{"id":4470,"date":"2015-02-26T13:00:25","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T21:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4470"},"modified":"2015-02-02T22:14:26","modified_gmt":"2015-02-03T06:14:26","slug":"mark-watches-supernatural-s08e19-taxi-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/02\/mark-watches-supernatural-s08e19-taxi-driver\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Supernatural’: S08E19 – Taxi Driver"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the nineteenth episode of the eighth season of\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>, NOOOOOOPPPPEEE. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of gore\/body horror, ableism\/stigma.<\/b><\/p>\n

Ah, I love it when I ask for something or criticize something, and then BAM. I AM GIVEN WHAT I WANT. Oh, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much to talk about here, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.<\/p>\n

Kevin<\/b><\/p>\n

Kevin Tran is too precious for this world, and it distresses me.<\/p>\n

What I wish for him is some sympathy or empathy, any sort of behavior that shows him that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not alone. As his hallucinations (likely spawned from lack of sleep, stress, and his poor diet, though speculating beyond this is not really something I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to do) get worse, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s met with Dean Winchester, the one person who is least equipped to deal with issues involving sanity or mental illness. Straight up, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think Dean understands mental illness at all, nor do I think he is prepared to help anyone deal with their own problems with their sanity. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen that in his behavior towards Martin and in his reaction to Sam after Sam got the wall put into his head. He reacts poorly to any perceived lack of sanity, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quick to discount or dismiss anyone with any sort of mental aberration that he perceives. So when Kevin clearly is showing symptoms of some sort of break, Dean does not comfort him in any substantial way that actually helps Kevin. Getting some burgers (and pie!) for Kevin doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help. That helps\u00c2\u00a0Dean<\/i>, and that very well could be one of his coping mechanisms. Which is perfectly fine!<\/p>\n

But Kevin needs his own coping mechanism. He needs his own way to deal with the chaos of his life and the emotional toll it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s taking on him, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see him getting that here. It just makes me sad because I really adore this character, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m worried about his future role in this show. I JUST WANT KEVIN TRAN TO BE OKAY,\u00c2\u00a0IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK<\/i>. Well, this IS\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>, so it might be.<\/p>\n

Sam<\/b><\/p>\n

LOOK.\u00c2\u00a0LOOK<\/i>. I WAS SO CURIOUS TO FIND OUT HOW FAR THIS SHOW WOULD TAKE THIS CONCEPT AND I AM STILL REELING FROM THIS EPISODE. We saw Hell. WE SAW INSIDE OF HELL, AND IT WAS FUCKING AWFUL AND HORRIFYING AND GORY AND I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M STILL NOT OKAY FROM IT. In the past, Hell was represented in brief flashes. We saw Dean in chains and got glimpses of Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time there, but it was never something that allowed us to truly understand the physical arrangement of the place. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a part of me that wishes that Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attempt to find Bobby was a bit longer. Not that I needed to see people covered in blood, suffering eternal torment. It just felt a little too convenient to me, that he located him so quickly after entering the prisons of Hell. And I wanted to see more. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen Heaven and parts of the holy bureaucracy; this was our first chance to see what the same organization was like down in Hell.<\/p>\n

At the same time, less is more, and what little we see is so upsetting that it does the trick. I was utterly horrified by Hell. And that shot where Sam comes up behind Bobby, and we see the tally marks on the wall and EVERY SINGLE EMOTION I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122VE EVER HAD FOR BOBBY COMES BACK TO ME, it was just too much. This whole journey was too much, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. Sam knew going into that portal with Ajay meant that he could die along the journey. He knew that if he succeeded, it would still take a toll on his body. He knew that he could fail anyway. But Sam Winchester, who so frequently puts others before himself, did it all anyway. I mean, I knew I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to be okay with this fucking episode once\u00c2\u00a0Ajay revealed that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d ferried Bobby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s soul to Hell. I HAD ALREADY MOURNED HIS LOSS. DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T. DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T DO THIS TO ME. So yes, I spent a good deal of this episode clutching my face because THIS IS BOBBY SINGER. HE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S RIGHT THERE. I MISSED HIM SO MUCH.<\/p>\n

(Somewhat related, did anyone think of that moment in\u00c2\u00a0Buffy<\/i> where Buffy and Giles reunite in season 6 and he finds out everything that has happened in the interim and he just laughs? I half expected Bobby to do the same thing when he heard what the Winchesters were up to.)<\/p>\n

Dean<\/b><\/p>\n

I SPENT WAY TOO MUCH OF THIS EPISODE FEELING EMOTIONALLY RAW. Seriously, my clairvoyance for plot twists is so worthless because I always end up asking for this show to do something and then it happens and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even ask for it in the first place. This whole episode is just\u00c2\u00a0leagues<\/i> above most of season eight and for all the right reasons. Oh, was bringing Bobby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s soul out of Hell and into Heaven not enough for you? THEN LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S ALSO BRING BENNY BACK TO THE SHOW AND\u00c2\u00a0ALMOST IMMEDIATELY KILL HIM OFF<\/b>. Okay, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a reductive view of his role here, which is SO FUCKING UNFAIR. Just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Dean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face??? Misty-eyed boy talk is back, except this time we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got Dean asking Benny to let him behead him, all so that Benny can bring Sam back. What an utterly heartbreaking turn for this friendship, made even more sad when Benny reveals that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll do it, no problem, because\u00c2\u00a0he can<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fit anymore<\/i>. He tried, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, and Dean knows he did. Dean\u00c2\u00a0also expresses regret that he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help Benny more, and fucking hell, how is all of this happening in one episode?<\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know how to talk about this without simply saying THIS SUCKS. I get that Benny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story served its purpose. Like every secondary character in this show, they eventually die, leaving the Winchesters behind. That worries me, of course, because of characters like the Trans, Sheriff Jody Mills, and Garth. How long until they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re killed off, too? PLEASE NEVER, IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S NOT FAIR. I just really liked what Benny brought out in Dean, especially since this season has been so light on Cas. (Does Cas ever get to be a full-time castmember? Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t answer that, just wondering out loud.) I liked that this show gave us a vampire\u00c2\u00a0trying<\/i> to be moral and succeeding, though it came at great cost to his well-being. And at the end, Benny sacrifices himself all so a man who wanted to kill him can go home to his brother. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t imagine a more moral act, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.<\/p>\n

EVERYTHING HURTS.<\/p>\n

Naomi and Crowley<\/b><\/p>\n

Okay, can they battle at some point? Yes? PLEASE? Jesus, I love so much that this show has given us these two antagonistic forces at once. Amanda Tapping is just too good here, and I loved seeing how she tried to manipulate Dean into helping the angels. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that she actually succeeded, though.\u00c2\u00a0She tries by allying herself at the perfect time. She is honest with Dean about Castiel, thinking it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a gesture of good will; then she tells Dean where Sam went, giving him the idea to go after Benny. At the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Taxi Driver,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she arrives at just the right moment to counter Crowley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attempt to send Bobby back to Hell. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all very convenient, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? I believe that Dean sees right through her charade, honestly. Does she really think he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll start trusting the angels\u00c2\u00a0now<\/i>? They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to do a lot more work before that happens! And this is not really going to help, you know?<\/p>\n

BUT ALSO: AMANDA TAPPING. So good, right?<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Taxi Driver\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

– Mark Does Stuff is now on Facebook<\/a>! Feel free to Like the page, which I’m running myself, for updates and SILLINESS.
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\n– The 2015 Mark Does Stuff tour is being announced!!! Check my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page<\/a> often to see if I’m coming to your city!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"