The Companion

Perhaps it is a lack of clear vision from the transition or network interference, or maybe it is just a miss. Or maybe it is an assumption about what the audience wants. I just can't figure out how they thought this would be recieved. I do feel like this episode brings the show back in line with what I expect from the show, Amelia notwithstanding Plus, I actually did get a little tickled when Castiel got heaven-napped and Sam had a flashback in the same conversation and you just imagine them staring off into the distance like they are AFK. 😆

I was thinking it was probably nice nostalgia for awhile and maybe now more infuriating for people. i officially apologize for reopening old wounds. 😆 But seriously, I am so happy to be getting responses from some of y'all. I did this for GOT a few years ago and got almost no responses. It has been great to both see everyone's insight on an episode and to have actual dialogue. I love it. Thanks to everyone who is willing to relive the highs and lows with me.

I loved this one. It felt like the show again. Ridiculous and gory deaths. A fun mystery with a poignant ending. Great character moments. The eyerolling flashbacks are what they are. I largely ignore them. I think the season so far could have worked with some tweaks, and this has a similar feel to the Amy Pond story. Like one person had an outline for a story and had 5 people try to write chapters. Tonight's installment COULD have been part of a worthwhile story. Have Sam fall apart on the road while trying to figure out what happened to his brother. Have him find someone in an equally bad place. But the pieces aren't fitting. He isn't written as a broken man. They tell us he is. It's like Dean post hell. They tell us he was there 40 effing years but they don't show us thr trauma. I could have also gotten behind a story where he made her up. It doesn't work and it is even worse in flashback form shoved into other stories. I am gonna say one other possibly controversial thing. This season feels like somebody took over who doesn't get the fans. Like some asshole looked at the demographics and said: we have a lot of female fans. Chicks dig tragic love stories. Let's cram some tragic love stories in there. Give me TWILIGHT. Totally missing that the women watching this show are horror and sci fi fans. You have the star crossed lovers in heartache where he just can't stand that she will die someday. The truly horrible love triangle in Bitten with completely unrealistic views on love that sound like a middle schooler wrote them. The vampire who tried to avenge his love but she was alive (but now not pure enough to love). And then there is this overwrought dramatic Samelia story. Barf. Maybe I am too cynical. Maybe the point was about fantasy vs. reality. Maybe we are supposed to hate this relationship. Anyway, I have wasted way too much of my life on this. I am overjoyed that the flashbacks are done. The rest of the episode was fantastic, and I can overlook Amelia for the explloding cake, the talking cat, "What's up, doc," and all the rest.

I am surprised they didn't both lose their shit. Neither brother feels in character to me. I have all these points about what each said but, in the end, they both are acting like assholes. Sam is worse but I hated this look for both of them and I can't imagine how pissed JA and JP were. But brothers against brothers. It's JUST LIKE THE WINCHESTERS. 🙄 Despite all of that, there were glimpses of good here. I do like Garth and some comic relief was sorely needed. I didn't mind the Bobby stuff. He is right. He gets to honor and remember Bobby too. Also, somebody did need to help the network. Sam and Dean don't interact with a lot of hunters, but it's clear there is a bigger network. They lost Ellen and then Bobby. This episode was better by comparison, if you ignore the terrible flashbacks and last scene.

That was more commentary on how much I hate the book, which I had to read in middle school and high school. 😆 Apologies for the weird sentence. The site keeps erasing random portions of my posts. It was bizarre that they were filming stuff like that.

At least bore me on a sweet ship. 😆

Castiel: I'm dirty. Me: well, there's the line that launched 1,000 Destiel fan fics. Y'all I don't care how clunky the ridiculous ultimatum was last week. I don't care how awful the character assassination has been for both of these guys (and particularly Sam). If we can just keep them here (and I know we won't because that isn't how it will go). Ignoring Samelia and the ridiculous way they have the poor actors stare off in the distance for flashbacks, this episode was genuinely entertaining. I love the Trans and have no objection to Mrs. Tran trying to make a deal. She very expressly shows us that she is trying to get tbeir life back. She doesn't have experience. It didn't feel that dumb to me for someone who doesn't know what we know. She thought she had taken enough precautions. Also, can people stop trying to kill her, because she is a great character. 😆 Can I just say that I loved that the guys communicated like adults about the potential Castiellucinations. That is when this show works best for me. I didn't get why they were so freaked out about Castiel's return. I would have assumed he died and got rebooted as he has multiple times in the show (or kicked out through some purgatory mechanism). I am intrigued by the angel espionage plot. Maybe I will love it and maybe I will hate it but it does set up an interesting prospective storyline beyond a treasure hunt.

