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Post by paforrest on May 21, 2018 5:50:25 GMT -5
I tried to watch this a second time to see if I liked the episode better, and I couldn't get through it entirely because it was not good. We have no good writers. The best writing this season was in the Scooby Doo episode, and that's because it was written by Scooby Doo writers. I'm just saying ...
On Thursday I actually watched it live for a change, and when it started out with Jensen doing a V/O about who they were I had some hope. But as the episode wore on and we wasted too much time on Luci yakking away, then everyone else standing around yakking away, I was disappointed at how slow and unexciting it all was. Then when we finally get to the part where Dean is Michael and he can't do squat against Lucifer, and Sam has to help him - in direct contrast to Swan Song when Dean wasn't allowed to do anything - I wanted to cry.
And I can't even with Singer's abysmal direction. WTF was that?
To make matters worse, I'm sure, I find it hard to believe that Singer will allow the Michael story to go on more than a single episode when season 14 comes back. He's always behind the decision to cut Dean stories short, and I can't see where this will be any different. I'm sure they only wrote it into the finale at the time because they probably negotiated it with Jensen when contracts came up again, since Jensen has always felt cheated out of not playing Michael in SS - which of course he was. Jensen looked good, but other than that ... I'd always felt that Jack would eventually be de-powered, which he was. I still believe, as I had all year, that Jack was geared toward adding a touch of young testosterone to the spin-off, and seeing Luci steal his grace that I believe can't be replenished makes me think I got that one right. Of course, now there's no spin-off, so who knows what they plan to do with Jack after this.
I did appreciate the bad civics lesson at the beginning of the episode. Yes, even without monsters and angels walking the earth, everything really does blow.
I'll give it a 4/10 for that and for Jensen. If it was not for him I'd have given it a big fat goose egg.
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Post by paforrest on May 16, 2018 6:04:53 GMT -5
Quickly, because I forget to rate this one, but I don't know WTF they're attempting to do with Lucifer. I mean, seriously, a tear because Gabe hurt his feelings? Oh, come on. And, yet, the previews for next week certainly don't make Luci look like a good guy, so I'm confused if there ever was a game plan for this character, or did they literally keep him on the payroll because someone has a fetish for Mark Pellegrino?
I get what Sam was trying to do by locking up Luci in the AU, but the outcome of him immediately throwing his lot in with AU!Mike was so freaking inevitable. And for the love of Chuck someone has got to pull Misha Collins aside and tell him to stop already with the accents!!!!!! He's TERRIBLE and they know he's terrible! And I don't get why AU!Cas has the same vessel as regular!Cas anyway. Every other AU angel is different. That made no sense. Mostly the episode was a waste of time. Yeah, looks like Gabe is dead ... again. But it's Richard Speight, and they love him just like they do Pellegrino, so I wouldn't write off yet another lame revival. Mary's such a bitch. Lecturing Dean about widdle Jack fighting, as if Dean hasn't been doing the same since he was freaking four years old? Mary knows nothing about her sons, wants to know nothing about her sons, and I hope she goes back to the AU for good. The way this character is written and acted, there is no connection between her and the Winchesters anyway, so there's no point in keeping her around.
I liked the scene where Dean saves Ketch, mostly because they looked like they were about to kiss.
Otherwise, 2/10.
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Post by paforrest on May 5, 2018 6:54:08 GMT -5
Okay, so I wanted to get this stinker off my dvr before I left for the weekend, and, hoo-boy, that was bad. I mean, WTF was up with all the cock and sex jokes? And that horrific soap-opera direction between Rowena and Gabriel? Did a middle school child direct this episode?
Once again the showrunners are catering to a guest-star who wants to buy into his own fantasy that he's THE star - that's all I can get out of the BS between he and Rowena.
And OMG already with the SamanthaSue-pimping! Clearly yet another mandated Singer/Dabb/Padalecki-agent-promised script, complete with making fun of neanderthal Dean, when he was there at all. I mean, seriously, Sam's head vision of Dean is always so derogatory and low-brow. Sam really is a douchebag. On top of that the script dictated that Dean's entire agency be taken away ala season 12 and given to Sam, who can't do shit with it, but I'm still having to endure a silent wallpaper Dean because of a petty BTS mandate.
Oh, sure, there was the man-tear bone thrown to the Dean fans which doesn't work at all on me anymore because of the obvious bone it's meant to be, especially when it's wasted on someone who doesn't even like Dean, as is clear from Sam's dreamscape.
Next week's previews look like more of the same. Is this the punishment we must endure to get to the promised maybe something for Dean at the bitter end? I seriously doubt now that it's going to be worth it.
