S04.E15: Death Takes A Holiday

[DittyDotDot]

In a small town in Wyoming, people stop dying.

 

I was so excited to see Tessa again, you can't even imagine.

 

Personally, this episode is really all over the place for me. I like seeing Tessa again and the kid that plays Cole is outstanding. I'm not sure they really explored this enough, but I also love the idea of being haunted by a ghost that won't let go of you. I like the idea of them going ghost walking, but can't understand why they left Pamela alone with there bodies and didn't take any precautions at all when they knew demons were in town. I don't think will ever forgive them for the senselessness of Pamela's death. If you're going to kill off a character like this, at least make it mean something and not be death only because you needed to kill someone.  It seemed like it would have been a perfect opportunity for Castiel to heal her and heal her eyes as well. Just stupid and such a waste of an interesting character.

 

Also, I love Christopher Heyerdahl and I assume he was trying to match what the actor did in Heaven And Hell, but seriously, what's with the Brando impersonation? It's really distracting to me. And, I'm not sure Castiel was even necessary in this episode, but Alistair being zapped by lightning is one of the best things ever! That probably couldn't have happened without Castiel, so I'll take it.

 

So, watching this episode had me asking a couple of questions. Reapers: do they just carry the souls of the dead or do they also separate the soul from the body? Cole, was touched by a reaper so he was a ghost, but his reaper was kidnapped before he was carried to the other side. Whereas, the other people that were killed continued to live and I assume it's because a reaper didn't come along and separate their soul. So, now I'm thinking back to In My Time Of Dying...Dean's a ghost and Tessa says there's no way of getting back in his body (of course, there actually was a way, but she was basically saying she wouldn't do it). So, at some point Dean's soul was removed from his body before he woke up as a ghost, right? Hmm...just got me to thinking whether this lines up across the whole series or not. Oh, I shouldn't do this, it will only lead to disappointment, right?

 

 

[GirlyGeek]

I love this episode (gosh I've been saying this a lot for season 4, which is highly unexpected- I think being years out from this season and watching with all the knowledge of what's coming really helps this season)

I love the kid who plays Cole- he was great on Weeds and it was delightful to see him here. Great guest actor. I was really thrown by Alistairs voice/the choice made by the actor (who I'm sorry I wasn't familiar with before seeing him on SPN) and it ws super distracting.

I was so shocked the first time I saw this ep, when Sam threw Alistair against the tree and started to exorcise him easy peasy. And then seeing Tessa again! That was a huge highlight, plus she gave Dean back his memory of being a ghost after their car crash... I wish that would have been explored/mentioned.

Cas showing a little humor- D:"what the hell? C: "Guess again". Or whatever they said. Makes me laugh.

I had forgotten how "angel-like" Cas was at first and this early on. It's jarring, but I like watching him progress and begin to question. You see him look puzzled and like he's trying to figure humanity (and Dean, specifically) out.

Anyway I have no beefs with this episode, except maybe how much I eyerolled the boys leaving blind Pamela alone without salt lines.

Also, why the hell don't the boys fill a bunch of tubes or hoses with salt and keep them in the car so they can lay them out easy as pie wherever they go? Salt can't be dispersed/disturbed and they don't have to keep pouring salt down all over the place! Doors and windows come in pretty standard sizes, for the most part, it'd be easy to do!

I'd make a great hunter ;) ok, maybe just a well organized one.

[Dobian]

This is probably a good episode to talk about something that's been on my mind.  This show seems to not like women much.  They either perish or go away after serving their function.  We have Sam and Dean's mom of course dying in a flashback in the very first episode.  Sam's college girlfriend dies the same way.  In both cases they are burned alive, so they die horrifically.  Ellen and Jo have their bar burned to the ground and then just pop up a few times after that.  Bela gets killed by hellhounds after we learn about her sad story of being molested by her father as a young girl and making a deal with Lilith.  She never gets out of Hell apparently, a pretty brutal end for a likable character.  Did she really deserve that?  Pamela gets killed in this episode.  It was bad enough she lost her sight, but they had to bring her back to finish her off?  I don't see why that was necessary.  I checked imdb out of curiosity, and no female character appears on this show more the 15 times, 18 if you count two versions of Ruby.  I guess they made a decision early on that Sam and Dean should never get bogged down by long romances/relationships.  But they don't even have a female character who has a long recurring role just to be part of the main plot, like Bobby or Castiel.  It just seems that the show runners kind of view female characters as expendable on this show, and the way they run some of these characters out of the show feels a tad misogynistic.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Dobian

[DittyDotDot]

I find the show tells us they love women in many ways, they just haven't figured a way to get the fandom to accept many female characters. Jo was loathed in S2; Bela and Ruby in S3; Ruby and Anna in S4... . It seems to me they just gave up. Which is a shame because I think if they just stick to their guns and tell their story, the fans will eventually follow along.

