Supernatural 5x04: The End
Aug. 20th, 2010 08:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meg_tdjGot one heck of a lot to say about this one. This ep was masterful, and finally gave us the epic apocalyptic vibe we'd been craving.
And lo, the Croatoan storyline thus finally was readdressed. And fandom saw that it was good. ;)
IT ALL MADE SENSE NOW. The Croatoan virus was meant to wipe out humankind, but Lucifer needed to make sure his vessel would be unaffected. Which is why he couldn't release it until he was sure Sam was going to say yes. Booyah, writers! I love it when a plot comes together.
And the Colt!! Awesome seeing her again, too. I wonder, though... maybe future!Dean did shoot Lucifer, but it just didn't work. That was certainly left open for interpretation... did he hesitate? Did Lucy see him coming? Did he shoot? Did he miss? Gah!
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I can't tell you how much I love the teaser for this episode. So much awesome in such a tiny amount of time. Our 3 leads, all in different parts of the country, never sharing a moment of screentime, yet still having awesome chemistry, emotional connections, and two of the best phone conversations ever. There are so many reasons why I love the opening of this episode.
First of all, I kind of loved the Christian dude. Aside from ratting out Dean (which he thought was the right thing to do), he was actually very sweet, with his genuine concern for people's souls and his cute little "God bless"es when someone would walk right past him. Let me tell you, it ain't easy standing in a seedy part of town trying to spread the gospel, but he was doing it boldly and cheerfully without actually getting in anybody's face. I felt like FINALLY a TV show was depicting us right. ;)
Secondly, Cas and his cellphone. I'm telling you, it will never ever ever get old, LOL. "The voice says I'm almost out of minutes!" Bwahahahahaha!!! Hell's Angel riding a moped, indeed. And he totally just stood there on the side of that road all night, aww. And kept his appointment in the morning! Never change, Cas. Never ever change.
And then Sam. Ohhhhh, Sam. We saw so little of him in this ep, but what we got was golden. He called Dean and told him everything! No more secrets and lies, even though he had a legitimate excuse for it this time, considering they weren't even talking. And he was so devastated by the idea that he and Dean were parted forever. I can't even imagine the kind of night that poor boy passed until Dean called him back. :(
You know, I can see why Dean said they should separate for good. He's just so sick to death of the whole thing, and his lack of surprise over Sam being Lucy's vessel showed just how dead he was inside at this point. If they stayed apart, he wouldn't have to face it. At least, that's what he thought.
What seeing the future did was show him that he DOES have to face it. It's not just going to go away. He still needs to keep an eye on Sam, because he isn't out of danger yet. And he was right, they do keep each other human. Without each other, Sam had no reason not to say yes to Lucifer, and Dean lost what little life he still had left in his soul. I think hearing future!Dean say he hadn't talked to Sam since (assumedly) that very phone call made it all unbearably REAL to him. The horror on his face when he realized that! He didn't really want a life without Sam. No way. The thought that Sam would have a "heavyweight showdown" with Lucifer and DEAN WOULDN'T BE THERE was just too horrible for him to fathom.
Zach using Christians to find Dean... love that Dean uses that later on when he wants to be found. Just wander around for a while until you see someone preaching on a streetcorner, and you're all set. ;)
The Croatoan world was highly disturbing. There's that epic end-of-the-world feel we've needed all this time! Croatoan being painted on that wall was kind of awesome. And oh maaaan, the soldiers blasting Do You Love Me as they're mowing people down... CRAZY!! I LOVE IT!! Humanity has gone completely bonzo!
Bobby dead. The Impala abandoned to the elements. Cas all drugged up and un-Cas-like. Croats running rampant. Future!Dean even more hardened than our Dean. Sam possessed by Lucifer. Yep, I'd say that constitutes Hell on Earth right there. The only bright spot was that Chuck was doing well, heh. Are we all hoarding toilet paper just in case? ;)
Okay, so let's talk about Castiel for a bit. I have to admit, when I first saw 2014!Cas and he was all high and having orgies and being generally pervy and disgusting, I was a little freaked out. Especially coming after the previous ep, with Dean trying to corrupt him a bit and Cas basically just being there through most of the ep for comic relief. I was a little scared about where they were taking this character I adored, you know?
But a few scenes later, it was clear that this new Cas was NOT being played for laughs. He was in agony, he was broken, his faith was gone, and Dean was genuinely worried about him. I mean, drugs and babes are generally not things that Dean would disapprove of, but coming from Cas? He knew something was wrong. I LOVE that.
All through the season, bit by bit, we saw Cas slowly sliding down this slope, and I swear it freaked Dean out every time. They did a really great job with it, IMO. By the end of the season he's unable to heal Jimmy, he's weak and mopey, feeling useless, getting into carrying a gun, starting to dose up on pain medication and alcohol, and losing his faith that God cares. It was heartbreaking! You could see that if he continued down that road, by 2014 he WOULD be that far gone. I hope we never see it happen for real, but now that I look back on this episode I find this side of Cas really interesting.
You know, I'm still not quite convinced that it was all real. Zach could just as easily have made him dream it or something. But anyway.
Lexa Doig as Risa! I loved her so much. I wish she'd had more to do, but it was cool that she tagged along with the boys everywhere. I want them to find her in the present! She's gotta be kicking butt somewhere.
Chuck without visions is a lot less self-destructive and angst-ridden, I noticed. I loved that they worked him into the episode like this. Not sure how it works with the theory that he's God, unless it WAS just a dream or something, but he's so adorable and I can never object to any screentime that guy gets.
