Let’s all talk about Sympathy for the Devil (S5 E1)

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    • journalbookbinder
        October 24, 2022 at 3:21 pm #22404

        I did not like the way Sam and Dean were “saved” by being teleported onto a plane after the end of S4…but S5 is one of SPN’s best seasons, so here we go!

      • PigNaPoke
          October 24, 2022 at 3:21 pm #25633

          What GREAT Season Premier! SO much new info, twists and turns, a few funny bits, exciting fight scenes, awesome one liners and real tough truths. It is so packed with action and story it feels much longer than the 42 minutes, in a good way.

          Few questions that popped into my brain this time around:
          – Sam and Dean get whisked away from the convent when Lucifer is already rising and the bright column of light is in full swing but they are put on the plane (by God?) seemingly BEFORE that actually happens. Then they see the column of light exploding and the plane apparently goes down? A little bad planning by God, don’t you think? LOL
          – Dean says when he uses the Angel banishing sigil that it’s something Cas taught them but wasn’t it Ana who introduces the method to them?
          – Meg smokes out of her meatsuit after the fight in the hotel. How does she use the same meatsuit in later episodes?
          – What happened to the all demon meatsuits in the storage unit? Did Sam and Dean dispose of them?

          I love Dean’s defiance all through out and his sarcastic come backs but it is also very clear that it’s his usual way of not dealing at all with his actual feelings and simply deflecting it all until he absolutely can’t anymore. That makes the conversation at the end of the episode SO impactful. You don’t see it coming. You expect Dean to keep suppressing it and move on, happy to have Sam back at all. But then to hear from him HOW DEEPLY hurt and disappointed he actually was and that he doesn’t feel he can trust Sam anymore, slices both Sam and the audience to the bone. It’s so heartbreaking on BOTH their parts. And we know that the words stick with Sam throughout the years, judging by his despair in the season 8 finale where he worries about letting Dean down yet again. To me this is one of THE toughest but also most honest conversations they have in 15 seasons.

          And as hard as it is to watch Sam NEEDED to be told this! Not just by Dean, but also by Demon-Bobby. Even if Bobby says later it was the demon talking and he didn’t mean it I think SAM HEARD and took the criticism to heart about not listening, being arrogant and behaving stupidly while under Ruby’s influence.

          It was a really nice story twist to make Bobby of all people be so harsh to Sam at the beginning when Sam tries to explain himself and apologize!! I remember thinking from the start that something was odd there because it was also Bobby who had admonished Dean for giving up on Sam at the end of Season 4!! But it was still a shock seeing Bobby’s eyes turn black.

          The scenes with Nick are all nicely creepy and paint a good picture of why he would be susceptible to Lucifer’s gentle persuasion.

          I always thought it was a very interesting choice to show how cruel and conniving Zachariah is in his attempt to get his way with Dean and how on the opposite side Lucifer is kind and honest to finagle his way into Nick!! (Also Kurt Fuller just ROCKS this role and is so wonderful to watch in it!!)

          I was glad to see some real imposing presence from Cas here. He is decisive and a little scary and kicks some ass (BRAVO for some good editing making Misha look very capable as a fighter! LOL).

          Poor Sam gets hit in the head a lot in this episode, first with a toilet plunger by Chuck and then with a telephone by Meg, plus kicked in the jewels! OUCH! But there are a lot of great fight scenes in this episode.

          I remember when first watching it that I hated Becky’s character because she was so clearly meant to represent the fandom and in SUCH awfully cringy way. I felt made fun off and discounted and insulted because in my limited experience then I thought this is NOT how fans are!!! WELL….NOW I find her much funnier. I don’t feel represented by her anymore and therefor not attacked, BUT I also know that fans like her DO exist and that there unfortunately is a cringeworthy part of the fandom. And that has nothing to do with fan fiction or anything else people like to express themselves through, but only with the way some fans choose to behave withing the fandom community and go about communicating through social media to and about the actors etc. I can watch it from afar and find some of it funny and some of it horrendous, but I don’t feel part of THAT section of our fandom. Therefore now, I can fully enjoy Becky’s excitement about meeting her idol (Chuck) and then her fantasy (Sam) and her comments about it all.

          This episode hits a 9 out of 10 for me. One point deduction just because I hate seeing the boys at odds.

          • kate38
              October 24, 2022 at 3:21 pm #26403

              Hey, PNP 🙂

              I enjoyed the fight scenes in this one, too! I miss badass Castiel in the later seasons. We see glimpses of him, but nothing like in the earlier seasons.

              You ask some great questions. The way these boys leave dead bodies in motel rooms and other places, it’s a wonder the show never addresses it in more detail. I guess we’re supposed to assume that the boys got rid of the bodies, or the demons circled back and cleaned up their own dead. I guess Meg could’ve inhabited another nearby meatsuit long enough to come back and retrieve her own?

