Monday 31 October 2016

Supernatural Think Tank- Anna's Thinky Thoughts on 1203 The Foundry




I could see where this episode was going from the moment we saw Mary ask Cas when it was he started to feel like he belonged.  It was apparent from when Mary first appeared, that contrary to the joy Dean and then Sam felt upon her arrival, for Mary it was different.  When this episode ended the first thought that came into my mind was Amara.  I know what you must be thinking, how in fact does your mind actually work?  Why in the world would Amara be your first thought?  Well,  I kept going back to what Amara told Dean at the end of Alpha & Omega.  Amara had said to him that he gave her what She needed and She wanted to do the same for him....and then lo and behold, Dean comes face to face with Mom.   So this thought had occurred to me, I don't recall  Dean had never declaring a need for his mom.  Dean wanted to have his mom.  The only time I can remember Dean using the words need was in Home when Dean called John and asked for his help....he said "I need you Dad".  The only other time Dean used the word need was referring to Sam. He's told Sam he needed him on more than one occasion, Sacrifice coming to mind at the moment.   As a matter of fact,  what could've been Dean's last words to Amara, were thoughts of his brother.  He spoke of Sam and told her "I need him and he needs me".  In fact I think that was the last thing Dean said to Amara, which enabled Her to realise that She didn't want to kill Her brother, She, in fact, needed Him.   Do you recall What is and What Should Never Be?  Dean told Sam, it was just a wish, Mom hadn't died and you got married, and we never went hunting.  The title alone, What is and What Shouldn't be is obviously letting Dean and the audience know that what did really happen,"What Is", is exactly what was meant to be.  What shouldn't be was Dean's wish, that his Mom were alive. As all these thoughts went swirling in my head, and as I again I got to thinking about Amara's exact words to Dean it occurred to me how specific her words were.   She wanted to give Dean what he needed, not what he wanted, so I'm thinking that perhaps Amara's gift isn't so obvious.  The way I look at it, maybe it's not Mom that's the gift Amara offers Dean, perhaps what She is offering Dean is peace, acceptance and closure.

Now I'm focusing on Dean here because my theory is based on Amara's words to Dean, the circumstances in which She returned the favour and the Dean's history or what we've seen of it over the years. I am not unaware of Sam in any of this, but the circumstances with Sam are a bit different and it was apparent in his reaction when his mom told them she had to go. For the moment I think it's important to explain where I'm coming from. I believe that what Dean wants and what Dean needs are two different things.  I believe Amara, being who and what She is, understood that.  So much like the hard but very important lesson She learnt and the roundabout but necessary way in which She learnt it, I feel that She is doing the same for Dean, after all it's the hard and important lessons we tend to carry with us and remember. The first thing that becomes apparent as Dean and Mom spend time together is that the childhood image of Mary that Dean carried all these years is in fact just that, a fantasy. Dean's childhood memories are shattered little by little as he learns certain truths about his Mom.  Mary actually didn't cook for Dean as he thought, she couldn't cook at all, Dean's home cooked meals, in fact, were prepared by the Piggly Wiggly. Mary isn't the Mom Dean remembers at four years old.  The truth is that Mary was always a well trained hunter, living on the road, and was likely the furthest thing from being domestic.  She ran from that life so she can have a normal family, yet Mary is the one who made the deal that cursed them all, something Dean found out and actually witnessed himself, but could never bear to tarnish the view he has of his mother. Dean has long held onto the little boy's image of his Mom and this image that brought him joy is also what has burdened him with pain.  What I mean is, Dean's view of his mom as perfect, is what I believe to be the contributing factor of his low self esteem.  Mom's perfect, she would never leave him, so it must be Dean's fault.  Dean has carried this belief well into adulthood and has been what drives him into most of his decisions, especially the bad ones.

As we see Mary trying to come to terms with what's happening to her it becomes pretty clear that what Dean wants and Mom needs and wants are very different things. Mary is basically the equivalent to an alien from another planet who crash landed on Earth and has no idea of what to do or how to fit in. Of course if one looks at Mary from the boy's perspective, Mary is loved by her two sons and in time she will get used to her surroundings, her situation and her children.  They will be there to help her transition.  They will support her.  She just has to give them and herself time. Easy right?   Well maybe from the boy's point of view yes...but perhaps not so easy from the point of view of Mary.  There's an important tidbit of information here that needs to be addressed and what very well is contributing to her inability to adjust right now.  Mary has memories of her Heaven and she was  happy there.  In her Heaven, she had her husband and her baby and her little boy. All of this was taken away. Her reality is that her husband is dead, her babies and the chance to watch them grow are gone.  She has grown up sons, who she knows nothing about living a life she ran away from.  As she reads her husband's journal she discovers what became of him, of all of them and is devastated by the life they ended up in, the one she ran from and never wanted for her children.  She is faced with the knowledge that she is the one who started it all.  Her first interaction with her baby is to rescue him from his torturers.  She then had to save Dean as well all the while probably thinking, this is happening because of what I did. That's a lot of guilt and to face her children every day, hunting no less.  If anything happens to either one of them, it's because a of horrible decision she made so long ago.  We've seen that Mary and Dean share similar traits, one being, when hit with a truth they don't like or can't handle they run.  At the moment, Mary is overwhelmed by everything and while it is many people's belief that staying with the boys will help her come to terms, for Mary it seems the opposite is true.  That the love her boys have for her, their need to protect her, her desire to protect them, all of it is actually too much for her to handle right now.  She is in fact overwhelmed by all of it, including them, even though they are being so careful and understanding.  It seems to me that before Mary can become what Dean wants her to be, Mary needs to figure out what who and what she is supposed to do.  She needs space and some time.   I think Amara wanted Dean to see this.  It's important that Dean recognises that his childhood image of his mom is not reality, not even then. He's been fantasising what his Mom should/would be for years and years.  It's part of what has driven him, but more than that it's been a contributing factor in how Dean perceives himself.  So maybe it's time at last for Dean to let that image go.  To let this version of his Mom go.  Dean needs to  come to terms with the reality of who she is and accept that.  Then perhaps Dean can finally get what he needs....peace. .  For Dean, maybe he can finally start understanding and believing that when people leave, it's not because of him or anything he's done.  Sometimes people leave of their own free will because it's something they might need to do for themselves or, as in the case of Mom, they die and it's out of their control.  I think this is the lesson Amara wants Dean to learn, that he needs to learn, in order to find peace within himself, he has to let his Mom go. He needs to accept and love her as she is now, not as he imagined her to be in his head. Most importantly he must  let her find her peace and her happiness the way she sees fit. He must allow her to have what she wants and what she needs, even if it means she wants her Heaven back.  I think when Dean can come to terms with this, he can learn to love himself and see himself with less loathing and more self acceptance.  A lesson like this can't come easy, Dean has to be shown and come to understand on his own, Amara can't just tell him.  Like I said, perhaps her gift isn't the obvious one.