Dean knows where Bobby keeps his journal! I don't quite understand why Bobby would have left the camp, gone home, hidden his journal along with a picture of the place, and been killed, but... sure, okay.
It's kinda too bad they couldn't change future!Dean's appearance a little, but I get that they didn't have time for that. Poor Jensen had an exhausting enough week as it was. The thigh holster and his extra-hardened attitude did the trick, though, so you always knew which Dean was which. Jensen did an awesome job.
Something that struck me - future!Dean said Croatoan hit major cities 2 years earlier, so either they didn't release it as soon as they did in our timeline, or it was pretty slow-moving. Who knows, maybe they'll still try to release it yet, just for kicks.
I found it interesting that future!Cas had more of a rapport with present!Dean than future!Dean. That made me sad, actually. Future!Dean didn't seem to care much about Cas. I was not pleased. But I love that Cas knew Dean was different the second he saw him, and he was so amused by his every joke or snark, heh. "What? I like past you." Hee! It was nice to hear Cas say that, since present!Cas isn't that open about his feelings. ;)
Also, I love that future!Cas had developed some snark of his own. His "insouciant" joke cracks me up SO HARD, and I love that he kept on semi-ironically calling Dean "our fearless leader." And his conversation with Dean in the truck is just... perfect. He's giggly because he's high, but deep down, like I said earlier, he's falling apart. And like I've said many times, THIS IS WHY I LOVE CASTIEL. He doesn't want to be human. Never has, not for a second. In any way. At all. It sends him into a tailspin when it happens. His "I used to belong to a much better club" comment rang SO TRUE for him. He loves being an angel, he loves serving God. It was only when the other angels stopped serving God that he rebelled against them, and since then all he's wanted to do is get back to living the way he was created to live, and to get other angels to join him. I love it. Love love love.
Future!Dean begging present!Dean to say yes... ouch. "But you won't. Because I didn't. Because that's just not us, is it?" Ever notice that Sam's being told he'll say yes, while Dean's being told he won't? Foreshadoooooooooow!
I'm guessing the angels disappeared because Jesse wiped them out, right? That seemed to be the hint we were given in 5x06. I'm also guessing that's what turned Castiel "mortal" once and for all, too. Jesse would have wiped out Heaven, and because Cas wasn't fully connected to Heaven anymore he didn't totally die, he just lost the little bit of power he had left. I'll probably talk about that more when I get to 5x06, but it's interesting to think about how just the fact that Sam and Dean reunited and took that case in 5x06 meant the angels didn't die.
The confrontation between the Deans... "You're gonna feed your friends into a meat grinder? Cas, too?" I love that Dean singled Cas out, in a truly horrified tone. He can't ever imagine hurting Cas, just as he can't imagine killing Sam. And for Dean to say that his future self is broken... that's saying something considering how broken he is already.
Samciferrrrrrrrrr... okay, so his suit was gorgeous, but the socks and shoes were just dorky. Although I have to say, seeing Sam snap Dean's neck with his foot was one of the most disturbing scenes in the entire show.
Jared is so great at playing Lucifer. I love Mark Pellegrino's Lucifer, too, but Jared's just got that creepy-yet-earnest thing down to a fine art. And it had to be hard for him to stand there all mock-sympathetic and smirky while Jensen was in front of him crying buckets. Considering all the stories they've told of one of them crying in a scene and the other one choking up in sympathy? Yeah. That had to be tough.
The "redundant" line and "Pardon?" crack. me. up. The delivery was just too perfect, LOL. And the "and then God created... you" moment... the SMILE!! So evil, I love it. And Dean looking on, so horrified that this loathsome creature was speaking through his baby bro. Gah! That scene is so insanely awesome. And it made me wonder, you know, whether there's foreshadowing in the things Lucifer said that we don't even know about yet. Where WILL they be in 2014? Will they really end up "there" no matter what? Hmm.
I love that Dean learned a lesson through this whole ordeal, but that it wasn't the lesson Zach was trying to teach. He didn't learn that he should say yes, he learned that he and Sam losing touch would be their downfall. Although after Lucy said "you'll never kill Sam," and Dean said cryptically that he'd learned a different lesson without saying what it was, then said to Cas that he was gonna do "something I should have done in the first place"... for a moment there, just a moment, when Dean drew the knife, I thought he'd try to kill Sam. I think Sam did, too. Maybe that's even why Dean did it that way, just to make Sam sweat a tiny bit after all the trauma Dean had been through, heh. But man, Sam flinched and backed up a step when he saw that knife, looking at Dean like, "Should I be running away right now?" Poor Sam.
You know, Zach told Dean that if he said yes right then, they could kill Lucy before he got to Sam. It wasn't true, but that was what I think Dean believed when he offered himself up later on.
Here's something I don't get - why didn't the angels just watch the Impala? It was right outside the motel, and they had to know Dean would come back for it. Unless Cas could somehow zap it somewhere safe? I don't know. They always underestimated the importance of that car.
I like to think the final scene used the same location from Salvation on purpose, like Dean had said, "Meet me at that bridge where we said goodbye to Dad," you know? Because I'd say without a doubt it's the same place - Salvation ... The End. They didn't even try to disguise it or shoot it from a different angle or anything, like they usually do when they recycle a location.
