brightly_lit

Whew! Well, I guess I needed to get all that off my chest, because somehow, in writing it, I found my way back to loving the show, even S8. The last three eps were utterly magnificent. Holy crap, Crowley's "I deserve to be loved" scene!!

I literally COULD NOT SAY ENOUGH about Sam and Dean's talk in the church when Dean saves Sam's life. I also unreservedly adored Amelia, Benny, Garth (always), "Bitten," "Everybody Hates Hitler," "Hunteri Heroici," "LARP and the Real Girl," and "Pac-Man Fever." I still feel like some episodes could have been done better (and some could have been not done at all *coughmansbestfriendcough*), but now I see where they're going with things like killing all their friends and allies, Dean's appalling behavior, the off-ness between the brothers, etc. I guess I summed it up pretty well in a comment to

indiachick on my meta/author's note post:

"I feel like I was watching from the outside looking in, and after writing and posting this and the fic, I'm back inside the flow and really experiencing it like these guys are myself, which is how I love Show to be and how it was before I started watching S8. ... I agree with you that it's dogged and OTT on purpose, and in fact, I want to say that writing this meta and the related fic actually brought me to a point where I love S8! Well ... to a degree. I'm not gonna go back and watch "Torn and Frayed" ~~ever again as long as I live~~ any time soon, and I do think they could have done things a little more ... subtly or realistically or something, but then again, now the OTT-ness seems to work for what they're going for, somehow. I guess I just had to get all this stuff off my chest and really dig deep into the issues and explore it all before I could figure out where they're going with everything S8 and beyond."

THANK GOD, because loving show is so near and dear to my heart, and is a prerequisite to being a part of fandom, which is also near and dear to my heart, so I'm sending out love to you tonight, my friends here. Glad I met ya, and glad for the show that brought us all together here to talk about important matters like who was clothing-challenged in this episode and So. Much. Fun. Squee!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

toratio.livejournal.com

I had a real problem with the first half of season 8. Everything about Sam not looking for Dean and Dean being so crazy and all that stuff.

And as much as I'm prepared to be blasted - I didn't like Benny. I don't mind him now, but I'm kind of glad he's gone. That final scene with him and Dean was lovely, though. I can't deny that.

Amelia I can take or leave. But frankly my heart, and I think Sam's heart, is always with Jess. I could watch anything about Jess again. Seriously.

The best part of season 8, for me, is actually Crowley. Bringing him back as someone genuinely scary and evil was genius. And him in the church was just the opposite but brilliant also. Ahhh Mark Sheppard, how awesome you are.

Garth and Charlie may be the best newcomers to the show. What is hilarious is how Dean talks about him growing on you - he actually did. I hated him in Time for a Wedding (and, okay, maybe it's because I hate that ep), but after that he grew on me. And Charlie I adore just completely.

Man's Best Friend I have only watched about half of. I missed the ep and I'm not so sad about it. I will say, the beginning bit though where Sam is playing with the dog and he's trying to awkwardly explain it to Dean, only for her to be a hot chick, that was funny. But that was probably about it. Also, arrgh Krissy. I could do without her.

Sacrifice is one of the best eps ever of Supernatural. It just is, everything about it. Evil Metatron, Cas and his misguided desire to help (bless him), the Winchester insane devotion, Crowley (OMG so much Crowley - "I'm trying to conduct a business deal here and you want to talk dangly parts?") and just everything. And I could watch the church scene forever and I CRY EVERY SINGLE TIME.

I'm a new fan to this - I started watching the show late season 6 and didn't catch up until season 7 started. And there was a lot of negativity then. So I'm loving the fandom feels.

Am I the only one who found Cas' massive white boxers hilarious. I mean, they are some HUGE underpants, they came to almost his knees! He needs a Charlie-style buying clothing montage.

From:

brightly-lit.livejournal.com

Oh, how did I miss this awesome comment?

BWAHA, Cas's enormous boxers! You know, I DID kind of notice that out of the corner of my eye, but then I was so busy trying to get a load of the parts NOT covered by them, I didn't fully appreciate their hugeness.

I'm an even newer fan than you! I didn't start watching it until shortly before S8 started airing. I'm happy to know I missed the negativity, which I don't get, because I loved both S6 and S7.

YES, YES, the first half of S8. It had some great episodes ("Bitten," and the Garth ep), but just what you say, Dean acting so crazy. It felt false and like they were pounding us over the head with it so much that it was hard to see what was actually supposed to be going on. (Still haven't quite figured that out, actually, given that he would then randomly make a complete turnaround and treat Charlie and various other folks the same way he always used to treat people.)

I'm finally coming around to being okay with Sam not having looked for Dean (8.23 and 9.01 cleared up a lot), but that really niggled at me, too. Their whole relationship seemed so off, and not in a realistic way. (Not like it's a realistic show in general--I would never lay claim to that!--but at least the emotional reality between the brothers has usually been fairly real.)

