Subscribe
Previous Post
After last night’s episode of Supernatural, Free to Be You and Me, Castiel’s faith in the Lord is shaken as is my faith in the series as a whole. I wasn’t thrilled with the season opener, loved last week’s, am anxiously looking forward to next week but last night left me cold.
The entire episode felt disjointed and their usual rhythm was gone. I know many of you will say it was because the brothers weren’t together but I don’t think that’s the case. We’ve had other episodes with parallel storylines that worked, but this one didn’t.
For parallel stories to work, there has to be a common thread or theme between them and I didn’t see that here. I also found the jumps between them to be jarring so neither side flowed. Part of the problem was that they were trying to compress what I’m assuming was weeks into a under an hour.
SAM STANDS ALONE
On Sam’s side we have him working in a bar. He’s burned all of his fake IDs and he’s determined to make a new life for himself as Keith (did anyone else think DeCandido?). He makes friends with the waitress at the bar and then something happened that I didn’t see. The CW feed cut out for several minutes but I assume there was a hail storm or some other demonic sign that freaked Sam out. He calls in hunters to help (bad move) and they end up ratting him out, force demon blood down his throat, and threaten to kill his new gal pal. The overall plot here was a good one but having it crammed into under 20 minutes made it tough. I would have liked to see Sam more settled, happier, really thinking he’s made the break before it all comes tumbling down around him. They should have stretched his story over two episodes at least.
As for the bedroom scenes, well, I was looking forward to the return of Jess but I don’t think they made the most of it. Two small annoyances, the full conversation while they were both propped up on their elbows made me crazy. And why does Sam start out with his shirt OFF then end up with it ON after he’s. . . what. . . had sex with hallucination Jess? It’s weird enough that he kissed her and then she turned into he. That’s where I really get confused. Lucifer says he can’t find Sam. If he can’t find him then how can he be there in the form of Nick?
So we end with more of Sam fearing that once again he’s going to turn darkside and bring about the end of the world. Well folks, that was kind of a given since day one. I always assumed Sam would be the anti-Christ and Dean the savior who has to fight him in the end. It’s age old mythology and storytelling. I just wish Sam had something else to do other than hang his head and furrow his brow. Sam fans, I’m about to agree with you here, I think Jared needs some new beats to play. This, hang dog, I’m to blame bit has worn out its welcome and it’s only episode three.
CASTIEL & DEAN
Sadly, I didn’t like this side of the story any better than Sam’s side. There were too many holes, too many things that didn’t make sense. Castiel wants to hunt down Raphael, trap him and force him to tell them where God is. He says that he won’t survive the attack (so what’s the point?) but Dean will because Raphael won’t dare hurt Micheal’s preferred vessel. Since it might be Castiel’s last night on the planet, Dean decides to take him out to a whorehouse because that’s Dean’s comfort zone — booze and broads.
First, I can’t wrap my brain around the idea of an angel who has had sex. Castiel’s body (aka Jimmy) has had sex. So does that mean the living being that Castiel was before he died and ascended never did? Aren’t angels supposed to be virginal? Okay, so they did it for the laugh, but there weren’t any. The dialouge, the set up, it simply wasn’t funny and the Supernatural writers know how to do funny (Mystery Spot, Tall Tales). The jokes fell flat and when Dean tumbled out of the whorehouse saying he’d never laughed so hard. . . huh? He wasn’t laughing when we last saw him. He was chastising Castiel and running from a beating. I’m lost.
Actually, quite a few of Dean’s lines fell flat last night including everything in the scenes with Raphael. The Chinese basket trick, the “what he said” retort; Jensen’s better than this, so I don’t know what was up.
The one highlight in the middle of this muddled mess was the scene in the Impala with Dean trying to convince himself that he’s happier without Sam. It’s not true, people. Everything he said about how he’s never been better is a lie. He’s lonely, that’s why he’s talking about dad. That’s why he looks longingly at the passenger seat when Castiel disappears. For his own sanity, Dean is trying to convince himself that he’s better off. He’s not and he knows it. He isn’t going to stop worrying about Sam just because he’s not sitting beside him. And after next week, Dean is going to realize that if he’s going to change the future, he needs to keep Sam within arms reach until the end of days — which could come sooner than expected.
Free to Be You and Me goes to the bottom of the list but I’m expecting next week to be in the top five. Here’s hoping.
Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW ©2009 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Elaine – I fail to see where you’ve showcased anything. I NEVER said anyone wasn’t entitled to their opinion, or that their opinion was less valuable than my own. My point, and it must have been made in at least a marginally understandable way since other people understood it, was that the divide between the response to Sam’s words, and the response to Dean’s words, was disturbing and frustrating. But I’m through trying to explain myself to you. We don’t agree, and most likely never will. Agree to disagree, that’s all we can do.
