#spn episode reviews

[incesthemes]

final thoughts: supernatural season 12

i've been nursing a terrible headache all day and so i freely admit my opinions of this season may be negatively influenced by this. maybe tomorrow i'll wake up and realize it wasn't actually that bad and the real enemy was my brain all along. such is life.

i'll say upfront that i liked this season much, much more than season 11. not hard to do and the bar is in hell, but i think it's a good perspective for me to keep in mind while i write this. let's go.

i'm going to talk about mary first. i really like what she brought to the table. she created such natural conflict just by existing, and that's damn good writing. she was handled with so much nuance and care, and i'm extremely pleased by this because i pretty much hate everything else in this season, and actually i'm surprised with how well they handled mary compared to how poorly they handled everything else. that's just bizarre. pick a struggle guys you're hurting my brain.

but no, i love how she's developed as her own person, and how she gets to go off on her own and leave her kids and how that has major consequences but she's still not painted as a bad or neglectful mother for doing that. in fact she's not relegated to the flattened role of "mother" at all, and that's genuinely something special for this show, since it tends to keep their side characters to reductive caricatures that best suit their purposes. that would have been a really easy trap for the writers to step into, since that's the role she's had for the entire show up to now, the ghost of a mother haunting the narrative. she had very little character outside of that (except for her kickass part in 4.03, have i ever mentioned how much i love in the beginning? fuck man). but still the writers let her transcend that role and become something far more complex. i really love that :)

an aside: all of the winchesters, actually, get this incredibly nuanced treatment that hardly any of the other characters do. i like how much care and attention are put into crafting this fucked-up little family. it's definitely one of my favorite dynamics in fiction, probably ever. every one of the winchesters has so many layers to peel back and explore, such complex identities, and contradictory, human personalities. i love what connects them and drives them apart and how that's so often the same thing. they're really great characters who fit into their roles well, never too over- or underused. the family is very well done.

anyway back to season 12. i've been holding this in all day but now i'm finally going to complain about the british men of letters. because i'm sorry but they're kind of stupid 😭 and by that i mean their operation makes very little sense, and the rapid developments of their plan are so unattainable and nonsensical. you're going to wipe out every single american hunter? with your little team of 10 people? and to what end? i get they want to exert control, but first of all, this is missing the whole entire point of (american-style) hunting, from a doylian AND watsonian perspective:

hunting thus far has been presented as a deeply traumatic, solitary life decision individuals have made after experiencing a tragic loss or otherwise had a life-changing encounter with the supernatural. they're not recruited, they have very little support, they have an old-fashioned, underdeveloped communications network, and again: they're solitary creatures. they make their own decisions, play by their own rules, hunt their own game. it's suggested that most or a majority of hunters seem to go after exclusively the supernatural entity that got them into hunting in the first place, and only the more prolific hunters have a wide range of skillsets.

this isn't something that can be controlled. and by that i mean, wiping out every hunter isn't going to stop hunters from existing. because as long as there are monsters, people will continue to be traumatized, and people will continue to hunt. even if you wipe out an entire generation, you can't stop a random individual from having her family eaten by werewolves and deciding to hunt werewolves down from now on. no matter what the BMoL try, this is an impossible thing to control, and it's stupid to try. again, from both a watsonian and doylian perspective.

the actual motives and objectives of the BMoL are so all over the place and messy that it's really difficult to follow throughout the season, too. first you're going to torture sam for information—all the while bragging about how much intel you have access to and how much you know about the winchesters. if you know sam so well, why don't you know any other hunters, huh? why do you need him to tell you? but i digress. then you're trying to recruit hunters to work for the men of letters, and it's all friendly and inviting and organized. then you're going to exterminate all the hunters because they don't want to listen to a foreign organization no one's ever even heard of and has only been in the states for like 5 months? they're portrayed as nothing better than petulant children who can't stand that the girl on the playground wouldn't give them her dolly.

and honestly that would be fine, in isolation, i guess, if the whole portrayal of the UK didn't weird me out on so many levels. i don't know what goes on in the UK, and also i didn't read harry potter, but the whole "secret magic school" and "secret magic society" thing feels so reductive and bland. like okay you have a real-world hogwarts. sure. can you at least try to be more creative about this. i was fine with the men of letters existing outside of the US, that's to be expected and i was actually excited to see what would come of that. but as soon as they put in a fucking magic school they lost me.

