Reaction: Supernatural 4.14 - Contains profanity and flailing

[caffienekitty]

*quick and mostly incoherent after one watch through*
(Caution: Profanity)
Spoiler and Theorizing Timeline


-Nov 12th Note passed from a set report. Jim Beaver on set for an episode sometime after 4.13. OH THANK FUCK. I'm so thrilled about the vague chance that he might be coming back, I don't care that I got spoiled for it.

-Nov 18th There is a disturbance in the Force... Actually, oblique possible squee or alarm being noted with regard to sides for 4.14. Something biggish is coming. Given the kind of stuff that went down in previous seasons in the fourteenth episode, (Nightmare, Born under a Bad Sign, and Long-Distance Caller (which is a bit of a bad data-point because the writer's strike messed up the season arc considerably)) I would say, major reveal regarding plot or character inbound. This makes sense as it's in the right place in the season arc to drop a funky-bomb. Sides imply a new character with a speaking role. Whether it's the character themselves or what the casting scene is about causing the disturbance remains to be seen. Likely to not be an established character returning (Ellen, Jo, Ash... what?) because they've been cast, and would not need sides, unless this is another flashback or time travel thing. *ponders*

-Feb 1 While trying to match names to characters for 4.13, IMDB got me. Title: "Sex and Violence" Well, there you go then! Please, please let it not be "Dean finds out Sam's boinking Ruby to make his powers work, and subsequently there's violence" Who knows, maybe Sera finally got her Succubus episode or something like it. Which could get nasty on a few levels. :-P I mean, I don't know if a straightforward "seduces men and kills them with sex" critter would fly on the CW. This isn't "Torchwood" after all. So, if it is a succubus or some kind of death by sex monster, it's likely going to have a 'deeper' purpose, something like the 'Woman in White' going after the unfaithful, maybe this one will go after... hm. Well "Sex and Violence"; maybe it'll go after abusers, giving a giant grey area to the whole "human monster vs supernatural monster" thing, giving me some personal issues, and likely sparking a wankstorm which will be visible from low earth orbit lot of intelligent, reasoned discussions. Or maybe I'm totally wrong and it's something completely different. We'll see.

Let's do this.



Reaction to Supernatural 4.14 - "Sex and Violence"

-Then: Ruby and Sam and secrets, eh? Please let it not be "Sam charges his psychic batteries by boinking Ruby." Pleeeeease, no.

-Meat tenderizer on the wall. Well, on the counter, but still 'on the wall'. Someone's getting their brains knocked in.

-...and yeah. Issues. Oh god yeah issues. *skips past scene, moves on*

-Honestly surprised Sam didn't notice Dean being awake and listening. Ooooooor, he did notice and is not going to call Dean on it because he's avoiding a confrontation. And yet not totally avoiding it, or he'd have left the room with the phone. So he wants to be confronted about what he's up to, but won't say anything himself or take a direct first step. *nods* Gah. Dammit, Sam.

-So, Bedford, hunh? As in Bedford Falls/It's a Wonderful Life/Angel screws around with your perceptions of reality to get you to face up to your role in life? Hm. That'd be random.

-Congratulations on pissing off all the Jasmines in the audience, Dean. :-P He's really got some defenses up. Wonder if I can guess why, Sam-who-is-bald-faced-lying-to-Dean-and-knows-Dean-knows-he's-full-of-it-but-won't-confront-him-about-it.

-Yep. Totally bet it's a succubus. Sera Gamble will be stoked. So, she (the succubus, not Sera) is getting men to kill their wives... for giggles, apparently. Doesn't seem to be feeding off the guy in jail at all.

-"Together for ever"... maybe in Hell, yeah. Could a succubus in SPN-verse lore be a kind of deal-making demon working a kind of blind-side route to get people to damn their own souls? *ponders*

-Dr. Cara Roberts. Workaholic. *nods*

-Something weird in the blood. Is it Sulphur? *bounces* No, oxytocin. Natural crap. Darn. Hm. Cara's kind of cool.

-Dean Murdock. Really?

-Dean's getting laid this ep... or... not. Maybe Sam is. And Cara's a heavy drinker.