Let’s say everyone have his favorite and that’s is okay , it’s more than okay , it is good ! Everyone defend his character and it’s the way it’s supposed to be . I’m blew away by all these differents point of views
Kripke have to tell a story , he’s doing a fine job -for me- so far and everyone is not pleased , but never no one is
Free to be you and me , worked for me too but I admit the writing was a little weird ! After a second viewing it’s better
Nice point of view Cynthia . Life is so cruel sometimes … And you can’t do nothing about it
Jen – i read your post where you clearly take issues with the fandom’s response to Dean’s words… where was this stringent defense of ppl’s rights to their opinions in that post. That was the one that made me respond to you simply to try to showcase that just b/c i didnt see your “an harsh, cruel, and unloving” tone doesnt mean i wasnt without merit as well!
i dont know about you but i cant wait to see how this conflict between the brothers gets resolved b/c in the end their family and thats all that matters!
Elaine – Clearly you and I are going to have to agree to disagree. I have just as much right to disapprove of what Dean said and how he said it as you have to approve of it. Tone is opinion based, but since I was not the only one who heard it that way, apparently that tone didn’t work for others as well. You’re not the only one who saw it your way, so clearly that tone worked for other people too. Like I said, agree to disagree.
That’s true, Dean did call to apologize for his words. Sam never got that apology though, and what he got was more damaging than what Dean originally said. Obviously that’s not Dean’s fault, but since Dean won’t even allow Sam to talk about things, how are they ever going to find out about the way they were played on that? They won’t. Also, if you’ll go back and actually read what I wrote, I said that Dean’s TONE was harsh, cruel, and unloving. Not Dean himself.
your right Jen it does come down to tone and even more importantly is that the determination of tone is completely opinion based! so how can you say there is a double standard when that depends on whether you hear a harsh/unloving tone or a lost/sad tone like myself!
and secondly to your comment:
“If the “lying bastard” remark had come on the heels of the events of the past season and this current one, it might have come across differently too.”
I agree the events of the seasons need to be considered… lets not forget that after almost being strangled to death with Sam’s bare hands this same “unloving/harsh/cruel” brother called Sam to apologize for his words spoken in angry.
DEAN LOVES SAM.
Elaine – No, I wasn’t. I’ll tell you why. The tone of that remark was totally different. That tone was irritated and exasperated and yes, a little angry. But it wasn’t harsh or cruel. The tone that Dean used to express his feelings in this episode was harsh, cruel and unloving. There’s also the context of the two remarks, which were totally different. If the “lying bastard” remark had come on the heels of the events of the past season and this current one, it might have come across differently too. But mostly it was down to tone, and the way that it came across to me. I realize that’s just an opinion, and that they vary from person to person. Plus, as I recall, Dean hasn’t used bastard in the same way he’s used SOB.
Jen- i have a question for you. were you as equally upset when Dean called Sam “a lying bastard” to his face way back in Season One’s Faith! this language choice is not new for Dean. I believe he has even used this term towards his father when describing how much he loved him. perhaps this wouldnt be the way you would describe a person you cared about ….but i think this show has set the precedent that it would be one Dean would used!
Cynthia – No, I get that part of it. It’s not that he wants to think he’s happy, that’s not the problem.
It was the venom in his tone, the way he said “ESPECIALLY without my brother” and the whole SOB remark. That wasn’t him trying to convince himself of anything. That was hateful, and there was no reason for it. And though what you’re saying makes sense, it still sounds like he’s laying the blame for his problems squarely at Sam’s feet.
And then there’s the issue of fandom’s response. As I said in my previous post, despite the fact that Sam has been thoroughly eviscerated for his words in the past, the overwhelming response of fandom to Dean’s cruel words has either been “Aw, but he didn’t mean it! He was trying to convince himself! Didn’t you see his little woobie face?” or “Hell yeah! About time Sam got what he deserved!” And as Ashley says above, she’s seen the same thing. So it’s not just me that has observed this response.
That annoys and alarms me for two reasons. First of all because that has to be one of the biggest double standards I’ve ever seen, and I do so hate double standards. Secondly because Kripke has such a tendency to pander to fandom’s whims, and if he gets it in his head that fandom likes Dean treating Sam like this, and saying things like that, we’ll get it shoved down our throats for the rest of the season.
Jen said “It blows my mind that, despite the royal riot act that Sam is STILL getting read for daring to say Dean was weak last season, and for the boo hoo remark that was made under the Siren’s influence, it’s apparently perfectly okay, nigh unto applauded, for Dean to call his brother an SOB and accuse Sam of being the reason he hasn’t been happy for years.”
