Supernatural Season 8, Episode 19 - Taxi Driver
This episode made me wish I'd gone spoiler-free... It was good, hard-hitting, but I think I would have been even better if I'd had no clue what was coming. Anyway. Down to details.
I was really, really pysched for this episode, given that I knew Bobby and Benny were going to be back (benefits of spoilers - kickstarting those emotional responses before the episode ever even airs), and then I got a little worried seeing Eugenie Ross-Leming and Brad Buckner's names in the credits. Given that their last episode was barely mediocre, and that they haven't really been known for delivering top notch fare, my spirits dropped a little, but thankfully they didn't do too badly with this crucial piece of the story. I'm gonna give their script for this maybe a 8 out of 10 for dialog, and about a 6 or so for actual plot, but thankfully it left room for the actors to take an okay script and turn it into something great (kudos to Jensen and Ty especially, but also Jim Beaver, Mark Sheppard, Jared, and Osric as well)
Up to this point, I hadn't really been drawn into the whole 'Kevin Tran, prophet of the Lord' plotline (not that I hated it, but it hadn't fully caught my interest), but this time around, I really liked his piece of the story. From him answering the door with a frying pan loaded and ready (which totally cracked me up - Tangled reference, anyone?), to him going very much off his rocker (or is Crowley really in his head? I'm still not sure on my conclusion there), that whole plotline played out really well. And like I said earlier, kudos to Osric for playing the is-he-nuts or is-it-really-Crowley dilemma to the point where the audience doesn't know either - well done.
I also feel the need to commend Mark Sheppard on playing one of the best bad guys of the series. He always, always plays Crowley with just the right balance between creepy and pure evil, and I have to admit that even though he might be less powerful than Naomi, he scares me more. And it seems like he's getting close to figuring out what the boys are up to, which isn't gonna be good... Side note #2: since watching this series, I now see Crowley when I try to picture Screwtape. Which is awesome.
Lesse here, what else did I like... Sam winding up in Purgatory - totally didn't see it coming, but the instant he showed up there I knew that's where he was, which is a testament to the cinematography of the show. It was an interesting plot point, giving Sam a quick (though less bloody and violent) idea of what his brother went through while Sam was off playing house, and also, at least in my opinion, presenting a stark contrast of the brothers. Sam seemed totally out of place in Purgatory, while I always felt that some piece of Dean felt at home there, even while he was trying to get out. Maybe it's just me, but the shots of Sam moving through Purgatory really made me think, Him here looks wrong; Dean fit in here like Sam never could. I think a large part of that was the way Sam was filmed, versus the way Dean was filmed, which makes me think the contrast might have been purposeful, but maybe I'm reading too much into that. Either way, I liked it.
Back on the actual earth, I was shocked at Naomi's nerve in appearing to Dean and trying to twist his perception of Castiel. I got really worried for a second there that Dean might actually believe her, but no, he stays loyal to his friend. And I immediately realized that I never should have doubted him, because I really should know by now how strong Dean's loyalty to his 'family' is, but I have to credit Jensen with a wonderful performance in that scene, hesitating just long enough to put doubt in my mind, before coming back so strongly that you realized there was never really an alternative option. Also, reminding us of how much Dean cares about the people close to him was totally a set-up for the heart-break later on... More on that in a minute.
But first, Bobby! Having Bobby back was amazing (and I hope he gets at least one more appearance before the series ends, but I'm happy with the way his story has played out). I've always loved his character and the unique perspective that he provides - the sort-of father figure who can dole out advice and shake sense back into the boys without it seeming out of place or forced, and I think that was really needed here. I know Sam leaving Dean without trying to save him has been a really touchy point this season, and was addressed a lot in the earlier piece of the season before it was semi-resolved and set aside in the face of the trials, but having Bobby come straight out and admonish Sam for what he did felt really right and necessary. Side note #3: this was the second reference in the past few episodes to what Sam did for that year, and maybe it's just the fact that the whole Sam-Amelia thing never really resonated with me, but I'm continuing to hope that there's more to it than we know, since it keeps coming up. Plus I just rewatched the season opener and their whole first interaction just felt really weird and really off, and what about that shadowy figure watching the house as Sam leaves?
