.spn 5.09; or, unconventional?
Okay, the craziness is continuing, and now I'm reluctant to say the end is in sight because every time I say that, the end recedes and the light at the end of the tunnel becomes that much dimmer. Applications for next year are almost done, but then there's all of the other crap I haven't been doing... crap like my dissertation, let's say, which sort of needs to be finished before I can, you know, ACCEPT A JOB THAT MIGHT POTENTIALLY BE OFFERED TO ME.
I'm also depressed and annoyed seeing as I haven't written fic in ages. I just, I can't write, y'all-- I'm too exhausted and tired of looking at Word by the time I get home. Maybe I'll try icons or something, because at least Photoshop is not a word processing program. Of course, there are stories in my head, and they vanish every time I get bold and think "maybe I can just sneak Word open here while I pretend I'm totally doing something else."
Anyway, 5.09! I warn you, this is nonsensical. The exhaustion and keyboard-loathing is kicking in.
I will start off by saying that the writers failed, failed utterly and completely, to take advantage of the fact that Castiel at a convention would be the most hilarious thing on the planet. The comedy would have written itself.
Moving on.
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trinityofone called Chuck/Becky! It makes sense, in a bizarre... oh, I don't know, apocryphal sort of way, like if St. Luke and Mary Magdalene ever hooked up. (You should have seen Luke!)*
On a less impressive note, I toldlet_fate_decide that it was totally the kids scalping people or whatever. Yeah, I'm not all that impressed, either.
The case definitely took the backseat to the convention and some of the themes that are played out, like narrative and fantasy, and the odd fact that LARPing is seen as an activity of questionable sanity when, say, the life Dean and Sam lead is exponentially more batshit (and characterized by unhealthy obsession) than anything even the most dedicated fan could dream of.
Speaking of dedicated fans, an aside: It warmed my heart that the convention was attended mostly by fanboys.
Anyway, this episode was kind of a nice addendum to "Changing Channels," with the way both talk about playing roles and storytelling. Only here you do see Dean and Sam playing their roles (their roles as hunters, anyway) and doing a kick-ass job, and a bunch of guys trying to take those roles on for themselves--and hey, a few of them not doing too bad at all. Putting aside the point-and-laugh/wince approach to fan culture, the episode did give me that "awww, ordinary people can do awesome things too!" warm-fuzzy glow. It's the kind of warm-fuzzy glow that SPN likes to give you right before an episode where something horrible and depressing happens, but I'm not going to think about that... Instead, I'm going to think about how the Winchester Gospels are creeping their freakish, Scandinavian-sponsored* way into reality, and the entertaining parallels that exist between a secretive group of basement-dwelling weirdos with cheap paperbacks and a secretive group of basement-dwelling weirdos with a bunch of letters sent to them by a jerk from Tarsus.
Anyway, it's nice to see Sam catch a break, finally. (Wow, I never thought I'd say that again.) Between being smacked around by a sexy, yet earnest doctor, losing at Nutcracker, and contracting genital herpes, he deserves a respite from the crazy. And speaking of respite, we've had our warm fuzzies for the rest of the year, because now it's almost hiatus time!
Oh, and Barnes and Damian were adorable, in a Wincest-brought-us-together sort of way. At first I thought I would much, much rather sell stereos than hunt evil creatures for a living... I don't know. I remember retail keenly, and it's very likely I could have dealt with some customers just as effectively by reciting an exorcism or throwing salt at them instead of grudgingly giving into their demands to honor expired coupons and then bitching at them behind their backs. So they have a point, and yeah, it's cliched but I think it's a good one. Different roles and fantasy are good, creative in their own ways. The only difference between that and the role-playing involved in any other line of work--like, for example, the writing room--is that it lacks legitimacy, it's recreation some people take to the level of vocation. ("Vocation" is actually kind of interesting in the context of an SPN convention being a sort of proto-church: in the religious sense, a vocation is a calling to serve God. VERY INTRIGUING.)
I admit, I was pretty hesitant about this episode. I very much loved "The Monster At The End Of This Book," but at the same time hoped the fan-mockery would be a one-off. When it wasn't, and came back in S5, I kind of sighed a bit. But here, I admit, I really quite liked it. Under Becky's crazy Samgirlness and the utterly anonymous and prosaic daily existences of Barnes and Damian--who are kind of stereotypical, I mean, fanpeople are immense; we contain multitudes--there's more than just finger-pointing, I think. Maybe I'm being rose-tinted-lenses delusional, but you can't have something like the Winchester Gospels and its followers tied to a super-serious apocalyptic storyline and not have some respect for it. The fanboys and fangirls might be comedic relief, but they also save Sam and Dean's ass, and they do it on their own strength and determination, which is pretty damn cool.
Meanwhile, of course, I will just be eaten by the MOTW :(
Next week: Maybe I'm just tired, but the previews really didn't do it for me. I've seen some of the promo shots so I have a better idea of what's coming, and I know I'm going to have to be anxious for several reasons. Not looking forward to this.
* = COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT TO THE EPISODE REVIEW, BUT. It's kind of amusing to imagine a kind-of boring Greek physician losing his shit when angels start harassing him to write stuff about a guy who wanders around saying nonsensical things.
* = I know nothing about this, but is Eric from True Blood perhaps a fan? Does he have money?
I'm also depressed and annoyed seeing as I haven't written fic in ages. I just, I can't write, y'all-- I'm too exhausted and tired of looking at Word by the time I get home. Maybe I'll try icons or something, because at least Photoshop is not a word processing program. Of course, there are stories in my head, and they vanish every time I get bold and think "maybe I can just sneak Word open here while I pretend I'm totally doing something else."
Anyway, 5.09! I warn you, this is nonsensical. The exhaustion and keyboard-loathing is kicking in.
I will start off by saying that the writers failed, failed utterly and completely, to take advantage of the fact that Castiel at a convention would be the most hilarious thing on the planet. The comedy would have written itself.
Moving on.
trinityofone called Chuck/Becky! It makes sense, in a bizarre... oh, I don't know, apocryphal sort of way, like if St. Luke and Mary Magdalene ever hooked up. (You should have seen Luke!)* On a less impressive note, I told
let_fate_decide that it was totally the kids scalping people or whatever. Yeah, I'm not all that impressed, either.The case definitely took the backseat to the convention and some of the themes that are played out, like narrative and fantasy, and the odd fact that LARPing is seen as an activity of questionable sanity when, say, the life Dean and Sam lead is exponentially more batshit (and characterized by unhealthy obsession) than anything even the most dedicated fan could dream of.
Speaking of dedicated fans, an aside: It warmed my heart that the convention was attended mostly by fanboys.
Anyway, this episode was kind of a nice addendum to "Changing Channels," with the way both talk about playing roles and storytelling. Only here you do see Dean and Sam playing their roles (their roles as hunters, anyway) and doing a kick-ass job, and a bunch of guys trying to take those roles on for themselves--and hey, a few of them not doing too bad at all. Putting aside the point-and-laugh/wince approach to fan culture, the episode did give me that "awww, ordinary people can do awesome things too!" warm-fuzzy glow. It's the kind of warm-fuzzy glow that SPN likes to give you right before an episode where something horrible and depressing happens, but I'm not going to think about that... Instead, I'm going to think about how the Winchester Gospels are creeping their freakish, Scandinavian-sponsored* way into reality, and the entertaining parallels that exist between a secretive group of basement-dwelling weirdos with cheap paperbacks and a secretive group of basement-dwelling weirdos with a bunch of letters sent to them by a jerk from Tarsus.
Anyway, it's nice to see Sam catch a break, finally. (Wow, I never thought I'd say that again.) Between being smacked around by a sexy, yet earnest doctor, losing at Nutcracker, and contracting genital herpes, he deserves a respite from the crazy. And speaking of respite, we've had our warm fuzzies for the rest of the year, because now it's almost hiatus time!
Oh, and Barnes and Damian were adorable, in a Wincest-brought-us-together sort of way. At first I thought I would much, much rather sell stereos than hunt evil creatures for a living... I don't know. I remember retail keenly, and it's very likely I could have dealt with some customers just as effectively by reciting an exorcism or throwing salt at them instead of grudgingly giving into their demands to honor expired coupons and then bitching at them behind their backs. So they have a point, and yeah, it's cliched but I think it's a good one. Different roles and fantasy are good, creative in their own ways. The only difference between that and the role-playing involved in any other line of work--like, for example, the writing room--is that it lacks legitimacy, it's recreation some people take to the level of vocation. ("Vocation" is actually kind of interesting in the context of an SPN convention being a sort of proto-church: in the religious sense, a vocation is a calling to serve God. VERY INTRIGUING.)
I admit, I was pretty hesitant about this episode. I very much loved "The Monster At The End Of This Book," but at the same time hoped the fan-mockery would be a one-off. When it wasn't, and came back in S5, I kind of sighed a bit. But here, I admit, I really quite liked it. Under Becky's crazy Samgirlness and the utterly anonymous and prosaic daily existences of Barnes and Damian--who are kind of stereotypical, I mean, fanpeople are immense; we contain multitudes--there's more than just finger-pointing, I think. Maybe I'm being rose-tinted-lenses delusional, but you can't have something like the Winchester Gospels and its followers tied to a super-serious apocalyptic storyline and not have some respect for it. The fanboys and fangirls might be comedic relief, but they also save Sam and Dean's ass, and they do it on their own strength and determination, which is pretty damn cool.
Meanwhile, of course, I will just be eaten by the MOTW :(
Next week: Maybe I'm just tired, but the previews really didn't do it for me. I've seen some of the promo shots so I have a better idea of what's coming, and I know I'm going to have to be anxious for several reasons. Not looking forward to this.
* = COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT TO THE EPISODE REVIEW, BUT. It's kind of amusing to imagine a kind-of boring Greek physician losing his shit when angels start harassing him to write stuff about a guy who wanders around saying nonsensical things.
* = I know nothing about this, but is Eric from True Blood perhaps a fan? Does he have money?
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