Anyway. What a perfect way to end that episode, and to show us that the brothers were starting to mend their relationship. You could see that Sam was still guilty and penitent, and while Dean had extended the olive branch he was still feeling the sting of what Sam had done, but they were TRYING, and that was what mattered. I just wonder how much Dean told Sam about what he'd experienced.
Randomness -
*Now Playing: Route 666. Oh, please no. :P
*First mention of Detroit, which seemed insignificant at the time, but apparently wasn't.
Quotes -
Tract guy: Excuse me, friend, but have you taken time out to think about God's plan for you?
Dean: Too freakin' much, pal.
Castiel: *shouting over passing truck* WHAT?! What, Dean... I didn't... I didn't get that.
Dean: *laughs* It's kinda funny, talking to a messenger of God on a cellphone. It's kinda like watching a Hell's Angel ride a moped.
Castiel: This isn't funny, Dean. The voice says I'm almost out of minutes.
Dean: Come on, man. I just drove, like, 16 hours straight, okay? I'm human. There's stuff I gotta do.
Castiel: What stuff?
Dean: Eat, for example. In this case, sleep. I just need, like, 4 hours once in a while, okay?
Castiel: Yes.
Dean: Okay, so you can... pop in tomorrow morning.
Castiel: Yes. I'll just...
Dean: *hangs up*
Castiel: *confused, hangs up* ...wait here, then. *stands motionless on the spot*
Dean: *answers phone* Dammit, Cas, I need to SLEEP.
Dean: So you're his vessel, huh? Lucifer's wearing you to the prom?
Sam: That's what he said.
Dean: Just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in, huh, Sammy?
Dean: I guess I'm a little numb to the earth-shattering revelations at this point.
Dean: Oh, so we're back to revenge, then, are we? Yeah, 'cause that worked out so well last time.
Sam: Not revenge. Redemption.
Dean: It turns out that you and me, we're the, uh... the fire and the oil of the Armageddon. You know, on that basis alone, we should just pick a hemisphere. Stay away from each other.
Dean: Little girl? Little girl? Are you hurt? *is ignored* You know the not-talking thing is kinda creepy, right?
Zach: Afraid we had to tap some unorthodox resources of late. Human informants. We've been making inspirational visits to the fringier Christian groups. They've been given your image, told to keep an eye out.
Dean: The Bible freak outside the motel. He, what, dropped a dime on me?
Zach: Onward Christian soldiers.
Future!Dean: Why don't you give me one good reason why I shouldn't gank you right here and now.
Dean: Because you'd only be hurting yourself?
Future!Dean: If you're me, then tell me something only I would know.
Dean: *thinks* Rhonda Hurley. We were, uh... 19? She made us try on her panties? They were pink and satiny, and you know what? We kinda liked it.
Future!Dean: Touche.
Future!Dean: I got a camp full of twitchy trama survivors out there with an apocalypse hanging over their head. The last thing they need to see is a version of the Parent Trap.
Dean: Oh, come on. You don't trust yourself?
Future!Dean: No. Absolutely not. *leaves*
Dean: What a dick.
Dean: *is attacked from behind by Risa, ducks behind Chuck and uses him as a shield* Easy, lady!
Chuck: Risa.
Dean: Risa!
Risa: You spent the night in Jane's cabin last night, didn't you?
Dean: Uh, what? I, I, did I?
Chuck: *nods*
Risa: I thought we had a "connection."
Dean: Well, I'm sure that we do.
Risa: Yeah? *walks past them*
Chuck: Hi, Risa.
Risa: Screw you.
Dean: Geez, I'm getting busted for stuff I haven't even done yet.
Future!Cas: Excuse me, ladies, I think I need to confer with our fearless leader for a minute. Why not go get washed up for the orgy?
Dean: What are you, a hippie?
Future!Cas: I thought you'd gotten over trying to label me.
Future!Cas: Whoa, strange.
Dean: What?
Future!Cas: You... are not you. Not "now" you, anyway.
Dean: No. Yeah, yes, exactly.
Future!Cas: What year are you from?
Dean: 2009.
Future!Cas: Who did this to you? Was it Zachariah?
Dean: Yes.
Future!Cas: Interesting.
Dean: Oh yeah, it's freakin' fascinating. Now. *claps hands* Why don't you strap on your angel wings and fly me back to my page on the calendar?
Future!Cas: *giggling* I wish I could just, uh, strap on my wings, but uh, I'm sorry, no dice. *laughs*
Dean: What are you, stoned?
Future!Cas: Generally, yeah.
Dean: What happened to you?
Future!Cas: Life.
Future!Dean: I didn't see the point in troubling a good man with bad news.
Dean: Troubling a good man? You just blew him away in front of your own people! Don't you think that freaked them out a little bit?
Future!Dean: It's 2014. Plugging some croat, it's called commonplace. Trading words with my freakin' clone? THAT might have freaked them out a little.
Risa: So, that's it? That's... "the Colt."
Future!Dean: If anything can kill Lucifer, this is it.
Risa: Great. Have we got anything that can FIND Lucifer?
Future!Dean: *stares at her* Are you okay?
Dean: Oh, we were in, uh, Jane's cabin last night, and apparently, we and Risa... have a "connection."
Future!Cas: *laughs*
Future!Dean: *to Dean* You wanna shut up?
Dean: Torture? Oh, so we're... we're torturing again. No, that's, that's good. Classy.
Future!Cas: *laughs*
Future!Dean: *glares*
Future!Cas: What? I like "past" you.
