Buffy Thoughts... Season by Season

So... I've been listening to GAKS go through BtVS and it's been frustrating, entertaining, unnerving... and every time I write in: a little demeaning. And the pages... oh lordy the facebook pages dedicated to the fans of this podcast. I leave, I come back, I bait, I fight, I ignore, I roll my eyes. It is nothing like what I have in the Spuffy-corner of livejournal. It's all fangirly. And not even the good kind with giggling and swooning. The nasty, abrasive, "if you have a different opinion than me I will personally attack you until you stop talking" ... which is so icky and yucky and just makes me yell pirate-y growls at the computer screen. What happens more often than not is the "I don't like this... let's talk about the fact that we hate this" and I know, I know, that this is not an unusual conversation to happen in a fandom forum. But really guys? That's all that's really happening.
So ... the conversation came up: Why we Hate Season Four. And I was about to contribute... but then I was thinking about why I like the seasons that I like and why I dislike the seasons that I dislike. And then I remembered... I am an English Major. I love things for entirely different reasons than pure, emotional response. So here it is: My run-down of every season (with an emphasis on Buffy's arc)

Season One
This was my first completely owned and completely watched from beginning to end straight through season. And it was the only one I had for a good four years. So I watched it... way more than the average viewer watched the first season. So I love it. I totally love it. I love that each episode is a remake of a classic horror story brought to high school. I love that you can see, even early on, that Whedon has a weird fear of mothers and, actually... possibly, the very act of parenting all together.
I also adore Season One Buffy. Basically I blame SMG. Once the writers found out Buffy can be a kick-ass bitch, she lost her initial softness. I love how fragile and feminine Season One Buffy is. And I mean that in a positive way. She's resourceful - every demon/badness she defeats is through cunning and knowledge. Season One Buffy is a smartie. She relies on school-knowledge to kill baddies. And it rocks. I love bizarre knowledge about bizarre things, and seeing a kick-ass female pull out knowledge to be even more kick-ass... it thrills me. Post Season One Buffy is not a smartie. She's resourceful, but more often than not she seems completely lost in class and in conversations about anything other than demonology. Hate it. This alteration, as a smart female, bothers me to no end. That's why Season One Buffy is my favorite Buffy. She's not too thin, she wears knee-high boots, she has bizarre taste in boys, she uses school knowledge, she befriends the friendless, she questions the validity of the baddie - she has intuition about people. She freakin' rocks.
The writing isn't always perfect, so what? The camp gets overboard, and Xander gets off too easily (as per usual), but overall it's a solid season. I don't even mind the "monster of the week" episodes, because I know where it's going and think every episode is clever.

Season Two
After just watching this season through, I find that it's more effective than I usually give it credit for. I have a hard time with the die-hard BAngle-iness, but the great thing about Season Two, is that their relationship is truly questioned and played with. Yes, Whedon is an ass for punishing female sexuality the way he did... does... repeatedly. But it works within the universe he has created. For all that we have half a season of mooning, swooning, brooding Angel... we also have a full season of Spike and Drusilla, half a season of Angelus (and therefore actual acting from David Boreanaz).
A couple of my favorite episodes are in this season:
"Lie To Me": which is the most awesomely ironic episode of the entire series. The only thing that comes remotely close is the Cheese Man in terms of overt post-modern self-commentary. Ford is my favorite one-off baddie. One day I'll write a full essay on the topic of Ford alone, and it will be the awesomest awesome.
"I Only Have Eyes For You": is possibly in my top ten episodes. I love how much it questions and plays with the BAngel relationship. And playing with the idea of doomed love is interesting - investing in it, taking it seriously - not the awesome - questioning it is the coolest.

Season Three
Everything that I loved about Season Two they throw under the bus in Season Three. BAngel is taken too seriously, Buffy is way too self-absorbed in all that drama, and Faith... Faith's my girl, okay? I don't like the treatment of Faith, by either the writers, the Watcher's Council, or Buffy. There's far too many "monster of the week" episodes and there's some real problems with consistency in this season. Some stand alone episodes make no sense, character-wise...
It's frustrating that Buffy's entire look is changed. There are moments where she's full-on 50's housewife and it's... okay. So I was angry with Season Two Buffy because she wasn't quite up to the par of excellence that Season One Buffy gave us. I'm even more disappointed with Season Three Buffy. She's not the Buffy I fell in love with. She's harsh in a bizarre, fake-California-tan kinda way. She reminds me of the girls I didn't like in High School. She should be the champion for the outcast... instead she creates outcasts. She and the Scoobies become the elite. It's never more evident than in this season that Willow and Xander have been pulled out of anonymity... but they are the lucky few. And that bugs. Really grates on my nerves.
But there's Faith. Poor, damaged, abused, neglected Faith. And there's Willow - who really begins to grow into herself. The series finale - the dream sequence is amazing. Faith's emotional weakness is amazing. She's amazing.
Basically, I hate the BAngel-iness of this season. It ruins it for me. The melodrama feels like sloppy writing to me. I honestly feel like the whole series would have been better off had Angel left the series at the beginning of S3 instead of the end.
My knitting-friend said something to me recently that made me realize that 1-3 are really about nostalgia. And they are. Even as they paint High School as the hellmouth - it's still glamorized. To the point of being sickening at times. Season Four still has this... but not to the same extent. Who really has three best friends who stand up with you no matter what in High School? Who has perfect moments? Who really even enjoyed High School? (I have a real problem with the Hollywoodization of High School... guess what, puberty isn't glamorous or monstrous - it's just any other time. A highly overrated time.)