2/10
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Post by paforrest on Apr 29, 2018 7:23:55 GMT -5
So from what I gather via snippets of Speight interviews that I had no interest in reading but which ended up on twitter, or fandom commentary that I eye-rolled hard at, this was an episode that was supposed to concentrate to some extent on Sam and Gabriel bonding, which IMO went over like a lead balloon. I don't think any average person watching this episode, who doesn't keep up with bad fan fic or douchey actor interviews, would have even realized that's what they were supposed to be doing. Jared fails at certain things Jensen is just a natural at, and bonding with guest stars is right up there with doing stunts that only Jensen can do. But maybe that's just what a certain part of fandom wants to believe, and Speight is sucking up to that fandom. I don't know, but I wasn't feeling it.
And the stupid thing is that I really hate Speight and Gabe so much that I wouldn't care he and Sam became butt buddies. But that's honestly not how it came off at all.
On the one hand there may have been a decent story here about Norse mythology and how Gabe became the Trickster, but the problem is that it ended up in a hot mess episode, and Meredith Glynn is a bad writer, bottom line. But what really pissed me off is seeing how Dabb and Singer went out of their way to hand-deliver what was clearly a personal vanity project for a freaking guest star who definitely thinks way too much of himself. Not only is it all about douchey Gabe, but Speight directs and plays two parts, and it was embarrassing.
I therefore half wonder if Dean's episode-long attitude of so-over-it annoyance was all scripted, or if a little of that was what Jensen himself was feeling. Seriously, Dean's annoyance was the only thing that made this one remotely watchable, and his line about Gabe's kill list being "so stupid" easily summed up the entire episode.
The Trickster/Gabriel is/was a bully, that's his M-O. To retcon the one semi-noble thing he was supposed to have done - try and kill Luci - into just another trick is frankly very in-character, so I have no problem with that. So now we know he never did anything noble, he has remained a douchebag, and so to try and woobiefy him as a victim of Asmodeus' torture, whining to two guys who know all too well what long periods of torture is like, was a joke.
I get so freaking tired of whenever a writer dusts off that old scratched record of Dean feeling he is of no value and his only worth being to protect Sam - especially when Sam never ever, not once, has disagreed. What an ass. But obviously this is laying the groundwork for the hinted-at role Jensen is playing in the season finale.
I literally paid very little attention to the adventures of Mary and Jack, but was once again pissed off that they brought back another dead character just to kill him off again in as stupid a manner as possible. Kevin Tran continues to deserve a whole lot better.
And Samantha Smith's inability to understand why some fans really dislike her character by waxing poetic about Mary caring about Jack as a son, when current canon Mary has two real sons she can't be paid to give a shit about, is astounding in its tunnel-vision. Mary remains a character I dislike more than douchebag Gabriel.
4/10, and that's probably overly generous.
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Post by paforrest on Apr 23, 2018 6:19:25 GMT -5
This one feels like a 6.5 or 7. At this point I feel like most of the episodes are running fairly consistently in terms of story and rating. Next week is probably going to break that consistency, at least in my books, when my least favorite character returns.
Weirdly I started to like Billie last year when she took on the mantle of Death - she became way less annoying, and it's like the actress finally found her groove in the role and brought a bit more gravitas to it or something. I even like Jessica the Reaper. Though there lingers some irritation by the way Carver completely busted Reaper canon by making them just another angel-like presence that can pop in and out without anyone having to die or be close to death to see them.
I have to wonder about Billie's words to Dean that she'd see him soon, if that has anything to do with what Jensen was talking about WRT the end of the season.
Mostly this episode felt like a reason to officially confirm Rowena as the resident McLeod frenemy to the Winchesters. The one big problem I had with that storyline is how unbelievable it is that Rowena would suddenly care so much about Fergus/Crowley to want him resurrected. Please, she couldn't stand him and never had a single maternal feeling for him from the day he was born. I don't buy it - but, like I said, it just looked like the excuse Yockey used to give her Crowley's role in the Winchester's lives, particularly now that Asmodeus had already been dispatched.
For once I actually thought the Heaven storyline was interesting, with the angel numbers depleted so badly. It makes sense now why they were willing to follow Lucifer for a while, thinking/hoping he had the power to create new angels. It's a little annoying that no one mentioned to Castiel that Lucifer had been there - and I did get the impression he had moved on and was no longer in Heaven - but they certainly alluded to him. I'm guessing this is where Gabriel might come back into play, with a bit of a redemption arc in helping to put Heaven back in order. We'll see.
