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#season 13 meta
shallowseeker · 8 months
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Dean’s grief on speedrun
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How long was Cas dead, anyway?
I think they reunited around day 18-24 days ish. The scripts give us some clues. (Based on this post)
==Dean is grieving hard==
He’s not in denial, like Sam seems to be -> “Is he really dead?” “You know he is.”
And because Dean now knows Chuck & Amara, he’s not getting stuck in bargaining stage (his usual MO). There is no door of hope to leave ajar after the cosmic consequences are rendered. (Not even the symbolic going-through-the-motions kind that he never intends to open again.)
No, this time, Dean’s in the throes of an incredibly frightening, paralyzing despair (images).
This is partially due to the fact that he saw it coming, and he fought so hard. He resolved to avoid the looming, cosmic consequences, to “not let Cas walk away, not again (script).” Dean made up his mind to act to protect the, “everything he’s ever wanted (script).”
And still, everything went so wrong.
///
The grief, then, is different. It’s a despair born of crushed hopes and dreams. Not to mention, forgiveness and acceptance—as Dean got onboard to help Cas, regardless of his own misgivings, because Cas “had faith in the kid.”
After everyone dies, Dean pleads with God/Chuck. Chuck is the one who brought Cas back before and the only one who seems able to rebuild angels. He doesn’t answer.
Even though Dean had a special connection to Amara, the one who resurrected his burned-up, supposed-to-stay-dead mother, she doesn’t answer either.
This time, he knows they’re out there, perhaps even listening. And they’re not answering because Dean’s run out of free passes and miracles.
This time, that knowledge crushes him where he stands.
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DAY 1-2 (Lost and Found)
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13x01 starts in the twilight hours after the big Lucifer fight.
Dean takes a shot at Jack, and Jack flees.
Heaven and Hell hunt them relentlessly.
They retrieve Jack from North Cove police station.
An angel stabs Jack in the chest with an angel blade, and he seems astonished to be “fine.”
Sam and Dean take time to grieve and scatter ashes.
The funeral occurs that evening, and they quickly get on the road.
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DAY 3 ish (The Rising Son)
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In 13x02, they're still driving home from the funeral towards the bunker, "12 hours till we get home," and Sam convinces Dean to stop at a motel.
Addition: When they eat, Jack remarks that he's 3 days old. "3 days, 17 hours, and 42 minutes."
Over the course of this episode, per the script, 2 days pass.
They eat dinner, go to a tattoo parlor, meet up with Donatello, and stay overnight in the motel.
Heaven and Hell continue to hunt them relentlessly.
Sam, Dean, and Donatello debate nature vs nurture, with Dean and Donatello leaning towards nature.
Sam psycho-analyzes Dean and delivers euphemisms to Jack about Dean “wanting to protect everyone and getting his wires crossed,” but ultimately, he isn’t forthcoming to Jack about the reality of the situation. (That is, it was Lucifer that killed Cas, and Lucifer who pulled Mary into another world--that Dean's grieving!) These important details might've helped Jack to understand his situation with a lot more clarity and grace. This will cause Jack to cool towards Sam when Dean reveals the truth during an argument.
Demons find them the next morning.
In fact, Dean nearly dies against a common demon, getting cornered on a hotel bed, but he is saved at the last minute by Sam’s interference.
Jack, tricked by Asmodeus, nearly releases the Shadim.
They drive home.
Later, Jack freaks out about being impervious to stabbing. In his new bunker room, he laments, “What the hell am I? I can’t control… whatever this is. I will hurt someone.”
Dean tells him he will be Jack's executioner if Jack loses control.
At most, it's been only 5 days since everyone died.
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DAY 5 ish (Patience)
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13x03 picks up mere hours after they get home, and it covers 5 days total. So, that brings us to a decently solid total of 10-ish days when this episode finishes.
Dean can't bear to be in the bunker with mission-mode Sam and Jack, so he takes off on a hunt.
Clearly in no shape to hunt, Dean dies at the hands of a wraith (and so does Jody). They are both saved by Patience’s interference.
Dean tells Patience there’s no joy in this life. Only pain and death.
Sam and Dean have a huge fight about Jack, during which Dean accidentally gives Jack context to the situation (re: Cas’s death, Mary’s plight). This causes Jack, already exhausted by Sam’s well-meaning training regimen, to cool towards Sam the next morning.
Cas appears to awaken in The Empty on day 9 or 10.