Okay, back to the episode at hand. And more specifically, to the part that broke my heart. You all know what I'm talking about. I can't say that I didn't see it coming - once Sam hit Purgatory I had this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that the end result wasn't gonna be good for Benny, as my mind immediately raced through the logical progression and wound up about where the episode did, even while I was fervently hoping to be wrong... The relationship between Dean and Benny has been by far my favorite of the plotlines introduced this season, in part because of the stellar acting by Jensen and Ty, and also simply because it was really good to see Dean letting someone else in, since you can count on one hand the number of people still alive that he trusts (on just a few fingers, actually - Sam, sometimes; Garth, sometimes; Cas, maybe?) So to have it end like that (at least for the moment) was emotional torture, for me and for Dean. And again, I can't praise Jensen and Ty highly enough for how emotionally charged and heart-wrenching that scene was. Confession time: not only did it make me tear up while watching, but I also suddenly started crying about twenty minutes after turning the TV off, simply because the enormity of what had happened took that long to fully sink in, at which point I got totally overwhelmed by emotion. This is proof of great television. Supernatural has always been good at pushing all my emotional buttons, and this was a perfect example. I was saddened by Benny's inability to find a place to belong, felt Dean's anguish at having to put his friend in danger for the sake of his brother and then at the loss of someone he truly cared about (following right on the heels of Cas' betrayal), marveled at the depths of their friendship (I don't think Dean has ever showed that much emotion except with family - I'm counting Bobby and Cas as family...) and grieved at the inevitable ending to the story. In short, my heart filled up with emotion, and then the writers and actors ripped it out and smashed it to pieces and it was one of the best scenes all season.
And with that, I'm gonna jump straight to the ending because I can't take the emotional overload that's coming on just from thinking about this again (and tearing up while in public would be rather embarrassing) Although now that I think about it, most of this episode really got to me emotionally. For instance, the look on Dean's face when he sees Sam emerge, and the hug immediately thereafter... You saw his fear, his relief, how much Sammy means to him, how worried he was and how much he cares, all delivered wordlessly in less than fifteen seconds (is it possible to praise Jensen Ackles too highly for his incredible acting? I don't think so...) It was a brother moment like we haven't had in a very long time, and the fact that Dean actually let those feelings show in front of Sam was huge. Sure, we've had protective-big-brother Dean since the trials started, but even that usually comes across more during frustrated interactions between them, rather than the simple expression of love we got to see here. And I had just recently rewatched a bunch of old episodes, so I couldn't help but think that Dean has already lost Sam to death, to Lucifer, and is now losing him to these trials, and the love that we saw here is a precursor to the grief to come, grief that we've seen nearly destroy him before. He loves with all he has, and Sammy is all he has left now, and he's losing him too... And the helplessness in Dean's eyes was horrible, as the pain knocked Sam to his knees and there was nothing Dean could do to help. Sucker punch to the gut, and a terrible foreshadowing of what I think is coming.
And this episode really didn't pull any punches, not with Kevin (I got chills from those last few seconds with him and Crowley), not with Dean and Benny (I'm choking up again thinking about it), not with Dean and Sam (this show is gonna kill me...) One of the best episodes this season emotionally, if not the best one. And now I'm gonna go recover and try to survive three weeks without a new episode...
Back on the actual earth, I was shocked at Naomi's nerve in appearing to Dean and trying to twist his perception of Castiel. I got really worried for a second there that Dean might actually believe her, but no, he stays loyal to his friend. And I immediately realized that I never should have doubted him, because I really should know by now how strong Dean's loyalty to his 'family' is, but I have to credit Jensen with a wonderful performance in that scene, hesitating just long enough to put doubt in my mind, before coming back so strongly that you realized there was never really an alternative option. Also, reminding us of how much Dean cares about the people close to him was totally a set-up for the heart-break later on... More on that in a minute.