like first of all, why is the UK soooooo developed in this area where the US lags behind? are other countries following the UK's example? is europe equally monster-free? is the US the last haven for monsters??? and if the BMoL are so advanced, where the hell have they been for ummmm (bad at math) what, 60-ish years now? they just let the US chapter die and cut off communications? no attempt to support the country whatsoever? leave the US to rot? until just now, after some random americans kicked off 2.5 apocalypses. yeah sure. i can get behind that (heavy sarcasm). it's just—be realistic. if you're going to make such an advanced and all-powerful organization, where the fuck have they been all this time? the scale should match the presence.

my ideal for the BMoL would have been a much smaller scale organization that utilizes black and white ideology to train killers, preferably infiltrating judicial organizations to maintain peace and provide cover for hunters. they shouldn't be like. running the fucking government or whatever this all-encompassing scale is that the show presented. it was a cool and interesting idea to bring in the men of letters. it was not a cool and interesting execution. it barely holds up to any scrutiny and requires so much handwaving and excuse-making that i just cannot get myself to like it at all.

ok. rant over. i've already mentioned all of the other plotty things that annoyed me about this season in other posts, so i'll move on from my complaining.

i'm going back to mary because i love mary. what i like is how sam's relationship to mary throughout his life is, in a big way, paralleled with sam's relationship to mary after her resurrection. he never gets to confront her abut what she did to him and what she caused. the only person who ever gets to talk about this is dean, both in 12.14 and in 12.23. and maybe other people disagree with this choice, but i really like it. i like the distance between sam and mary, because that's who they are to each other. they never got a chance to know each other, but they are the impetus for each other's suffering. sam never got to know his mom except through dean, who acted as a medium to impart acceptable knowledge to his brother. mary never got to know her son at all. and when she comes back to life, this dynamic, this chasmic distance, remains between them. and dean is caught in the middle of them, just like he's always been throughout his entire life. i think by making mary's presence in season 12 so dean-centric, the show managed to highlight just how wide that chasm is between her and sam. sam doesn't get to speak up for himself or talk about his past or tell mary anything about himself or who he is. dean tells her for him. just like mary never got to tell sam anything about herself; dean told him for her. the dynamic persists, and dean remains caught in the middle, ever sam's protector and shield and greatest advocate.

sam was actually pretty damn wonderful this season. i'm clinging onto sam's character arc to distract from my angry disappointment with the british men of letters. the transition and development from mid-season 11 to 12.23 was awesome and well-paced, which is frankly something i didn't know the show knew how to do anymore. so i'm extremely happy with how subtle and natural the buildup was, especially for a show that doesn't have the word "subtle" in its dictionary. i don't think i have nearly any complaints about how sam was handled this season honestly. maybe some nitpicks, but no serious complaints. he was just great. he reclaimed agency and willpower for himself in a really unique way that didn't compromise his enmeshment with dean (and thus didn't backtrack on any of the previous toxic relationship developments that have happened, like i'd feared would happen), and he grew in a very positive and interesting way that i really enjoyed. go sammy :)

the whole apocalypse world ending in 12.23 was way too drawn out and overdramatic, also i still hate lucifer's rewritten character, also i think it was deeply unnecessary to lock mary in there with him, also why was cas even there at all he did Literally Nothing and then died immediately, also why did it take so long for the portal to close after crowley died, that's so unbelievably contrived and stupid as hell—

BUT. otherwise i liked the finale. if i ignore the whole apocalypse world thing it was great, even. big win for me since i did not like season 11's finale (big shocker). i'm really tickled that sam was the one to find jack; i think that will create some interesting developments in season 13 so i'm looking forward to that. i hope jack imprints on sam like a duck. based on posts i've seen floating around tumblr, that's more or less what happens so i'm excited about that lmao.

anyway. this was the longest 4.5 days of my life. i'm going to detox like hell after this, because lord knows i need it. i haven't decided what i'll watch, so it might be more movies or maybe a miniseries. who knows. but i desperately need to funnel some wincest fanfiction directly into my mouth now. something to cleanse me of this season. thank you and god bless 🙏

[storm-and-starlight]

Supernatural Season 6 Rewatch

Ep. 1: Exile on Main St.

Ep. 3: The Third Man

Ep. 4: Weekend at Bobby's

Ep. 5: Live Free or Twihard

Ep 6: You Can't Handle the Truth

Ep. 7: Family Matters

Ep. 9: Clap Your Hands if You Believe

Ep. 11: Appointment in Samarra

Ep. 12: Like a Virgin

Ep. 15: The French Mistake

Ep. 16: ...And Then There Were None

Ep. 17: My Heart Will Go On

Ep. 18: Frontierland

Ep. 22: The Man Who Knew Too Much

[evas-spn-thoughts]

s01e05 - Bloody Mary

All I remember about this episode is to not say Bloody Mary 3 times in the mirror, and that at the end, there is a ton of mirrors.