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DAY 10-11 ish (The Big Empty)
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13x04 SEEMS like the very next morning, because Dean AND Jack are both still chilly towards Sam. The air is described as arctic, with Dean giving Sam a, "don't even try it, motherfucker," face. Jack accuses Sam of wanting to use him as an interdimensional can opener and "being just like Asmodeus," and Sam comes clean about the truth.
Sam pushes them all to go on a case together. Jack says he doesn’t want to go at first. Sam wants Jack to go with them for the express purpose of forcing Dean to be around him and warm up to him, which isn’t fair to Dean or Jack…not really.
This storyline covers the family therapy scene (great analysis), wherein an interesting attempt at therapy is made under dishonest constraints.
Dean, still clearly in no shape to hunt, is easily overtaken by the shifter and nearly dies. He is saved by Jack’s interference.
According to the script, 13x04 occurs over 4 days. Commentary//
That means that Dean thawed to Jack, after our total of a mere 14 days. By the end of this episode, they're on shaky terms, and by the beginning of 13x06, calling out to each other in a friendly manner, "How was the case?"
Jack "puts a dent in Dean's armor," per the script, even before he saves them with his powers. Dean is doing everything he can not to like Jack, and it’s clear from the script that he’s failing.
At the end of the episode, Dean tells Sam to absorb the weight of the hunting burden, because he’s got no hope left.
Cas appears to awaken in a field on day 14. Presumably, his ashes are in the middle of nowhere, and he starts walking.
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DAY 14-20 ish? (Advanced Thanatology)
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Here’s where it gets foggier.
I can't tell exactly when 13x05 picks up with respect to the previous episode, but it seems like only a little bit of time has passed.
I would say a week at most has passed, but possibly as little as a day or two, and the case itself, per the script, covers another 4 days.
However, if Cas awoke in The Empty on day 10, and woke in the field around day 14, I think I favor a shorter timeline here with some of the “days” being overlapping back story from the case itself.
Anyway, Jack has been making his way through Sam's DVDs, "Red Sonja, Beast Master, Beast Master II." Commentary//
Sam does not intuit why Dean is up late at night/early twilight hours, making a PB & J (analysis).
Sam tries to remedy Dean’s overwhelming grief by pushing breakfast beer and strip clubs toward him. Alcohol to numb the pain + sexy stuff as a distraction. Now more than ever, Dean seems to perform those only for Sam’s benefit. (It seems Sam did not pay attention to Mia Vallens's therapy, except as a means to validate his own motives for trying to save Mary. Ouch! Poor Sam!)
Sam is not great with empathy here, bless my neuroatypical man-child. He’s dealing with a loss of his own, of course, and he’s been shown to be an impatient, mission-motivated griever (analysis).
Anyway, he’s completely at sea with Dean’s powerful grief, and he seems tragically unaware of Dean's close calls/being off his game over the course of the last few hunts.
Sam, perhaps understandably, wants Dean to be there for him n’ Jack, as caretaker and comrade, but Dean is too mentally wounded to bear the weight of that expectation. (Btw, I don’t think Sam really “gets” the Cas thing till 15x09 The Trap: Sam’s future is symbolized by Eileen-as-hope (analysis) and Sam realizes Dean’s future is built around Cas-as-foundation.) Dean dies...again//
Dean attempts suicide.
He tells Billie he doesn’t matter.
After he revives, Dean tells Sam, “No. Sam, I’m not okay. I’m pretty far from okay… And I would take the hit… And now Mom and Cas… And I – I don’t know. I don’t know.”
This is an elegant parallel to season 7’s grieving Dean, about his not being able to “shake” what happened with Cas, and admitting, “he doesn’t know why.” (Cas is different. Cas has always been different.) In season 7, he also says, “I’ll do what I can,” in response to Sam telling him to get his head in the game and stay alive. Cas is a core wound in both scenarios.
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==Death & resurrection==
So, that would bring our guesstimate to Cas reuniting with the boys around 20-24 days. So, at most a little over 3 weeks but possibly closer to 4, especially if the backstory timelines of actual “case days” overlap, like 13x05 potentially does.
I am reasonably certain Cas awakened in the field near day 14. I’d personally put the actual reunion at 18-20 ish days, and certainly not longer than a month. They reunite in early June, I think. Blackberries are a summer fruit, and there are wild blackberries in the field where Cas awakens.
