S14.E11: Damaged Goods

[raven]

Quote

Dean spends time bonding with Mary and Donna; Nick finally finds the answer he was looking for; Sam is faced with an impossible choice.

Airdate 2019.01.24

[gonzosgirrl]

LOL! This show. Dean is sacrificing himself to an eternal torment, but it's Sam's 'unimaginable choice'. Oy. Happy birthday, Dean.

I hope that's the end of Nick. The boring, anticlimactic ending he deserves. But somehow I doubt it.

[Katy M]

I have a stupid question.  If Dean locks himself in a box for eternity with Michael, wouldn't that technically mean he'll never die?  And if so, how could it appear ina  Death book?  Or will he expel Michael once locked inside and then he'll die because there's nothing immortal about the box?  But then his ghost would be trapped in there because nothing gets out.  But, he would be dead.  Am I thinking about the details too much, again?

Winchester Surprise sounds disgusting, but I've never been much of a bologna fan.  

Nick left on Cas's watch.  Nick is officially psycho.  But, I think I actually knew that a few episodes ago.  Does he still want Lucifer back now that he found out the truth?  Which should have been obvious?  did he seriously think the demon slaughter that happened days before Lucifer showed up was a coincidence?

[bettername2come]

Dean said the words "I" "love" and "you" to Sam in exact sequential order. The end is fucking nigh.

[Myrelle]

1 hour ago, gonzosgirrl said:

LOL! This show. Dean is sacrificing himself to an eternal torment, but it's Sam's 'unimaginable choice'. Oy. Happy birthday, Dean.

I hope that's the end of Nick. The boring, anticlimactic ending he deserves. But somehow I doubt it.

HA!

Yeah, I'm not sure how to feel about this one and especially about that promo for next week.

I still can't stand Mary, and Sam and all of his "anger" over...everything, I guess...can take a hike. It's not working at all for me, but then again, it never has.

But Dean...so sad and scared and resolute about what has to happen just broke my heart.

His hugging of Donna, too. 

The Nick stuff was a waste. Hopefully, it will be over with soon.

Dean  is still the cage for Michael, but he knows that it can't last. Heartbreaking some more.

And that promo...still trying to wrap my brain around it.

Edited January 25, 2019 by Myrelle

[gonzosgirrl]

18 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

Dean said the words "I" "love" and "you" to Sam in exact sequential order. The end is fucking nigh.

Ha!

Dean shines, despite Perez's continuing need to writer him as an uncouth slob. And I appreciate Sam's concern for his brother, and don't believe his acquiescence for a minute.  Mary? Sorry, but she mostly looks like even she doesn't believe a word that comes out of her mouth. So insincere and fake.

[tennisgurl]

So Mary finally come back and decides to kinda give a crap about her kids...and she is kidnapped and is useless in about five seconds. I mean, damn lady, I thought you were a badass hunter at some point, and you got your ass kicked by Nick? And this whole time you could have been talking to Sam and Dean, AU Bobby wasn't even around? What has she been doing when she isnt returning Deans calls, buying ugly leg lamps?

Jensen is really amazing, he breaks my heart every other second. Dean was trying so hard to act normal, but was clearly falling to pieces, even as be prepared to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Yet again. Seriously, how much more can he possibly give to the world at this point?!

Loved Deans awkward half hug to Sam, and it was nice seeing Sam really concerned about his brother, and he is clearly not down for this whole suicide plan. This is also hopefully the swan song for Nick, who I am so over, its hardly even funny. I did like seeing him as a parallel to Dean, and Deans own issues of seeing himself as damaged goods who can do more good being dead or taken out of the picture than alive. And Sam telling Nick he felt sorry for his victims and not him was pretty awesome. I just hope this continues to be a big Dean story, and not "and then Sam was awesome and saved the day" style story by the end.

Edited January 25, 2019 by tennisgurl

[gonzosgirrl]

I did love Dean telling Sam Nick was not a puppy. Heh.

