECAUSE HE’S HURTING AND NEEDS TO VENT AND SAM ISN’T REACTING THE SAME WAY HE IS, AND HE FEELS ALONE IN HIS WORRY AND HIS FEAR AND EVEN THOUGH SAM OBVIOUSLY CARES ABOUT CAS TOO IT’S JUST NOT THE SAME.

MAN

THIS

SEASON

AND

THE

CHARACTER

GROWTH

Sincerely, season twelve has been one of my favorite seasons of the entire series at this point, and that’s saying something. They told us at the beginning that it was going to be all about character growth and relationships, so I should have been prepared, but I really wasn’t. This has been amazing.

Okay, back to Ketch and shifter!Mary

Oh, hey! He’s still a huge creep. And actual Mary looks super creeped out.

Ketch calling the shifter “it” instead of “he”

“That eye of yours twitches when you lie.” “My eye twitches all the time.”

HMMMMMMMMM

He smacked the face right off of that shifter, yikes

NYOOOM

Ooh, pretty mountains

“I got the bartender’s phone number.” Yeahhh, Max, get it.

Dean seems impressed with his bartender-number-getting-skills

“Dean… that car is still major.”

(quietly headcanons that Dean showed off the Impala to Max in 12x06 because he likes to impress cute boys with his shiny car)

Also:

Sam is like “lmao good luck with that, Max.”

But then Dean’s all “you want the tour?” and Sam’s face gets even better:

…Dean showing Max the trunk. Showing off his big guns.

“Is that a grenade launcher?” For fucks sake

*stares into the camera*

*mutters something about grenadebaiting*

Alicia: “Magic is definitely their thing, y’know?”

Sam: “Yeah. When I was growing up, Dean and my dad had the same thing with hunting. That bond.” Sam, babe……… you still don’t see what was going on, and my heart aches.

“Mary’s a great hunter… she doesn’t seem like much of a hugger.”

I’d like to take this moment to point out Sam’s adorable dimples

*weird dude emerges from storm cellar*

Max: “Not weird… at all…”

lmao I watched this episode the first time with @studio84a and she literally said the same thing right before Max did. Clearly the correct reaction.

Sam’s awkward wave is everything

UH OH THAT’S NOT MOM

“Why didn’t you call us? I mean, we called—“ *Max clears his throat* “I called and texted a lot.”

That we-i distinction, y’all. That’s been coming up a bit.

YIKES, NOT-TASHA

That busted finger is grosssss

(kudos SFX team)

Dean pretending he doesn’t like wine, then immediately pouring all of Sam’s glass into his own the second Sam gets up to leave.

Ketch is so thirsty lmao

“I remember us agreeing that was a one time thing.” You tell him, Mary

“Anyone who tells you that torture is never the answer—they haven’t been under the knife.”

Ketch, you’re fucked up, dude

Dean wants to talk to his mom so badly ;-;

[a note: at this point in my rewatch i paused to get a snack, got distracted by something shiny, and forgot to meta for five months. whoops.]

Did I mention previously that Tasha Banes is BEAUTIFUL? Because wow, congrats on your face

I adore Max trying to talk Alicia into lending him the jeep so he can go hook up with that bartender. Listen to that fake casual “sooooo”

“And your mother?” “That’s complicated.” “Yeah, family’s always complicated.”

pffft lady you don’t know the half of it :P

The whole “parents are just people” thing has come up a couple of times this season

“…and even if you can’t swing by, can you call me back? Just, some stuff goin’ down, it’s… kinda got me spun out. Be good to talk to you.”

I still can’t believe they made us hear that twice in the episode I’m DYING over it all over again, because DEAN WANTS TO TALK ABOUT HIS FEELINGS AND IT’S EVERYTHING

Mary has three emails from Dean, and the one he sent the previous day is titled JUST CHECKING IN, unlike the rest of them from him & the one from Sam that are all case related.

Basically, I would bet ACTUAL MONEY that he emailed her something along the lines of what he said in the voicemail. Because he left that message the previous night, too. Ugh ugh my heart.

Ketch you slimy fucker, sending fake emails from Mick’s account after you killed him to death >:(

Dean sitting there with the Banes and enjoying spending time with a normal family. And then not wanting to bother them with the development in the case because they’re all happy… This is hurting me in so many ways.

…oh no

I’d forgotten about what was in the cellar

:( Poor Tasha

OH NO MAX

(but like… why are none of you rushing upstairs immediately to get Alicia away from fake!Tasha though??? seriously guys wyd??)

RUN MARY RUN

These crusty ass BMoL fuckers with their futuristic murder wall >:( stay away from all of our hunter friends, you pack of dickwaffles

It still tickles me that Ketch heard Dean call him “low rent Christian Bale.”

“A werewolf shot him in the head?” “…it’s not impossible.”

Anyone else immediately think of this?

KICK HIS ENTIRE ASS, MARY

BRASS KNUCKLES TO THE JEWELS //makes fight sounds

Max’s reveal spell is so cooooool

[chanting]  t w i g   p e o p le    t w i g   p e o p le    t w i g   p e o p le

This woman is such a creep jfc

Poor adorable lobby guy :(

I really love Speight’s direction in this. Also the editing is excellent.

Aliciaaaaa :((((

This is the worst day for the Banes family ugh ughhhhhhh

“We do terrible things all the time to save each other. I mean, that’s what you do for family. Who am I to stop him?” :(((((((

This is such an upsetting episode ending. I both hope we see Max and twig!Alicia again and dread it :(

Dean’s half smile when Mary says “I love you” :3

ALL THE OTHER THINGS

Passed Bechdel-Wallace!

I’m going to be upset about Max and Alicia and Tasha for a long damn time.

Someday when I have time, I’m going to watch this episode alongside Scarecrow because I feel like there’s some connections to be made.

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday former World Boxing champion  Jim Watt.

Jim was born in Glasgow in 1948 and raised in the Bridgeton and Possilpark neighbourhoods of the city,  he was a keen footballer at school, but the frozen winter of 1963 led him to take up boxing while training as an apprentice electrician, as a young boxer he trained at Cardowan Amateur Boxing Club in Maryhill.

Wartt came to prominence in 1968 by beating John H. Stracey to the ABA Championships; he turned professional immediately afterwards, declining the chance to compete as an amateur at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City.

Watt beat such notables as future world champion Sean O'Grady, former world champion Perico Fernandez, Charlie Nash and Howard Davis Jr. The fight with O'Grady was particularly controversial: Watt won by a knockout in round twelve when the referee stopped the fight because of a cut suffered by O'Grady. According to the book, The Ring: Boxing The 20th Century, the cut was produced by a head-butt, in which case the judges' scorecards would have been checked, and whoever was ahead given the win by a technical decision. The referee, however, declared incorrectly that O' Grady's cut had been produced by a punch, therefore, Watt officially, but unjustly, won the fight by knockout. When O'Grady won the WBA title four months later Watt was declared lightweight champion by The Ring.

Jim managed to compile four successful title defences including wins over such notables as Howard Davis Jr and Sean O'Grady, before losing to Alexis Arguello in the last fight of his ( Watt’s) career. As a young fighter Watt also held the EBU and Commonwealth British titles. In 1973, a 17 fight Jim Watt faced fellow countryman Ken Buchanan. Watt fared well and lasted the 15 rounds despite being vastly out experienced but at the end couldn’t beat his more seasoned counterpart.

In retirement Jim Watt has commentated on many fights worldwide, he hung up his mic after 40 years at the ringside in 2016.

[mhsn033]

Bob Willis Trophy: Tom Fell makes 81 not out as Pears build on slight first-innings lead at Northampton

Tom Fell hit his first half of century in top quality cricket for Worcestershire in virtually two years

Bob Willis Trophy, County Ground, Northampton (day three): Worcestershire 219: Wessels 88, Cox 39, Haynes 38; Muzarabani 4-29, Buck 3-67 & 177-6: Fell 81*, Buck 3-30 Northamptonshire 212: Berg 45, Buck 32; Barnard 4-46, Tongue 3-42, Leach 3-54 Worcestershire (4 pts) lead Northants (4 pt) by 184 runs with six wickets last Scorecard

Tom Fell made 81 no longer out, his best top quality bag since September 2018, to wait on place Worcestershire in a stable keep with a 184-escape overnight attend against Northamptonshire.

After bowling out Northants for 212, for a runt first-innings lead, Worcestershire closed on 177-6.

Fell escaped an early edged force and survived a escape-out likelihood after Blessing Muzarabani’s heart-broken throw.

However he shared a 2nd-wicket stand of 67 with Daryl Mitchell, who made 39.

After tea, Jack Haynes turned a 2nd ally as Fell passed past 50 for the 22nd time in his 82-match profession.

He and Haynes added 59 in 17 however Northamptonshire labored their manner reduction into the game in the last hour of a protracted and surprisingly uninterrupted day with three wickets for 11 in 19 balls.

Earlier in the day Northamptonshire slipped to 100-7 however determined batting from Gareth Berg – with a county-simplest 45 – and Buck dragged the hosts out of inconvenience with a stand of 59 in 11.2 overs.

Berg became last out as Northamptonshire made 212 to train their first batting level of the season.

Relive Monday’s motion in the Bob Willis Trophy

Northants snappily bowler Nathan Buck informed BBC Radio Northampton:

“Or no longer it is on a knife edge. Or no longer it is anybody’s game to purchase. The wicket did no longer flatten out however did recover. Tom Fell performed completely for them and batted somewhat loads of time however or no longer it is exhausting to birth on this pitch.

“I felt if I attempted to play straight I became a sitting duck so I took some calculated risks and luckily it got here off. Or no longer it is labored a lot of cases for me and after I confirmed some intent it place the stress reduction onto them.

“I’ve cherished taking the original ball and having that responsibility. I have been extra consistent this twelve months and given Adam Rossington some administration.”

Worcestershire batsman Tom Fell informed BBC Hereford & Worcester:

“Early on it became exhausting work and the ball nipped spherical however because the day went on it felt admire it slowed up reasonably however you quiet had to grind it out.

“I’ve felt the truth is trusty all season and I the truth is feel my game’s as trusty as or no longer it is been for a protracted very long time so or no longer it is good to get a bag.

“I make no longer mediate there is any escape. Or no longer it is the form of wicket the keep you would possibly want to perchance perchance purchase 10 wickets in 60-70 overs.”

Match story supplied by PA Media.

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[khalilhumam]

Are American elections pandemic-proof? A state-by-state scorecard

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New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/are-american-elections-pandemic-proof-a-state-by-state-scorecard/

Are American elections pandemic-proof? A state-by-state scorecard

By Elaine Kamarck, Yousef Ibreak, Amanda Powers, Chris Stewart More than four months have passed since the coronavirus hit the United States, changing almost every aspect of how we live. As we write, the virus shows no sign of slowing down, as hot spots move from the northeast to the south and southwest. Public health experts believe that a variety of conditions could induce a second wave of COVID-19 cases—just in time for the November election. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our democracy faced—and continues to face—serious challenges when it comes to voting, such as voter suppression, non-voting, and lack of trust in institutions. During this year’s primaries many of these problems have surfaced again and the pandemic has only exacerbated them. The pandemic will also speed up changes that were already in the making—changes that will pose huge challenges to those who administer elections. With a consequential national election just four months away and important primary elections before then, our voting systems must be pandemic-proof to ensure our confidence in the electoral process. So how should we vote in a pandemic when the safest thing to do is stay home? The simple answer: Vote from home. On that front there is good news and bad news. The good news is that more and more Americans have already been voting from home. FiveThirtyEight studied how voters have voted over the past three decades. In 1992, nearly all voters voted on Election Day; by 2018, the last national election, only 62% of voters voted on Election Day. This change is due to the adoption of universal vote-by-mail systems in several states, changes in many more states that allowed for “no-excuse” absentee balloting, and the increased adoption of early voting.[1] Even without the pandemic the number of voters voting absentee in the 2020 presidential election would have increased given this trend. But during the pandemic, we are seeing an exponential increase in the demand to vote from home—with some states seeing as many as 10 times the number of absentee ballot requests for primaries as before. In fact, in some jurisdictions, executive branch officials are urging people to request absentee ballots and avoid the voting booth. We undertook a survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia in order to assess their readiness to vote from home during a pandemic, and we assigned letter grades to those states which made it easiest. Eight states received an A grade.[2] In seven of these states, a voter does not need to request an absentee ballot—an actual ballot is mailed to every registered voter. These states are referred to as “universal vote-by-mail” states and include blue states such as California, purple states such as Colorado, and red states such as Utah. Except for California, these are states that have used universal vote-by-mail successfully in past major elections. California was moving in the direction of universal vote-by-mail prior to the pandemic and the seriousness of the pandemic sped up that process.[3] We expect that more states will move in this direction in the following months and we will update the scores accordingly. The eighth state to receive an A grade, Maryland, has not embraced universal vote-by-mail but scored well in other categories. Maryland earned an A grade because of their commitment to sending all registered voters an application to request a mail-in-ballot, and because of their generous deadline for ballot submission, which requires voters to put their ballots in the mail on or before election day but allows an additional ten days for those ballots to be received by election officials and still be counted. The remaining states allow for absentee voting but there are huge variations in the ease of applying for, receiving, and submitting a valid absentee ballot. We scored the remaining states on twelve dimensions and translated the scores into letter grades. Three of those dimensions deal with how easy it is to get an absentee ballot. The most points were awarded for those states that automatically sent absentee ballot applications to all voters, as states like Michigan have committed to doing. As November approaches, we expect that more states will adopt this strategy. States were also given points for adopting what are called “no-excuse” absentee ballot plans. This trend appeared even before the pandemic. In recent  years, several states stopped requiring an excuse, such as being out of the state or having an illness, in order to get an absentee ballot. In a nod to the virus, some states that require excuses have added concerns over COVID-19 as a valid excuse for requesting an absentee ballot, effectively opening absentee balloting to the entire population of those states. We also graded states on the ease of completing an absentee ballot. Most people view absentee balloting as a simple process of filling in a few bubbles and sealing an envelope. However, that ease of experience is not universal. For example, three states go so far as to require that absentee ballots be notarized or witnessed by two people—extra steps that are difficult to do in any situation, let alone a pandemic. There is also variation among states on when an absentee ballot must be received in order to be counted. Some states require that mail ballots be received by close of voting on Election Day, with a few even requiring that voters postmark ballots prior to Election Day itself.[5] All other states count absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day but received after, some with a window of less than five days and some that accept them for longer. Given the unprecedented volume of mail ballots we are likely to see in November, we gave more credit to states that allow a longer time for ballots to arrive. And in the 2020 primaries so far, some states have already relaxed the time allowed for an absentee ballot to be returned in order to accommodate the huge increase in requests. We gave points to states that had multiple channels for submitting their ballots. Given that problems with the mail are to be expected, we gave more points to states that allowed for alternate ways of submitting their absentee ballots such as in special drop-off boxes or in person at a polling place or county office. Finally, we gave points for some special circumstances. States with multiple channels for requesting an absentee ballot, such as by email, phone or in-person, got an extra point. And states that required two or more witnesses or a notary received negative points. When the points were added up and translated into grades, the states fell into the following categories. Voting from home is obviously the safest way to vote during a pandemic. As states are changing their voting rules and election administration laws in real time, during a campaign season, it requires state election bureaucracies to be nimble and responsive to rapid changes. Not surprisingly, the election infrastructure in many states has already come under pressure as a result. The press has recounted many of these challenges. For instance, in many states absentee ballots did not arrive in time for people to vote and send them in. This caused some voters to go to the polls to vote. This added to long lines and long wait times at the polls—especially in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Georgia. In other places, poll workers failed to show up or showed up late to open up polling places, further increasing the wait time for frustrated voters. Although voting officials in elections so far worked hard to make polling places safe, requiring masks and putting tape on the floors to keep voters six feet apart, it was clear that they did not account for the number of absentee ballots that went astray. We initially hoped to build a scorecard that judged states not only on their progress towards vote-from-home but on their progress in making voting in person safe and easy. However, the problems that impeded in-person voting in the primaries are difficult to measure in a standardized way across states. We do not have reliable data on procurement and staffing of the polls, and it will not be available until close to Election Day itself, if at all. For instance, in some states authorities can change the number of available polling places up to 4 days before the election. But what we can say is that for November, reforms that make it easier to vote from home should be coupled with reforms that keep as many in-person polling places as possible open and safe. In this year’s primaries some jurisdictions shuttered a huge percentage of in-person polling sites, leading to massive voter confusion and long lines. In many cases, the polling station shuttering happened in cities with significant Black populations like Atlanta, Louisville, Milwaukee, and Savannah. This is an alarming trend and election officials need to diligently prepare for a range of voting preferences. According to a recent CNN report, “Experts say black voters are less likely to have had experience with absentee voting processes and are less likely to trust the government institutions to handle their votes in the mail.” As has become clear from the primary elections held so far, the transition problems as we move from in-person voting to voting from home have a disproportionate effect on communities of color. Recent scandals such as the Republican voter fraud scandal in the 2018 race in the 9th congressional district of North Carolina, which effectively destroyed absentee ballot requests among Democratic voters and especially voters of color, reinforces that skepticism among Black voters. The integrity of in-person voting in November requires recruiting and training new poll workers —probably younger people than traditional poll workers who are generally retirement age and thus more vulnerable to the virus. It means keeping as many polling places open as possible and letting people know that they are open to reduce wait times. And it means aggressive publicity to educate the public about how they can vote from home and all other changes to state and local voting processes. Voting from home has its problems but when combined with safe and accessible in-person voting, it should enable us to have a safe election in November. The United States has held elections during other trying times and it can do so this year as well, even if we are still in the middle of a stubborn and dangerous health crisis.

