S10.E03: Soul Survivor

[Tara Ariano]

Sam tries to release Dean from the Mark of Cain. Meanwhile, Crowley seeks the help of an unlikely ally after encountering problems due to Dean's behavior.

[catrox14]

[Hana Chan]

Seriously show... after all that, would it kill you to end an episode with allowing Sam and Dean to actually talk? Not send Sam out on an errand so Dean could have a heart to heart with someone else. Because Gods know those two need to really talk.

[Jediknight]

Come back Deanmon, come back.

 

Crowley is awesome, but I'm going to miss his bromance with Dean.  I loved the one dude trying to become Crowley's wingman.

[AwesomO4000]

Not entirely sure what I think yet except that when I saw who wrote the episode, I was really worried. It could've been really bad, but I think I liked it.

 

I do agree with Hana Chan though. As nice as Dean and Castiel talking was, did they have to skip over Sam and Dean talking? I'll forgive them if we get it next week, but I'm expecting not.

[SueB]

 

Seriously show... after all that, would it kill you to end an episode with allowing Sam and Dean to actually talk? Not send Sam out on an errand so Dean could have a heart to heart with someone else. Because Gods know those two need to really talk.

HUG-US INTERRUPTUS?

FEELS-US INTERRUPTUS?

 

All I know is that it was great but we missed some cuddle-time.  Haven't seen yet but I spoil myself completely all the time.

[Tippi Blevins]

Castiel: We still have the Mark of Cain to worry about.

Sam: Eh, I'm sure it can wait til Sweeps or even later in the season.

[Hana Chan]

Just how old was that half-eaten piece of pie in Dean's room? I get that Sam left Dean's room untouched while he was looking for his brother, but that pie would have been majorly fuzzy and probably able to walk away under it's own power by now.

 

Sam was really put through the wringer in every way possible here. Besides DemonDean basically using every emotional weapon at his disposal and Sam at a real physical disadvantage with his injury, he also has his own guilt to deal with. What happened with Lester totally sucked and what Sam did was basically put a gun in his hand and hoping that he wouldn't pull the trigger. I totally get that Sam never meant for the deal to actually go down, but with how run down he probably was, he couldn't control all the variables. And that was some seriously fast deal-making there.

 

And Dean... resentments are an interesting thing. You can know that they aren't rational, but that doesn't stop the bad feelings. I hope that this starts him on the path to actually dealing with all this shit that gets piled on him and not just bottling things up inside. And with the MoC still in the picture, he's not out of the woods yet. Crowley's got the first blade so while things are better... yeah, bad things are coming.

[DittyDotDot]

Just how old was that half-eaten piece of pie in Dean's room? I get that Sam left Dean's room untouched while he was looking for his brother, but that pie would have been majorly fuzzy and probably able to walk away under it's own power by now.

 

Heh, except in the bunker. Remember when they found the place there were cups of coffee still sitting out and not a speck of dust anywhere. Now I understand Dean's anti-aging abilities...although, I don't know how to explain it pre-S8. ;)

[kimrey]

My god, the angel stuff is SO. BORING.  Every time Hannah and Cas were on screen, if they weren't talking about Sam and Dean, I zoned out.  

 

I wish the bunker chase scenes lasted longer.  That was excellent.

 

Welcome back, Dean!  I'll miss sassy Demon!Dean, but I'm happy Dean is back.  I'm glad the mark will still be an issue though.  That'll keep things interesting!

 

I definitely wanted a brotherly moment there at the end and felt kinda cheated of it.  But I think next week is going to have a ton of brotherly feels, so I'm trying to be okay with it!

 

Also, I'm laughing at Sam and Dean looking at those pictures of Jared and Jensen.

Edited October 22, 2014 by kimrey

[CC70]

I'm a little disappointed. Didn't like that as much as I thought I would....And that is NOT how you cure a demon.

 

I already miss Deanmon. :(

[Aeryn13]

Meh, this was about right for an episode from the nepotism duo, namely shit.

 

Demon!Dean gets completely cured after three measly episodes. Not surpressed or anything but gone-gone. I don`t recall Sam`s multiple supernatural storylines being gone after three eps. No matter how much I wished it sometimes. But god forbid Dean gets an actual story that goes on a bit longer. What is up for him now? Back to guilty cheerleader duties? 

 

And I`m not looking forward to Sam secretely gloating. I can`t even believe when the guy spouts stuff like "I`m the least of you". Now, he will have gotten a massive ego-surge and quite frankly, I doubt that can be kept out of his performance.

 

The stupid blood cure? For real? Like I didn`t hate anything to do with the trials enough in the first place. I get they would try it but this piece of crap should not have worked. 