[ILoveReading]

6 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Jenson is really amazing,

I agree Jensen is amazing.  (sorry my pet peeve).

[Lemuria]

Question:  Old Death said that one day he would even reap Chuck.  So why can't New Death (ie Billie) reap AU Michael?

[ILoveReading]

1 minute ago, Lemuria said:

Question:  Old Death said that one day he would even reap Chuck.  So why can't New Death (ie Billie) reap AU Michael?

Not that Canon means anything, but reapers aren't supposed to kill

[Ninamags]

Well, one good thing I can say is they didn’t let the secret stew for very long 😯

i wonder what plan Sam is going to come up with. There’s no way he’s gonna let Dean do that. 

It was good to see Donna again. Glad she shot Nickefer. 

What was the deal with all those severed heads?? 😳

[gonzosgirrl]

So they are literally reenacting the end of S5, only now Dean is asking Sam for his support to help sacrifice himself to save humanity. And Dean respected his decision, helped him do it. So Sam won't go behind his back this time, right? Right.

[Lemuria]

13 minutes ago, ILoveReading said:

Not that Canon means anything, but reapers aren't supposed to kill

Billie is no longer a reaper.  She was promoted. She's Death.  And we saw that OGDeath had no problem killing people.  The guy who bumped into him and was rude, for example.  Everyone in the restaurant, for another.

10 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

So Sam won't go behind his back this time, right? Right.

Wait...is there a Sam on this show I haven't met yet?  'Cause you sure ain't talking about Sam Winchester.  Book of the Damned, anyone?

[Katy M]

4 minutes ago, Lemuria said:

Wait...is there a Sam on this show I haven't met yet?  'Cause you sure ain't talking about Sam Winchester.  Book of the Damned, anyone?

And it's absolutely ridiculous because Dean has not once ever gone behind Sam's back. Not once.  Never.

Seriously, though, I don't think he's going to.  he expressed his dissatisfaction with the plan.  Which is fine.  Communication is good. But, it looked to me like he realizes that this is the only option.  But that doesn't mean he won't try to reopen the box after doing some research.  Otherwise, he'd be yelled at for hitting a dog.

[ZennyKenny]

I'm sorry, I just can't get worked up over the threat of one of the boys dying again, for the 37,649th time. I'm about as bored with that plot device as I am with Nick. And I'm pretty gosh darn bored with Nick.

That said: Jensen delivering the performance where he tells Sam that he couldn't tell him about his plan because he was the only one who could talk him out of it was heart-wrenching. 

Also, BOO on the scriptwriters for having Donna face away from Nick while checking his fingerprints! Donna is smarter than that!!

After Nick stabbed the demon, was anyone else yelling "someone shoot Nick PLEASE???" at the screen? I was, and then Donna shot him in the leg and I was like "well I guess I should have been more specific!

I miss Michael. I'd honestly rather have Michael & his army of monsters vs. the Winchesters than this rehash of season 10's "throw Dean into space" ultimatum.

[gonzosgirrl]

1 minute ago, Katy M said:

And it's absolutely ridiculous because Dean has not once ever gone behind Sam's back. Not once.  Never.

Seriously, though, I don't think he's going to.  he expressed his dissatisfaction with the plan.  Which is fine.  Communication is good. But, it looked to me like he realizes that this is the only option.  But that doesn't mean he won't try to reopen the box after doing some research.  Otherwise, he'd be yelled at for hitting a dog.

They both have, absolutely. But this is a direct parallel, literally the same thing. Sacrificing themselves to an eternity of torment in order to protect the world(s) from a psycho archangel. And when Sam asked Dean to support him, let him 'fix his mistake', Dean did. It's not the same as the trials/Gadreel, or even Book of The Damned. The closest thing is Dean being the soul bomb, which God himself supported, so it wasn't like Sam was going to interfere there.

