S11.E19: The Chitters

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

In a small town in Colorado, mysterious disappearances happen every 27 years. Sam and Dean head to the town to investigate and meet two hunters who have a personal vendetta against these once-in-a-generation monsters.

[catrox14]

[SueB]

I think I just liked that last post.  

[catrox14]

9 minutes ago, SueB said:

I think I just liked that last post.  

You did. The icons are very faint but I can click on the reputation counter and see that you did

[DittyDotDot]

25 minutes ago, SueB said:

I think I just liked that last post.  

I think I just liked yours. ;)

[SueB]

Got it.  Thanks.  The whole "thing" is very light.... some adjustment required....

[Demented Daisy]

Poor Mick Lady.  She'll come back someday and say, "Holy hell, what the @$#%! did they do to this place?!?!?"  ;-)

 

(I edited just to see what it would look like edited.)

Edited April 27, 2016 by Demented Daisy

[Goldmoon]

Very pleased that both gay guys lived. Was afraid Caesar was toast. Enjoyed seeing dean and Sam not freak out. Not saying that they ever did. Just good to see "manly men" being so accepting. And for the non-gay comments,didn't. Think a lot of the monsters. Sheriff's story about his daughter too contrived. What did you all think?

[Demented Daisy]

That was an odd episode.  I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and it never did.  It was... dull.  Anti-climactic.  I think part of the problem is that we waited through the mini-hiatus for it and it was just a MotW -- no connection to the myth-arc.  Barely a reference to it (except the obligatory, "We got nothing, so let's hunt this thing we know about!").  I don't have problems with the MotW episodes, per se, I just think we should get a pay off if we have to wait for an episode.  

[poppy-]

I've been dying for a MOTW episode.   I am completely bored with the mythology. And I think the show is too ("Let's put Crowley in footie pajamas!" was  a low point).  But this was just kind of there.  It wasn't funny or scary or.... anything.

[Bessie]

I really enjoyed it. I liked all the characters and thought the guest actors did a wonderful job.  The only negative for me is that I like it as much as I did.  I was expecting to be irritated that we were having a monster of the week episode at this point in the season but I really wasn't.  It made me realize how much the resolution of the seasons long Mark of Cain storyline isn't something I'm anticipating as much as I thought.

 I was so worried about the hunter couple throughout the episode and was so relieved they were both okay.  It made me happy that they got their happily ever after.   It left me feeling something I haven't felt for a long time with this show: a sense of hope.

 Although I do think this may be foreshadowing Dean's death, so there's that.

Edited April 28, 2016 by Bessie

[SueB]

They LIVED!  I'm so freaking happy about the fact that Jesse & Cesar (sp?) lived!  I NEEDED a happy ending.  I expect we are about to get a non-happy ending (there was a TON of foreshadowing this episode IMO). I was also proud of Dean and Sam recognizing that they should let these two just have their happy ever after. It's rare but they have a plan.  

I get why some feel "nothing happened" but I think this episode probably was more than a 'pallet cleanser', I think it was a way of establishing how in-synch the boys are right now while reminding us of the stakes of losing a loved one.  

I want to watch a second time before more comments.  

[catrox14]

I mostly liked the episode. I think it was MoTW that was massive foreshadowing and I am VERY worried about Dean now.

I am so happy to see a gay hunter couple that LIVED to see the light of day. That was cool. And they can always bring Cesar and Jesse out of retirement if they need to. I liked them quite a bit.

Jesses' resemblance to Benny did not escape me. It looked like it was filmed in Purgatory too. Dean being saved by Cesar was a direct callback IMO to Benny saving Dean from the vamps in Purgatory. 

All the talk of empty vessels being used by the monsters? Oh boy. That feels like horrible foreshadowing.  I can't decide if that is about Dean or Cas or both. :(.

Sam smoked weed at college! Ha. That was funny. Dean saying "Sinner" really made me laugh. He's all okay Sam, you rebel. Cause I'm guessing Dean smoked some weed a couple of times in his life.