Future!Dean: You saying my plan is reckless?
Future!Cas: Are you saying we, uh, walk in straight up the driveway, past all the demons and the croats, and we shoot the devil?
Future!Dean: Yes.
Future!Cas: Okay, if you don't like, uh, reckless, I could use insouciant, maybe.
Dean: If I let him in, then Michael fights the devil. Battle's gonna torch half the planet.
Future!Dean: Look around you, man. Half the planet's better than no planet, which is what we have now! If I could do it over again, I'd say yes in a heartbeat.
Dean: So why don't you?
Future!Dean: I've tried! I've shouted "Yes" till I was blue in the face! The angels aren't listening! They just left, gave up! It's too late for me, but for you...
Dean: Oh, no, there's gotta be another way.
Future!Dean: Yeah, that's what I thought. I was cocky. Never actually thought I'd lose. But I was wrong. Dean... I was WRONG. I'm beggin' you. Say yes.
Chuck: Some free advice? You ever get back there, you hoard toilet paper. You understand me? Hoard it. Hoard it like it's made of gold. Because it is.
Dean: Amphetamines?
Future!Cas: *nods* It's the perfect antidote to that absinthe.
Dean: Don't get me wrong, Cas, I uh... I'm happy that the stick is out of your ass, but... what's going on? W-what's with the drugs and the orgies and the love guru crap?
Future!Cas: *laughs*
Dean: What's so funny?
Future!Cas: Dean, I'm not an angel anymore.
Dean: What?
Future!Cas: Yeah, I went mortal.
Dean: What do you mean? How?
Future!Cas: I think it had something to do with the other angels leaving, but... they bailed, my mojo just kinda... psssssh... drained away. And now, you know... I'm practically human. I mean, Dean, I'm all but useless. Last year, broke my foot? Laid up for 2 months.
Dean: Wow.
Future!Cas: Yeah.
Dean: So you're human.
Future!Cas: *nods*
Dean: Well, welcome to the club.
Future!Cas: Thanks. Except I used to belong to a much better club. And now I'm powerless. I'm hapless, I'm hopeless, I mean, why the hell not bury myself in women and decadence, right? It's the end, baby! That's what decadence is for! Why not bang a few gongs before the lights go out? But then, that... that's just how I roll. *laughs*
Dean: I know your lying expressions. I've seen them in the mirror.
Dean: Oh, man, something is broken in you. You're making decisions that I would never make. I wouldn't sacrifice my friends!
Future!Dean: You're right. You wouldn't. That's one of the main reasons we're in this mess, actually.
Dean: Well, go ahead. Kill me.
Lucifer: Kill you? *looks at dead future!Dean* Don't you think that would be a little... redundant?
Dean: Oh, good God, you're not gonna tell me a bedtime story, are you? My stomach's almost out of bile.
Lucifer: And then God created... YOU. The little... hairless apes.
Dean: You're not fooling me, you know that? With this sympathy-for-the-devil crap? I know what you are.
Lucifer: What am I?
Dean: You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life. An ugly, evil, belly-to-the-ground, supernatural piece of crap. The only difference between them and you... is the size of your ego.
Lucifer: Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up... here. I win. So, I win.
Dean: You're wrong.
Lucifer: See you in five years, Dean.
Dean: Oh, well, if it isn't the Ghost of Christmas Screw You.
Dean: Oh, I've learned a lesson, alright. Just not the one you wanted to teach.
Zach: Well, I'll just have to teach it again! Because I got you now, boy, and I'm never letting you...
*Dean disappears*
Zach: Son of a...
Dean: That's pretty nice timing, Cas.
Castiel: We had an appointment.
Dean: *smiles, puts his hand on Cas' shoulder* Don't ever change.
Dean: Maybe we are each other's Achilles heel, maybe they'll find a way to use us against each other, I don't know. I just know, we're all we've got. More than that... we keep each other human.
Sam: Thank you. Really. Thank you. I won't let you down.
Dean: Oh, I know it. I mean, you are the second-best hunter on the planet.
And lo, the Croatoan storyline thus finally was readdressed. And fandom saw that it was good. ;)
IT ALL MADE SENSE NOW. The Croatoan virus was meant to wipe out humankind, but Lucifer needed to make sure his vessel would be unaffected. Which is why he couldn't release it until he was sure Sam was going to say yes. Booyah, writers! I love it when a plot comes together.
And the Colt!! Awesome seeing her again, too. I wonder, though... maybe future!Dean did shoot Lucifer, but it just didn't work. That was certainly left open for interpretation... did he hesitate? Did Lucy see him coming? Did he shoot? Did he miss? Gah!
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I can't tell you how much I love the teaser for this episode. So much awesome in such a tiny amount of time. Our 3 leads, all in different parts of the country, never sharing a moment of screentime, yet still having awesome chemistry, emotional connections, and two of the best phone conversations ever. There are so many reasons why I love the opening of this episode.
First of all, I kind of loved the Christian dude. Aside from ratting out Dean (which he thought was the right thing to do), he was actually very sweet, with his genuine concern for people's souls and his cute little "God bless"es when someone would walk right past him. Let me tell you, it ain't easy standing in a seedy part of town trying to spread the gospel, but he was doing it boldly and cheerfully without actually getting in anybody's face. I felt like FINALLY a TV show was depicting us right. ;)
Secondly, Cas and his cellphone. I'm telling you, it will never ever ever get old, LOL. "The voice says I'm almost out of minutes!" Bwahahahahaha!!! Hell's Angel riding a moped, indeed. And he totally just stood there on the side of that road all night, aww. And kept his appointment in the morning! Never change, Cas. Never ever change.
