Reply To: Let’s all talk about 99 Problems (S5 E17)
Very good episode….and I HATE it. LOL
The story is interesting and scary and ominous and seems very very real. Looking at a community of “believers” led by a false prophet and the fall out from that has not lost its punch or significance even now. Or maybe especially now, when anything from a crooked politician like Trump to some nameless, faceless hate-sayer on Twitter to some brainless Tic Toc influencer is enough for HOARDS of people to run after them and preach their crap without thinking or research or even applying a shred of common sense.
Watching this episode reminds me of all that’s wrong with TODAY’s world. That said, it’s great TV because exactly that same reason.
The guest stars are as always very well cast! Pastor Gideon and Leah are both believable.
I HATE the episode, because I HATE seeing Dean like this – hopeless, disinterested, going through the motions without any clear goal in sight. UGH! Coming directly on the heels of the visit to Heaven and the realization that no help from on high is to be expected, Dean seems to have given up trying. The difference here to me is that Dean isn’t desperate. We’ve seen him desperate and sad and cornered and still snarky and ready to punch something until it’s over. But here he’s – EMPTY. Out of gas and disengaged and THAT we haven’t seen from Dean Winchester and it’s impactfully awful!
It’s also painful to watch how Sam is trying so hard to get Dean’s head back in the game. Get him some motivation back and make him understand that they are not out of moves.
Sam is impressive in this episode to me because he’s carrying all the weight in a way. I love how he at first seems to be ready to buy into the community sense, the hunting with back up etc, but quickly becomes suspicious and starts to see it for what it is.
Dean is no real help right now. Then he has to wrangle a drunken Cas into a semblance of himself (SUPER FUNNY SCENES! Love both Jared and Misha in this) and try to convince the Padre to kill his own daughter. And then he watches helplessly when Dean runs away. Poor Sam, he really had a shit load of heavy crap on him this episode.
It’s also really interesting how killing the Whore of Babylon, which can only be done by a true servant of heaven, seems to be the thing convincing Dean to give up on Team Free Will and say yes to Michael. In a way it seems like a further giving up. It’s not a way to take action but to give over control to someone else. VERY UNLIKE Dean Winchester.
And of course his “good bye” scenes with Lisa are absolutely heartbreaking. Both actors are stellar in these moments. The way Cindy makes us see how happy Lisa is to see Dean with a tentative, very controlled, but no less intense joy; then we can clearly feel the desperation to keep him there (Take the damned beer, Dean!) and the quiet but profound sadness when she realizes this isn’t a reunion but a good-bye; it’s ALL BRILLIANT! She is so real and relatable in this role and it all plays beautifully off the depth of emotions we are used to seeing from Dean.
Some of my favorite – sad – moments in the whole series here! And I love that they DIDN’T kiss here. It made the unfulfilled hope even more palpable.
Yeah, GOOD episode but very difficult to watch for me.
PNP