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rsadelleAlternate post title, rejected for length and incompleteness (because I wrote it only halfway through the season): SPN S2: in which Sam spouts psychological theories, Dean becomes "baby," both of them ask to be hit, they have a lot of conversations over the roof of the car, and Dean's S2 Trembly Lip of Doom makes repeated appearances.
I'm sold on S2 for its own merits. I have to admit, I'm not sure how I feel about the setup for S3 (and, of course, I have some ideas about what must be going on in the S4 opener), but S2 is a great season. It's a strong mytharc season, and, as we know from S1, I'm big on the mytharc.
"In My Time of Dying" is my favorite SPN episode so far. I loved Dean wandering around disembodied, his skepticism about the ouija board, Papa Winchester finally saying he's proud of Dean, the Reaper with the fantastic voice, and, my favorite, Dean yelling at them to stop fighting and knocking the water glass to the floor. I think part of what I love about this episode is how much Dean is like a kid. He's wandering around barefoot in scrubs and a t-shirt, like a kid's pajamas, and his whole relationship to Sam and to John is somewhat kidlike in both content and honesty.
"Everybody Loves a Clown" - Poor Chad Lindberg is all typecast now. The clown thing was kind of eh (and if he can change how people see things, why does he need a clown costume?), but, ohhh, them burning John's body and the ending, with Dean taking a crowbar to the Impala, were both so good.
"Bloodlust" - This show is so not good to women. Amber Benson is a vampire, and she still gets beat and cut all to hell. Again, kind of eh for plot, but nicely done for Dean realizing that supernatural things are not necessarily evil.
"Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" - Oh, Sam and Dean, so hurt. The plot - eh.
"Simon Said" - I liked this. It was fun, and I loved Dean spilling his guts to Andy.
"No Exit" - Oh, geeze. Jo's a hunter and she still gets taken by the ghost. It is a total Jo is their long-lost sister episode, though, especially at the end where they're all standing around the cement truck.
"The Usual Suspects" - I really liked this episode, but I can't pinpoint for you why.
"Crossroad Blues" - Worthy as a setup for later episodes, not to mention the demon's enjoyment and outlining of Dean's pain, but not an exciting episode in itself.
"Croatoan" - Kind of an okay episode, but oh, the demons testing their virus on Sammy.
"Hunted" - This is where we first meet Ava, and I like her. I also loved Dean watching out for Sam even before Sam knows he's there, and Sam saving them and getting Gordon arrested at the end.
"Playthings" - The story wasn't great, but I loved the hotel, the way everyone thinks they're a couple, and the mother hugging Sam at the end.
"Nightshifter" - You know, while I was watching this, I was really irritated by the way that they continue to be stupid - there's a shapeshifter around again, and they're still dumb enough to split up - but I can't stop thinking about it, and now I think I really liked it.
"Houses of the Holy" - The plot wasn't that much to talk about, but, again, totally worth it for the Winchester moments. I love the way Sam just tells Dean he prays every day, like it's no big deal, and the way Dean's completely surprised but kind of just accepts it. Dean's reaction is totally different from Katchoo's, but it reminds me of the scene in a fairly early (I think) Strangers in Paradise issue where Katchoo asks David how he's managed to go on with his life (or something like that), and he says, "Jesus."
"Born Under a Bad Sign" - Another episode where the plot isn't much to talk about, but the relationship is. Oh, Dean, he'll never be able to hurt Sammy. Also I found possessed Sam attacking Jo interesting. It's clearly meant to be a rape scene except that you can't do that on TV.
"Tall Tales" - Oh, I loved this episode. It was so much fun! It's totally like "Bad Blood," Luke Wilson's X-Files episode, with the competing narratives about what really happened.
"Roadkill" - I really liked this for the outsider perspective we get on Sam and Dean, plus I liked Molly as a character.
"Heart" - You know, I wasn't down with this episode for most of it. I was kind of, yeah, yeah, yeah, werewolves, of course the guy across the hall is involved, whatever. Also, maybe it's just that I've watched too much porn, but I always end up rolling my eyes at CW sex scenes. I did like Sam behind her nibbling on her ear, though. But what makes this episode is the end when Dean offers to kill Madison, and Sam says no, and then when we hear the shot, we're watching Dean cry. (I had the impression this is the first time we've seen him cry, but the tears do spill over at the end of "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things.")
