{"id":4414,"date":"2015-01-27T13:00:16","date_gmt":"2015-01-27T21:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4414"},"modified":"2015-01-27T16:00:59","modified_gmt":"2015-01-28T00:00:59","slug":"mark-watches-supernatural-s08e08-hunteri-heroici","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/01\/mark-watches-supernatural-s08e08-hunteri-heroici\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Supernatural’: S08E08 – Hunteri Heroici"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eighth episode of the eighth season of\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>, Cas joins the Winchesters on a case, only to discover that it hits too close to home for him. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

You know, this episode was competent. It was funny at times and emotionally uncomfortable at others, but like a few of the stories this season, it still feels like the show is going through the motions more than anything else. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a strange thing to say about an episode of television, and I wanted to expand upon that instead of hoping that y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all understand me. I liked the season opener, but I experienced a similar sensation when I watched that episode. As weird and silly as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hunteri Heroici\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was, as insightful as Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s flashback\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s were, and as meaningful as Cas\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s journey was, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel very strongly about this episode. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not terrible! It was entertaining! But that lack of any real thrill seemed significant to me.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because this follows \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Little Slice of Kevin.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I can admit that. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always hard to follow a mythology-heavy episode on this show, but I think that I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see how the events here will play a larger part in any season-long arc. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re seeing why Sam pursued a relationship with Amelia and why they broke up, but how much more is there to learn? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like another flashback would be able to provide us with much information, so now I want to know how all of this is going to affect Sam in the future. I think that this episode touches on the idea of denial, particularly since Sam is able to get Fred Jones to snap out of his cartoon world. I appreciated that (and how it related to Castiel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story), but it didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t grab as much as Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story usually did.<\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think the writers took the cartoon concept as far as they could have. When we finally found out what was causing all of this, I definitely expected that Fred Jones\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bubble would be\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, a whole lot weirder. Maybe a bit less gross? Wait, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s silly. This is\u00c2\u00a0Looney Tunes<\/i>-style animation, which is exceedingly gross. Still, some of the effects were neat, but I suppose I thought this would be more like\u00c2\u00a0Who Framed Roger Rabbit?<\/i> But my own expectations for a premise aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the only means to measure how\u00c2\u00a0good<\/i> something is. I think we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve all had to deal with that kind of disappointment, so I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to address this episode solely through that lens.<\/p>\n

What this episode does incredibly well, though, is find the emotional core of this journey. In Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, the events of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hunteri Heroici\u00e2\u20ac\u009d cause him to reflect on how his relationship with Amelia was a way for him to deny the reality of entropy. His life had fallen apart, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d run away from Dean, and he had run straight to Amelia. How true is that in reverse? Was Amelia in the relationship because it was easier to run? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that yet. But I do<\/i> know that Castiel was running from his past throughout this episode. His fantasy here is one of assimilation. If he can become a hunter, he can entertain the notion of penance. He can begin to make the world better one human at a time. Well, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what he\u00c2\u00a0hopes<\/i>, but the reality of his life is a whole lot more complex than that.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fascinating to me that Cas has to spend time with the Winchesters in order to learn that, though. Dean offers Castiel a chance to open up about what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going through (WHERE HAS THIS VERSION OF DEAN BEEN\u00c2\u00a0THE WHOLE SHOW<\/i>? That scene was so good!) and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how we discover just how much guilt Castiel has. Then, while listening to Sam trying to compel Fred to end his denial, he realizes just how much he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been denying his own reality. So why deny that anymore? Why not try to do something that will genuinely help the world and<\/i> heaven?\u00c2\u00a0Of course, because Naomi is interfering in Castiel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life, Cas has no idea that he\u00c2\u00a0is<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0helping out\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 sort of??? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so confused (SURPRISE) about what his role is supposed to be, so I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actually working towards some form of contrition. What if he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not? What if Naomi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s purpose is sinister? That possibility is entirely likely, and Cas will be so fucked up if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true. MORE THAN HE ALREADY IS.<\/p>\n

All that being said? My favorite part of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hunteri Heroici\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was Castiel as a hunter. HANDS DOWN, NO CONTEST. If this entire season had taken this storyline and expanded it, I would have been happy\u00c2\u00a0forever<\/i>. It was nice that his character was able to provide comic relief again. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not to say I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want this show to try other things with Castiel, since I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m definitely interested in what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doing for Naomi. I want to see how he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll try to make up for what he did in Heaven and on Earth. But goddamn, it was just so entertaining to see him try and be a Winchester, you know?<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hunteri Heroici\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

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