Boy, there were some intense moments in tonight's episode! I was
just wondering what the general concensus is here about the episode,
as I know we have all been so NUTS the past few days with
anticipationa and nerves over seeing it. Was everyone here pretty
much satisfied with how it turned out? What were your favorite
parts/least favorite? What burning questions did they fail to
answer/or DID answer adequately in your opinion? Fave performance
tonight?
For myself, I thought Jensen was just spectacular in this episode;
he just blew me away with his facial expressions, body language, the
whole incredibly angsty, tortured/desperate aura he exuded...and
then at the very end, that SMILE when he had Sam back and a new
goal, a new direction, to pursue. The contrast between his demeanor
at the start of the episode and that at the end really showcased the
range of his acting abilities and his intuitive grasp of who Dean
is, down to his bones. Someone on lj stated that Dean looked so
haggard and terrible at the beginning of tonight's ep, but oddly
enough, my overriding thought when I was watching him during the
opening scenes was that to me he has never looked more GORGEOUS. His
eyes, the faint stubble, his hands...gah. The first time I ever
really GOT IT, the mania of the Dean lovers for his looks, ha. I
think his eyes just about KILLED me in this episode. Sheesh.
As for Sam, it's weird with me cause I find Dean's character so much
more fascinating to peel apart in a sense, yet I find myself avowing
that I'm more of a Sam girl for some reason; in my opinion, and this
is NOT a slight against Jared, I just think over all Jensen is the
more polished of the two as far as acting skills, and Jared hasn't
quite mastered the same versatility of range in his acting, though
he is improving with each episode and it isn't Jared's fault that
this season his character really just hasn't had the same amount or
level of EMOTIVE opportunities that Jensen's character has had. But
in tonight's episode, that one scene in the cemetery by the crypt
was one of the most CHILLING Sam scenes I've ever seen; the
expression on Jared's/Sam' s face during that scene scared the CRAP
outta me, and then when YED said what he did to Dean about the KIND
of Sam that might have been brought back...gulp. Was that just
another cruel lie to mess with Dean's head, or is that some sort of
ominous Sammy foreshadowing for season 3?! But I have to say, Jared
in that scene was WAY intense. The end scene between Sam and Dean
troubled me in the sense that for some reason I just felt like it
fell a bit flat somehow. I know if my sister had made a deal like
that to save ME, I would have been SO angry with her, way more upset
than Sam seemed to ultimately be with Dean. I realize time was
short, it was really a brief scene, and the general tone of the
scene WAS very emotional and was a great bonding scene for the boys.
So I don't know why I just felt on first viewing that maybe Jared's
playing of that scene didn't quite match the tone of the words he
was saying to Jensen/Dean. I know I'm not explaining this well, and
that's part of my frustration- -somebody help me figure out WHY that
scene just didn't completely gel for me??!! I'd love to hear other
perspectives on it. And concerning Sam/Jared, I have to say that one
of the most powerful scenes Jared played was being DEAD at the
start! Just the way he lay there, so waxen and still and still so
BIG but so, so still...gah, that got to me. It was just very
effective.
Sorry to make this post so long...!But the two parts in tonight's
episode where I actually CRIED were: (1)That scene with Bobby and
Dean outside at Bobby's; oh, Lord, Bobby freaking when he heard the
details of the deal Dean had made, and he hit the nail right on the
freaking head when he yelled at Dean about Dean's feelings of
worthelessness and not valuing himself...that killed me so, so ded.
And when Bobby fell apart a little bit and had Dean's face in his
hand, I just lost it. So, so wonderful to see that this man does
love those boys so much, sigh...And (2) is when John came back; part
of me was howling it's not enough, we need SO much more of John, not
just 30 final seconds!! I hadn't realized just how very much I've
missed John till that scene, and I was bawling right along with the
boys. And when he turned all glowy, did that mean he'd broken free
of the curse of Hell and his deal and got to go to Heaven finally?
Killed me that he didn't say ONE word to either son, sigh...but
Lord, the EMOTION in his face, Dean's face, the tears from Sam...it
SLAYS me, people.
And that is my review, ha. My mind is cratered now and I am suddenly
sunk deep in the depression of NO NEW EPISODES for MONTHS,
argh...but hey, at least we WILL have new ones in the fall, whoo
hoo!! And I hope whatever direction Kripke heads off in this time,
it will be one wild and wonderful ride with our boys. He STILL
hasn't answered a bunch of questions/issue from the first two
seasons, so I pray those don't just get left trampled in the muck
and never addressed. And since the death of old YED has seemingly
put an end to the whole basic reason for the Winchester mens' lives
to this point, what is going to replace that as the overarching myth
arc from here on in? That is what I'm wondering.