"Hollywood Babylon" - This episode was just awesome. I loved it so much, from the set within a set to Dean's constant stuffing of his face to the look on Sam's face when Dean comes out of Tara's trailer.
"Folsom Prison Blues" - This is an episode that I really liked just on its own merits. Plus, I loved their lawyer lying to Henrickson for them.
"What Is and What Should Never Be" - Oh, Dean enjoying the sandwich. That was so great, plus I loved the end when he says he wanted to stay. The bit where he says, "I'm dating a nurse. How respectable," is hilarious.
"All Hell Breaks Loose" - I don't know about the end of this episode, although it certainly sets up season 3 and presumably, given its title, the season 4 opener. I hope they don't lose track of the demon feeding baby Sam its blood and Mary recognizing it. I really liked Ava, so I was sorry to see her go.
I loved Dean talking to Sam's body. I've been thinking about it, and we don't get very many pure emotion scenes from Dean - usually he's talking to Sam (alive), so there's whatever dynamic is going on between the two of them at the moment, plus everything that's going on with him is usually overlaid or entwined with his imperative to protect Sam, and this is only about his need to protect Sam. I know SPN is like X-Men in that death is not necessarily permanent, but, oh, boy, am I worried about Dean if Sam ever dies permanently. Sam has friends and he prays every day; if Dean dies permanently, Sam will keep living. Dean, though. Sam is his whole life, his everything, and if Sam dies permanently, Dean's not coming back from his next job. This episode also brought me into the okay, I'm a good fangirl and now I see the Wincest fold.
There are two bits I loved but can't remember which episodes they're from so I'm sticking them in their own paragraph here. In one, Dean comes back into the hotel room and as the door opens, you can hear the TV say something like "next on Skinima." Sam turns it off quickly, Dean looks at Sam, Sam looks at Dean, and Dean walks past Sam and says, "Awkward." In the other, Dean's lying on the bed with headphones in enjoying the hell out of the magic fingers.
I really never realized how much Dean eats on camera until I saw the montage of it in the gag reel.
I'm sold on S2 for its own merits. I have to admit, I'm not sure how I feel about the setup for S3 (and, of course, I have some ideas about what must be going on in the S4 opener), but S2 is a great season. It's a strong mytharc season, and, as we know from S1, I'm big on the mytharc.
"In My Time of Dying" is my favorite SPN episode so far. I loved Dean wandering around disembodied, his skepticism about the ouija board, Papa Winchester finally saying he's proud of Dean, the Reaper with the fantastic voice, and, my favorite, Dean yelling at them to stop fighting and knocking the water glass to the floor. I think part of what I love about this episode is how much Dean is like a kid. He's wandering around barefoot in scrubs and a t-shirt, like a kid's pajamas, and his whole relationship to Sam and to John is somewhat kidlike in both content and honesty.
"Everybody Loves a Clown" - Poor Chad Lindberg is all typecast now. The clown thing was kind of eh (and if he can change how people see things, why does he need a clown costume?), but, ohhh, them burning John's body and the ending, with Dean taking a crowbar to the Impala, were both so good.
"Bloodlust" - This show is so not good to women. Amber Benson is a vampire, and she still gets beat and cut all to hell. Again, kind of eh for plot, but nicely done for Dean realizing that supernatural things are not necessarily evil.
"Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" - Oh, Sam and Dean, so hurt. The plot - eh.
"Simon Said" - I liked this. It was fun, and I loved Dean spilling his guts to Andy.
"No Exit" - Oh, geeze. Jo's a hunter and she still gets taken by the ghost. It is a total Jo is their long-lost sister episode, though, especially at the end where they're all standing around the cement truck.
"The Usual Suspects" - I really liked this episode, but I can't pinpoint for you why.
"Crossroad Blues" - Worthy as a setup for later episodes, not to mention the demon's enjoyment and outlining of Dean's pain, but not an exciting episode in itself.
"Croatoan" - Kind of an okay episode, but oh, the demons testing their virus on Sammy.
"Hunted" - This is where we first meet Ava, and I like her. I also loved Dean watching out for Sam even before Sam knows he's there, and Sam saving them and getting Gordon arrested at the end.
"Playthings" - The story wasn't great, but I loved the hotel, the way everyone thinks they're a couple, and the mother hugging Sam at the end.