And that's all I remember.

My review style is to type my thoughts scene by scene while I watch the episode, so I have no further thoughts on this episode yet.

Better people would probably watch the ep first while making notes, but I am not a better person so I make a whole post while the episode is on.

I do a lot of pausing while I watch 😂

Post watch edit, okay I'm not gonna lie, I kinda don't care for this episode, it's fine, but I just don't really care about it. I don't feel like on a second watch it carries forward the boys plot that much. Maybe that's because I know the reveals already, but yeah... I just don't care for it.

The opening is very strong on Sam's want to find Jess's killer, and Deans insistence on hunting.

It's a bit weird having the cold open happen after the title screen, I don't feel like that's what happens in later seasons.

Anyway... we open on a group of girls pressuring another girl to say 'Bloody Mary' 3 times into the bathroom mirror.

The girl does do it, and her friends bang on the bathroom door, because that's what's fun when you are a kid. Its definitely happened to me post horror movie when I was younger.

Her dad asks her and her friends to keep it down - fair enough. You then see him passing mirrors on his way back to bed and see a female form in the mirror, which is very creepy.

Then her older sister comes home and walks up the stairs to see a pool of blood in the bathroom.

It's a very good cold open, that is very creepy.

We get Sam in an oddly coloured nightmare. He sees Jess burning on the ceiling and engulfed in blue flames??? weird choice but okay.

Dean wakes him up, clearly worried about Sam. Dean implies that Sam hasn't been talking about his nightmares. 'You know sooner or later we're gonna have to talk about this'. This is an example of Dean clearly being open to talking about Sam's problems, whereas Sam is very much keeping tight lipped about all of this.

We find out they are in Toledo, Ohio.

The coroner is being very difficult in helping out the boys, who say they are students getting information for their paper. He is taking an attitude with Dean and not giving them any help. At one point he throws Deans words back in his face and Dean says to Sam that he is 'going to hit him in his face, I swear'. Dean isn't always very good with people trying to hold up their hunt and especially with men talking down to him, sometimes he turns it flirtatious in some way, but in this case the guy is closer to their age and he just gets annoyed... which, fair enough, the guy is a pain.

They end up having to pay this guy to show them the body, with Sam using Deans 'earned' money to do so. Dean gets an attitude about this because Sam didn't earn the money, Dean did, but Sam clearly sees money won 'in a poker game' as unearned or of less personal value.

Sam has a low opinion of the hunter lifestyle which we have already seen, and with his lower opinion of it comes a condescension towards Dean and how he gets them money. The show makes it seem like Dean is the one who gets the money for them, and Dean seemed genuinely annoyed that Sam gave it away.

There are headcanons all over the place for how far Dean has had to go to get money, one of which Jensen has helped put into the universe. I generally believe that it wouldn't be a stretch for Dean to have had to resort to some unsafe methods to make sure the family had money when John would go off and hunt and leave the boys alone, but I think that by s1 he is only hustling pool and using credit card scams and not having to resort to any other means. Later in the season the family's blasé attitude towards Deans lack of care for his person and the normality of Dean using himself as bait shows that they likely dont know how much danger his face and beauty could get him into.

The boys go to the house from the cold open, and we see that the younger sister blames herself and Bloody Mary for the father's passing. Dean reassures her 'he didn't say Bloody Mary, did he?'

They go on a wander round the house to see the crime scene, and there is a slightly funny moment where Sam doesn't want to say Bloody Mary in the bathroom.

They are caught by the sister's friend and Sam pulls the all emotional and caring card so that she doesn't call them out on snooping.

We get a short exposition scene of Sam explaining all about the lore of Bloody Mary and we see that they are in the library and the computers are out of order.

Jill is on the phone to Charlie, and decides to say Bloody Mary in the mirror... like an idiot. She says it and then screams to freak out Charlie, but after she hangs up and is getting changed we see Mary in the mirror in another very well done creepy scene.

Jill sees herself in the mirror and her reflection isn't copying her movements, which is scary. The reflection says 'you did it, you killed that boy' all the while her eyes are bleeding... again creepy. Jill then dies.

We get Sam having the same dream as before - the blue one - and Dean sitting across the room. Sam wants to know why Dean let him fall asleep and Dean says it's because he's 'an awesome brother'.

Charlie calls the boys about Jills death. They break into Jills room to see if they can find anything and Charlie is now 100% on side with the boys.

We find out that potentially Jill killed an 8 year old boy with her car - she did kill him, its just the friend only said it was Jill's car. His name was written on the back of the mirror.

