I'm surprised Maggie didn't bite it. I was thinking this would be the episode about Sam getting hit with the sucky people-die-on-your-watch parts of leadership but instead it seemed designed to boost his confidence/cement that this is his role now. Although I assume he's going to stretch himself to snapping point eventually.
I've gotta say, it's hard to believe that Sam is working himself to the bone when he's so perfectly coiffed and moisturized. Makeup crew couldn't have put some dark circles under his eyes?
Sam's face when Dean and Mary were talking him up reminded me of that Onion headline--Man’s Neuroses Really Putting Genuine Compliment Through The Wringer.
Dean is adjusting much better to Sam's new role than I was expecting, mostly because it's such a big shift for Sam to be deeply enmeshed in a social group that Dean isn't really a part of. They could've done an angsty round of Dean feeling like he's unneeded and resenting the change in their lives and Sam misinterpreting that as Dean having no confidence in his leadership, but instead they're both being totally upfront and supportive with each other.
I mostly liked the caseplot, but was a bit disappointed that a villain who shows people their worst nightmares was only used to fill us in on AU!Bobby's relationship baggage.
And to anviliciously hint that Dean is a Trojan horse, I guess, with all that talk about Michael playing mind games and laying traps. Maybe there could've been Hell memories, but I'm pretty sure Dean's worst nightmares would still be his family getting killed.
There was a kind of interesting contrast going on with Sam emphasizing preparation and planning and then Dean taking out the djinn using a wildly improvised weapon. Also, the brutality of the kill and the lingering shot of Dean's hand coated in blood felt ominous.
I really liked how Dean was written in this episode. His talk with Sasha was great. I liked his reply about trying to let the past go--It seemed like growth to me where previously he'd have come back with a snarky cop to his hypocrisy but now he's less defensive and more self aware. Also he's not talking about himself as a person who's too fundamentally damaged to change but as a person who's trying even though it's a daily struggle.
I think the recap lines about Jack's powers and the endgame might be because those are supposed to be ongoing threads through this season and the writers are trying to keep them in people's minds even when they aren't brought into the episodes.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2018-11-10 03:38 am (UTC)I've gotta say, it's hard to believe that Sam is working himself to the bone when he's so perfectly coiffed and moisturized. Makeup crew couldn't have put some dark circles under his eyes?
Sam's face when Dean and Mary were talking him up reminded me of that Onion headline--Man’s Neuroses Really Putting Genuine Compliment Through The Wringer.
Dean is adjusting much better to Sam's new role than I was expecting, mostly because it's such a big shift for Sam to be deeply enmeshed in a social group that Dean isn't really a part of. They could've done an angsty round of Dean feeling like he's unneeded and resenting the change in their lives and Sam misinterpreting that as Dean having no confidence in his leadership, but instead they're both being totally upfront and supportive with each other.
I mostly liked the caseplot, but was a bit disappointed that a villain who shows people their worst nightmares was only used to fill us in on AU!Bobby's relationship baggage.
And to anviliciously hint that Dean is a Trojan horse, I guess, with all that talk about Michael playing mind games and laying traps. Maybe there could've been Hell memories, but I'm pretty sure Dean's worst nightmares would still be his family getting killed.
There was a kind of interesting contrast going on with Sam emphasizing preparation and planning and then Dean taking out the djinn using a wildly improvised weapon. Also, the brutality of the kill and the lingering shot of Dean's hand coated in blood felt ominous.
I really liked how Dean was written in this episode. His talk with Sasha was great. I liked his reply about trying to let the past go--It seemed like growth to me where previously he'd have come back with a snarky cop to his hypocrisy but now he's less defensive and more self aware. Also he's not talking about himself as a person who's too fundamentally damaged to change but as a person who's trying even though it's a daily struggle.
I think the recap lines about Jack's powers and the endgame might be because those are supposed to be ongoing threads through this season and the writers are trying to keep them in people's minds even when they aren't brought into the episodes.