Dean drives to Cas and meets up with him, "in the middle of nowhere," so it seems Cas's grave and subsequent walk to civilization was in quite a remote area.
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Going back through this, I was pretty astounded how Dean kept dying or nearly dying in those days following Cas’s death. He was definitely in no state to be hunting.
(images from CSN, SPN wiki, fangirlism.com)
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ananke-xiii · 2 months
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Welcome home, pal.
I'll never be normal about these two. Them and their frigging ET references.
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tsukiyo-7 · 2 months
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I got another good look at the demon tablet in the last episode yesterday (what was it? 13x13?) and okay my Cuneiform reading skills are rusty at best but holy fuck they really did draw that shit so fucking randomly 💀 also Magog and Gog speaking "ancient Canaanite" that is literally just funky Hebrew???? I knew I couldn't expect much, given how fucking basic even their latin spells are (except for the exorcism because that's pre-existing) but bloody hell this show is so fucking unserious, they don't even try, why tf do we even agonize over it?
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prince-of-elsinore · 7 months
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I really think they should've let Sam kill Lucifer in the s13 finale. Not because like, he 'deserved' it or anything, but because it would've actually been... interesting. First on a storytelling level--killed not, as foretold, by his rival Michael but by his own perfect vessel! The one who trapped him before, the one who endured hundreds of years of torture at his hands, a mere mortal! And just in time to save his brother! It goes from blah blah boss fight to satisfying, poetic twist. And then on a visual level: nothing could be worse than the Michael/Lucifer zipline fight. It could only be improved by having Sam surprise Lucifer at the last second when he was about to finish Michael!Dean off. A little oh! button to the climax, a breath of life and unpredictability in an otherwise rote fight. Also, Sam would've looked really sexy doing it. Just saying.
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earlymidsomermurders · 9 months
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watched fit for murder for the first time and i am inconsolable. even though i KNEW it was coming, the final line was such a gut punch. why do i have so many feelings about this old man
It's always 1996 in Midsomer.
There is always something messed-up happening in Badger's Drift and Tom Barnaby always old mans his way through the case though his sergeants come and go. And then suddenly that's all over and you're crying over a pensioner blowing out candles on a cake.
I love Tom's last ep Fit for Murder so much. There is a restraint there that just fucks me up every time. He doesn't go out with a bang. There is no grand send-off. He doesn't even go out on a high note. It's your bog standard Midsomer case, he closes it and then he just. says goodbye. very quietly. That's it.
The ep also has a rare intimacy. It's weirdly personal, taking a close look at Tom's fears and the way he loves and the way he sees himself. We never get this close to him through all his seasons, this isn't that kind of show. But his last ep goes: you think you love this old man?? WELL THIS IS WHO HE REALLY IS. NOW SAY GOODBYE.
Even his actual goodbye, the ending of the ep, is incredibly true to the character. ofc he didn't tell anyone on his team he was going to retire. There are few words. Some jokes. A lot of suppressed sadness.
John Nettles obviously wanted it bigger...."I go quietly. I wanted [a heroic death and a state funeral]. But it's not to be. Tom will go out not with a bang but with a whimper. He'll just fade away as I think coppers do — and should." x
That's how he goes. Andrew Payne wrote a beautiful last ep for Tom and an amazing goodbye. I love seeing people cry about it in the year of our lord 2023.
I know I still do
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blue-chimera · 2 months
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I didn't want to hijack @mlobsters post (a fun/witty recap of S13:E13 "Devil's Bargain"), but it brought to light some great little moments I wanted to talk about, so I figured I should make my own!
In their recap, mlobsters points out the ridiculousness of Dean apologizing for failing to clock a shifter impersonating Cas over the phone (in this case, Asmodeus, who was holding Cas hostage), despite the distance & brevity of the calls. Meanwhile, just one scene earlier, Dean says (and fails to apologize for saying), "I specifically told you not to do anything stupid!" in response to Cas detailing a meeting with Lucifer (something most folks would agree is — at minimum! — pretty rude, and that Cas clearly gets at least a little offended by).
But I think both of these things are actually great illustrations of how Dean's control issues affect his perspective. (Which I totally get being exasperated about! But I also get where Dean's coming from.)
So, first: Dean's not sorry for his "don't do anything stupid" comment because what he means when he says that is, "Don't be reckless — people care about you (I care about you) & we don't want to see you get hurt. So, ask us (me) for help, check in with us (me), and don't do stuff on your own (where I can't control the outcome or at least review your strategy & give it my stamp of approval)."