"Nightshifter" - You know, while I was watching this, I was really irritated by the way that they continue to be stupid - there's a shapeshifter around again, and they're still dumb enough to split up - but I can't stop thinking about it, and now I think I really liked it.
"Houses of the Holy" - The plot wasn't that much to talk about, but, again, totally worth it for the Winchester moments. I love the way Sam just tells Dean he prays every day, like it's no big deal, and the way Dean's completely surprised but kind of just accepts it. Dean's reaction is totally different from Katchoo's, but it reminds me of the scene in a fairly early (I think) Strangers in Paradise issue where Katchoo asks David how he's managed to go on with his life (or something like that), and he says, "Jesus."
"Born Under a Bad Sign" - Another episode where the plot isn't much to talk about, but the relationship is. Oh, Dean, he'll never be able to hurt Sammy. Also I found possessed Sam attacking Jo interesting. It's clearly meant to be a rape scene except that you can't do that on TV.
"Tall Tales" - Oh, I loved this episode. It was so much fun! It's totally like "Bad Blood," Luke Wilson's X-Files episode, with the competing narratives about what really happened.
"Roadkill" - I really liked this for the outsider perspective we get on Sam and Dean, plus I liked Molly as a character.
"Heart" - You know, I wasn't down with this episode for most of it. I was kind of, yeah, yeah, yeah, werewolves, of course the guy across the hall is involved, whatever. Also, maybe it's just that I've watched too much porn, but I always end up rolling my eyes at CW sex scenes. I did like Sam behind her nibbling on her ear, though. But what makes this episode is the end when Dean offers to kill Madison, and Sam says no, and then when we hear the shot, we're watching Dean cry. (I had the impression this is the first time we've seen him cry, but the tears do spill over at the end of "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things.")
"Hollywood Babylon" - This episode was just awesome. I loved it so much, from the set within a set to Dean's constant stuffing of his face to the look on Sam's face when Dean comes out of Tara's trailer.
"Folsom Prison Blues" - This is an episode that I really liked just on its own merits. Plus, I loved their lawyer lying to Henrickson for them.
"What Is and What Should Never Be" - Oh, Dean enjoying the sandwich. That was so great, plus I loved the end when he says he wanted to stay. The bit where he says, "I'm dating a nurse. How respectable," is hilarious.
"All Hell Breaks Loose" - I don't know about the end of this episode, although it certainly sets up season 3 and presumably, given its title, the season 4 opener. I hope they don't lose track of the demon feeding baby Sam its blood and Mary recognizing it. I really liked Ava, so I was sorry to see her go.
I loved Dean talking to Sam's body. I've been thinking about it, and we don't get very many pure emotion scenes from Dean - usually he's talking to Sam (alive), so there's whatever dynamic is going on between the two of them at the moment, plus everything that's going on with him is usually overlaid or entwined with his imperative to protect Sam, and this is only about his need to protect Sam. I know SPN is like X-Men in that death is not necessarily permanent, but, oh, boy, am I worried about Dean if Sam ever dies permanently. Sam has friends and he prays every day; if Dean dies permanently, Sam will keep living. Dean, though. Sam is his whole life, his everything, and if Sam dies permanently, Dean's not coming back from his next job. This episode also brought me into the okay, I'm a good fangirl and now I see the Wincest fold.
There are two bits I loved but can't remember which episodes they're from so I'm sticking them in their own paragraph here. In one, Dean comes back into the hotel room and as the door opens, you can hear the TV say something like "next on Skinima." Sam turns it off quickly, Dean looks at Sam, Sam looks at Dean, and Dean walks past Sam and says, "Awkward." In the other, Dean's lying on the bed with headphones in enjoying the hell out of the magic fingers.
I really never realized how much Dean eats on camera until I saw the montage of it in the gag reel.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-24 12:35 am (UTC)Funny how I keep commenting on the smallest connections to your posts.
Oh wait, I have something relevant -- one of my friends who's obsessed with Supernatural just got some doujinshi (basically manga-form fan fiction) of the series. I'll check with her once she's got it translated if you want to look at it.
\\This show is so not good to women.\\
From the few episodes I watched that was rather apparent, which cracks me up when considering the large fangirl contingent for the show. One of my geek friend girls I know suggested that it's because they don't want any other warm body getting in the way of Sam & Dean's relationship.
I can empathize comic-wise -- the only thing that made me more upset than retconning Spider-Man's marriage was the Storm / Black Panther wedding. And I won't even start about how protective I am of Harley Quinn.