Edited March 28, 2016 by DittyDotDot

[Dobian]

It's funny, I liked Bela and the first Ruby, and didn't have a problem with Jo.  I think Bela would have been a fun character to have around over the seasons.  It's just the way they dispatch some of these characters seems gratuitous.  Like Pamela already paid a heavy price losing here eyesight, why did she need to return so she could get stabbed in the gut?  Seems a bit sadistic.

[Demented Daisy]

This is probably a good episode to talk about something that's been on my mind.  This show seems to not like women much.  They either perish or go away after serving their function.  We have Sam and Dean's mom of course dying in a flashback in the very first episode.  Sam's college girlfriend dies the same way.  In both cases they are burned alive, so they die horrifically.  Ellen and Jo have their bar burned to the ground and then just pop up a few times after that.  Bela gets killed by hellhounds after we learn about her sad story of being molested by her father as a young girl and making a deal with Lilith.  She never gets out of Hell apparently, a pretty brutal end for a likable character.  Did she really deserve that?  Pamela gets killed in this episode.  It was bad enough she lost her sight, but they had to bring her back to finish her off?  I don't see why that was necessary.  I checked imdb out of curiosity, and no female character appears on this show more the 15 times, 18 if you count two versions of Ruby.  I guess they made a decision early on that Sam and Dean should never get bogged down by long romances/relationships.  But they don't even have a female character who has a long recurring role just to be part of the main plot, like Bobby or Castiel.  It just seems that the show runners kind of view female characters as expendable on this show, and the way they run some of these characters out of the show feels a tad misogynistic.

 

If you're curious, when you're done watching, you can check out my analysis of male vs female deaths on Supernatural.  It was in mid-July of 2015 in the All Episodes thread.  It only covers through the end of season 10, but I'll eventually do another.

 

ETA  The discussion begins near the bottom of this page: http://forums.previously.tv/topic/6829-all-episodes-talk-saving-people-hunting-things/page-19

Edited March 28, 2016 by Demented Daisy

[Dobian]

I'll have to read that.  We're talking late August lol.  Hopefully Netflix will have season 11 up around then and I will be all caught up for the start of the new season soon after.

[AwesomO4000]

But they don't even have a female character who has a long recurring role just to be part of the main plot, like Bobby or Castiel.  It just seems that the show runners kind of view female characters as expendable on this show, and the way they run some of these characters out of the show feels a tad misogynistic.

 

If it makes you feel any better, in season, 5 Carver introduces a female character who has stayed around for a while. She hasn't been on as often as Bobby was perhaps, but she's been in 9 or 10 episodes since her introduction. And the even better news is that she's not used in episodes by mainly one writer either like some recurring characters are. Pretty much many of the episodes she's been in have been written by different writers with only 1 or 2 repeats. She's a strong character as well, sometimes even kicking butt. She has

zombie kills, a god kill, and a vampire kill

at least so far.

[Hanahope]

Good to see they at least stopped one seal.  I was beginning to wonder if the boys would ever get a win.

[bettername2come]

Sam thinking the rules don't apply to them says a lot about Sam's headspace and why he makes such bad choices this season. Although he's right about restoring the natural order of death in general. Dean believing the opposite, but still trying to fight the natural order to save others is interesting. The guys fighting a twelve year old is far funnier than it should be. Same for the boys getting hit by anti-ghost weaponry after four years of watching them fight ghosts. I hadn't realized just how similar the two Alistairs were in voice. "What the hell?" "Guess again." I'd forgotten Castiel posed as Bobby on the phone. I miss how badass Castiel could be sometimes.

Tessa the Reaper from Saved by the Bell! I loved her. I'm amused at her switching clothing to talk to Cole instead of Dean. She goes from jeans and leather to the traditional Supernatural nonthreatening white dress. I liked her warning Dean about trusting the angels. 

Aw, I liked Pamela. And how she always called Sam "Grumpy" and appreciated his ass. And how he appreciated her appreciation. I also love how she calls him on his bullshit with her dying words. 

Aw, Kim Manners. 