I don’t see it this way at all. Dean talks about dad for the first time in a long time, right. I think he’s realizing that nothing has been the same since that moment in time. Before that Dean was happy hunting, drinking, sleeping around, on the road with dad – doing the guy thing- it was the life he knew and loved. When dad disappeared all of that changed. He gets Sam and after a little bit, Dean starts to feel in the groove again. Same song, different verse – it’s Sam instead of Dad in the car and life is good — but it isn’t. He never gets back to that “fun” place he was before this started and that’s where his “I haven’t had so much fun” is coming from. He desperately wants that old life back and I don’t think it’s about Sam or the demons or the Apocalypse or any of that. It’s just like the best friends, one gets married, has a kid and now it’s not the same. You can’t go back to that free wheeling, no responsibilities fun that you used to have together. It’s no one’s fault, it’s just sad.
Dean’s trying to convince himself that he’s okay with the fact that Dad is gone, his brother grew up and life is different. He’d feel the same way if he lived a normal life and Sam went off and got married – it’s a betrayal of the brotherly bond.
Hey Jen, I totally agree with your whole last paragraph. First, just to say, I LOVE DEAN and JENSEN! He’s talented and beautiful, and just so freakin perfect it’s scary, and even though I’m a Jared girl, I probably wouldn’t even watch the show if Jensen wasn’t in it, BUT, it really freakin irks me, when Sam says one little line, and all breaks loose; he’s shot down, he’s a horrible brother, no one can believe he dare say such a thing to the almighty Dean, but when Dean says something extremely hurtful like that (that actually makes me flinch, cuz it’s so harsh) people actually applaud and agree, saying Sam deserved it….I don’t get it…
The whole issue with Sam’s shirt comes down to, I believe, a deleted scene where he slept with Lindsay. I’m really glad they kept that scene out. It wouldn’t have worked for me personally, no matter how much fun it is to appreciate Jared with his shirt off.
Lucifer finding Sam, I think, boils down to a difference in a physical self and an…astral self? Something like that. I think it was a dream, and though the sigil hides Sam’s physical self, it doesn’t hide him in his dreams. I think there was a similar thing in 4.10, when Uriel finds Dean in a dream, but they can’t find them in real life. But I could be wrong about all of that.
This episode didn’t work for me either, Cynthia. Though there were things I liked (including Castiel holding the badge upside down, the whole interview with the cop thing, and the look of sheer terror on Castiel’s face in the brothel), it didn’t flow to me. The divide between Sam’s scenes and the Dean and Castiel scenes was too great, and so much of the Dean and Castiel stuff seemed fluffy and pointless, including the whole getting Castiel laid bit, which bothered me despite the obvious humor it was being played for. I also thought that several of Jensen’s line deliveries fell flat, but I was afraid to say so. I’m not sure what was up with that, since we’ve certainly seen him do more with less. He wasn’t even bad with this, just not up to his usual excellent standards.
I thought Jared did an excellent job in this one, even if he is only getting to play a scant handful of notes in Sam right now. The writers need to put the layers and nuance back into the characters. Their actors are more than capable of showing those layers, but even they can only do so much when the writing isn’t up to par.
The one scene you said worked for you is the one that almost made me turn off my TV. It blows my mind that, despite the royal riot act that Sam is STILL getting read for daring to say Dean was weak last season, and for the boo hoo remark that was made under the Siren’s influence, it’s apparently perfectly okay, nigh unto applauded, for Dean to call his brother an SOB and accuse Sam of being the reason he hasn’t been happy for years. No. Just, NO. Whether Dean meant it or not, it doesn’t excuse saying it. And I don’t know about anyone else, but I was raised to believe that insulting someone because they insulted or hurt you accomplished nothing more than to bring you down to their level.
I agree with nitewoman completely! I thought this episode was very powerful. Both brothers are going through their own pain in their own way. Dean is missing Sam like crazy but he has never been open and honest outwardly about his true emotions. I thought it was great to show the similarities Cas and Dean do share (missing their father/Father). They make a great team. Showing Cas’s innocence was great and I laughed so hard! Overall, I really enjoyed it! It’s only ep.3 and it is only building from here. Give it time to see how it will all work out with our 3 boys! I love this show (especially Cas and Dean!)
Does anyone know the name of the actress that played the waitress at the bar with Sam? She looks a lot like that Chloe girl from the last season of ER. The one that played Tony Gates’ daughter.
Loved this episode soooo much. I wasn’t a Cass fan when he was first introduced, but as last season moved on, I liked him more. I absolutely love him this season. (As well as feeling very sorry for him because he seems so lonely). But oh, dear gawd his facial expressions in the brothel. I guess no one’s seen a terrified angel before – this was new ground and he did it marvelously.