And if that sounds super controlling, well, it is. Because Dean has massive control issues, thanks mostly to the way John parentified him (which I go into in greater depth here). He's internalized the idea that only he can keep his loved ones safe, and that he can only do that if he controls all the variables of the situation (which necessarily includes controlling them)...
And Dean doesn't have a great grasp on his issues at this point. So, he thinks he's just saying, "I care about you, so be safe" the way that anyone would, and he thinks his meaning (and underlying concern) is clear enough without having to get "sappy" & say it nicely/directly.
[Tangent: I'll add here that I don't think Dean really understands how much Cas looks to him for validation. For his part, I think Cas is at least somewhat aware of Dean's motivations when he says this stuff, so he tries not to take it personally, but I think these kinds of comments make him feel like he always has something to prove (which is a pretty reasonable response to someone constantly implying that you're stupid!). Unfortunately, it has the opposite effect from Dean wants. What Dean wants is for Cas to stay within arm's reach, like Sam, but these jabs typically just spur Cas to strike out on his own more, to try to prove that he can stand on his own two feet.]
On the other hand: Dean very much is sorry for not being able to do the impossible & perceive that "Cas" on the phone was actually Asmodeus, and this also goes back to his control issues. When John made him responsible for keeping Sam safe (in a world full of monsters, with very little in the way of resources, and having only the body & mind of a child), Dean internalized the assumption that A) the seemingly-impossible was actually possible (cuz John wouldn't have given him a task if it wasn't within his power, right?) and that B) it was, by extension, his basic duty towards his loved ones to keep them safe regardless of the circumstances — no excuses. John's parentification of him crystallized for Dean that he was capable of being a protector, so that was his role.
Thus, Dean telling himself that it was his fault for not recognizing Asmodeus as not-Cas provides a perverse sort of comfort to him because it reinforces the bedrock idea (the idea at the very foundation of his worldview) that it is always possible to protect his loved ones. That if he just kept a little more alert, stayed a little more wary, that next time, he'd know the difference. Next time, he'd be able to rescue his friend. He's the protector, that's his role, and he has to believe he's capable of protecting everyone...
...or else come to terms with the vast & terrifying feelings of helplessness that he experienced — and desperately repressed — as a small child who was expected to stand guard over an even smaller & more fragile child against horrors unimaginable. Not to mention having to confront his hurt and anger against parents he grew up idolizing for forcing him into that position.
(For more analysis of Dean's growth on this issue up through the finale, see here.)
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poetry-my-lord · 5 months
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I've been thinking about the cruel Morgana scene in 3x13, where she executes people of Camelot to gain knights' allegiance. Though I think it was too extreme for her at the time (it would be more proper in S4 or S5 imo), it creates a parallel between her and Uther in 1x01.
In 1x01, Uther executed a person on other people's eyes and Morgana looked at it from her room. She diverted her eyes but still could hear what was going on. In 3x13, Uther was imprisoned and had to watch or at least listen to the execution by Morgana. She paid him back with killing ones of his own, as he did to her before in her judgement.
It would be too easy to label Arthur = good, Morgana = bad in terms of ruling Camelot, but the parallel with Uther explains a lot as to why she did it.
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leonardalphachurch · 1 year
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what single frame of rvb do you think would be the biggest spoiler for the whole show
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arom-antix · 1 year
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I don't know if I'm missing something but why are people saying the GPF in YoI happened in the 2016-17 season? Like, it's very obviously held in the same arena as the real 2015-16 gpf down to the placement of the exits so where is the 2016 argument coming from??? I hear Viktors win in Sochi happened in 2014 (which I cannot find anywhere in the series, please tell me where it says so) which would mean Yuuri takes silver in 2015.
And there isn't a gap year. When it in episode one supposedly says "March one year later" what it actually says is "March the following year" because the GPF happens in December making Yuuri's return happen the following year. Viktor is also never described as a six-time Grand Prix Champion, only ever five-time and we know he won his fifth gold in Sochi, leaving for Japan after the end of the season. Stéphane also says that Yuuri "showed us a performance that no one would have expected after last year's Final." firmly placing it one year after Sochi, aka Yuuri's only other GFP at that point.
Please tell if I'm missing something, I know the qualifiers are a whole mess with them matching none of the seasons but this show is also so internally inconsistent it hurts, with skaters' ages changing from episode to episode (not because of birthdays mind you) and the Japanese dub and English sub contradicting each other (as far is I've heard).