-"C-blocking"? Dean!!! *is shocked, only, y'know, not really* Dean's walls are way, way up around Sam. I know why and it's making me nervous. The more pressure builds, the bigger the explosion.

-"Strippers!" Dean, Dean, Dean. *facepalm* Also, there was one with strippers before, you followed that guy to the strip joint, remember? There are icons all over LJ if you've forgotten.

-So, is that a pre-existing song playing at the strip club or something they made for the ep? Also strip club owner is nifty in a stereotypical sleazeball sort of way.

-"I read!" Yay, Dean with the historical literature reference! \o/

-Okay, sirens, succubus, whatever. *handwaves and tries to rid self of Meatloaf earworm*

-Also kind of randomly wonder what Disney might think of the Killer Stripper/s being named after Disney heroines and princesses. The Siren is a Disney fan?

-GAH. *hides from unexpected MonsterChow/Monster sex* Mirror will show the true face? Yep. Related to changelings? Maybe. This sex scene seems reaaally long. And again with the frigging sex fireplace? *hides some more*

-Interesting siren. The guy hesitates, she speaks again and he instantly goes and does it. Power of voice. Classical reference there. *nods*

-Eeeeek. Thanks for keeping that murder off-screen. Also good for the effects budget, but... *shudders*

-Sam's Crackberry! Ooo. Dean's snooping. This will not end well. However, since Sam leaving his phone behind is about like him leaving an indispensable appendage behind, I again suspect a subconscious need to trigger a confrontation on Sam's part. And Dean's not confronting him yet, because Dean = denial with a capital Sammy. But that denial is cracking. This will not be pretty. *winces in anticipation*

-Ruby's number. Is that a real number? Too fast to see.

-OMG the WALLPAPER!!! Flocked heraldic lions! *draws hearts around the wallpaper* [ETA: msdori pointed out in comments below that there is heraldic significance in the wallpaper!!! *flails* I LOVE THE ART DEPARTMENT!!!]

-BOBBY!!!! FUCKING FINALLY!!!! *glomphs him* Welcome back from the Dominican! And no I don't want to see your tan line. Except I kind of do. Strictly for "prove your whereabouts" purposes. Yeah. *koff*

-Ha! About time they had FBI show up and get in the boys' way. Don't they travel in packs usually, though? *is suspicious*

-BOBBY!!! \o/ The apron! What was he cooking?

-OMFG THE PHONES!!! *FLAILS AND APPLAUDS, LITERALLY* OH YES!! THAT WAS AWESOME and totally made sense. I also love that Bobby went for a more neutral accent when he answered the phone and OMG I am so thrilled with that! Has to be a side-line, sort of an answering service for hunters. SO COOL. *flails some more*

-...You're not thinking of using the possibly-fake Fed for Siren bait, are you Sam? o.O

-*flaaaaaaail* at the mutual Impala geekage. Hee! Dean and FedBoy are bonding... waaaaaaitaminute.... FedBoy's not the siren, is he??? Hang on. It would make tactical sense, if hunters are on the tail of something that looks like a woman getting men to kill people using some kind of sex thing, to totally change up and be a guy with no sexual angle of attack to sneak past the hunters' defenses, since they'd be suspicious of any woman involving herself in the case...

-...Speaking of whom... So... if I'm wrong about the Fed and Cara's the succubus siren, Sam's ideal girl is a brainy, driven, impulsive, mildly alcoholic woman in a settled, established life with baggage but no current romantic involvement. Also a medically-trained person, which would come in handy in his current line of revenge-driven obsession work. Cool.

-*hides from teh sex, again* Yeeesh. Roll in the hay, or monster trapping Sam? And, if it is her, then will she make Sam kill Dean, or Ruby? Hm. Regardless, Ruby will shred her. Hee!

-Hey! It's the Hallway! Yay hallway! Room 109 for the sake of trivia. This seems weird. Like a dream?

-Oh. Really Dean? "Bangin' monsters?" Someone's cranky about being lied to and kept in the dark and not ready to call someone else on it yet. Which I totally understand.