 

Also, I wanted Demon!Dean to deliver a couple of home truths a la "seriously, you hated ME for doing that family above al else shit, why do it yourself now". In short, the fucking Purge speech really adressed. Aftr all, why even try to bring back a guy who was apparently nothing but a cowardly loser all his life. From what Sam said Dean was and forever has been, Demon!Dean was still a better person so trying to bring human!Dean back made no sense.

 

I expect them to do absolutely nothing with the MOC till maybe the mid-Season or Season Finale. It`s not a Sam storyline after all. If it was, we would get it in every filler from here on and in every mytharc episode.  

[Tippi Blevins]

Did the priest even actually bless that blood? He does his little blessing or whatever over the cooler, and then Sam grabs blood bags out of the fridge and dumps them into the cooler. Does the cooler transfer blessings? Why am I even asking that?

[Wynne88]

I was really impressed that it was so clearly Dean once the cure had taken effect, without him even saying anything.  I hadn't realized exactly how different Demon Dean was in very subtle ways.  Jensen did a super job with that.

 

I'm glad that Sam finally got to save Dean, even if he did need help from Castiel.

[SueB]

 

Did the priest even actually bless that blood? He does his little blessing or whatever over the cooler, and then Sam grabs blood bags out of the fridge and dumps them into the cooler. Does the cooler transfer blessings? Why am I even asking that?

Yes, priests can bless objects so he blessed both the cooler and the blood inside. So... the blood was blessed (sort of like holy water but holy blood...damn, I bet that hurt).

Edited October 22, 2014 by SueB

[kimrey]

I'm glad that Sam finally got to save Dean, even if he did need help from Castiel.

 

I'm giving Sam 100% credit for the save.  Cas saved Sam, Sam saved Dean.  It's about time!

[Dot Com]

Tippi, I assumed that the priest blessed all the blood in the fridge.

The young man standing next to Crowley handing him things is Mark Sheppard's oldest son Max. Max is 14 years old.

Edited October 22, 2014 by Dot Com

[Hana Chan]

Dean's storyline is hardly finished. He's still got the MoC and Crowley still has the First Blade so there's going to be a lot more coming own the road. I wouldn't be worried about that. I'm glad they resolved the most extreme aspect of the storyline so that they a progress the rest of it. Otherwise we'd just in for a season of Dean acting like a murderous frat boy and Sam trying to get a leash on him.

 

The angle stuff is really beyond boring. We get it already! Angels just don't get people. Can we just send the whole lot of them back to Heaven already because they really do put the breaks on the episodes momentum.

[Aeryn13]

That was so painfully anticlimatic, if that was supposed to be Sam`s "big save" after years to come, it`s ludicrous. I`ve seen more impressive things in filler hunts.

 

When Sam was to be resouled, Dean killed himself to speak with Death, became Death for a day and everything. Here, we had nothing else but Dean getting some vitamine Blood shots and a hug from Cas and all better. They might as well have cured him from the flu.  

Edited October 22, 2014 by Aeryn13

[Mcolleague]

The good: Jensen was brilliant as demon Dean, the growling was seriously pretty scary. And the moment human Dean came back and he looked up hurt me. Nooooo! There's a lot of very accusatory subtext to how he says his lines - "What do you care?" and Sam not having a response - so much suggested history and calls back to the conflict and Sam's words last season which was good continuity. Someone on Tumblr called the Sam getting Lester to sell his soul thing - which I liked. It's dark, but not irredeemably so IMO. 

 

The bad: That was... very anticlimatic???? So they basically showed all the interesting scenes in spoilers. And this concludes the demon Dean storyline which was.. what exactly? He had no powers, basically acted like a frat boy for a couple of episodes, and that's it...? al;kdjfald; Wtf why was it so easy to cure him? I expected SOME sort of twist there, and there was nothing, it was exactly what everyone predicted. Why was there so much of Crowley in hell with his random minions, pining for Dean? Why are they holding executions in hell??? Isn't the point eternal suffering, why isn't everyone self immolating then? What was even the point of the Cas/Hannah storyline? She goes with him and then waits in the car. They literally killed another woman to "keep Cas' hands clean". Wonderful! Ugh I'm so frustrated with this show. The dialogue was SO clunky and on the nose, first the explicitly spelled out detour metaphor, then Cas literally spelling out in words that humans feel profound pain (therefore Dean didn't want to be human). A lot of it honestly felt like pandering to the shippers, and I don't say this lightly since I'm not actually against the ship - but wtf was that conversation in Dean's room supposed to be. And the divorcing Sam comment thrown in to appease the other ship. *eyeroll* Whyyyyy?!! So much potential with this storyline. UGH!!!  

 

Yup, time for the hexbags under the writers' pillows. I knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up so high this always happens. :( 

Edited October 22, 2014 by Mcolleague

[Ferniesfreckles]

Ugh, they shoul NOT have released that scene for advance viewing.

Especially since it was the best part of the whole freaking episode!