[Myrelle]

7 minutes ago, Lemuria said:

Billie is no longer a reaper.  She was promoted. She's Death.  And we saw that OGDeath had no problem killing people.  The guy who bumped into him and was rude, for example.  Everyone in the restaurant, for another.

She could still be attempting to keep to the natural order, though. Giving Dean his death book last week AND the knowledge of how to make the box was a big breech in that protocol however, so maybe she will ride to his rescue before this is all over with, 

I'd kind of love that, I think 

[Wynne88]

8 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

So they are literally reenacting the end of S5, only now Dean is asking Sam for his support to help sacrifice himself to save humanity. And Dean respected his decision, helped him do it.

We've already done it the other way round, with Dean asking Sam to support his decision to be the bomb during the Chuck and Amara thing, and Sam reluctantly agreeing.  To be honest, I'm really tired of the self-sacrifice storyline, no matter who is doing the sacrificing.  Been there, done that; probably have the t-shirt somewhere. 

2 minutes ago, ZennyKenny said:

I miss Michael. I'd honestly rather have Michael & his army of monsters vs. the Winchesters than this rehash of season 10's "throw Dean into space" ultimatum.

  Yes, a million times.

[ILoveReading]

17 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

So they are literally reenacting the end of S5, only now Dean is asking Sam for his support to help sacrifice himself to save humanity. And Dean respected his decision, helped him do it. So Sam won't go behind his back this time, right? Right.

Sam is much more of do what I say, not what I do kind of person. 

If Dean doesn't want Sam to interfere maybe he should by him a dog.

[SueB]

Nailed it. (From spoilers with speculation thread):

Quote

I’d guess that Dean goes in the box and lives a few centuries - alone -  driven insane by Michael - before finally dying. 

And Sam is sad because he accepts Dean’s solution.  

I should have said ‘and dropped in the ocean - Marianas Trench to be precise’.  Like Angel (the Series) In S4.

So while I’m on a prognostication role:

- I think Dean just has to stay alive and in control until he’s dumped into the water.  It’s not leakproof.  And even if it is and the decompression doesn’t kill him — I think he eventually dies and Michael just tortures his soul in there.  Because I don’t think either gets out. Or at least that’s Dean’s plan. 

 

BUT ... I’m wondering if we can trust Billie.  Dean killed OG Death.  She’d want some payback.   Telling Dean this is the ONLY way and counting on his self-sacrificing nature to follow through — I wonder if this is TRULY the only way or just her idea of both ‘problem solved’ and ‘revenge’. Plus forcing Sam to live with the knowledge of what Dean is experiencing? That would be icing on the cake.  See, I don’t think she’s thinking they’re at all ‘even’ after the Rowena thing.  Billie could be pretty nasty if she wanted.  And Dean, specifically Dean, did NOT listen to her.  

So... while this looks awful, I think they’ll find another way once they decide this isn’t the ONLY way. 

As for this episode: LOVED IT.  Dean was so sweet with his farewell tour.  Dean honey, they all know you too much to not see there’s an issue. I also LOVED that he got to share some childhood stories with Mary.   But I think the part that really ripped me up a bit was the way he just couldn’t handle talking about his situation with anyone.  His ‘please’ to Mary was heartbreaking. 

Donna is still so very wonderful.  I love her perky-yet-deadly approach towards law enforcement.  So glad she was in this episode.  So glad she survived.  And I liked how the grocery guy immediately called 911 after taking one look at sketchy van dude (Nick).  I think Donna is loved in her little town.  That makes me happy.  

I loved Mary in this episode.  Lots of great facial reactions by Sam Smith.  The sweet smile she had looking at snoring Dean was my highlight.  I also liked how she handled Nick.  She did a great job slowing him down every step of the way.  

Nick... so very psycho.  And I’m sure Abraxis lied — Lucifer picked Nick.   Maybe it was a bloodline thing (like ‘close enough for temporary’).  But we already know that most couldn’t house Lucifer’s presence for more than a few hours.  Nick lasted longer (even before the demon blood). Regardless, I’m glad Sam abandoned any thoughts of trying to save Nick. Nick WILL burn some day.   