-Oh the siren is so very totally the male Fed. Absolutely. *nods*

-Oh ho! And the siren outs himself as the monster, because Dean is an idiot who has forgotten everything he ever knew about backwash. *facepalm* Must be closing on a time period thingy. Commercial break.

-Like I said, it makes perfect tactical sense for the siren to use this approach. Hunters would be on their guard against women, so a guy who's in no way trying to get at them sexually gets past the defense, the siren eliminates the hunters, moves on. It's probably done this many times before. It makes tactical sense to me, so I'm cool with it. *moves on*

[And here's where coherence goes totally bye-bye for a while.]

-Oh, just great. Oh greeeat. Oh SHIT! O.O DON'T YOU MAKE HIM HURT SAM, YOU BASTARD!!!

-Oh crap! Not Sam too! O.O

-Sam and Dean COMBAT!!! WOOO! \o/ Except gaaaah!!! Stop iiiiit!!

-Oh, guys, come on, snap out of it! Put down the axe, Dean! Come on!!!! O.O

-Yay Bobby!!! OMG. I can't believe they had me going there for a second. CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP! O.O

[Coherence marginally returns. Damn I really, really need to watch that scene again. Needs more brain.]

-Oh boys. Oh boys. There are not enough walls, not even for Winchesters. You can't build them back up fast enough or strong enough now. Oh boys. *thinks nervously of the future* Oh the hurt it is a comin'. It's been coming since season one, but I hear can the whistle blowing now. Oh crap.

-Ooo, bridge! That bridge is the Skytrain bridge into New Westminister, I think? My Lower Mainland area knowledge is really rusty. Nifty looking from that angle.

-THANK YOU BOBBY!!! Soda! "You guys are drivin', aren't ya?" FUCK YES. Thank you Bobby. *smacks Sam n Dean retroactively*

-Oh. Yeah. Right. You guys are fine. Sure. This isn't a chest full of rocksalt and several trigger pulls on an empty gun; this is harder to deny and back away from. Festering emotional splinters. Owwwww.

-"We're good." Noooooo. Nononono. You are so far from good right now, guys. There's gonna be a ten-ton elephant riding with you in the Impala until you get this dealt with, one way or another. Oh the walls. Oh the waaaaalls. OMG. Yikes. O.O

So, I suspect the potential wank inter-fandom faction discussions stemming from this episode will be visible form the orbit of Jupiter quite intense and wide-ranging. Just in time for a mini-hiatus, I think...?

Comments

[anniehow.livejournal.com]

Grrr, I can't believe they're leaving us on a hiatus with this (except I totally can. Damn you, Kripke).

Can you call an episode 'awesome' when it feels like an iron brush to your emotions? Holy crap I can't believe Show had the guts to Go The Distance (except how I totally can. Again.).

Thank f*ck for Bobby and his phone-wall-of-awesome. I bet it's been there a loooong time, which is also why it looks so low-tech :-)

[caffienekitty]

Grrr, I can't believe they're leaving us on a hiatus with this (except I totally can. Damn you, Kripke)

Oh absolutely!

Holy crap I can't believe Show had the guts to Go The Distance (except how I totally can. Again.).

Yeah, and that's just it. It's not pulling punches here. Gah I really need to re-watch it but damnable work is interfering with me. :-P

I bet it's been there a loooong time, which is also why it looks so low-tech :-)

Oh absolutely! That was so beyond awesome, and makes so much sense, and explains why the boys and other hunters get away with the whole "We're FBI/Cops/Lawyers/Reporters/Acrobats" dodge so many times. Pure awesome.

[anniehow.livejournal.com]

I know you didn't read the sides (I did, I couldn't stop myself) but the one big thing they changed was how creepily ambiguous the siren's interest in Dean was supposed to be. There was petting on the head while Dean is all vacant-staring creepiness, even through all the "it's really brother-love Dean craves!".

[caffienekitty]

...yeeeeah, I'm pretty sure that was Kripke jerking people's chains again. Like the "Castiel was a demon in the original sides" thing.

[anniehow.livejournal.com]

Mmmh, nope, I disagree here. I think the writer (whoever it was, I didn't notice) was very concerned about dialing the 'creepy' factor to eleven. The sides included the "whack your momma for me, love" scene, and it mentioned how every gesture had to be creepy, blah blah blah.

