{"id":4537,"date":"2015-03-16T13:00:24","date_gmt":"2015-03-16T20:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4537"},"modified":"2015-03-09T14:25:50","modified_gmt":"2015-03-09T21:25:50","slug":"mark-watches-supernatural-s09e01-i-think-im-gonna-like-it-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/03\/mark-watches-supernatural-s09e01-i-think-im-gonna-like-it-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Supernatural’: S09E01 – I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the first episode of the ninth season of\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>, everything is a mess. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For talk of consent<\/b>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

GOOD LORD. Let me split this up based on the three storylines that unfolded in this episode.<\/p>\n

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

MANPAIN. SO MUCH MANPAIN. Understandably so, I should so, since season nine opens much like season two did. Here, though, Sam is the one in the coma, clinging to life, and Dean is fighting. A lot. Metaphorically, figuratively, and literally. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just so much\u00c2\u00a0fighting<\/i>. And after the events of the last season, I admit it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cool to see Dean so willing to cling to life. Of course, that renewal happened alongside Sam, so I get\u00c2\u00a0why<\/i> Dean is so desperate here.<\/p>\n

That sort of vulnerability \u00e2\u20ac\u201c one that would lead Dean to make decisions that he otherwise wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even consider \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is probably the aspect of this story that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m most intrigued by.\u00c2\u00a0Dean has a lot of emotional moments in season eight: his scenes with Benny; begging Castiel (WHY DIDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T YOU PUT THAT LINE IN THERE I HATE EVERYTHING); his heartfelt plea to Sam in the finale. These all added a depth to Dean (and to his relationship with others) that I enjoyed. I\u00c2\u00a0want<\/i> to see different sides of him. And for the most part, Dean is in one solitary mode for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I Think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m Gonna Like It Here.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He fights. He yells. He punches and stabs and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all very much the Dean we know.<\/p>\n

It becomes more interesting when he\u00c2\u00a0stops<\/i>. What does he do when his familiar methods don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work? Initially, he prays to Castiel, unaware of what Castiel is going through. And what that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work, he sends out a general call to\u00c2\u00a0all<\/i> of the recently fallen angels, fully aware that this is absurdly risky. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not that Dean isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the kind of person to take risks; I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d say that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in his nature as a hunter. But\u00c2\u00a0this<\/i> risk feels so much more huge to me than what he normally does! That being said, his deal with Ezekial (OH MY GOD TAHMOH PENIKETT OH MY GOD)is even\u00c2\u00a0more<\/i> indicative of the man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s desperation.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll have a lot more to say about this when I talk about Sam, but I am hoping that this choice of Dean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to allow Ezekiel to use Sam as his vessel \u00e2\u20ac\u201c will allow the show to explore a new side of Dean. Look, Dean has done something that, while beneficial to Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s health, is going to\u00c2\u00a0piss Sam off<\/i>. I do not imagine that this is going to be something that Sam will shrug off easily. Given how ready Dean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been in the past to criticize Sam for being dishonest with him, this is\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 jesus, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, THIS IS SO BAD. Again, I understand why Dean chose this, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think the show explained his reasoning for it poorly. That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t negative the possible horrible implications from it.<\/p>\n

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

Coma vision sequences are a dime a dozen in genre shows; I have seen so many iterations of them over the years that I admit to being a little bored initially by the use of this trope. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not opposed to tropes in general, of course. Some I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like because of personal reasons. (SHOUT OUT TO EVERYONE WHO SAW ME ON TOUR AND DISCUSS THAT TROPE USED IN THE OPENING OF THIS EPISODE, OH MY GOD.) Some carry the weight of social ills and end up passing that kind of bigotry along. But a trope is a part of a story. We use them every day, so I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want my criticism to come across as if I only like fiction that uses no tropes. Guess what that would leave me?<\/p>\n