I was expecting a whole hell of a lot more.

So that woman is the new big bad for the season?

For a second, when Dean comes to for the last time and is looking at Sam and Cas, Dean sort of looks....off?

There was something there in his eyes.

[7kstar]

Got mixed reviews.  Still processing and questioning how I feel.

 

Okay Show, if I'm supposed to be mad a Sam and feeling he did worse than Dean...got nothing.  Also for once I am hopeful I will continue to like Sam and that's been a long time coming.

 

I was afraid that the line "Do it!" was going to lead into the next ep and be a set up for more, but they wrapped it up fast.  Also all the best scenes were leaked so, that didn't help.

 

I did like Dean and Sam and Jensen's performance...WOW!  But if they drop it and ignore it and suddenly it is all about Sam again...well supernatural won't be top on my list to watch...so you better deliver both brothers hunting things and saving people.

 

It is kind of sad on one hand how easily it was to save Dean.  I really think they goofed showing this in flashbacks and really there wasn't any need.  An active storyline would have really helped.

 

I wish we had gotten a Sam and Dean moment and we better get one next week.  I did love both brothers going through the pictures and I hope this will lead to Sam realizing how much better off they both are when they fight together and that he shares the line "I'm proud of us."

 

Dang for not sure how I feel, I sure wrote a lot.

Edited October 22, 2014 by 7kstar

[placate]

Was that women at the end Abbadon?  Maybe depossesing Dean brought her back or something?  I feel bad for Jared whenever I see his cast.

[AwesomO4000]

Here, we had nothing else but Dean getting some vitamine Blood shots and a hug from Cas and all better.

 

But as we saw from the flashbacks, this was just the last step in a whole series of steps that lead to Dean being saved. It wasn't as flashy as Dean being Death for a day, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't very involved. Besides in a way, it was more Sam. There was a plan to it and logical thinking. As Sam learned in the past, his big, flashy saving attempts of anything usually fail, and often spectacularly. Like when he tried to bargain with Crossroads demons, when he tried to stab Lilith in "The Monster..." or when he tried to stop the apocalypse by killing Lilith. Even when he said "yes" to Lucifer in "Swan Song" that almost failed at first if not for the assist from Dean. Just because Dean can get the big, flashy, "let's let all the demons in" plans to work doesn't mean anybody else can.

 

I was fine with this save. Sam had a plan and he kept working at it step by step instead of rushing in before he was ready. He did it mostly by himself, not burdening Castiel until he had to, and best of all, for once he actually succeeded.

 

Just because the last step wasn't flashy doesn't negate the whole process for me.  I tried to think of one of my typical illustrative examples, but my brain decided to give out on me tonight, so hopefully I don't need one, or someone else can give one for me.

 

My big WtF came at the end. Who/what the hell was that? Did I miss something where I should know what that was about?

[amazinglybored]

Well, that was crap. Screw you, Carver.

 

Nepotism duo, enough said. Please quit, the god damn fandom will probably pay you not to write for this show. JA's face when he found out he was directing a nepotism duo's script and it would be the one where part of his arc was taken away probably wasn't pretty.

 

Demon Dean ended in episode 3, what a ridiculous waste. He gets something big and then it's gone before JP's sling is, I distinctly remember suffering through the never ending Sam arcs and this is what I get. This show craps on anything promising, wasted chances are its calling card and they never learn with anything. I guess he still has the mark, but watch that get ignored for episodes on end or only mentioned in passing.

 

The angels continue to be boring, they also crapped all over Castiel and, like with most things, I doubt it was deliberate or that they know how to fix it... or if they need to.

 

Them trying to make me like Sam... it's giving me new things to dislike. How hard can it be to not make a character an asshole? Don't have him looking smug, for one, I could do this better and I don't even like the character.

[AwesomO4000]

Don't have him looking smug, for one,

 

I honestly didn't see any smugness.

 

Where I thought Jared missed was in his overly concerned look as Dean was changing back into human. I think that should've been reshot  by whoever was directing that part of the scene (I'm assuming someone else since Jensen was in it?)

 

I thought Jared did a pretty good job for the rest of the episode. There were a lot of emotional moments going on there and i thought he expressed them well.

Edited October 22, 2014 by AwesomO4000

[kimrey]

Was that women at the end Abbadon?  Maybe depossesing Dean brought her back or something?  I feel bad for Jared whenever I see his cast.

 

Nope.  New character!

[supposebly]

I have nothing interesting to say at the moment, except I got reminded again what's been bugging me since the season started. Why doesn't Hannah zap Castiel and herself to the bunker or at least to its vicinity? The driving is as slow as the plot. Or whatever that's supposed to be.

[kimrey]

I did not see any smugness from Sam either.  I actually really love Sam this season so far.  I hope he continues to be supportive and grateful for his brother.  I hope they keep this up because last season hurt all of my SamnDean Brotherly feels.