I don't find it hard to believe that Naomi would fake her death, but I do find it hard to believe that she was in hiding so long after Metatron had been dealt with.
All in all, I found it watchable. I wonder if this will be Yockey's last script - certainly it would be if his series is picked up.
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Post by paforrest on Apr 13, 2018 16:16:34 GMT -5
I thought this was another decent episode, especially since we ditched Col Sanders. I'm guessing the showrunners quickly realized at some point during the season that he wasn't a good substitute for Crowley after all. Which begs the question, who is going to run Hell now?
Everything with Dean and Ketch in the AU world was awesome - they definitely got the best storyline, and I think may have had the most screentime. At least it felt like it. I even liked seeing Charlie again. I'm guessing she'll recur by the end of the season. And that end scene with Dean's boiling over frustration on the heels of Sam and Cas's epic cock-up with Gabe was pure GOLD. The one thing I really like about this season is that they're back to utilizing Jensen as their strongest actor, the way they should do.
Normally I'd be pissed about the retconning of Gabe's story, but I'm not for two reasons - 1) everything is being retconned, it is what it is and I don't have the energy to be mad about that anymore; and 2) I can't stand Richard Speight these days, so the fact that they made his character look like a cowardly weasely douchebag totally works for me. Plus, given who Gabe was/is, it's actually quite plausible.
I'm happy that Jo lived, especially since I really thought Lucifer would kill her in this episode - so Danneel can return! And I even thought the scene with Lucifer and the two exorcists was kind of funny.
For an episode with 3 plots, I thought it flowed surprisingly well.
7/10
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Post by paforrest on Apr 9, 2018 7:03:13 GMT -5
Belatedly chiming in with a rating of 7.5. Mostly I liked it - less Asmodeus would have rated it higher. Not so sure about this new milking of an angel's grace canon we've got going on here this season, but I realize I just have to accept after this many years canon is going to continue to be changed/screwed over/thrown out the window all the way up to the end - which at this point is probably going to come after my lifetime. I've got to accept that too.
I love playful Dean as well as large and in charge Dean - the way he's supposed to be as opposed to those times and seasons he's purposely written OOC. And all those Dean-haters can go screw themselves, especially since Dean's decision at the end was strategically smart anyway, he did explain it rather than do something behind Sam's back, and we don't see a lot of that on this show. Of course you should have back-up at the ready if and when everything goes sideways, and it will. I'm sure Sammy and Cassie will get to jump into the rift next week at some point.
I don't know if Perez is liking Dean any better than he clearly didn't last season - or if he's being told to write more and better for Dean this year than he did last year. I really do hope Jensen complained over the hiatus, because he should have. All I know is Perez is writing for Dean this year, and in character, and not inexplicably dropping him out of the storyline 10 minutes in to go on a latte run, or pumping him full of valium like was the trend last season.
Overall, I thought the story was interesting enough and a decent Winchester adventure - which makes two episodes in a row that the Winchesters were wholly present for, and it does make a difference now WRT to my enjoyment level.
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Post by paforrest on Mar 30, 2018 6:05:36 GMT -5
What's your rating for this one?
Sorry it's a little late, internet issues. I don't have much to say except that I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I didn't think much about it, I just smiled throughout the whole thing. I'm sure it helps that the episode wasn't co-written by the SPN staff, who wouldn't have gotten it right at all. And you can tell the actors loved doing it. I'll give it a perfect score - they totally stuck the landing. #DeanCave #FortressOfDeanitude !
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Post by paforrest on Mar 10, 2018 10:21:28 GMT -5
I think perhaps because I put on the episode as background noise while I was cooking for company on Friday, so I wasn't paying close attention, I came away thinking it was mostly innocuous. Yeah, a little boring at times, with a spattering of Dabb/Singer character stereotypes that we all know and loathe. I mean, come on, do they really think anyone still believes after 13 seasons that Dean only uses the computer for porn? We've seen a gazillion and one instances of that not being the case. Good grief.
But their Sam-pimping certainly did the character no favors - he came off like a douchebag the entire episode. And Sam's attempts at flirtation with the red-headed bim were just embarrassing, especially in comparison to Dean and the girl in the cafe who was reading about the supernatural. That kind of compare and contrast just shows off Jensen as the stronger actor. Plus, it ended up that the red-headed bim was just scamming Sam anyway, so I'm not sure what Dabb/Singer's point was there. But what continues to be incredibly obvious is that these guys don't actually like either character and are bored senseless having to write for them - or the mothership in general.
I did like the priest character, even though it was unsurprising as hell that he was going to be "the holy man". However, the actor had charisma, and I liked that a lot of his screen time was spent just talking with Dean. That was the best part for me.