Please, I just want my gay ice anime to be internally consistent T_T
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rapha-reads · 11 months
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Gonna be totally honest, I don't get how anyone can feel actual dislike towards Thirteenth and series 11-12. Indifference, yes, hatred/dislike? Why?
Edit: aaaand this got long, like most of my DW rants. Settle in, grab a cup of tea, a... Handful of dirt.
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I just rewatched Praxeus and Can You Hear Me (12x06-07) and they're so interesting? So refreshing?
Edit: I'm mostly talking about Praxeus here because that's the aspect I want to develop, but Can You Hear Me is also very interesting to discuss in regards to another aspect of the show, less meta and more narrative. We'll get back to this later. Maybe.
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First, Segun Akinola's score is beautiful. I already talked about it in another one of my posts (that I'm not going to look up now otherwise I'll be up til dawn), but it's subtler than Murray Gold's, but still very present and atmospheric. It's melancholic, and metallic, and ethereal, very 2020s, which totally suits Thirteenth. She's very paradoxical, Thirteenth, she's both very present and very distant, exactly like the music that surrounds her. I feel like this gif below, from Praxeus, describes rather well the feelings Akinola's music incite. The sort of wonder and nostalgic anxiousness at the beauty, force and fragility of planet Earth.
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Secondly, the storylines in general are so much more... I wanna say heavy, but not in a negative or literal way. Heavy, as in, they get you to places in your psyche that you hadn't considered before, or in a long time. Which is something that Doctor Who has always done, by the way. But the feeling I get from having watched 2 episodes of Eleventh, one of Twelfth and 2 of Thirteenth in 3 days, is that previous narratives don't want to be too explicit about what they're about.
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I'll explain. Praxeus talks about pollution, of the planet and of our own health. Other DW episodes have talked about that theme (though I cant think of one right now), but always in a manner that lets the viewer be reassured/distracted by the scifi elements. Praxeus is direct, and real. And I know what the critics are, "it's so preachy, it's so paranoid, bla bla". But... It's not? It's the actual reality? And what is science-fiction if not putting in the light our reality? What is Doctor Who if not a show about humans and Earth, at its core? And yes, maybe it's much more direct than before, but I invite you to look around you, look at the 21st century, look at these first years of the 2020s. The time for subtlety and gentleness is long gone, direct action, direct call to what must be corrected is what's needed.
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And that's the strength of Doctor Who, I think, its adaptability to its time.
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khruschevshoe · 2 months
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My Hot-Take/Controversial Ranking of Doctor Who Seasons (excluding specials bc my special order is really unhinged)
3 > 1 > 10 > 4 > 5 > 8 > 11 > 12 > 9 > 7b > 2 > 6 > 13 = 7a
Disclaimer: I have favorite episodes that come from every single season on this list, including 7a. For example, even though Season 6 is low on the list, the God Complex, Almost People/Rebel Flesh, and Impossible Astronaut are some of my favorite of the show. I do really love the Power of Three. These are based on season arc/average feeling per episode/rewatchability on a subjective level.
#doctor who#listen seasons 1 and three are basically perfect television for me#season 10 is one of the most fun of the show and bill is my second favorite companion and I love the twelve/missy arc#season 4 is full of banger after banger and journey's end slaps it just doesn't quite hit for me personally like seasons 1 3 and 10 do#season 5 has some episodes i don't like (victory of the daleks for example) but the fairytale vibes/beast below/amy's choice/big bang SLAP#Season 8 has some great episodes/good arc but i just really don't vibe with how cruel the Doctor is sometimes/Danny deserved better#Season 11 (other than fucking kerblam) i really enjoy! it has some weak writing in places but i love graham&ryan's arc & the smaller vibes#Season 12 is objectively better than season 11 but has weaker character arcs and some weaker episodes so eh#season 9 has one of the best finales in the show/some fun two-parters (i adore under the lake/before the flood) but the arcs feel off#7b is...fun & i like a lot of the episodes but i don't like the name/day/time of the doctor & it drags it down + clara's not fleshed out#season 2 is so good in places (cybermen 2-parter/school reunion/new earth) but has so many weak episodes & not as much character developmen#season 6...I love some episodes but I DESPISE the pregnancy arc/let's kill hitler/wedding of river song & how little agency Amy & river hav#season 13 is just...FINE. I enjoy some of the side characters (vinder bel karvanista) but the flux itself felt weirdly...boring? no emotion#(Jodie was SO GOOD in this season though btw)#and season 7a...asylum of the daleks dinosaurs on a spaceship & angels take manhattan are on my least favorite episodes list. like bottom 1#and I'm sorry but a town called mercy and power of three can't save that#amy and rory should have left with the god complex/christmas special and popped back like martha did in season 4#i said what i said#wow i really went off in the tags on this one#meta#rankings
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soullessjack · 7 months
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Okay, you HAVE to talk to me about what you found out about Sam's DVD stuff now.