[7kstar]

I honestly didn't see any smugness.

 

Where I thought Jared missed was in his overly concerned look as Dean was changing back into human. I think that should've been reshot  by whoever was directing that part of the scene (I'm assuming someone else since Jensen was in it?)

 

I thought Jared did a pretty good job for the rest of the episode. There were a lot of emotional moments going on there and i thought he expressed them well.

 

 

I did not see any smugness from Sam either.  I actually really love Sam this season so far.  I hope he continues to be supportive and grateful for his brother.  I hope they keep this up because last season hurt all of my SamnDean Brotherly feels.

I thought they were trying to show Sam being afraid, afraid that they had failed and Demon Dean would continue and his only option would be to kill his brother.

 

I get Sam needing a break and heading for all the things that make Dean happy and a drink suggests that he needed to leave to get himself in check.  I didn't feel Sam wanting to blame his brother for what almost happened but you know that he is feeling the moment of dying and not able to save his brother if Cas hadn't stopped Dean.  But I think they will need to talk a little and then of course they will once again shove it down and ignore it.

 

Dean still has the mark which will be driving him to kill and if he doesn't kill...will having the blade gone help Dean control this issue which we saw was happening before he touched the blade. 

 

I think this might be the best this writing team has done...IMO  Doesn't mean I think they are awesome, but we did have some really good moments. 

 

For the first time in way too long, I'm not mad at Sam, just don't push me back into that mode.   That's all I'm hoping for, and a bit of bonding with the brothers. 

 

the angel storyline...not working but I did like Hannah a little this ep.  Crowley gave some good moments but the point of the story...not sure I see the need.  Also not sure I get why the angels no longer can zap to place to place with most of the angels restored to heaven...I get why Cas can't but why can't Hannah or is she just pretending so she has an excuse to stay with Cas?  This part is a weak story though, in any shape and form.

[catrox14]

Well, fuck it. I am pretty irritated right now. Like I read spoilers but I thought maybe they were just misdirection and that demon!Dean would be around a lot longer (yes I know I hated the idea and still do from the point of Dean, but fuck me, Jensen nailed demon!Dean and made him so damn compelling that I didn't want that to end already. It was amazing work and he deserved to do more with it.  And seriously show, could you give Dean something fucking meaningful for more than 5 freaking minutes.:(?? 

 

It could have been much worse considering it's the Nepotism Duo. I thought they wrote some kind of interesting dialogue for Dean and Sam.  But the angel stuff just needs to go away. I am so over it. And why they wrote that teaser to end the episode instead of ending it on either Jared or Jensen is shitty schlocky choice. I'm just going to pretend that the episode ended on Jensen's face.

 

That said, I really hope there is something different with Dean and that maybe he's not really cured at all and is just biding his time.

 

I think Jensen did a really nice job with the episode especially considering he was actually in the episode. And as usual Jensen nails it. The shift from demon!Dean to NotExactly!Dean was amazing.

 

But man I am so fucking disappointed that they really already dumped Demon!Dean.  Especially since Jensen said at JiBcon he was hoping they wouldn't scrap it up too quickly.  Ugh. :(

[AwesomO4000]

Why doesn't Hannah zap Castiel and herself to the bunker or at least to its vicinity?

I think angels couldn't do that when they fell to earth, but shouldn't they have gotten that back once  they went back to heaven? Or did they all lose their wings when they fell and they haven't gotten them back yet? Have we seen any angels - besides maybe Metatron - zap anywhere recently?

 

Honestly I don't know for sure. I wondered that for a moment myself, then thought, "oh yeah, they fell and couldn't do that in a host anymore," but then yeah they're back in heaven now, so I'm confused.

[SueB]

 

Why doesn't Hannah zap Castiel and herself to the bunker or at least to its vicinity? The driving is as slow as the plot. Or whatever that's supposed to be.

The Angels don't have wings yet. 

 

ETA: I don't think Heaven is really open for business either.  They have a backdoor to go upstairs and they've gathered the angels there. But their wings were fried off when they fell. The backdoor is a spell. And I think their powers are limited too.

Edited October 22, 2014 by SueB

[miles2go]

I have nothing interesting to say at the moment, except I got reminded again what's been bugging me since the season started. Why doesn't Hannah zap Castiel and herself to the bunker or at least to its vicinity? The driving is as slow as the plot. Or whatever that's supposed to be.

As I was watching, I kept wondering why  angels couldn't afford a basic navigation device.  Or aren't able to read a map.  (I forgot they should be able to zap themselves anywhere they liked.)

 

 

The episode was okay, glad we've got Dean back.  The big surprise for me was Sam being responsible for Lester -- didn't see that coming.

[SueB]

Well I'm happy. I thought it was an inTENse hour of television.