              You make some good points about Becky, but I never identified with her or ever saw her as anything other than a cringe-worthy representation of the lunatic-fringe of our fandom. She’s like a septic tank — I know she’s there (and that people like her are out there) I just prefer not to spend much time thinking about it. And yes — she’s just as disgusting.

              kate

          • kate38
              October 24, 2022 at 3:21 pm #26402

              The devil coming up through the floor is one of my FAVORITE visual/special effects from the whole series! It is SO cool! It was so much fun to watch it again.

              Hubby and I tried to find that staircase next to the seedy motel when we were in Vancouver. I wanted to have a picture coming down the same stairs Sam used because it’s such an iconic shot. The good news is that area used to be a run-down part of town near the waterfront; but it has benefited from urban renewal, so it’s an upscale waterfront area now with cafés and shops. The bad news is that the old-style hotel and that stairway are both gone. Sigh…no picture for me.

              I LOVE Bobby in this one. Okay, I love Bobby all the time, but he had some special moments in this one. I love that he was willing to sacrifice himself to save Dean. And I recall being totally surprised when it was revealed that Bobby was possessed. The way he got in Dean’s face in “Lucifer Rising” (love that scene, by the way – although I was kind of on Dean’s side; his reactions to Bobby’s rant were spot-on), I assumed he was “our” Bobby giving Sam a similar dose of reality; although the “lose my number” bit came off a bit harsh. It’s good that it wasn’t the “real” Bobby talking, but it played very well at the time.

              Speaking of Bobby being possessed, I’m surprised he didn’t have an anti-possession charm or tattoo, considering he gave charms to the brothers way back in season 1.

              We had some great character introductions in this episode! I know we met Kurt Fuller in season 4, but he has a much larger and more pivotal role in season 5, so we really get to see who he is. I really like him as Zachariah, even though I don’t like the character at all. He’s really fun to hate 😊. Rachel Miner as Meg is a welcome breath of fresh air! And I felt so sorry for Nick! He was already so broken and vulnerable inside. He was (unfortunately) the perfect victim to be deceived by Lucifer. Does anyone know if the show ever explored the comment Lucifer made about how Nick’s blood was special and how he was a special vessel? I’ve always been curious about that comment. Anyway, I can’t say enough good things about Mark Pellegrino in this role. The show was SO lucky to cast him as Luci. He knocks it out of the park in EVERY scene he’s in. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.

              I don’t have much negativity about this episode, except that I despise creepy Becky with the heat of a thousand souls. She’s disgusting from day one, and not in a good or funny way.

              I really don’t like Genevieve’s Ruby, so I enjoyed watching her get stabbed again in the recap. Sorry, not sorry…

              I liked Chuck as a character and despise what Dabb did to him in later seasons. It’s fun watching him be the hermit prophet again. I miss nice-Chuck 🙁

              kate

            • journalbookbinder
                October 24, 2022 at 3:21 pm #28856

                I knew as soon as Bobby told Sam to “lose his number” that Bobby was not himself; he had to be possessed.  No matter what, Bobby would never say that to Sam.  I loved that scene though. Sam was so sorry and so disappointed at what Bobby said. Jared did a great job.

                Kate, your comment about Ruby just cracked me up – enjoyed watching her get stabbed again. She was not the best Ruby. Katie Cassidy was.  (Still can’t believe she’s 70’s teen idol Shawn Cassidy’s somewhat estranged daughter!!!)

                Nick (Mark Pelligrino) was great here. He was perfect casting.  THIS is what I love about early SPN (like the pilot) it was SO SAD and SO DARK and SO TRAGIC.  Obviously Nick was hardly holding it together and something horrible happened to his family and he was knocking around in the house alone.  His wife more recently played the mother on “Prodigal Son” (an over-the-top rich woman divorced from a serial killer) and it was fun to see her here. She did great as Lucifer too!

                I too loved original Chuck and he was great here.  He had bits of angel in his hair!

                I. Like. Becky.  I always found her funny and enjoyed that they were poking good-natured fun at us.  That they KNEW about wincest fan fic and some crazy fans and wrote one in. Very meta. Becky touching Sam and saying she can’t stop will never not make me laugh. And the fact that she’s entranced with Sam and disappointed in Dean (thought he’d be taller) is, to this Dean girl, utterly hilarious. That whole scene of her with Chuck on video chat where she gives him a big lecture about not being crazy and she knows fantasy from reality and then is thrilled that “It’s all real.” – I love that scene as well.

                I love Dean’s defiance in the face of Zachariah. Even when he’s NOT 100% sure of himself or how close to physical harm he might be for mouthing off – he keeps mouthing off and THAT’S DEAN and I love it.

                 

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