Appointment in Samarra

[norwich36]

Oh, for Pete's sake.

I was excited at the idea of Dean taking Death's place, but I didn't realize they were going to have Dean go through the most cliched progression of being death EVER. Is there anyone, watching this, who didn't call ahead of time that (a) Dean would have to kill a kid and (b) that he would refuse and (c) that it would cause BAD THINGS to happen? I was especially pissed because this could have been a really interesting episode if they hadn't decided to be so formulaic.

Though I was predicting the final scene would be Dean having to choose between either (a)reaping Bobby or (b)letting Sam's soul go, so I guess it wasn't as cliched as it could have been--though that at least would have been real drama, as opposed to Dean agonizing over a bunch of strangers.

However, the final scene between Dean and Death was almost enough to make up for the rest of the episode. And I am morbidly fascinated that they depicted Sam's ensoulment as a sort of rape--somewhat like being possessed by a demon or angel. I'm not quite sure how we are to take that--I want to mull it over some more.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, I was kind of loving the Sam v. Bobby showdown, at least until Bobby got that attack of the stupids and went into the basement. WTF, Bobby? You know better than that.

Comments

[serrico.livejournal.com]

I was predicting the final scene would be Dean having to choose between either (a)reaping Bobby or (b)letting Sam's soul go

That was my prediction, made roughly two seconds after Balthazar spelled out the terms of the act that would keep Sam's soul out of his body. On one hand, I'm glad they didn't go The Most Predictable Route Ever; on the other...they went a *different* Most Predictable Route Ever. *shrug*

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was definitely a bit underwhelming. I did like seeing Death and Tessa again, but they were almost wasted in this episode.

[mahaliem.livejournal.com]

Though I was predicting the final scene would be Dean having to choose between either (a)reaping Bobby or (b)letting Sam's soul go, so I guess it wasn't as cliched as it could have been

I was sure that was going to be the climax, too, thus tying both story lines together. They chose, however, to have the ending be a mirror reflection of the beginning. Only instead of a Winchester welcoming death it's a Winchester fighting against life...maybe? Whatever, there's an analogy in there somewhere. :)

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Oh, good point: soul leaving body, soul entering body. But still, I was unsatisfied by this episode.

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

I would have liked Dean being Death for a day to be more interesting too--the best thing about that bit was Death himself, who is a really cool character. I like that Show mentioned how much the fact these guys don't stay dead screws things up, though if that was meant to be the point of the domino effect the little girl's non-death was supposed to have, I'd like them to show that a bit. Unless Sam and Dean were except from creating a domino effect because it was the angels' interfering. *spaces for a minute*

I don't get the fandom love for Tessa, every time she opens her mouth I just want to smack her. Mind you, it's probably because she doesn't like Dean. I have a hard time with most characters who don't like Dean.

And as always, Bobby is pretty damn cool himself.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Death really *is* a cool character--I really like his perspective on things. (Though I actually like Tessa, too--I just think she was kind of wasted in this episode).

I suspect that we will see more about the domino effect of Dean and Sam's multiple resurrections in future eps. In a way, it explains the Winchester curse--didn't Tessa say if that little girl lived bad luck would follow her around her whole life? So really this all goes back to the deal Mary made with Azazel.

[ancastar.livejournal.com]

Couldn't agree with you more. I was really disappointed with the route they took with Dean wearing the ring. It's not a bad idea; it was just executed poorly.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Yeah. They could have done something much more interesting with this.

[yaycoffee.livejournal.com]

See? This might have been my favorite episode so far this season. Mostly because stuff, like, happened and stuff. It felt emotionally right for the first time all season--which is a big deal to me because that's the heart of this show, and it's just been so off all year. I'm superexcited to see what is going to happen with Sam and his soul and his Wall of Misery... now we could be getting somewhere... finally.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Ah, well, everybody sees things differently. I haven't actually felt like the show has been off this season, so that may be part of why this episode didn't do much for me.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Commenting late to say yeah it feels extra disappointing because Dean experiencing being Death in an episode sounded like a really cool premise, and it was so cliched to just make it about him not wanting to reap a sick girl in hospital. I mean Dean knew it was a challenge for him, did he really think that he wouldn't have to reap any kids??? You'd think Dean of all people could face the reality of death not always happenng to those that deserve it

The ending was a great cliffhanger though. I liked the opening with Dean too, it was just what they actually did with the premise that was so cliched