Story:

OUTSTANDING. This was the brutal conflict so many have wanted. Dean unchained. His twisted soul spouting every horrible thing he could think of.  I don't believe Dean feels these things but Demon!Dean sure knew how to twist the knife. Little features (from the writing) that were great:

- Sam getting consecrated blood from a blood bank. Matched Dean's actual blood type, doesn't weaken him, and no worries about whether or not he would be successful in a confession.

- The way Dean tried everything to stop Sam. ACTUALLY trying to kill Sam.  I thought that would be a fake-out but they went there.

- Sam crossing a moral event horizon with Lester. I don't see what he did as worse than Dean (because it was clear he thought he could stop the deal) but at the end of the day Lester lost life AND soul. Really really bad risk Sam took there.

- I expected Hannah to get fridged for Cas. Glad that didn't happen.

- Crowley SAVING Cas. I'm over the moon about this.  I may be the only one but I love the little demon.  It's wrong. I know. Even when he said he didn't care if Dean died -- I just don't care. I don't believe him. Crowley is like a secret part of Team Free Will in his own mind. I KNOW he is.

 

Character/Acting:

Sam/Jared broke my heart tonight. I thought his actions were perfectly "Sam". Detailed, careful plan. Crushing guilt over Lester. Panic over Dean's pain. And Jared IMO did a good job of expressing a duality of terror (that Dean would kill him or that he would have to kill Dean). Going thru the family pics! And I loved how he just wanted to get Dean some cholesteral and himself some booze. 

Dean/Jensen was f*cking SCARY. He does axe murderer very well. I don't want to meet him in a dark alley if he's pissed at me. But it was the little silent moments that really got to me. His harsh statements co-mingled with pain/fear at what was happening. Looking nauseous during treatment. And the FIRST FREAKING LOOK of "Dean". I was immediately back in that warehouse with that look on his face.  And then hiding the pics as Cas came in. *sobs* And stating bluntly that he tried to kill Sam. I think Demon!Dean surprised Dean with that one. 

Cas/Misha and Crowley/Mark were their usual brilliant self but this was the Sam & Dean show tonight.

 

Directing:

Standing Ovation for Director Ackles. The set use, the lighting, the pacing.  That was a f*cking scary cat & mouse game. This episode is going to be a series standout for me for the beauty of those scenes.  Between Jensen and Jerry Wanek it looked like the MoL added another 1000 linear feet tonight. I know it's just angles and what not but it was so very well done.

 

Really, I'm so thrilled with the quality of this episode.  Do I want another 5 hours of Demon!Dean and hashing out everything that happened? Yes. But I get them wanting to get back into the "show". I don't think the Demon!Dean plot is over yet. And I certainly think the brothers need to work some shit out.  I hope we get it.

Edited October 22, 2014 by SueB

[Slovenly Muse]

 

Does the cooler transfer blessings? Why am I even asking that?

I tell you. The things you need to know when you're a Supernatural fan.

[mertensia]

Poor Dean is going to be horrified at all of Baby's dings and scrapes. I hope Sam cleaned her out.

DemonDean is a scary scary being. We do not need DemonDean walking through eternity. Ever.

I wonder, if you're a demon, if it hurts to get bearhugged by an angel. I loved that Castiel 's eyes were blue and Dean's were flickering black.

[rue721]

Wow, that script was a mess. Such a disappointment. Also, are they out of money already? This was such a bizarrely cheap-o episode for so early in the season. IIrc, 7 speaking parts total and 5 locations? What, are they going to have to start using camcorders next week?

 

Probably best that they skimped on the budget, though -- the script wasn't worth spending any money on. I seriously would have been pissed if I were the EP and had writers try to pass this bullshit off to me as their finished product. I hope the writers got their asses handed to them for basically not plotting this episode, because that's pure laziness. How much money did the production company have to spend and how many hours did the cast and crew have to work to get that bullshit, nothing script onto film? Ugh, what a waste.

 

As far as I could tell, the A-plot was that Sam was injecting Dean with blood until (off camera, natch) Dean just up and walked out of the cuffs and the devil's trap, then Dean chased Sam for a bit and they flicked the lights on and off, then Castiel showed up and said it was over. The B-plot was Castiel and that other Angel driving to a convenience store, and the C-plot was Crowley reading forms aloud. Seriously? READING FORMS ALOUD was a plot?

 

More minor gripes:

 

Why was Sam waving around that demon knife if he wasn't even going to use it? What was the point of that? Just stab Demon!Dean in the chest and let Chekov's freaking gun go off, please. Plus, Dean was already killed by getting stabbed in the chest, it's not like that's some Unthinkable Plot Point That Can't Happen, there's not really any reason to pull that punch. Also, if there ever could have been *any* suspense w/r/t that knife, it was totally ruined when Dean wasn't even scared of it. He just shrugged it off and said Sam wouldn't use it, and Sam didn't deny that, and then Sam didn't use it. Wtf was that? At least *pretend* that the supposed threat is a threat, or at the very least don't have the characters just explicitly say it's not a threat and that they don't feel threatened even. Or, if there's no way to make that threat seem credible, only dismiss it if you have an even better/bigger/more credible threat to introduce, ffs. Don't just snuff out all suspense and all sense of jeopardy.