Season Four
Even though there are some great episodes, and Tara is a total kindred spirit... This is my least favorite season. Like in every other season, the more we get away from Season One Buffy - the less I like her. In this season, she's teeny-tiny. No seriously. Riley is no bigger than Angel, and yet Buffy looks like a toddler in comparison to him. He dwarfs her and monopolizes the screen every time they are in a scene together. It's claustrophobic. And demeaning to my hero. It's my main reason for disliking 4. Adam = lame. Initiative = lame. But do we really need the actual imagery of the heroine to be demeaning? To show her as small and ineffectual? It's badness I say!

But then today I had an epiphany about it:: 

Selfishness is a really interesting aspect of Season Four and it intrigues me a lot. I think the Initiative is possibly the least effective big bad... but I think by placing Restless last, Whedon suggests to the audience that Adam really wasn't the point - their relationships were the point. The big bad of the season is actually their maturation progression. Which is actually pretty interesting. It links the season to 6 - in which the Trio are only a distraction to the self-destruction that is happening to all the Scoobies.

Aha! You could almost say that 4 and 6 are mirror images of each other. In 4 the Scoobies are growing and therefore growing apart, finding and investing in outside interests. Not out of a willful selfishness, but just as a consequence of becoming adults. Likewise, in 6 the Scoobies all turn inward, ignoring each other because they are all battling inner wounds (I've read a series of essays about 6 being basically a how-to guide to depression which was very evocative). In the end, it's only by reaching back to each other that they "win".

For all that Adam is the lamest of the lame... without 4 and esp "The Yoko Factor" the power of S6 would be completely lost.

Season Five
Family is my favorite episode. 5 is my favorite season. Because this is a Buffy I can get behind. A big-sister Buffy. I get that. I never really was able to identify with her, now I can. And Dawn reminds me immensely of my own kid-sister. Who is taller than me, also. I enjoy the whole arc because I feel like every episode we are working our way toward the ending.
Season 4 was about breaking up, 5 is about forging a family unit and all that a family means. Family that you are saddled with, Family that you choose, Family that you give up, Family that is taken away. Which means that there is loss. Buffy is completely broken down one notch at a time. Everything in her world is turned upside down - more than once. And she breaks. She falls. She. Is. Awesome. I never find Buffy particularly whiny, more ... introspective and self-involved (and rightly so, I might add), but in 5 I feel that Buffy starts to find her way back to pre-Master Buffy. Season One Buffy makes a comeback. She takes it all back on, school - Slayer duties/training - and she rocks at it. She takes it all on and then some. And she never backs down. Possibly what I love about this season is that Buffy is growing so independent... but not in a self-destructive way, more in a "I'm a big sister now" kind of way.
There are some amazing one-offs in this season. Spike's arc grows and grows in a delightful way. But I really love this season for Buffy. The Scoobies get me through the earlier seasons, but it's Buffy that I love in 5.

And Dawn. God how I love Dawnie. I think it's magnanimously important that Dawn's first act post-monks is to ditch Xander as major crush and turn to Spike. IMPORTANT. A plot line that the writers dropped. Dawn suffers from the writers not knowing what to do with her, not lack of interesting possibilities.
Dawnie is my heart-song. For Realsies.