Finally, how much did I love that Sam was already halfway to Minnesota when Mary called.  He knows Dean so well.  He knew that hug was a red flag.  The books gone meant Dean was up to something. Mary was on the farewell tour.  Sam did that math pretty quickly and just rabbitted up to Hibbing even while pretending he was just considering it.  Winchesters.

Edited January 25, 2019 by SueB

[Cambion]

With the exception of Nick not being shot in the head, this was a very satisfying episode.  :D

[catrox14]

Not a word of a lie. I burst into tears during that last scene with Dean and Sam.  Also, I am fully convinced Jensen is going to take a hiatus from the show.  They have the perfect way to get him off screen with the hope that Sam and Cas can get him out of the box. And he can come back in the future.   That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[AwesomO4000]

3 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

LOL! This show. Dean is sacrificing himself to an eternal torment, but it's Sam's 'unimaginable choice'.

I guess the promo had to at least try to make it sound like Sam had some something important to do in this episode ... even though quite a few of us easily figured out that it was likely actually about Dean (and in fact the very thing it was - that Sam would have to make the "choice" to let Dean sacrifice himself.)

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

Winchester Surprise sounds disgusting, but I've never been much of a bologna fan.

As far as I could tell from the story that Dean told, the bologna Dean was talking about was a substitute for something else that's actually in Winchester surprise. I don't think Mary uses bologna in hers, though I might have interpreted that story Dean told wrongly. I thought he did say something about "inferior" bologna though.

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

And Sam telling Nick he felt sorry for his victims and not him was pretty awesome.

Yeah, it was... of course it was too bad (at least in my opinion) that we had to get yet another Sam was wrong and learns a very special lesson about how he was wrong before we got it, but then again I was expecting that - and I think even predicted as much - ever since Sam let Nick go, so not really too big a surprise.

2 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

I did love Dean telling Sam Nick was not a puppy. Heh.

I would've found it more amusing if I wasn't so over that kind of thing. It was kind of annoying - for me anyway - that we had to have a big brother lecture to go along with it, but again, not unexpected.

2 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

So they are literally reenacting the end of S5, only now Dean is asking Sam for his support to help sacrifice himself to save humanity. And Dean respected his decision, helped him do it. So Sam won't go behind his back this time, right? Right.

Not sure yet. It depends on whether we've met our quota of Sam being wrong for the season yet.

[juppschmitz]

6 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

LOL! This show. Dean is sacrificing himself to an eternal torment, but it's Sam's 'unimaginable choice'. Oy. Happy birthday, Dean.

I hope that's the end of Nick. The boring, anticlimactic ending he deserves. But somehow I doubt it.

Even if Donna had shot him dead it wouldn't be the end of him. If the world ends all that's left living will be the cockroaches and Nick.

Edited January 25, 2019 by juppschmitz

[AnimeMania]

Prediction for next episode: Dean gets locked in the box. Dean thinks of another way to defeat Michael. Dean tries to text Sam his idea, but nothing can get out of the box, not even cell phone signals.

[juppschmitz]

3 hours ago, Ninamags said:

What was the deal with all those severed heads?? 😳

What? Is SPN turning into Futurama?

 

[tennisgurl]

18 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

Prediction for next episode: Dean gets locked in the box. Dean thinks of another way to defeat Michael. Dean tries to text Sam his idea, but nothing can get out of the box, not even cell phone signals.

The true Big Bad of the whole series: AT&T!

[juppschmitz]

4 hours ago, ZennyKenny said:

After Nick stabbed the demon, was anyone else yelling "someone shoot Nick PLEASE???" at the screen? I was, and then Donna shot him in the leg and I was like "well I guess I should have been more specific!