[Iju]

On 28/03/2016 at 3:30 PM, Dobian said:

It's funny, I liked Bela and the first Ruby, and didn't have a problem with Jo.  I think Bela would have been a fun character to have around over the seasons.  It's just the way they dispatch some of these characters seems gratuitous.  Like Pamela already paid a heavy price losing here eyesight, why did she need to return so she could get stabbed in the gut?  Seems a bit sadistic.

i freaking hated bella's guts and so did the boys so i really don't see how you could think that, lol. jo was an edgy "I can be just like a dude" tryhard that was a fake imitation of real guts that her mother had so i didn't like her either (also the boys weren't too keen on her as well). and for the record there are tons of bad male characters (hendrickson before he turned, trickster, azazel, debatable the angels etc).

---------------------------

the boy who played cole looked at lot like skandar kynes, and tessa looked a lot like megan boone to me. huh.

dean looked so sad when he was thinking about what sam said when he was eating. sam tells him to stop worrying about it but he's so much more sensitive than him, of course he won't leave it alone.

not a lot to say about this episode, although i enjoyed it. i liked how when dean and sam were trying their powers and the objects were moving, it's just how it happens before they meet a ghost. that was continuity i guess?

poor sam boo :( :( even if he tries to use his powers for good looks like he really can't use them without getting into some major trouble with himself. the last thread of trust i had with ruby is gone, she really is leading down a horribly dark path. i didn't support her character but i supported her insistence of killing lilith by using sam's powers. it must be so hard for him because the powers are right there...and it's so easy to use them at his level. in his defense, however, he doesn't use the powers willy nilly, for example he used them mostly when dean was at death's door and he used them when pam got stabbed. i have to say even with literally everyone telling sam to stop it i'm just as blind as he is with them at the moment.

i'm sad to see pam die, she didn't deserve it, as she said. there's been so much needless deaths here throughout the season but then again we are at a war here so i guess that's to be expected. 

Edited March 22, 2018 by Iju

[The Companion]

On 3/28/2016 at 11:16 AM, Dobian said:

This is probably a good episode to talk about something that's been on my mind.  This show seems to not like women much.  They either perish or go away after serving their function.  We have Sam and Dean's mom of course dying in a flashback in the very first episode.  Sam's college girlfriend dies the same way.  In both cases they are burned alive, so they die horrifically.  Ellen and Jo have their bar burned to the ground and then just pop up a few times after that.  Bela gets killed by hellhounds after we learn about her sad story of being molested by her father as a young girl and making a deal with Lilith.  She never gets out of Hell apparently, a pretty brutal end for a likable character.  Did she really deserve that?  Pamela gets killed in this episode.  It was bad enough she lost her sight, but they had to bring her back to finish her off?  I don't see why that was necessary.  I checked imdb out of curiosity, and no female character appears on this show more the 15 times, 18 if you count two versions of Ruby.  I guess they made a decision early on that Sam and Dean should never get bogged down by long romances/relationships.  But they don't even have a female character who has a long recurring role just to be part of the main plot, like Bobby or Castiel.  It just seems that the show runners kind of view female characters as expendable on this show, and the way they run some of these characters out of the show feels a tad misogynistic.

I feel like the first season had a string of interchangeable and forgettable mostly blonde women. I have been intrigued by women who have been introduced and then they get murdered. So I am with you. It would at least have been interesting to do something with Bela, who I really liked. She could have been a Bobby. Maybe shown some personal growth over time. At least she was an interesting counter to the guys. 

I also think Ruby is intriguing and could have been written long term (assuming she isn't). And I really liked Dean's ex, Cassie. There is a trope in horror of women in danger, and it would be nice to see it subverted.

On 3/28/2016 at 12:24 PM, DittyDotDot said:

I find the show tells us they love women in many ways, they just haven't figured a way to get the fandom to accept many female characters. Jo was loathed in S2; Bela and Ruby in S3; Ruby and Anna in S4... . It seems to me they just gave up. Which is a shame because I think if they just stick to their guns and tell their story, the fans will eventually follow along.

That is a bummer. Obviously, I am very late to the party, but I feel like that were several promising storylines that could have been.

On to the episode. I loved the idea of a missing reaper. Other than senselessly killing Pamela, this episode was awesome. Tessa was such a cool character and it was awesome to have her back. I love the concept of the reaper shepherding souls rather than taking them. I thought her approach was consistent in this episode and it made it really good. 

There was some great humor in this one. The training scenes. The use of the weapons they use against them.