We get another name on the back of the other mirror. We discover that she is Donna's mom, and by linking back, the assumption is that Donna's dad killed her mom.

We get some exposition about mirrors revealing secrets - which might be important later in the episode - and about who Bloody Mary is, and the boys go and see the old detective who dealt with Marys murder case.

The old detective states that 'Mary spent her last living moments trying to expose this guys secrets' which fair enough, I respect that. The mirror that was there when she died was returned to the family and the boys go and find out who has that mirror.

Meanwhile Donna and Charlie are in the bathroom and Donna is an idiot and says Bloody Mary 3 times in the mirror because she doesn't believe. Even if I didn't believe which tbh I don't, I wouldn't say it in the mirror if others had died, I'm not an idiot.

The boys are in the car talking about mirrors again, when Charlie phones, they get her to their motel, and Charlie starts to explain what happened.

But Dean very quickly explains that he means that she needs to explain her secret. Charlie explains that she had a loving but scary boyfriend, and they got in a fight, and he said that if she left, he would kill himself and she left and he did. The fact that the show paints this as Charlie believing that she is at fault is incredibly annoying, because he was being manipulative and it's not on her to stay with that.

Thankfully in the next scene, Dean says exactly that. But 'spirits don't exactly see in shades of grey' which is a great line.

Sam offers to summon Mary because just smashing the mirror isn't enough. He is very certain about Mary coming after him.

After this statement, Dean breaks about the Jess issue. He says that he's tired of Sam blaming himself, that it isn't his fault that the 'thing' got Jess. He says the nightmares are gong to kill Sam. He says it wasn't Sam's fault

He offers to let Sam take a swing at him if it'll make him feel better because Dean 'dragged him away from her'. Dean is big on allowing people to blame him for things that aren't his fault, and Dean clearly feels some sort of blame for Jess as he brought up Sam swinging at him very quickly.

I know keeping secrets is part of the Winchester brothers life story, but this whole 'I have a secret, and I'm going to tell you I have a secret, but I wont tell you what the secret is' thing is maddening. Sam is keeping secrets that he doesn't have to keep and believing that he has this more important journey to be on, but isn't letting Dean in on what the journey is or what the secret is.

Anyway... Sam summons Bloody Mary, and chaos happens.

We see the boys breaking mirrors, and then Dean has to go out and deal with the police and by deal, I mean that he tries to talk to them and instead knocks them out. All the while Sam is seeing evil reflection Sam, and we learn that Sam was dreaming of Jess's death for days before it happened and that he blames himself for ignoring them and trying to be 'normal'.

Mary then climbs out the mirror like a scary lady and is holding the boys down with power.

But never fear... Dean holds up a mirror and shows Mary her reflection in the mirror and Mary is vanquished.

The mirrors all broken should have given us an inclination of how unlucky the boys would be in life.

Sam tells Charlie she should forgive herself for her boyfriend's death, good advice, and Dean says that Sam should follow his own advice.

Dean asks again what Sam's secret is and instead of using this perfect opportunity to tell Dean, Sam doesn't. Again... maddening.

[softsophos]

Peer Review Time! Let's rate episodes my friend gave 5 Stars when they watched for the first time

[hettolandija]

As a standalone episode the pilot of The Winchesters is a mediocre one and reminds me why, I don't usually watch The CW shows. The end of the episode leaves the audience with some unanswered things, so I guess I will watch the next ones to see if the show will deliver some answers. Maybe then the whole thing will be more interesting.

[mismatchedwonders]

I love that even though it was a campy underproduced and (probably) underfunded show, SPN gave us some genuinely GREAT actors.

Like, just look down the list:

Jensen is INVOLVED and CAPTIVATING

Misha is VERSATILE and EMOTIONAL

Jared

Jim is SERIOUS and COMFORTING

Jake is ENERGETIC and ENTERTAINING

JDM is MULTIFACETED and REALISTIC

Ruth is CHARISMATIC and DELIGHTFULLY WICKED

Richard is FUNNY and FLEXIBLE

Rob is INTERESTING and LIKEABLE

Alex is BELIEVABLE and GENUINE

Mark is CONFIDENT and FASCINATING

Samantha is SWEET and GROUNDED

Sebastian is SNARKY and FUN

Mark (P) is SCARY and SYMPATHETIC

Rachel is COOL and PASSIONATE

+a whole lot of others that I can’t remember + a hell of a lot of the guest cast also did sooo good. Just wanted to take a second to celebrate the performances people turned in for the Yeehaw Brothers in the Muscle Car show

Edit since I’m already seeing shit about it: I don’t have replies on bc I never had them on to begin with. In case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t posted on here nearly at all since I got this blog, I don’t care that much about it. This is simply a place where I go to talk into the void so my thoughts aren’t constantly in my brain.