Dean saying "Penis" is new. I think penis was only ever said about a cat by Cas in s7. 

Sam wouldn't have known about vampires when he was a kid because he didn't learn about them until s1. OOPS. That's the only real thing that bugged me about the episode.

Fun fact. Eduardo Sanchez idrected Blair Witch Project.

Edited April 28, 2016 by catrox14

[KirkB]

Sam probably would have known about vampires as a kid (Dracula, Orlock) even before he knew they were real things he'd have to fight.

I assumed at least one of the hunter couple was going to die and was pleasantly surprised when both made it out alive.

MOTW episodes are fine, IMO, as long as they don't interrupt the flow of the narrative. And since this season the narrative has already been repeatedly interrupted by what seems like more breaks than usual, trying to jump right back into the myth arc would have been a little more difficult than just doing a "hey, let's go hunt this random thing" episode. 

Besides, does anyone (including Amara herself) really expect big bro to show up?

[Binns]

55 minutes ago, catrox14 said:

 

. 

Dean saying "Penis" is new. I think penis was only ever said about a cat by Cas in s7. 

Sam wouldn't have known about vampires when he was a kid because he didn't learn about them until s1. OOPS. That's the only real thing that bugged me about the episode.

Fun fact. Eduardo Sanchez idrected Blair Witch Project.

Dean said "dragon penis" when they were looking for ways to kill Zeus. Just watched that episode. But I giggled like a child when he said it this time. 

 

I loved it for the most part...I love a good MOTW episode (more than I am enjoying the mytharc this season) but the end made me very concerned for Dean. The happy ending is one that I want for Sam and Dean and I can't see it happening, but more immediately I'm almost 100% certain they will be separated in the finale with Dean dead or in the Empty. 

 

Loved Jesse and Cesar and I appreciated that they didn't go for sophomoric humor there. I was worried about Cesar at the final fight scene. Speaking of which...I found it odd that there were so few bad guys. Felt like there should have been more. The incubating cicadas was FREAKY. 

[catrox14]

1 hour ago, Goldmoon said:

Very pleased that both gay guys lived. Was afraid Caesar was toast. Enjoyed seeing dean and Sam not freak out. Not saying that they ever did. Just good to see "manly men" being so accepting. And for the non-gay comments,didn't. Think a lot of the monsters. Sheriff's story about his daughter too contrived. What did you all think?

Dean and Sam have always been accepting of gays and lesbians. I mean the only thing they hated is knowing that some fans of Carver Edlund's books liked Wincest. It's the incest, not the gay that bothers them. I loved that Dean was like "OH got it. So what is settling down with a hunter like? " I couldn't help but see the potential for Sam/Eileen or Sam/Jody or Dean/Donna and yes even Dean/Cas. No, Cas isn't a hunter but he's hunter-adjacent already.  Do I think the show will ever go there. No, I don't think they will. But these parallels and mirrors aren't there JUST for the brothers stuff IMO.

Some other thoughts.

The callbacks to Purgatory were heavy and IMO foreshadowing a trip to the Empty for Dean. 

 

Sam to the old man about his daughter:

Quote

"What did you do? What, did you just erase her from your life? Pretend that she just went away somewhere?"

Sam/God and Dean/Amara parallels and juxtapositions.

Sam has never had someone NOT look for him nor be worried about his welfare that I can remember. Not really. He might not have understood that worry or maybe even took it for granted. I can see Sam's POV that he was worried about being abandoned himself but he seemed to be planning for what he would do should that day ever come.  That day came when Dean disappeared, so he went on to his plan B, it seems. I think Sam was caught between either feeling guilty or thinking "No this is what I always planned when I had nothing left'. I don't think Sam ever understood how terrible it is to be the one left behind too. And how it feels like you are forgotten and eventually erased.