 

[BabySpinach]

Last week would have been a tough act to follow for anyone, and Davy Perez isn't that great of a writer to begin with, so I suppose this week could have gone a lot worse. But holy God in heaven, I literally couldn't care less about Nick. Why is he still around???? He's got nothing to do with anything??? Why are my two innocent eyeballs still being subjected to his boring bullshit? 

Dean was his usual lovely, lovable self. I noticed that his sleeping posture was identical to the one in 2.06. Nice callback. And HOT DAMN, that welding montage! I do wonder where/when Dean learned those skills, but I ain't complaining about some good competency porn. 

I know that the whole "lock a brother away for the good of the world" thing has been done before, but all of those storylines cropped up near the end of their respective seasons. We're only halfway through season 14, so I have a strong feeling that Dean in a coffin in the ocean won't be the final solution, or indeed any kind of scenario where Dean has to be sealed away in some permanent capacity (because we know that the show needs him around). We still have 9 episodes to go. I also liked that Dean got staggered occasionally by his unruly prisoner. Holding a furious archangel in your noggin would certainly induce headaches and dizziness, at the very least!

Dean's bonding on his farewell tour was pretty well done. I loved his interactions with Donna and even Mary, but Dean/Jensen brings out the likability of pretty much anyone he interacts with. Sam and Dean's final scene was heavy. It's been a while since we've had such a highly charged and emotional brotherly interaction like that. But man, what a downer for Dean in an episode airing on his birthday! At least he got his Winchester Surprise. 

Edited January 25, 2019 by BabySpinach

[Katy M]

9 hours ago, Lemuria said:

Question:  Old Death said that one day he would even reap Chuck.  So why can't New Death (ie Billie) reap AU Michael?

We could ask the same question about Old Death not killing Lucifer.  Or the leviathans (at least Dick).  Or Abaddon.  Or, anybody.  The answer is mostly that there wouldn't be a show, and partly because DEath is supposed to be at least somewhat neutral.  Even if he does help by giving rings and causing eclipses.

[ILoveReading]

The problem with Dean's interactions with Mary in this ep is that once again everything was initiated by Dean.   She knew what was going on, because Sam told her and she couldn't even be bothered to call and check on him.  Bobby was away (even he needs space from Mary, apparently).  Why didn't Mary go to the bunker to see if Dean needed anything?  Dean was the one that called her and said he was coming for a visit.   He had to ask Mary to go get some groceries (okay, I know this was to get her out of the place), but in the end it seemed like he still cooked his own meal.*  Then we get this supposedly heart warming story about Winchester Suprise that ends up with John getting upset because Dean didnt' do it right.  

I'm supposed to find that heart warming.

I'll fully admit this is my probably my bias against the character but those scenes with Dean seemed forced on Sam Smith's part.  It's like the actress didn't want to play "nightgown Mary"  Her smiles during the dinner scene seem forced, as did her tone. 

*I also admit was kind of distracted during this scene so I might have missed something about the cooking of the meal.  If they cooked it together or Mary did it fully than withdraw that point.  But the rest still stands

[juppschmitz]

11 minutes ago, ILoveReading said:

Then we get this supposedly heart warming story about Winchester Suprise that ends up with John getting upset because Dean didnt' do it right.  

I'm supposed to find that heart warming.

My thoughts exactly. What a shitty childhood Dean had, getting chewed out for trying to make food and getting it wrong.

Spoiler

Just as well "John" is coming back so Sammy can get closure (and JDM redeem his character).

Edited January 25, 2019 by juppschmitz

[ILoveReading]

@juppschmitz you should probably spoiler tag your last statement. 

[juppschmitz]

2 minutes ago, ILoveReading said:

@juppschmitz you should probably spoiler tag your last statement. 

Shit, sorry! (I'm still not quite used to this forum, the etiquette, and the different sub-forums and stuff. I'm hoping to get there eventually.)

[ILoveReading]

7 minutes ago, juppschmitz said:

Shit, sorry! (I'm still not quite used to this forum, the etiquette, and the different sub-forums and stuff. I'm hoping to get there eventually.)

