Before I start this I just gotta say a mighty big thank you for the recent discussion. You guys are A-MAZING! I feel blessed that I can talk about controversial stuff and it doesn't end in a slinging match and wankfest. <33
That totally ROCKED! It was one of those episodes that I felt like I could sit back and enjoy. I could rest my brain (and heart) and not have to worry about all the serious crap that's surrounding the boys at the moment (all the demon and angel stuff). Sure...the Zeke situation was there (and I'll get to that), but mostly it was just a delightful, entertaining, satisfying episode. Robbie Thompson - I loves ya!
Counting the ways:
1. I loved the
idea of this episode - use an aspect of canon in SPN (the spn books) and tie it into other real life books. Wizard of Oz is a perfect choice - especially as it dealt with one of the main themes in this episode -
home. 2. Before the season began we heard them talk about the batcave being a home to Dean but a work place for Sam. I LOVE that this episode really made it clear why Sam felt like that. It made my heart break a little with the realisation that he's too
scared to call a place home. Bad things happen to any place he calls home. I adore that we got to actually see some of Sam's coping mechanisms - don't get attached to places (and people). We had some lovely little Sam moments in this one (and Dean one's too *g*).
3. Dean is just SO comfortable in the bat cave - I love it!! He cleaned the kitchen. <3 I love his concern for Charlie - of course he'd pick saving her over killing the witch. It's a good reminder (and mirror) of his decision in saving Sam's life. Dean can't lose people. Not on his watch.
4. I was so happy to see that flashback to Dean doing an inventory and linking it to this episode. Little canon moments like that make my heart squee.
5. I adore Charlie more and more. AND MORE! She's perfect in every way.
Aside; I have often wondered why we've never been shown a kind of Sam and Dean equivalent in female hunters. I know we had Jo and Ellen but I'm thinking more like sister hunters. During this episode I was thinking...FINALLY! Finally we have 2 wonderful female characters who could easily be sisters or partners. The Charlie & Dorothy pairing is inspired! (I truly hope we get to see more of those two).
6. The MoL bunker continues to fill me with utter glee. It's ridiculous in every possible way and I love it. It makes NO sense - but I don't care. Neither does this show so it works rather perfectly. THAT GARAGE!! AND THOSE VEHICLES!
7. Kevin and Cas. The thing I was most keen to see in the beginning of this episode is how they were going to pick up from where they left off from last week. I am actually glad we didn't end up seeing the conversation that must have occurred after Dean told Cas to leave. I think we can fill in those pieces ourselves. I think it still sucks that it was so sudden at the end of the last episode and I find it hard to believe that Sam would just accept that Cas felt he had to leave, but...*shrugs* I am just not invested enough in all that to be too concerned. I have no doubt that the next time we see Cas we'll get more of that story line. I think sending Kevin off packing made sense if they were asking Cas to leave
and yay they have the bat cave to themselves again!!.
8. I did love watching Sam and Dean just be...well, Sam and Dean. Hunting evil, working together, Dean getting Sam Game of Thrones DVD (YAY!), being possessed together (squee!), chatting about Sam not "moving in" whilst in the middle of hunting, ALL THE STUFF! \o/
9. Hee. Crowley. Too bad, so sad. ;)
10. Dorothy's famous red shoes as a weapon! :DD FRIGGIN' OZ! (so cool!)
11. Dean and Zeke!Sam. It's such a huge cloud hanging over everything. Dean continues to call on Zeke (how interesting that he's taken to just saying his name and he's there) and seemingly not too bothered by the fact that he's still in Sam. I got a much better feeling that neither Zeke nor Sam are fully healed yet (though Sam looks VERY well and Zeke has obviously got some juice) - so some of the doubts I had after last week aren't so strong this week. We were given very little in the way of Zeke's intentions thoughand not much more in the way of how Dean is dealing with it all. He continues to lie and it's only a matter of time before he's caught out. I like that we got a little more on the whole situation but the heart of the episode was about having a home and a good old fashioned hunt.