Dean sees that Cesar was planning a life with Jesse beyond hunting. That once things were settled they would go on to something else. Cesar had no siblings so he had to always plan for something else. To an extent I think Dean might understand more now about Sam going on with life but that doesn't changed that he felt forgotten IMO

God/Amara - God thought he was doing the right thing apparently but Amara thinks God either forgot about her or wanted to forget about her, to erase her. 

[catrox14]

S

Quote

am probably would have known about vampires as a kid (Dracula, Orlock) even before he knew they were real things he'd have to fight.

Yeah but Sam wasn't saying that like he was thinking about Dracula because he used rugarus too. It seemed totally earnest to me and was Sam actually being worried back then about it. Nancy Won is a new writer so she may have dropped the ball on that but someone else should have picked up on this unless it's a retcon, for ...reasons...

Edited April 29, 2016 by catrox14

[Bessie]

Nancy Won wrote this episode?  She is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers!

[Omegamom]

Gay lumberjack Hunters who get a happy ending, yay!

Anvilicious thumping on our heads (and Sam and Dean's heads) about losing loved ones and getting over that loss and and and...

Skin-twitchy bug spirit takeovers, well-done.

I liked that Dean let them have the happy ending and didn't suck them into the End Of The World.  Of course, knowing the Hunting life, you know they'll get sucked back in sooner or later.

As for Gunnison, ahem.  The last time I drove through, it was all dry high desert landscape with a hugeass reservoir and the trees and forests were a half-hour drive away.

But boy howdy, even though I like Nancy Won's writing a lot, those anvils are clunking down all over the place.

[catrox14]

Quote

As for Gunnison, ahem.  The last time I drove through, it was all dry high desert landscape with a hugeass reservoir and the trees and forests were a half-hour drive away.

I'm giving them benefit of doubt they were going for The Black Canyon part of Gunnison. LOL

[Aeryn13]

I thought the episode was fine. 

The MOTW weren`t terribly compelling but the two hunters were sympathetic characters, especially Cesar. I was glad they both survived and got their happy ending.

Liked Dean working on saving Cas at the beginning. And getting an action scene and a kill. 

Not that much happened during the episode but overall I didn`t find it offensive and for that reason, I like it. Though maybe a bit less on the wink wink nudge nudge Wincest allusions. They are going overboard this Season and since this isn`t Game of Thrones, I find it too much teehee just for the sake of teehee. 

Oh, and of course young Sam wouldn`t have been worried about rugarus and vamps because they didn`t learn vamps are real until Season 1 and rugarus Season 4. It`s a minor thing and I get that it would be hard keeping track of 11 years but the writers are getting paid a pretty penny for it.     

[catrox14]

Lest anyone think Dean was calling out Sam or being a hypocrite about Sam smoking weed, I don't think it was. I think it was just straight up Dean teasing Sam (in a loving way) because Dean has been there and done that with weed. We know he has because in s8 he said, "The rules are simple, Sam. You don't take a joint from a guy named Don! And no dogs in the car! "

I love that Sam and Dean have both smoked weed. It's hilarious to me.

[Primetimer]

Why create two really awesome hunter characters and send them to a stupid horse farm?

View the full article

[catrox14]

27 minutes ago, PreviouslyTV said:

Why create two really awesome hunter characters and send them to a stupid horse farm?

View the full article

Because it's better than killing them off and you can bring them back when you want??

[poppy-]

Dean and Sam have always been accepting of gays and lesbians.

I think that's fair.  But, I recently watched an old episode  where Dean teased Sam for being college-boy-ish by saying "you are so gay".    Which doesn't mean he's not accepting, I know. But it wouldn't happen now.  Just goes to show how LONG this show has been on.

[catrox14]

35 minutes ago, poppy- said:

 

I think that's fair.  But, I recently watched an old episode  where Dean teased Sam for being college-boy-ish by saying "you are so gay".    Which doesn't mean he's not accepting, I know. But it wouldn't happen now.  Just goes to show how LONG this show has been on.