 

Second of all, that Demon!Dean/Sam confrontation was so warmed over. I mean come on, they have had those same fights like TEN ZILLION TIMES. Dean got more personal and mean with the woman he was hooking up with in the premiere. Do the writers even watch this show? I know they've written other episodes not so long ago, so they must, but it seriously felt like they'd seen one episode from back in S3 or something and were trying to wing it based on that. There was nothing new, nothing interesting, absolutely nothing added in terms of anyone's characterization, not even any actual fight scenes. The closest they came to a fight scene was when they had that ridiculous cliche of Sam looking very intently for Dean in one direction when Dean was actually behind him. Too bad they forgot to do the thing of someone hearing a noise coming from the closet, slowly reaching for the closet doorknob, swinging the door open and -- a cat jumps out! Phew.

 

What was the point of some demon guy immolating himself in front of Crowley? Nobody on screen got scared at all, because again, even things that could arguably be made into threats weren't sold as threats in this episode because god forbid there's any suspense at all -- but I thought that it would at least have *some* kind of consequence, because why else include it? But no, nothing else happened in that so-called storyline, it remained inexplicable. I'm still even confused because, if the guy was already in hell, who cares if he decides to immolate himself? What even happens to him after the immolation, doesn't he just stay in hell? Meh.

 

My favorite WTF was actually the end/tag of some lady sitting in a chair with people she murdered on the ceiling dripping on her. Who in the entire world cares about this random lady? And why is she sitting right below these people letting them drip on her? Demon!Dean was so much more interesting as a villain than some random lady who likes to read and has no common sense, so what was anyone even supposed to feel/think upon seeing that take? Was it to make everyone sad that this Demon!Dean arc wrapped up too quickly and is about to be replaced by something utterly generic? I guess that *is* horrifying, so never mind, this episode was scary after all.

 

Anyway, sorry to be so cranky, this episode honestly just annoyed me because I love this show, so even though I understand that the writers and everyone are bored/tired/want to move on, it frustrates me to see the ball get dropped like this. I also really liked the demon!Dean idea and was just settling into it! It's so frustrating for them to throw away such an interesting idea -- that was also working really well, imo -- without really bothering to explore it.
 

I'm not even clear why, as a demon, Dean was so opposed to hanging out with Sam. He had all the same likes and dislikes otherwise, it seemed like. Why wouldn't he want to spend time with his same old bff? Why wouldn't he even try to trick/persuade/whatever Sam into becoming a demon, too, especially if he genuinely liked it and wanted to stay that way? I thought that the thing with demons was that they weren't that sentimental and were pretty pragmatic -- so wouldn't Dean actually be *better* able to win Sam over than he usually is, because he could be totally pragmatic about it? Wouldn't their relationship actually be *less* adversarial if they didn't have real feelings/morality/whatever?

[Macbeth]

That was reallty bad.  Epic in its badness. The show looked empty and out gas.

 

The quick change from Demon Dean to Dean was poorly executed.  Big build up ;and it only takes Cas to give the shot for Dean to change.  WTF.

 

I think the show realized that with so small a cast, seperating the guys and their chemistry is not a good idea at all.  You don't have a Bobby or a Kevin helping Sam.  Crowley and Dean were good for only 1 episode.

 

You know its bad when the most dynamic character, Crowley (IMO), is boring.  There was no energy to his scenes.at all.

 

And the mysterious red-haired lady at the end, the New Bad, basically Abaddon Part II.

 

And I write this next part with no small amount of fear.  Jensen can be an effective actor, especially in comedy.  While his potrayal of a demon has been passable in previous episodes,  the decision to let him direct the episode where he really needed to give his "A" game is a fireable offense.  He really needed to be directed by someone else.  The writing was not there to help him at all.  Jensen does not have the acting chops to pull this off without major support.

 

And while I am no fan of fight scenes, apparently Jensen and Jared need the physical contact to bring any intensity to their scenes. 

 

Also, Mr. Jensen, you are a ridiculously handsome man.  Stop the botox immediately.  Your looks need no "improvement," and your acting cannot survive it.  I spent a good deal of time looking at your forehead last night wondering if it would move.  That would be a no.

 

Time to wrap things up guys.

Edited October 22, 2014 by Macbeth

[mizkat]

I thought Jensen did a great job directing such a crap script. The only good side is that there wasn't anything blatantly offensive about it. But for such an important episode (Dean being cured, Cas getting his grace back, Crowley returning as the king of hell) it was so very, very mediocre. 