Also, regarding Jared, I have my own complicated feelings about him as a person, especially considering that he’s done a lot of scummy shit and brushed off that behavior with “uwu I have mental health issues” which, yes I can sympathize with since that is an AWFUL thing to struggle with (and I’m in a similar boat when it comes to shit like depression) but that’s not an excuse to behave how he does.

Also, no one else from the show has been able to find work? Lmao fucking where are you getting that? Almost everyone from SPN has acted in at least one other thing since it finished airing, and even some THIS YEAR, whereas Jared has only acted in ONE SHOW that he produced and got created for HIMSELF, and even then it was canceled (bc it wasn’t that well-reviewed by anyone, even by wipe who like the guy).

I don’t categorically hate ALL of his acting, there are a few episodes where he is genuinely good. But he just progressively got worse and worse over the series. And as for the “steady acting career” before SPN, sure, if you count roles in D-list mediocre movies as steady work. And in a lot of those, his acting isn’t much different.

And I know for a fact that people will say stuff like “well if he’s so untalented/unpleasant, why was he kept on? Why does he have work?” Well, see above, and there are plenty of fundamentally untalented actors that continue to get work bc they’re conventionally attractive

So yeah, just a bit of clarification

Have a lovely day 😘❤️

[assiraphales]

I still think it’s funny that the possibilities for how supernatural ended were endless like they could have made it as weird or unexpected as possible. when dean dies of rusty nail injury he wakes up from a coma circa “in my time of dying”. there’s a cut to chuck reading bad reviews on his final spn book. sam had a bad dream. the entire series gets rewound to the first episode and the voiceover is like “let’s try this again”. and YET writers were like “lmao no we got this”

[hexedwinchester]

Supernatural S01E01 Woman in White

I'm re-running SPN for the nth number of time.. thinking of doing some reviews.. see if I pick up something I missed.. might not do it for all episodes..

The limited interaction and lack of warmth between John and Mary indicate trouble in paradise. He he slept on the couch.

The ominous music is so beautiful. Talking about the creepy nursery music when Azazel visits Sam's nursery. Later seasons played only sad music.

Mary notices the Supernatural signs: flickering of lights, static in baby monitor. Of course we later find out she comes from hunting background.

Sam did have one picture of John and Mary. Awww

Sam + Jess ❤️ she encourages him to get out and go to social things like Halloween but she is respectful about him not wanting to dress up. When it's shown that Sam didn't tell his family about his scholarship, she looks visibly sad, so she is somewhat aware of his strained relationship with his family. The next moment she tells him she's proud of him as if she knows he won't hear those words from his family

Why is Dean being weird: breaking in, flirting with Sam's gf? Yes Dean, despite your judgements, Sam is capable of finding a beautiful and sweet girl like Jessica. You know why? Because Sam is a kind, sweet guy

Sam is reluctant to go on the hunt but agrees when Dean tells him he doesn't want to do this alone. Aww Sam.

Sam stepping on Dean's foot because Dean was being rude to the police. Lol 🤣

Sam's loss of bodily autonomy starts with the very first episode and I'm even not even talking about the blood because that isn't revealed until later. I mean when Sam tells Constance that she can't kill him because he has never been unfaithful and guess what she does next! she forces herself on him?! WTF! Sam wasn't unfaithful, she forces and tricks him into being that. Just like others later on.

Didn't realise, that the Impala's seat folds back.

The "I'm taking you home" was way more sexier than intended

[sam-winchester-admiration-league]

Review of first season of Walker: A Journey of Self and Family

4:30 Discuss typecasting and all eyes were on Jared to see if he can make a post-SPN career work and the answer is "yes!". "It was really good season of television."

8:00 Praises Jared for creating two distinct characters from each other, Sam Winchesters and Cordell Walker, and leading an amazing cast. Calls the show an "enjoyable ride".

18:10 Discuss how Cordell's psyche was affected by his own mismanagement of his grief and then going undercover for months where he had to be a new person.

24:05 Discuss the extra 5 episodes that surprisingly organically worked, especially considering it was neither like the 1st or 2nd season.

The last half discuss the ensemble cast: "Hoyt is our boy" in a stripper costume. Geri is sus. Poor Micki and her mother issue. Relates to August during his idiot teenage phase. Rebellious Stella just wants her dad home.