That was in Bedtime Stories, when Dean was surprised by Sam knowing fairy tales: He said" Dude, could you be more gay?" It was a bad line. Terrible. Stupid. Dean was an asshole for saying it.

Dean didn't seem to be upset that there was a gay couple cosplaying him at the convention. I think he side-eyed for a hot minute until he realized they weren't actually cosplaying Wincest. The male vegan waiter was totally hitting on him in The Mentalists and he didn't seemed particularly bothered by it. I always thought Dean seemed mildly disappointed that Aaron was not his "gay" thing in s8. 

Here he didn't seem to consider that Jesse and Cesar were a couple and there was no particular reason for him to assume their relationship status one way or the other. It's only when Dean made the comment about them arguing like brothers that it came up.

[Commando Cody]

This episode didn't hold my interest very much. I was just surprised when neither of the two other hunters died. 

[SueB]

Quote

Is anyone else impressed by how easily hunters on this show seem to lop off heads? I mean, gross, yes, but don't you have to be crazy strong to do this in one or two strikes?

From the review...

No, heads do not roll this easy.  There's that whole spinal cord and sinew and muscle to saw through.  Unless every machete is made with Japanese Shogun steel... I'm not buying the ease of head-lop-off

[Omegamom]

John started them off easy, with mice, when they were wee boys.  Then they graduated to bunnies.  Then to badgers and porcupines.  After they got good at all the smaller mammals, he would rent them out to local farmers to lop the heads off of livestock.  Sam got out of training while he was in Stanford, but when the boys got back together, Dean took him out in the woods for a few weeks and had him limber back up.  Since then, they just have a local craftsman make (cheap) wooden mannequins for practice use...they set them up in the bunker's gym and do it as part of their regular workouts.

;-)

Edited April 28, 2016 by Omegamom
Typo

[SueB]

3 minutes ago, Omegamom said:

John started them off easy, with mice, when they were wee boys.  Then they graduated to bunnies.  Then to badgers and porcupines.  After they got good at all the smaller mammals, he would rent them out to local farmers to lop the heads off of livestock.  Sam got out of training while he was in Stanford, but when the boys got back together, Dean took him out in the woods for a few weeks and had him limber back up.  Since then, they just have a local craftsman make (cheap) wooden mannequins for practice use...they set them up in the bunker's gym and do it as part of their regular workouts.

;-)

New headcanon...BOOM!

[catrox14]

48 minutes ago, SueB said:

From the review...

No, heads do not roll this easy.  There's that whole spinal cord and sinew and muscle to saw through.  Unless every machete is made with Japanese Shogun steel... I'm not buying the ease of head-lop-off

I think Dean's shovel method was probably the most realistic. But yeah, I did laugh that this is like a thing to be concerned about when we have demons possessing angels and hamster by spell. But lopping off a head...that's too out there LOL

[catrox14]

Dean's Clothing watch:

Plaid shirt:

He wore the Christmas Colors plaid shirt (red and green plaid). I think the last time he wore his particular shirt  was in About a Boy, when he was depressed and desperate to find a way to get rid of the Mark and he wouldn't leave the bunker.  Here he won't leave the bunker because he's trying desperately to find a way to free Cas from Lucifer.

Suit watch: Nothing of note but they look less fancy. Dark blue tie with light blue and pink? dots

Coat watch:

Black coat with metal buttons on pockets. Looks to be the coat he wore when he first took on the Mark of Cain in First Born.

Edited April 29, 2016 by catrox14

[AwesomO4000]

8 hours ago, catrox14 said:

Sam has never had someone NOT look for him nor be worried about his welfare that I can remember. Not really. He might not have understood that worry or maybe even took it for granted. I can see Sam's POV that he was worried about being abandoned himself but he seemed to be planning for what he would do should that day ever come.  That day came when Dean disappeared, so he went on to his plan B, it seems. I think Sam was caught between either feeling guilty or thinking "No this is what I always planned when I had nothing left'. I don't think Sam ever understood how terrible it is to be the one left behind too. And how it feels like you are forgotten and eventually erased.