That's my take on Mary's resurrection.  Now I'd like to just mention some other stuff I enjoyed about this episode.

Everyone just knocked it out of the park, especially Jared, Jensen and Sam.  As much as the boys as usual were sheer perfection, I want to give a Kudos to the ladies, especially Rowena.  She never fails to come out on top no matter the situation.  I really enjoyed her wiles and her smarts as she decayed Luci's vessel and possibly sent him to the bottom of the ocean.  I love that Rowena is never portrayed as a damsel and can totally take care of her son, especially when he takes off and leaves her in the clutches of Luci.  I do wonder if Cas was right though...I kind of think he might have been and Crowley did in fact go to Cas to have him help him rescue his mom.  Boys and their moms, it is what it is...LOL.

Loved Rick Springfield as Luci and so would love to see him back.  I feel kind of cheated that we never got to hear him sing ...boo hoo.   I don't think Luci is necessarily trapped with the fishes, I'd like to think of him in search of Jessie's Girl...maybe she can help him....LOL...sorry just had to go there...

I really do enjoy Crowley and Cas teaming up, it's not over the top funny.  Dare I say that I think Cas secretly loves Pop Music and is enamoured with female pop stars.

It's always cool to see people we've seen before on show.  Lucas' mother, ironically, was played by the same woman who had lost her little boy in Sam, Interrupted.  I learnt that Vince's buddy was actually Marshall Hall from Faith.  I'm not sure and I didn't look it up, so maybe someone could...but didn't the lady who played Vince's sister sound a lot like the lady from Long Distance Caller?  You know the wife of the guy who blew his brains out...she had that scratchy voice that sounded like her.  Anyway, those were the blast from the past besides of course the whole getting possessed by a pissed off spirit. Yikes.

I really enjoyed Sam tonight.  I loved how he so wanted to keep his mom safe, but still against every bone in his body went along with her hunting.  I also love how in tune Sam is with his Mom.  He immediately recognises that Mary is struggling, with everything and he oozes both sympathy and empathy.  It wasn't easy for Sam to hear his Mom tell them she had to go.  You can see his understanding when she spoke of how happy she was in heaven and how now it's all gone, it was taken from her.  Sam knows a little about that.  You can see that he understood her need to leave even though he ached at hearing those words.  The way he hugged her, when Dean couldn't ...it just exemplified how much he understands her need to do what she needs to do....after all, Sam's just been through that in Alpha and Omega.

Dean in his usual way tried to make lemonade out of lemons.  Where Sam recognised Mary's struggle, Dean chose to not so much ignore it, but more like disguise it.  While Sam recognised Mary's need to hunt to try to find her place, Dean saw this as a way to bond, to get to know each other, a family hunting trip. I think deep down, Dean knew what Sam basically said aloud, but he just refused to face it....Like mother like son.  I did feel for Dean when Mary said she needed to leave.  Dean was trying so hard and hearing that....he goes right back to that self loathing way of thinking...she's leaving because of something he did.  He, they weren't enough.  You can tell by the way he wouldn't hug his mom...he couldn't see this wasn't about him, this was about her.   I'm hoping in time, he will come to see this isn't the case at all.

So an excellent eppy all around.  Loved the whole creepy aspect.  Loved that this episode revolved around parents and how the loss of their children affected them all differently.  I especially like the way this episode drummed up all of Mary's guilt as she was reminded once again of the night she died and why.  I feel a conversation about this with Sam is looming....fingers crossed.  I understand why Mary took the journal, but I do hope at some point she gives it back, after all not only is that the boys connection to their Dad, but it's one hell of a great source of information. LOL

That's it for this one.  Hope you enjoy the read.  Hope to hear all of your thoughts.

Til next time....Anna


Check out sweetondean's review of The Foundry


Sunday 30 October 2016

Review - Supernatural 12x03 The Foundry




Just when you think Supernatural has given you the most pain it could ever give you - through so many deaths, through so many hurts -The Foundry goes and happens, and you find yourself unable to think straight, unable to sleep, sobbing tears of pure torment for the characters you love so much, for the heartbreak they're feeling, the devastation they're feeling, their shattered world. I literally couldn't believe how much it hurt. So much, that final scene of The Foundry hurt so damn much. I cried for 20 minutes after the episode had finished.

