Hi all, it’s good to be back. Hope you missed the show, and the reviews.
Back in season 9 when I first started writing The Gripe review I compared myself to Simon Cowell, the extremely critical judge of classic American Idol and X-Factor.
One thing that stood out to me about Simon was that he never held back, never forfeited truth and honestly to protect a contestant’s feeling. He called it as he saw it. I’d like to think I did the same with these reviews.
But there was another side to Simon, the side that recognized and acknowledged greatness when he saw it. Precisely why I liked him as a judge. He was so harsh with what he deemed as bad that when he applauded something as good you sat up and paid attention, because you knew his praise wouldn't come for any other reason than greatness.
This week I’m going to do that too, because this week’s episode just might have been the best episode of the season.
In the past I’ve been accused of nitpicking the show, and told that the Gripe Review is about me seeking flaws in the episodes so I could focus on them. Nothing is farther from the truth and hope this review helps to show that. Like Simon, I don’t like it when a writer wastes my time by delivering a subpar episode. Yet also like him, I’m not beyond giving a standing ovation when one does a good job. With a cast of actors this great, it isn’t hard to achieve a grade A episode once the writing is good, which is what happened this week. So this is my standing ovation to Eugenie Ross-Leming and Brad Buckner, the very people I criticized many times in these reviews, because they deserve it for a job well done regardless of what they’ve delivered in the past.
Of course it’s not a Gripe Review without pointing out the stumbles too, but I'll leave those for last and start on a high note.
The Winners
Dean
On a forum this week someone aptly summarized my feelings about Dean in the Hunter Games. They said he showed guts (well they used the word for spherical, rolling objects but let’s go with guts,) not because he was badass, or fierce, or merciless, but because he was honest.
(You will hear me talk about honesty a lot in this review.)
Dean’s strongest moment was when he came to Sam and Cas admitting that what he did was a massacre. He said there was a time he was a hunter, not a stone cold killer. What stands out about this is that he doesn’t sound defeated, or self-deprecating. He sounds truthful if also distraught. Yet he knows he has come to the right people, the only people in the world who care about him. Accepting a setback but not letting it railroad you, along with opening up to loved ones about how you feel, is a sign of strength. It shows Dean’s finally getting the character growth he so deserved and was overdue.
Another example was his interrogation scene with Metatron, which took me back to a similar scene in On the Head of a Pin. What was great about this scene was how organic it felt. Naturally Metatron tried to guilt trip him about the things he’d done in the past, but Dean didn’t lose it right away. He stayed focused until the very end when Metatron took it so far even the viewers felt like punching him. So when Dean punched him I could understand and feel a bit of satisfaction instead of seeing it solely as the effect of the mark. I was with him in his sentiments and reactions, not judging him for them.
Then there’s his last scene with Sam at the table which is made even more effective by Jensen and Jared’s marvelous acting. We could see he was upset, but unlike the autopilot scripts we had had so far – in which he either shut his brother out and told him he was fine, or broke down completely – he was once again open and honest. He told him he didn't blame him and Cas for storming the room (a complete departure from the end of last season.) He acknowledged that he was in trouble without going overboard about it, which then allows the two of them to talk it over like professionals.
I could go on but I’ll stop. There wasn’t one thing about Dean I didn’t like in this episode. Nothing about him seemed forced or plot driven, and everything he did made sense in the context of the person he is now and the situation he is trapped in. It was very refreshing.
Castiel
Speaking of spherical rolling objects Castiel grew a pair too. One of my major problems with Castiel’s writing since season 6 was that he never seemed to stand his ground whenever he was in dispute with the Winchesters. It only took an biting remark from Sam or a scolding look from Dean for him to back down. It happened when he was wrong but had an defensible reason for his actions yet became tongue tied talking about it. It even happened on the rare occasions he was right. It made me think the writers were trying to portray him as spineless or too obsessed with the Winchesters.
That wasn’t the case in this episode. When he heard about the brothers turning to Crowley he became the alarmist he said he didn't want to be. Dean’s reaction was original too. No longer telling his friend off, he actually admitted it was a terrible plan but the only one they had, manning up to his mistake instead of taking it out on the critic. This kind of dialogue elevates both characters because it’s the type of dialogue two supernatural war veterans - as opposed to emotionally hyper preteens – would have.
The other instance of good writing for Castiel was when he and Sam were trying to break down the interrogation room door to get to Dean. At first I was annoyed by Castiel just standing there and letting Sam beat on the door. Then I remembered the issue with his fading grace. It was an excellent choice to make him remind us through his action – or inaction – of this continuity. Had he just blasted the door instead of hesitating it would have been a legitimate gripe to ask why he didn’t worry about the cost.
The only thing still bothering me about Castiel is his new found paternal attachment to Claire and his validation of all the stupid tantrums she has. He should be wise enough to know it is moronic for her to care about a man who sold her to a pervert, yet he is quick to make an excuse for her that puts the blame on him. I also could have done without his silly cellphone/emoticon moment but it seems to be a mandate to have at least one awkward silly Castiel moment every episode.
