SPN 1.21: Salvation

[hope]

- Firstly, I know I've mentioned this before, but omg the different momentum of the season-arc episodes (as opposed to the freak of the week episodes) always ALWAYS throws me. I get to the end of an episode and... wtf? it's the end of the episode? what happened? nothing happened. where did it GO? (because there was no 'lets investigate this!' and 'oo, that's a red herring!' and 'look, the baddy!' and 'yay, we killed the baddy, lets go make out get back on the road!'.) I'll say it again - I was left with the same feeling after Shadow, and Dead Man's Blood.

- Secondly, I love getting to see little snippets of the past 20 years coming into the present. As in, Pastor Jim being actually more than a name (and Caleb, too). Shame about the death thing :/ One thing that did strike me, as it did after multiple viewings of Nightmare, was that both Jim and Caleb looked kinda young. Ok, Jim had grey hair so that helped, but Caleb? looked to be in his late 30s, right? And Missouri looks to be in her late 30s too. I wouldn't say either of them were over 40. And we don't know how long the Winchesters have known Caleb, but we know that Missouri was a 'palm reader' 22 years ago. Which would make her what, a teenager? I always *think* of her as an older woman, but she doesn't really look it. At least John looks pretty haggard (and I reckon he'd be in his 50s, yeah? late 40s? With a 26 year old child born after he's done military service?).

- Meg. I am not a fan. And not in terms of OH SHE FILLS ME WITH SUCH RAGE! (ie. as I feel about Simmerson of Sharpe), just... erg, I don't know if it's the performance (and the hair, jesus) but she just... she irks me. I think she bores me a little bit, her performance is just so uninspired, and that gets my hackles up.

- SAM'S BRAIN. FRIGGING A. SAM'SBRAINSAM'SBRAINSAM'SBRAIN. Also, there's something utterly charming about paddywhack's slightly sub-level emoting skillz. That broad range of awkwardly pained expressions are just totally a part of Sam's characterisation, for me.

- A home for Dean. oh. OH.

- A post about Salvation just wouldn't be a post about Salvation unless I mentioned the Sam-throwing-Dean-against-the-wall thing, right? omfg. yes yes, we all know it's a parallell of Dean-throwing-Sam-against-the-bridge from the pilot, but dudes, the very fact that this is role reversal is totally character progression for Dean (because I know that's a kerfuffle that's been kicking up dust a bit lately). In the pilot (while Jess was still alive, remember) he was all hell-bent on Mommy being the centre of the universe, enraged at the idea that getting revenge isn't going to get her back... and yeah, Sam feels that way now but more importantly (than that anvil), Dean doesn't. Which is a big change. Dean's all about hanging on to what he's got left, John and Sam, and fuck, Dean! ow, my heart. Trying to convince Sam not to die for a dead girl, but to live for Dean. Which is where that "i wish we were with dad"/"i wish dad was with us" thing sits in, for me - Dean wants to be preserving life, helping Dad; Sam just cares about killing the demon and not much else.

- Speaking of Sam's Brain (and OH, John you been TOLD!) - "why didn't you tell me about this?"? Is John still keeping things under wraps from the boys, still hiding things from them, pretending some things? Because I'm pretty sure Missouri said something along the lines of "for such a powerful psychic, I can't believe he didn't sense his own father." Was John just like, "pfft, whatever Matrix!lady" or is he still hiding things from them? hiding the fact that he was in Lawrence - that he knows some things (about Sam) that they don't?

- Random!Guy with Meg - is this another cuckoo? he has the brain power (throwing daddy against the wall - which is becoming as strikingly frequent as Sam being throttled), but he also has the allergies to holy water. Cuckoo or demon? or both? (is that what Meg is?) or am I off the track entirely?


- Also, have just added 'winchestears' to my lj interests. I LOVE IT WHEN THEY CRY. I LOVE IT SO HARD.

Comments

[wolfling]

I hadn't really thought of it as "let's induce trauma so we have an in later" though that certainly fits too.

The thing I was wondering about was if any of the family was supposed to survive beyond the kid (and if the kid is also stolen/presumed dead as well). When John's talking about tracking it and it going after families and burning the houses to the ground, he doesn't actually mention if there's any survivors of those incidents. Which, it may just be assumed that the who dies and who doesn't is the same as in the Winchester and Miller families' cases, but what if it's not? What if the mother coming in and then ended up on the ceiling isn't the norm but just what happens when the demon is discovered? And the father coming in and discovering that (which both John and Jim Miller did) and getting out with the baby is an even bigger aberration? What if the usual modus is burn house to the ground, with everyone still inside except the baby?

I don't know, just one theory I've been thinking on.

And yeah, I deinitely thought the crib bursting into flames was the demon saying, "If I can't have her, no one can."

It's definitely interesting to think about. Though I am happy they showed us how the women get up on the ceiling at least. :)

[naewinter.livejournal.com]

You might have a point there, except what what would stop them from sending Meg or a cohort to kill any remaining family members.
I think the wounds to the mother's (and Jess') body seem to specific (very caesarian) to be an accident. Could fit though, we know next to nothing and the characters don't like explaining anything to each other.

I was so worried that they would use the actor who plays Papa Winchester to play The Demon again, I think he played the demon in the pilot to stay with a body type or something. That would have been trauma inducing!