Intellectually I know why Mary left, but I just can't get there emotionally, I just can't, I'm struggling with it - no matter how much I hash it out on twitter, or whatever, I'm struggling with feeling the feels for her! I'll admit it...I'm a little mad at her...

I understand why she left, I understand she was struggling with this new world, her new circumstances. I've said how she must be feeling John's death as if it just happened yesterday, that she would be mourning a husband 10 years passed. I understand that her children are strangers to her and that she doesn't know them, doesn't know their history, doesn't understand who they are - not like we do. We know now she was plucked from heaven, from a heaven with her family, from happiness and peace, which is horribly sad. The confusion and the pain - the loss of years and the grief of that loss - I understand it all, I really do, but... 

I keep thinking, there must be a thousand ways she could have explained all of this to the boys, a thousand ways to say it better, a thousand ways to tell them how she's feeling without making them feel less, without making them feel not as good as her memories of them, without making them feel like they weren't the sons she wanted, without making them feel rejected by the one person they have both longed for all their lives. A thousand ways that would also take their feelings into account while honouring her own. A thousand ways other than "I miss my boys", while she stands right in front of them....Sam: "We're right here" (me: *crawls into a ball on the floor*.)

I'm struggling to get to a place of any kind of sympathy or empathy when I see Sam standing there wincing at the sound of the door slamming, and Dean... Dean, so hurt, so shocked, so unable to comprehend what is happening that he pulls away and can't even look at her...putting up his walls and shutting down. He was in agony. I can't bear it.


Of everything I've seen Dean go through - of every crippling emotional destruction I've witnessed him suffer, this looked like it hurt him the worst. THE. WORST.  He looked crushed. Confused. Wounded. Shocked. Broken. She broke Dean. I can't even.

Of course Mary doesn't know that Dean feels like everyone leaves him, what he's gone through and how much he's fought to hang on to everything he has, that family is everything to him. She doesn't know that Dean wears guilt like most of us wear clothes, or that for all his bravado and tough exterior, he feels so damn deep. That he'll probably look at this as him, once again, not being enough, not being as good as Mary's little boy, that he'll probably see this as a rejection of who he is, not being wanted by, of all people, his mother, of not being worthy of her love. Mary doesn't know that chances are, Dean will carry the guilt of Mary being taken from heaven, because even though it wasn't his choice, it was done because of him. Mary doesn't know all this about her eldest boy - but we do, and that's why we can see in his face and body, exactly how much Mary's walking away has crushed him.

While Sam is also hurting - he looked so damn forlorn, so small - he will probably be able to look at what's happened from his mum's point of view, he can do that, he can be more analytical, but Dean's not capable of being objective when his heart has just been ripped out and stomped on. His world, his memories, his ideals falling down around him.


They were finally a family - it's what Dean's always wanted, right back from when they were searching for John, he wanted them all to be a family again. Sam had the mum he never knew, the one he dreamt of and missed without even knowing it - the one that filled in his blanks. Dean had the mum that was taken from him, whose meatloaf and PB&J sandwiches, whose hugs he's held in heart for 33 years. Oh man. Now they've lost her twice, and this time, it was her choice to leave them.... owies in my heart....it was brutal. BRUTAL! BOB BERENS THAT WAS WAY HARSH (but super good in that painful Supernatural way).

Oh and to top everything off....Mary took John's Journal. Man, I was spewing over that I really was. I know Sam gave it to her to read, to help her fill in the blanks (like she was for him - GUH!), but I'm pretty sure it wasn't for keeps! That is theirs, their dad left that for them, they've carried it with them ever since, everywhere, it's always with them, it is their journey with their dad - and together, it is his legacy to them, and it's their connection to him, his words, his thoughts, his handwriting, their last piece of their dad. It's treasured...and Mary took it without even asking! That book - that belongs to John's boys, it belongs to Sam and Dean and she needs to give it back! I didn't realise how connected I was to that journal until it walked out the door!

I really needed to get that journal stuff off my chest!

I just wish Mary had found a way to stay long enough to discover what magnificent men her sons are.

I understand why she needed to find herself in this world, but I can't believe what she just did to her, to our boys.

(And yeah, I know she'll be back...)

(gifs via saucynewf.tumblr)

It's not like I didn't know it was all going to go pear-shaped and everyone was going to get hurt, it's not like I couldn't see where the story was heading! Have you seen Supernatural?

As soon as Mary asked Cas how long it took until he felt like he fitted in. As soon as Sam and Dean started talking about Mary struggling, as soon as we saw Dean trying to ignore the signs, as he does, while Sam tries to make him see it's not all rainbows and puppies, (how many times have we seen them have a talk like this), as soon as Dean said, "you're home now".... well it had to be going down heartache road. 

"Can we, for once, just have one good thing". Awww Dean, I felt like he was speaking out to the Universe not just Sam with that one! Just one good thing....please. Awwww. Dean knows, he's just desperate not to see it; if he ignores it, maybe it'll all get better. So Dean, (so so many of us). 

I loved Sam's line about how Mary is burying herself in hunting, how Sam recognises the signs from years of experience, "Like mother, like sons". Absolute perfect analogy - because that's exactly what she was doing, just as we've seen Sam and particularly Dean, do over and over. Bury themselves in the job so they don't have to think about their lives.