And sure, Jimmy’s body had had sex before, but the Cass has never done so. Remember Anna – she took a roll with Dean so yes, angels can enjoy the flesh too, but Cass hasn’t gotten around to it yet. I think that in this The End episode, we might see that resoved (if the preview was any indication – talk about moving from one extreme to the other….).
Love Cass!
Loving this season!
Oh btw, know what would *really* be messed up… Dean is supposed to be Michael’s Vessel. Sam is supposed to be Lucifer’s Vessel. What if papa Winchester showed up as the big man’s vessel….
Wow here too. Can’t believe you hated this one as much as you did. I have to disagree with most of your comments. I have loved this season so far. Ep 1 was a tad slow setting up what this season will be about and introducing Lucifer and how he’ll work to get what he wants from whomever. Love Ep 2 great to see old faces, just hope we see more of them. Ep3 – I loved this one. Yes there was a lot of stuff jammed into this one, but they did it quite well. I found the lines with Dean and Cas priceless. I had a belly laugh along with Dean in these places. Dean talking to Cas about knowing something about a missing father was the first time that Dean could help Cas deal with something he had no experience with, great scene. Dean looking at the empty passanger side well done by Jensen and no he is not alright and not happy at all. He just had a chance to let off some emotional stuff that has been consuming him. I do agree that it would have been better if the writers could have used 2 episodes for this topic, but I understand why that would be very difficult. I didn’t feel the episode was disjointed that much..it just showed how different each of the brothers are at this time and how far apart they are. They need this to realize that neither can do anything alone that they need each other to succeed. By the end, I felt Dean and Sam had done a 180 degree turn. Last season Dean had all the weight on his shoulders and it almost destroyed him, but there in lay his strenght that he would find by end of the season. Now it is Sam’s turn to have the weight on him and only then will he be able to make the responsible discussions and start to forgive himself and become a stronger brother for Dean and Sam to win this fight. I don’t know where this season is going, I can hope that it ends with the Winchester Brothers a demon fighting team, but regardless it’s going to be one hell of a ride. Can’t wait for next week.
OH! And I totally agree with Jared needing more lines. The hanging his head and furrowing his brow with the weight of the world on his shoulders? Yeah, it’s sad and cute, but getting a little old. Jared’s an amazing actor, and I think they need to change it up a little with him. Make him scream, get mad, go punch some random persons face in for gods sake, DO SOMETHING other than stand there looking like a kicked puppy. It’s so aggravating! And I agree with the last part too, Dean is SO not happy without Sam. Cas is funny and company, but he’s not little bro.
I kind of thought the writers did a good job putting an obvious amount of A LOT of hard work into under an hour. There will probably be lots of extra scenes on the DVD, but I thought they did a good job. I love the balance they kept. With the light hearted humour with Dean and Cas, and then the dark angst with Sam. I think the reasons behind Dean’s lines falling a little short (which were still funny in my opinion) was cuz it was Castiel we were supposed to be focusing on. It was Misha’s turn to shine. ;P I think all of it being a little off and weird was SUPPOSED to happen. Cuz they’re apart, it’s just not right, it feels awkward and weird, and I honestly think it was on purpose. Just giving us a taste at how BAD it would be if they split up for good. As for Sam sleeping with his shirt off the first time, I think it’s cuz he was uncomftorable and couldn’t sleep, he probably took it off cuz he was hot or something. Lucifer was appearing in a dream, cuz he couldn’t find Sam, and the Dean line “I’ve never laughed so hard.” He HAD been laughing, he was just finishing up, I’m guessing they can’t fit EVERY single detail into the little show. But that’s all your opinion up there, and you’re awesome for sharing and giving us what you think, it’s really cool hearing what’s going on in other people heads. ;)
It was a bit disjointed. Sam and Dean not being together is a bit disjointed.
Its taken us all aback and made us sit down and wonder, what is going to happen next? Where are they going to take this?
I did think it was witty. I have really enjoyed the first three episodes, and found them fresh.
Well Cynthia I loved so much this episode but thinking in so deep manner as you criticize these episode I would be agree with you. you watch it an a deep manner. with the critic eye. me? just as a normal gal. like or not like. but not in that perfect sense of critic as you did. but anyway. thanks for your thoughts :D
I think Raphael could be justified in what he is doing or not doing (letting demons overrun everything). God is gone and left control with the angels. Unless there is a mandate given by God to the angel, they can come up with reasons for destroying humanity. They are higher beings than humans and maybe they just want to be left alone. We don’t know how they think or what ends they want, so I think we should see how this season plays out before casting judgment. Full review of the episode.
http://th3tvobsessed.blogspot.com/2009/09/review-supernatural-season-5-episode-3.html