Sam
What is there to say about Sam that I haven’t said before? How he’s gone from the character I had the most problems with in the previous seasons to the best character of season 10. If there is one credit I would give this season it is the wonderful transformation of Sam Winchester.
Sam’s problem in earlier seasons was that he was always knee deep in trouble, so much so he had no chance to show us the human side of him. We also didn’t get to see things from his perspective, or see him as a reliable person in the Winchesters’ perpetual war against evil.
That is no longer the case because Sam – as far as I’m concerned – is the emotional and logical rock of Team Free Will this season. He’s the one holding the fort, talking sense when the other two lose the thread of reason and reaction. He’s everywhere and like a titan, holds the walls that threaten to collapse on him and his extended family. And he does it casually yet with an almost heartbreaking sense of responsibility, care and intellect.
Consider the scene where Castiel is dragging Metatron to his car and Metatron is ranting and berating him, trying to get under his skin. Castiel says, “This isn’t about me,” and Metatron asks, “So what is it then?” Right at that moment we see Sam step out of the car like a protective big brother and give him the don’t-F-with-me-or-my-friend look that makes Metatron literally take a step back. It’s a very effective scene, asserting the idea that of the three heroes on the show, Sam is the least likely to fall for the bad guy’s BS and therefore the most reliable and formidable one.
The Losers
Crowley and Rowena
Sadly, in an episode where the A plot soared, the B plot fell flat on its face. I’m still struggling to understand where the Rowena/Crowley saga is supposed to go. It’s moving at a snail's pace and repeating the same sequences: Rowena tries to do mischief; Crowley or one of his goons catches her in the deed; she talks herself out of it; goes back to doing mischief.
All I got this episode was the writers trying to hammer the fact that Rowena was a bad mother and Crowley hasn’t forgiven her for it. We knew that already from the first half of the season so the only thing we’re left with is her mischief, and since those didn’t go anywhere the whole plot revolving around Rowena and Crowley seemed like a giant waste of time.
There was a moment when I thought we were making progress and the A and B plots were converging. It was when Rowena found out about and stole the First Blade. I thought about the possibilities that could come out of this plot twist. Rowena being in the possession of the blade and hiding it from Crowley would have been an interesting development that could pull her story out of its stagnant state and make her important to the Winchesters. Unfortunately the writers took that advantage away from her which put us exactly back where we started, with Crowley in charge and Rowena trying to get in his favour. The only plot development they had this episode was Rowena finding out about the blade. I could hope they make use of that eventually but with the helter-skelter way this season has been going I won’t be surprised if they soon forgot about it.
Claire
Through my last review people pretty much know I don’t like Claire. However in this episode even she was better as a character. She wasn’t a more likable or positive character, but she was better in terms of her involvement in the story.
Claire’s idiotic love for her street dad makes her seem like a character with little intellect or attention span, but we could write that off as her being too young and inexperienced. Her problem however is that the writers do the same thing Castiel does with her: coming up with excuses for her reckless behavior and trying to get sympathy from the audience. If they let her be who she really is, a pain in the butt teen that needs a wake up call and a thorough lecture, her character would be much better.
In this episode they came close to that, almost if not quite. I got intrigued by the role she might be playing in the overall story by becoming the thread that could unravel the boys’ hard-woven, fragile tapestry that kept Dean’s hands blood free. Had the writers not flipped her at the end, had she gone along with her friends’ suicidal plan to ‘teach Dean a lesson,’ Dean’s story would have been a lot more complicated. If Dean had killed Claire’s associates the urgency of the situation would have ramped up substantially and Claire’s presence in the story would have found meaning.
Claire chickening out in the last second for no reason, (though I suspect Dean’s good looks might have something to do with it,) made her story pointless. I understand that they wanted to remove her from the show and couldn’t have her mess with the plot too much, but then why add her to the story in the first place, and why create a plothole by having her suddenly lightswitch into caring for Dean and Castiel when ten minutes ago she was willing to rip both of them apart?
Even though I had these issues with Crowley and Claire’s story I don’t blame them on the writers of the episode. It’s likely that the showrunners didn’t want to take the season-long mytharc to certain places that would prevent them from going back to a semi-procedural format. Rowena and Claire becoming too involved with the main plot would make the show more serialized and mythology reliant and that, as I argued in my mid-season finale review, doesn’t seem to be the plan for the show.
Let me know what you think in the comment section. It’s good to start the year with a positive review about a good episode. I would have said I hope the trend continues but next week is the return of Queen Charlie Sue so I'm not holding my breath.
Note: Due to changes in my work schedule I might have to move the reviews to Sundays, to give myself a little time on the weekends to work on them. So if you don't see a Gripe Review next Saturday don’t gripe, it’ll be posted on the next day.
Tessa
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