[1] Oregon adopted the first universal vote-by-mail ballot election system in 1998. [2] California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. [3] In 2016 the Voter’s Choice Act allowed counties to opt in and mail ballots to all registered voters. Five counties adopted the system for the 2018 elections and more were planning to do so for 2020 when the pandemic struck. In May of 2020 Governor Gavin Newsom of California issued an executive order declaring that in 2020 California will send ballots to every registered voter. The order faced legal challenges and in June the governor passed a bill through the legislature enshrining a universal mail-in ballot system for California, thus strengthening the governor’s legal position. [4] Alabama, Missouri, and Oklahoma. [5] Alabama, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and North Dakota.

[cathrynstreich]

Time to Hire a Real Estate Assistant? How to Go About It

Twelve percent of real estate agents indicate that better time management is the most important aspect of earning more money this year, according to The Voice of the Real Estate Agent, published by Real Estate Express. Respondents in the report share that those who are successful in owning their time rely on several habits, including building out their real estate team.

Your life as a real estate professional can be fast-paced and demanding. Scheduling, taking calls and handling everyday details can distract from big-picture goals, which is why many real estate agents and brokers hire a real estate assistant. If you’re at a point in your career that requires your attention in many different places at once, enlisting the help of an assistant can both help you stay organized and maintain your sanity.

Need someone to lighten the load? Here are some ways to get started in the process to hire a real estate assistant.

8 Steps to Help You Hire a Real Estate Assistant 

Step 1: Decide if you’re ready hire a real estate assistant. Knowing when it’s the right time to find an assistant is important. Some signs that might indicate you need hired help include:

Missing meetings due to scheduling errors

Difficulty scheduling calls

Needing to be in two different places at once

Desiring a home base while you’re meeting with clients

Needing organizational help

Overworking to the point of burning out

Gaining clients steadily

Needing a second brain to evaluate business decisions

If any of the above sounds like you, it might be time to hire a real estate assistant.

Step 2: Create a job listing. Potential assistants will respond to your job listing based on the requirements, and you’ll want to make sure the wording is right to attract the best-suited candidate. Some important responsibilities and character traits to include range from:

Managing databases

Preparing market reports

Maintaining business and personal calendars

Drafting letters and press releases

Understanding the basics of Microsoft Excel, Outlook and Word

Organizing files and keeping track of important documents

Preparing meeting spaces as needed

Being detail-oriented (You might consider capitalizing this one!)

Step 3: Advertise your real estate assistant position. It’s time to get the word out! You can post your job listing online using career-oriented sites like Indeed or LinkedIn, but there are other ways to connect with potential assistants, as well. Someone who is studying real estate might be attracted to the position to learn about the inner workings of an office, so be sure to reach out to recent graduates. You can do so by sending the job description to local universities or getting in contact with professors of a similar field of study or through real estate training programs.

Additionally, asking your business associates for referrals could be the quickest and most efficient way to connect with an assistant.

Step 4: Create a list of qualities to look for. Once you get a pool of potential hires, lay out what is most important to you in an assistant. Do you value personality over technical skills? Are you looking for experience in real estate, or someone with general experience assisting a professional? Make a list of qualities you’re looking for—try to find someone who will compensate for areas where you’re weak or in areas that can be easily delegated and make a huge impact on how much time you have available each week.

Step 5: Determine what questions to ask in an interview. Conducting an interview can be just as nerve-wracking as interviewing for a position. Remember, you’re asking what prospective assistants can offer you to make your daily life easier. The more direct the questions, the better. After a greeting and overview of the job description, interview questions typically flow similar to the following:

Why are you interested in real estate?

I see on your resume that you worked at a company for a year. Why did you decide to leave?

Tell me about your time at that company. What did you learn?

What would you bring to my office that I don’t currently have?

What are your weaknesses and strengths as an employee?

What are your professional aspirations?

Are you willing to work on the weekends or in the evenings?

You can always throw in an unexpected question to see how they think on their feet. An example of this is, “If you were part of a car, what part would you be?” It may sound strange, but asking a question like this gauges how the assistant will handle pressure, which is important.

It’s also important to think of questions that could help identify red flags. Here are some questions that could lead you down that path:

Describe your former employer. It’s not necessarily a bad sign if your interviewee parted on bad terms with their last employer, but if they’re excessively bad-mouthing an employer, that could be a red flag.

Ask for specific work examples. A lack of examples could demonstrate a lack of experience. This isn’t necessarily a red flag, especially for an entry-level position, but it is something you’ll have to weigh. Ideally, even an entry-level candidate will have some volunteer or life experience they can use for an example.

Ask if you can run a background check. If a prospective employee objects to this, that’s definitely a red flag.

Step 6: Talk compensation. Money can be an uncomfortable topic, but it’s better to be up-front about it. Detail the pay you’re willing to provide and make sure the candidate is on the same page. A professional assistant will need to make at least minimum wage. You can get an idea of how much other assistants in your niche are making by searching websites such as Payscale and Glassdoor.

Step 7: Onboard a new assistant. You’ve selected an assistant! Now it’s time to make them feel comfortable in their new work environment, as well as prepare them for their daily duties. When communicating their responsibilities, assume the mindset that they need a full explanation of the workings of your office to avoid gaps in communication. For a proper onboarding, you’ll want to:

Introduce them to any coworkers they might be seeing regularly.

Show them the workspace, filing cabinets, calendar and other important systems.

Familiarize your assistant with your top clients.

Emphasize communication as crucial going forward.

Ask if they have questions to eliminate confusion.

Take them to lunch to establish good rapport.

Create a 30-day onboarding plan that you can work through with them.

Step 8: Assess your assistant. Since an assistant is someone who you will be working with constantly, it’s important that you be proactive with how you manage them. If there is an issue with their job performance, let them know how to improve. An assistant should make your professional life easier, so make sure that is the case once they’ve had time to settle in. Here’s what you should be providing your assistant with to coach them in their job performance:

Quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily goals with measurable results so they’ll know if they’re doing a good job

Regular one-on-ones

Detailed feedback that gives examples of when your assistant aligned with your brokerage values or when they were off-course (You could consider creating a scorecard or downloading premade score cards)

A clear career path with advancement goals your assistant can work to achieve

Take Your Business to the Next Level Now that you have time to tackle the real estate projects you couldn’t before, focus on growth. Gaining an assistant marks an important time in your career, as it signals a high level of accomplishment. Channel your energy toward your bigger goals now that there is someone to sweat the small stuff.

Alexis Petersen is the director of Content at Real Estate Express, a national leader in online learning for pre-licensing, continuing education and professional development. For the last six years she has been educating real estate professionals on how to successfully launch and advance their career. She’s also a seasoned marketing veteran, with nearly 15 years of experience.

The post Time to Hire a Real Estate Assistant? How to Go About It appeared first on RISMedia.

Time to Hire a Real Estate Assistant? How to Go About It published first on https://thegardenresidences.tumblr.com/

[annabellelipscom-blog]

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[frontproofmedia]

World Boxing Super Series: Emmanuel Rodriguez and Yunier Dorticos come out victorious in Orlando

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By Hector Franco | Senior Writer and Editor

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Published: October 21, 2018

ORLANDO, FL - At the CFE Arena on the campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida Puerto Rico’s Emmanuel Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) stepped inside the ring with Australia’s Jason Moloney (17-1, 14 KOs) in front of a very much pro-Puerto Rican crowd. Rodriguez would be making the first defense of his IBF bantamweight (118) title in the quarterfinals of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) bantamweight tournament. The Puerto Rican won his title last May against Paul Butler in the United Kingdom winning a wide unanimous decision.

The first four rounds of the bout were primarily won by Rodriguez’s ability to counterpunch Moloney in spots. Moloney would rush in at times and get caught mid-stride by sharp punches from the Puerto Rican. The bout began to tighten on the scorecards after the fifth round when Moloney amped up the volume of his punches and unleashed consistent body attacks on Rodriguez. The remainder of the bout followed a similar ebb and flow where Rodriguez would at times seem in control with his counter punches and other portions of the bout where Moloney simply outworked the Puerto Rican. In the championship rounds, Moloney went for broke and began throwing body punches relentlessly. Rodriguez fought back every step of the way, but after twelve rounds of action, it was unclear as to who would be awarded the decision.

An early round lead and possibly preference of counter punches over volume allowed Rodriguez to escape with a razor close split decision victory with scores of 115-113 for Moloney and two judges scoring for Rodriguez with scores of 115-113 twice.

Rodriguez will now move on to the semi-finals in the WBSS bantamweight tournament and face Japan’s Naoya “Monster” Inoue. Inoue will be favored by a vast majority of fans and experts against Rodriguez who showed vulnerability toward body punches, and the Japanese fighter is one of the best body punchers in the sport.

The two men will like face off in the first half of 2019.

The co-main event took place in the Cruiserweight (200) division and was a quarterfinal bout in the cruiserweight portion of the WBSS tournament. Last season’s contestant in the WBSS Yunier Dorticos (22-1, 21 KOs) took on Poland’s Mateusz Masternak (41-4, 28 KOs). In Dorticos’ last bout he took on Murat Gassiev in the semi-finals of the WBSS in a unification bout for the WBA and IBF cruiserweight titles. The Cuban put on a valiant effort in a fight of the year contender but ultimately lost via 12th round technical knockout in a battle of knockout artists.

Dorticos and Masternak were both able to excite the crowd at times by exchanging punches; however, Dorticos’ edge in power allowed him to get the better of the Polish fighter most of the time. There were no knockdowns in the match, but Dorticos’ was able to land some hard power punches that put Masternak on unsteady legs. At times Masternak was able to land some well-timed hooks on the Cuban who was open all night for an uppercut. Ultimately after twelve rounds of action, the judges sided with Dorticos’ harder punches throughout the fight giving him the unanimous decision victory with scores of 116-112 and 115-113 twice.

Dorticos’ will now go on to take on Andrew Tabiti (17-0, 13 KOs) in the semi-finals of the Cruiserweight tournament. Last week Tabiti defeated Ruslan Fayfer to move on to the semi-finals. A Dorticos-Tabiti bout should be explosive and will likely be one of the tournament highlights, after all, is said and done.

On the supporting undercard, former cruiserweight and heavyweight contender Mike Perez (24-3-1, 15 KOs) took on Keith Tapia (18-2, 11 KOs) in a rather uneventful ten-round cruiserweight contest. The bout was fought in spots with many lulls in the action. When there was any action between the two men, it looked sloppy. Both men have been relatively inactive as of late with Tapia only fighting once in 2016, once in 2017 and now for the first time in 2018. The 33-year old Perez has been much more active than the younger Tapia having fought at least twice in 2017 and now in 2018. At times during the bout, Perez was merely able to outwork Tapia. This could have made the difference in the fight as all three judges scored the bout in Perez’s favor with scores of 97-92 and 96-93 twice.

(Featured Photo: Lester Silva/World Boxing Super Series)

[thevioletcaptain]

12.21 There’s Something About Mary

THE VERDICT

This will be a short one because Buckleming. The fact that these two writers are still employed keeps me awake at night.

A play-by-play recap with meta-adjacent notes is under the cut!

ALL THE THINGS

THEN!

Eileen exists!

The BMoL are terrible!

Cas has been sockpuppeted!

Mary banged Ketch!

Ketch is a giant prick!

NOW!

Sigh. I almost skipped this whole episode because I didn’t want to watch it again, but I hate skipping episodes even if they’re garbage.

Eileen deserved better.

The fact that they decided to introduce a pointless and never-again-visited team up between Ketch and a random hellhound just to exploit the fact that Eileen is Deaf in order to kill her in the fucking cold open… 

Seriously.

This is a new low for Buckleming.

(dead dove do not eat)

Anyway. Here are the boys!

The walls in Mary’s motel room… there’s that old toxic family green again! Fitting considering what’s coming

YEAH EXACTLY, WHY WASN’T EILEEN IN IRELAND? NONE OF THIS MAKES SENSE

BRING HER BACK FOR WAYWARD, YOU COWARDS

Godddd Sam I’m sorry babe :( You guys were cute together

“I wanna punch something in the face”

I can recommend two hacks to aim your anger toward, Sam

God I hate these two writers lmao

The actors are saving this as much as they possibly can

Mary spinning around in that chair like a supervillain is A+

OUCH BYE RICK

I’m so mad that John’s treatment of Sam and Dean was FINALLY described as the child abuse that it was, and it was in this stinker of an episode.

WHY ON EARTH IS THERE THIS LAST MINUTE ADDITION OF AN ILLOGICAL AND OTHERWISE IRRELEVANT TEAM UP BETWEEN CROWLEY AND THE BMOL???

WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS?

IT MAKES LITERALLY NO SENSE  

THE BMOL ARE ALL “YEAH KILL ALL DEMONS AND MONSTERS NO EXCEPTIONS” BUT NOW SUDDENLY BECAUSE THESE PLOTHOLE SURFERS FEEL LIKE IT, THEY’RE WORKING WITH CROWLEY? HE’S LENDING THEM HELLHOUNDS? THIS MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE. AND IT NEVER COMES UP AGAIN. FOR FUCKS SAKE. THIS SLOPPY BULLSHIT IS INSULTING TO THE REST OF THE WRITERS ON THIS SHOW WHO KNOW WHAT THE HELL THEY ARE DOING

GOD I’M STILL SO MAD ABOUT THIS

blah blah blah crowley and lucifer hate each other

“I hate to be all girly, but could I bunk with you guys for a few days until I sort this out”

WHAT IS THIS SHIT FOR FUCKS SAKE

I like this one sequence with the boys looking for the bug the BMoL planted.

blah blah lucifer is hamming it up, “the polarity is reversing”, blah blah whatever

blah blah buckleming are obsessed with pointless references to sex blah blah

Sam Smith’s performance in this scene where Mary manipulates Ketch saved this whole episode tbh

honestly i can’t get through the rest of this episode. it’s so fucking clunky.

ALL THE OTHER THINGS

passed Bechdel-Wallace

if there are any layers to this episode i can’t see them because i’m so bored

imagine if this episode had been written by someone who knew how to write a compelling story??? god, it could have been great.

fuckleming

[thevioletcaptain]

12.19 The Future

THE VERDICT

M I X T A P E

A play-by-play recap with meta-adjacent notes is under the cut!

ALL THE THINGS

*CW for suicide (though i’m guessing you’ve already seen the episode if you’re reading this)

THEN!

Oh hey, it’s Kelvin the Cute Angel who got less cute the more manipulative he got!!

Dean is worried about Cas!!

Dagon is a terrible nurse!

DEAN IS STILL WORRIED ABOUT CAS!!!

Kelly is having a terrible time!

Eileen accidentally shot the BMoL butler!

DEAN IS SERIOUSLY FUCKING WORRIED ABOUT CAS!!!!

The boys have the colt!

(So d’ya think they wanted us to remember that Dean’s been super worried about Cas, or no?)

NOW!