Jensen, Jared, Sam Smith - they were all tortuously amazing....everyone one of them. Sam Smith showed Mary's struggle so perfectly, Jared showed Sam's emotional turmoil brilliantly (the door thing was amazing), but Jensen...my God. His special skill really is saying so very much of Dean's emotional state without saying a damn thing. I think I gasped when Dean backed away - I felt it as strongly as if I'd been punched. It knocked the wind out of me. He was quite literally breathtaking.


My heart, my soul belong to Sam and Dean, they are my emotional connection to the show, they are the people I care most about, that occupy my hours, oh so many hours! I have been on this journey with them for 11 years, through everything they've been through, I know them, I love them and I will always put their welfare above everyone else's - I'm a bit like them that way! So when it comes down to what's happening now, it's their backs that I have. Maybe that's why I'm struggling to get to a peaceful place with Mary's decision - well not her decision, but how it played out - because it's the brothers who will always be my primary feels focus.

The boys have come a long way - together. Over the last couple of years, they've released some baggage, they've forgiven themselves and each other for past mistakes, they've accepted hunting and their life together and actually embraced it, they've even had some laughs, they've been in the best place both individually and together that they've ever been in. Dean in particular, has become far less hateful of himself, and they're stronger for it - for the openness, for the honesty, for the unity, for the solidarity. 

I just hope that this set back doesn't send them - and by them I mean Dean - back into bad, self loathing, guilt ridden behaviours. I hope they can come together and face it as brothers and help each other, if not heal, at least understand. I hope they lean on each other.

When it comes down to it, like Dean said...him and Sam, they're all they have...and that's the way it's always going to be. It'll always come back to just Sam and Dean - this is after all, a story about two brothers, orphans, who have each other above all else.

So yeah - I'm hurting. I wanted next week's episode so bad so I could just see how they're doing! I need to know they're okay. I really need to know that.


That scene was one of the many things I loved about this episode - and even though it hurt the hell out of me, I did love it. The storytelling was fantastic, the hunt was creepy and old school ghosty, the scenes between the three Winchesters were all amazing, I love how deep and complex the feelings are that they're all dealing with, and how this situation, this miraculous, wonderful thing, is hard, and painful, and weird, and I adored seeing how much like Mary Dean is.

I think Dean always assumed he was like John. The passion for hunting, the drinking, the hard edge, the violence - I think he's always thought that he took after his dad, but that was more a product of hunting with his dad for so long, than who he actually is. How many times have you wanted to say that to Dean?

I guess because Sam's personality has more outwardly soft edges than Dean's, that he wanted to get out of hunting like his mum did, I guess there was an assumption that Sam may have been more like Mary, but I remember Henry saying how much John and Sam were alike, and over the last couple of eps we've seen Dean is absolutely his mother's son.

From the "good talk" to the bacon, the chilli lime jerky, the turning up the classic rock....maybe even the inability to really say how she was feeling - trying to plug on regardless and hunt through the pain - all of these things are so Dean. And seeing him realise that, the "we're so related" when Mary geeked out over bacon, the look of pride on his face when she dug the jerky (ewwww), just little things that he would never have known, discovering himself reflected back through his mum as he discovers her....it was heart clenchingly adorable....and makes what happened that much more painful! (Let it go, Amy, let it go!)

The Foundry really was Supernatural at its boiled down essence, scary, funny and emotionally destroying!


I so loved that we had a ghost hunt with good ole EMFs. Creepy ghost kids in a creepy rundown house. a ghost possession, a good ole salt and burn. I honestly think the ghost hunts are my favourites. I'm not sure if it's because it hearkens back to the early days of the show, or if I just like the spooky nature of them - especially when terrifying dolls are involved! Or not. I can't decide!

I loved the Partridge family aliases! I loved seeing the Winchesters working together and working the case in their own ways. Sam and Dean a well oiled team. and Mary going off on her own....ugh, I'm sad again!



Cas and Crowley - Agents Beyonce and Z! They can hunt together forever as far as I'm concerned! They were hilarious! And you know, they actually are a pretty good team!  Cas sure has mastered sarcasm! I loved them! Also, Cas fixing his hair....he looked awesome actually, Misha's pretty is dialled up to eleven in season 12! Misha and Mark really got to stretch their comedic chops and I enjoyed the hell out of it (no pun intended). More of this please!


Rowena I am never going to worry about! She can totally look after herself. I am a little concerned that Lucifer has so much hubris he never saw that coming - though what did Dean once say to him, “the only difference between you and them…is the size of your ego”. Well yeah, that is most certainly what we’re seeing. I do hope Rick Springfield’s Lucifer will recover though, because I’m digging his take on the devil, and I’d like to see more of him (I think we are?).


I loved The Foundry from start to finish, everything about it, even the excruciating pain! So yeah it hurt like hell, but it was a goooood. One day I may forgive Bob Berens for piercing my heart (I kid, I love him!) I just want it to be next week - like now! 

Thanks for reading....GROUP HUG!

-sweetondean








Thursday 27 October 2016

The Light on Spoilers, Heavy on Squee Preview of Supernatural 12x03 The Foundry

- by sweetondean



So here we are at episode 3 (only 5 more until the  midseason hiatus - DID I FREAK YOU OUT?) and I think we're finally going to get to see the Winchesters hunting as a trio! Weeeeee! How interesting! 