54:55 "Cordell has so much on his plate trying to keep everyone together. At the end of the day, Cordell was trying a lot and that's where the point of credibility comes into play. 'Jared sold the role very well'. Cordell is not the one to give orders, he receives orders even though he has a rebellious side. That makes him a much more engaging, fun character to see week to week."

57:50 "I really, really enjoy Walker. The creative team and Jared Padalecki knew what they were doing with this interpretation. It was not a CW Walker, it was Walker on the CW. You can see what they were doing, but at the same time it keeps you surprised on what they were able to do and what they wanted to do in every given moment on the show."

[sunflowerchester]

Vic (@peanutbutterandbananasandwichs) returns to cover S1E6 & 7, Skin and Hook Man. We do some shockingly emotional Dean character analysis, so grab your tissues. Don't forget to like, rate & review, and subscribe/follow us on whatever platforms you listen to the podcast. It really helps out! Check out this week's visuals on Instagram including our ratings for these 2 season 1 episodes. 

Correction: Vic said the Robbie Duncan McNeil didn't come back to direct spn again but she has just remembered that he DID eventually come back and directed S8:E21 -The Great Escapist. 

Episode Resources:

The Cult of John Winchester by @optimisam

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[softsophos]

Peer Review Time! Let's rate episodes my friend gave 5 Stars when they watched for the first time

[lemotmo]

Just read your review for the finale and I so agree with you, that was not how you do a season finale

Everyone says that it's because the season was only 10 ep so it was rushed, but when you know you will have so little time why try to jungle so many stories and risk doing justice to none

I only like 2 things about this episode happy mara and all the buddie chris interaction

The pacing was so bad that made the acting look bad - ryan was the only one who really had any work to do

I am not a fan of having gerrad back but maybe whatever they have planned with him will work out - I saw people saying him back is a way to have tommy more involved next season, flesh him out and I hope that is not the case, I don't need more of him they should have used the scenes he was in this season instead of wasting them

I know the writers don't base their decisons on what fans want, but it kind feels that the reason b/t is still together is a combination of a short season and of how well it was received and how loud their fans are (though not unheard of, off the top of my head misha collins stayed on spn because of how much people liked him - not that you can compare them, castiel is an amazing character, t*ommy not so much)

b/t have 1 min of screentime and almost as many posts on here as buddie does - makes me feel like am am failing in supporting buddie as a fan

I am glad to know you are not giving up on them and love to hear if you have any theories about how they can come together in s8

Thank you!!🌞

Hey Nonny! I hear you loud and clear! I agree so much!

BT having so much posts mainly has to do with the newness of it all I think. I've also seen a lot of more negative posts about BT in the BT tag, so the tag is also used to criticise the BT relationship. So that might give it a bit more nuance.

The same thing is going on on Twitter. I checked out 'bucktommy' tag which was trending and most of the posts there were people being offended and disappointed in the BT storyline. So, I think we're good there.

Don't feel like you're failing at anything. This isn't a matter of winning or failing. It's fandom. It is what it has always been: fickle and fleeting. :)

Gerrard being back is not so much about Tommy as he doesn't work at the 118. But it was all about Tommy once again being used as a plot device to 'remind' us of Gerrard and his bigoted ways. It was a big shiny beacon of light shining on the fact that Gerrard was coming back to create havoc.

Fleshing out Tommy doesn't make sense with all the main characters and their storylines they already have going on. But if they decide to go that way, I still fully believe we'll start seeing how incompatible Buck and Tommy really are. Throw Buck's connection with Eddie into the mix and the show has all the ingredients for juicy relationship drama. Would I like a storyline like this? No, not one single bit.

But this is a drama show, so it could happen. Ultimately, I always see Buddie come out on top. Everything the show has shown us up to the season 7 finale, was always about how deeply connected Buck and Eddie are. They aren't going to chance hurting one of the most beloved core relationships on 911 to fit in this forced relationship between Buck and Tommy.

And... Nope not giving up on them! I've been here for 6 years, never hoping for cannon at all, but now the opportunity and good-will is there. It's there in the show and it's there in the interviews. Ryan and Oliver are all for it. So, yeah... I'm sat for season 8.

[lol-jackles]

Hi. Your blog is still on alarm on my dash. Really enjoying your opinions.

If your time allows you, I’d like to know your opinion & reviews on SPN 9X13.

"The Purge" has Sam and Dean go undercover in a health spa after finding a link to deaths where the victims have lost their entire fat reserve. They discover the owners are a pair of Peruvian monsters, a sister and brother who parallel Sam and Dean; the sister wants to co-exist with humans and help them by siphoning off surplus unwanted fat for food, the other only want to feed and more he tries his sister's way, the hungrier he got until he succumbs to his nature and kills for food. This foreshadow Dean's struggle to live with the Mark of Cain until he couldn't, increasingly becoming "hungry" as the season went on. Sam have lived and adapted with his freakish, "unclean" nature for so long that he is fully functional even if he never makes peace with it.