Feels like a 5/10.
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Post by paforrest on Mar 3, 2018 10:43:46 GMT -5
I don't know if I'm getting soft or what, but just like the last episode, I kind of liked it. At least, I thought it was an okay episode. I certainly loved Dean getting to be badass and also having some fun, like with the guys in loin clothes (Gog and Magog?) and the quip about bacon. I'm not even minding Jack anymore - guess I've warmed up to him somewhat. Don't love him or anything, but I think I'm accepting of his place in the 'verse, Mary Sue that he is. At least for now. I still don't care one way or the other about the real Mary, but I did smile when Sam Smith twice mistakenly said "DEAN and Sam" - TWICE - until later in the episode when she went back to the mandated "Sam and Dean" point of order. I don't know if the director or editors didn't catch it, or caught it too late to bother trying to change it. But it was glorious. Heh. And also how a real parent would list their children - from oldest to youngest - when they're not under strict WB contract to spout otherwise, of course. AU!Zachariah was wasted, and certainly nowhere near as entertaining as the original. I didn't even mind AU!Bobby, and I've been over Bobby for many a year. Again, am I getting soft, is it just not important to me, or what? Maybe it's because I've been expending all my ranting on real life events on twitter and facebook that it's mellowed me toward things less important. We'll see if this zen attitude is maintained - or if something happens to make me seethe again. On the downside, I'm still confused about Castiel. I just can't tell if it's a writing/directing/acting choice to have him behave so harshly or with more confidence or something - at times, that is, it's never consistent. Or if it's because we're going to find out by season's end that he done come back wrong from the Empty. The character just confuses me now, and not in a good way, but an annoying way. I guess Donatello is a goner, for all intents and purposes. Unless Jack heals him when he returns. Bottom line, I let the episode play out without any FF'ing. I've been doing that more and more, and it's not because I'm itching to see every scene. I just don't care enough or something - I don't know what I'm feeling. Still not wanting to watch live, however - that hasn't changed, I never watch the episode before the next day. Another 6/10.
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Post by paforrest on Mar 1, 2018 15:52:53 GMT -5
I haven't been keeping up. Are Dean and Sam in this one?
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Post by paforrest on Feb 10, 2018 7:55:05 GMT -5
I guess the reason I don't give a damn anymore about a redemption arc, if I ever did, is because, sure, I agree that the character is terrible, and Dabb/Singer totally screwed up his "history" the last couple of years so much that it further crapped on Kripke's original arc, even more than Kripke did himself at the end out of spite, making everything that came before an even bigger waste of time than it already was.
So I don't want to be force-fed the narrative that I have to feel sorry for Luci or care about him or think he's a good "dad" or anything like that, which would be completely predictable and expected from these showrunners/producers. Though I still think IF there is ever going to be an end to Lucifer, the producers may still have him suddenly sacrifice himself for Jack (probably in a fight with EVOL!Michael), like that's going to account for anything. But, again, it's a predictable scenario. Until that happens, Lucifer sucks and at least he's still being written that way.
Lucifer is totally the new Mary, who took over as #1 in the Dabb/Singer hearts last season. And I still actually dislike her so much more because despite her bad attitude and self-absorption, they were trying to sell us that she was all that and a bag of chips, when she clearly wasn't. And the whole British MoL storyline was gut-wrenchingly awful and made zero sense. Everything about last season was IMO completely horrible, so much so that I'm actually finding this season - by comparison, which isn't saying much anymore - to be better. Not good, certainly not great, this show will never be that again. That ship sailed and sank years ago. Just better and more watchable in general. Not that there haven't been episodes I've despised and given 0-2 or less than 0 rating. But, again, overall I'm finding more episodes watchable and with some semblance of merit than I did last season, which for me was almost entirely a write-off, as was much of season 11 too.
I probably rated this one a bit higher than I normally would have (maybe I would have given it a 4-5) because I really did like Danneel's character and the way she portrayed her - and because, as I said in my review, they honestly managed to throw in a couple of surprises. In another better season, that wouldn't have mattered as much.
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Post by paforrest on Feb 9, 2018 7:53:40 GMT -5
Well, despite the fact that the Js were clearly absent for most of the shoot - and as far as I know the same is going to happen in the next episode - and mostly utterly useless, AGAIN, I actually didn't think this was too bad an episode, especially for a mytharc story by Singer's two wives.