Oh man, Kelly is still having a terrible time. She looks exhausted :((

Dagon’s bedside manner has somehow become even worse than before

“He’s gonna kill me.” “Yeah. And he’s not gonna stop there. Every sad, weak human. Every tightass angel. Every snivelling demon. They’ll all be consumed.” y i k e s

Oh no. They never show smashed up mirrors after horrific revelations like that unless someone is gonna— yep.

“I love you. But we will never be together. There’s no happy ending for either of us, and if what she said is true? If this is what you really are? What you’ll do to the world… All that pain. All that death. I can’t let that happen.”

This is the most… realistic suicide I’ve ever seen on TV. The hopelessness Kelly feels is visceral. I hope nobody got blindsided by this scene :(

This is the first time I’ve ever really felt Kelly’s struggle, and surprise surprise, it’s the first time she’s been written by someone other than Buckleming. Oh, the difference a good script makes. Courtney Ford is knocking this out of the park.

This was shot so well, too. Amanda Tapping has already earned my praise, and we’re still in the cold open.

SAMMY RESEARCH MONTAGE!

Is he Beautiful-Minding all over the table? I hope he used an erasable marker.

“Whoa. What’s up, Beautiful Mind?” HAH. Further proof that I am Dean and Dean is me :P

Kelly’s gonna give birth around May 18th, AKA pretty much when the finale airs… what a crazy random happenstance! Haha

CAS CAS CAS CAS CAS CAAAAAAS!!! HE’S BACK!!!

(in pog form)

The fact that he just walked in is definitive proof that he definitely has a key to the bunker, and that fills me with joy <3

OH NO I’VE LOST MY JOY DEAN LOOKS LIKE HE’S GONNA CRY

“Where’ve you been?” “Let me rephrase that for Sam—where the hell have you been? And why have you ignored our phonecalls?” ooof that’s a good question, pal

Although, “our” phonecalls, Dean?

*looks meaningfully at the THEN sequence full of Dean repeatedly calling Cas*

“Where I was, the reception was uh… poor.” “No bars? No bars. That’s his excuse. Wow.”

Look at Dean trying to get Sam to be as angry-hurt as he is.

“I was in Heaven, I was working with the angels.” Cas that’s not gonna make him super receptive… but I’m glad you’re not lying about it.

Wow, if Dean purses his lips any harder his face is gonna turn inside out

“Well, at least you’re back. We’re glad you’re back.” Look at Sam having a rational reaction to Cas’ absence! Look at Dean having a meltdown because he spent weeks thinking the worst and checking to see if Cas had turned up dead anywhere!

“Really? No, I’m sorry, okay? Because while you were striking out in Heaven, we had a shot at Dagon. And we lost.” “I know. I received your messages.”

OOOOOF I’M HAVING SERIOUS 8x02 FLASHBACKS (I prayed to you! Every night!)

“So not only were you ditching us, but you were also ignoring us. That’s great. ‘Cause we really could have used the back up. But, uh… You were too busy with, um— what was it? Nothing?”

Dean is so hurt and? Cas looks so gutted? And poor Sam is just standing there like… can I not be involved in this conversation?

“What the hell’s wrong with you, man? Y’know, whatever. That’s… welcome back.”

DEAN’S GONNA CRY, AND CAS IS GONNA CRY, AND I’M GONNA CRY ;-;

LIKE. THE LAST TIME THEY SAW CAS WAS JUST AFTER RAMIEL, AND CAS NEARLY DIED, AND HE SAID HE LOVED DEAN AND SAM, AND THEN HE JUST LEFT AGAIN? AND WENT SILENT? GODDDDD

Dean staring at his computer all sad ;-;

[starts singing why does my heart feel so bad under my breath]

THERE’S KNOCKING AT THE DOOR IT’S GONNA BE CAS I CAN FEEL IT IN MY BONES

That’s quite a cold shoulder you’re giving him there, Dean

HOLY SHIT THE MIXTAPE

CAS HAD IT IN HIS COAT POCKET OVER HIS HEART GODDAMN

IT WASN’T A FEVER DREAM INVENTED BY FANDOM JESUS H CHRIST I NEED TO TAKE A MINUTE

THIS IS THE ONLY SPOILER I’D SEEN FOR THIS EPISODE AND IT WAS JUST A BUNCH OF PEOPLE SHOUTING “DEAN MADE CAS A MIXTAPE” ON TWITTER IN VARIOUS STATES OF CAPSLOCK AND CRYING BEFORE I AVERTED MY EYES AND AND I FIGURED IT WAS GONNA BE LIKE AN INCIDENTAL SHOT OF THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT OF CAS’ CAR WHERE THERE JUST HAPPENED TO BE A TAPE WITH DEAN’S WRITING ON IT OR SOMETHING BUT IT’S LIKE

IT’S A FUCKING THING THAT’S POINTEDLY BEING SHOWN

FUCK

OKAY I’M UNPAUSING

“Sorry Dean. Um… I just wanted to… return this.”

MY FUCKING HEART OH MY GOD

I HAVE TO PAUSE AGAIN

AFTER HOW HURT DEAN WAS WHEN CAS JUST CAME BACK, AND AFTER HE FLED THE ROOM, CAS CLEARLY THINKS DEAN IS DONE WITH HIM???? AND HE HAS TO RETURN THE TAPE? I’M

F U C K

AND THE LABEL AND EVERYTHING—THAT’S LIKE. A  BRAND NEW MIXTAPE. THE LABEL IS PERFECTLY PRESSED DOWN. SO WHENEVER DEAN MADE IT AND GAVE IT TO HIM, IT WAS RECENTLY. SO REALISTICALLY HE PROBABLY GAVE IT TO HIM AFTER CAS HAD HIS NEAR-DEATH “I LOVE YOU” MOMENT???? AND LIKE???? DEAN MADE THE GUY A GODDAMN MIX TAPE

I’M SORRY Y’ALL

EVERYONE HAS PROBABLY BEEN YELLING ABOUT THIS NON STOP EVER SINCE THE EPISODE AIRED BUT SERIOUSLY

THIS ISN’T LIKE BURNING A CD FOR SOMEONE, EVEN IF YOU CURATE THE PLAYLIST, BECAUSE MIXTAPES TAKE TIME AND PATIENCE AND PLANNING. YOU HAVE TO DO MATH TO MAKE SURE THERE’S SPACE FOR THE SONGS YOU WANT ON EACH SIDE, AND YOU HAVE TO SIT THERE AND LISTEN TO EVERY ONE AND HIT PAUSE AT THE EXACT RIGHT MOMENT SO YOU DON’T END UP WITH ANY OF THE NEXT SONG OVERLAPPING AND YOU HAVE TO CALCULATE THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SILENCE TO RECORD BETWEEN SONGS AND—MAN, IT’S A PROCESS.

AND EVEN BEYOND ALL THE WORK THAT GOES INTO THEM, ALL THE EFFORT, THERE’S THE MEANING OF THEM. BECAUSE UNLESS SOMEONE HAS ASKED YOU TO MAKE A MIX FOR THEM, A MIX IS NOT ABOUT THE MUSIC ITSELF.

IT’S A COLLECTION OF SONGS THAT YOU LOVE, AND THAT YOU WANT THIS PERSON TO HEAR, AND THAT YOU HOPE THEY’LL LOVE AS MUCH AS YOU DO

A MIX TAPE SAYS “THESE SONGS MEAN SOMETHING TO ME, THEY RESONATE DEEPLY FOR ME, AND I WANT TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU”

A MIXTAPE IS AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.

A MIXTAPE IS WHAT YOU GIVE YOUR CRUSH, AWKWARDLY AND SHYLY IN THE FUCKING SCHOOLYARD IN 1997

SWEET MERCIFUL ZEUS

DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY MIX CD’S I’VE MADE FOR PEOPLE? DOZENS. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY MIX TAPES I’VE MADE FOR PEOPLE? THREE. THE THREE WERE PEOPLE I HAD GIANT CRUSHES ON. THE DOZENS WERE FOR WHO THE HELL EVER.

AND AND AND

THIS MIX IS DEAN’S FAVORITE LED ZEPPELIN SONGS. HIS FAVORITE SONGS BY HIS FAVORITE BAND. AND HE WANTS TO SHARE THEM WITH CAS.

WHO, UNLESS I’M MISTAKEN, HAS SHOWN BASICALLY ZERO INTEREST IN MUSIC IN THE PAST NINE YEARS. SO WHY DOES DEAN WANT HIM TO LISTEN TO THESE THIRTEEN SONGS THAT ARE OBVIOUSLY MEANINGFUL TO DEAN? BECAUSE HE WANTS CAS TO KNOW SOMETHING MORE THAN HE KNOWS.

FUCK

F U C K

IF HE GAVE THIS TO CAS AFTER CAS’ DEATHBED LOVE DECLARATION, IT WAS 10000% HIS WAY OF SAYING IT BACK AND NOBODY WILL EVER CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE

AND EITHER CAS DIDN’T GET IT (OR HE DID AND THINKS HE DOESN’T DESERVE IT OR THAT DEAN HAS CHANGED HIS MIND)

I GUESS I’LL PROBABLY FIND OUT IF I UNPAUSE

*deeeeeeep breath* okay gonna return to lower case and attempt to calm down but goddddd this is the most overtly romantic thing that has ever happened between these two. if you don’t think dean fucking winchester understands the significance of a mixtape you’re kidding yourself.

alright unpausing now

“It’s a gift. You keep those.”

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

CAS WAS ALREADY WALKING OUT THE DOOR HE THOUGHT DEAN WAS DONE WITH HIM BUT DEAN STOPPED HIM

okay sorry lowercase

i paused again. dean’s eyes are welling up and red and i cannot deal with this scene.

I WANT TO KNOW WHAT CAS ALMOST SAID AFTER “OH”

He literally only came into Dean’s room to give it back god he really thought he didn’t deserve the tape. I’m going to be thinking about the way Dean must have given it to him for the rest of my goddamn life.

“Cas. You can’t— with everything that’s going on, you can’t just go dark like that. We didn’t know what happened to you. We were worried, and that’s not okay.”  

LISTEN TO HIS WAVERING VOICE. HE CAN’T BRING HIMSELF TO LOOK AT CAS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE HE WAS SO SCARED AND NOW HE’S HURT

OH MY GOD JUST FUCKING HOLD EACH OTHER ALREADY I’M DYING HERE

“Dean, I just keep… failing. Again, and again. When you were taken, I searched for months and I couldn’t find you, and Kelly escaped on my watch, and I couldn’t find her, and I just wanted— I needed— to come back here with a win for you. For myself.”

THIS ENTIRE CONVERSATION

LISTEN TO THEM ADMITTING THEIR FEARS

THEY BOTH CONSIDER THE OTHER’S WELLBEING MORE IMPORTANT

THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH AND I AM SEVERAL EMOTIONS IN A TRENCHCOAT

“Could either of you kill an innocent?” “We will find a better way.” “You mean we?”

YES HE DOES YOU FOOL

“Yes, dumbass. We.” LESS DUMB LESS ASS

“You, me… and Sam. We’re just better together.” DON’T THINK WE DIDN’T HEAR THAT LONG PAUSE BUDDY

AND DAMN RIGHT YOU ARE YOU’RE TEAM FREE FUCKING WILL

“So now that you’re back, let’s go team free will” EXACTLY

HOT DAMN DEAN AND I ARE ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH THIS EPISODE :P

“I’d like that.” SO WOULD EVERYONE, CAS

BUT WHY DO YOU STILL LOOK SO SAD

“Great. Well, I’d like a beer.”

I assume because if you stood two feet from Cas for much longer you’d lose whatever thread of self control you still have that’s keeping you from making out with him

Also, don’t think we didn’t see you put your hand on his shoulder as you pushed past him. Any excuse for physical contact ;’)

Can you believe that four entire minutes of this episode so far was just Dean and Cas talking and being upset because they love each other too much???

Uh oh the nephilim brought Kelly back to live

I mean, that’s good for Kelly but otherwise it’s a worry

Oooh nice shot through the circular railing

Dean doesn’t have a beer, and he would have passed the kitchen on his way to the library, and he’s telling Sam to go to bed because suddenly it’s super late. So this must be much later in the night?? I SMELL A FANFICTION GAP :P

I bet he took Cas a “we’re cool, just stop leaving” beer and they sat in his room and drank and listened to records for a couple of hours OKAY THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED FIGHT ME

“You remember Gadreel” pffffft i’m sure he does, sam

“Of course, I am an idiot.” “Well there’s no argument there…”

FINALLY SOMEONE IS SUGGESTING THE GRACE EXTRACTION SPELL GOOD JOB SAM

HOT DAMN INDEED

“I’LL GET CAS” LOOK HOW HAPPY DEAN IS TO GO GET CAS AAAAH

I got super excited for a second there because I thought Cas had his own room, but it’s just the guest room that everyone uses boooooo

BUT WHERE IS HE WHAT HAPPENED UGH

From Dean’s reaction here I’m assuming he checked his own room first, seeing as how that’s the last place we saw him. Dean looks gutted though.

“Mary of Nazareth Part 2: Evil Jesus Edition” lmao Dagon

This episode is beautifully shot

Cas where did you drive to???

FUCKIN

KELVIN THE CUTE ANGEL YOU JUST GOT THE LEAST CUTE YOU ARE NOW THE WORST

OH HON ANSWER YOUR PHONE THEY FOUND A BETTER WAY GODDAMN IT

LOOK AT ALL THOSE MISSED CALLS AND MESSAGES FROM DEAN

MY HEART

“You’re doing the right thing, you know. Committing to Joshua’s plan… putting angelkind above the Winchesters. I mean, your reputation in heaven—“ “This has nothing to do with my reputation. I am doing this for the Winchesters. I— I stole the colt to keep them out of this mission. To keep them safe from Dagon. And I— I will kill this girl so that Sam and Dean don’t have to.” ;-;

GODDD THIS IS WHY HE STILL LOOKED SO SAD BEFORE

BECAUSE HE KNEW DEAN COULDN’T KILL KELLY

AND SAM COULDN’T KILL KELLY

AND HE WANTS TO SPARE THEM THE PAIN OF TAKING AN INNOCENT LIFE

LOOK AT HIM LOOK HOW HEARTBROKEN HE IS AT THE PROSPECT OF KILLING HER

KILLING A HUMAN WHO HAS DONE NO WRONG IS ANATHEMA TO HIM

CAAAAAS ;-;

Man, this isn’t even halfway done and I’m already over 2k of yelling

Yeesh, Dagon, maybe let Kelly have a blanket???

This game show is so so cheesy

Cas stalking around the house with the gun! And he fired right away, none of this stopping to chat with the baddies nonsense

Buuuut Dagon is too quick, damn D:

HE CAN’T DO IT HE CAN’T BRING HIMSELF TO SHOOT KELLY <3

Uh oh, cute angel Kelvin who stopped being cute to be the worst has been injured D: I may have called you the worst but I didn’t want this D:

I think this is the first time we’ve seen Sam be the one to try to call Cas instead of Dean since like… 10x11. Dean is WOUNDED.

“I mean, how did Cas even get the colt out of the safe in the first place? Dean, you put the colt back in the safe, right?”

That’s quite the guilty expression you have there, Dean

“It was under my pillow.”

….

…….

…………

……………

w h a t

for crying out loud bobo and meredith just  w h a t

in the absence of clarification, I’m gonna go ahead and assume that during the beer-and-records fanfiction gap, he flopped back on dean’s bed to appreciate the music, and felt the gun under the pillow.

(is that a gun under your pillow or are you just happy to see me)

“He came into my room, and he played me.”

FOR FUCKS SAKE

This is suchhhh an awkward car ride. Poor Kelly trying to strike up a conversation with Cas when he’s 1. not exactly chatty with people he doesn’t already know, 2. in a really rough place emotionally right now, and 3. feeling extra guilty because he literally almost killed her earlier

Man, I feel for Kelly because she’s so fucking stuck.

And I feel for Cas because he’s trying so hard to deal with this problem that he still blames himself for, and he NEEDS a win, and he’s had to betray the trust of the people he considers his family to do it, and it’s not even working.

…do you think he’s still got the mixtape in his pocket? sorry, share my pain.

Wow, I’m actually interested in a Lucifer scene! This is rare for me because my Pellegrino aversion generally makes it difficult for me to give a crap, and the fact that he’s so frequently written by Buckleming doesn’t help. This scene is good though.