And then Sam. Ohhhhh, Sam. We saw so little of him in this ep, but what we got was golden. He called Dean and told him everything! No more secrets and lies, even though he had a legitimate excuse for it this time, considering they weren't even talking. And he was so devastated by the idea that he and Dean were parted forever. I can't even imagine the kind of night that poor boy passed until Dean called him back. :(
You know, I can see why Dean said they should separate for good. He's just so sick to death of the whole thing, and his lack of surprise over Sam being Lucy's vessel showed just how dead he was inside at this point. If they stayed apart, he wouldn't have to face it. At least, that's what he thought.
What seeing the future did was show him that he DOES have to face it. It's not just going to go away. He still needs to keep an eye on Sam, because he isn't out of danger yet. And he was right, they do keep each other human. Without each other, Sam had no reason not to say yes to Lucifer, and Dean lost what little life he still had left in his soul. I think hearing future!Dean say he hadn't talked to Sam since (assumedly) that very phone call made it all unbearably REAL to him. The horror on his face when he realized that! He didn't really want a life without Sam. No way. The thought that Sam would have a "heavyweight showdown" with Lucifer and DEAN WOULDN'T BE THERE was just too horrible for him to fathom.
Zach using Christians to find Dean... love that Dean uses that later on when he wants to be found. Just wander around for a while until you see someone preaching on a streetcorner, and you're all set. ;)
The Croatoan world was highly disturbing. There's that epic end-of-the-world feel we've needed all this time! Croatoan being painted on that wall was kind of awesome. And oh maaaan, the soldiers blasting Do You Love Me as they're mowing people down... CRAZY!! I LOVE IT!! Humanity has gone completely bonzo!
Bobby dead. The Impala abandoned to the elements. Cas all drugged up and un-Cas-like. Croats running rampant. Future!Dean even more hardened than our Dean. Sam possessed by Lucifer. Yep, I'd say that constitutes Hell on Earth right there. The only bright spot was that Chuck was doing well, heh. Are we all hoarding toilet paper just in case? ;)
Okay, so let's talk about Castiel for a bit. I have to admit, when I first saw 2014!Cas and he was all high and having orgies and being generally pervy and disgusting, I was a little freaked out. Especially coming after the previous ep, with Dean trying to corrupt him a bit and Cas basically just being there through most of the ep for comic relief. I was a little scared about where they were taking this character I adored, you know?
But a few scenes later, it was clear that this new Cas was NOT being played for laughs. He was in agony, he was broken, his faith was gone, and Dean was genuinely worried about him. I mean, drugs and babes are generally not things that Dean would disapprove of, but coming from Cas? He knew something was wrong. I LOVE that.
All through the season, bit by bit, we saw Cas slowly sliding down this slope, and I swear it freaked Dean out every time. They did a really great job with it, IMO. By the end of the season he's unable to heal Jimmy, he's weak and mopey, feeling useless, getting into carrying a gun, starting to dose up on pain medication and alcohol, and losing his faith that God cares. It was heartbreaking! You could see that if he continued down that road, by 2014 he WOULD be that far gone. I hope we never see it happen for real, but now that I look back on this episode I find this side of Cas really interesting.
You know, I'm still not quite convinced that it was all real. Zach could just as easily have made him dream it or something. But anyway.
Lexa Doig as Risa! I loved her so much. I wish she'd had more to do, but it was cool that she tagged along with the boys everywhere. I want them to find her in the present! She's gotta be kicking butt somewhere.
Chuck without visions is a lot less self-destructive and angst-ridden, I noticed. I loved that they worked him into the episode like this. Not sure how it works with the theory that he's God, unless it WAS just a dream or something, but he's so adorable and I can never object to any screentime that guy gets.
Dean knows where Bobby keeps his journal! I don't quite understand why Bobby would have left the camp, gone home, hidden his journal along with a picture of the place, and been killed, but... sure, okay.
It's kinda too bad they couldn't change future!Dean's appearance a little, but I get that they didn't have time for that. Poor Jensen had an exhausting enough week as it was. The thigh holster and his extra-hardened attitude did the trick, though, so you always knew which Dean was which. Jensen did an awesome job.
Something that struck me - future!Dean said Croatoan hit major cities 2 years earlier, so either they didn't release it as soon as they did in our timeline, or it was pretty slow-moving. Who knows, maybe they'll still try to release it yet, just for kicks.
I found it interesting that future!Cas had more of a rapport with present!Dean than future!Dean. That made me sad, actually. Future!Dean didn't seem to care much about Cas. I was not pleased. But I love that Cas knew Dean was different the second he saw him, and he was so amused by his every joke or snark, heh. "What? I like past you." Hee! It was nice to hear Cas say that, since present!Cas isn't that open about his feelings. ;)
Also, I love that future!Cas had developed some snark of his own. His "insouciant" joke cracks me up SO HARD, and I love that he kept on semi-ironically calling Dean "our fearless leader." And his conversation with Dean in the truck is just... perfect. He's giggly because he's high, but deep down, like I said earlier, he's falling apart. And like I've said many times, THIS IS WHY I LOVE CASTIEL. He doesn't want to be human. Never has, not for a second. In any way. At all. It sends him into a tailspin when it happens. His "I used to belong to a much better club" comment rang SO TRUE for him. He loves being an angel, he loves serving God. It was only when the other angels stopped serving God that he rebelled against them, and since then all he's wanted to do is get back to living the way he was created to live, and to get other angels to join him. I love it. Love love love.