LITERALLY NOTHING.<\/p>\n

So what\u00c2\u00a0is<\/i> there to like in the usage of this trope in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I Think I\u00e2\u20ac\u009dm Gonna Like It Here\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? I guess that depends on the person, but I was pulled in by Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision.\u00c2\u00a0That<\/i> mattered to me. I wanted to see how he would react to his own impending death, knowing that it was inevitable. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fighting word for Dean, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the case for Sam. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not quite sure that he\u00c2\u00a0wants<\/i> to fight to stay alive, and over the course of this episode, he drifts more and more towards \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bobby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u009d view of life. (Okay,\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>, stop bringing Bobby back, IT HURTS EVERY TIME YOU DO.) Of course, Dean and Bobby are manifestations of Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s consciousness, so what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re witnessing is Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s process of reasoning. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re watching him decide.<\/p>\n

And holy shit, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, he was gonna do it. DEATH ACTUALLY SHOWED UP, and that scene alone nearly made me cry. Like, this show has done such a good job of building up Death\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mythology that I\u00c2\u00a0knew<\/i> instantly that this was some serious shit. Death does not show up for just\u00c2\u00a0anyone<\/i>, so I knew right at that moment that Sam had truly made this decision. AND THEN HE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S MAKING DEATH PROMISE THAT NO ONE CAN RESURRECT HIM AND EVERYTHING HURTS. IT HURTS SO MUCH.<\/p>\n

And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only going to hurt more in the future. While this episode never names it, it does otherwise explicit talk about Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s consent to Ezekiel. The truth is that his consent at the end of this episode was coerced. Ezekiel appeared as Dean so that Sam would instantly trust him. But what if this whole thing changes Sam irrevocably? I mean\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 christ, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, this is so uncomfortable and upsetting. Granted, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s meant to be. This is not portrayed as some sort of miraculous healing. We\u00c2\u00a0know<\/i> how awful this is. Yes, Sam could be healed perfectly by the end of this, but at what cost? We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know\u00c2\u00a0shit<\/i> about Ezekiel. We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if he manipulated Dean and Sam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s vulnerability in order to get what he wants.<\/p>\n

But what I do know is that Sam was ready to die, and Dean took that away from him. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to furious when he realizes what happened, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it?<\/p>\n

Castiel<\/b><\/p>\n

I am utterly and completely into Castiel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story this season. There are a few things the writers do here that are refreshing because they avoid the same patterns from past seasons. First of all, Castiel is actually in the opening episode instead of missing for half the season! (I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand why he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a full-time cast member at this point.) Then, we get that phone conversation between Cas and Dean that allows both of them to update each other about their whereabouts and what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going on with each of them. This sounds silly, but they finally just COMMUNICATED WHAT WAS HAPPENING INSTEAD OF WALLOWING IN IGNORANCE FOR MOST OF THE SEASON. That was one of my peeves about\u00c2\u00a0LOST<\/i> because so many problems and issues could have been solved by a\u00c2\u00a0thirty second conversation<\/i>.<\/p>\n

What really thrilled me to watch, though, was Castiel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s journey as a human. It was, at times, remarkably subtle, and at others, ridiculously violent. And despite that Cas\u00c2\u00a0knew<\/i> he had lost his grace, he still refused to adjust to life as a mortal. He tried to threaten others; he ignored hunger and thirst; he acted as if nothing had changed. But through Hael, it became impossible for him not to. I think that this season\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arc \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if it is indeed about the war in Heaven and on Earth between the angels \u00e2\u20ac\u201c feels a little similar to what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen for Castiel in the past. He tries to do good, messes up, and everyone hates him, but he wants to keep doing good! It sounds very similar to Cas\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story post-Leviathan, you know?<\/p>\n

But those little moments\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I WANT MORE. Seeing Castiel have to choose between water and laundry, theft and hunger, those are\u00c2\u00a0incredibly<\/i> human things. And he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to have to continue dealing with them, on top of the injuries he sustained fighting off Hael. I AM SO INTO THIS PLOT, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I Think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m Gonna Like It Here\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

– The Mark Does Stuff Tour 2015 is now live and includes dates across the U.S., Canada, Europe, the U.K., and Ireland. Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be the remainder of\u00c2\u00a0The Legend of Korra<\/i>, series 8 of\u00c2\u00a0Doctor Who<\/i>, and Kings<\/i>. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards<\/i> series will replace the Emelan books.
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!
\n– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running,\u00c2\u00a0 I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!
\n<\/a>– Please check out the\u00c2\u00a0 MarkDoesStuff.com<\/a>. All Mark Watches videos for past shows\/season are now archived there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"