His reaction to the news that Cas took Kelly makes me think he’s actually threatened. Like he’s scared of Cas having an influence on his child.

Maybe the kid *isn’t* going to be insta-evil, after all. I’ve been hoping that could be the case.

Cas looks so upset about the orders to take Kelly to Heaven :(

“No human form can step through that gate and survive. Your souls will ascend to Heaven, and every cell of your beings will return to the universe.”

Damn, that’s a perfect Cas line. That’s like… an Edlund Cas line.

“Your child could bring the universe to its knees.” “Or lift it to its feet. This baby— nothing is born evil.” :’(((

Broken down truck! Better call Dean to be a mechanic ;P

Kelvin :((((((

Cas is the bossiest babysitter lmao

“How to fix a truck” MAYBE YOU COULD JUST CALL YOUR HUSBAND, JACKASS

Oh no, Kelly is telling Cas about how she tried to kill herself, and it makes Cas listen to her because he remembers feeling that hopeless :(

“I died. And then… he saved me. He brought me back to life.”

This whole conversation is super upsetting :((

Cas talking about his lack of faith CRITICAL HIT :(((((((

“I used to believe in a plan. I used to believe that I had some mission. But I have been through enough now to know that everyone is just winging it. Some of us quite badly.”

“Kelly, if he’s born—that is not something you can survive. So even if you are right, and even if the worst isn’t inevitable, then who will care for him when you’re gone? Who? Who is strong enough to protect him, and keep him from evil influences, and to keep him on the righteous path.”

….he did NOT just use the word righteous in the big speech that makes it seem like Kelly is about to reply “how about you”

he did NOT O_O

I can’t handle this episode lmao

OH FUCK CAS SMILING BECAUSE HE FELT THE BABY KICK I’M DEAD

oooooh shit creepy nephilim gold eyes

HEY WAIT REMEMBER ALL THE YELLOW EYES THAT HAVE BEEN POPPING UP IN MOTW EPISODES?? Maybe that was less a Prince of Hell thing, and more of a nephilim thing? Okay i’m gonna need to look into this idea for potential foreshadowing

Was that a vision of the future?

KNOCK KNOCK i bet that’s sam and dean. you’d better have a good excuse ready, cas

oh no :( cas looks so guilty, and sam looks so mad, and dean looks hurt and then mad

i’m an emotion

HOW FAR INTO THE ROOM DID DEAN PUSH HIM JFC

that’s a nice shot through /another/ circle, lots of circles in this episode

“What the hell were you thinking, huh?” I’m SEVERAL emotions ;-;

THIS IS SO TENSE I’M UPSET

EVERYONE IS HURTING I JUST WANT TO WRAP ALL OF THEM IN A GIANT BLANKET

“My truck broke down.” ‘Then why didn’t you call us, Cas? We could have helped you.”

Cas’ face when Dean says he’s not their babysitter. He’s like “really?” because he does think of himself as their protector, their guardian fucking angel. Jesus H Christ how do I still have tears left at this point.

YES CAS, LISTEN TO THEM. YOU WOULD KNOW THIS STUFF IF YOU ANSWERED THE DAMN PHONE.

“Yes, there are kinks. But it beats certain death. Am I right?” “No.”

UM. Kelly?????

“I go with you, you take away the thing that makes him special.”

I’m with Dean, Kelly *has* lost her mind (or is the nephilim manipulating her somehow? Since she got brought back to life, or since the flashy-eyes vision moment in the motel?)

I want to be relieved that they’re going back to the bunker to talk it out, but there’s still ten minutes of the episode to go, and I don’t trust this as an ending :P

“It’s like herding cats.” pffff

“Dean, it’s locked.” *Dean casually tosses the keys to Cas* <3

(hashtag married)

oh no cas

why did you throw the keys there, she’s gonna— yep, she’s eyeing the keys

So I just watched this moment:

about ten times in a row to try and make out what Sam is saying while Dean looks so upset. It’s pretty muffled and quiet, but I think it’s something like “listen—it doesn’t matter.” 

Fill in the blanks, fic writers :)

WELP KELLY STOLE THE IMPALA

same, guys

This reminds me of Hael

“Kelly, I can make you stop this car.” “Then why haven’t you.” Presumably because making you stop the car would involve potential damage to the car, and he’s already destroyed Dean’s trust in him enough today

“You asked me who would protect him, guide him when I’m gone. I know now. It’s you.”

CALLED IT :P

*cas tries to start three different sentences because “wtf lady i don’t know how to raise a kid”*

“Me— that’s— I— I am not someone that you should put your faith in, Kelly. I couldn’t kill Dagon back there. I lost two of my men. I betrayed my friends— my family.”

BRB CRYING ABOUT IT

“I wish I had your faith.” “You will.”

well she seems unsettlingly certain

Dean fixing Cas’ truck <3 If only it wasn’t in such shitty circumstances

“How did this happen?” “What? The lying? The heaven plan? Or the fact that I’m working on this stupid truck?” :((((

“No, I mean—what’s wrong with Cas?” “Well he hasn’t exactly had a banner year. I mean, think about it. Between Lucifer, killing Billie, Ramiel. Everything’s been blowing up in his face. He’s so desperate for a win right now he can’t even see straight.”

DEAN IS BEING SO UNDERSTANDING EVEN THOUGH HE’S HURT I’M SO PROUD <3333

GODDD HE’S GROWN SO MUCH IN THIS PAST YEAR

So, you know how the Impala is symbolic of Dean’s soul? I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that Dean fixing Cas’ broken down truck while he shows his understanding of Cas as a person and why he’s doing the things he’s doing is foreshadowing something. Because they’ve had so many instances where one of them is saying/showing that they care but the other isn’t hearing it or understanding, but here Dean is in his element with the engine, and he’s talking through Cas’ issues. Basically, this fixing-the-truck scene is foreshadowing that Dean is going to ~fix~ things with Cas through words and actions combined. Idk.

…why is Joshua some rando white guy? I want original Joshuaaaaa

YIKES

Okay maybe I’m glad it wasn’t original Joshua, I didn’t want to see him die

Goddamnit Dagon

STOP HURTING CAS 2k17

YES WINCHESTERS JUST IN TIME

YEAH GET HER, SAMMY

WELP

YESSSS COLT TIME DEAN

DOUBLE WELP

I GUESS THIS IS PROVING MY SPECULATION THAT THE COLT WAS GONNA END UP USELESS WHEN THEY REALLY NEEDED IT

OUCH DEAN’S ARM CRUNCHED IN A BAD WAY

NOT THAT THERE’S SUCH A THING AS A GOOD WAY FOR AN ARM TO CRUNCH

SHIT NOW THE COLT IS SUPER USELESS

MY SPEC WAS TOO RIGHT AHA

WHOA THE NEPHILIM IS POWERING CAS UP

WAIT DID HE JUST OVERPOWER CAS’ GRACE??? CAS’ EYES WERE GLOWING BLUE LIKE NORMAL AND THEN ~WOOSH~ GOLDENEYES THIS DOES NOT BODE WELL

OH FUCK, SAM’S “CAS!” AND DEAN’S “NOOOOO!” I’M IN PAIN

JFC BYE DAGON YOU WERE CUTE BUT YOU HAD TO GO

CAS LOOKS TOO STIFF, LIKE ORIGINAL FLAVOR FRESH OUTTA HEAVEN CAS AND I AM CONCERNED. SAM AND DEAN LOOK SO CAUTIOUS.

DEAN LOOKS SCARED

I’M SO

“YOU’RE HURT.” AHH BUT HE STILL CARES OK THIS IS OK

CAS IS REACHING OUT SO GENTLY AND THEIR FINGERS ARE TOUCHING HOW MANY CRITICAL HITS CAN ONE EPISODE DELIVER????

“Thank you for coming to fight for us.” “Are you okay?”

Yeahhhh that’s the correct response, Dean. Cas is acting weird and I don’t trust whatever the nephilim did when he powered Cas up

“I’ve been so lost. I’m not lost anymore. And I know now that this child must be born, with all of his power.” OH SHIT THE BABY DID SOMETHING

“You have to just trust me.”

“Okay, whatever that thing did to you, we’re not just gonna let you walk away.” “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.” “Yes it is.”

DON’T BOOP THEM TO SLEEP CAS THEY’RE WORRIED AND RIGHTFULLY SO ;-;

BUT DEAN’S LITTLE “DON’T” HE STILL DOES TRUST CAS EVEN NOW??? HE DIDN’T EVEN FLINCH AWAY????

“What did he tell you?” “He didn’t tell me. He showed me. The future.”

OH BOY

WHAT DID HE SHOW YOU, CAS???? DID YOU GET BRAINWASHED OR MIND CONTROLLED OR JUST SHOWN SOMETHING REALLY REALLY GOOD????

AND IS IT REALLY THE FUTURE LIKE WHAT HE SHOWED KELLY, OR IS IT JUST TRICKERY AND DECEIT????

OH SHIT AND NOW THAT CAS IS LIKE… SEMI-UNDER-THE-INFLUENCE OF THE NEPHILIM MY SPEC BASED ON DEAN FIXING THE CAR JUST GOT MORE REAL

BECAUSE THIS SETS UP A POTENTIAL CRYPT SCENE SITUATION

THIS EPISODE

FUCK

WHAT A GODDAMN EPISODE

ALL THE OTHER THINGS

Passed Bechdel-Wallace!

I’m SUPER IMPRESSED with Amanda Tapping’s work as director.

Petition to have Berens and Glynn write more episodes together, because hot damn.

M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E  M I X T A P E

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12.17 The British Invasion

Note: usually for these scorecards I make my notes on a second viewing so that I don’t have to keep pausing the first time I watch. Right now I have four three episodes to catch up on, and there are other things I’m supposed to be doing, so… I’m going to try my hand at writing this on my first watch. It’s gonna drive me mad to pause so often but it’s going to save me about four hours in the long run, so it’ll have to do.

THE VERDICT

Though it suffered from the usual Buckleming issues—too many plotlines, exposition heavy dialogue, an unnecessary sex scene, overall kinda boring—it was better than their last episode.

I’m bummed out about Mick. I’m glad he actually did turn on the BMoL, but it’s just a shame that it was entirely pointless. His last-minute decision to rebel had no effect on the BMoL operation, and now he’s not even alive to warn the Winchesters.

A play-by-play recap with meta-adjacent notes is under the cut!

ALL THE THINGS

THEN!

Ahhhhh, Eileen!

NOW!

Wow, it really is their Hogwarts. Get a load of those robes.

They even have an Umbridge

Are there girls at this school?

What kind of skull is that?

I’m the most obnoxious friend in the movie theatre right now, I’m gonna stop asking questions

This… this is the Buckleming isn’t it? I’d forgotten until the dialogue started :P

Smol Mick what have you done? D:

aaAAAAAA Sam facetiming Eileen!!

I bet they do this all the time <3

So… she went to Coeur d’Alene, hey? Like Cas did? Hmm. That’s interesting. What could Eileen and Cas possibly have in common that both should be associated with the same place??? >_>

Eileen and Sam smiling cutely at each other :3

“That’s cute.” YEP IT IS, DEAN, IT’S SUPER CUTE

“Just saying, Dean. Even with Cas and every hunter we know working this, we’ve still got basically nothing.” Mmm, I love a good Cas reference right at the beginning.

Jeez, Mick. Make yourself comfortable.

“It’s not Kelly’s fault, okay? She didn’t know Lucifer was her boyfriend.”

*stares into the camera like Jim on the office*

“Sure, it could happen to anyone.”

Well, Mick, it’s more common than you might think.

Why is Lucifer talking like a king in a bad play?

Dagon may be bad news but she’s super cute

TIMOTHY DON’T CLOSE THE DOOR MICK’S GONNA KILL U

I wish they’d cast a kid with an accent remotely similar to Mick’s

Now I’m going to have to headcanon that his working class manner of speaking is an affectation and he’s doing it on purpose to try and fit in with the blue collar types that make up the hunting world :P

Lady Bevell mention! She *does* still exist!

This snooty butler guy is so smug lmao

“Assimilate or eliminate.” pfffff

Ugh, Kelly really got dealt a shitty hand :(

How much could they have possibly had to drink that Dean is hungover and Mick is sprightly?

“Her and Ketch make quite the team.” that’s not a reason to *not* worry about Mary

I hope this doctor doesn’t get murdered by a fetus

Dagon has the worst bedside manner imaginable lmao

…did the in-utero nephilim just fucking look at the sonogram? jfc that’s creepy

This just in: Dagon can do Jedi mind tricks

Is Crowley seriously going to buy Lucifer pretending to give up?

Ketch is a complete wanker “you’ll make with the typey-typey” “ciao”

How can Mary stand working with him lmao

Ewwwwwwwwww if they’re thinking about doing what I think they’re thinking about doing they’d better not be

Hey, it’s Rawlins the butler. Apparently he got a promotion.

Oh no, the doctor is gonna get mur-diddly-urdered :( at least it wasn’t by a fetus I guess

“This is my voicemail. Make your voice… a mail.” I wonder how many times Dean has listened to that message by now.

Hey! Three times! I wonder if that’s “three times today” or “in the past hour” :P

Eileen! Having a beer with Sam! In the bunker! I can’t make out the beer label oh no

“Works for Dagon… covers her tracks.” “Smart.” “Dude, don’t compliment the bad guys.”

pfffft

EILEEN IS SO PRETTY LOOK AT HER LIL SMILE <3

“Before Dermott got stabbed in the heart—“ “Nice.” “—he gave me her phone number.”

Yeah, kicking ass Eileen

I can’t believe Sam and Eileen are having a date in the bunker while Dean’s right there. Jeez guys, go out to a bar or something :P

oh look lucifer was only pretending to surrender what a shocking turn of events

Sam’s fake accent is so embarrassing hahaha

“I was top of my class at Kendricks.” “No one cares.” lmaoooo

Welp, kidnapping Kelly time

“Where’s Cas?” :((((( GOOD QUESTION, DEAN

I feel so bad for Kelly :(

Rawlins is awfully trigger happy for a butler

Uh oh, didn’t take long for Dagon to turn up

GO GO GO EILEEN!

OH SHIT

THAT WAS SOME GODAWFUL TIMING D:

QUICK SOMEONE HUG HER (LOOKING AT YOU SAM)

MICK PUT THAT GUN BACK WHERE IT CAME FROM OR SO HELP ME

DON’T MAKE ME TYRA BANKS VOICE YOU AGAIN

EWWWWWWWWWWWW I’D FORGOTTEN ABOUT MARY AND KETCH MAKING EYES AT EACH OTHER I WANT TO GO BACK TO FORGETTING

“You’re not reading anything into this… like, it means anything?” HAH

“I’m not choosing hunting over them. Why does it have to be one or the other?” YEAH

but also just EWW in general because Ketch is a creep and Mary could do better if she wanted to hook up with someone

Petition to have less long expositiony Lucifer scenes and more of Sam comforting Eileen after that traumatic experience

OH NO SAM USING SIGN LANGUAGE TO COMFORT EILEEN I AM TWELVE THOUSAND EMOTIONS

“Birthing a nephilim? Fatal. Always.” D:

Someone please let Kelly catch a break

Uh oh, Mick’s in trouble. I hope he turns on them finally.

Don’t you dare threaten to kill Eileen goddamnit

YEAH YOU TELL ‘EM, MICK

FUCK

GODDAMNIT KETCH YOU SONOFAMOTHER FUCKING HELL

Dean’s worrying about Cas again ;-; “You think he’s okay?” “I don’t know.”

Heyyyy it’s been two days according to that last scene, and Eileen only just took off now… I can only assume she stuck around to be spooned by Sam.

Good, if Eileen’s in Ireland the BMoL won’t find her because they’ll be looking for her in the US

Also just want to point out that Dean asks Sam about Eileen and Sam asks Dean about Cas ;)

…exterminate all the US hunters? really? BMoL don’t you have bigger fish to fry ffs

ALL THE OTHER THINGS

Passed Bechdel-Wallace

Sam, Dean & Eileen trying to find Kelly, Kelly & Dagon, Lucifer & Crowley, Mick having flashbacks, Mary & Ketch doing literally nothing except bang for no reason… like pull back on the plot threads. For crying out loud.

I’m so damn relieved that Eileen survived.

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12.15 Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell

THE VERDICT

Yet again, I’m appreciative of the attention that Davy Perez pays to characterisation. It’s never static--his single-serving characters show dimensions and growth/decay just as our four leads do. 

