Supernatural Season 9 - Home Base

[colls]

- gif credit
- spoilers contained below
- criticism of show/characters welcome, but please don't be an asshat (ie. no character/actor bashing, no ship wars)
- general thread

- 9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here
- 9.02 Devil May Care
- 9.03 I'm No Angel
- 9.04 Slumber Party
- 9.05 Dog Dean Afternoon
- 9.06 Heaven Can't Wait
- 9.07 Bad Boys
- 9.08 Rock and a Hard Place
- 9.09 Holy Terror
- 9.10 Road Trip
- 9.11 First Born
- 9.12 Sharp Teeth
- 9.13 The Purge

Coming up:
- Feb. 25 - Captives

Enjoy the show!!! ♥

Comments

Re: 9x11 First Born

[laisserais]

I really liked this ep. I liked that Dean kicked some ass. It feels like he hasn't been doing that much lately. And it was interesting to see a comparison between Sam and Cas' relative positions regarding regret and redemption.

Also: that parallel begs the question of the parallel between Dean and Cain. I feel like while they both sacrifice for their brothers, the similarities aren't strong enough to support the notion of Dean being a notorious bad guy. Are they? I mean, they're both notorious among demons, so there's that.

Also: I am getting antsy for ABADDONNNNNN

Re: 9x11 First Born

[kate]

Actually, think about it - Dean was wanted by the police, the FBI... in history, he'd likely go down as a notorious criminal, and no one would know the truth about what he'd done. I think it's an exceptionally apt comparison (though they've pretty much let that Dean die and let Dean wander around like he doesn't have a care in the world).

Re: 9x11 First Born

[laisserais]

Right? I mean, I guess it's about POV. From everyone's POV, Cain is a bad guy, but maybe that's just bad press.

OTOH: uh, Collette, OG Manic Pixie Dream Girl? Eh, I'm really over the whole 'a lady made me see the error of my ways' thing. It would've been better if Cain's reasoning for giving up violence was predicated on something more profound.

Re: 9x11 First Born

[kate]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh that makes me smile. SO MUCH. Because so many would say "but isn't love the most profound thing ever?!!"

Which, yeah... romantic love is just... not my thing? Especially as a plot point. (Which is hilarious considering how much romantic drivel I write.) But anyway, yes, I would've liked to see it be thoughtfulness, logic, whatever.

Re: 9x11 First Born

[laisserais]

Ha! Whoops, I guess I showed my true stripes there. I saw Her this weekend, and found myself empathizing with the computer. Later I realized that that was probably the wrong message to take away from the film. ;)

Re: 9x11 First Born

[kate]

Heh! It's all good. I like romantic love (for other people? which is hilarious because people often say that my wife and I are that annoying super-happy couple, which is true, but... la la la, this is a strange and long story, so perhaps not for here) but I prefer redemption to be because of self-examination, not the love of a good person.

I do like unconditional love, though, which is why, when Dean is all stupid about Sam, it redeems him for me. Dean is not my favorite character by a long shot, but his love for his brother means a lot to me.

Re: 9x11 First Born

[laisserais]

yeah, exactly: as a motivator for behavior, love (especially 'romantic') feels relatively flimsy. It's a great thing, but its valence does not stretch to include changing someone's fundamental nature. (imo)

Re: 9x11 First Born

[kate]

Yeah, I'm not sure whether or not I think it does. I... well. The people I've seen IRL who have long-lasting relationships are not necessarily those who had great romances. But there are people who seem to have that? And who have been changed in some way or another by the person they love (or changed themselves for the person they love?). And I think as a couple spends time together, they do shift and change around each other, though I don't know that that is a fundamental change in their nature.

I don't know. Now I want to think about this and write a story about it. I don't know what story, yet, but this has definitely got me thinking.

Hilariously, I tripped and watched that Kevin Bacon show last night, and the serial murderer from last season was hiding out in a place in the sticks, the love of a woman and her daughter keeping him from... killing? I guess? It's all a little fuzzy as this is the only thing I've seen. But anyway - at the end of the ep, he killed someone and now it looks like the next ep is him saying "I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack" which makes me laugh in light of your comment.

Re: 9x11 First Born

[laisserais]

Oh! I definitely vote for a story that meditates on the nature of love and its power to affect change!

I mean, I'm sure there are examples out there, but nothing can be as satisfactory irl as pointing to a fictional character like Cain and saying, "yes, I see, his behavior before nailing the Civil War lady was bad, but after it was good." I'm sure I'm just a pessimist, but I feel like any example irl I've witnessed of someone stopping a dispreferred behavior because a loved one requested it has ended up in resentment and relapse.

For sure, people change in relationships, and the lucky ones change to fit their partner at the same rate, but like, if we took the analogy of murdering demons and applied it to real life, what would that be? Let's say...going to Las Vegas and getting lap dances. If my partner asked me to give up lap dances because love, I'd probably say ok for a while. But then you know she'd get tired of giving me lap dances at home, and I'd get restless and the next thing you know: showgirls here I come.

But that's just romantic love. I hear what you're saying about unconditional, family love. That's an entirely different ball of wax.

Oh, that Kevin Bacon show! When it first aired, I was excited, but when I could start predicting lines--word for word--I felt like I had to give it a pass. Of the two shows that started last season and dealt with charismatic cult leaders, why did that one survive?