Season Six
The selfishness exuded by the Scoobies in 6 just... it's perturbing. But I love 6. I really, honestly do. It's dark and it's real. 5 was all about losing nostalgia and transitioning into a very dark place. 6 is - well, you're in it, hunny. That dark place? You're sleeping with it, you're using it as a drug, you're running away from it, you're engaged to it, you're abusing it... You are the dark place. And really, to do that over an entire season, as slowly and painstakingly as they did. Bravo to the writers. 5 does a good job of finally getting to a season-long arc place. But 6 perfects it. There is not an episode that can be taken out or replaced. All the characters are moving along at breakneck speed and guess what - there's no slowing down and there's no stopping this progression. (Joss pretends to in 7, but everything picks back up again in 8.) Every arc is fully explored and every character is always moving forward. And like I said above - 6 is very much an internal journey. Each character has issues that can only be solved by them withdrawing from each other. The Scoobies? They don't help each other as much as they could... and they shouldn't. It wouldn't be real if they did.
Six is not just about Buffy and Spike doin' the nasty every which way (which is more frustrating than rewarding because between the two actors they lost about 50 lbs neither could really spare in the first place), but it is an interesting reward to seasons of oversized, broody men in Buffy's sheets. Sex is still not a good... in fact, it's still the baddest and darkest of all the dark, bad places... but Buffy's sexuality is her own. She owns it, for the first time in her life.
Plus, "Tabula Rasa" and "Once More with Feeling" are amazing.

Season Seven
I don't dislike 7 the way I get the feeling a lot of fandom do. Like 6, it's solid from top to bottom. Even if some episodes seem to get in the way, there's always a season-long development happening. Unlike 4-6, this season is not big on Scooby character development. In fact, the Scoobies are pretty set. They know how the apocalypse works and how they fit into stopping it. Rather, characters like Spike, Dawn, Anya, and Faith (even Wood) get a lot more development time, because they can. The season only works if the Scoobies are solid and unshakable. Yes, there's conflict, but not character-shaking/changing conflict. The story is more important in this season than the main Scoobies. Which is okay by me. I like seeing established characters thrown into something they think they can handle. And I like all the new characters seeing this for the first time, questioning the way things always have been done. If Buffy was having life-changing, character-altering things happening in this season, the Slayerettes would be way too much. They wouldn't serve their purpose: to question what we know about how the Scoobies operate. Which they do. It annoys the audience. But it's self-reflective, and you have to give the writing team props for that... not just doing one episode (Ford/The Cheese Man, etc) but writing an entire season of :: "See - that's why the world works this way"
Also, this season brings out chauvinism and says "Gotcha!". There's a more eloquent way to describe the history of the Slayer and the scythe and the sharing of power and all that, but that's basically what happens. All the underlying issues with the Watcher's Council --- really, with the Slayer powers themselves, get questioned, explained, lather, rinse, repeat. It's awesome.

Season Eight
I don't care what anyone says, 8 is a Faith and Willow season. Buffy? She screws up. Royally. Angel? Is a pain in the ass. Royally. Spike? Is a tease set upon us by the writers to keep Spuffy fans interested. Royally. Dawnie? Is totally destroyed and I'm pretending that the whole Xander thing is a sick, twisted joke.... or maybe that Dawnie isn't the real Dawn. Anyway, let's not talk about that.
Let's talk about Faith and Giles. And how they are the true heroes of this season. Because they do what others can't. They pick up Buffy's mess. They confront the bad that was supposed to be all good. They bond and are dark do-gooders. And then... they are the martyrs. Giles for Buffy's sake and Faith for Angel's. And... there needed to be more. There needed to be so much more of them. The two of them. Together, battling and fighting and doing the right thing that no one else has the balls to do.
And Willow, poor Willow, is once again set upon a path of destruction she can never really recover from.
I don't have much else to say about 8 because, really ... it wasn't Whedon's best work. He went too big and too vast and really messed everything up out of a sick, perverted desire to mess everything up. And Buffy was the victim in this. Really really.

But now he can pick up the pieces. And I'm excited to see that.

Because if this exercise has taught me anything, it's that I like to see him fix things. That's what 5-7 are about, fixing what is broken. The team fell apart? Put it back together! And it's sloppy, and there are cracks, and water leaks through onto the floor and you constantly have to re-glue, re-fashion. Because once something is broken, it will always have scars and it will break again and again... sometimes along the same lines as before, and sometimes along new ones. But it will never be completely healed. These are the Scoobies. And this is why I prefer the later seasons of the tv series. Because 1-4 is all about remembering being whole, becoming whole, finding ways to be whole and be loved... but it doesn't last. And that, the act of remembering and being nostalgic for a time and place that didn't exist, and then pushing off and realizing everything was broken to begin with? <-- THAT is what 5-7 is about. Letting go of the nostalgia for something that didn't actually exist in the first place.

Anecdote

My father-in-law has taken over the living room the past two days, and therefore the tv with netflix, so I took up S1 of LOST in my room with my knitting. And just when I get to Tue part where Locke and Boone are out scouting and Locke predictably the rain... I realize that I need to indoctrinate Roomie.

So there we are, it is episode one. It starts.
I hear her call out: Is this like Survivor on crack?
I let it go.

And then: This is about a plane crash, right?
I let it go.