I've so enjoyed the first 2 episodes of the season, and now I'm so looking forward to seeing how the boys handle having their mum around, living and hunting with them; how they all handle the strangeness of their new situation.

Right preview time!


THEN

Mum saved Sam and Dean, then Dean saved mum and Sam
Dean got pie from his mum
Sam got a hug from his mum
I cried


NOW

CREEPY ASSED DOLLS!
(seriously, wait 'til you see the promo!)





Okay here is the official synopsis!


“The Foundry”

OH BABY – When a crying baby leads to death in a mysterious abandoned house, Mary (guest star Samantha Smith), Sam (Jared Padelicki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) decide to investigate. Meanwhile, Castiel’s (Misha Collins) hunt for Lucifer (guest star Rick Springfield) leads him, begrudgingly, to partner up with Crowley (Mark A. Sheppard). Robert Berens wrote the episode directed by Robert Singer (#1203).


First ep of the season from Bobo Berens and first ep of the season from Bob Singer! I'm excited by both of these things! 

Last season Bob Berens wrote - 11.14 The Vessel, 11.17 Red Meat (with Andrew Dabb) and 11.22 We Happy Few....pretty good! 

Last season Bob Singer directed, 11.01 Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire, 11.09 O Brother Where Art Thou? and 11.20 Don't Call Me Shurley. (Of course, Bob has been around since the beginning!)


Okay....prepare yourself for the creepy assed dolls! PROMO TIME!





You know how Sam is with Clowns? That's me and dolls. I used to lock mine in the wardrobe every night - hand on heart. I do not like dolls, especially those hideous vintage dolls. And what's going on with the black coming out of Mary's eyes? And all the creepy kids and....




I'm looking forward to seeing Cas and Crowley teaming up - Cas is in fine form this season, deadpan, salty comebacks, there should be plenty of snarky banter between them! And I'm looking forward to seeing Lucifer again because I enjoyed Rick Springfield's take on the character last week, he was scary!

And I'm looking forward to seeing how Sam and Dean work with Mary. How they adjust to having their mum back in their lives. I'm looking forward to seeing all the interactions between all of them! I'm looking forward to/hoping for Sam and Dean talking about their mum....the whole thing is just so intriguing!

I'm obviously looking forward to a lot!


Sam is IN THE BACK SEAT LIKE WHEN HE WAS A KID! And also he's still looking at his mum like she's going to explode! He's adorable. I totally bet he said, "mum you take the front seat."


Okay WHERE IS MY SNEAK PEEK?!



So I guess I'll be back if they EVER POST IT!

again






The sneak peek is here!




Awwwww I love it when we see the boys having a domestic moment, it's one of my favourite things! Breaky together in the bunker! Bless. 

I wonder what Cas does in the bunker while everyone is sleeping? I think we should see a montage of that! Though maybe he just sits and waits for everyone to wake up. Or watches Netflix. I have a feeling angels don't get bored and fidgety. Anyhoo, he's off to find Lucifer packing himself a nice lot of baggage to take on his guilt trip, leaving Sam and Dean at home to deal with the mum... Eeee!

In other news....everyone looks stupid pretty in this clip! Okay, I know they always do, but you know how every so often it catches you off guard? I love that I never get used to how pretty they all are.



Enjoy the epi everyone! Revel in the fact that our show is still with us and we get to enjoy it every damn week! 




-sweetondean





Tuesday 25 October 2016

Leylin Vixen's Quick Draw Recap - Mamma Mia





Here we go. Second episode of the season. The premiere and this are actually a two parter in my eyes. They are two halves of the same story. There were some surprises, great VFX and SFX, emotional moments, kickass moments, some moments I liked a lot and some not so much. But I am intrigued on where the story is going and what we have ahead of us. One thing I hope will happen is that some payback is due to come to few individuals.


















Details

Title:  Mamma Mia
Episode:  12.02
First aired: October 20, 2016
Directed by: Thomas J. Wright
Written by: Brad Buckner/Eugenie Ross-Leming
Monster: Men of Letters
Timeline: Immediately after 12.01 Keep Calm and Carry On
Location(s): Lebanon - Kansas, Aldrich - Missouri


















Story

How can I start this? Well, the first few minutes I thought I was in alternate universe. If I tell you the truth. The scene made me very uncomfortable like it probably was meant to be because it was wrong in so many levels. Even gorgeous Sam could not make my mind distracted from the scene. I cheered when Sam fought off the spell. With any other woman there the scene would have felt like a romantic dream, but with Toni, ugh no.

Dean on the other hand is conflicted and trying to keep his mother safe from harm as she was already in danger, and Castiel is searching for clues about Sam's whereabouts for Dean. Dean doesn't know how to act with his mother and he is being calm for her and in guardian mode. They find out where Sam is kept and he is trying to keep her mother from going. It seems she is a stubborn Winchester. What else is new? Mom's presence makes Dean little bit out of balance. 

Castiel finds where Sam is being kept and Dean insists on going alone as Cas can't enter. Mary is left with Cas. New warding "blasts" Dean and Toni takes him captive. Mary comes to the rescue as she was the wild card and when she dukes it out with Toni, Dean gets himself free. He knocks Toni out and saves his mom from choking on another new spell. Sam is freed when Cas and another man, Mick from the Men of Letters comes to the scene and gives them some information to consider. He snatches Toni away and the three head to bunker and try to come to terms to what this all means.

One viewer found a parallel for Sam's last scene and compared it to the season four episode When the Levee Breaks (4.21). Does this mean to indicate that Sam does not know what is real or not? It would make complete sense wouldn't it? 

