APPARENTLY THIS HAPPENED.

[rogueslayer452]

THEY MENTIONED CASTIEL.

THEY MENTIONED CASTIEL!

THERE WAS ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF CASTIEL IN THIS EP, SEVERAL TIMES IN FACT. AND SAM BEING AWESOME APPARENTLY FOR SAYING SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF HOW DEAN HASN'T BEEN THE SAME DEAN SINCE CASTIEL DIED. THAT THE LOSS IS AFFECTING HIM. SAM WANTED TO TALK ABOUT HOW CASTIEL AFFECTED DEAN! \O/\O/\O/

FINALLY! AFTER BLATANTLY REFUSING ON ACKNOWLEDGING THAT HIS CHARACTER EVER EXISTED ON THE SHOW BEFORE AND HOW IT AFFECTED THE CHARACTERS THERE WAS A MENTION OF HIM. MORE THAN ONCE. AND IN A WAY THAT SAID MORE THAN WORDS ABOUT HIS CHARACTER AND HOW HE IS AFFECTING DEAN AND HOW OTHERS ACKNOWLEDGE THIS CHANGE IN DEAN BECAUSE OF WHAT CASTIEL MEANT TO HIM.

ALL THIS BEING FEATURED BECAUSE BEN EDLUND -- A.K.A. THE ONLY WRITER WHO CARES ABOUT THESE CHARACTERS ANYMORE -- WROTE THIS EPISODE.

ALL HAIL KING EDLUND!



I mean sure, the second episode of the season was questionable in and of itself since it featured a less than five-minute appearance of Castiel because he (or rather the Leviathans inside of him) dissolved into the lake without another mention or thought, the only worthwhile moment of that was Dean folding up the trench coat and taking it with him. But since Edlund has been less involved in the show this season than previous seasons, I don't think he had much of a say in that regard. However in this episode, it appeared he did have more of an influence to provide his trademark of episodes (apparently there were sandwiches that could kill you? oh and plenty of dick jokes) and the emotional aspects of Castiel and Dean and their relationship and Sam noticing and Dean not caring to get into it and all of that. So basically, this was an episode people enjoyed not only because of the Cas mentions but because it brought something back that has been missed from the show in quite some time. That special Edlund touch and, while I haven't seen the episode I can judge from people's reactions that it wasn't horrible or embarrassingly bad as the last several episodes have been lately. It's still not enough to get me watching again, but it's nice hearing some positive feedback, and from a writer we can all trust with characterizations and such. Particularly with Dean, since his character gets backhanded and written like shit quite a bit in the writer room.

BUT! BUT SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENED IN THIS EPISODE THAT I HAVEN'T REALLY GOTTEN A CLEAR IDEA OF JUST YET

SOMETHING HAPPENED TO BOBBY

SOMETHING NOT GOOD

IS HE IN TROUBLE? FORESHADOWING HIS DEATH? IS HE IN A COMA OR SOMETHING? WHAT IS GOING ON YOU GUYS! TUMBLR IS BEING ALL CRYPTIC AND WHATNOT AND I AM TRYING TO FIND COHERENT POSTS AND FINDING NONE AT THE MOMENT AND I NEED A RUNDOWN ON WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED. PLEASE NOT MY BOOBY NO. D: D: D: D:

GODDAMN I NO LONGER WATCHING THIS SHOW BUT PEOPLE REACTING TO IT I FEEL LIKE I STILL AM. JUST OMG WHAT KIND OF TWISTED ROLLARCOASTER IS THIS??? I SAID I WAS GETTING OFF THIS DAMN RIDE BECAUSE IT'S BULLSHIT BUT SOMEHOW I GOT STUCK AND IT'S LIKE I'M STILL ON THE RIDE JUST WITH A BLINDFOLD ON OR SOMETHING. IDK WHAT THIS ANALOGY IS I AM JUST ROLLING WITH IT OKAY.

BASICALLY I'M ALL:



@ WHAT HAPPENED AND IDK HOW TO FEEL ABOUT IT. IT'S ALL VERY CONFUSING RN. BUT THERE YA GO.

GIVE ME EDLUND I AM HAPPY. NO MORE EDLUND AND REMINDING ME THAT GAMBLE IS STILL RUNNING THE SHOW, I AM JUDGING YOU HARD.


TL;DR BEN EDLUND IS THE ONLY WRITER I TRUST AND IS OUR SAVIOR FROM THIS SHOW BECOMING MORE OF A TRAINWRECK THAN IT ALREADY IS

Comments

[jakwezst.livejournal.com]

Oh that was me btw!

But I'm re-watching now and a couple of things: 1) Dean is not straight - I'd say he is definitely being played (very subtly) that way and 2)the only reason he mentions Cas is because he's stoned out of his gourd!!! So, it's like unconscious, involuntary even - him speaking without his usual filters. Mr. Edlund is a clever, clever man. Dean could, after all, have mentioned Cindy and the kid (forget his name) but no, it's Cas that he cites as being the thing that's causing him serious pain. He says I don't care anymore and don't care that I don't care, but that's really indicative of the fact that he knows that his brother and 'creepy uncle' (best line of the ep!) KNOW damn well that he should and in fact does care about losing Cas. That's why he says this 'don't care' line in the first place and how the other two show the audience (by their reactions)that they know something's up with Dean. It's such a small part of the episode but illustrates just how a good writer operates. So little used to say so very much.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

That's why he says this 'don't care' line in the first place and how the other two show the audience (by their reactions)that they know something's up with Dean. It's such a small part of the episode but illustrates just how a good writer operates. So little used to say so very much.