And the black smoke monster starts tearing down trees.
I pause the dvd: This isn't just some show about some people in a plane crash
Roomie: Okay! Okay! I get it!
Are you in for six?
Yes okay I'm in!

And then I pressed play.

If there's any other way to convince my ADD Roomie to invest herself into six seasons of the craziness that is this series... I don't know it. And I don't care. Torture is way too entertaining.

Reflections on Dr. Who, season the first

While knitting, I alternate between watching Stargate SG-1 and Dr. Who. And I knit quite a bit these days. So today I was able to get through the last few episodes of season one of the Doctor, and here are my reactions (mostly in reverse order)::


WHY???? WHY NEW DOCTOR WHY???? I'M NOT READY!!!!!!!!

That was about it. 

Oh wait... there was also ... 

HOLY BALLSACK A BISEXUAL MALE ON TELEVISION THAT ISN'T A COMPLETE STEREOTYPE, MOCKED, OR HARRASSED!!!

Rose has a knack for picking up guys to bring along for the ride. Mikey is lame - I hope we don't have to deal with him much longer. That one with the chip in his brain - serves him right. But oh, bless my stars, Cap'n Jack was adorable. The repore that the three had on the Tardis several times just clenched at my little heart, their banter made me want those scenes to never end. The kiss in the season finale was just priceless and bravo to everyone involved for not making it ridiculous. 

Early on I found the relationship between the Doctor and Rose to be the most important aspect of the show. I loved that even in the "first" season (yes, yes, it existed before, but the first season of even a reboot can have some ... minor bumps) this is brought to the forefront. His kiss at the end of the finale reminded me of Cordy kissing Angel to take the visions away - which made it a major plus. 

I really love it all. I'm nervous about a new doctor because I really got attached to Christopher Eccleston's performance. 

Novel

When I think of my novel... this is what I think of::

This is all beautiful work and was totally inspiring. Eventually I'll start writing again....

Supernatural 4.7 & 8

4.7 "It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester"


Okay. So I have many thoughts on this episode. I need to start doing my review the second that I get done with the episode, but I need time to let it all stir around in my brain juice.


This episode's rating: 8/10 ... and 3/5 ... let me explain:::


Sam: [Upon meeting Castiel for the first time] Oh, my God! Er, ah, I didn't mean to... sorry. 


Sam's reaction to the Angels was... priceless. I know that it's supposed to be "I'm a religious person and everything I hoped was true, is now standing in front of me" but I got more of a "Holy Shit-Balls! I'm in trouble!" His nervousness and fear, at standing in front of two Angels, was a perfect counter-point to Dean's relative calm. Here are two semi-hostile supernatural creatures, that we don't have to immediately figure out how to destroy, and Dean is ... well, Dean. He handles the situation. Since standing up to John and then dealing with hell, Dean has a new set of balls. And unlike Samuel, who is in a position of feeling necessary reverence and respect for Castiel and Uriel, Dean already knows that if he wants any leverage in his relationship with Castiel then he has to take power whenever he can. 


Castiel... this kid cracks me up. He's always staring right into Dean's eyes like Dean is a toy or a puzzle that he just can't figure out. So far, the best moment of this was in their first meeting, when Castiel realized that Dean just doesn't like himself. Now it seems like everything Dean says Castiel is weighing very carefully against some other knowledge that we don't really have at this point. It's great. This actor is perfect, all of his acting is really in his very subtle body language and facial expressions. Which is perfect since Dean operates in a similar manner. There's a ham in there - but in serious moments, everything is quite subtle and can be taken for granted as almost the opposite. Versus Sam - everything is on his chest and over-acted all the time. Bad acting. But it might be why the writers sometimes totally screw with Dean's character - it's like some of them only read the words this man says and forget that they have a fantastic actor performing them in a unique way. (And this is why we have episodes where Dean is "Mr. Playboy" or "Mr. Hardass" or "Mr. Dick" <- none make any sense when you see Jensen Ackles perform... but I digress.) 


So here we are, there's a witch in town and the boys have to stop her/his evil plans ('cause witches are ALWAYS evil, straight up) because if s/he succeeds, then one of the seals is broken and out comes Lucifer and all of hell to play. And Sam whines and Dean stands up. And Uriel is a big-time creeper. And Castiel is curious and amazed.


Can I wax poetics about Castiel for just a second? I love that he is so... almost child-like in his dealings with Dean. He has "orders" that he must follow, which is great to know because it places him in a warrior-class, but everything Dean says is so beyond his frame of reference. Uriel is dismissive and demeaning towards humans, but Castiel has this whole shock-and-awe thing going for him. Nice to see another Angel and be able to weigh his reactions to Castiel's.


Uriel:  The only reason you're still alive, Sam Winchester, is because you've been useful. But the moment that ceases to be true, the second you become more trouble than you're worth, one word, one, and I will turn you to dust. 