Some more beautiful direction from Nina Lopez-Corrado in this one, too. I really hope we see more of her work on the show, because she’s quickly becoming a favorite.

Overall I enjoyed this a lot, and the only thing I was meh about was Lucifer—but honestly that’s probably more to do with lingering Pellegrino fatigue from before I unfollowed him on Twitter than anything Perez wrote.

A play-by-play recap with meta-adjacent notes is under the cut!

ALL THE THINGS

I blasted through 12x14 in fast-forward mode before hitting play on this one because I needed to remember context for things, and it was super tempting to jot things down. I had to remind myself that I already did the scorecard for that episode or I’d be here all night

I’m gonna be here all night regardless tbh

THEN!

aaahh that’s right this one is the hellhound episode!

basically-an-infant Crowley petting Juliet! Such a smol king, so many years ago :’)

mmm, slow motion Colt shot

NOW!

uh oh, a couple on a camping trip in the cold open… someone’s gonna die

…is it just me, or does the man in the chased-up-a-tree-by-a-bear video sound suspiciously like Jensen Ross Ackles doing a funny voice >_>

I forgot how upsetting this cold open was with this Marcus guy planning to propose and then getting mauled by a freaking hellhound ;-;

love the fx with the hellhound’s paw prints appearing in the mud A+

*Dean walks into the bunker carrying a Lucille bat* “Dad would’ve loved this thing”

I cannot BELIEVE

Dean is clearly still messed up about the Mary stuff, look at how regressive his behaviour is. He almost seems drunk. Oh god, I hope he’s not drunk. It’d make sense for his drinking to be bad at the moment though… I have a feeling his apology to Mary in the last episode (and god knows I love Mary, but she didn’t deserve that apology at all) was little more than a peacekeeping gesture. He’s messed up about what went down. He’s regressing, slipping into bad habits.

Sam, your lies about BMoL are gonna bite you in the ass, my friend

That sure was some interesting audio overlap with Sam’s “love you too” to Mary and Dean’s “let us know” to Cas on the phone there…

Has anyone ever made a tally of how often Dean is the one to call/talk to Cas on the phone and how often it’s Sam? And a comparative tally with calls to other people. Because there are some definite patterns going on.

Keeping up with my habit of looking into towns mentioned/towns that appear in episodes:

The boys are in Sheridan County, Nebraska. It was named after a Union General in the Civil War who was closely associated with President Ulysses S. Grant. There have been other Civil War references this season, right? I’m sure I vaguely remember some. Though I guess there’s gonna be a Civil War connection to be made with like… 90% of towns and counties in that part of the US. I’m gonna fall down a wiki-pit if I keep looking into this one.

Mary just finished up a hunt in Akron, Ohio. Wikipedia tells me that it’s Rubber Capital of the World. The City of Invention. Uh…. the Meth Capital of Ohio. Akron is too big and has too many facets.

Cas is in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. “Heart of an awl.” Locally known as the Lake City. Famously referred to as “a little slice of Heaven” by Barbara Walters. Hilariously, it once hosted a public at campaign called Moose on the Loose. I don’t even care that this is entirely irrelevant, because that’s fucking gold :P

“Who’re you gonna call? Douchebusters.” pfffft

Ahhhh it’s Cas reading a conspiracy magazine! The back cover of which is a bright pink full page advertisement for CANINE FAIRY. *stares into the camera*

Oh my god they found an actor that makes Misha look his actual height it’s a miracle :P

Agent Solange :-]

Oh Herb, you’re such a paranoid dweeb that even Cas thinks you’re too awkward to deal with

*quietly adds everything in this room to the list of aliens/space stuff mentioned this season*

*cackles at the alien with the head of Queen Elizabeth*

I’m just gonna put out some entirely absurd vague speculation about like… BMoL in space or like… secret alien lizards running the whole operation. In a shocking twist, the cosmic consequences turn out to be super literal, and team free will gets punted out into space and into another dimension by reptilian Ketch or something :P

This is based entirely on that picture of the queen and the fact that the last time I had some ridiculous mid-season speculation that came out of left field I didn’t jot it down and then it happened (Mary’s return) and I was like!!!! I don’t have receipts but I definitely called it! :P

I cackled because the only thing I’ve been spoiled for re: the newer episodes I’m yet to watch is the mixtape of 12x19, and Herb just held up a tape & was like NO REALLY I HAVE PROOF

I mean, it was a video tape not a cassette tape, but even so :P I now have a soft spot for Herb

On the wall there’s a bunch of aliens shooting yellow laser beams out of their eyes toward a human with the words COMMUNICATION METHODS, so now I’m thinking of Ronald Reznick and his certainty about LASER EYES!!! and also about yellow eyed demons, specifically Dagon.

Also, apparently the moon landing was a hoax

Herb has a lot of opinions and I don’t know what to think

“brood queen” Herb you’re a colossal weirdo but you do indeed have proof :P

YELLOW EYESSSS

“FBI, Man in Black… or, y’know—beige!” pfffft

Oh no, Gwen is having horrible flashbacks :(

Look at Dean disapproving of the “lie to make her feel better” plan.

He just wants honesty at this point

Agents Baker and Clapton 👍 👍 👍

Ruh roh… sneaky hellhound

Lying isn’t working anymoreeeeee

DOUBLE RUH ROH

Crowley is getting so gloaty, it’s not gonna end well for him

“Hellhound. Kinda hard to explain. Uh… basically giant, invisible hounds from Hell. Wow, that wasn’t hard at all.”

Maybe it’s just the fact that I’m watching this in HD, but Sam’s stubble in this scene is doing things for me

I can’t believe Dean is still “Not Moose” in Crowley’s phone even after their summer of love

Maybe he was briefly “Dean” in Crowley’s phone, and then Crowley changed it back out of spite when Dean ditched him :P

“ALRIGHT PEACHES” LMAO

I forgot Gavin ever existed (again)

Poor Gwen was not ready for a teleporting demon in her house

CAAAAAAS

This Sherman’s Diner sign has a curvy arrow like that one that people were saying looked like a cartoon devil’s tail

Oh noooo, a cute angel <3

He’s gonna manipulate Cas isn’t he

I’m gonna think of him as “Cute Angel Kelvin” until I’m forced to stop liking him :P

“Right after God said ‘Let there be light’ he made a whole bunch of things. Posies. Koalas. Hellhounds.”

DEAN YOU ADORABLE BEAN SMILING ABOUT KOALAS

And then he’s like “oh wait, hellhounds. i probably shouldn’t look so cheerful.”

“Just when I thought this gig couldn’t get weirder.” “Well, it can always get weirder.” *crowley gives dean significant look* *dean looks at crowley like seriously, dude? it’s been two years, move on* :P

“Just imagine she’s a woman. A beautiful, beautiful woman—“ *snortlaugh* I love it when Dean goads Sam like this

So apparently there’s no Sica Hollow in Nebraska, but there is one in South Dakota: “It was named Sica, a Dakota word for bad or evil”

Cas drinking club soda with Cute Angel Kelvin who’s giving him a bad pitch in a bar with El Sol signs.

“Do you ever miss it? Upstairs? I mean don’t get me wrong, I love the Earth. It’s quirky. Smells like hay.”

Cute Angel Kelvin appreciating the finer things :P

“But it’s not home, is it?” Cas’ face here says pretty damn clearly that he wants it to be.

Aaaand Kelvin plays the family card. *clucks tongue* you’re gettin’ less cute, Kelvin

RED ALERT RED ALERT DEAN IN GLASSES

“Fancy. Really bring out your eyes.”

Crowley you’re a ten year old :P

Dean genuinely thanking Crowley for saving Cas????? THERE’S SOMETHING IN MY EYE :’]

“Maybe you rubbed off on me. Maybe, I rubbed off all over you.” jfc

Dean bb you’ve gotta live with your bad choices

Sam looks like an archeology professor in those glasses

Specifically archeology somehow

Don’t ask me, I don’t make the rules

Crowley is the worst hunting buddy lmao

Goddamn Dean looks good in this outfit with those glasses

Ew, corpse D:

Gwen :(

Aaaand Sam had better be learning a lesson here about lying to “make things easier”

OOOOH RAMSEY

I love when they show the hellhounds

Whoa, that’s a cool shot through the glasses. Nina Lopez-Corrado is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors. This whole sequence was shot really well. Color me impressed.

Pffft Crowley getting a hug. And more thanks.

…people are being nice to him and this is the first time I’ve ever been mildly concerned he’s actually gonna get killed at some point :P

It’s so satisfying to see Crowley breaking all of Lucifer’s bones

…Crowley please don’t rip a baby apart.

A call with Cas to bookend the episode :)

KELVIN I SWEAR YOU’RE GETTING LESS & LESS CUTE THE MORE YOU MESS WITH CAS

“He sound weird to you?” Dean can just TELL.

SAM LEARNED A LESSON. HE’S TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT GETTING HUNTS FROM THE BMOL.

Sam, YOU killed the alpha vampire, not Mick

Dean is trying so hard to be an adult about this. I feel like we saw him go through a bunch of life stages in this episode, tbh. The regressive child from the beginning of the episode, the sophomoric sarcasm with Crowley, the grownup decisions at the end. If I weren’t so sleepy I’d attempt to explain this better, but I’m going to assume that’s clear enough and that other people have talked about this by now. Man, this scorecard is late.

ALL THE OTHER THINGS

Didn’t pass Bechdel-Wallace.

DEAN. IN. GLASSES. *fans self*

I’m only half joking about the cosmic consequences being Actual Aliens or like… a wormhole to another dimension or something. Kelly is the mothership :P IDK. There have been SO MANY alien/space references this season and they’ve gotta mean SOMETHING.

[thevioletcaptain]

12.18 The Memory Remains

Note: usually for these scorecards I make my notes on a second viewing so that I don’t have to keep pausing the first time I watch. Right now I have four three two episodes to catch up on, and there are other things I’m supposed to be doing, so… I’m going to try my hand at writing this on my first watch. It’s gonna drive me mad to pause so often but it’s going to save me about four hours in the long run, so it’ll have to do.

THE VERDICT

This was John Bring’s first solo offering, and I’ve been looking forward to seeing what the co-writer of Beyond the Mat was bringing to the table. It really felt like a classic MOTW episode, nice and creepy. It wasn’t my favorite of the season (though this season has been consistently excellent, so the bar was pretty high) but I think I’ll definitely come back to this one.

Sgriccia, as always, did an amazing job with direction. Some really well composed shots in there, and the sequences in the meat freezer were excellent.

A play-by-play recap with meta-adjacent notes is under the cut!

ALL THE THINGS

THEN!

Ewwww all the Mary/Ketch stuff in the recap. I hope she had fun but mostly I’m just like… Mary, babe. You can do so much better than this creep.

NOW!

It’s a make out party! Haha

Are these two spare dudes gonna make out?

“Enjoy the show.” Dude, your friend is right. Dial back a little on the creeping.

There was literally a bright yellow fishing lure on that big ol’ bag of money. It could not have said TRAP any more clearly if it had a billboard sized picture of Admiral Ackbar.

OH SHIT THAT THING IS CREEPY AF

The less goat headed monsters in the world the better, thanks

Just spitballing here, but: goat features are associated with the devil (stolen from pagans, but the symbolism sticks) so i wonder if there’ll be some parallels to be drawn between whatever goes on in this episode and the nephilim.

OHHHHH DEAN IS CALLING CAS AGAIN ;-;

“So let’s find him.” The look Dean gives Sam when Sam says that is classic. Like… you can just tell he’s thinking “Dude. Do you not think I’ve been tracking every John Doe report and calling every hospital for weeks?”

lmao I love when I unpause and characters say almost exactly what I thought they were thinking.

“I’ve been trying, Sam. His GPS on his phone is turned off, and there’s nothing in the system about some weird guy in a trench coat getting arrested. Or turning up dead.”

And yet again Sam is reassuring Dean that they’ll find Cas.

“I stayed up all night reading all the books we have on demons, and it turns out… we have a lot of books on demons.” pffff

Who is impersonating Mick, this is unfair and upsetting :(

I’m still amused that Sam has him listed as Frodo in his phone AND his email contacts

Jarrod Hayes = Rose/Descending & Fire. I love name meanings :P

Just quietly, my current sexuality is Dean doing routine gun maintenance

Bloody Ketch >:(

OH GEE, WISCONSIN :P

Did anyone else catch that Cas lookalike walking by the window?

“Jarrod fell down the stairs a lot, if you know what I mean.” :(

“He ditched his pals to hoof it home” I love this accent so much you don’t even know

Calling it now: taxidermy sheriff is the “monster” and the goat head thing is a mask he made

Darren Boston = Oak Tree Patron & Saint of travellers

lmao Darren got busted :P

extra lmao @ Dean sniffing the joint

Hey, the sun clock!

“A goat? Like… baaaaa—goat?” pfft

The fact that Dean is just relying on the Colt seems like a big flashing neon light. Something tells me it’s not going to help them when they need it to.

Dean’s lucky he’s attractive because that hot coffee line was terrible :P

Wait, this waitresses name is Carmen? Like… Dean’s imaginary girlfriend in What Is And What Should Never Be? Well, now I’m suspicious.

Darren’s boss reminds me of George McFly

Darren is about to get attacked by Black Bill isn’t he?

…yep

That goat head must be super awkward to cart around

Okay but this is hilarious—Dean hooked up with a waitress named Carmen from the BS diner.

This could not be more blatant performing Dean.

Last episode he was drinking heavily again. Now he’s having a random hookup to blow off steam. This is all classic worried-Dean-regression behaviour. (Remember: “Dean, it's called sublimation.” “Yeah, yeah, it's kinda my thing.”)

Dean: complains about the food Sam ordered

Also Dean: makes AW YEAH THAT’S GOOD face as he eats said food

“It’s a Satyr—half man, half goat from Greek mythology.” “Come on, this guy’s adorable. Plays a freakin’ flute.”

3 Sheeps beer sign… Google tells me this is an actual beer company in Wisconsin!

“Satyrs are creatures of uncontrollable lust. They would lead people to the woods for massive orgies.” “Nice.” “And when the fun was over, the satyr would—quote—feast upon the flesh of his victims until his belly was full to bursting with their moist, slippery meat.”

First of all, ew.

Second of all… a lust monster… when Dean just hooked up with someone in the BS diner? Hm. Maybe it’s not the Sheriff after all.

Stark and Martell… I had to google these names because I hear Stark and immediately think “Tony” but I had no idea who Martell was. Apparently this is not an Iron Man reference, but a GoT reference :P I stopped watching GoT at the beginning of season two.. so I’m going to assume someone else who actually knows about that show/those characters has already written the requisite meta, and I’ll hunt it down when I’m caught up enough on SPN to venture onto my tumblr dash without fear of spoilers.

…the Sheriff owns the Bill Hook meat plant? Hmmmmm. Maybe it IS the Sheriff after all :P

I like the local urban legend angle in this episode.

YIKES SPOOKY RED FREEZER

Poor Darren D:

GUY’S HE’S RIGHT THERE

OH NO THERE’S JARROD D:

DOUBLE OH NO THERE’S—wait wait hold up

Those horns look different, and there’s no fur. And this monster has a long light-colored beard.

This is straight-up a different monster.

Are they dealing with a dude dressing up as the monster, AND an actual monster???

Anyway, Darren is super dead either way. Sorry, bud :(

Oh my god, the cut to ketchup lmao

Is Dean eating a turkey burger?

The song playing in the diner: Burgers and fries and cherry pies, it was simple and good back then. Walkin’ in the sand hand in hand, never thinkin' that it could end.

“Burger’s beef. Bacon’s pig. Soylent green is people. This? This is heaven.” pff

UGHHH KETCH AND HIS BAND OF BMOL DOUCHEBAGS CREEPING AROUND THE BUNKER UGH UGH GET OUT KEEP YOUR CREEPY HANDS OFF THEIR HOME

Question: why do they need to know anything else about the Winchesters if they’ve already decided to kill them/all US hunters?

Other question: how DOES Sam get his hair so shiny?

Wow, that’s a big house

Why do people in TV shows and movies leave all their furniture behind and cover stuff with sheets when they move out??? Is this a thing people do in the US? Why don’t they sell it on Craigslist or donate it to a charity store or something? This has never made sense to me.

Hellooooo, murder basement.