Its easy to do, I forget sometimes not everyone reads spoilers. 

One part I did like was Nick telling Sam it wasn't about him.  I've been waiting 14 years for someone to say those words.

[Jediknight]

Donna and Mary survived, Nick got his ass kicked, Nick got arrested, and the demon was defeated.

After watching this season of The Flash, and how big of idiots that Team Flash have been in regards to Cicada, it's nice to see a good team actually be smart and get things done.

[strippedhalo]

Sam: Nobody's ever built a [fancy name] box, it's impossible.

Dean: What, like it's hard?

(I cheered, even after Dean said Billie told him how to make the box. Dean making stuff is the best, and I like it when the show remembers that he can do that.)

[ILoveReading]

9 hours ago, catrox14 said:

Not a word of a lie. I burst into tears during that last scene with Dean and Sam.  Also, I am fully convinced Jensen is going to take a hiatus from the show.  They have the perfect way to get him off screen with the hope that Sam and Cas can get him out of the box. And he can come back in the future.   That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Will respond in the Dean thread

[PAForrest]

39 minutes ago, juppschmitz said:

My thoughts exactly. What a shitty childhood Dean had, getting chewed out for trying to make food and getting it wrong.

That's what I got out of that scene too, just more validation - as if we needed it - that Dean's childhood was shit and John was very rough on him. And I don't know what emotion Sam Smith was trying to convey in that scene, but I didn't get sympathy for Dean from her. It seemed to be all about herself, which is SS's go-to when playing Mary, because of how Dean tried to wave off John's behavior by claiming the meal probably reminded him of Mary.

It was obvious Perez was attempting to soften Mary with this episode due to the millions of fan complaints that she's cold and a bitch, especially to Dean. But I agree with the sentiment that nothing still in this episode was initiated by Mary, it was all on and from Dean. And Sam Smith can't maintain any consistency in her portrayal of Mary when she's with Dean/Jensen. One moment it seemed like there was a little warmth coming from Mary, and literally the next second she's acting like she didn't want Dean hanging out for more than a few minutes - and that's all in one scene. It certainly doesn't help SS's case when Briana's portrayal of Donna is night and day in its difference when it comes to portraying natural compassion, nurture, and bonding with Dean.

Otherwise, everything about Dean's farewell tour and building the warded coffin was a solid follow-up to last week's episode. I loved all that, of course, as sad as it was.

Unfortunately the episode was brought down by every single second wasted on the unnecessary, unbelievable, and uninteresting Nick story - most of which I FF'd through. I'd like to believe we're finally done with it, but since the only reason this story is wasting airtime in the first place is because either Eugenie or Brad, or both, are fascinated by/in love with Pellegrino, I'm sure he's going to be back to take up more precious screen time.

[gonzosgirrl]

25 minutes ago, PAForrest said:

It was obvious Perez was attempting to soften Mary with this episode due to the millions of fan complaints that she's cold and a bitch, especially to Dean.

Oh, but you know, it's okay that nobody acknowledged his 40th birthday (even if it's not exactly Jan 24 on the show, it's friggin 2019 - they know he's turned/turning 40), because the combination to the storage locker lock is his birthdate. See???!! Mary loves him!!  *barf*

Absolutely nothing about her rang the least bit sincere in this episode - and once again, ALL the effort is from Dean's side, up to and including denegrating his own cooking abilities as to make her feel better about her own shortcomings. Seriously, fuck you, show.

On a positive note: Can we talk about Dean speaking Latin, reciting the exorcism from memory. *fans self*

2 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

Glad to see Donna made it out of this episode okay.  She is one of my favorites.

Mine too, but Nick leaving her tazed and not dead didn't make a lot of sense given his path of destruction.