Sam practically peeing himself when he sees the Angels for the first time = not so priceless. Sam using his demon-powers and then telling a "superior" creature that they are the assholes = why this rating wavers between a 3 and an 8 on my rating scale. Dean and Sam both have blind faith when it suits their own purposes - much like EVERY religious person I have EVER met. Dean thinks the Angels are kinda sketchy, but is down with their prohibition on Sam's demony-powers. Sam thinks the Angels are noble, brave, and true... total grovelling-worthy guys - until one of them points out that he's an ass for using power he doesn't know (a) how to control or (b) it's original purpose. 


Sam, in this Angel-worshipping scenario, comes off as much more of an ass. His attitude (which I've known in my religious family all my life) is: As long as we agree, god and I are cool. But the second I want to do something he doesn't like, I don't need him. These are the kind that come running back to ultra-conservative beliefs once they fall. Religion is a crutch. These are also the kind that end up following ridiculous rules for no reason.


Dean, however, is much more interesting. He's more like a someday-may-convert-guy rather than a die-hard-born-and-raised-guy. His attitude seems more: I'm not really sure, but when we agree on stuff, I take that very strongly to heart. But -  I'm going to disagree with you, which is okay because you aren't human. Which is arms-flailing-fascinating. To bring religion to a level of human vs. non-human.... in which the "big picture" is all one knows, or the small-stuff is all one knows... very interesting, and very unique. Dean seems to totally understand that the Angels have a hard time grounding themselves in human-reality, because they have no real connection to it.


And a subtle distinction. Why does Sam's attitude piss me off? Because it's true. Why doesn't Dean's? Because it's how I wish more people would act. I've really had it up to my limit with the religious-right lately. Ack! Digression.

Castiel: You misunderstand me Dean. I'm not like you think. I was praying that you would choose to save the town. 
Dean: You were? 
Castiel: These people, they're all my father's creations. They're works of art. And yet, even though you stopped Samhain the seal was broken and we are one step closer to Hell on Earth for all creation. And that's not an expression Dean. It's literal. You of all people should appreciate what that means. Can I tell you something if you promise not to tell another soul? 
Dean: Okay. 
Castiel: I'm not a hammer, as you say. I have questions. I-I have doubts. I don't know what is right and what is wrong anymore, whether you passed or failed here. But, in the coming months, you will have more decisions to make. I don't envy the weight that's on your shoulders, Dean. I truly don't.

This is my closer. Something big is going on with Dean and Castiel. And it's all I want to see. The monster-of-the-week bothers me, we all know this. The relationship between Dean and Sam is completely hindered by bad writing and Padalecki's bad over-acting. After three seasons of Sam-the-Demon-General and Golden Boy, with poor Dean just hanging on to his coat-tails for deal life, dealing with the ever-looming presence of impending death; NOW, finally, Dean is being set up as Dean-the-Angel-General and potential Golden Boy. And since I saw this coming in the first episode (seriously - let's set up a Prodigal Son motif and spend THREE years pretending that we didn't = serious thorn in my side) I'm ready. I'm on the ride, I've been slowly creeping up the tall, tall, tall-tall, drop and I can finally see the tracks beginning to bend forward. I'm ready for the drop. I'm ready for this ride to get serious, for the characters to really start moving towards ... anything.

The boys:

Dean: 7/5 for standing up

Sam: 2/5 for being a douche

Castiel: 10/5 for being a confused Angel - TOO CUTE!!

4.8 "Wishful Thinking"

Dean: I shouldn't have lied to you. I do remember everything that happened to me in the pit. Everything. [...]  I won't lie anymore, but I'm not gonna talk about it. [...] You really think that a little heart-to-heart, some sharing and caring, is going to change anything? Huh? Somehow heal me? I'm not talking about a bad day here. [...] The things that I saw, there aren't words, there is no forgetting, there's no making it better. Because it is right here, forever. You wouldn't understand and I could never make you understand. So I am sorry.

Why do I feel like Dean has had to say this to Sammy before? Oh right, because he has at least a half-dozen times. Pre-hell Dean finally opened up and Sam had what to say? Oh right, absolutely nothing. Post-hell Dean is not obligated to tell Sam anything. Because he's right, talking to the person you love about hell (literally or figuratively) doesn't make anyone feel better. It's about damn time Dean finally said this, the right way. Now - I know, because I'm watching this show, that the writers will force these characters to have this conversation a few million more times before Sam gets it through his thick head that he's pushing the wrong button. 

But! I'm hoping that when/if we get details about hell, it will be between Dean and Castiel. After seeing the park-bench heart-to-heart between Cas and Dean in the last episode, any emotional connection that I could have had with this scene between Dean and Sam was gone. Because really, after going to hell and back you feel the need to apologize to your brother for not being Mr. Sharing? All kinds of wrong.