(Gifs courtesy of themegalosaurus.)





Lucifer meanwhile searches for a new vessel and he chooses an ageing rocker called Vince Vincente. Rowena is trying to have normal life, but Crowley pulls her back to supernatural as they try to capture Lucifer. Lucifer gets his new vessel and he is pretty creepy. Team MacLeod fails in their plan just making Lucy more angry. Crowley escapes but Rowena is captured.

Meanwhile Toni and Mick on their way back to the airport talk about certain Mr. Ketch that is heading to US.


















Characters

Dean, Sam and Mary continue on the same path as they were in the premiere. It feels like Dean is acting a lot of out of character but you need to remember that how would you act if your dead mother, after 33 years pops up alive and you don't know how to act around her, or you feel like you need to be careful with everything you do AND trying to keep her safe which is not working that well. Also she is not how you imagined her. And if this is not enough your brother is also missing. I would be puddle of unrecognisable goo on the floor if I was Dean! Mary is trying to make sense of it all and Sam seems to be confused on what is real or not. Or maybe I should say he is afraid that Dean and his mother is a hallucination.

Crowley and Rowena returned with a weird dynamic, but I love their love/hate banter. Castiel was on a mission to save Sam. I like that we got something else than pop culture references to make Castiel Cas. Lucifer was back to be creepy and dangerous and we got to see some amazing scenes with him. Now... concerning the British Men/Women of Letters. My view of them has not improved. They are acting superior even though I think they're the ones that are compromised. I see them asking the Winchesters for help in the future. Also my view of Toni is even worse after what she did in Mamma Mia. At the moment I don't know what I should think of her. For the moment she is an unlikable bad guy. Although the new guy Mick seemed more likeable in my book, but I can't grasp yet if it should be that way. So a lot of questions! 


















The VFX

As we had mostly the same locations as in last episode I decided to check out the VFX this time. Visual effects are the processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shot. We had a lot of these in Mamma Mia and they were pretty memorable. I will never get tired of seeing Lucifer's red eyes. They were amazing. Lucifer hitting Vince's band mate through the door was a great shot. Also the MoL warding Dean stepped to was gorgeous. 




Rowena's simple magical effects delivered nuance to the big blast that was Lucifers's melting face with his red eyes, and who could forget seeing Lucifer's wings for the first time although I am a little disappointed that they were not bat angel wings! They really hit it out of the park.



















Set design

Instead of costume design I will focus on few sets that were brilliant. The smokey, greasy hall set with spotlights and Vince Vincente Rock designs on the wall with screaming fans. It also had the brick wall backstage room with old band posters and wall writing. And even though I had huge issues with the "romantic" scene the set was cosy and truly romantic with the fluffy bed, huge wine glasses, the huge amount of lit candles and the night light city showing through the windows. 


We also got another hotel room set that was Vince's. This is what I found out about the room number 909. "Angel Number 909 suggests that your angels are telling you that even though a part of your life may have been altered, halted or changed, things will ultimately turn out for the best, like a 'blessing in disguise'." by Joanne Sacred Scribes. Even if it is a coincidence it fits on Vince's case. The corridor had also a secret meaning that Jerry Wanek tweeted after the episode aired: "Thought we needed serenity after Orlando tragedy." In response to the June 12th 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, Jerry Wanek placed lyrics from John Lennon's song "Imagine" in the set decoration of Vince Vincente's hotel. I liked the modern green colour and shapes. The room itself had plaid and vintage design wallpaper. The whole flat had yellow, dark grey and white colour design.



















Music

Lost Angel by Heart was playing at the end of the episode. I tend to read the lyrics to the songs they use for a deeper meaning. That's why I usually take part of the lyrics that I think hit home with the song.

"As it was before shall it ever ever be
Hear it on the crying wind
Heart it weeping on the sea
Through the winder valley wild and through the darkest night
Here comes the evil news of the coming fight"

Here is the short +/- rundown for Mamma Mia

+ Rick Springfield as Lucifer
+ Rick Springfield as Lucifer
+ Rick Springfield as Lucifer (Yes, I really liked him as Lucy)
+ VFX was amazing
+ Mary Winchester
+ Crowley in a white Tuxedo (I mean WOW)
+ Sam under the covers
+ The rock and roll setting
+ Castiel being Cas
+ Dean trying to keep everything together
+ Sam fighting against the torture
+ Mary's and Sam's scene at the end
+ Lost Angel by Heart 

- Lady Antonia Bevell (I really, really don't like her. I hope she is a baddie that it is deserved)
- No bro hug? Really? (We were cheated I tell you, CHEATED!)
- Torture/hurting Sam ;’( (The mind messing was hard to look at)
- Uncomfortable opening
- Some possibilities were missed

-/+ Mr. Ketch
-/+ A lot of un-answered questions
-/+ British Men of Letters
-/+ New lore (A lot in a short time)






Trickster stamp, Winchester trio finally together 








Mamma mia, here we go again to episode 3. My my, how can we resist it?!





Monday 24 October 2016

Review - Supernatural 12x02 Mamma Mia




I absolutely adore the way our show is telling the story of Mary Winchester’s return. It’s real, and honest. It’s a complex situation with complex emotions and everyone’s feeling it. It’s happiness, but not just happiness, because there’s confusion and there’s awkwardness, there’s guilt, and there’s sadness born of the moments forever lost. Having their mum back is something both boys would have dreamt of, fantasised about over the years, what would it be like to have their mum with them…what would they say to her, what would they tell her?

