Review of 12.5, or, Short blond hair, tiny glasses? Must be a Nazi!

[brightly_lit]

I was in no hurry to watch 12.5 after the lackluster fan response to it (although seeing stills of RIDICULOUSLY PRETTY JARED AND JENSEN in this ep got me moving--seriously, Jensen usually doesn't do it for me but DAYUM. And Jared, just as fine as he's been all season *drool*), but I finally got around to it tonight, and uh ... yeah. That one's sitting even worse than it went down.

I have been LOVING season 12. I always was a fan of Dabb (more of a fan than most other fans, so far as I can tell ...?), and this is the first ep of the season that wasn't good to great. Excellent direction (from the wonderful director of Red Meat, whom I MAY have tweeted suggesting she direct EVERY EPISODE OF SPN EVER--she's finally getting started on that, I guess ;-)), fantastic acting.

New writer has promise, as I found the first half of the episode quite good, but it fell apart toward the end. It seemed plainly to be meant as a Hitler/Trump analogy, which might have played a little better had he not won the election, but the episode lost me when Hitler was brought back and hopped around acting in no way reminiscent of anything I've ever heard of Hitler doing in life. I mean, sure, Hitler was crazy, but not that kind of wacky/silly. And for some reason one of the very first things he gets a solid grasp on is not just the concept of modern computing but Twitter? Yeah, yeah, more Trump analogy, but when their Trump/Hitler in no way resembles either Trump or Hitler (aside from twitteriness), what exactly were we supposed to be laughing at?

And then there was Ellie, fantastically played by Allison Paige. One of the things I quite liked at the beginning of the ep was all the space given for character development (and Jensen having fun with some physical comedy--FUN DEAN IS BACK! YAAAY!), particularly Ellie's. I thought her endless uber-awkward monologue with Mr. Tinder was hilarious. I noted in S9 that the writers killed a woman a week. Nowadays, it's a hipster a week! So they killed douchey get-some beard dude and Ellie's just kinda ah well. Is the idea that she's afraid of committment? "Flighty," as she suggested? I dunno.

What I do know is that that's a hell of a lot of backstory for a character we'll probably never see again--backstory that never ended up being relevant, as her big moment was dragging her bloodless body out of bed and shootin a guy ... because I guess Dean had to be the one to kill Hitler, since he already killed Azazel, LilithRuby, Death, and defeated Lucifer, and I don't know why adding Hitler to that list feels like the jump-the-shark moment, but it does.

I did, however, love the whole grenade-launcher scene. Jensen plays it so perfectly. I hope we get more grenade-launcher stuff! If you see a grenade launcher in the first third of the season, does it go off by the finale? We can hope!

Also, the Nazi thing--wtf? "Everybody Hates Hitler" was pretty good. I'd completely forgotten about "The Vessel" until I saw it in the Then. I guess they're trying to make the "Thule" into a thing, but ya know, every freakin superhero show does a Nazi thing; I don't get why SPN's jumping on the bandwagon. (Also, I love that when it comes to Hollywood, you just KNOW somebody's a Nazi when they have short blond hair and tiny round glasses. And Wagner?? The stereotypes, the stereotypes!)

Adam Rose was completely wasted in this episode (although his plastic clubbing neck bands were a great detail). I wish they'd bring back Cristoph, because holy fuck, what an actor. But overall, the ep was disappointing and kind of cringey, in the end lacking the subtlety we love Show for. I suspect this one will go down as one of SPN's worst eps ever. :-(


But as for good SPN-related shows, have y'all seen the first two episodes of Kings of Con yet?? HILARIOUS. I'd love to hear what you thought of them, if you've seen them.

Comments

[caranfindel.livejournal.com]

I fully support the ganking of hipster douches that's been happening this season!

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

AS DO I.

[madebyme-x.livejournal.com]

I liked the episode more you you did, I think. I appreciated the humour and the brotherly moments, and personally I was just so happy to see the boys get a save and a win under their belts, and to see how it lifted their morale a little.

For me, it won't go down as one of the worst eps ever, but I think if you ask me about this episode in a few months, I'm not sure I'll remember it.