And there were actual surprises. First of all, I didn't expect that Danneel's character was going to be an angel - and I thought she was pretty interesting overall and that Danneel did a really good job. Sure, it's a pisser that she's being wasted on Lucifer, but at least the Jensen-hating Cas!stans on twitter and tumblr didn't get what they wanted, which apparently was for her character to fall instantly in love with Castiel, for some lame-o high school reason that only works in their pea brains.
The second surprise was how they didn't go the all too predictable route in giving Lucifer a straight-up redemption arc. Normally with him being all pitiful there for a while you'd expect them to go down that tired road, especially given how much freaking time is being devoted to Luci. But, no, he's still horrible and a bastard, so I don't feel like that's where this is going. At least, not yet.
Ketch is a slightly better character away from Mary - then again, who isn't. And at least he's being honest about working both sides.
Of course, the big surprise was Gabriel at the end, and at one time I might have been excited about that. But I've come to dislike Richard Speight so much that now the reveal falls flat on me. Still, it was legit unexpected, especially when for a minute there my stomach clenched and I thought Col. Sanders was going to reveal Adam!Michael in the cell, which would have infuriated me and probably cost me a new tv as my foot would have gone through the screen. I can put up with the return of Speight more than Adam!Michael.
I always like seeing Donatello.
All in all, I thought it was watchable enough and moved the story somewhat. 6/10
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Post by paforrest on Feb 4, 2018 8:46:45 GMT -5
No one has anything to say about this one? I admit I had to do quite a bit of FF'ing because the witchy guest stars were so bad and annoying that it was like fingernails on a chalkboard. And I refused to sit and listen to Sam whine about his Hell/Luci experience AGAIN after having suffered over two full seasons of that crap, especially when Dean's Hell experience is still mostly ignored and treated for laughs when it is brought up. Boo-hoo Princess Samantha, suck it up.
And, of course, Rowena played the crap out of Sam anyway to get the page she wanted, as he has now allowed her to be massively more powerful than she ever was before, which could lead to serious problems later. Though I suspect Rowena will be both frenemy and enemy depending on what the script needs that week, much like Crowley was for most of his run. At least Dean figured out Sam's bone-headed move, so a point for him. Otherwise, it's obvious the Winchesters were just there to be played the whole episode. Boo, Yockey.
I was reminded by a friend about the whole Empty thing at the beginning of the season, with Misha's weird double with the bad accent, and the hint that Castiel may not be alone in his vessel - once again. Forgotten about that since it's been so long, but Cas wasn't quite himself in this episode - a little too snarky and confident, which is why it just seems like it's not entirely him. But who knows if that's really where this story is going.
I'm happy enough that Rowena is back because Ruth got such a bad deal last season given the whole showrunners vs Mark S. debacle. Of course, it depends on what they do with her after this if I remain happy enough.
And I guess the annoying sisters were supposed to be some kind of mirror of the Winchesters in their goal to get mommy back which I wish they'd take to heart, but of course won't.
4/10
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Post by paforrest on Jan 26, 2018 13:26:20 GMT -5
7/10 for me
I thought it was pretty good. It was a good episode for Dean. I love Donna, so it was great seeing her on again. The story had an Urban Legends myth feel to it. I loved the tip of the hat to CB Radios and Truck Drivers. No Jack, only a couple mentions. IMO Perez did pretty well again, surprisingly. Yeah, I'd venture to say it might be Perez's best episode. I've forgotten what else he wrote so far this year, but I don't recall hating the last episode he wrote, because normally I'd remember kind of thing. I think this season he may have become a stronger writer. And a huge part of the reason for that is how unlike last year he finally twigged to the fact that if you write a strong Dean and actually use Jensen Ackles in a large part if not most of your episode, it immediately becomes a whole helluva lot better. I know this episode was supposed to set up Donna for the spin-off, and while I like Donna, I don't give a rat's ass about the spin-off. However, overall I felt like it was an equally strong Winchester episode, and certainly a strong one for leader!Dean who, again, always always always makes an episode a shit ton better. It was certainly very dark, but I agree that it was an impressive throwback to the urban legend aspect of the original series. And while Jack and Jodi and Mary and Kaia get a passing mention, it wasn't about them at all, and the story benefited greatly from sticking with the Winchesters and one strong recurring character. The only thing I don't understand is mopey!Sam and his suddenly gloom and doom attitude. The only thing it looks like to me is that the usual and all too often pulled-out off the shelf emo!Dean storyline is possibly the one that hasn't been repurposed for Sam over the years. Looks like that may be what's happening now, and he's frankly welcome to it. I'd definitely give this one a 7, maybe even an 8 for being tight and interesting - not to mention for actually recalling that Dean was once a vampire!
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