“Why is it always the rich ones? Y’know, what are they like—croquet’s alright, but you know what’d be great? Murder!”  

lmao A+ Dean line, good job Bring

WELL WELL WELL IF IT ISN’T THE SHERIFF

AAAH SO THERE WERE TWO DIFFERENT MONSTERS A FAKE AND A REAL ONE

YIKES that’s unpleasant

Moloch, hey? That was the demon from the Buffy episode where Willow thinks he’s a guy named Malcolm and she gets into an online relationship with him.

UH OH HE’S LOOSE, which we knew already seeing as we saw him in the meat freezer, but still

Great shot through the mask’s eyes

NOOOO DEAN BB

Hey, it’s Darren’s boss!

Creepy BMoL assholes creepin around the bunker >:(

“Just as I thought—can’t see a damn thing.”

WELL MAYBE IF YOU TOOK THE LENS CAP OFF, JACKASS

So in the chest at the foot of Dean’s bed he has a craps board, a giant bottle, books, a green box covered in a snakeskin-like print, and a magazine/newspaper with the word Finding on the cover. In the side table by the green chair he has his skin mags—interesting they aren’t by his bed. He has a whole drawer in his dresser filled with black t-shirts. In his bedside table is a gun, photos with Sam, Mary, Bobby—notably none of the pictures we’ve seen before with John—a copy of Bob Seger’s Night Moves on cassette tape, a bunch of candy, beef jerky, a notepad with a map of some place drawn on it (a dog, a garage, and I’m guessing a code for a lock 7432)

KETCH. YOU. ARE. A. CREEP.

PUT THAT PHOTO BACK WHERE IT CAME FROM OR SO HELP ME

Hey, Dean’s the one tied up for once!

Ouch, that graze looks painful

“Honestly? Sounds like a bad episode of Dynasty.” I guess that means Dean thinks there are good episodes of Dynasty. *quietly adds Dynasty to the list of TV soaps that Dean loves*

“Hunting people. Killing them. The family business.”

*stares into the camera*

Uh oh, Dean’s in the red room of death

Someone’s gonna find that mic the next time they get the gun out from under the table

RUN DEAN, RUN

Another creepy mask shot!

Ahhh Sgriccia directed this one, no wonder I’m enjoying the visuals so much

OH MY GOD DEAN’S NERVOUS LITTLE GASP AS HE LEAPS OUT FROM BEHIND THE MEAT HOOKS I AM DISTRAUGHT

Pete is an entitled pain in the ass

Correction: a dead entitled pain in the ass. Nice shot, Sammy.

WOO, COLT SHOT! It worked this time, but I’m betting it’s not gonna help next time. Too much emphasis on how it works on anything for it to do anything but fail them.

“What do you think out legacy is gonna be?” ;-;

“Guys like us aren’t exactly the type of people they write about in history books, you know?”

I guess not, but there *is* a series of pulpy novels detailing most of your lives, so :P

…I’m suddenly very nervous about the bunker’s continued existence

I hope Cas gets to add his initials to the table before the bunker like, explodes or gets sucked into an interstellar wormhole (that’s definitely my legit spec for 12x23 at this point :P haha)

KETCH YOU LYING LIAR WHO LIES

“So now we’re reporting to low-rent Christian Bale? Seriously?” lmao

“I don’t like that guy. He creeps me out.” THAT’S BECAUSE HE’S A CREEP

…dude, you took the photo? Ketch, I thought the whole point was to make sure nothing was out of place? Godddd you’re not only creepy but also bad at your job.

ALL THE OTHER THINGS

Didn’t pass Bechdel-Wallace. Didn’t even have a speaking role for one woman, really. Carmen said her name, and offered more coffee, and that was it. *clicks teeth* do better, John Bring.

I’m legitimately worried about the bunker and that makes me a sad panda. If it goes, I hope they find a new place to make their long-term home base, because the thought of them not having a home again is heartbreaking. That said, maybe nothing will happen to the bunker, but they just decide that they don’t feel safe there anymore seeing as the BMoL can just waltz in whenever they like. IDK, blame this paranoia on a combination of Ketch & Co. going through their stuff & the fact that they carved their initials into the table.

[thevioletcaptain]

12.12 Stuck in the Middle (With You)

THE VERDICT

Davy. Fucking. Perez. Goddamn. Are the writers trying to one-up each other? I feel like every week I’m saying “THAT WAS THE BEST EPISODE” only to have that episode blown out of the water by the next one.

Speight knocked it out of the park with that direction. Misha’s performance completely destroyed me.

Also, considering that Rich said this last year, we probably should have known he’d deliver if given the chance :P

A play-by-play recap with meta-adjacent notes is under the cut!

ALL THE THINGS

THEN!

Love all these shots of the ~magical toys~

NOW!

I can already feel the Tarantino vibes in that opening shot of the mug and Ketch’s hands, and then straight into the Reservoir Dogs-esque diner scene. I already love everything about this episode and it only started 27 seconds ago :’)

I looked up this song that’s playing in the diner and it’s called “Lover Boy”

Because of course it is

“What’s the wifi password?” “Extracheese.” “No, no, just, uh… as it is is fine.” “That’s… the password.” pfffffffffft

“And how ‘bout you, handsome?”

I know everyone has already yelled about this but ffs their faces here are priceless

Dean: *purses lips in annoyance and turns to stare at Cas* Sam: O-O Cas: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh????

also just….. the sunrise special. for crying out loud.

I have never witnessed a faker laugh than Dean’s chuckle and click of the tongue as he says “No, this is good, we’ve been looking for teachable moments.”

Layin’ it on a little thick there, hon.

If someone were to gif that moment and post it with the caption CONCEAL DON’T FEEL that would probably be great :P

Goddddd this camera work is A+ silent storytelling (shifty shifty something’s shifty) while also being another excellent Tarantino-ism

I’m in fuckin’ heaven with this episode jfc

“Just a hunter who needs some help.” “Another one?” “Can’t have too many friends in this line of work.”

Is anyone else kinda (very) capital ’s' Sad about Dean’s face when Mary talks about having multiple friends? Oh, everyone is? Cool. Just checking in.

Sam: tries to talk about things that are relevant to the hunt Dean: SNOOZEVILLE SAM I NEED US TO ALL HYPERFOCUS ON CASTIEL’S COMPLETE LACK OF A SEX LIFE AS A GROUP SO IT SEEMS LESS SUSPICIOUS THAT I’M DOING IT

This moment of bickering with a thoroughly grossed out and baffled Sam wondering what the hell is wrong with his brother is golden “Why is the upside they smell like food? Why would you want them to smell like food?

Mom Voice Activated

“Sorry, Mom.” Sam babe…. maybe don’t call her Mom in public.

“…you called us to kill a demon that likes to fish?”

oh my— ok. okay you guys. this didn’t occur to me on my first watch, but uh…. i have thoughts about this and i’ll say them later when the pertinent scene occurs but for now !!!!OMG!!!!

Wally the rugaru specialist! I love how there are hunters who specialize in things

“Classic horny demon sign” hey look, Dean’s still got sex on the brain

I can’t believe Cas sniffed Mandy to see if Dean was making it up or not

MY SHY BUT DEVASTATINGLY HANDSOME FRIEND HERE

DEVASTATINGLY HANDSOME

END MEEEEEEEEE

I MISSED THIS ON MY FIRST WATCH HOW DID I MISS THIS WAS THERE A HORRIBLY TIMED AUDIO GLITCH OH MY GOD

D E V A S T A T I N G L Y     H A N D S O M E

INCREDIBLE

Can I just say that the waitress calling Cas handsome was sufficient proof for everyone at the table—including Dean—that she was “into him”

And Dean really didn’t need to say anything except “my friend here”

And he certainly didn’t need to tack that “devastatingly” onto the front

My point is that Dean is hitting on Cas using the waitress as a proxy

(who is into cas? amanda!)

(a man, duh!)

(dean is the man)

(dean is humanity)

(cas is in love with humanity)

(help i’ve fallen down a rabbit hole and i can’t get out)

“When do you get off?” “Whenever I can” 

Mandy - 1 | Everyone else - 0

Holy juxtaposition, Batman. Cas does not look good D:

Cas is bleeding out but still more concerned about the others: “Where’s Sam and Dean?” WORRY ABOUT YOURSELF FOR ONCE

OUCH BYE WALLY D:

“I’m gonna be famous. The demon that killed Sam Winchester… they’re gonna tell stories about me.” 

welp maybe not

THE WOUNDED ANGEL

Look at Cas judgementally listening to the radio preacher

“Lucifer’s kid… that’s a joke, right?” [cue everyone staring at Wally]

the slow-mo Reservoir Dogs intro walk aaaaaa :D

Well guys, that sounds like a solid plan of attack you all have there! What could possibly go wrong! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Loving those hand close ups

Mary’s utter bemusement at Cas bluntly mentioning urination is hilarious

WHAT A COOL SHOT OF EVERYONE PREPARING FOR A FIGHT

RUH ROH

THAT’S WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG

I feel bad about it but I snortlaughed at the way he smacked Dean in the nose when he tried to step forward to stop him from attacking Cas

YELLOW EYES YELLOW EYES ABORT MISSION

LISTEN LISTEN THEY USED THE OLD SOUND EFFECT TOO AAAAAAAAAA

Cas saving Mary!!! :D

Cas getting thrown out the window!!! D:

Look at Dean leaping over the railing like a bamf to go get Mary and Cas!!

I LOVE THIS EFFECT OF RAMIEL PULLING HIS SPEAR OUT OF THIN AIR HOLY HELL

NICE WORK SFX TEAM

HORRIBLE WORK RAMIEL DON’T U STAB THAT DEVASTATINGLY HANDSOME MAN

I LOVE THAT SHOT THOUGH WOW

LIKE…. IN TERMS OF COMPOSITION IT’S A REALLY NICELY COMPOSED SHOT

ALRIGHT SO THIS IS THE BIT WHERE I WAS GONNA SAY A THING

SO THIS DEMON LIKES TO NIGHT FISH. WE SEE HIS ASSORTED FISHING EQUIPMENT. WE SEE HIS SPEARS ON A RACK LIKE THE KIND YOU USE TO STORE FISHING RODS. HE SPEARS CASTIEL. CASTIEL WHO HAS ALREADY BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH FISH. LAST WEEK? DEAN’S NOT GONNA APOLOGIZE FOR LOVING THAT FISH. OKAY I’M DONE.

RAMIEL GOT THE REGINA GEORGE TREATMENT

GOOD JOB MARY

IF ONLY IT WERE A BUS

YIKES CAS IS BLEEDING A LOT 

I DO NOT LIKE THIS AT ALL

“ARE YOU OKAY?” “NO”

D: D: D:

“WHERE’S WALLY?”

I AM CACKLING LMAO THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT EMOTION FOR THIS MOMENT

OKAY I KNOW Y’ALL CALL THOSE BOOKS “WHERE’S WALDO” IN THE US BUT HERE THEY’RE CALLED “WHERE’S WALLY” AND I’M GONNA SPEND THE REST OF THE EPISODE SAYING “THERE HE IS” EVERY TIME HE APPEARS ON SCREEN

I HAVE BEEN YELLING FOR A LONG TIME GONNA GO BACK TO LOWERCASE NOW

phew that’s better

Sam getting all the info from Mary while Dean rushes right to Cas’ side :’)

“What the hell did you get us into?” goooood question Sam D:

MOTHER MARY

Ramiel has a nice house

“Technically I’m in my sixties.” pffffff

“Someone walks up to you and offers something that sounds a little too good to be true, I wonder—what’s the catch?” listen to Wally, Mary

[NOTE: oh man i have fifteen minutes until my family arrive from out of town how am i gonna get through the whole rest of the episode fuck i’m fucked]

LOOK AT DEAN USING THE WAITRESS AS AN EXCUSE TO SEND CAS FLIRTY LOOKS

GOTTA HELP CAS GET LAID. VERY IMPORTANT. CAS. LETS TALK ABOUT HOW TO FLIRT OK. JUST SO YOU KNOW THIS IS HOW YOU FLIRT. LOOK I’LL SHOW YOU ;) ;) ;)

YOU UTTER LOSER JUST FUCKEN KISS HIM ALREADY

“Yeah they got gear, but they tried to kill my brother” yeeeep

Sam’s face after Mary says “Since when is life about getting what you want?” is heartbreaking :’(

whoaaaa that’s a cool magical safe breaker thingy

GLOWY BOX! JUST LIKE THE BRIEFCASE IN PULP FICTION

DID MARY SERIOUSLY SAVE THE BMOL AS “HOBBITS” IN HER PHONE OMG

OH SHIT CAS DOESN’T LOOK GOOD AT ALL D:

“Wow, you look like hammered crap.” “That sounds about right.”

SHOW, WE CAN ALL GET BEHIND DEAN GETTING A GOOD LOOK AT CASTIEL’S UNCLOTHED HIPS BUT NOT LIKE THIS

NEVER LIKE THIS

“I’ve had worse.” “Oh yeah? When?”

SHIT YOU GUYS

DEAN’S FACE RIGHT HERE IS WHEN HE REALIZES HOW BAD CAS’ INJURIES ARE

UP UNTIL NOW HE’S ALL BLASE ABOUT IT BECAUSE CAS IS GONNA BE FINE

BECAUSE CAS IS STILL SUPERMAN AS FAR AS DEAN IS CONCERNED

BUT WHEN CAS SAYS THAT DEAN’S MASK JUST DROPS

Crowley showing up with great news “You idiots! You’re all going to die.”

“Touch me and I’ll kill you.” pffffft

“What’s up with feathers?”

Crowley is so pissed off with them and it’s purely because they’re gonna die

Look at him pretending he doesn’t care. You’re not fooling anyone, Crowley.

“What the hell is a prince of… hell?”

SIX YEARS AGO

MR CROWLEY

I love that CUCKOO CUCKOO CUCKOO as Crowley introduces himself as King of the Crossroads

The Lance of Michael!!!!

SFX team really is killing it this season

I love that we’re finally finding out how Crowley became king

How much do you want to bet that Dabb has been annoyed about the lack of explanation since S6

Asmodeus, Dagon… I wonder how long until we meet these two.

Crowley’s reaction when he realizes what Cas was stabbed with D:

He actually cares and he hates that he cares

Dean is so determined D:

“I was growing fond of choirboy, too” D’:

“We don’t have time for your— for you. So either help us, or get the hell out of here” DEAN IS IN PANIC MODE

“What can I do to keep you out of that barn?” OH BOY

“I don’t have friends”

Just a bunch of frenemies, poor guy :P

Crowley: “We made one deal. Let’s make another. What do you say?” Ramiel: *throws Crowley through the wall*

“Crowley’s right. You should go.” “Cas, come on.”

CAS. COME ON. DO YOU REALLY THINK THEY’RE GONNA JUST LEAVE YOU THERE.

OH CHRIST ON A CRACKER THIS PART IS SOMEHOW TWICE AS OVERWHELMING ON A SECOND VIEWING

“NO, YOU LISTEN TO ME. YOU—LOOK. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. KNOWING YOU… IT’S BEEN THE BEST PART OF MY LIFE”

I AM SO FUCKING DISTRAUGHT

“AND THE THINGS WE HAVE SHARED TOGETHER… THEY HAVE CHANGED ME.”

MARY LOOKING AT THEM WHEN CAS SAYS THAT D:

GODDDD DEANS FACE

“YOU’RE MY FAMILY.”

FINALLY HE UNDERSTANDS THAT

“I LOVE YOU”

hello this is the medical practitioner who just arrived at this scene, the blogger is dead.

AND NOW I’M HERE TO BLOG AS A GHOST

BECAUSE CAS SAYS I LOVE YOU

AND THEN IT CUTS TO DEAN WHOSE FACE CAN ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS “PLEASE DON’T DO THIS TO ME RIGHT NOW��

AND THEN

“I LOVE ALL OF YOU.”

BECAUSE IT HAD TO BE AMENDED. BECAUSE THE FIRST YOU WAS SINGULAR.