But first, Bobby! Having Bobby back was amazing (and I hope he gets at least one more appearance before the series ends, but I'm happy with the way his story has played out). I've always loved his character and the unique perspective that he provides - the sort-of father figure who can dole out advice and shake sense back into the boys without it seeming out of place or forced, and I think that was really needed here. I know Sam leaving Dean without trying to save him has been a really touchy point this season, and was addressed a lot in the earlier piece of the season before it was semi-resolved and set aside in the face of the trials, but having Bobby come straight out and admonish Sam for what he did felt really right and necessary. Side note #3: this was the second reference in the past few episodes to what Sam did for that year, and maybe it's just the fact that the whole Sam-Amelia thing never really resonated with me, but I'm continuing to hope that there's more to it than we know, since it keeps coming up. Plus I just rewatched the season opener and their whole first interaction just felt really weird and really off, and what about that shadowy figure watching the house as Sam leaves?
Okay, back to the episode at hand. And more specifically, to the part that broke my heart. You all know what I'm talking about. I can't say that I didn't see it coming - once Sam hit Purgatory I had this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that the end result wasn't gonna be good for Benny, as my mind immediately raced through the logical progression and wound up about where the episode did, even while I was fervently hoping to be wrong... The relationship between Dean and Benny has been by far my favorite of the plotlines introduced this season, in part because of the stellar acting by Jensen and Ty, and also simply because it was really good to see Dean letting someone else in, since you can count on one hand the number of people still alive that he trusts (on just a few fingers, actually - Sam, sometimes; Garth, sometimes; Cas, maybe?) So to have it end like that (at least for the moment) was emotional torture, for me and for Dean. And again, I can't praise Jensen and Ty highly enough for how emotionally charged and heart-wrenching that scene was. Confession time: not only did it make me tear up while watching, but I also suddenly started crying about twenty minutes after turning the TV off, simply because the enormity of what had happened took that long to fully sink in, at which point I got totally overwhelmed by emotion. This is proof of great television. Supernatural has always been good at pushing all my emotional buttons, and this was a perfect example. I was saddened by Benny's inability to find a place to belong, felt Dean's anguish at having to put his friend in danger for the sake of his brother and then at the loss of someone he truly cared about (following right on the heels of Cas' betrayal), marveled at the depths of their friendship (I don't think Dean has ever showed that much emotion except with family - I'm counting Bobby and Cas as family...) and grieved at the inevitable ending to the story. In short, my heart filled up with emotion, and then the writers and actors ripped it out and smashed it to pieces and it was one of the best scenes all season.
And with that, I'm gonna jump straight to the ending because I can't take the emotional overload that's coming on just from thinking about this again (and tearing up while in public would be rather embarrassing) Although now that I think about it, most of this episode really got to me emotionally. For instance, the look on Dean's face when he sees Sam emerge, and the hug immediately thereafter... You saw his fear, his relief, how much Sammy means to him, how worried he was and how much he cares, all delivered wordlessly in less than fifteen seconds (is it possible to praise Jensen Ackles too highly for his incredible acting? I don't think so...) It was a brother moment like we haven't had in a very long time, and the fact that Dean actually let those feelings show in front of Sam was huge. Sure, we've had protective-big-brother Dean since the trials started, but even that usually comes across more during frustrated interactions between them, rather than the simple expression of love we got to see here. And I had just recently rewatched a bunch of old episodes, so I couldn't help but think that Dean has already lost Sam to death, to Lucifer, and is now losing him to these trials, and the love that we saw here is a precursor to the grief to come, grief that we've seen nearly destroy him before. He loves with all he has, and Sammy is all he has left now, and he's losing him too... And the helplessness in Dean's eyes was horrible, as the pain knocked Sam to his knees and there was nothing Dean could do to help. Sucker punch to the gut, and a terrible foreshadowing of what I think is coming.
And this episode really didn't pull any punches, not with Kevin (I got chills from those last few seconds with him and Crowley), not with Dean and Benny (I'm choking up again thinking about it), not with Dean and Sam (this show is gonna kill me...) One of the best episodes this season emotionally, if not the best one. And now I'm gonna go recover and try to survive three weeks without a new episode...
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