Mary Winchester is like a myth to these boys. They never knew her. They’ve learnt about her as they’ve grown, they learnt about her real life as a hunter, about her family. They’ve heard stories and probably created stories of their own. Dean has some memories, but they’re memories of a small boy, built up through a life of pining for a mum taken from him in an act of violence that completely uprooted his life and forever changed his world.

Now she’s in their home, a real person, and the reality of having her back is bumping up hard against the fantasy. Dean doesn’t know how to talk to her, it’s not flowing naturally. He’s staying in the bunker with Mary to keep her safe, to help her adjust, scared of overwhelming her. It’s not what he’d usually be doing with Sam missing, but he’s dropped into protection mode, looking out for his mum, and relying on Cas to do the leg work for him as he takes the research chair. You can see it’s not where he wants to be. To me he looks confined and fidgety.

Dean doesn’t know how to act, or who to be around his mum yet, and he’s walking on egg shells. Even how he rushes to pull a chair out for her - he seems self conscious and hyper aware of her. He’s so damn happy to have her back, but it’s weird, and he doesn’t know how to handle it. It’s amazing, and wonderful, and totally and utterly outside of Dean’s comfort zone. 

Dean and Sam have been each other’s constant for years. For all their lives. They live in close quarters, sharing everything they go through as individuals and as a duo. There’s an ease between them that was hard fought for, that has come from years of learning to understand and accept each other. They’re in a particularly good place now, and it’s taken them a long time to get there. Now their lives have been completely disrupted by the return of their mum - sure, it’s a welcome disruption, but it comes with a whole lot of other feelings as well. 



The image of Dean sitting on the floor in the kitchen, looking at the photo memories of his mum that represent so much for him, was incredibly powerful. Even something small, like her meatloaf that he remembered eating and loving as a little boy, is different in reality. Mary didn’t cook. She bought the meatloaf from the Piggly Wiggly. Dean remembers her cooking wonderful dinners for him - the reality of the truth crashes up against the fantasy of his mum, and the idealised memories that he built up around her. He has to adjust these glorified memories of this woman who has lived in his imagination and in his heart, to the real thing, who is now living in the bunker with him. And he looks like he's struggling...

For Sam, having Mary there “fills in the biggest blank”. I cried my eyes out when he said that. Just hearing Sam say “Mum”, made me lose it. Sam’s told Dean how he dreams of his mum. When he hallucinated while coming down from the demon blood, it was Mary telling him she was proud of him that Sam created in his mind to help him cope. He has a gapping hole in his life where his mother never was. To hug her, to hold her like he did…a hug 33 years in the making. It was incredibly moving. The best. One of the great moments in the history of the show. Oh my gosh. But then, Sam lies on his bed lost in his own thoughts. All that they’ve missed out on, all the times they didn’t have and can never recapture, all the memories that will never exist, and all the things his mother doesn’t know about him - would she really be proud of him? (Of course she would Sam, you’re amazing.)


And Mary trying to rediscover her boys who are grown, self sufficient men - filled with guilt from not being there for them, filled with guilt for the choice she made all those years ago which started all of this for her sons; and with the death of her husband as fresh for her as if it had just happened yesterday, his words in her hands, learning what her death, what her decision did to the man she loved, what it did to her family. So much loss. So much lost time. So much heartbreak.

All three Winchesters separate from each other and yet joined in the bizarreness of their situation, joined in the confusion of so many feelings, struggling with their new reality. It’s the kind of storytelling a mature show, with carefully crafted characters can do. It was painful and beautiful and perfectly real.


Season 12 feels different - the Winchester’s story while big and earth shattering, is also so very small and intimate - it’s an internal, acutely personal story, and the show is not in a rush to tell it. I like that. It feels like a clean slate, and I really like that.


Sam once again displayed his incredible mental strength when he overcame Lady Toni’s mind control spell. Boy, of all fantasies to put into Sam’s mind! It truly did look like last week she was curious about him…maybe she was more curious than we thought! I guess she had to put him in a situation where he felt enough at ease with her that he would share the hunter secrets…whatever the hell they are! I realised immediately that it was all in Sam’s mind…it seemed like the cruelest kind of manipulation to me, but Sam, as he did last week, was able to identify what was reality and what was not, and break free.

The whole British Men of Letters thing is pretty intriguing. I’m not sure what they want, what their ultimate gain/goal is. They want to get the trust of the American hunters, but also believe they stand in the way of the British Men of Letters’ no more supernatural beings goal - if that is indeed their goal! Lady Toni’s methods, in this case, were apparently not sanctioned - though the mysterious Mr Ketch has now been activated, so I guess that Mick guy is going to be okay with it if we go the torture path (nooooo!) I felt like Mick was trying a difference tack when talking with the Winchesters, offering an olive branch in the hope that they would collude with the British Men of Letters rather than oppose them, or hunt them all down and kill them, which is probably how Sam and Dean are feeling about it all! But I’m not sure what they are trying to achieve/learn/gain from the Winchesters alone. And I sure as hell don’t believe them.

Toni said from the get go that they’ve been watching the boys for years, they know about Ruby and Benny, so they have plenty of information. They’d never have come across hunters so closely tied to heaven and hell though, that’s for sure. Pretty guaranteed their guys would not have hung out with God, or overcome Lucifer, wouldn’t have mingled with Archangels, gone to hell and back, purgatory, heaven. The Winchesters are the absolute, most experienced hunters they would have ever met, in every way - surely it would be better to have them on their side! Lady Toni is an arrogant cow - and I can’t wait until she is shown, just how expert these hunters she calls apes, are.

