8x05 Blood Brother aka I am so confused about everything

[seeing_ghosts]

Spoilers, conspiracy theories, yadda yadda yadda, as per usual. Oh, and shipping! Don't forget the shipping!

Also, I'm confused as hell about this episode. I still don't know what to make of it, how to navigate myself in all the parallels and mirrors... Oh, Edlund.


I'll get the uncomfortable out of the way quickly - this was one of Edlund's weaker episodes. And it still was probably the best episode of the season so far.

Anyway. 

I'm starting to get annoyed with Sam's storyline - or, to be clearer, with they way they're handling it. See, I have this policy on storytelling -  get as many facts as possible out of the way as soon as possible, so that the readers (in this case viewers) know what they're at. So this holding back what happened, dragging it out - it's not working for me. I'm pretty sure that Sam's storyline is good and worth telling and knowing, but they are giving us too little, and nothing actually sparks my interest. 

But long story short - Benny is amazing, Benny's storyline is a giant parallel to Cas's storyline, Dean and Cas are so gay for each other that it melts my brain right between my eyes, Sam apparently had a lobotomy during the missing year. His, "A friend. Dean, you don't have any - all your friends are dead!" made me want to punch things. Ouch. And the agonized look on Dean's face... 

Also, my theory on monsters continues - apparently, being a monster is so horrible that you should rather have your loved ones killed than turned. Says Benny, the monster (both among and within us - I am getting lost in this...)

Second theme of the season - drifters! Benny, a vampirate, who cannot find his place in the world now; Sam and Dean, eternally on the road; Amelia who doesn't know where she's going...

How many themes can one season have? 

But the most important question is - I do understand that both Cas and Dean grow facial hair in Purgatory, and that Dean shaves with knives... But how the hell does he cut his hair?

Comments

[shadowvalkyrie.livejournal.com]

Benny does it for him with a flintstone-and-bone machete thing -- and it still looks better than our hair ever will. As to the shaving: there's a reason that Dean's face is covered in blood and the other two's are not... ;)

But I agree with the rest of this, some nice parallels this season. I just wish they wouldn't go one-size-fits-all on them quite so much, but that's a minor complaint.

I wasn't a fan of Benny's mandatory het backstory, but I agree it serves its purpose and tells us a lot about his personality, issues, and sincerity.

[seeing-ghosts.livejournal.com]

Headcanon - before Benny became a vamp, he was a barber. XD

"There's a reason that Dean's face is covered in blood and the other two's are not."

You think Dean shaves his forehead? And behind the ears? Alright! ;D Also, it poses another question - why the hell does Dean shave, but doesn't wash his face?

I think that if nothing else, Edlund managed to make Benny a sympathetic character; even for a lot of Cas!fans who viewed him as a competition of sorts (but really, people? Really?! Is that how much faith you have in your OTP?). Hence the het backstory; if Benny were to be gay, people would flip their shit. ;)

[thursdaysisters.livejournal.com]

Did anyone else get the impression that Dean ditched Cas before he could get him thru the portal?

[seeing-ghosts.livejournal.com]

What? Not me! What makes you think that?

I, to be honest, doubt Dean would - he seems very set on getting Cas out with him; and while I'm sure there is some sort of conflict coming that will shake things up a little, I don't see Dean ditching Cas at the moment.

What I did see, though, is Cas running away from Dean once the Leviathans found them. No, really. He turns around and runs. I'm sure he's trying to lead them away from Dean, but at this moment I don't believe anything.

[thursdaysisters.livejournal.com]

The last ten seconds of 8x02, that scene where Cas is shouting for Dean and whoever has his hand let's go? MIGHTY SUSPICIOUS

[seeing-ghosts.livejournal.com]

Oh, I thought you meant something from 8x05!

I wrote about that episode and my worries concerning it here, and I agree - it is mighty suspicious. But after my initial panic I regained my faith in Show and don't think Dean would deliberately let Cas go; not after everything. He seems put out when Sam asks about Cas in 8x01, he seems so happy when he finds Cas in 8x02 and way too guilty in the same episode when Crowley mentions that people the Winchesters don't need anymore tend to die (and it wouldn't be the first time that Dean blamed himself for something that is totally not his fault, would it?). And his insisting that Cas leaves with them NO MATTER WHAT in 8x05 wouldn't make sense if he just let Cas go, like, LOL bye bitch, at the first sight of trouble.