"This universe is a period of despair, nothing else." Perhaps we should just replace universe with "season so far." 😆 Great Dracula on a Moped! Stop monologuing and get to the damn point. How do you have vampire pirates and only show them wandering around a house trying to talk the ear off of anyone who will listen? I could not care less about Sam's relationship. I did laugh when she basically said he seemed serial killer adjacent and Sam proceeded to drill her about whether she had any family that might miss her when he cut her into tiny pieces. Okay, so he was connecting with her theoretically, but she didn't know that. I feel like even the editors were bored by the "love story." That cut when he says he is fixing the sink is so weird. And I don't think I have ever seen less chemistry. The purgatory flashbacks are better but they are so choppy, and it is hard to let go of how great the concept could have been in non flashback format I have thought over and over that these two need to figure out how to send a text. Something like: going into an creepy abandoned building with that person we met earlier today. Here is the address! Dean almost did that and then deleted it. Honestly, I hate when the brothers lie to one another. I hate all of this manufactured drama. I did love the end when Dean gave a shake no and Sam trusted him.

The number of angles and bizarre camera choices kept pulling me out. Did they have both webcams running 24/7? That is weird. Also weird? Filming you roomate washing blood off of himself. Or filming someone else who is also holding a camera. Weirdest? There were multiple angles other than the handheld when the woman was in the bathroom. How many cameras did he plant in the bathroom? Well, weirdest was also maybe how into a college student was into Lord of the Flies. The worst offense was that this episode was boring. So damn boring and unoriginal. I guess partial credit for nailing the character of "nice guy" who thinks a woman owes him because he wants to have sex with her. 🙄 Not that Ms. Let's cover up my boyfriend's murdery ways or Mr. Somehow puts you to sleep even though he is murdery were much better. Silver lining: no flashbacks or brother angst.

All of these things. This would have been such a good choice Right? Ugh, the dialogue was so bad on the feeeeelings part of this episode. Beyond anything else, how do you have a conversation about a normal life and not have Dean talk about how the monsters still find you. About the danger your loved ones will be in. How is there no discussion of their mother? If we are gonna do this, let's at least do it right. 🙄 Ignoring that, the MoTW was okay. Predictable in a lot of ways but it was something novel.

There was a lot more to like about this one. I still hate the flashback storytelling mechanism, though there were some good ones in this episode that I wouldn't strike. I just would have preferred to have some purgatory episodes. Mrs. Tran was pretty great. I liked the auction, and poor awkward Samdriel. I liked that the Trans didn't trust the angels or the boys to keep them safe. Random observation: wtf was up with safety deposit box 1 being one column over and in the middle? 😆

Well, then the show would basically end or at least not include both Winchesters. Personally, I like the show best when they are working well together. I find the internal drama tedious. So, not going in my hypothetical fan fic. 😆

Luckily or tragically, I am quite stubborn. I will say it is easier to have these issues when you can fly through the episodes. Any plotline you hate doesn't get drawn out forever. Awesome. I mean, I will probably just complain about bad accents but still. 😆 It's true. I have personally decided to rewrite it as Sam did search, believed it hopeless, knew where he would end up based on Mystery Spot and decided to get out instead. It made me like 19% less angry. I will probably watch it all because stubborn, but appreciate the recommendations and know I will only have myself to blame. Hee

Well, I guess the only positive thing I can say about this one is: at least I didn't have months to anticipate a story that didn't happen. It's like S7 pitched a big fat easy ball down the middle of home plate and they threw the bat and walked off the field. I don't get it. I don't get why they would write Sam this way. All they had to do was have him say he tried. Have him reference mystery spot. Something. Instead he is entirely dismissive of the idea. I also hate PTSD Dean, as a concept. Dude spent 40 years in hell being tortured relentlessly and barely blinked. And yes I understand trauma varies, but it is irritating to have the trauma hit so differently. The entire set up feels like something we have done before. I hate when they have these ridiculous conflicts between the brothers. I get they want drama, but there are plenty of ways to write internal conflict other than keeping secrets and dying and coming back to life only to hate something the other person did during death. Meanwhile the most intriguing bits are crammed into flashbacks that are irritating and disjointed. And don't get me started on the absolutely ridiculous vet. Oh and they finally have a Winchester in Louisiana and he digs up a grave and leaves. Someone please tell me this mess gets resolved quickly and we can all pretend it never happened.