What’s really interesting of course is that these enemies - which they are most certainly are becoming, if not already are - are human. That makes things tricky in the killing department. We’ve seen the brothers kill humans before, and hand wave it away as humans can be monsters too, which is absolutely true, and each one deserved their death, but it’s still always a bit shocking when they take a human down. It’s a different kind of kill. Killing a vampire or killing Lady Toni, who has a family, who is a mum - these are totally different things, or at least should be…  It makes the stakes feel different, and it makes the stakes far more complicated. 


Sam seeing Dean, oh how I’d been busting for that, but of course they can’t have nice things! There’s barely time to register that his brother is real, let alone alive before Sam has to watch as Dean is beaten and sasses up a storm. Forever Dean Winchester, my heart, my smart mouthed beautiful son of a bitch that he is…sigh. When the brothers do have a moment alone, that brief interaction - just the “Dean!” “Hey” - said so much. Jensen and Jared can say a thousand words with just one look between the brothers. And those silent, or singular words are all they need to know exactly how the other feels. 

Sam’s thoughts kind of tumbled out all erratic, because he’s so damn shocked to see his brother, well kind of hanging, next to him that he almost can’t think straight to form sentences! He thought he was alone, probably expected to die, and then, there’s Dean. Everything is on Sam’s face. Everything is in Dean’s small smile and attempt to one liner their way back onto solid emotional ground. I love that the show can show their love in such subtle ways. The small moments are always the most powerful.

Then of course, Sam sees mum…. and Dean’s proud, “yeah” just says so much - he must have been dying for Sam to see his mum! Mary kicks some ass before Toni gets the upper hand with spell work (I like all this spell work being used, like the trap that grabbed Dean - reminded me of Magnus’ work), showing the boys what she’s made of. Maybe that will help Dean relax some…though probably not.

(included for hotness reasons)

Awwww I love the brothers having Mary back - even if I’m terrified where it’s all going, of what the heartbreak is going to be! Because surely we can’t just have happiness! There must be heartbreak coming!

Seeing them all having their family dinner was argh…my heart keeps exploding at the mere thought of it! Sam’s face of wonderment, Dean’s face of a four year old, Mary wanting to call the internet. It was cute, and awkward, and adorable and those boys, especially Sam, must have felt like pinching themselves. If I’m terrified it’s going to end badly, you can bet they are too. Pleaseeeeeeeeee don’t break our boys’ hearts again, Show!



We’ve never seen the boys talk about Mary’s choice to save John, the choice which cursed Sam and ultimately the whole family, though I've always assumed they did. Mary mentioned it to Dean, that she was scared of Sam’s reaction to her because of that deal, worried about facing him, because Yellow Eyes would never have come for Sam if it wasn’t for her. Dean didn’t get what she was talking about at first - even though he was there to see that fateful deal made - “what do you mean?”, he says, until Mary reminds him. How much Dean told Sam, we don’t know - we’ve not seen that conversation. We know Sam knows the demon dripped blood into his mouth - and I’ve always assumed he knew why, but Dean’s reaction made me question whether he does - whether Dean and him ever had that talk.


Meanwhile, things other than the Winchesters were happening - like Lucifer!

I’d been pretty damn excited to see Rick Springfield’s Lucifer and man, he did not disappoint. He…was…great! His Lucifer was scary! I haven’t felt scared of Lucifer for awhile, but this Lucifer is pissed off and scary and powerful, and Rick did an amazing job. As did VFX with the hideously acid burned face! And I LOVED seeing his wings!


I’m not sure what Crowley was thinking, he obviously thought that Lucifer was weaker than he actually was, so foolishly thought him and Rowena could control the devil. It’s unlike Crowley to make such a bad judgement, but I guess it was born of desperation and self preservation. Poor Rowena, just when she thought she was out, her son pulls her back in, and leaves her there! Damn, what a bastard!

I also want to say how much I’m enjoying Cas so far this season, he’s been written really nicely and Misha has brought a bit of bad ass back into him - which I love and I’m totally happy, and relieved to see. He’s got that deadpan Cas thing going on a treat. I can’t wait to have him team up with Crowley. The snark will be turned up to eleven!



So season 12 has got off to a rockin’ start with a two part opener, slowly peeling away at the complex and mixed emotions bringing Mary back into the fold has given rise to. For a show all about family, this is the ultimate story, their origin story coming home to roost. The fact that both the boys spoke of family and their commitment to each other to their mum, clearly frames what the Winchester boys’ story is all about, what the show is always about - the real story at the centre, while the other stories swirl around them. We get to see the brothers interacting as different people, as sons - there’s a softness in their voices, in their physicality when they speak to their mum, treating her gently, as if any minute they'll discover she's not real.

There’s a lot of ground for them all to cover - though I’m betting the boys totally vet what Mary knows about the tragedy that’s plagued their lives. Dean is trying to delicately explain to her that their dad was not the man she remembered, or the father she remembered - maybe reading John’s journal will shine a light on some of that for Mary.

It's all so complicated, and all so real.

It won’t be all smooth sailing ahead, we know that because…well…we know there’s no such thing as smooth sailing for the Winchesters!! But I’m totally on board for this ride, wherever it takes us and no matter how much it might end up hurting! 

Isn’t it just great to have our show back? 

See you next time, thanks for reading.


-sweetondean