Basically, I believe Show has something in store for us and no matter how hard we tried, we won't guess it.

Have a little faith in Deano! ;)

[thursdaysisters.livejournal.com]

True, there's always the possibility that Benny was the one holding Cas' hand, and for whatever reason the portal was closing and they simply couldn't grab him in time (of course I'm mighty distrustful of Benny for all his Gumbo charm....)

[seeing-ghosts.livejournal.com]

I read somewhere that Misha said Benny isn't even present in that scene; he's probably already all crawled up in Dean's forearm. No, it really is Dean holding Cas's hand, but that doesn't change that I'm very, very sure there's going to be some mind-fuckery on all sides. :)

[thursdaysisters.livejournal.com]

The previews of Cas back on Earth make him look sane enough, but Dean said he changed in Purgatory. I wonder if having Hallucifer in his head changed his angel DNA or something...

[juppschmitz.livejournal.com]

See, I have this policy on storytelling - get as many facts as possible out of the way as soon as possible, so that the readers (in this case viewers) know what they're at. So this holding back what happened, dragging it out - it's not working for me.

Amen to that, sister! I hate being kept in suspense deliberately for any length of time and only being fed tidbits just 'cause the writers think they need something to make sure I'll come back. I think it only drags things out unnecessarily. I find it more annoying than anything else.

[seeing-ghosts.livejournal.com]

Glad you agree! :)

[sparrow-lately.livejournal.com]

*emerges from muddled paper on communism to laugh aloud at the line "Dean and Cas are so gay for each other that it melts my brain right between my eyes"*

At this point the writers have to know what they're writing, yes? Because if I were 100% unbiased I'd still say it looks like the violent male model is in love with the bearded one in a trenchcoat.

[seeing-ghosts.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure they do! To quote Misha from an article I'm still not 100% sure is completely legit, "You know, we know what it is, what's going on. We don't talk about it. [...] But we're all perfectly aware of how the relationship is, the writers are completely aware of how it's being written. It may be unspoken but that doesn't mean it's not there or not true."

So there. Also, "violent male model." So done.

[sparrow-lately.livejournal.com]

My roommate calls Supernatural "that show with the demons and the pretty men and the car you have weird emotions about." Couldn't have put it better myself...

[seeing-ghosts.livejournal.com]

Hmm, although it seems like they know what the fuck's up, at least. When I tried to show Show to my BFF she asked me, "Wait, who's Sam? Dean's brother? Who's Dean?" - after FIVE HOURS of non-stop watching. (Apparently, she's been looking at their faces and not paying attention.)

[sparrow-lately.livejournal.com]

My roommate is just used to me and my amiga A (of the giant bug sobbing breakdown fame) watching the show in the room (she's been working her way through the seasons and I've been along for the ride/emotional torture that is rewatching the early seasons with a knowledge of what will happen later). We've occasionally been, shall we say, none too sober, and we're sort of vocal. Generally it's A going "Look how cute Sam is!" and me going "Look how sad Dean is!" :P

[seeing-ghosts.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes. There is very little that's better than watching Supernatural drunk. Except with us, it's not, "Oh, look at how cute they are!" It's, "HOLY SHIT LOOK AT HIS ASS THIS IS SO NOT FAIR IT'S LIKE IT WAS CARVED BY MICHELANGELO HIMSELF!" (I become Tumblr when drunk.)

[sparrow-lately.livejournal.com]

Drunk Sparrow on season one!Sam: "Oh my god, look at this little baby boy. Look at this baby boy. I want to give him jammies and soup and put him to bed in a big soft comfy bed. Look at this little baby. Oh, god, baby Sam."
Drunk Sparrow on season one!Dean: "Oh Dean. Oh Jesus. Oh Dean. You don't even know how bad things are going to get. You don't even. Holy crap he is young. I want...I want to eat his freckles for breakfast. With his eyelashes on top."

[seeing-ghosts.livejournal.com]

I wholeheartedly agree with everything.