Future!Dean begging present!Dean to say yes... ouch. "But you won't. Because I didn't. Because that's just not us, is it?" Ever notice that Sam's being told he'll say yes, while Dean's being told he won't? Foreshadoooooooooow!
I'm guessing the angels disappeared because Jesse wiped them out, right? That seemed to be the hint we were given in 5x06. I'm also guessing that's what turned Castiel "mortal" once and for all, too. Jesse would have wiped out Heaven, and because Cas wasn't fully connected to Heaven anymore he didn't totally die, he just lost the little bit of power he had left. I'll probably talk about that more when I get to 5x06, but it's interesting to think about how just the fact that Sam and Dean reunited and took that case in 5x06 meant the angels didn't die.
The confrontation between the Deans... "You're gonna feed your friends into a meat grinder? Cas, too?" I love that Dean singled Cas out, in a truly horrified tone. He can't ever imagine hurting Cas, just as he can't imagine killing Sam. And for Dean to say that his future self is broken... that's saying something considering how broken he is already.
Samciferrrrrrrrrr... okay, so his suit was gorgeous, but the socks and shoes were just dorky. Although I have to say, seeing Sam snap Dean's neck with his foot was one of the most disturbing scenes in the entire show.
Jared is so great at playing Lucifer. I love Mark Pellegrino's Lucifer, too, but Jared's just got that creepy-yet-earnest thing down to a fine art. And it had to be hard for him to stand there all mock-sympathetic and smirky while Jensen was in front of him crying buckets. Considering all the stories they've told of one of them crying in a scene and the other one choking up in sympathy? Yeah. That had to be tough.
The "redundant" line and "Pardon?" crack. me. up. The delivery was just too perfect, LOL. And the "and then God created... you" moment... the SMILE!! So evil, I love it. And Dean looking on, so horrified that this loathsome creature was speaking through his baby bro. Gah! That scene is so insanely awesome. And it made me wonder, you know, whether there's foreshadowing in the things Lucifer said that we don't even know about yet. Where WILL they be in 2014? Will they really end up "there" no matter what? Hmm.
I love that Dean learned a lesson through this whole ordeal, but that it wasn't the lesson Zach was trying to teach. He didn't learn that he should say yes, he learned that he and Sam losing touch would be their downfall. Although after Lucy said "you'll never kill Sam," and Dean said cryptically that he'd learned a different lesson without saying what it was, then said to Cas that he was gonna do "something I should have done in the first place"... for a moment there, just a moment, when Dean drew the knife, I thought he'd try to kill Sam. I think Sam did, too. Maybe that's even why Dean did it that way, just to make Sam sweat a tiny bit after all the trauma Dean had been through, heh. But man, Sam flinched and backed up a step when he saw that knife, looking at Dean like, "Should I be running away right now?" Poor Sam.
You know, Zach told Dean that if he said yes right then, they could kill Lucy before he got to Sam. It wasn't true, but that was what I think Dean believed when he offered himself up later on.
Here's something I don't get - why didn't the angels just watch the Impala? It was right outside the motel, and they had to know Dean would come back for it. Unless Cas could somehow zap it somewhere safe? I don't know. They always underestimated the importance of that car.
I like to think the final scene used the same location from Salvation on purpose, like Dean had said, "Meet me at that bridge where we said goodbye to Dad," you know? Because I'd say without a doubt it's the same place - Salvation ... The End. They didn't even try to disguise it or shoot it from a different angle or anything, like they usually do when they recycle a location.
Anyway. What a perfect way to end that episode, and to show us that the brothers were starting to mend their relationship. You could see that Sam was still guilty and penitent, and while Dean had extended the olive branch he was still feeling the sting of what Sam had done, but they were TRYING, and that was what mattered. I just wonder how much Dean told Sam about what he'd experienced.
Randomness -
*Now Playing: Route 666. Oh, please no. :P
*First mention of Detroit, which seemed insignificant at the time, but apparently wasn't.
Quotes -
Tract guy: Excuse me, friend, but have you taken time out to think about God's plan for you?
Dean: Too freakin' much, pal.
Castiel: *shouting over passing truck* WHAT?! What, Dean... I didn't... I didn't get that.
Dean: *laughs* It's kinda funny, talking to a messenger of God on a cellphone. It's kinda like watching a Hell's Angel ride a moped.
Castiel: This isn't funny, Dean. The voice says I'm almost out of minutes.
Dean: Come on, man. I just drove, like, 16 hours straight, okay? I'm human. There's stuff I gotta do.
Castiel: What stuff?
Dean: Eat, for example. In this case, sleep. I just need, like, 4 hours once in a while, okay?
Castiel: Yes.
Dean: Okay, so you can... pop in tomorrow morning.
Castiel: Yes. I'll just...
Dean: *hangs up*
Castiel: *confused, hangs up* ...wait here, then. *stands motionless on the spot*
Dean: *answers phone* Dammit, Cas, I need to SLEEP.
Dean: So you're his vessel, huh? Lucifer's wearing you to the prom?
Sam: That's what he said.
Dean: Just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in, huh, Sammy?
Dean: I guess I'm a little numb to the earth-shattering revelations at this point.
Dean: Oh, so we're back to revenge, then, are we? Yeah, 'cause that worked out so well last time.