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

I really liked the first half--lots of good humor and fun, but then it all went downhill for me. Always good for their morale to get a lift, though!

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

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[percysowner.livejournal.com]

I didn't hate this episode. It gave me a few laughs on a day that I needed them.

guess Dean had to be the one to kill Hitler, since he already killed Azazel, Lilith, Death, and defeated Lucifer,

Could we maybe not give Sam's wins to Dean? Sam killed Lilith, which turned out to be a mistake, but he did kill her. Sam also defeated Lucifer. Dean being there gave him a bit of a boost to take over control, but Sam was the one who took over and Sam was the one who jumped into the Cage. Sorry, but the show has tended to forget that Sam exists for several seasons, I'd for fandom to forget also.

[septembers-coda.livejournal.com]

BL is a tremendous Sam!girl and would never forget Sam's contributions; I think that was actually her whole point-- they had to make it Dean who killed Hitler because the writers favor him in that way and it seems unfair to Sam. (Personally I would have liked Ellie to be the one to kill Hitler). Dean was also the one shot who shot Lucifer with the Colt, even though that didn't work. Dean killed Ruby, too. They just tend to marginalize Sam in some of those ways, and we Sam girls do not like it. That's why having him also kill Hitler and keep talking about it is a total jump the shark moment.

[percysowner.livejournal.com]

I do know that she does love Sam, I just got defensive that she gave Dean credit for some of Sam's achievements. It's more a reaction to seeing the show do it for so many years.

[toratio.livejournal.com]

There's a part of me that's hoping if/when they finally take down Lucifer, it'll be Sam, and maybe he'll be able to 'one-up' Dean on "yeah, you killed Hitler, but I killed friggin Luficer".

I think it might be that, seriously, Hitler wasn't a big deal in terms of killing. First of all, he's a person, so he's not hard to kill. The Winchesters have taken down some fucking huge fish, this guy's just a genocidal dick. Also, Dean's proud of killing a human - a bad human, to put it mildly, but, yeah, a person.

Also, is it really wrong that I was actually sad it wasn't Ellie who bought it at the beginning? I don't know why, but she just annoyed the shit out of me all the way through. The poor beardy guy didn't really do anything, he didn't even say that much. But he did look a bit like Corbin, and I just re-watched Red Meat. Corbin did totally deserve it, though...

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

God yes, please let it be Sam who finally kills Lucifer, if it ever happens.

And that's a VERY good point about Hitler being human and not hard to kill.

Lol, I thought it could go either way, which one would die, but I did kinda like her, so I was glad it was beardy who bought it instead. But yeah, I guess Corbin was our most despised hipster who ate it, wasn't he? Perhaps starting the whole kill-the-hipster trend ...

[toratio.livejournal.com]

On the one hand, I wouldn't like to see the end of Lucifer, I do so love him as a character. On the other hand, for Sam to be able to be the one to kill him? It would be too perfect.

I think Corbin started the 'we hate hipsters they should die' trend, yeah. Every time I rewatch Red Meat it makes me so sad and so angry because Sam is the sweet one, trying to help them, trying to convince Dean to leave him behind, and Corbin just chokes him and I'm like "you can't do that to Sam, of all people!"

Ellie reminded me a bit of Eva, the special child, so maybe that was what annoyed me. Maybe I didn't trust her... dun dun duuuun.

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I couldn't bear to lose Lucifer as a character. And as much as I'm enjoying Rick Springfield's portrayal of him, I miss Pellegrino in the role.

I think he started that trend, too. THAT BASTARD, when Sam is SO GOOD.

She did have a bit of an Eva thing going on, didn't she?

[toratio.livejournal.com]

I want Mark back so bad. Especially because Mark is so obsessed with being Lucifer:


And Sam is SO GOOD anyway, but he's fucking saintly in that ep, wanting Dean to save them instead of him, and CORBIN IS WORSE THAN LUCIFER.

... so not bitter.

And she's still alive - is she going to embrace her Hitler side? Dun dun duuuuuunnn

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

Other fandoms must think SPN fandom is so batshit, going on all the time about how much we love Lucifer and find him hilarious and charming &c. BUT ON SPN, HE JUST IS. I'll never forget how people were actually afraid of Pellegrino at the con, when he seemed like the nicest guy around.