well, for the first one: Red Sonja is a comic book series about a warrior woman who’s essentially the original “chainmail-bikini clad female warrior” archetype and was inspired by Red Sonya from The Shadow Of The Vulture
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To be as brief as possible, both Sonja and Sonya are redheaded female warrior archetypes. Sonja’s more of a tomboy/swashbuckler type, but Sonya herself is the original “chainmail-bikini clad female warrior” to kickstart the entire archetype. IK I linked them both for your own reading but Sonya’s backstory is just so insane to me, both in general and in the sense that this is some of Jack’s first formative medias :
“Red Sonja lives with her family in a humble house in the Western Hyrkanian steppes. When she is 21, a group of mercenaries kills her family and burns down their house. Sonja attempts to defend herself, but cannot lift her brother's sword. She is raped by the leader of the group. Answering her cry for revenge, the red goddess Scáthach appears to her and gives her incredible fighting skills, on the condition that she never lie with a man unless he defeats her in fair combat.”
Then the second one is BeastMaster/BM2,
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which is basically a story about a last surviving tribesman named Dar who can magically communicate with animals and forms a found family of other last survivors on his own quest to find Kyra, his lost lover. there’s more meat and themes to this series than the Sonja one, especially in the sense of how these medias could have influenced Jack or any of his personality:
“The general story arc of the series is that the world is changing, civilization is advancing, technology is gaining ground slowly, the old orders of magic and sorcery are fading, and the world is threatened by the supernatural being Balcifer, the Dark One, played by Jeremy Callaghan. Dar is the son of King Eldar, who was destroyed by Balcifer. To defeat Balcifer Dar must locate and reunite his family, who have been turned into animals to hide them from Balcifer, in the Crystal Arc.”
(I’m sure there’s no parallels to be made whatsoever between Jack and a main hero who’s personally tied to a dark supernatural threat with the name ending in –LCIFER).
It’s also stated that despite being an action show, BM did come to have more pacifist/naturalist tones overall (probably a good indicator as to what influences Jack’s good-boy routine).
Honestly, with this knowledge in mind now, my biggest takeaway is just how much more relatable Jack’s own experience is to mine, as a formerly sheltered child whose influential medias were largely distanced from the mainstream. I can’t seem to think of a way to apply Red Sonja as an influence on Jack, so I’ll toss the ring to you if you have something!
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ananke-xiii · 2 months
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My ranking of SPN seasons (based only on their PLOT) pt. 2
In my previous post I'v covered the following:
15: Season 14
14: Season 15
13: season 7
12: season 3
11: season 6
Let's continue!
10. Season 13: this season was a HUGE disappointment to me. The first 6 episodes are brilliant, the writing is excellent, the actors gave their best performances, the scenes were well thought out, the pacing is slow but keeps the audience interested. The plot is intriguing: the heroes are mouring the death of Castiel while trying to both find a way to find their mother and to take care of Jack. In the meantime, the audience comes to understand that there's a new player in town: The Empty. It's mysterious, it seems evil, it seems total. I'm hooked. However, after episode 6 the plot sort of changes, it's like the first 6 episodes were a completely different season. By the end of season 12 we were already introduced to the existence of a parallel world and after episode 6 of season 13 we kind of explore more of it. The plot goes in that direction: the heroes must go to the alternate universe to save their mother. However, frankly, it's all very messy and overly complicated. I'm usually super pro AU, different timelines, same characters but from parallel realities and the like, but this time I was not engaged. I felt quite let down by this season (which also ends in a ridiculous battle that, once again, undermines everything that was said&done in season 5 but OKAY!).