There was at least one instance where Sam did wonder, and it was kind of sad actually. Back at the end of season 6, Sam was having a hard time accepting finding out that Castiel brought him back soulless and no one seemed to notice - until Dean. Sam got all choked up wondering if Castiel brought him back soulless on purpose for some reason, since Castiel didn't check up on his situation beforehand. And good thing Sam didn't know then that Castiel had argued against getting Sam's soul, or he likely would've been even more hurt about it at the time.

[catrox14]

Quote

Gay lumberjack Hunters who get a happy ending, yay!

"We're gay Lumber hunters and that's okay

We hunt all night and research all day

"They're gay lumber hunters and that's okay!

  They hunt all night and research all day!

[MYFAKETVBOYFRIEND]

3 hours ago, SueB said:

From the review...

No, heads do not roll this easy.  There's that whole spinal cord and sinew and muscle to saw through.  Unless every machete is made with Japanese Shogun steel... I'm not buying the ease of head-lop-off

Especially with a blunt shovel!  A really sharp machete maybe but an old shovel? You go Dean!

[catrox14]

56 minutes ago, MYFAKETVBOYFRIEND said:

Especially with a blunt shovel!  A really sharp machete maybe but an old shovel? You go Dean!

I couldn't help but wonder if Dean's strength is more than he realizes. Like is the MoC still giving him latent strength that he was just waiting for the right moment to use.

ETA: I should say that he might not have had the proper motivation or survival need to unleash that strength again. It kind of reminded me of when he cut off the vamps head in s9 with just brute strength and a hunting knife.

I was also wondering if those people were compromised, like Walkers in The Walking Dead. They are relentless killing machines but their bodies are decomposing over time so maybe these things were kind of the same, vs cutting off the head of a healthy person.

Edited April 29, 2016 by catrox14

[SueB]

Finally got to re-watch today.  I was mostly struck by the different ways people deal with grief.  The wife from '89 blamed the man. The older sheriff just literally shut down and never recovered. Jesse took the John Winchester route: revenge.  When Dean was talking with Cesar there were two things mentioned; how you never get over when someone you loves dies when you are young (Dean with Mary) and how even if revenge doesn't "fix" a person, you still have to support them in that process (Dean with John). In both situations, grief forever shaped their lives. I'm not sure precisely where this is headed but somehow I think 'grief' is part of the mytharc (not just a reaction to events that are about to happen).

Then there was Sam and Jesse and the isolation and abandonment issues.  Both felt 'different' as they were growing up. For Sam it was the life as a hunter's kid. For Jesse it was being alone in the knowledge of what really happened.  I felt a connection between them on this need to make things right.  Like, for Jesse, if he got his revenge then it justified his hard life.  And for Sam, the hunting life and saving people is how he can now look back and say his estrangement from 'normal' was the sacrifice made to allow him to save people now.  It's always BEEN part of the bumper sticker, but I feel like Sam has sort of re-embraced that mission and finally made it his own this past year.  He's no longer just doing the 'family business', he's doing his own calling.  

I'm not explaining this well, but for both Sam and Dean, I feel like there was some additional 'closure' for their own past as they helped Cesar and Jesse achieve their goals. In such a creepy episode, it gave me a sense of contentment.  

 

Speaking of the creepy - I kinda like the MOTW.  Cicadas have always been a weird insect with their 17 year cycle. I like that they came up with an insect/monster hybrid that fed on that weirdness.  

[Commando Cody]

It was a pretty timely episode with the Cicadas coming out right now. 

[AwesomO4000]

Hee - one difference though. Cicadas are loud... really loud. Hee. Actually to me its their loudness that makes them a little creepy. Pick them up and - if it's a male cicada - they make a loud noise. Even though I know it's coming, it's still startling.