As with every finale so far, they had too many ideas crammed into one episode, and the result is that nothing has the gravitas it deserves. Bobby could have been resolved earlier. The bone scavenger hunt was rushed. The Leviathans (which I really like as a monster) go out with a whimper. Still, I thought it was entertaining. Also, as a transactional attorney, watching the scene where they negotiate a contract gave me life (and reminded me how much I hate lawyers who don't define parties recognizably). Despite the fact that they were ultimately taken down fairly easily, I thought the Leviathans carried the season fairly well. Dick was a great villain. And the end set up a fairly interesting premise with Sam alone and Dean in purgatory.

Guess I am just paranoid. Hehe.

He need someone to carry the flask so that he could travel. Even if he could muster the energy to move the flask where he needed to go, a floating flask would have been conspicuously weird. I feel like they have these really interesting ideas that all get shoehorned into a few episodes. I would have enjoyed a slow burn on this and/or more monster deals. The Leviathans* aren't playing nice with anyone else. I know the Alpha actor from The Magicians and really enjoy him. I really liked the Stockholm syndrome twist. The maid was shot suspiciously and you expected her to be a vampire or leviathan. *closed captioning tells me Leviathan doesn't change in the plural form but the internet disagrees. I apologize for any crimes against grammar.

Yeah, I think that is a reasonable fanwank, though the mechanism of death is still really confusing on this show. Absence of a Reaper stopped death from occurring in Death Takes a Holiday. I am fine without an explanation, but it would be nice to know the writers had one in mind.

Glad to hear it is a character choice. Imagine if he had that evil smile naturally and people always thought he was up to something. Personally, I like the choice here because he oozes arrogance. Sort of a Joffrey thing. You should want to punch him. Totally get why mileage varies on that, though.

Fair enough, though they were already trying to do that through different means. This could have been fixed by like three lines of dialogue. True story, I was an angel in. Christmas concert when I was 4 ish and this other kid stood in the wrong place and blocked me, so I punched her. A fistfight in front of the altar. 😆 Hopefully, he doesn't follow in my footsteps.

I enjoyed this one a lot for all the amazing dialogue and the Kevin Tran. Hooray for rebooted Castiel, who was somehow simultaneously heartbreaking, sweet, hopeful and ridiculous (in a good way). I agree that they should have at least paused when it was clear the thunder was synced but they had to do it anyway 1. as their only lead on the Leviathans and 2. For plot reasons. Lol. I am more irritated by the fact that it didn't occur to them that Kevin's home would be watched. I suppose they thought the Leviathans might not know about him, but why take thaf chance? Especially because of the level of media attention it was getting. Police would 100% treat this as a runaway. Maybe with the weird call a missing person with a medical emergency. They clearly need another paranoid person on the team. I can't believe it but I actually like Meg a lot? I found her tedious and boringly evil in prior iterations. I don't really get why so many don't like this actress. With the return of the angels, I feel compelled to share that the baby will be playing Jesus on Christmas Eve and big brother will be an angel. I am resisting the urge to direct him to act like a dick and/or to give him a sword and trenchcoat.

I am also a Dick fan. He makes a great villain. I think he hits the perfect balance of smarm, humor and evil. I love Felicia Day. I know she is fairly polarizing, but I am a fan and really enjoyed her. I honestly didn't know if she would survive (if she is in subsequent seasons, I haven't been spoiled), so I was tense the whole time. I loved the heist and the nerdy references. The ghost fight was awesome. The flirting scene was a highlight, but this was one of my favorites. I am still enjoying the Leviathans and hope there is a satisfying conclusion to the story. I have not loved many of the standalone episodes this year, preferring the storyline episodes. There was something particularly enjoyable about watching the brothers work together in this episode. They were on the same page and using their different strengths.

I liked this one, personally. All tbose ghosts were creepy. I wonder why there were no reapers. How does someone die and not get reaped? Annie was a fun character and I was a little sad we didn't get any of her. I thought she was really entertaining. I assumed it wasn't Bobby because that would be too obvious, but I was glad to discover it was. I really like Bobby and I enjoyed watching him try to navigate the world.

This one was silly and a bit ridiculous, but I liked it. It wasn't amazing, but I thought it was enjoyable. I like the idea of an entity you only see when drunk. The back alley translation deal was funny in its randomness. Something about the spring water to replace a spring got me.

Being a new parent, I could relate. True story, I googled whether you could die of sleep deprivation when the baby was 2ish weeks. Lol. I was excited to see Castiel and happy they didn't unnecessarily extend the amnesia plot. My theory on the moving objects was him, so this episode put that one to rest. There was a lot to like about this episode, even if it was jam packed. I am apparently an outlier in liking this Meg. I loved all of her angel jabs. This is my problem with any show or movie where someone comes forward in time. 😆