He WAS saintly!

IT'S THE ONLY THING THAT WOULD EXPLAIN ALL THAT DAMN BACKSTORY THEY GAVE US FOR HER.

[toratio.livejournal.com]

Heehee, I love the idea that people were afraid of Mark. "OMG it's Mark Pellegrino! Dammit, the angel sigil isn't working! Run!"

There's a lot of random backstory for random people this season. Maybe they're all gonna team up at the end and take down the devil. Like they were Captain Planet. With the power of being related to Hitler and whatever else.

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

Ellie should TOTALLY have been the one to kill Hitler! But yes, failing that, then Sam. I don't get why they do this with Dean, although granted, there are other things Sam gets to do (like have juicy, angsty storylines, season after season) that Dean seldom gets to, so maybe it all evens out, but it still irks me--especially with this episode, as you say, because they only brought Hitler so Dean COULD kill him, and just ... why? ALL those other guys weren't enough bragging rights for the guy? Sheesh.

Thanks for sticking up for my Sam girl cred, girl. :-)

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

Oops, I was thinking of Ruby, but that was my point: Sam doesn't get to kill the big bads, generally, so it annoyed me that he wasn't even on the table to kill Hitler, either.

[percysowner.livejournal.com]

Oh that I understand.

NAILED IT

[septembers-coda.livejournal.com]

I love this review. I could not agree more that it doesn't sit well-- even to the extent I enjoyed watching it at the time, I'm not remembering it with much pleasure. The stereotypes! Goofy Hitler! Weird, pointless time-wasting! But... prettiness and fun Dean and good acting!

The hipster thing, ha ha ha... I think I can get behind the writers on this one. And Ellie's "ah well." :-D :-D

Thanks for sharing such well-crafted thoughts.

Re: NAILED IT

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

Thank YOU for your kind response. <3 You know it's a bad ep when you just want to pretend it's not a part of canon, erased from the mind.

Lol, the hipsters. I hope this trend continues ...

[ladyjane]

Yeah, this was a "meh" episode for me. I didn't hate it, but not up to their usual standard. OTOH, We had four in a row that were pretty great, and that's more than most shows get.

The grenade launcher scene was priceless! I hope Dean gets off the "I killed Hitler" kick and switches to "Yeah, but I used a grenade launcher."

As for Hitler, evidence has been circulating for some time that toward the end of the war he was using cocaine and other drugs to keep going and was extremely paranoid. Modern psychologists have suggested he was headed for a nervous breakdown as the Reich fell apart, because he was in complete denial about the possibility they could lose. They've even postulated he was delusional and had a total break with reality. Add 70 years of your soul being locked in what is basically a sensory deprivation chamber, and I could see him being completely bonkers.

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

I've enjoyed Dean bragging about having killed Hitler more than I enjoyed him actually killing Hitler, but I like your grenade-launcher-bragging idea.

This is very interesting info about Hitler! It only makes sense that he'd be all drugged up and melting down, after all he'd done and the way the whole world was gunning for him by the end. Knowing this helps me feel a little better about that portrayal, because feeling like it came out of nowhere just for comic effect made it so hard for me to enjoy.

Thanks for the comment!

[rosalui.livejournal.com]

I am so here for random hipsters being killed instead of random women being killed tbh. SPN seems to be actively trying to do better on that front? Case in point, male gay characters in this season and the last one that actually didn't become the punch line of a joke for it. :D

Also IMHO Sam's hair has recently been looking better than it has in aaaaaaaaages.

I think the episode setup was alright, but, hell, do we actually need Hitler on our screens? In any incarnation? Just. Cringe. Stay dead, please.

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

Bahaha the random hipsters. I probably shouldn't find that so amusing, but I do. (I admit, I utterly recoiled when she called his beard hot.) S8-S11 when random people died, it hurt, but this season, you get your teaser kill and it's just entertaining.

Yeah, there's that, too. Hitler was already dead, killed by exactly the right person, HIMSELF; it felt so forced and pointless to bring him back for ten whole minutes just to have a Winchester kill him again. Ugh.