That said, I agree with SueB that I found the monsters of the week to be creepy, especially exchanging the growing underground for growing within the bodies of the dead women.

Oh, and concerning a question upthread somewhere as to why there weren't more males to defend the nest... my guess would be all of the mating. Cicadas may have a long life cycle (the periodical ones anyway), but their adult life is shorter, and mating likely takes a lot of energy out of them. The cicada MotW put all of their effort into mating and finding a supposed "safe" place to hole up. If based on the insect, the males weren't going to be living long enough to protect the larvae anyway for all of that time, so the nest hopefully being hidden was pretty much their only strategy.

[mertensia]

I liked this episode a lot; my only quibble is they should never have split up. Seriously there's no cure, so you go in pairs at the very least.

I feel for the poor sheriff. Trying to make sense of everything. 

[KirkB]

I kind of run with the idea that the monsters whose vulnerability is to having their head chopped off, in fact have softer heads and spines. 

[MysteryGuest]

I thought it was a good episode, but it felt different somehow.  Though we at least got the obligatory "we'll look for Cas later, let's go hunt!" line.  I was really worried they'd disappoint me there!!  

The monsters were icky...the sound was almost the worst thing.  The whole concept of how they survived was gross, which made it interesting.  

I enjoyed the hunting couple.  I was afraid one of them was going to bite it, and I was really hoping that wouldn't be the case, so I was glad they got to walk away at the end.  It's nice to see hunters actually getting a shot at a normal life.  I still am holding out hope for that to be the end game for Sam and Dean.  I don't want to watch them die after 12 years of watching them suffer through every kind of evil shit imaginable.

[FlickChick]

8 minutes ago, MysteryGuest said:

I enjoyed the hunting couple.  I was afraid one of them was going to bite it, and I was really hoping that wouldn't be the case, so I was glad they got to walk away at the end.  It's nice to see hunters actually getting a shot at a normal life.  I still am holding out hope for that to be the end game for Sam and Dean.  I don't want to watch them die after 12 years of watching them suffer through every kind of evil shit imaginable.

Sorry, MysteryGuest, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Sam and Dean to have a happy ending. :(

[catrox14]

10 minutes ago, FlickChick said:

Sorry, MysteryGuest, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Sam and Dean to have a happy ending. :(

About the only happy ending they would get would be reuniting with Mary, John and Bobby in the afterlife. But going into the Empty sort of makes that ...unlikely

[catrox14]

My only other nitpick was the boys wanting to go to California. Dudes, you could have just gone to Denver. It's a progressive city. I'm just saying LOL

[MysteryGuest]

I think the Empty is going to come into play at the end of this season, so I don't think that's going to be the end game for the actual series finale.  At least I hope it won't be.  I will remain optimistic until the end.

[Commando Cody]

Considering no one ever stays dead, even if Sam and Dean get killed off at the end, they can still make a movie after the series is over. 

[AwesomO4000]

1 hour ago, catrox14 said:

My only other nitpick was the boys wanting to go to California. Dudes, you could have just gone to Denver. It's a progressive city. I'm just saying LOL

But it was a sweet - in my opinion - nod to the episode opening. One more bit of closure that Cesar was giving to Jesse. Jesse was finally going to get to California like his brother had dreamed they would 27 years earlier. I think it was more that than that California would be the more accepting place to go now. I liked that little callback to the start of the episode.

[catrox14]

? I was talking about Jesse and his brother in 1989.  Denver was progressive even back in 1989. I know of Denver. I grew up in the burbs of Denver. They might have felt more accepted in Cali but they could have gone to Denver and it would have been cheaper for them.

Edited April 30, 2016 by catrox14

[MysteryGuest]

I have to wonder if the Winchester Brothers are more famous or infamous among their fellow hunters?  Cesar mentioned that he'd heard of them, but thought they had died a few years ago.  I wonder how many hunters would be hunting them if they knew just how often they had kick-started the end of the world, like in DSOTM?  I can't imagine they'd be too happy with them.