9 hours ago, catrox14 said:

Not a word of a lie. I burst into tears during that last scene with Dean and Sam.  Also, I am fully convinced Jensen is going to take a hiatus from the show.  They have the perfect way to get him off screen with the hope that Sam and Cas can get him out of the box. And he can come back in the future.   That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

You know I am co-signing this.

[catrox14]

13 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

On a positive note: Can we talk about Dean speaking Latin, reciting the exorcism from memory. *fans self*

That was awesome. I'm glad that someone in the writer's room or on the show decided to remember that Dean does know the exorcism spells and that he can build things quite handily.  It made sense to me that he could weld because surely he had to have welded a couple of things when he rebuilt Baby lo those many times. 

[tessathereaper]

12 hours ago, Lemuria said:

Billie is no longer a reaper.  She was promoted. She's Death.  And we saw that OGDeath had no problem killing people.  The guy who bumped into him and was rude, for example.  Everyone in the restaurant, for another.

Wait...is there a Sam on this show I haven't met yet?  'Cause you sure ain't talking about Sam Winchester.  Book of the Damned, anyone?

Or Death was just doing his normal business.  Maybe that guy was mean to die at that moment from an anyuerism or heart attack or something and maybe the restaurant full of people was meant to die from carbon monoxide or mass poisoning.

And we all remember how well that turned out for everyone? (Personally I kind of liked the idea of Dean in space. :)

[Aeryn13]

Who directed the episode? The camera angles in the final scene were awful. It was shot at an upward angle and with a super-close-up on Sam, making him looking gigantic. Whereas with Dean it was shot at a downward angle and not with that much close-up, making him look smaller. So while the two brothers weren`t in the same frame, the scene went from one coverage, to the other, back again and so on. It gave the entire scene a disjointed feeling. Directing-wise, it felt like amateur hour to me. 

As for the episode itself, an okay-ish effort from Perez, leagues behind Yockey. I didn`t like the uncouth humor bits. Thankfully, they were brief but I could do without them. 

Dean and Donna had a sweet scene in the beginning.

It was obvious to everyone what Dean was doing.   

I could handle Dean trying to initiate something with Mary because it was a farewell tour (and additionally he needed the space to build the box). But the actress is just too limited. When she was just nightgown!Mary, she could exude some warmth but now she is trying for more complexity and it falls flat. To me, the character is burned (pardon the pun) and can only be salted now. 

Dean building the super-impossible box in like a couple hours? Yay, for competency. Despite what he said, I`m not sure this is the ending Billie`s book depicted but maybe something Dean has come up with instead. I can`t see it being the final conclusion in the Finale, though.

Apart from the weird camera angles, the dialogue in the last scene was fine. It gave both characters a fair argument which is rare. 

The Nickifer story bores me to tears. Pellegrino is a good actor but I just don`t care about Nick. 

So overall, I found the episode to be on the more boring side of things. It provided some exposition but not really much happened. Now, not every ep can be a game-changer but it wasn`t a fun or charming case episode either. 

[gonzosgirrl]

7 minutes ago, Aeryn13 said:

Dean building the super-impossible box in like a couple hours? Yay, for competency. Despite what he said, I`m not sure this is the ending Billie`s book depicted but maybe something Dean has come up with instead. I can`t see it being the final conclusion in the Finale, though.

He did say she gave him the 'secret recipe' for the runes, etc., required to make the box work. I'm assuming that's what Sam was talking about when he said no one had ever been able to make one before. Building an iron box from scraps in an old barn, and applying all the correct symbols: all Dean.

Phil Scriggia (sp?) directed, so I'm surprised at the slanted angles from him, but this has been a running theme for the past few seasons whenever Sam is in a scene. I know Jared is 6'5', but he's not heads taller than Jensen or Misha. There was the scene last season where Jack and Dean are sitting on the couch and Sam is in a chair facing them, and they seriously look like children compared to Giant Sam. It's absurd. As for the editing, whoever is in charge these days should be fired. It's terrible, 99% of the time.