Sam: Not revenge. Redemption.
Dean: It turns out that you and me, we're the, uh... the fire and the oil of the Armageddon. You know, on that basis alone, we should just pick a hemisphere. Stay away from each other.
Dean: Little girl? Little girl? Are you hurt? *is ignored* You know the not-talking thing is kinda creepy, right?
Zach: Afraid we had to tap some unorthodox resources of late. Human informants. We've been making inspirational visits to the fringier Christian groups. They've been given your image, told to keep an eye out.
Dean: The Bible freak outside the motel. He, what, dropped a dime on me?
Zach: Onward Christian soldiers.
Future!Dean: Why don't you give me one good reason why I shouldn't gank you right here and now.
Dean: Because you'd only be hurting yourself?
Future!Dean: If you're me, then tell me something only I would know.
Dean: *thinks* Rhonda Hurley. We were, uh... 19? She made us try on her panties? They were pink and satiny, and you know what? We kinda liked it.
Future!Dean: Touche.
Future!Dean: I got a camp full of twitchy trama survivors out there with an apocalypse hanging over their head. The last thing they need to see is a version of the Parent Trap.
Dean: Oh, come on. You don't trust yourself?
Future!Dean: No. Absolutely not. *leaves*
Dean: What a dick.
Dean: *is attacked from behind by Risa, ducks behind Chuck and uses him as a shield* Easy, lady!
Chuck: Risa.
Dean: Risa!
Risa: You spent the night in Jane's cabin last night, didn't you?
Dean: Uh, what? I, I, did I?
Chuck: *nods*
Risa: I thought we had a "connection."
Dean: Well, I'm sure that we do.
Risa: Yeah? *walks past them*
Chuck: Hi, Risa.
Risa: Screw you.
Dean: Geez, I'm getting busted for stuff I haven't even done yet.
Future!Cas: Excuse me, ladies, I think I need to confer with our fearless leader for a minute. Why not go get washed up for the orgy?
Dean: What are you, a hippie?
Future!Cas: I thought you'd gotten over trying to label me.
Future!Cas: Whoa, strange.
Dean: What?
Future!Cas: You... are not you. Not "now" you, anyway.
Dean: No. Yeah, yes, exactly.
Future!Cas: What year are you from?
Dean: 2009.
Future!Cas: Who did this to you? Was it Zachariah?
Dean: Yes.
Future!Cas: Interesting.
Dean: Oh yeah, it's freakin' fascinating. Now. *claps hands* Why don't you strap on your angel wings and fly me back to my page on the calendar?
Future!Cas: *giggling* I wish I could just, uh, strap on my wings, but uh, I'm sorry, no dice. *laughs*
Dean: What are you, stoned?
Future!Cas: Generally, yeah.
Dean: What happened to you?
Future!Cas: Life.
Future!Dean: I didn't see the point in troubling a good man with bad news.
Dean: Troubling a good man? You just blew him away in front of your own people! Don't you think that freaked them out a little bit?
Future!Dean: It's 2014. Plugging some croat, it's called commonplace. Trading words with my freakin' clone? THAT might have freaked them out a little.
Risa: So, that's it? That's... "the Colt."
Future!Dean: If anything can kill Lucifer, this is it.
Risa: Great. Have we got anything that can FIND Lucifer?
Future!Dean: *stares at her* Are you okay?
Dean: Oh, we were in, uh, Jane's cabin last night, and apparently, we and Risa... have a "connection."
Future!Cas: *laughs*
Future!Dean: *to Dean* You wanna shut up?
Dean: Torture? Oh, so we're... we're torturing again. No, that's, that's good. Classy.
Future!Cas: *laughs*
Future!Dean: *glares*
Future!Cas: What? I like "past" you.
Future!Dean: You saying my plan is reckless?
Future!Cas: Are you saying we, uh, walk in straight up the driveway, past all the demons and the croats, and we shoot the devil?
Future!Dean: Yes.
Future!Cas: Okay, if you don't like, uh, reckless, I could use insouciant, maybe.
Dean: If I let him in, then Michael fights the devil. Battle's gonna torch half the planet.
Future!Dean: Look around you, man. Half the planet's better than no planet, which is what we have now! If I could do it over again, I'd say yes in a heartbeat.
Dean: So why don't you?
Future!Dean: I've tried! I've shouted "Yes" till I was blue in the face! The angels aren't listening! They just left, gave up! It's too late for me, but for you...
Dean: Oh, no, there's gotta be another way.
Future!Dean: Yeah, that's what I thought. I was cocky. Never actually thought I'd lose. But I was wrong. Dean... I was WRONG. I'm beggin' you. Say yes.
Chuck: Some free advice? You ever get back there, you hoard toilet paper. You understand me? Hoard it. Hoard it like it's made of gold. Because it is.
Dean: Amphetamines?
Future!Cas: *nods* It's the perfect antidote to that absinthe.
Dean: Don't get me wrong, Cas, I uh... I'm happy that the stick is out of your ass, but... what's going on? W-what's with the drugs and the orgies and the love guru crap?
Future!Cas: *laughs*
Dean: What's so funny?
Future!Cas: Dean, I'm not an angel anymore.
Dean: What?
Future!Cas: Yeah, I went mortal.
Dean: What do you mean? How?
Future!Cas: I think it had something to do with the other angels leaving, but... they bailed, my mojo just kinda... psssssh... drained away. And now, you know... I'm practically human. I mean, Dean, I'm all but useless. Last year, broke my foot? Laid up for 2 months.