The boys:

Sam: 2/5 - good detective work, but needs to stop being so whiny

Dean: 5/5 - for saying what needed to be said

Castiel: sadface - for not being present

Fun fact

Yesterday, while listening to a howstuffworks.com podcast, I learned that the name "Samuel" means:

"poison of the demon"

And that it possibly was the name of a serious demon in the Middle Ages.

I am having marvelous thoughts. This was the coolest thing that happened in regards to SPN ... EVER

SPN: 2-6

I was so blown away with episode one that I actually forgot, last weekend, that I hadn't done a write up of the entire first disk. Which was awesome. Today I watched the first two episodes of the second disk. Ugh.... okay I'll wax poetics of the first disk to begin with.

• 4.2 Are you there God? It's me... Dean Winchester...
  Rating: 4/5

I honestly enjoyed this episode immensely. We've dealt with the idea that the Winchester boys can't save everyone, but actually addressing the host bodies that demons take over, was nice to finally s and well done. Each character has their own ... issues to deal with. It was nice to include Bobby in on the angst, and to give equal weight to each boy - though Sam didn't seem as beat up about everything as Dean did. (Which seems to be a theme going here.)

Can I just say - right here, right now - Castiel FRACKIN ROCKS. There's no getting around it. I'm tired of the Dean&Sam show - Kelpy wants more Dean&Castiel. The semi-erotic tension between the two of them in the kitchen - holy crap priceless! I loved it. I want more. More more more. And not just with the heavy homoeroticism, but just more. Someone needs to lift Dean out of his funk, and Castiel is the man to do it.

Also, it was great to get the introduction of the big-bad's series plot already. The seals and the badness? Great way to keep the "monster-of-the-week" episodes going, but incorporate them into the main plot. Nice.

Lesson learned: Castiel's the boss. 

• 4.3 In the Beginning
  Rating: 10/5

No really - ten out of five. I've been waiting for the story on the mom since day one, now it's finally here, and it's awesome! I love that Dean now has guilt - and that Castiel set him up to feel partly responsible for what happened. And god the mom is SO much more interesting than John. No offense to John, but these boys would have been much better off with the mother. There's now officially no doubt about that... though there's never been much doubt, but it's all erased and I'm glad. Everything was awesome. I am pleased. BIG BONUS: no Sam in this episode. Love.

Lesson learned: Fate can't be broken, even with an angel on your shoulder.

• 4.4 Metamorphosis
  Rating: 4/5

As much as I love Dean, it does irritate me that he is so quick to accept Sam's powers are evil. Mind exorcism = kick ass. This whole episode was a mess, but in a good way. The Winchesters are finally having to face up to the idea that being on the "good" side does not necessarily mean that they kill everything that isn't 100% human... oh wait, we've been dealing with this for a long while. Bonus points for the wife being Micah from Warehouse 13 and bonus points for everything going to hell. 

Lesson learned: Isn't funny how the "good" guys can push innocent people over the edge, into darkness? 

• 4.5 Monster Movie and 4.6 Yellow Fever
  Collective Rating: 3/5

Not thrilled. Honestly. I thought big, nice things were coming because Roomie insisted that Yellow Fever is her absolute favorite episode. Let me just get off my chest now: it pissed me off. 

Monster Movie: Cute. But we lost sight of the big picture. Nice to see Dean get some things off his chest to someone who will actual listen (yes, that is a barb at the fact that Sam is clueless).

Yellow Fever: Pissed. Me. Off. Straight up. I felt like we're back in early S3. (1) Dean has the disease because he's a dick? Really... no, really? WTF people?!!?! (2) We scare the ghost by putting him through the same torture that killed him. WHAT? Ugly. Ugly ugliness. Hated this episode. 

Lesson Learned: Isn't it funny how these characters seem to take two steps forward and three steps back with every episode?

Wrap up: It seemed so awesome. We were going to fight the 60-whatever seals as Lilith opened them. Our boys had grown and would continue to grow. Only... we stopped. Hopefully the next two episodes on the second disk restore my faith. Sometimes the writing is just, well... not the best.

Supernatural 4.1: Lazarus Rising

I watched this episode twice. The first time I was distracted by my brand-new color nook. The second time I was knitting. Also, the second time I was alone (this will be important soon). I got a lot more out of the episode the second time around. I don't know if it was the two beers I had beforehand, or the fact that I was alone/less distracted, but it was a nice one to re-watch.