[Ninamags]

I'm not trying to defend Mary or anything (I hate the way she interacts with the boys since she came back) but, I think she was obviously suspicious of Dean and his game plan. Why was he visiting? Why did he hug Sam? She was trying to figure out what he was up to, hence her hesitancy to be all in with his actions. 

[catrox14]

6 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Phil Scriggia (sp?) directed, so I'm surprised at the slanted angles from him,

Huh. That is weird. I would have put money on Singer. Phil seems to  be generally more crafty and more artistic with his work. I always appreciate how he lingers on faces and uses  more natural lighting like the scene with Dean and Donna. And that note, since my Destiel shipper heart won't ever get that canonically, I am all for Dean and Donna having all the sexy times and sharing burgers and beer in bed and out. I love them together.

I 100% did not appreciate the show dumbing down Donna so Nick could get the drop on her. She's too smart for that.

I legit did laugh when Nick told Sam it was never about him. I thought well he's not wrong! But please make Nick and  Mark P go away now.

[gonzosgirrl]

38 minutes ago, catrox14 said:

I am all for Dean and Donna having all the sexy times and sharing burgers and beer in bed and out. I love them together.

Guilty pleasure: Dean/Donna fics. <3

I'll have to double check. I was sure I saw a tweet about Phil directing, but now I'm wondering. BRB. :)

ETA: Yep, and as per usual I butchered the spelling of his name: Sgriccia.

Edited January 25, 2019 by gonzosgirrl

[Pondlass1]

8 minutes ago, catrox14 said:

I 100% did not appreciate the show dumbing down Donna so Nick could get the drop on her.

These kinds of things irritate me no end.  Why would she turn her back on him to check the fingerprint thingy?  It's right up there with Sam & Dean going outside together to take a phone call and leaving Abaddon alone.

9 hours ago, juppschmitz said:

If the world ends all that's left living will be the cockroaches and Nick.

LOL! I had to check the TV listings, I thought I'd tuned into The Life & Times of Nick by mistake.  Of the two storylines that ran through this episode, I'm pretty sure Dean's farewell tour and welding of the box was the only one the majority of us were interested in.  I'd guess even the  twitter bunch that 'squee' at everything are bored to tears with Nick.  Please put him out to pasture, writers.  We don't care. 

They are trying with Mother, but the actress just does not exude warmth.  And just how far did she have to go to get the fixings for the Winchester Heart Attack?  Outer Mongolia?  Dean welded a whole damn fancy box in her absence.

But Dean...  ::sigh:::  And he spoke Latin ::sigh::

Plus the writers remembered that demons can conjure and levitate.  It's been a while.  Usually it's a regular fist fight or Sam asks them to leave.

And what's  with Jared's staccato way of speaking in this episode?  He says a couple of words, sighs, frowns, deep breath, then a few more words. It's odd.  

But ... Dean... ::sigh:: I loved all the bits with Dean.  Even the snoring.  But they could have written this:-

Mary and Dean sit at the table.  Dean takes a bite of the food. Mary raises her beer and regards her son.

"Happy Birthday Dean"

"What?"

"Today's your birthday.  I think you're 40"

"No way"  He ponders for a moment.  Looks at his watch (for the date). Then he grins 

"Son of a bitch, who would've figured I'd make it this far?" 

 

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Oh, but you know, it's okay that nobody acknowledged his 40th birthday (even if it's not exactly Jan 24 on the show, it's friggin 2019 - they know he's turned/turning 40), because the combination to the storage locker lock is his birthdate. See???!! Mary loves him!!  *barf*

They've never acknowledged either character's birthday on the show. Yes, we know when Sam's is because of the whole Yellow Eyes thing, but I'm talking about having anyone say happy birthday or throw a surprise party or get a cake.  Is 40 that much more important than 30?  Nobody got upset when those milestones passed unmarked.  But, that's probably a personal bias on my part, because we don't really do bdays in my family either.  A happy birthday if you happen to already be talking to someone.