(WE’RE FAMILY. WE NEED YOU. I NEED YOU)

AND AFTER THAT SECOND PART, THAT CLARIFICATION, WE GET ANOTHER DEAN REACTION WHERE HE JUST—-HE HAS THIS LOOK OF REALIZATION AND FUCK ME IF THAT’S NOT HIM REALIZING WHY CAS CLARIFIED

FUCK MEEEEE UPPPPPP

AND THEN SAM REACTION SHOT WITH BONUS EYEBROWS OF “HUH”

“JUST PLEASE. PLEASE DON’T MAKE MY LAST MOMENTS BE SPENT WATCHING YOU DIE. JUST RUN. SAVE YOURSELVES. AND I WILL HOLD RAMIEL OFF AS LONG AS I CAN”

“CAS, NO.” THE VERY THOUGHT OF LEAVING CAS RIGHT NOW IS ANATHEMA AND I AM SO MUCH MORE DISTRAUGHT THAN I ALREADY WAS

“YES. YOU NEED TO KEEP FIGHTING” “WE ARE FIGHTING. WE’RE FIGHTING FOR YOU, CAS”

SAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMYYYY :’)

(SAM WINCHESTER IS MY FRIEND)

“AND LIKE YOU SAID, WE’RE FAMILY. AND WE DON’T LEAVE FAMILY BEHIND.”

CAS LOOKS???? SO FUCKING TOUCHED???? I DON’T THINK HE FULLY GRASPED JUST HOW MUCH THEY LOVE HIM UNTIL THIS VERY MOMENT

“Tell us how to cure him.” “There is no cure.”

Oh buddy, Sam looks like he’s ready to fuck you up for that

“I don’t even care that Lucifer’s got a bun in the oven”

Sounds like mpreg, @ SPN u should have tagged this :P

Mary wtf hand over the maguffin

LIKE I WASN’T ALREADY TENSE THEY HAD TO ADD A LITERAL TICKING CLOCK

WHOA AGAIN WITH THE COOL LANCE THING

HOLY SHIT GO SAM

I’M SO GLAD SAM GOT THIS WIN OMG

AND WHOA THAT’S A COOL DEATH

OH GOD NO THE BLACK SLIME D:

DEAN LOOKS LIKE HE’S GONNA DIE TOO

CROWLEY TO THE RESCUE??????

“MAGIC’S IN THE CRAFTSMANSHIP”

LOOK AT THEM HELPING HIM UP

LOOK AT DEAN HOLDING ON TO HIS HAND A LITTLE LONGER THAN NECESSARY AND STARING AT HIM

L O O K

LOOK HOW RELIEVED???

“WHO KNOWS WHAT THAT CRAZY MAN WAS TALKING ABOUT. LET’S GO HOME.”

LET’S GO HOME

DEAN I S2G YOU BETTER HUG HIM SO HARD LATER WHEN THE WHOLE FAM ISN’T WATCHING YOU

KETCH U SLIMY FUCKER

“I LOST A FRIEND. I ALMOST LOST ONE OF MY BOYS”

ONE OF MY BOYS

CAS IS ONE OF HER BOYS LEAVE ME HERE TO DIE

IT’S THE GODDAMN COLT

I ACCIDENTALLY YELLED THROUGH THIS WHOLE THING OOPS

HEY HEY HEY IT’S LUCIFER AND HE IS IN HELL AFTER ALL

OH, CROWLEY

“I can’t believe you’re working for the Dukes of Haphazard.” pffffffft

ALL THE OTHER THINGS

Didn’t pass Bechdel-Wallace :(

I’m not a fan of Sam’s new jacket AT ALL

They included the grenade launcher in the ‘Then’ sequence… I s2g if they don’t let Dean shoot that thing by the end of the season I’m taking the entire Earth to court.

lol who am I even kidding the only things that I should be writing here are MY DEVASTATINGLY HANDSOME FRIEND. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE ALL OF YOU. LET’S GO HOME. 

CANON “I LOVE YOU” SIGNED SEALED DELIVERED

GOD BLESS US EVERY ONE

[thevioletcaptain]

12x14 The Raid

THE VERDICT

I cried twice and would now like to challenge Bobo Berens to a fight out in the alley.

A play-by-play recap with meta-adjacent notes is under the cut!

ALL THE THINGS

THEN!

Ah, a vampire primer lesson.

Should we count the presence of the grenade launcher in the THEN sequence toward the ongoing theme of #grenadebaiting, or??? :P

Tiny infant S1 Sam saying “You think Mom would’ve wanted this for us?” was the moment I thought “Goddamnit, Berens is going to murder me with this episode.”

Frankly I should have already been prepared. This was an oversight on my part and it won’t happen again. I’ve got my eye on you, Bobo.

NOW!

I’m so glad we’re seeing the rest of this confrontation between Mary & the boys. Also, something I didn’t notice last week (presumably because I’d been so very bored by the episode as a whole, but maybe we didn’t get a wide shot with all of them in frame from this angle… I can’t remember) is that Mary is firmly on the left of the screen (in the wrong) and the boys are on the right (in the… not wrong)

Basically, there’s some classic filmmaking symbolism at play here.

Speaking of symbolism, isn’t it interesting that Sam is the only one who took one of the Margiekugels?

That’s the beer that has been associated with mothers since it was introduced, if anyone forgot… and this was a sixer of the stuff hand-delivered by Mary, so it’s like, Mega Mom Beer

(sound of Rowena hissing MEGA in the distance)

“What the British Men of Letters are doing--what we’re doing--it’s a better way.” 

Oh no, Mary. Don’t plant yourself so firmly in the same camp as the BMoL right now. Putting that “we” in the middle of this confrontation was a terrible idea, and any chance of getting Dean to listen to your viewpoint just went out the window.

“When? When did you start working with them?” The look on Sam’s face here hurts my soul ;-;

“Since… before the lake house. It wasn’t Wally… they brought me that case.”

Oh god. The look on Dean’s face when he first realizes that this means Cas almost died on a hunt Mary lied to them about. He looks like he’s gonna be sick.

“You kept it from us.” He’s on the verge of tears, and Sam is .02 seconds away from jaw-twitch levels of betrayal angst :(

“Cas almost died.” Dean’s wavering voice someone hold me

“A hunter got killed.”

That distinction, though. We know Sam cares about Cas too, but here we see Sam and Dean’s personalities starkly contrasted. Makes me think of the “heart choice vs smart choice” thing from (last?) season. Dean is so much more driven by emotion than Sam, whose drive comes from a more objective place.

Cas ALMOST died. Wally DID die. Obviously Wally actually dying is objectively a worse consequence of the hunt gone wrong, but seeing it that way means discounting personal attachment and taking in the bigger picture, which Dean has never really been able to do.

I’m already a wreck over all this character stuff ;-;

“I’m the one who burned his body. I’m the one who told his wife.”

[cut to Dean clenching his jaw and looking like he’s reliving a painful memory b/c he was almost in that wife’s role… again]

“I watch him die every night.” “Good.”

Dean’s still remembering. Look at his gaze. He says good, because he knows Wally’s wife is probably having nightly nightmares about it, too. He says good, because he’s been there. LBR, he’s probably had super fun Cas-bleeding-out and oozing black goo nightmares ever since it happened. It’s maybe a little spiteful for him to be glad that Mary is guilty about it, but imo entirely justified.

HOW ARE WE ONLY JUST FINISHING THE COLD OPEN OH MY GOD

Hey! Razor wire! Where’s Lizzy’s anon from the other day? Did I get around to reblogging that post? *glances at drafts folder* *sweats*

The BMoL compound feels like a cross between the dingy Campbell compound from S6 and the sleek military Initiative compound from Buffy and some other third thing I can’t quite put my finger on.

Interesting that Mary is driving the BMoL van into the BMoL compound with Ketch in the passenger seat. As the “outsider” here, I’d expect her to be riding shotgun. It’s almost like Ketch is giving her the illusion of control. He’s so manipulative.

Mary and Ketch wore the same outfit how embarrassing for them

Petition to call wearing the same outfit as an antagonist a “foe-pas”

...I’ll see myself out.

That gold vampire killing doodad kinda looks like a giant bullet vibe and I hate myself for thinking it, but I can’t un-think it so now you all get to suffer with me

Mary looks a little disturbed by the way it worked. That’s an unnecessarily painful death for that random vampire.

Ketch on the other hand is like “mmm yes, let me fondly remember the agony I inflicted.”

Oh, Serena. I wish you’d had your chance to slap Ketch right in the mouth.

Mary isn’t allowed to look that good in a tank top when we’re supposed to be kinda disappointed in her actions

MORE OF THE UPSETTING CONFRONTATION WITH INTERCUT GUILTY MARY TEXTING

“You said you needed time. No--you needed space. So we gave you your space. But you didn’t need just space. No, you needed space from us.”

WRAPS ALL OF THEM IN A GIANT BLANKET AND CHANTS BE HAPPY BE HAPPY BE HAPPY

“Try to be a mom.” UGHUGHUGHHHHHHHGHHHHHH SOMEONE GO BACK TO THAT FOREST FROM 12x11 AND FIND THAT BUN SO DEAN CAN PET THE LIL FUZZY EARS UNTIL HE FEELS BETTER ;-;

“I am your mother. But I am not just a mom.”

I’M IN SUCH A STATE RN BECAUSE I’VE WANTED AN “I’M NOT THIS ONE ROLE I PLAY, I’M NOT THE MYTHOLOGIZED MOTHER FIGURE YOU’VE BUILT UP IN YOUR HEAD, I’M A REAL PERSON WITH FLAWS AND GOALS AND INTERESTS AND DISLIKES AND MY OWN SHIT TO DEAL WITH” MOMENT TO ARISE EVER SINCE SHE CAME BACK

BUT ALSO I’M LIKE ;-; DEEEEEEANNNNNN BECAUSE HE NEEDED HER TO BE THE PARENT JOHN FAILED TO BE SO BADLY AND YEAH IT’S TOO LATE FOR THAT BECAUSE HE AND SAM ARE GROWN ASS MEN BUT FINDING OUT THAT MARY WOULD LIE TO THEM, PUT THEM IN DANGER, ALMOST GET CAS KILLED, ACTUALLY GET ANOTHER HUNTER KILLED, ALL IN AN EFFORT TO WORK WITH PEOPLE WHO TORTURED SAM AND BANISHED/TRIED TO KILL CAS??? LIKE. FUCK. THAT’S A REAL KICK TO THE SOLAR PLEXUS.

“And you are not a child.” “I never was.”

CRITICAL HIT

WOMAN DOWN

GODDAMNIT BOBO WHY DID U DO THIS TO ME WHEN ALL I EVER DID WAS LOVE YOU

*sobs uncontrollably for ten minutes*

Also--thanks for the flashback to Dean saying “Hunters are never kids. I never was” in Defending Your Life, because I really needed that double dose of pain right now ;-;

“Between us and them--” “It’s not like that.” “Yeah, Mary. It is.”

OH SHIT SHE’S JUST MARY NOW

FUCKING HELL BOBO

STOPPPPPPP

Remember last week when we were talking about Mary using the “we’re family” line as a get out of jail free card like Cas tried to do in S6? And how Cas learned and grew and now he’s ~earned~ his place as family by putting his money where his mouth is time and again, but Mary isn’t there yet? This whole moment is more of that. Mary had a choice between family and the shady organization with their good-in-theory goals of No Monsters, but she chose it because she thinks it will protect them in the long run. Basically, the S6 Cas & present Mary parallels are destroying me in the best way.

“There’s the door.” Dean can’t even look at her.

Sam’s defers to Dean in asking Mary to leave, but it reads as a pragmatic choice for Sam. Again, he’s approaching things from the head instead of the heart, even though he has more than his fair share of reasons to be distrustful of the BMoL & to be hurt by Mary working with them.

GOD THE CHARACTER STUFF IN THIS EPISODE IS ON FUCKING POINT

Ah, Mick and his sharp suit sitting at his desk and enjoying the boring life while Ketch comes in to smirk at him.

I’m *really* getting to like Ketch and Mick as characters. Goddamn is Ketch an asshole. I can’t wait for him to get his ass handed to him eventually. And I’m super onboard for Mick to defect from the BMoL, which is looking more and more likely with every episode he’s in

Again with talk about the “old men” in charge… they’re almost definitely going to turn up at some point.

I’m glad to have seen a lot of people in a lot of places online all saying “wouldn’t it be awesome if the head of the BMoL is cast as Anthony Stewart Head” because I know that’s something everyone on tumblr started hoping for when Toni first mentioned them in 11.23

I don’t know how realistic it is for him to be cast but hell we’ve had Amber Benson and James Marsters and Charisma Carpenter and uh… who else? Tom Lenk was in Purgatory, right? I think there were others.

Anyway, Operation “Get A Bunch of Buffy Alumni on Supernatural” should be a priority.

Remember when they only had one laptop to share? Who wants to bet that Dean got his own after the last porn virus destroyed all of Sam’s files?

“She lied to us, Sam. For months.” So it’s been months since the thing with Ramiel?? I guess Dean’s excessive “long, long, long, long, long time” rant from last episode makes sense now :P

I can only assume they made so much time pass so that Kelly’s pregnancy would advance further before the next time she appears

Dean and Sam had this exact argument a million times in the past but it was usually Sam and John at odds with each other with Dean as the mediator. Now with their roles switched Dean doesn’t like it.

I’m still not over what a nerd Sam is for having the Aquarian star as his phone lockscreen

That’s a very shiny car Sam’s stolen… my stream is too fuzzy to tell for sure, but is it a Dodge Challenger? Season six flashbacks.

I wonder if he’s had that in the bunker garage for a while. I can’t imagine there are a lot of shiny new cars up for the thieving in the dusty little town of Lebanon, Kansas

Where on earth is this compound supposed to be, btw? Did we see supertext over it earlier? I may have missed it. Just wondering because of the snow which is obviously a side effect of shooting in Vancouver, but I’m still trying to figure out dates, and depending on the time of year we’re in, that much snow near Kansas seems like a lot. But Sam didn’t change his shirt so it mustn’t be *that* far away.

I guess this information doesn’t actually matter all that much but I WANNA KNOW THE TIMES AND DATES AND LOCATIONS, DAMMIT.

Mary never wanted this life for her kids, and this is her ill-advised method of making sure they don’t have to live it anymore. But she’s made the mistake of assuming they don’t want this for themselves. Sam might have longed for a “normal” life in the past but he’s got a new baseline for normal now, and this episode along with quite a few moments recently have shown that he does need to help, he does need to fight. He wouldn’t be satisfied with civilian life, even if the constant peril of being a hunter isn’t what he wanted.

I’m still holding out hope for Sam’s endgame placing him in a kind of Bobby Singer role at the head of a reformed MoL, where he helps out hunters with information and spells, because witch!Sam. And also Eileen is there and occasionally Jody. *dreamy sigh* pls spn

The first part of that is almost 100% what’s being set up though, so I can still feel reasonable when I hope for the rest :P

ANYWAY back to the episode

Mary has palmprint access privileges :o

No handshake for Mick lmao

“Low budget Mission Impossible vibe” pffff I do like it when Sam is catty

“Sammy? Luuucy?”

Sorry Dean, but I Love Lucy references stopped being fun and started being terrifying the moment Sam said yes to Lucifer back in S5. If we hadn’t just had a season of Lucifer-possessing-Cas this moment would be making me VERY nervous

I’m still a teensy bit nervous tbh

But I can’t remember if we’ve had any more of those Mary-as-a-vessel moments since early in the season, so I don’t know if that’s a thing that is still potentially on the cards

Sam’s handwriting looks weird but why

Mick is so huffy about Ketch being gone

“How’d you find us?” Dean, hon. Lmao

Honestly is there a Winchester that Ketch doesn’t want to get into the pants of?

I’m so endeared to Mick at this point he’s such a nerd

Love that flashback to the Alpha’s creepy fingernail

Pierce is so familiar why is he so familiar

ONLY ELEVEN VAMPIRES LEFT IN THE MIDWEST YIKES

MO REST MOTEL PFF

This vampire offering a nice cup of fresh human blood to the survivor vamp is so intense

The Alpha does like making an entrance

Ketch drinking his scotch like “when in doubt, pinky out” and like… moaning at the taste while he stares Dean down

Keep it in your pants, Ketch.

I should just put that as a comment on every episode he’s in at this point

Look at these two with their posturing nonsense

Ketch you are SUCH A CREEP AND I DON’T TRUST ANYTHING YOU’RE SAYING.

Which, btw… props to David Hadyn-Jones because he seems like a total sweetheart so A+ on the acting there, pal

“The Men of Letters is an excellent fit for someone with our... inclinations.”

Would you like to queercode that a little more, or nah?

