Let’s all talk about All Hell Breaks Loose Pt. 1 (S2 E21)

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    • journalbookbinder
        October 12, 2021 at 1:14 pm #10260

        Wow. Almost through season 2. It’s taken almost a year since we started right after the series finale last year in November to get this far. We did postpone a couple weeks, I think, but overall, one episode a week means it takes around a year to go two seasons.

        FYI, I am still not okay when thinking about the finale. Just too sad.

        But all the way back here in season 2, it seemed like everything was just coming together and taking off in a wonderful and exciting way. There are some GOOD seasons coming up here.

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      • kate38
          October 12, 2021 at 1:14 pm #10440

          Poor Dean! After Sam ran off in “Hunted” and disappeared again in “Born Under a Bad Sign”, now he inexplicably goes missing AGAIN! It must have killed Dean to realize that, probably for the first time in his life, he truly couldn’t protect Sam from whatever was coming for him.

          I don’t like too much about this one, but I do like the mood and feel. The abandoned western town is just perfect for an episode like this. And the constant rain, mud, and gloom just adds to the atmosphere.

          The cast of characters didn’t do much for me. I didn’t really connect with any of them. I felt bad for the blonde girl with the death touch. But I never liked Andy, and Ava seemed very monochromatic. Jake was interesting, and I’ve liked Aldis Hodge in other things. Of course, I hated Jake by the end of the episode. He was clearly manipulated by Azazel, but I still don’t forgive him for killing Sam after Sam showed him mercy by not killing him.

          I was SO annoyed that they killed Ashe. He was one of my favorite characters from the early seasons. I was disappointed that they burned down the Roadhouse, too.

          Speaking of annoying, this was the episode that really made me dislike Mary. In Sam’s flashback, Mary clearly recognized Azazel, which means she remembered her deal and chose to ignore it. She was from a line of hunters going all the way back to the Mayflower, had access to the family library, and extensive resources. She could’ve at least looked for a way to break her deal. Bobby figured a way out in a year – Mary had ten. She could’ve told John THE TRUTH about who she was, and the two of them could’ve found a way out together. Ignoring her deal was naïve, selfish, and illogical.

          In Sam’s dream with Azazel, the demon said there were “other generations” of chosen psychics. If the chosen psychic was to lead hell’s army by being Lucifer’s vessel, does that mean Dean and Sam (and their family bloodline) weren’t the only “true” vessels for Lucifer and Michael? That has always bothered me. Am I conflating separate events? I know this other part doesn’t come up until season 4, but Alistair tells Dean that John was supposed to break the first seal, but Alistair couldn’t break John under torture. And Castiel tells Dean that the one who breaks the first seal is the only one who can “stop” the apocalypse (presumably by being Michael’s vessel). If both of those things are true, then the original apocalypse battle was supposed to be between Sam and John, not Sam and Dean. Thoughts?

          What can I say about that iconic last scene? Jensen and Jared were both unbelievable. Jensen’s performance was especially raw and visceral. I felt his shock and grief. He continues that same level of performance in AHBL part 2, but I’ll talk about that when we get to that episode. Jensen deserves all the Emmys. He truly does.

          kate

          • This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by kate38kate38.
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        • journalbookbinder
            October 12, 2021 at 1:14 pm #10504

            This one is STILL hard to watch! The first time one of them died. I remember back then how dire that felt! I did enjoy seeing many of the “special children” again including some new ones. Hate that the lesbian had to die first! Also hate that Andy had to die. I did love that Andy stayed “good” until the end. Whereas Ava went “bad” – kind of like Andy’s late twin brother – deciding she’d rather control demons in order to come out on top. This was disappointing as Ava WAS a very sympathetic character. She was tricking Sam all along with the “I don’t know how long I’ve been here” routine.

            Jake was a good character addition. And he’s a very skilled actor, Aldis Hodge, who went on to do much bigger things. He was good as a very wary “special child”. I liked that they threw in the bit about him being a soldier as he thought differently about the situation because of that. Having superhuman strength as his gift was kinda unfair to the others! How could that not give him an unfair advantage?

            I enjoyed watching Sam try to lead the group. As Jake pointed out; Sam was holding it together to keep everyone else calm.

            I always thought it was weird that they ended up in an old western town for this. That Yellow Eyes sent them all THERE. They even called it “Frontierland” in this episode and I’m pretty sure it’s the same place they actually used FOR Frontierland so many years later!