In the Sam&Dean confrontation, the sides were scripted with Dean slamming Sam against the door, and standing in front of him with the knife. So when Sam begs him to 'snap out of it', they are looking right at each other. And then the siren sidles up and taunts Sam by getting all in Dean's space and being "he's mine now!"!

I think, though, that they may have pulled back on that a bit to make the "both are under the spell" confrontation an extra dose of oomph.

Anyway. Just mentioned it because you noticed how it was well planned on the siren's part to work that angle, and you are very right. :)

[msdori.livejournal.com]

OMG the WALLPAPER!!! Flocked heraldic lions! *draws hearts around the wallpaper*

That wallpaper, man. If you read it as a coat of arms, you get this:

On a field sable, gules, two lions combatant

AND

On a field sable, gules, two lions rampant, addorsed

depending on how you look at the lions.

There's the season, right there--the boys at odds AND covering each other's backs. And behind it all, grief.

[caffienekitty]

There's the season, right there--the boys at odds AND covering each other's backs. And behind it all, grief.

*flails at you like whoa* HOLY CRAP YOU'RE RIGHT!!!! :-O THAT'S FANTASTIC!!!! Dude! *draws hearts around your brain* *flails some more because damn!!*

I LOVE THE ART DEPARTMENT!!! \o/

[anniehow.livejournal.com]

Their art department is the Bestest!

Thanks for pointing it out, that's such a cool detail :-D

[malevolent73.livejournal.com]

Ruby's phone number was not real. I tried it even though it said 555.

My daughter called that Nick might be another siren about 3 seconds before the reveal. I, on the other hand, was as taken with him as Dean was and couldn't see through the haze of car/music geekery he had goin' on. LOL

And thanks for the bridge confirmation. That was a beautiful shot. :)

ETA: for backward tags. Heh.

[caffienekitty]

Ruby's phone number was not real. I tried it even though it said 555.

Probably a very wise decision not to give a real number. Can you imagine the calls the line would get? But I'm sure they got that with Jo's e-mail too.

My daughter called that Nick might be another siren about 3 seconds before the reveal. I, on the other hand, was as taken with him as Dean was and couldn't see through the haze of car/music geekery he had goin' on. LOL

I was on to him pretty quick, but kept second-guessing myself going "...naw, they wouldn't do that..."

And thanks for the bridge confirmation. That was a beautiful shot. :)

I'm sure I've ridden across that bridge on the Skytrain. It's frigging impressive, and seems like something from some pristine city of the future. Although that was back when it was new, it's probbably all tagged up now. :-/

[brigid-tanner.livejournal.com]

Love your reaction to the fight :) Very similar to mine. Loved Bobby and the phones. That was awesome. No, the boys are not alright...not at all.

[caffienekitty]

They need to talk dammit!

[kalquessa.livejournal.com]

Pretty much my viewing experience, too. And yeah, the wank discussion will indeed be visible from space. I wonder if Kripke did that on purpose. It would be so like him.

[caffienekitty]

He does seem to like stirring up the fandom, especially right before a hiatus.

[sandrinnad.livejournal.com]

OMG the phones! Mum & I are STILL squeeing over those!

y'know, I just realized that _every_ hookup or anything Sam's had has been with little brunettes....does he save blondes for long-term relationships? Is it not cheating if it's with a brunette? Does he think that only blondes burn?

oh my poor sweet Dean....he can't even have a friend.... :(

and ya, clever siren - (siren, ya, that, don't get me started - though I LOVE Dean quoting the classics :D) - to appear as a guy. No hunter'd be looking for one, Cara could very well be usable, he could be exactly what Dean needed, and men in suits are more believable than women in suits so it was a more subtle way to get the blood back (I hate to say it, it sucks, but it's life and a woman would likely be questioned more by Cara and/or dismissed rather than included by the boys).

[caffienekitty]

OMG the phones! Mum & I are STILL squeeing over those!

I knooooooow! *flappy hands*

y'know, I just realized that _every_ hookup or anything Sam's had has been with little brunettes....does he save blondes for long-term relationships? Is it not cheating if it's with a brunette? Does he think that only blondes burn?