(for real though, remember when we had the MoL flashbacks in Slumber Party (I think it was in Slumber Party) and there was all that discussion of how very queercoded the organisation was & how the two dudes playing chess were clearly lovers? Because really.)

Anyway: KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS, KETCH.

“You’re a killer, Dean Winchester. So am I.” this fucker

He’s MoC Dean. He’s describing MoC Dean. The actual Dean we saw in 12x11 with all his hangups and memories stripped away? He was a fighter, sure. But he’s not a killer.

Basically, another example of the MoL and their poor intel

How dare this episode make me think of Rufus :(‘

NGL I kinda wished Dean would be following on Dorothy’s motorcycle just then

Mick’s “Where the hell are you?” text made me snortlaugh

JESUS I’m only halfway through the episode and this is an eight page google doc

“Ready?” “Always.” *Dean rolls his eyes because Ketch is such an ass*

Something about this empty hotel just made me think of the bit in Jurassic Park where the velociraptors are stalking the kids through the kitchen but I have no idea why

“So it wasn’t a sales pitch? ‘Cause it was a good one.” Sammmmm you’re so gonna end up being a MoL guy on your own terms & I’m so here for it

Welp, time to die, random BMoL security guy. Who on earth thought it was a good idea to put you outside the fence though? *tuts at poor planning skills*

The stream I’m watching is SO FUCKING JUMPY ugh

KETCH YOU ARE SUCH A CREEP

WHY DO YOU GET OFF ON VIOLENCE SO MUCH

DEAN IS PROFOUNDLY UNCOMFORTABLE WITH IT FROM THE START

TRY AND CALL HIM A COLD HEARTED KILLER AGAIN KETCH

“I’ll make it quick.” because Ketch would fucking take his time and enjoy the killing UGH HE’S SUCH A CREEP

WHAT A GOOD CHARACTER I HATE HIM :D

Ruh roh the vampires have turned up

That hand scanning thing is exactly why you NEVER PUT YOUR SECURITY OUTSIDE THE COMPOUND JFC

The BMoL have zero planning skills just saying

“Our intel has him in Morocco. He’s been there at least a decade.”

Oh, BMoL you have TERRIBLE INTEL

Thanks Mary for decapitating that vamp before his laughing got even more obnoxious

The first time I watched this it looked like the long-haired BMoL dude put that rope on the table and then Sam gave him a ? look and he glanced at Pierce and I was just like “are you kidding me, did they just imply that this dude just carries around his fucking bondage rope at all times?” but now on a rewatch with better image quality it seems like that was someone else that put it there & that was more of an “i don’t have any weapons and we’re all gonna die” look rather than an “welp i never thought i’d have to expose my kinks to a room full of people” look

That said, my initial reading has no bearing on anything and isn’t like… technically disproven. So what the hell, I’m keeping it. Headcanon accepted.

Sam’s face when he sees the Colt ;-;

SAM’S FACE WHEN MARY ADMITS THAT SHE STOLE IT FROM RAMIEL

The moment he realizes that she never said anything while Ramiel threatened them all, while Cas was dying… fuck. You can pinpoint the moment his heart breaks.

Funnily enough that’s also the moment I died.

Again.

How many times can I die in one episode? Will I beat Dean’s record? Only time will tell.

But he pushes past it. Sets his feelings aside to get the job done.

Interesting that he calls Bobby his buddy--the same descriptor he gave to Rufus earlier--when previously he’s referred to him as his surrogate father. I wonder if this is more for Mary’s benefit, or just part of how he seems determined to reveal as little as possible to the BMoL.

I love that he remembers the spell to create more bullets.

Sam + spells = a very happy me

Mick is so awkward with the spellcasting godddd he’s such a pencilpushing nerd

I can’t wait for him to get roughed up and ditch the BMoL

JESUS PIERCE WHY

NOOOOO SERENA D:

I love Rick Worthy’s delivery so much.

“I’ve seen your work in England. I didn’t get involved, because well… it’s England. But America? America is my home. And it is time you get off my lawn.”

Considering the whole BMoL as a metaphor for far right politics thing that has been consistent all season… well. Let’s just say that even though SPN does have some missteps and does fuck up a bit, I love that this show is written by a bunch of big ol’ lefties. Gives me a real warm fuzzy.

“All clear here, big daddy” LMAO WHY PIERCE WHY

SWOOSHY SLICK BULLET EXCHANGE SEQUENCE AW YISS

SLOW MO COLT FIRING AWWWWW YISSSSSSS

SUPER GROSS ZOOM THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE ALPHA’S HEAD

I think Mick and Ketch broke up.

I have mixed feelings about this reconciliation between Dean and Mary.

On the one hand, YES. Character growth! Dean pulling his head out of his ass and realizing that Mary is entitled to make her own choices, that she’s not just a cookie-cutter perfect mother ideal like the one he’s been imagining since he was four, that they’re all adults, that she’s not to blame for just being a goddamn person instead of a fairytale.

And also, YES! They aren’t letting the fight escalate into ridiculous territory.

BUT

But

The thing is, Dean wasn’t angry about her making choices he disagreed with.

He was angry because she lied. Because she put them in a situation where Cas nearly died (and Wally did) without giving them all the information. Without giving them MOST of the information. He still doesn’t know about the Colt, and I doubt that the fact that she’d stolen something from Ramiel and not said anything about it while Cas was choking on his own half-rotten insides will go over well when he does find out.

Basically, I’m glad he’s decided to move past the childish cold-shouldering, because it didn’t solve anything. I’m glad he’s finally understanding that Mary is a person, not just a mom. But she really didn’t deserve the apology Dean just gave her.

In fact, I’d say that Sam, Dean and Cas all deserve a FULL apology from her, with all the details about the Colt included.

She’s been making the same kind of better-in-the-long-run bigger-picture bad decisions that every member of TFW has made at some point, and I do think she’ll redeem herself fully, but she has to earn that trust back, and she needs to be completely honest before that can happen.

“We have ways of dealing with hunters who go rogue. They aren’t pleasant.”

Sam and Mary both say good, because they saw how quickly Pierce handed them all over. Dean says nothing, because he saw how much joy Ketch takes in hurting people.

They’re all missing information. Like the BMoL, they need to share with the whole damn class so they can get on the same page. They need to find the gaps in their knowledge or they’re weakening themselves. Ugh, Bobo. Why are you so good?

Sam’s almost definitely gonna reshape the MoL from the inside and I can’t wait.

Also that final shot of Sam and Mary in the compound fully, Dean by the driver’s side of the Impala which is half in, half out of the compound… What did I say before about visual symbolism? MacCarthy does it well. I think I forgot to mention it much in this recap though. Ack. Maybe I’ll make a separate post later.

ALL THE OTHER THINGS

Didn’t pass Bechdel-Wallace (I don’t think? Unless Mary and Serena had a conversation that I’ve forgotten about.) Bobo, you really doomed yourself when you tweeted this:

(I still love ya, dude. But c’mon. You can do better with this.)

This was SUCH a good character episode for Sam, Dean, and Mary.

What I see as Sam’s endgame (running a MoL/hunter hub out of the bunker like a more modern Bobby) seems much more likely after this episode, and that fills me with joy

This was kinda Dean-lite (the episode was shot just after Danneel had the twins, and Jensen was given a lighter load so he’d be able to have longer at home with them) but the parts with him were so rich character-wise that I barely… well, I was about to say I barely even missed him but that’s a dirty rotten lie :P

Bondage Man of Letters will live forever in my heart

Even if I hadn’t thoroughly enjoyed this episode & cried twice, I’d still be pumped because of the preview for next week. Dean in his holy fire glasses? DEAN IN HIS HOLY FIRE GLASSES WHILE ALSO WEARING THE BI PLAID? Just set me on fire, jfc.

[thevioletcaptain]

12.13 Family Feud

THE VERDICT

Ain’t nepotism a hoot?

A play-by-play recap with meta-adjacent notes is under the cut!

ALL THE THINGS

Oh, hon. Never wear a nightgown on Supernatural unless you want to die bloody

YIKES THAT’S NIGHTMARE INDUCING

SPN should really trademark those ridiculous blood splatters at this point

Props to P.J. Pesce for creating such an unsettling atmosphere in this cold open that I braced for the scare too early (twice) when I should have known better

Cas mention! \o/

I like that—as usual—Dean elected to call Cas and talk to him alone. He always likes to take his Cas calls privately, while if Sam’s the one making a call he generally chills in the same room, often on speaker.

Anyway I’m gonna go ahead and headcanon that the whole time Dean’s fiddling with his cellphone after he hangs up and starts talking to Sam, he’s sending Cas a dumb flirty text message. Feel free to join me on this train because even if it’s only a headcanon it’s still probably the most interesting thing to happen in this episode.

“His tongue was ripped out.” “Well, that didn’t kill him.”

???? why would “well, that didn’t kill him” be the initial assumption Dean makes??? that could absolutely kill someone???

*squeezes bridge of nose* I’m gonna move on

HOT DAMN

*fans self* apparently I’m very into ass-kicking Mary

“Nice toy.” Man, the BMoL might be shady af, but they do have some damn cool gear

…keep it in your pants, Ketch

“Pay per view, magic fingers. The us’.”

The “Dean takes after his mom” anvils keep on coming.

(Also, how in the frickety frack am I supposed to spell that abbreviation??? Evidently I’ve never written it down before.)

Mary says “I love you” AGAIN and Dean still doesn’t say it back (judging by the look on her face, anyway)

I’m sensing a pattern here…

(Will Dean eventually use the L word this season???? Look, I don’t wanna get my hopes up, but I had to mention it here just in case he does so I can point at this post and say HAH I CALLED IT :P)

I’d still really like to know what the original plan had been for Toni, because she and Ketch obviously had some kind of bad history. She was afraid of him. And now she and the kid I’d originally hoped was a nephilim have dropped off the grid completely. I had SUCH HOPES for Toni. Oh well. I should finish writing that fic.

I like how this scene with Crowley and Lucifer has been shot

Ugh, though. I’d hoped we were done with the overpriced bottled water.

~time for a flashback~

At least this super clunky exposition will make people stop asking “BUT WHY DOES HE LOOK LIKE NICK?”

That said… Crowley has just had Nick’s corpse in cold storage for a few years? Really? That’s gross, Crowley. No wonder Dean dumped you.

It took me a moment to realize that the red light in this restroom was just an actual red-tinted light, and not some bizarre ~SPOOKY GHOST LIGHT~ that got thrown in for no reason

“They’re always filled with ADHD spirits and their tethers, y’know.”

so. damn. clunky.

Yikes, random waitress. Oh hey I didn’t catch her glowy angel eyes on my first watch. That makes her pointed “little devil” comment slightly less on the nose.

Dean geeking out over old weapons & cool history stuff = always good

Also I’m 100% here for Dean remembering the ship, but why the heck doesn’t Sam also remember it as he’s reading the information?

Oh, Crowley. You’re out of the loop, bud.

Crowley: mentions lucifer’s lovechild while phone is on speaker

Sam: O_O’  >_>’  O_O’  <_<‘  -_-‘

[briefly interrupts episode to mention that some damn fool kids are playing with an airhorn outside my house wtf kids go home *shakes broom in their general direction*]

The “oh my dad” joke was funny the first time I read it in a fic like six years ago

Why are they meeting Rowena in the museum?

Sam pls don’t smirk at Rowena like that, this is not a ship I can get behind :P

(He’d be Crowley’s new stepdad. Gavin’s grandpa. Also, because of Dean and Crowley’s whole summer-of-love, he’d also kinda be Dean’s ex-stepfather-in-law. It’s too much :P)

Uh oh, Kelly Clarkson

(That’s what I go to call her instinctively every time so y’know what I’m just gonna go with it)

Okay, I like Dagon.

But how was it that easy for her to kill angels? Could Ramiel have just done that? Ughhhhh

Anyway I’m glad she’s sticking around for more than one episode

I hope she doesn’t eventually die, but I’m not holding out much hope :P

So we went from “hey Rowena do a tracking spell” to “Gavin is getting off this bus now”???

Godddd none of these scenes connect properly this is exhausting

How much time has passed? How long have they been on this case?

“Help? HELP!” pfffft

Rowena being psyched that Gavin had a girlfriend was the cutest shit I’ve ever seen lmao

FLASHBACK #2

“My Fiona’s a ghost?!” Dude, your gran is a witch and your dad is the King of Hell. Ghost girlfriend should barely even register at this point :P

Oh wow that’s some pretty snow

Ketch: The Men of Letters is my family My brain:

I’d completely forgotten about that video until right now

Anyway. Back to Mary, who’s being pretty vocal about putting her family first for someone who risked all their lives last episode. Ketch’s little speech seems to have backfired and caused her to think about that, so that’s good.

Also: keep it in your pants Ketch. Christ.

What on earth is this school? Are these two women the only teachers? The only staff?

Why must Buckleming introduce a thousand different single serving characters in every episode.

YIKES THO again with the quality SFX

Loved that shot of Fiona’s hand punching through the teacher’s chest

AWKWARD CROSSFADE AFTER AN UNKNOWN PASSAGE OF TIME

how did Fiona suddenly stop looking like a half-rotted underwater corpse? What kind of ghost ability is that?

…and there’s the traditional Buckleming rape reference. At least we didn’t have to watch this one on screen, I guess. Small blessings.

Another random time jump into the middle of another conversation. For crying out loud.

But hey they’re sending Gavin back, so it’s nice to see them filling a plot hole for once.

I am IN LOVE with Rowena’s sparkly blazer wow

How often have Crowley and Gavin been catching up tho

…did they have a catch?

Crowley is so much more upset about this than I would have expected. You know what would have helped with that? If they’d spent more than thirty seconds talking to each other in this episode.

Sam and Dean have a whole jar of angel feathers and now I’m just imagining them like “uh… hey Cas? We’re running a little low, you think you could—“ and Cas just rolling his eyes before poofing a few out of the ether.

I feel bad for Gavin being sent off to his death but also, like… not a lot. This ~emotional scene~ wasn’t earned.

“Beam him up, Scotty.”

*jots this down into her Dean-is-a-Kirk-fan notebook*

Dean’s reaction to seeing Gavin and Fiona reunited before they disappeared…

The camera was SUPER focused on his face there

He looked so wistful and then so sad. So personally affected by these doomed lovers.

Why must Jensen’s face attack me like this.

So I guess now we know that the case took forever, based on Dean’s “long, long, long, long while” rambling :P

“He’s dramatic, as usual.”

Dean is a drama queen: confirmed

…did Sam just say “yummy”

I’m so glad Mary told them!

“Do not give me the face.” “What face?” “You know the face.” “There’s no face.” “That’s the face.” *Dean gives the face harder*

I’m extra glad Sam reminded her pointedly that thEY FUCKING TORTURED HIM

Sam and Dean are NOT IMPRESSED with Mary pulling the “family” card right now

I’m glad it looks like this conversation is continued next week

Rowena has a lil red thermos??? Why is she so cute?

ANOTHER FLASHBACK

SO MANY FLASHBACKS

Mm Rowena, get ur revenge girl

And now a montage set to the Stones. With sad Crowley and Stresschesters and cool Dagon and annoying bottled water.

Thank fuck that’s over.

ALL THE OTHER THINGS

Passed Bechdel-Wallace

Parts were saved by acting and direction, but there’s only so much to be done with an episode like this. Sam & Dean hunting a ghost. Mary working with Ketch. Crowley taunting Lucifer. Dagon rescuing Kelly from the angels. Gavin and Fiona backstory. THIS IS TOO MANY THREADS. TOO MANY DRAWN OUT SCENES WHERE NOTHING HAPPENED. PLEASE GO BACK TO SCREENWRITING 101 AND LEARN TO MANAGE YOUR DAMN SUBPLOTS FFS. AND CHILL OUT WITH THE EXPOSITION IN DIALOGUE.

MY SCREENWRITING TEACHERS WOULD HAVE FAILED YOU WHY ARE YOU EMPLOYED

[whispers] you know why

Anyway. While it was dull as dry toast and had a completely unnecessary throwaway line about a woman being violated, it wasn’t even in the ballpark of their worst episode. Small blessings.

That said, that’s probably because practically nothing happened—aside from Dagon’s introduction. I’m looking forward to seeing more of her.

I was just… so very bored.

Next week looks great. Let’s forget this pointless snoozefest ever happened.