9. Season 12: this season is a bit of a mystery to me. The main plot is: find Lucifer, consequently find Kelly Kleine and ultimately find Lucifer's son. So far so good. I like it. Clear, linear yet stimulating. The subplot is Mary Winchester and the British Men of Letters. Now, while I enjoyed Mary's character I utterly hated the whole BML arc. Just hated it. That Ketch? I hate him. I have no rational reason to explain why but I really hoped he would be killed off by the end of the season but surprise! He'll stick with us until season 15. Not amused. To be fair, the BML is not really a subplot, more of a parallel plot in that it has no correlation whatsover to the main plot. Also, some crazy shit happens in this season like Dean and Sam get caught by a super special police force, are imprisoned for like 3 months or something? unalive themselves, come back to life by making a reckless deal with Billie the reaper, and then go back to normal and no mention of it all is ever made. Well, okay writers' room. All in all, I gotta say that I place this season here in my ranking because it has some amazing episodes and the ending is a bomb. So I gotta give credit where credit's due.
8. Season 1: hear me out, I know that for some this is an iconic season and, honestly, fair enough. But, as any other season 1 of the majority of TV shows, the plot is not exactly exciting? Sure, we get to know our heroes and their backstories, but there are no allies, no other interesting characters, the 2 heroes seem to be living in a vacuum. The plot is simple, clean and intriguing enough to keep you watching, but it doesn't exactly keep you on your toes.
7. Season 10: oh my, oh my. Season 10. WELL. I have to confess that I hated this season with a passion. This is where I was tempted to stop watching Supernatural. I'll tell you why but first, the plot: Sam and Cas try to save Dean from the Mark of Cain. The subplots? Cas trying to bring angels back to Heaven (?), then the whole Castiel/Claire arc, then again Castiel vs Metatron, the mini and insignificant arc centered on Cole... Many, too many for my taste. The effect is that all these subplots are smoke in the eyes to cover for the total absence of creativity to solve the Mark of Cain plot. HOWEVER, however. Since I hated it with a passion, I've decided to watch some episodes again and to read some meta about it. And I gotta say, I was not paying attention. Sure, the plot is what it is and I won't change my mind about it, but ACTUALLY what happens in this season is that the REAL plot is characters' development, specifically Dean's and, to a lesser degree, Cas's. It also makes more sense if you understand that the whole season is about the Dean-Crowley-Cas love triangle. If you get that, you will enjoy the season. I didn't and, as a result, I didn't quite like it. But I gotta be honest and say that the writing for this season was pretty good. Finally, like season 7, this is a connecting season, it prepares us for season 11 where the real prize is. So, in retrospective, I think it deserves ranking number 7 because it didn't give us anything substantial in terms of events but the characters grow a lot after this season so good for them (and for us).
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fanficmaniatic · 1 year
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It just hit me that the dragon’s name was “Grief Bringer” because being in Shintaro made Cole reopen wounds and face the grief he still feels about his mother’s Death.
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eisforeidolon · 2 years
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They like to use S13 as an example, and just ignore that Dean was pissed especially about losing his mom again, and then he had the son of the Devil, who he believes manipulated Cass and got him killed. Hell he was even angry about Crowley dying and asked Chuck to bring him back. And then a few eps later he fails to keep a kid from getting killed by a ghost. So, he was just being put through the ringer emotionally, but they think it was just Cass dying and not everything piling up on him.
And yeah, when Cass comes back he gets pulled out of his funk, because if Cass is alive again, then there actually might be hope that they could save Mary. And Dean went so far as to pull a gun on a teenage girl to save his mom, like he's never done that for Cass. He usually just accepts Cass is dead and moves on, and then is surprised when he pops back up alive.
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Yep, exactly. They have this entirely bizarre meta theory that season 13 is Dean's ~*Widower Arc*~, i.e. the actual main story of that season is Dean being upset primarily over Cas. Which once again proves they either aren't actually watching the show, or if they are, their media comprehension is abominably bad.
Amara literally tells Dean she's giving him back 'what he needs most' because that's what he gave her right before returning Mary at the end of season 11. His mother. Whose absence Dean's entire life has been based around to a pretty fair extent. Who, as season 13 starts? He has just spent a season desperately trying to connect to while she distances herself, and just as she has agreed to try? BAM. She's tossed into an alternate apocalyptically hostile universe with one of their worst enemies. ... but it's totes all about how Dean lurves Castiel and can't live without him!