One of the strengths of Supernatural is their stand-alone/MotW/filler episodes usually advance the season-long arcs and even get referenced or talked about in later episodes. Despite Sam and Dean’s church codependent commitment ceremony in season 8's finale, they still got baggage and hence Dean lying about the extreme, desperate measures he took to save Sam’s life in season 9's premiere and keeping him in the dark.  Once Sam found out, he is angry and bewildered by Dean’s actions that he sees as betrayal, and draws up boundaries as a way of saving his relationship with Dean. But from Dean’s pov the new boundaries were walls set to destroy what is between him and Sam. So Dean conflated saving Sam from the Peruvian monster in this episode to saving Sam in those 2 previous episodes in attempt to remove the wall between them that Sam set up.

Remember, Dean isn't going to learn the same lesson each season, which is why he made Sam's anger over the Gadreel possession about his (Dean) own issue and left Sam alone (with Cas in the bunker) to hunt down Gadreel... only to run into Cain got the Mark to, huh, kill Abaddon instead for some reason.

Understandably Sam is frustrated as the 3 incidents were not the same: in the church, Dean told Sam the truth that the ritual will cause his death and promised Sam not only will they find another way, that he would never put some one else before Sam. Dean wasn't hiding information from Sam. Dean saving Sam from the Peruvian monster was a straightforward action, no underhanded agenda. So Sam told Dean the unvarnished truth: Dean didn't want to be alone. This gets brought up again by Billie in season 11's "Red Meat", and in season 13','s "Advanced Thanatology" Dean tells Billie that he's dragging down Sam.

Sam's admission that he wouldn't save Dean under "same circumstances" means he wouldn't selfishly save Dean for personal gains, or without vital information. Back in season 3 he first sought Dean’s agreement to use the immortality serum instead of giving it to him without informing him ahead of time. Sam was ready to die in the hospital (season 9 premiere) and Dean essentially violated a do-not-resuscitate order (DNR). Nobody can really blame Dean for wanting to save Sam's life at any cost, but he fails to see things from Sam's pov that led to him needing boundaries in the first place.

I found the scene of Dean immediately recognizing roofies pretty on-the-nose. He said he didn't want to end up missing kidneys while traveling in little known places, which, yeah good idea, so why didn't Sam know what roofies look like? I took it as callback to when Sam didn't know he was being possessed by Gadreel under Dean's watch.

"The Purge" was one of the weaker MotW episodes but it still gets the job done of advancing the main storyline arcs. It started out as a lighter filler episode and ended with a "truth hurts" bite that leaves a deeply wounding mark that set off a fierce fandom debate.

[spnfanficpond]

Weekly Pond Newsletter

There may not be a newsletter next week, so keep an eye on our calendar (links at the bottom) for anything that comes up! To ask forgiveness for missing a week, have a nice Jensen gif:

Old Business:

Fic Highlight - We did another fic highlight! It's a Destiel Russian mob AU that both fluffy and bloody as hell. Click here for our review!

SPN Rewatch: Fanfic Edition - We had a great chat yesterday about the episodes 2.05 Simon Said and 2.06 No Exit! Click here to access the Archive and read what we discussed in the episode docs!

Last week's #TweetFicTues prompts were -

New Business:

Fishing For Treasures - Next weekend is FFT weekend at the @fanficocean! May's theme is Pairings (especially Rarepairs)! Be sure to head over there next weekend and see what wild and wonderful rare pairings people have come up with outside of the SPN fandom!

Sun Spin Stageit - Next weekend Michae Rosenbaum and his partner in music will be performing for a virtual audience on Friday at 8pm EDT. Click here for info and to buy tickets!

Question for YOU - We are considering starting up something akin to the Angel Fish Awards, but where writers tell us about awesome comments they've received on their fics! Admin Michelle spent some time during her chat yesterday bandying about different names, but didn't come up with anything that really spoke to her. Angel Turtle Awards? Ninja Angel Turtle Awards? Raphael Awards? (Because, you know, he was a TMNT and an archangel.) What do you guys think? Let us know in replies and reblogs!

(Divider by @glygriffe!)

That's all for this week! To see all Pond events, and also other SPN-related things like conventions and online concerts, check out our Google calendar! Click here for a static view in Eastern US/Canada time (desktop only, no mobile app access, sadly), and click here to add our calendar to your own Google calendar! We try to keep it as up-to-date as possible. If there's something you want to see on the calendar that's not there (maybe a convention we missed, cast birthdays, or something similar), send us an ASK and let us know!