I've seen that noted in a few places. It could be something like that for sure. The human brain is weird like that.

[sandrinnad.livejournal.com]

I've seen that noted in a few places

heh....chances are, ya....I tend to notice things a wee bit after they've bludgeoned me across the head :)


"Strippers!" Dean, Dean, Dean. *facepalm* Also, there was one with strippers before, you followed that guy to the strip joint, remember? There are icons all over LJ if you've forgotten.

ah, but this time he's practically REQUIRED to not only spend all day in the strip club, but to observe the girls as closely as possible and perhaps even to do a little hands-on investigation.... :D

and hey, with all the crap going on the poor boy's got to get a little joy somehow :)

[raincitygirl.livejournal.com]

-Ooo, bridge! That bridge is the Skytrain bridge into New Westminister, I think? My Lower Mainland area knowledge is really rusty. Nifty looking from that angle.


Yup. They're shooting from the Surrey side of the Fraser River, with the New West side in the background. I'm impressed that you even knew that!

P.S. I think that might actually be the Alex Fraser bridge, not the Skytrain bridge. If it's got the very tall H's, then it's the Alex Fraser bridge (which goes over the Fraser, but is named after a different Fraser. British Columbia is lousy with Frasers and Campbells). Sorry, where was I? Oh, I can't go back and look at the scene again, because I already deleted the show to make room for Battlestar Galactica, but it's definitely one of those bridges. Or possibly both of them in the background, because they're fairly close together.

The grumpy strip club owner (who didn't seem to care one bit that the flipping FBI was investigating his business. You'd think he'd be a little more cooperative) is played by a local actor who seems to specialise in sleazy roles. He played a walking, talking "Guantanamo Bay is Bad" allegory in BSG a few years ago, and his character was killed in the middle of a war crime by getting thrown head first into a wall. I've seen him in bit parts in various other shows that shoot here, and I don't think I've *ever* seen him play a character who's actually nice.

Speaking of characters who aren't nice, I think I must've been the only person on the internet who totally didn't suspect Agent Munroe of being the siren. I had him totally pegged for cannon fodder, despite the various clues. Of course, I'm kind of programmed to expect a certain baseline misogyny from SPN, so it never occurred to me that the siren wouldn't be female. Cool that the show took advantage of its own skanky gender issues to further the twist. Very Agatha Christie.

I also didn't get that the siren's female incarnations were all Disney heroines until somebody pointed it out.

[caffienekitty]

It's definitely Skybridge. The supports are narrow and closed at the top and the cables are more... rayed? Than on the Alex Fraser. Also, the Pattullo Bridge is visible on the other side in the background.

I don't think I've *ever* seen him play a character who's actually nice.

He's got an awesome skeezy vibe working like gangbusters, so playing not-nice characters is probably going rather well for him. :-)

[raincitygirl.livejournal.com]

The sad part is you know my own city better than I do. 'Scuse me, I'll just be off in a corner dying of shame.

Clearly Grumpy Club Owner actor is making a living playing skeezy, so good for him. It's more than most actors manage. Of course, it also means that if he ever plays a sympathetic character in anything I see in future, I will have great difficulty in separating him from his many previous characters.

[caffienekitty]

The sad part is you know my own city better than I do. 'Scuse me, I'll just be off in a corner dying of shame.

Naw, I've just been a closet Vancouver fangirl since I was three. Also, I have an unhealthy love of the Skytrain. :-)

Clearly Grumpy Club Owner actor is making a living playing skeezy, so good for him.

He seemed very 'real' about it, not like the Mystery Spot owner guy, you know? Skeezy in a real earthy way and not over the top. Very cool, and grounding. *nods*

[raincitygirl.livejournal.com]

[hijacks topic to bitch about pet peeve]

You might feel differently about Skytrain if you took it every day. We had a spell of unexpected snow and cold weather around Christmas, and the whole fucking system ground to a halt. In no small part because the switches aren't properly insulated, so the Skytrain doesn't work very well in cold weather.

Sorry. I'm just still bitter that my usual 30 minute portal-to-portal commute took an hour in the morning of Christmas Eve, and two hours in the afternoon. And I was lucky in comparison with people who had further to go.

