Reply To: Let’s all talk about – The Winchesters – Art of Dying (S1 E6)
I enjoyed the addition of two older hunters and that they were both female. Of course, one didn’t make it long, but I appreciate the effort. LOL
“Aunt” Tracy felt real to me in her no-nonsense attitude to live and hunting. The actress found a good way to portray the fine line between being hardened by a hunter’s life and still emotional enough to seem shaken up by the loss of her friend and remorseful about her past mistakes. I very much liked her as a character.
I can also understand why she would be a great inspiration to Mary for starting to think that “getting out” is an option for her. Tracy did it and had at least a good long while success at it. (Well, until we find out she has a DARK past and reason to get out, but ok, who doesn’t have some skeletons in their closet in this universe?)
I agree, JBB, that so far in the series they talked about Mary wanting to leave the life too much, but in this episode and against this particular circumstance, I actually didn’t mind or even enjoyed it.
I, too, thought that the BUCKET of blood at the beginning was very odd and not SPN “real”. HAHA. RSJ should know better. Unless they were referencing some specific thing I am unaware of.
To me it was way better this time how they had to piece together the evidence. It wasn’t Lata for once who immediately knew it all. She just “knew a guy” who then helped and even THAT led them only part of the way. I thought Lata’s mentioning of a specific “monster identifying” book that was left behind in the club house was ridiculous, though!!! WAY too Harry Potter for me.
The hunter’s funeral was done REALLY well and tastefully filmed, I thought, as we’ve never seen the prep of a body before in any SPN episode. Here it conveyed a somber respect and reverence for the fallen comrade in the care they took to prepare and wrap her. I agree, JBB, that the flopping hand was a very nice and realistic touch here as well.
It, of course, reminded me as well of Dean’s funeral pyre, and mostly made me very sad as to what Sam had to go through to prepare Dean for it. But even with that grim thought, I liked the fresh look at it in this episode here a lot.
I also thought Carlos had good moments. I really like his more serious side, like when he’s trying to convince John to go to therapy with him, and his sly remarks without being too silly. However, the whole flustered thing over the hunky taxidermist, Anton, was annoying to me. I just didn’t buy that confident, flirty, Harlequin-romance-novel-adoring Carlos would get THIS bend out of shape this quickly. It felt overdone and silly to me and went on too long.
I don’t mind the Soucouyant witch-pire baddy this week. YES, it was a little weird about Barbados for the reasons you mentioned, JBB, but I heard about Soucouyant stories in New Orleans (due to the Carribbean influences there) and maybe they just didn’t want to base another story there so soon?
I very much agree with you, though, that fighting monster witches in bright sunlight is NOT scary and really not giving me SPN vibes! I want creepy, nighttime hunts and shadowy locations to explore.
I did enjoy Anton and Lata digging into the witch’s arm with glee, but I do think overall that the young hunter’s are a bit too nonchalant around gore, too.
NICE twist with the monster being possessed by Mac’s vengeful spirit that then jumped into John. I didn’t see that coming and it was a good story point (plus Drake did a good job at playing it). I just thought the exposition about Mac as a bit labored and long. And the parallel about the “dark soul” hunter to what John might become was too heavy-handed.
To me Meg did a better job in this episode giving me a little more emotion from Mary. Like in the scene with John after he got injured by the Soucouyant. Maybe she was just playing off of Drake here, who I thought nailed that scene and John’s conflicting emotions, but as a whole I felt more from Mary giving him crap about his motives. And the last scene with John was warmer and more believable to me as well. (And I say it again, maybe Meg’s portrayal of Mary isn’t bothering me as much because I never expected that much open emotion from Mary to begin with because I never felt that from Sam Smith either. LOL)
Of course, it was idiotic and very “Winchester” of John to do exactly what Mary accused him of being his weak point. But I can see that as a character trait of his, the running into danger without much considering his own risk, because we know that so well from his sons.
I’m sure everyone involved was very proud of the fight scene in the barn….I think they need some more practice to make it look better. It seemed pretty amateurish to me. Tracy should have at least TRIED to fight back when Mac/John has her in a choke hold. Carlos was out too quickly – no doubt to even the odds. Mary does not look like an experienced fighter, she fell down too much. LOL. But I don’t fault them for lack of experience here. Maybe if they had made Mac/John look MORE powerful it might have balanced out? But I appreciate them trying to include an epic fight scene. Those will get better with time.
I loved that Lata saved the day with HER special gift of empathy. THAT was a nice touch and I’m really glad we learned so much more about her past and motivations. She gained nice depth for me this episode and made me believe that her constantly sunny attitude we’ve seen so far is really just put on to hide her doubts about being a liability and torn between two worlds, like she says to Carlos in the van. So, it was lovely to see her actually being the ONE who was best suited to solve the issue in the end and get through to Mac and convince him to let go and break the cycle.
I’m a little surprise that Tracy lived, but I’m pleased by it! YES, she fucked up in her earlier hunter’s live, but I’m glad she has a chance for redemption and was just discarded!!
I very much agree with you, JBB, on the point that I want to see more “real life” friction for the characters as well. You make an excellent point how they currently kinda float through their surroundings in a bubble without much real interaction or conflict with the world. I get that the world wasn’t as connected back then in the big picture (like law enforcement catching on to some of their minor crimes like B&E) but there should be some of the strive that comes from living in a smallish town in Kansas and their unconventional way to live and “work”. I am sure there are plenty of opinions circulating at the diner and the supermarket and the church….etc….I would love to see some of the character’s interactions in a real way with that part of life.
Still, overall it was one of the strongest episodes so far to me, because there was real character development, an interesting case and a widening of the season story arc.