Dean: Wow.
Future!Cas: Yeah.
Dean: So you're human.
Future!Cas: *nods*
Dean: Well, welcome to the club.
Future!Cas: Thanks. Except I used to belong to a much better club. And now I'm powerless. I'm hapless, I'm hopeless, I mean, why the hell not bury myself in women and decadence, right? It's the end, baby! That's what decadence is for! Why not bang a few gongs before the lights go out? But then, that... that's just how I roll. *laughs*
Dean: I know your lying expressions. I've seen them in the mirror.
Dean: Oh, man, something is broken in you. You're making decisions that I would never make. I wouldn't sacrifice my friends!
Future!Dean: You're right. You wouldn't. That's one of the main reasons we're in this mess, actually.
Dean: Well, go ahead. Kill me.
Lucifer: Kill you? *looks at dead future!Dean* Don't you think that would be a little... redundant?
Dean: Oh, good God, you're not gonna tell me a bedtime story, are you? My stomach's almost out of bile.
Lucifer: And then God created... YOU. The little... hairless apes.
Dean: You're not fooling me, you know that? With this sympathy-for-the-devil crap? I know what you are.
Lucifer: What am I?
Dean: You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life. An ugly, evil, belly-to-the-ground, supernatural piece of crap. The only difference between them and you... is the size of your ego.
Lucifer: Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up... here. I win. So, I win.
Dean: You're wrong.
Lucifer: See you in five years, Dean.
Dean: Oh, well, if it isn't the Ghost of Christmas Screw You.
Dean: Oh, I've learned a lesson, alright. Just not the one you wanted to teach.
Zach: Well, I'll just have to teach it again! Because I got you now, boy, and I'm never letting you...
*Dean disappears*
Zach: Son of a...
Dean: That's pretty nice timing, Cas.
Castiel: We had an appointment.
Dean: *smiles, puts his hand on Cas' shoulder* Don't ever change.
Dean: Maybe we are each other's Achilles heel, maybe they'll find a way to use us against each other, I don't know. I just know, we're all we've got. More than that... we keep each other human.
Sam: Thank you. Really. Thank you. I won't let you down.
Dean: Oh, I know it. I mean, you are the second-best hunter on the planet.
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-21 01:54 pm (UTC)First off, I love the "I'll just... wait here, then." Poor Cas, hehe.
But, really, the image they give us of the future is insanely awesome, in a really horrifying kind of way. It really was the kick in the pants that Dean needed right there. Seeing the emotionless killer he was on the road to becoming, the completely broken Castiel, and Lucifer!Sam was a serious wakeup call for him, because it is completely the direction they were all heading.
Jensen Ackles is seriously impressive - and the fact that you can tell the difference between the two Deans so easily is great evidence of that. Future!Dean was just so disturbing, but I love Castiel's: what? I like past you. Awh, poor Cas. And, really, seeing that Future!Dean was just so willing to sacrifice everyone around him, and I think that Dean saw a large reflection of what he was afraid of from Sam in himself.
And, thinking of Sam - Lucifer!Sam is another bit of impressive acting (topped later only by, well... Lucifer!Sam). He's so disturbing because of that earnest, you-know-I'm-right attitude and the fact that it looks like Sam, but is just as obviously not Sam as Future!Dean. Ugh... killing Dean like that.
As for the white suit and shoes... it strikes me as a nod to Vertigo comics' Lucifer (i can't find a good picture, but: http://i3.tinypic.com/15qar07.jpg). There are a surprising number of references to various Vertigo comics (like Sandman) and Neil Gaiman (Hammer of the Gods is a huge tip of the hat to American Gods), so I wouldn't be surprised. Of course, it's kind of fun to find the references they make to a lot of things from the horror/adventure genre.
But- YAY WINCHESTER REUNION! This made me insanely happy. And, they really do keep each other human. As John Winchester pointed out oh-so-long ago, Winchester's are each others' weakness, but what they all keep forgetting is that they're also each other's strength.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-21 07:40 pm (UTC)I TOTALLY AGREE!!! :D
I think that Dean saw a large reflection of what he was afraid of from Sam in himself.
Ohhh, that's true! I hadn't really thought of it in that way. He saw that Sam wasn't the only one who was likely to turn into a monster.
Lucifer!Sam is another bit of impressive acting (topped later only by, well... Lucifer!Sam).
Heh heh, yessssss! Ultimately, I found 5x22's Lucifer waaaay more satisfying, but the little we saw of him in this ep was a nice taste of what was to come.
As for the white suit and shoes... it strikes me as a nod to Vertigo comics' Lucifer
It could be. Kripke loves referencing stuff like that, with Castiel's wardrobe for example. I notice in that pic he's wearing a black shirt, though. I kind of love that in SPN they opted for all white. Not even off-white, either. Lucifer really takes his "angel" status seriously, and he wants to look the part. Not to mention that his name means "light-bearer," so it's like he dressed as brightly as he could. I'm actually surprised he wore dingy old clothes on Nick for so long. You'd think he would want to look spic-and-span even in his temporary vessel.
As John Winchester pointed out oh-so-long ago, Winchester's are each others' weakness, but what they all keep forgetting is that they're also each other's strength.
Yeah, and it was Dean who kept trying to convince John and Sam of that! Funny how Sam and Dean switched roles as time went on.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 02:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 07:19 pm (UTC)