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ariadnes_stringI finally managed to watch 5.15 last night, and I have renewed respect for everyone who’s been posting thoughtful, insightful analyses of the episode. The deepest thought I had while watching it was: shit, Jensen Ackles looks pretty in that blue cotton jacket.
And then I was off on an extended reverie in which I rated all of Dean’s jackets in terms of their hotness (that blue cotton one--which has full-ish arms and a kind of nipped in waist, and so, um, accentuates (some of) JA’s best features--came in on top).
By the time I came back from that the zombies had started to “turn,” and I started thinking about how sometimes I’m sure my kids are going to do something like that to me when I suggest they eat something healthy like soup when what they really want is some red meat.
And then I started imagining the sheriff’s conversation with her pediatrician (or the nurse help line):
“I don't know what to do--he has a really high fever.”
“Okay, and does he have any pre-existing conditions?”
“Well, he’s, uh, dead. Or undead. Why? Do you think that might have something to do with it?”
And by the time I came back from that, they were burning bodies.
I don’t mean to rain on anyone’s squee. I think the extent to which one enjoyed the episode might have had to do with how much one enjoys zombies in general. And they just aren’t my thing. I find them hard to take seriously, for some reason (see above).
I’m not one to wax nostalgic about S1, but it did occur to me that there was a really good S1 episode in there someplace—something like “Dead in the Water.” One that might have focused more on the sheriff, who I liked, and her family, and the weird pathos of having to let go of a child (as 4.15 did nicely, from a different angle). Emo!Bobby wasn’t doing it for me—though I did like his “Don’t you ever get tired of being wrong?” line.
Not coincidentally, an S1 episode wouldn’t have had to deal with the shadow of the enormous elephant in the room. The fact that there might be someone else present who had recently come back from the dead and passed a lot of tests. Someone who may or may not have been standing right there. Perhaps wearing a fetching blue cotton jacket.
I’d like to think that there was some kind of foreshadowing going on. That we were being prepped for Bobby betraying the Winchesters. Or learning that sometimes you really do need to kill your loved ones (again). Or that, before the end of the season, Dean is going to find out what love is. But it didn’t seem that fully thought through…
In other news, my parents are here for Passover, and then I have two weeks of overlapping spring breaks for the kids—during which I, in theory, am working. So, I may not be around much. Or, I may be around all the time, trying to escape the Great Grimpen Mire of domesticity.
In the meantime, chag sameach, folks, and let me know if you have any thoughts on the relative hotness quotients of Dean’s outerware.
And then I was off on an extended reverie in which I rated all of Dean’s jackets in terms of their hotness (that blue cotton one--which has full-ish arms and a kind of nipped in waist, and so, um, accentuates (some of) JA’s best features--came in on top).
By the time I came back from that the zombies had started to “turn,” and I started thinking about how sometimes I’m sure my kids are going to do something like that to me when I suggest they eat something healthy like soup when what they really want is some red meat.
And then I started imagining the sheriff’s conversation with her pediatrician (or the nurse help line):
“I don't know what to do--he has a really high fever.”
“Okay, and does he have any pre-existing conditions?”
“Well, he’s, uh, dead. Or undead. Why? Do you think that might have something to do with it?”
And by the time I came back from that, they were burning bodies.
I don’t mean to rain on anyone’s squee. I think the extent to which one enjoyed the episode might have had to do with how much one enjoys zombies in general. And they just aren’t my thing. I find them hard to take seriously, for some reason (see above).
I’m not one to wax nostalgic about S1, but it did occur to me that there was a really good S1 episode in there someplace—something like “Dead in the Water.” One that might have focused more on the sheriff, who I liked, and her family, and the weird pathos of having to let go of a child (as 4.15 did nicely, from a different angle). Emo!Bobby wasn’t doing it for me—though I did like his “Don’t you ever get tired of being wrong?” line.
Not coincidentally, an S1 episode wouldn’t have had to deal with the shadow of the enormous elephant in the room. The fact that there might be someone else present who had recently come back from the dead and passed a lot of tests. Someone who may or may not have been standing right there. Perhaps wearing a fetching blue cotton jacket.
I’d like to think that there was some kind of foreshadowing going on. That we were being prepped for Bobby betraying the Winchesters. Or learning that sometimes you really do need to kill your loved ones (again). Or that, before the end of the season, Dean is going to find out what love is. But it didn’t seem that fully thought through…
In other news, my parents are here for Passover, and then I have two weeks of overlapping spring breaks for the kids—during which I, in theory, am working. So, I may not be around much. Or, I may be around all the time, trying to escape the Great Grimpen Mire of domesticity.
In the meantime, chag sameach, folks, and let me know if you have any thoughts on the relative hotness quotients of Dean’s outerware.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-29 07:35 pm (UTC)I liked the sheriff too, and also wish more had been done with her in a more novel way. I would not have had her son come back (because we did that in Kids Are Alright) but I would have had the episode focus on the whole issue of trying to apply laws and keep order in a town where everything's up in the air now (that, and the zombies being raised by death would have been more than enough to drive the story). Also, given that we've lost Ellen and Jo, I would have liked to see Bobby's relationship with his neighbors and law enforcement explored instead of alluded to, and made the sheriff a possible returning character as someone Bobby can call on if needed. That way we actually get more Bobby exploration, more of an interesting new character, less repeating of themes, and we can still end with a big action scene.
As to Dean's jacket, like everyone else I was struck by the scene of him with the Impala, and he did look quite handsome. However, I was also thinking something else which is the issue of plastic surgery. JA's face is changing, and I wonder if he's taking stock of that. Many actresses have their first procedures in their late 20s, but because of how men are judged and their thicker skin, it's probably not so early for them. But I'm betting it will have to be soon if he's going to go that route.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-30 02:57 am (UTC)Though, after I wrote this, I starting thinking about how many SPN episodes feature returns from the dead--it would be interesting to count them up sometime. It's a classic horror/gothic theme, of course--but the show's obsession w/ it goes beyond that, I think--
Also interesting: Jensen's face. You might be right about plastic surgery--he's already done Lasik, after all. Sometimes I wonder, though, whether it isn't a relief/a good thing for him not to be quite as ridiculously pretty as he was when he was younger....
When I saw the Hurt Locker, I thought of JA, and that he could have done a nice job with the role Jeremy Renner got his Oscar nom for--and he could have, as an actor. But he would never have been cast in it, or been able to pull it off, because his looks are so distracting...
But then I think, who am I kidding? I'm sure JA, like the rest of us, wants to stay as pretty as possible for as long as possible!