 

The acting was good. Jensen and Jared were terrific. Jensen should direct more episodes. There were so many moments where the directing elevated the writing. 

[2Old2BAFangirl]

Meh, what a letdown.

 

3 episodes of DemonDean in the season hyped as "The Year of the Deanmon".   I don't get it.  I didn't like that they actually went there and made Dean a demon but once you've done it, then friggin' DO it!  This just seemed like a waste.

 

Boring angel storylines are boring.  Please just keep Cas and send all the others away.  Same with the hell storyline.  I don't want to watch Traffic Court, Hell Edition, even if Crowley is the judge.  I actually found myself checking the clock during these scenes and being surprised there was so much time left to go in the episode.  I love Cas and Crowley but OMG, the boring that is their scenes without each other or Winchesters is too much. 

 

Unlike everyone else here, I'm glad Dean had a little scene with Cas alone while Sam went for food.  There will be plenty of time for Sam to talk about how he saved Dean later.  I don't trust these writers to have done anything but that in this episode.

 

So, now back to the same old, same old, right?  Sam as hero, Dean as babysitter/cheerleader/person who's responsible for every bad thing that ever happened to Sam.  Great.

[DittyDotDot]

Well, that happened...or something happened...I think...I don't know. Rather anti-climatic when it's all said and done, IMO. Maybe it just needed some sweet tunes and a good old fashioned salt n' burn. Sigh.

 

The Good:

I think Jensen did a good job of keeping the camera moving and making something out of all that yammering.

 

The Bad:

The stalking was fairly laughable and I can't believe a less-than-full-power angel can contain and control a Mark-Of-Cain-infused Dean, but whatever.

 

The Ugly:

Still don't care one iota about Castiel and Hannah's meandering around the countryside without "distraction." I just can't wait to see what they do with the next iteration of Cass is dying and basically powerless. Around and around we go, where it stops nobody knows. The less said about Crowley here the better. And, demons can just up and kill themselves with fire? Really? Um, okay, I guess.

 

 

ETA: On a good note. Dean is Dean once again and if all they were going to do with Demon Dean is have him sit around in bars regurgitating the same conversations with Crowley, then I think it's best they cure him and get back to hunting things.

Edited October 22, 2014 by DittyDotDot

[Morrigan2575]

Sad they ended Demon Dean storyline so quickly. I hope they don't drop the MoC story as well (I know it was referenced but you never know when it comes to Dean).

I hope this borrowed grave thing doesn't become the norm, I'd hate a story that has Cash being a Grace Vampire of sorts.

Loved every single minute of Dean/Sam and couldn't believe how far Sam was willing to go to find Dean.

The Crowley stuff is entering (as always) but the flashback to Dean/Crowley was a bit much.

[mertensia]

The problem I think with keeping Dean DemonDean is...one note character. Deliberate hedonism and casual violence just can't hold your interest for that many episodes.

[Hana Chan]

The problem I think with keeping Dean DemonDean is...one note character. Deliberate hedonism and casual violence just can't hold your interest for that many episodes.

 

Which is exactly why they had to end it (sooner than some might have liked). SoullessSam was able to work longer within the confines of the show because he was able to work with Dean. Dean was just uncontrollable and I think that the show kind of painted themselves into a corner with what they could actually do with him.

 

The lengths that Sam was willing to go to in order to find and save Dean was gratifying. And I don't think it should be downplayed just how dangerous a task Sam had set for himself. Maybe injecting Dean with blood isn't as flashy as undergoing a medically induced death, but Sam was very much putting himself at risk. Dean was making no bones about his willingness (even eagerness) to kill Sam if Sam got in his way and Sam was in no fit state to try to handle him. He was completely on his own and not only injured but disabled (with his arm being out of commission). To try to contain Dean with the amount of strength he was showing would be a challenge under the best of circumstances, and Sam was hardly operating under ideal conditions.

 

And Dean had a huge advantage over Sam - the fact that the one line that Sam seemed unwilling to cross was killing Dean. That every second of the treatment was marked with Sam's concern that Dean might not survive and even when Dean was trying to kill him, Sam was not able to bring himself to kill his brother. He was trying to bluff his way out of the situation, but it clearly wasn't working. Dean knew that Sam wouldn't cross that line.

 

It was interesting that for all the times both Sam and Dean were willing to throw their own lives away for one another's sakes, this was the first time that either of them was willing to sacrifice someone else. I don't doubt that Sam didn't plan on Lester actually making the deal (just to lure out the Crossroads Demon), but it was a calculated risk that Sam lost. While Lester was a dick, whether or not he would have ever done anything against his wife can't be certain and Sam is going to have to live with the guilt of condemning Lester's soul.

