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.spn 5.12; or, don't rebel satanically
First off, re: Bones... Okay, if they do not kiss by the end of the series I will explode. I'm usually not one for trite "oh YAY together in the end" endings in canon, but this time IT IS NECESSARY TO MY HAPPINESS, ALL RIGHT?!?!
As for the "what I could understand of it," our local Fox affiliate sucks. Every week--and just for Bones!--the sound is completely messed up, either a bit out of sync with the visual or, as it was this week, inaudible voices but very audible background noise. That lasted for half the ep, and finally got fixed. I am also seriously annoyed at missing half an hour of Mr. Nigel Murray, who is quite possibly my favorite intern.
And now, SPN 5.12, which I admit, I was dreading after the unmitigated mediocrity of last week's episode.
Not bad, actually. Aside from one major issue (well, two), I was pleasantly surprised.
My major issue, to get that out of the way: the technicalities/politics of body ownership in SPN drive me crazy. (I know, I'm insane anyway for wanting some consistency, just, indulge me.) If I read it right, the demon implies that Gary-in-Sam's-body can say yes to Lucifer, and that counts as consent sufficient enough to let Lucifer take possession. If that was the case, you'd figure the demons (and heck, maybe the angels) would have been all over this ritual: plant a willing and cooperative person in Dean's and Sam's bodies, get them to say 'yes' and hey, presto, Apocalypse! Again, if I'm understanding "he'll ask you one little question, and all you have to do is say yes" properly... doesn't that undermine the whole point of it being Dean and Sam consenting to have their bodies used? I'm going to tell myself that the demon doesn't really understand that, otherwise my head will explode from irritation.
Other major issue: Having sex while in someone else's body is never cool, writers. Also, it's overdone. So please stop having characters do it. Thank you.
Okay, things that I like. This is a refreshing change!
Jared-as-Gary was hilarious, as was Jared-as-Sam-as-Gary. I laughed throughout pretty much the entire opening scene. The entire premise of the episode, bodyswapping but outside of a few moments not having the actors play each other, was pretty well-done, although the sad logical flaw is that Sam could probably get Gary's jeans on up to his ankles and no higher. (I don't understand how that worked, the magically doubling clothes.) Still, the first scene in Gary's bedroom was pretty damn good, I thought, with Sam staring at his/Gary's reflection in the mirror, and Gary's staring back.
The episode wasn't as standalone as I thought it was going to be, although its tie-in to the larger arc is difficult for me to understand, given what I said above. (Seriously, why was that brought up or even hinted at as a possibility? It's so ridiculous.) And the conversations between Sam (actual Sam) and Dean were brief but also kind of touching--their visit with the babysitter, Dean being a bit sad that Sam really has left Jess and law school and everything behind--it still seems like something that Dean wants, that stabilitywith Cas, even though he'd have almost no idea what to do with it. Even though this isn't a revelation by now, I still like having the point reiterated, that Dean's home base is family.
Aside from the weird not-quite-adherence-to-canon moment, the episode worked well for me. The pacing and balance was a lot better, nowhere near as uneven as it's been, and the writing seemed a lot more fluid--no terrible jokes, no overtly obnoxious cliches (well, aside from the "yay sex while in someone else's body" stuff)... much, much closer to SPN's idiosyncratic humor than, say "Yellow Fever" was, when it all started out so well and then ended horribly. Hey, it's not "Mystery Spot," but it's better.
Oh, and the actress who played Laura (Nora? our CW affiliate also has audio issues) was pretty awesome! If she and Gary came back, I would be okay with that.
And as for what I really, really like: CAS NEXT WEEK! CAS NEXT WEEK! CAS NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just, please, let him be around for more than a few minutes. Please.
As for the "what I could understand of it," our local Fox affiliate sucks. Every week--and just for Bones!--the sound is completely messed up, either a bit out of sync with the visual or, as it was this week, inaudible voices but very audible background noise. That lasted for half the ep, and finally got fixed. I am also seriously annoyed at missing half an hour of Mr. Nigel Murray, who is quite possibly my favorite intern.
And now, SPN 5.12, which I admit, I was dreading after the unmitigated mediocrity of last week's episode.
Not bad, actually. Aside from one major issue (well, two), I was pleasantly surprised.
My major issue, to get that out of the way: the technicalities/politics of body ownership in SPN drive me crazy. (I know, I'm insane anyway for wanting some consistency, just, indulge me.) If I read it right, the demon implies that Gary-in-Sam's-body can say yes to Lucifer, and that counts as consent sufficient enough to let Lucifer take possession. If that was the case, you'd figure the demons (and heck, maybe the angels) would have been all over this ritual: plant a willing and cooperative person in Dean's and Sam's bodies, get them to say 'yes' and hey, presto, Apocalypse! Again, if I'm understanding "he'll ask you one little question, and all you have to do is say yes" properly... doesn't that undermine the whole point of it being Dean and Sam consenting to have their bodies used? I'm going to tell myself that the demon doesn't really understand that, otherwise my head will explode from irritation.
Other major issue: Having sex while in someone else's body is never cool, writers. Also, it's overdone. So please stop having characters do it. Thank you.
Okay, things that I like. This is a refreshing change!
Jared-as-Gary was hilarious, as was Jared-as-Sam-as-Gary. I laughed throughout pretty much the entire opening scene. The entire premise of the episode, bodyswapping but outside of a few moments not having the actors play each other, was pretty well-done, although the sad logical flaw is that Sam could probably get Gary's jeans on up to his ankles and no higher. (I don't understand how that worked, the magically doubling clothes.) Still, the first scene in Gary's bedroom was pretty damn good, I thought, with Sam staring at his/Gary's reflection in the mirror, and Gary's staring back.
The episode wasn't as standalone as I thought it was going to be, although its tie-in to the larger arc is difficult for me to understand, given what I said above. (Seriously, why was that brought up or even hinted at as a possibility? It's so ridiculous.) And the conversations between Sam (actual Sam) and Dean were brief but also kind of touching--their visit with the babysitter, Dean being a bit sad that Sam really has left Jess and law school and everything behind--it still seems like something that Dean wants, that stability
Aside from the weird not-quite-adherence-to-canon moment, the episode worked well for me. The pacing and balance was a lot better, nowhere near as uneven as it's been, and the writing seemed a lot more fluid--no terrible jokes, no overtly obnoxious cliches (well, aside from the "yay sex while in someone else's body" stuff)... much, much closer to SPN's idiosyncratic humor than, say "Yellow Fever" was, when it all started out so well and then ended horribly. Hey, it's not "Mystery Spot," but it's better.
Oh, and the actress who played Laura (Nora? our CW affiliate also has audio issues) was pretty awesome! If she and Gary came back, I would be okay with that.
And as for what I really, really like: CAS NEXT WEEK! CAS NEXT WEEK! CAS NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just, please, let him be around for more than a few minutes. Please.