The only thing I am really struggling to accept at the moment is why Dean doesn't tell Sam (aside from story telling aspect and needing to draw this secret out for a bit). I think maybe the longer it goes on, the harder it's becoming for Dean to say anything. He's probably waiting now for Sam to just figure it out. At least Sam has heard the name (and how creepy when Sam said "do you see someone else in here"...arghhhh). I just can't wait to see how this all plays out.
So yeah. Overall I was delighted with this one. Charlie always fills me with warmth and seeing the boys work together on a MoTW hunt was fab. The bunker is crazy and gorgeous and adds an element of class to everything. There were some great one-liners and lots of nice canon call backs.
And Sam feeling that maybe, just maybe he has a place to finally call home (which perhaps doesn't bode so well for the future...*meep* - how heartbreaking that might become when the shit hits the fan).
It's a good reminder (and mirror) of his decision in saving Sam's life. Dean can't lose people. Not on his watch.
Yes. Dean doesn't like losing strangers -- so of course he's going to save his family. What did he say to Sam, way back in S2, "The things I would do or kill for you and Dad . . ." He will do ANYTHING for those he cares for.
xoxoxo
Liked this episode very much too! (I ♥ Charlie!) Loved the discussion of home. I like that are progressing *toward* the Zeke angle getting revealed, using it a little but not gratuitously, and Sam getting more suspicious. I actually am fine with Dean continuing to keep it a secret - it's what they do. How many times did we want Sam to tell Dean about Ruby or the demon blood? I'm sure Dean is convinced that if he tells Sam before Sam is 100%, then Sam will eject Zeke and risk his recovery. (And while sure, he looks might fine now, he *is* getting an angelic assist.) The longer Dean doesn't speak up, too, the harder it gets.
Just makes me rub my hands in glee anticipating the mid-season glory.
(And the you had to go and mention the potential destruction of their home someday. Whimper...)
I think Sam is slowly building up the clues to seeing that something is wrong. Or different. He just needs to start putting some of the pieces together. I can't imagine how they are going to drag it out for another 6 episodes (assuming ep 10 will be the hiatus). I would think something will have to give before then...
And I'm not sure that they actually destroy the bunker in the future (though, yeah...they might), but I was thinking more in that Sam won't be able to think the bunker as home when he discovers that Dean has done. If he sees it as betrayal the comfort he might get out of feeling like the bunker is home might be gone. For Sam I feel like he is experiences the calm before the storm.
I did like Dorothy. She is kind of Charlie's Dean in a way. I hope things work out better for them than they have for the boys.
I don't hate her but I wouldn't be sorry never to see her again.
Overall, nice. Almost ... relaxing? My youngest son (who just turned 12) has taken to watching Show with me, and he cackled every time Crowley said "Bollocks!" So that was a win. ;) Perfectly acceptable filler ep. I'll give it a rewatch!
Edited at 2013-10-30 03:15 pm (UTC)
And the bunker absolutely has a swimming pool. That place has EVERYTHING so why not a pool (I'm not even going to start on why they are only just finding these things now).
Little Zeke unravels are delicious and I figure we're just going to get little moments like that leading up to the big reveal. I figure that will be the hiatus cliffy - I can't imagine how they are going to let this drag out that long.
And yeah, solid filler ep. I really enjoyed not having to think too hard or be torn by emotion. I've always enjoyed the MoTW eps so when they come along that's instantly a positive for me.
xx
oxox
But enough about plot….they have a GARAGE with more CLASSIC CARS! I cannot contain my utmost glee, itchy or no. I don't even care if the bunker is one step beyond the fantastic.
It was very cheesy and I have to admit that was part of it's charm for me. I felt it was a little tongue in cheek (almost Edlund style) and was a nice way to explore the bat cave.
That must bring them up through Swan Song, I guess?
I guess. So Chuck keep writing past the ep when he said he wouldn't (though I suspect the writers have forgotten that Chuck said he'd stop writing them).