Because all fuseji has are fictional relationships.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-24 03:25 am (UTC)It's been a long time since I read SiP, but I loved it at the time (to the point that I owned the magnets and the poster and the calendar two or three years). It was the kind of thing where I could never quite bear the idea of fan fic for it because the source material was so perfect. Also, Terry Moore is really a writer more than an artist - if you can get your hands on Molly and Poo, it's pretty much a novella with illustrations.
I can't do fan art, including doujinshi. I know that's totally crazy, but while I can understand the impulse to create fan art, I just can't understand the impulse to consume it.
Of course they don't want anyone getting in the way of Sam and Dean's relationship! (Although, uh, if you haven't noticed from my recent chatter, the relationship between the actors is even better.) However, that's not going to keep us from criticizing it for the way it treats women. When Nora loaned me S1, she said, "If you notice that it's a women in refrigerators kind of show, you'll be like every other woman who watches it."
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-24 07:37 am (UTC)I really like s2 as a whole, but my other favorite individual episodes are Nightshifter (which I guess you didn't like? But I adored it, both for the geek factor with the Mandroid chaser and because I love Henriksen an unholy amount, plus I really love their fantastic escape), Tall Tales (just getting their different perspectives on the events would be enough,but I also love the Trickster), and Roadkill (I agree with you--the outsider perspective in that ep rocks, plus it's Tricia Helfer, plus it confirms the supernatural isn't all bad, and I especially love all of Sam's conversations with her in light of the reveal).
And Born Under a Bad Sign has produced more fic than practically anything else, and spawned a whole evil!Sam craze. There are whole comms dedicated to evil!Sam now. Though Folsome Prison Blues has also produced a respectable amount of prison sex.
Oh by the way, Dean eats, but Sam never eats. It's a running joke, apparently. The one episode where we do see Sam eating we know something is seriously wrong.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-24 03:15 pm (UTC)I don't know about evil!Sam. I don't think I'd like him on a regular basis. Oh, prison sex. Especially since Dean fits right in.
Huh. I don't think I'd realized that Sam never eats. I'll have to pay attention now. I think it's especially funny because everyone's always talking about Jared eating so much.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-24 04:53 pm (UTC)The Sam-not-eating thing, I confess, I picked up almost entirely from kroki-refur's reviews, though since she is a huge Samgirl I trust that it is accurate. Also, you've now watched enough that you can read her hilarious reviews (which become more hilarious over time as she develops certain signature jokes like a fixation with Sam's nose and her famous "drunk Sam seal of disapproval.") They are available here: http://kroki-refur.livejournal.com/tag/episode+review+of+doom Also pretty funny are her "ten expressions" picspams, which are less review-y and more parody. They're here: http://kroki-refur.livejournal.com/68780.html#cutid2
I think my favorite on that page is "Man pain: it's what's for breakfast."
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-24 05:24 pm (UTC)Hmmm... I'll have to put those on my list of things to read (which is just getting longer and longer and longer).
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-24 06:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-25 06:29 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-26 10:41 pm (UTC)I think when one watch a show all at once on DVD, there is a much greater sense of the story and character arcs, but less investment in the details. It's also interesting to go back and re-watch arcs all toghether, when one originally watched them drawn out over time.
To me, Sam was a giant, boring mess for most of Season 2. They didn't seem to portray him doing anything to discover what it was that was happening to him. It infuriated me on a weekly basis, because I felt the Sam I met in S1 would have been buried in research and looking for people with answers. He's a smart, proactive guy, and it seemed he spent the entirety of the second half of S2 whining about his destiny. I was only relieved when he seemed to step into his leadership role in AHBLI. And then he died (or "fell on pie" as you have, by now, read Refur's recaps. :) ), and none of that mattered, and I love Sammy, the end. (I am awfully easy, as fangirls go. *g*)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-27 12:09 am (UTC)Yeah, when you watch 62 episodes in less than two weeks, you can focus in on the overall arcs instead of spending a whole week between episodes obsessing about the details.
I'm disturbed that in S3, they let go of the revelations in S2 about the demon feeding Sam his blood and Mary knowing the demon. At least they've started dealing with consequences with Sam finding out that everyone Mary knew is dead. (Also, what about their uncle? John was seriously messed up if they never even met this uncle.)
I liked Sammy way better in S1 than in any other season.