I did like Benny, but ... I think I liked him more than I might otherwise have simply because he was one of the only good things in a sea of ... much less good things. I liked the actor, and I liked his and Dean's relationship, and his struggles with being a vampire in a human world, though I feel like they could have done a lot more with it explicitly. But you will not get any blasting out of me for your opinions here--I can totally handle a differing opinion! Thrive on it, in fact, so do tell: what didn't you like about him?

MARK SHEPPARD. I could write pages about his awesomeness. For srs.

See, now, I've seen others saying they hated "Time for a Wedding"--I loved that ep! I would go so far as to say it's one of my favorites. What did you hate about it? I know a lot of people don't like Becky, and sometimes I do feel like it's a bit like the writers are making fun of the fans through her, but I also feel like she's a real character, and I just love her to death. But I'm with ya on Krissy. Her first episode was okay, but I did not like "Freaks and Geeks."

YAY, more to discuss!!

From:

toratio.livejournal.com

I just couldn't get over the hugeness of the boxers. Maybe I was just trying not to chest-perv. I feel weird perving on Cas sometimes - I mean, he's an angel! Perving on an angel!?

Wow. Okay, I feel better about that. Because I have friends who have been into it since the beginning - in fact, I watched the first ep, because I was a huge X Files fan, and then just kind of forgot about it for a while. I'm a bit sad I didn't keep with it initially, but I came back to it, and its awesome.

I really love season 6 too. It's one of my favourites - I've even come to love Soulless!Sam and his hilarious weirdness.
"You were sleeping with patchouli!"
"I didn't think she smelled that bad."

I loved a lot of season 7. Sam's sanity was what really had me glued to the TV. The ep before Born Again Identity, when he's trying to keep it together and he nearly crashes the car because he's falling asleep - God that was scary.

What is it about Garth? How did he become so epically awesome? I love his inability to get Bobby's catchphrases right. But my fave ep of his is the alcohol one. OMG he's so funny in that, as is Dean. "Beer isn't a food - it's whatever water is." LOL

It was nice to see a softer Dean in the second half of season 8. I mean, I got he was kind of having trouble dealing after Purgatory - it was a lot like when he got back from Hell, but I think Hell was different. I think he's never been the same since then, either.

Yeah, it makes sense that Sam wouldn't, in hindsight. What I think is sad is that he didn't argue for himself, he didn't try to make Dean understand. But then, he knows Dean, and I think he realised that Dean didn't want to understand.

It's weird. I like Benny and Dean's relationship. I like Dean's guilt and his love and all that. I just didn't trust Benny, and was surprised he turned out to be a good guy. I don't know, I think his goodness was kind of overdone, with his old girlfriend and all that stuff. I wouldn't mind seeing him back, though - with Sam getting to know him too.

I think, what made me bitter is that when Sam trusts a 'monster' of some sort, he's wrong, but Dean is always right to trust them. Kind of pisses me off. But I guess it does make sense - Sam is more trusting and Dean doesn't let people in easily.

Mark Sheppard is awesome. Just, awesome on a bun. CROWRY! OMG after the gag reel I now find myself wanting to say that constantly.

I felt the Wedding ep was surprising in the fact it was played for comedy, given Sam's deteriorating mental state at the time. I've never liked Becky, she just shits me. Maybe it's because I've never liked that creepy fangirl stuff. I don't know. But I do appreciate Dean's jealousy in that ep. And Garth's "that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me". :D

From:

brightly-lit.livejournal.com

I try not to feel weird getting hot and bothered by Cas, because, ~~Misha~~ Cas! ... but did you get the sense he was kind of trying to cover himself a little in that scene, knowing how we would ogle him so shamelessly? Poor guy ... but hey, he just signed the contract, acted the scene, and collected the money; not his fault, right? ;->

But then, he knows Dean, and I think he realised that Dean didn't want to understand.

Yeah, this is what I think. Not only does Dean not want to hear it, Dean will pretend he never heard it and be pissed that Sam ever said it, only adding to the burdens Sam's carrying around. :-( Oh, Sam!!

I think, what made me bitter is that when Sam trusts a 'monster' of some sort, he's wrong, but Dean is always right to trust them.

YES YES YES. At least they brought the Amy thing up again in that context, and then Sam brought up how it made him feel that Dean turned to a monster when he was disappointed with his brother.

Plus, Sam gave up a romantic relationship that gave meaning and joy to his life unlike any he'd ever known, for Dean, and Dean gave up his uneasy ally who was just a buddy OH AND A MONSTER, and Dean STILL managed to act like he'd given up WAY more than Sam had! What's that all about??

I agree that they kind of overdid Benny's goodness (like Sam in S2--how OTT sweet he was got really annoying!)