[Aeryn13]

 

SoullessSam was able to work longer within the confines of the show because he was able to work with Dean.

SoullessSam was all over the place: he is funny, no, he is scary, he is naive about the world, no, he is murderous. So, it  "worked" because they were`t conistent. I agree that Demon!Dean as just a hedonist wasn`t going to be workeable for the crappy filler hunts but there would have been numerous ways, like simply supressing the demon with the added bonus to do something with it later when a mytharc episode rolls around and the creatively bakrupt writers once more have no idea what to fill it with.

 

It just bugs me because when it is a Sam-storyline, they move hell and high water to stretch it out for at least half a Season. Even Castiel`s boring story of boredom gets played endlessly. Yet the single one storyline I was interested in this year, over in three episodes. And to be honest, it was somewhat gratifying to see Sam for the first time ever in the pure "brother`s keeper" sidekick role. But I guess they `wouldn`t demean the character with that for more than 3 episodes whereas for Dean it was no problem for about 95 % of the show. 

[AuntTora]

Two things -- that hammering through the door was idiotic. He could have reached through the door once he splintered it and opened it instead of spending half an hour on the job while monologuing. What might have been so much better? Dean vanishes after the first couple blows and appears behind Sam, they have their confrontation then Castiel appears. Gives us a tiny taste of Demon powers, and it would even have been cheaper!

 

Second, while Deanmon was taunting Sam about Lester, he couldn't have thrown in something to bookend that offensive conversation in The Purge? I was waiting for it. Ok, I was yelling at the TV, "say it!".

 

I almost never complain because I love this show. (Mostly I love looking at Ackles acting and just, you know, existing -- that itch def. got scratched last night, so, good on ya.) But this was just incompetent. I know a CW show has limitations on resources and we forgive a lot because of it. But a couple of cost-less OBVIOUS tweaks and this episode would have been so much better. It's aggravating that the people making the show care less than we do. Get on a different show if you're too bored to put some effort into making this one.

[Primetimer]

Supernatural goes all The Shining when Dean slips his leash.

Read the story

[catrox14]

Man what

[catrox14]

The problem I think with keeping Dean DemonDean is...one note character. Deliberate hedonism and casual violence just can't hold your interest for that many episodes.

 

Bah, PTV ate my post.

 

There was more potential here for demon!Dean because of Jensen's portrayal. He brought so many layers to demon!Dean in just 2 episodes that I could easily see demon!Dean moving beyond the hedonism and violence.  I would have love to see Dean became Crowley's only real threat in like...ever.  The depth that Jensen brought to demon!Dean was all there in the face acting and the internal choices Jensen made.  demon!Dean on paper is one note, just like Dean was one note on paper back in s1. But Jensen made Dean compelling beyond the page then and the writers understood that and wrote for it.  And they had another opportunity to do that here with demon!Dean. 

 

So much wasted potential. Leaving demon!Dean as nothing more than a hedonist/murderer is essentially reinforcing that Dean is at heart still a Blunt Little Instrument. And to me that's just fucking sad because Dean is more than that

 

lso, Mr. Jensen, you are a ridiculously handsome man.  Stop the botox immediately.  Your looks need no "improvement," and your acting cannot survive it.  I spent a good deal of time looking at your forehead last night wondering if it would move.  That would be a no.

 

 

Wait, what? Botox? I don't think so, Tim. The guy has eye crinkles galore and I am willing to bet my eyeteeth that Jensen has enough skill as an actor to actually control some of his forehead movements. He wasn't playing 'worried" or "concerned" which is what I think would typically involve the forehead and eleven. He was playing controlled rage, anger, manipulation, and some pain. I don't think that requires the forehead muscles to move.

 

If you look at him in the first two episodes which were actually filmed after this episode he's clearly got full use of his facial features, including a forehead that moves. I've read some wild things about Jensen but botox? That takes the cake.

 

And I write this next part with no small amount of fear.  Jensen can be an effective actor, especially in comedy.  While his potrayal of a demon has been passable in previous episodes,  the decision to let him direct the episode where he really needed to give his "A" game is a fireable offense.  He really needed to be directed by someone else.  The writing was not there to help him at all.  Jensen does not have the acting chops to pull this off without major support.

 

This episode was the first time he actually played demon!Dean. They filmed this episode first so that Jensen could prep the episode as the director.  So whatever he layered into demon!Dean here he then used to inform the demon!Dean we saw in eps 1 and 2.

 

Maybe I've got the wrong end of the stick here and yes mileage varies, but Jensen plays the heavy angst and drama as anyone I have ever seen. I just don't really understand this particular criticism of Jensen's acting.  I think he probably gives a better performance, when he's not thinking about all the other things as a director but to suggest he doesn't have the chops as an actor....well I don't really get that one, personally.

Edited October 22, 2014 by catrox14