This is something so important that the other writers seem to not understand or grasp in their own writing. It shows precisely why Edlund is an exceptional writer in his own right, and why many of us prefer his writing to the other writers on the show. And why he should have taken over the show in the first place. He knows his shit; the manner of his storytelling, of handling characters individually (he writes Dean very very well, unlike other writers *cough*GAMBLE*cough*) and just everything.

I wish Edlund could just write all the episodes this season. He could definitely turn this trainwreck around and actually make it bearable and redeemable.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Taking this from your first comment:

I did actually enjoy this ep - first one for ages. I tried to watch last week's controversial ep, but it was so damn boring I didn't get past the first 10 minutes!!! Not being a Wincest shipper, and having some discernment, I'm finding the writing lately pretty ordinary, dare I say even redundant?

The redundancy of these last two seasons are killing me, to be honest. It's funny how Gamble tries to sell her claim that this isn't redundant at all, when it's exactly the same as previous seasons before. New Big Bad, but same bullshit with the brothers. It's ridiculous. It makes me more bitter because they got rid of one of the most fascinating characters that was a breath of fresh air and actually added layers and interesting new places for the show to head into. -___-

[jakwezst.livejournal.com]

...they got rid of one of the most fascinating characters that was a breath of fresh air and actually added layers and interesting new places for the show to head into. -___-

Exactly this!

What this season's been missing is Castiel. I know, but seriously it is no more than the stone cold truth. You haven't watched the eps, but I have and the thing about me and SPN is that I have always loved the show, love Sam and Dean so damn much (don't ship them, though) and while there are plenty of things on which we don't see eye to eye (excessive gory violence, aiming it at the stupid (18 - 25 year old guys) rather than the slightly more intelligent and discerning viewer and the whole religiosity thing) I count myself a 'true fan'. This season, for me, has been shit. No word of a lie, no bitterness or exaggeration. It's been utter tripe. Why? Because they are treading old ground each and every episode! I mean from whence comes all this weird squee I've been seeing since the season premier? The episodes have been shit.

The way I see it is that they raised the damn stakes with their decision to get rid of Castiel and 'return to what they do best' because now I'm sat thinking: okay, show me; show me how and why the narrative becomes new, interesting and relevant without Castiel or the Angels. And yeah, you've guessed it, I'm still sat waiting.

The Wincest shippers, I'd have to conclude, are more easily satisfied than I am and that's fair enough, right? So long as Sam and Dean are central they'll count that as a victory. See I want that too - I want Sam and Dean to be central. I just don't appreciate the price we're being asked to pay in order to achieve that - shit writing and redundant storylines. To me that'd have to be called somewhat of a Pyrrhic Victory and, I dunno, I wouldn't call that a good thing.

Slightly different note: do you think those who ship Sam/Dean actually want them to go out Butch/Sundance style? I don't understand Wincest so it's not really something I can properly analyse. Maybe that's part of the fucked up relationship dynamics that seems to be so attractive when it comes to this pairing. Note it's not the incest that gets to me - I genuinely have no objection to that per se - it's the dysfunction parsed as some romantic ideal that puts me off.

To me Wincest is like the elephant in the room of slash fandom that no-one's even bothering to discuss. It says something really fundamental about slash fandom and it astonishes me that no-one talks about it. Again, it's NOT about the fact that it's an incestuous relationship. That's part of it, but NOT in the way most people might believe. But I'm so tired of talking about what's up with this fandom. Aren't you?

It's only since the end of Season 6 that I've got involved with the fandom (note, I've watched since the first episode and have read Wincest fic, read meta, but never got particularly involved with the fandom side of things. Lol - Season 6 was so atrocious I think I had to assure myself that I wasn't the only one absolutely fucking appalled by what was obviously going on with the PTB) so I'm actually unfamiliar with Ben Edlund. But, seriously, this episode - for me - was in a different class. It's a keeper for me, and it wasn't that it was such a great storyline or whatever, just that a writer who knew his craft was gently flexing his muscles - showing how it was done. It was a breath of fresh air and yeah it'd be nice to see him write more episodes.

You do know, I hope, that Dean has the trenchcoat in the boot of the car. It's not the Impala anymore, but he takes the coat with him - a treasured object. It's significant because he had to actively transfer it to this car and has to count it as one of the things he can't do without - will never allow to be lost or destroyed.

It's the subtle things that work for us, guys. Please keep doing them.

[jakwezst.livejournal.com]

Oh and one last note about the ep, Cas and Dean. Dean is talked to a few times - by Bobby - and it's really quite telling that when he isn't off his face stoned he has no trouble deflecting any damn thing anyone tries to say to him. When the filters are gone he talks about his feelings - losing Cas - as something that is supposed to make him hurt like a mothafucka - highlighting that by letting us know that the drug in his system is making him numb - and he fucking likes that, fucking LOVES that.

If you watch any ep at all this season I'd go for this one. You'll be able to recognise just how clever Edlund is. I notice that none of the ep reactions take in this very significant fact (the Cas mention). Wonder why.