[/end hijack]

And yes, much more...casual skeeziness than Mystery Spot. That kind of indifference to the main plot points that I expect more from, say, witnesses being interviewed on Law & Order: Original Flavour.

[caffienekitty]

*giggles* I realize it's frustrating as a daily experience; all transit systems are. The town where I live the transit system consists of ten diesel buses that show up whenever they feel like it, often 15 to 20 minutes on either side of their "scheduled" times even in the best weather. Runs are a minimum 1 hour apart, most routes don't run after six pm, there's only restricted runs on Saturday and they don't run at all on Sundays. Not many people bother even trying to use transit here as a reliable source of transportation if they have any other option available.

When the snow hit recently transit here shut down completely in the middle of the day with no warning, stranding everyone over an area ranging about the distance from North Van to Surrey (muuuuuch less populated though, under 100K people, and only one cab company that knows it has a monopoly), and remained shut down completely the following day and were on restricted service the day after that.

I saw the stuff about Skytrain's weather problems on the news though, that was scary. :-/ The system really isn't prepared to cope with weather like that. Plus the core parts are over 20 years old now, right? They've got to be deteriorating too.

I still love it though. The "bing-Bing-BING!" noise and the sound of it starting up, and going around curves and things. But yeah, I'd probably feel very very differently if it was a daily thing. *nods in agreement*

That kind of indifference to the main plot points that I expect more from, say, witnesses being interviewed on Law & Order: Original Flavour.

Exactly! Which is as it should be, really. Few of the people these guys are talking to should have any idea what's really going on, so the Joe Mundane attitude is just perfect.

[raincitygirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, see, that's one of the major reasons I wouldn't want to live in a rural area: because you NEED a car.

I saw the stuff about Skytrain's weather problems on the news though, that was scary. :-/ The system really isn't prepared to cope with weather like that. Plus the core parts are over 20 years old now, right? They've got to be deteriorating too.

It's not built to cope with that kind of weather, and the service disruptions don't cost Translink a cent, so there's very little incentive to weatherproof it (not to mention that even if Translink wanted to, getting the money would be a titanic struggle). It's more cost-effective to leave it be, because 1 week of chaos per year is a small price to pay.

To put it bluntly, there are no votes in maintaining infrastructure. New capital projects are sexy, because they generate lots of (short-term) jobs and you can have press conferences about them and so on. Maintaining existing infrastructure is distinctly unsexy. Not to mention the part where the more efficiently the maintenance works, the less anybody notices. The only time you tend to get extra funds allocated for it is when there's been a recent accident. Fatalities = funding.

[caffienekitty]

Hm. It's funny that the Olympic funds don't include funds for improvements to infrastructure. Especially Transit, since how are all the tourists going to get around?

[tigriswolf]

I wanted it to be two sirens, working together, and then when the Fed!Siren died, the Cara!Siren revealed that she had some of Sam's DNA(*cough*sex*cough* to make their own Sam BoyKing. *hee*

[caffienekitty]

And you are writing this, yes?

Personally.... I had a very bad feeling about Sam not calling Cara. Like either he knows Ruby's already gone and offed her in a fit of jealous pique or maybe for some other purpose.... O.o

Cara as a second siren would be a relief, actually. She could go all psycho-stalker on them for killing her partner. *nods*

[tigriswolf]

I kinda wanna write a fic where she's glad they offed her partner, because sirens don't play well with each other, but she's also annoyed because there are so few of her kind left. You know?

[caffienekitty]

Conflicted monsters rawk. *nods*

[(Anonymous)]

Phones...phones!!!!!!!!! Sorry, I couldn't stop laughing or squeeing when I saw those. And Dean..needing a friend, or "real brother", ouch. About damn time Bobby was in there too, I miss Bobby..sigh. I am hiding in the corner about what is to come..I will look when I have to, until then *shudders*

Sharon

[caffienekitty]

Yeah... Sam's a very dark boy lately, and it doesn't bode well, but I just keep reminding myself that Hero Cycles are round, and it'll all work out in the end. Or we'll lynch Kripke. *nods*