Dean is convinced things with Jack will go bad, because they always do. Dean is convinced Mary is dead, because he can't let himself hope. Except while he's trying to cope with that and the associated feelings? He's living with Sam who seems to be getting more and more attached to Jack every day and seems determined to believe that not only can Jack be good? They can use him to save Mary. Along with living with Jack himself, who is kid-like, but has an insane amount of power that even if he doesn't cause destruction with on purpose he may still do it all the same. Like Asmodeus almost gets him to do in approximately five minutes. That's insanely stressful to be living with, constantly waiting for it to go wrong, constantly in conflict with Sam, constantly trying not to hope. ... but it's totes all about how Dean lurves Castiel and can't live without him!
Dean does plead for Chuck to return Castiel ... in the same breath as he asks for Mary and even Crowley back because he's just that sick of all their family, friends, and allies dying. Where this happens in the context of Jack being an unknown quantity on the loose who may endanger the world's ability to be "fine" with only Sam & Dean to fix it. When he doesn't get a response? He doesn't try to come up with any alternate plans, entities to plead to, or anything - they just burn the body and move on. Which not only is a marked contrast to how he reacts to Sam's deaths and being so upset he waves a gun at a teenager over Mary (FU Berens)? It's also an interesting comparison to season 15, where he doesn't even bother to mention Castiel again after he dies - when they're no longer in a situation where they potentially need the extra firepower for a possible world-ending situation. Hell, it's an interesting comparison to later that very season when he asks Billie to release all the ghosts in that house in exchange for information and tries to ask if Mary is alive - but doesn't ask about Castiel in any capacity. ... but it's totes all about how Dean lurves Castiel and can't live without him!
With those boys dying after they were already on the case, he tells Sam he just needs a win, implying even a case-level win would do. So, yeah, when Castiel comes back, it finally starts to feel like not everything is an ongoing disaster! Except trying to paint it as something other than a sign of hope that allows him to move forward and allow that Jack might not go bad and Mary might be alive and rescue-able? Kind of ignores that Castiel takes off pretty soon thereafter to go look for Jack and Dean is not only fine with that, mostly just annoyed with his lack of progress? He doesn't even notice that the "Cass" he's talking to on the phone for weeks is Asmodeus. ... but it's totes all about how Dean lurves Castiel and can't live without him!
Finally, let's take it to the abstract level of storytelling mechanics. An arc actually has a resolution. The arc of season 13 effectively concludes with retrieving Mary and Jack from apocalypse world as it sets off the cliffhanger into season 14, the conflict with Michael arising out of Dean making a deal with him to save Sam (and Jack) from Lucifer. Castiel is little more than background noise to all of that. ... but it's totes all about how Dean lurves Castiel and can't live without him! Somehow.
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“What now? I’m going to have my cake and eat it.”
It’s Tom Barnaby’s last line, the ending of his goodbye ep Fit for Murder. Doesn’t sound like much, but it’s such quietly great sign-off.
It gives us a glimpse into how Barnaby feels about leaving. How he sees himself, his family and his career. His final line is ironic, he talks about having it all when what he’s feeling is mostly loss. It goes with the whole ep that’s very melancholy all along, and anything but a victory lap.
It’s why I love Andrew Payne’s Midsomer eps. They’re all character-driven. They want to tell stories of more depth. I love that he looks at Barnaby who’s traditionally been written as a fun middle-class power fantasy/ father figure, and goes yeah this man has problems. That his take on Barnaby’s goodbye ep really comes down to: I’m gonna go through all of those problems and solve none of them. The way Barnaby gets such a freeing moment when he talks about his father’s death, but in the end he still can’t overcome his guilt and grief. That he outlives his dad in years, but his memory keeps haunting him. As for his detective job, Barnaby passes the dreaded medical that made him question whether he still has what it takes. But he also realises it’s time to go. He gets to retire on his own terms and spend time with his family, but it costs him part of himself. Barnaby’s last line ties it all together.
He has to let go of some things.
He can’t have his cake and eat it.
Or maybe he can. Barnaby retires on what he feared would be the day of his death, but it’s actually his birthday. A new life, a new beginning?? Maybe he’ll enjoy retirement more than he thinks. Maybe he’ll get to have his cake and eat it after all.
Barnaby’s last ep was always going to be a sad one – it’s sad to see him go. And Payne wrote a case for it that’s all about loss and holding on, about love and dedication. But most of all he decided to make it an ep about Barnaby’s own sadness. About what he feels as he leaves. Which makes it a great farewell.
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