Overall Rating: 5/5***

• The entire time I kept thinking: Already???? As much as we all know I do NOT want a Sam-solo episode, it seemed that they brought Dean back much too quickly. Even factoring in the summer break between seasons - it seemed like a waste of a season. So he's in hell and we see, what - 30 seconds of torture? That's it? Not enough.
• I would have completely believed that Dean in the coffin was a hell torture device. I actually fought with Roomie about it. She kept saying "he's alive, LOOK! he's alive" and I didn't like it, I didn't want to believe it - it's moments like this that make me want to make this process a solo-adventure. Because I honestly didn't want him to be alive in that moment. I wanted the "crawling out of your grave" to be Dean's own special emotional torture. And the eeriness of the opening scenes - the grave sight, the fallen trees, the abandoned store. Even my second time through, in which I knew for a fact that he was alive, it seemed like it would have been much more interesting if he wasn't, and it's really set up for a few minutes as if he might still be dead.
  In my mind, Dean was tortured this way, over and over. And in each instance Bobby and Sam would have to convince him that he was alive, and the moment he let his guard down - BOOM! Back in the coffin. Because guys, that's totes what this world would do to our Dean. So let's see it. Let's see what hell can spit out at him. Possibly, I will concede, this isn't necessary in Dean's case. "He tortures himself enough" on the emotional front, all the demons think, so they leave him alone.
   ... Yeah, I'm not buying that logic. The writers dropped the ball. They got too excited about starting this season that they didn't even seem to consider torturing Dean. As awful as this sounds, I want this season to be about Dean dealing with PTSD. Because hey - it may be a show about angels and demons, but let's keep it real, kids.
  
• And then there's a weird girl in panties in Sam's hotel room... (I'm skipping the Bobby intro scene because hey - anorexic girls in panties is always more interesting than scruffy guys splashing holy water on dead people) ... which Roomie immediately tells me is Ruby. There goes that reveal. Thanks. On a second watch, I was hoping that there would be a clue - that Sam(JaredP) would throw me a bone, be an actor for just a moment - but there was nothing. I'd have to fine-tooth-comb it to find the barest hint that Sam and Ruby were on the same page at all. He always just looks confused.
  
• I mostly missed the sexy talk with the gypsy woman the first time through, and didn't feel like I was missing anything the second time through. To be honest, every time sexuality is discussed on this show, it's done so poorly and so... ugh! Masochistically, that I just try to ignore it. As far as I'm concerned, Sam was neutered pre-puberty and Dean is just hiding in the closet. 
  
• The seance was interesting - seeing her eyes burn out clued me in fast that the angels were here, they're queer, and they don't want any more bears. Also - BIG shock to me that Castiel would be mentioned so early. I though I was going to have to wait for the season's close to even get a whiff of him. Yeay for surprises.
  
• The scene with the demon woman was pretty interesting. Dean figured things out pretty quickly. "The smart brother's back." Yes indeed, my boy. Yes indeed.
  
• And then we have Sam sneaking off by himself out of bloodlust and Dean sneaking off with Bobby out of curiosity. I frickin LOVE this! THIS. This is the best twist the writers could have given us at this point. Dean's back from hell, and suddenly the Winchesters don't have the same goal anymore. And they're both okay, not only with lying to each other, but with allowing each other to lie. Dean obvs knows that Sam is up to no good. Sam... well, he's kind of slow, so I'll give him a few more episodes to figure out that there's an irreparable distance between him and Dean. At any other moment, Dean would have dropped everything to find out what Sam was up to. Castiel or no Castiel.
  I've been wanting - from the very first episode when I totally pegged this story to be, on a large scale, a discussion of the Prodigal Son motif. I want desperately for the Winchesters to take apposing sides. I know they won't. But I really, really want them to not just drift apart personally, but also... I guess the only right word is "politically" - I want them to find themselves in different armies.
  
• Sam's powers - well worth the wait. I'm not sold on him yet, but I loved seeing him rip the demon out of her host just with his mind. I figured - telepathic powers, he was going to be the male version of Pru from Charmed. No. He kicks demon ass. Good for him. I'm sure Ruby is training him to be a demon warrior and not a warrior for god... but hey, I'm down with that. Ruby is interesting, despite me not being fond of her new body and despite me knowing that she turns out.... well... Let's just say I know how she turns out.
  