Hope you have a great week! - From your Admins and Manta Rays, @manawhaat, @mrswhozeewhatsis, @mariekoukie6661, @thoughtslikeaminefield, and @heavenssexiestangel!

[sharkfish]

i've seen some people express concern that the spn/destiel fandom is dying out. i've had that feeling myself! but SO MANY cool projects have started (or continued), even two years after the finale, and i want to highlight some of them for you!

(sorry for so many links in replies. trying to make sure this post shows up in the tags. stay cool, tumblr.)

@amoreprofoundcon is a fanworks & creators-focused destiel convention (via zoom!) created by fans. the first con was back in march 2022, with a second scheduled for the destiel holiday weekend (nov 5-6)!!

@mixtapebookclub is a podcast focused on destiel fanfiction, featuring a different topic and author each episode!!

the destiel fan favs survey is still going strong (link to the ao3 collection in the replies) and you can find more info at @destielficarchive!! the ao3 collection currently includes 2782 works, submitted by fans over the five years the survey has run.

@destieltropecollection also does a yearly survey where writers can submit their own works that fit a list of various tropes. i love to see writers reccing their own stories!!!

the profound bond discord server (@profoundnet & link to discord in replies) has a gazillion members and is still hoppin'. the tumblr also reblogs members' stories, art, and other creations.

suptober is a fanworks celebration put together by @winchester-reload every october!! you can find this year's contributions in the #suptober22 tag. (suptober is not destiel-specific so you'll find a lot of other great spn art there too.)

tons of challenges and bangs still going strong! there are way too many for me to list here, but profoundnet has a long list on their wiki (link in replies).

@profoundbondfanfic brings you recs and reviews of a new fic every day!! just in case you're having trouble narrowing down over 100,000 fics. cheers to 100k more!!

@makingitupaswegopod is an anthology of destiel podfics! it doesn't look like this tumblr is being updated with each episode, but you can find the podfics embedded in ao3 works or on your favorite podcast platform.

but really, the BIGGEST thing still happening in the destiel fandom—the MOST IMPORTANT thing—is YOU. every artist, writer, reblogger, edit & gif maker, meta analyst, lurker, rec list curator, and friend is a vital part of this community!! <3

if you know of any other cool projects that should be listed here, please reply/reblog/dm and i will add it! would also love to see anyone with an active spn blog in the replies/reblogs so more folks can find each other!!

[twobluecows]

Supernatural “Heart of the Dragon” by Keith R.A. DeCandido

This is the second installment of my reviews of the Supernatural novel series, here is the first.

"Heart of the Dragon" is the fourth book in the series, and takes place shortly after season fives episode Changing Channels. (there is a historians note in the beginning of the book.)

Rating: 3/5 (getting better!)

This story follows another ghost murder cycle, this time it is every 20 years and takes place in Chinatown, San Francisco. We follow Sam and Dean in 2009, John in 1989, and Samuel, Deanna, and Mary Campbell in 1969 as everyone tries to get rid of the ghost and demon on the same hunt.

First things first, this book has some insanely racist shit through (mainly) the first third of the book, and it nearly pushed me to DNF when I first began. The author consistently uses dated slurs for Chinese and Japanese Americans throughout making the story overall plain awful and difficult to read. This book is well written and interesting in other respects, and it is great in regards to it being a story about Supernatural. If you’re going to read it be careful and know what you’re getting into. That all being said, it is impossible to ignore the racist bullshit so I’m docking two points.

Other than that, this story caught me off guard with how well it handled the Campbells and John's perspectives. In the main SPN canon we don't know much about Deanna, other than she was just kind of there, in this story she is fleshed out more and is really a badass. Samuel and John are paralleled a lot between their two perspectives, both being generally bad fathers who raised their children in constant danger. In the 1989 sections we also get a glimpse of Bobby caring for a young Dean and Sam, which made me very teary-eyed. Oh, and bonus points for Cas appearances, while they were few and far between I enjoyed them.

Overall this story was a great dive into characters we didn't see much of in the main series, and an expansion of what we already knew about John's A+ parenting. If you decide to read this book precede with caution, as mentioned before it comes with a heaping of racist BS in the beginning.

Here are some quotes from the story that I want to highlight:

2 books done. . . 15 more to go. . . (Btw I’m on spring break so I have been doing nothing but reading and petting my dog, so on to the next one!)

Oh, and Shortie tried to eat this one too.