            The beginning where Sam goes into the cafe and never comes out is one of the most heart-dropping moments; when Dean realizes he’s gone and everyone else in there is dead. And it starts out so lightheartedly with Dean yelling after Sam not to forget the pie! That is the world’s smallest Cafe!

            Sam’s death is awful. He’s SO relieved to see Dean. You can see it all over his face (great job, Jared!) and then he’s killed right in front of Dean; mere steps from Dean being able to save him. It’s truly horrible. I was glad Bobby was with Dean, but Dean trying to talk to Sam as if he’ll be okay, then the full-on panic setting in…Jensen did a masterful job. SO GOOD! And so horrible.

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            • kate38
                October 12, 2021 at 1:14 pm #10507

                “Jake was a good character addition. And he’s a very skilled actor, Aldis Hodge, who went on to do much bigger things. He was good as a very wary “special child”. I liked that they threw in the bit about him being a soldier as he thought differently about the situation because of that. Having superhuman strength as his gift was kinda unfair to the others! How could that not give him an unfair advantage?”

                I like Aldis Hodge, too. Although I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to hate Jake, I’m glad someone as talented as Aldis got to play him! And DEFINITELY! Making Jake a soldier (which I think was added to the script later, if I recall) was a good choice because it made him more heroic than he’d otherwise have been, and therefore more sympathetic.

                Good point about the Superman strength. I guess Andy’s gift is the only one that might be stronger. Being able to mind-control people is arguably more powerful than superhuman strength. Andy was able to send Dean a vision from several states away. That’s pretty impressive. Jake would have to get his hands on you to hurt you.

                I guess I never connected with any of the other psychic kids. I didn’t like Andy because he seemed like a bong-smoking loser who lived in his van, skipped out on his bills and financial responsibilities, and (I’m pretty sure) mind-controlled that pretty blonde into sleeping with him. Ava just seemed too high-strung and jarring to me, even in “Hunted”. I felt a bit sorry for the girl who had the death touch, but she didn’t stay around very long, so they didn’t have much time to develop her.

                Now that I think about it, it feels like Jake had more screen time in this episode than any of the other psychics did. Maybe that’s part of the reason I feel more connected to his story. I’m angry that he killed Sam, but I get why he did it.

                kate

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            • journalbookbinder
                October 12, 2021 at 1:14 pm #10505

                Oh yeah! I almost forgot to mention that this was the end of the Roadhouse in this episode! So much happened in this one! I hated that Ash died. He had such an impact for appearing in so few episodes. I was very glad that Ellen got away. But hated that the Roadhouse was gone and thus starts (or continues if you count their childhood home) the writer’s quest to strip every bit of refuge from Sam and Dean. Eventually it would be Bobby’s house too.

                And the flashback! I thought the glimpse that Sam had and the reveal that Mary knew Yellow Eyes was intriguing at the time. Another rather shocking clue that we wouldn’t learn more about for awhile. I liked that SPN did that early on; they had a plan and only fed us a bit of the story at a time. No long expositions; we’d find out later.

                Kate; you’re so observant and want to tie everything together. Perhaps you are right, that Sam and Dean were only Lucifer’s “flavor of the month” in another attempt to break the seal after others (including John) had failed?

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              • PigNaPoke
                  October 12, 2021 at 1:14 pm #10520

                  In Sam’s dream with Azazel, the demon said there were “other generations” of chosen psychics. If the chosen psychic was to lead hell’s army by being Lucifer’s vessel, does that mean Dean and Sam (and their family bloodline) weren’t the only “true” vessels for Lucifer and Michael? That has always bothered me. Am I conflating separate events? I know this other part doesn’t come up until season 4, but Alistair tells Dean that John was supposed to break the first seal, but Alistair couldn’t break John under torture. And Castiel tells Dean that the one who breaks the first seal is the only one who can “stop” the apocalypse (presumably by being Michael’s vessel). If both of those things are true, then the original apocalypse battle was supposed to be between Sam and John, not Sam and Dean. Thoughts?