ALL THOSE CLASSIC CARS! I wonder if we'll see them go for a ride in any. Especially love to see them on that bike!
And yep! The bunker is a magical, ridiculous, theme-park style place that I continue to love. Hee…I love that as big as it is they don't have a room for watching TV in. Though they were Sam's DVDs so maybe it had to be on his TV.
(ooh, a geeky aside, I'm currently compiling a list of all the TV shows and films Dean has mentioned over the years. After last weeks gaf on It's a Wonderful Life, I was curious to see what other references he's missed and just how many films he's watched. I'm up to S6 and it's a HEAP! I'm also checking to see if there are any "classics" (like IaWL). )
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With my comment above I was thinking more that as soon as Sam feels like there's a place called home something (LIKE DEAN LYING TO HIM!) will destroy it and he'll feel like he can't stay there any more. I was thinking more his sense of home rather than the actual place being destroyed (though I wouldn't put it past them as something they might do one day).
Charlie is wearing a tartan shirt, jeans and a pink T. Totally the Winchester uniform all girlyfied.
I also really loved this episode for most of the reasons you stated above. I recognized early on that the episode was cheesy and a bit on the unrealistic (in terms of SPN canon) side. But I enjoyed it so much that I did not even care. If I wanted to I could likely name 6-10 things that didn't necessary make sense in SPN canon world (such as Kevin being taken out of bunker after Dean just insisting like 1-2 eps before that he not leave, yada, yada). But again - didn't care. It was fun, silly, and I enjoyed it.
And yeah, there are things in there that don't make sense (Kevin being a major one - and how they've never discovered the garage before, or how they let that jar of stuff knock over without noticing it etc etc), but I was too entertained with it all to worry too much. I'm trying to be less critical this season (except for really OOC stuff) - if the ep is entertaining and i'm not bored or eye rolling I will consider it a win. :))
xx
Still saddened that Dean finds Zeke more useful than Sam, basis of the whole melt down last year. Slightly perturbed over Sam using the "you had mom and dad" line on Dean, yes, Sam has lost every home he's tried to make for himself, but I also find it hard to think of his childhood being so much worse than Dean, a grieving child himself who always tried to shield Sam from the family horrors. Clumsy characterisation, these writers don't seem to have much of a grasp on nuances - but hey, it could have been worse!
The one thing though that disappointed me more than anything was my expectation that when the opened the doors to Oz, SPN would have put it's unique slant on it and they didn't. Maybe that's a copyright decision, but Dorothy insisted that the books were a fantasy based on a hard reality and I would have liked to have seen a much darker twist to "The Yellow Brick Road".
Yeah. this is concerning, especially when Sam makes a smart comment and he thinks it's Zeke (though, I suspect that was done purely for Sam's line about seeing another person in there).
And that's a good point about Sam's complaint about growing up. I was thinking that it was more about Sam never wanting to call something home because every time he does he has to move or something bad happens. I think Sam would have called quite a few places home (because John and Dean were there), but then he had to pack up and move so it wouldn't have been long before he stopped feeling like any place was home. though maybe that's just my interpretation of it. ;)
I was actually surprised when we saw the yellow brink road I have to say. I didn't think they'd take it so literally. I wasn't exactly disappointed, but I think a dark twist would have been more interesting. Though, the whole episode had a magical fantasy feel about it, so I suspect they were sticking to that at the end.
As you say, it could have been a lot worse. I am so used to SPN giving us these kind of episodes now I almost switch brains when they come on. :)
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I went in knowing that it had to be a light episode with the subject matter and thus I think the things that have bothered other people didn't bother me- it was fun. I think Crowley's moments were my favorite.
Charlie doesn't bother me but I can see if she isn't your favorite then this episode would have not be much fun. I like her and the Dorothy they created so I totally agree with you hun. :)
I enjoyed it for it's fun element and I loved the idea that the books were based on reality (just like Sam and Dean's are) -with the twist that it's all in a TV show.
And I love the breath of fresh air that Charlie brings to the screen.
xx