• Castiel is in the house, yo. I was shocked and amazed that he actually entered the scene already. No lead up. No agonizing episodes wondering if he was going to appear. There he is. All that I wanted and more... yes, more.
  First Impression: "Don't get attached to this body, Don't get attached to this body, don't get attached to this body." Roomie: "Get attached" Me: "Oh. I'm attached."
  Second Impression:
  (1) His powers make the same whispering sound Sam's make. That's interesting.
  (2) Poor Castiel, why did he think Dean could hear his true voice? Why can't he, is the better question.
  (3) Bravo Dean, for bringing up the fact that the difference between demon possession and an angel's host is a very fine line. Way to stay on your toes, hun.
  (4) Oh god. The look on Castiel's face when he asked, "You don't think you deserve to be saved?" It was not just a question, it was a realization. This. Okay, so I know I'm supposed to love Castiel, and I take fandom seriously, so I loved him on sight. But this was the moment when I knew why I should and do love him. Because he's just a normal angel doing his job and god asks him to save some schmuck from hell and he can't figure out why the bloke can't hear him and then! There it is. Dean's problem isn't that he "doesn't have faith" in the lord. It's that he doesn't have faith in himself. And that realization on Castiel's face was... so sad. He looked like he'd rather Dean was Lucifer's son himself. Dean stopped being a job, and became a person for whom Castiel has compassion for and emotional linkage to.
  I'm not jumping the gun, here. This is basically the thing that keeps people flocking about Dean. Everyone, at this point - especially the audience, knows that Dean doesn't think too highly of himself. To have a new character, within seconds of his introduction, figure that out and have it be the most devastating thing he's heard? This is how you make sure the audience will love him.
  And I do.
  (5) I find it incredibly interesting that Azazel had work for Sam to do and now "the lord" has work for Dean to do. This is all going to lead back to the mom, eventually. I think she knew what was what. Obviously John was flying blind and lead his kids unwittingly straight into the battle that was already looking for them. Makes me wish (not for the first time) that we were watching Samantha and Denise tour the U.S. with their mommy...
  

While we're on the subject of battle-warrior-females... where the hell is Meg???

Bonus points for Castiel and Dean's interactions. The episode wasn't strong in it's own right, but it drove forward everything that's going to be happening this season. Perfect score, even though I should take points away from Sam, just because. Since it's the season premier, and Castiel MORE than makes up for Sam's lack (hahahaha), we'll keep this episode at five out of five... lightning-shadow-angel-wings.


*** I'm sticking with 5s instead of 10s for now because, quite frankly, nothing about this show is really sticking yet. Other than the episodes in early S3 with the females that don't know they're Supes and how the Winchesters help them (the were and the ghost), no single episode as of yet has made a lasting impact. I vaguely remember an episode in S1 that I loved... but I can't remember at the moment what it was or why I loved it.

Spooky Thought

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

-- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864
(letter to Col. William F. Elkins)

Big plans, guys... HUGE plans

So many things to say and be excited about!

(1) I'm more than halfway through my latest knitting project, "Age of Brass and Steam", which is so fun and easy that I decided to make one for my Pants! I took her to Michael's to get yarn for it today. Unfortunately, the selection was super lame. Next time, I'm dragging her out to Babetta's for actual yarn. And this weekend I should be starting the Stephen West mystery shawl. Double excitement!

(2) I was able to link my lj to my blogger, so I can post via blogger - but still participate in the glory of fandom whenever I want. Sometimes I'm tech-savvy.... or at least, I google things until easy directions make me appear tech-savvy.

(3) I watched the first episode of Supernatural Season 4 last night. I'm working my way up to posting initial thoughts. Mostly they revolve around: a) Really? That's it? and b) CASTIEL!!!!


(4) I've decided that once GAKS starts their way through Angel, I may start an episode-by-episode review of that along with them. And possibly think about Buffy, also. Thing is - as interesting as I find both shows, Angel gives me so much more of an English-major-boner. Really. It makes me mad in a delicious way. Buffy... I love it the same way, only less so - I guess. I don't know. Maybe I'm just making up excuses...


(5) Twin Peaks is amazing... and I will start analyzing it soon. I'm still in a total WTF JUST HAPPENED?!?!?! mood about the whole thing. So I'll start up... soon.

(6) I'm about 6 episodes into the 2005 Dr. Who and... am still waiting to get the bug. I know it's coming, but I'm still waiting for it. I'm sure I'll have thoughts about it eventually.


(6) Two unrelated events:
a) My dad drove through and, after buying me a NOOK, promised to send me mp3s of all RUSH everything
b) Pants! was discussing doing an analysis of a song to start up her new blogger account, which I found totes inspiring and exciting

And so, ladies and gents, as soon as I get those mp3s from my dad (though I realize that grooveshark is available, I like to actually have better access to things) I'm going to start analyzing each song in date order. Though - only Pert's lyrics. As much as I just want to eat up the first album, let's face it - the lyrics are not even in Pert's league.

I'm super excited about this idea. It gets me out of fandom a bit, but that's kinda good for me - I burn out quick. And - I hope Pants! doesn't mind that I stole her idea, but I've been wanting to do something with RUSH for over 10 years... here's my moment!



And now it's time for bed... I didn't knit nearly enough today and feel slightly guilty about it. Here's hopin' tomorrow is more productive in that department.