                  Hi Kate,
                  yes, I wondered about the correlation between the psychic children and vessel thing, too! Remembering what Michael says as he’s “wearing” John in “The Song Remains The Same” later being Lucifer’s and Michael’s vessels is a bloodline thing going back to Cain and Abel! Meaning the plan to have human meat puppets through the generations was always there and took a lot of doing. So with that in mind, I can imagine that Hell had equally long standing plans to start the Apocalypse and have generations of potential leaders of the Demon army at hand. (And considering the story line in “Salvation” where Sam and Dean save Baby Rosie from becoming a psychic child it seems that Hell is still building future generations of candidates.) I don’t necessarily think that the leader of the army had to be Lucifer’s vessel, though. Was that ever stated? It could just be lucky coincident for Hell to get Sam as the leader of the army AND be the true vessel also. Maybe the true vessel has to be from their bloodline, but the leader of the army can be any of the psychic children.
                  I am also not sure if John and Sam were supposed to be in the big fight or just that it could have been any number of relatives before and after them? I always assumed that Azazel was simply stirring the pot and making Sam WANT to fight for his life and be the last one standing by default?

                  I also always wondered if the type of psychic powers each of the children got was total luck of the draw? Sam’s ability to see some events of the future – especially the one’s pertaining to the other psychics – seem kinda pointless? Or were they simply meant to lead him to the others so the “Hunger Games” could start?
                  OR was the point that he never leaned into his real abilities and only developed those later under Ruby’s misguidance?

                  So much stayed shadowy about these plans but I don’t really mind that. Chalk it up as mystery of the universe.

                  It was an intriguing story line for sure.

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                • PigNaPoke
                    October 12, 2021 at 1:14 pm #10521

                    Speaking of annoying, this was the episode that really made me dislike Mary. In Sam’s flashback, Mary clearly recognized Azazel, which means she remembered her deal and chose to ignore it. She was from a line of hunters going all the way back to the Mayflower, had access to the family library, and extensive resources. She could’ve at least looked for a way to break her deal. Bobby figured a way out in a year – Mary had ten. She could’ve told John THE TRUTH about who she was, and the two of them could’ve found a way out together. Ignoring her deal was naïve, selfish, and illogical.

                    I am 100% with you on this, kate! I never forgave Mary for that either.

                    Of course, I can understand that she wanted OUT of the Hunting life and wanted to have a family. As with Dean (and Sam) no one should be forced to live their entire life like that, if they don’t feel it’s right for them, however, as you said she could have told John the truth and explained that in order to get out of the life they would have to take care of this one thing together to protect their family.

                    From a story point, though,…we would have NO SPN if Mary had acted differently. HAHAHA. And I appreciate how it makes it all so complicated with her wanting out so her family wouldn’t have to live like that and causing the exact outcome by being selfish.

                    PNP

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                  • PigNaPoke
                      October 12, 2021 at 1:14 pm #10522

                      I have a love-hate relationship with this episode.

                      I love that so much happens, that the pace is pretty furious, that we learn a lot of new plot points. Love the mood and look of the episode (that last crane shot is insanely gorgeous and effective). LOVE LOVE LOVE the acting – mostly from Jensen and Jared, but also from the variety of the other psychics!

                      I enjoy the quick succession of tragic events as story telling goes. It leaves the audience just as puzzled and breathless as the characters. Dean’s desperation all through it really palpable, “losing” Sam, losing the roadhouse and thinking Ellen and Ash are both lost, trying to find Sam, just to lose Sam for real! WOW…and all that in 42 minutes??? That is a LOT of plot to absorb.

                      Then we also find out all of the new things about the psychic children. I really like the mix of characters there – high strung Ava is just as annoying as she needs to be; sweet Andy is just as clueless and harmless as before; the tragic lesbian is just as angry and rebellious as one could expect; Jake is just lethal and stoic enough to make him intimidating. For me the mix works for tension and I also appreciate Sam stepping into the leader role and trying to keep order.

                      And I very much appreciate – however ill fated – that Sam didn’t kill Jake but keeps the hope alive that they can work together on a solution.

                      But, of course, I HATE the episode for all of the awful things happening to Dean and Sam! The back and forth between hope and despair is such emotional rollercoaster I get goosebumps every time I watch it.

                      The last scene still has me on the edge of my seat every time I watch it. Even knowing all that is to follow, it still feels real and raw and so so painful to see Dean go through that.

                      UGH

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                  Let’s all talk about All Hell Breaks Loose Pt. 1 (S2 E21)

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