First Impressions: 3.12 Jus In Bello
Feb. 27th, 2008 03:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
raloriaThese are just my first impressions of this episode. My full-length review with caps will be posted later. This just gives me a chance to express my initial thoughts about the episode and touch on a few highlights.
With each of these First Impressions posts I'll include 2 cropped caps from the episode. One of Dean and one of Sam. I decided to do something different and make them b&w.
Consider these fanart. If you take either of them, please give credit. :)
These are my rather rough thoughts of the episode as it initially aired. I filled out a few extra thoughts here and there. The (=========) signify commercial breaks.
Recap:Hendricksen, Ruby, demons, Bela stole the Colt
Monument, CO
Oooh boys, guns drawn, searching Bela's room
Uh oh...caught
Hendricksen!
Love how Dean puts his head down on the floor, eyes closed and it cuts right to the Supernatural opening
4 men....in the sides it was 6
Victor's got more of a mustache...
Boys in chains
LOL....getting all tangled up together...hee
LOL...blue steel Dean on the wanted poster
Oooh...Victor has a badass boss
Victor's mean...separating the boys....even as a threat...grrrr
I really like Sam's reaction at that point to Hendricksen's threat, looking to big brother for reassurance.
Wow...Peter Deluise looks so different now
Gah! Dean gets shot again!
Demon!
No radio...bad sign & the boys know it
Oh...they're all dead (chopper)
Yikes...Reidy
========================================
Victor's just oblivious....all comms down
Hee....Sam called Dean a wuss [see more about this at the end]
Boys putting the charm on Nancy
Hey it worked!
That's not nice Sam.....Ooh pickpocket Sammy with the rosary
Possessed Victor and Sam doing Latin from memory...Dean with gun!!!!
Victor's a believer now
*Guh* Can I be Nancy and patch up Dean's shoulder?
*flails* black t-shirt
Lots of salt
Dean goes out to the Impala to raid the trunk....how come his shoulder's not hurting him now?
Eeeep! Demon cloud! Run Dean!
========================================
Wow...talk about surrounded
Oooh charms...Yes! Tattoos for the boys
Oh man!...He broke the salt line!
Victor finding out about the truth as he and Dean have a heart to heart....Vic's frustrated in his job
Ruby!!!
30 demons outside
Lilith...the new big bad
Ruby's just a tad bitchy...especially when she finds out they lost the Colt
Sam didn't tell Dean about the new demonic leader gunning for him....uh oh
Dean's surprised that Nancy's a virgin
He and Victor on the same side...even Dean seems surprised at that
Sam is staying very silent...Dean doesn't like it
Nancy's willing to sacrifice herself to save her friends
Sam & Dean talk....Dean is dead set against killing a virgin
Dean has a plan!!!!
========================================
Ruby bails on them
Let them all in and fight...eeep
Trapping the demons inside...hmmmm
Wow...mass exorcism.....smart
Ooops....one got away
That explosion was cool
Hendricksen “kills the boys” ...I think they just gained a new ally & maybe a fellow hunter
Yikes!Evil little girl...eeep!...it's Lilith!!!!!
=======================================
Lilith killed them all...Hendricksen, Nancy...all the others... :(
Ruby chews them out, gives them things to keep Lilith from finding them....they have nothing to say....they screwed up...oh boys, it seemed like a good plan...
More thoughts:
When I first watched the episode I didn't like it very much. It seemed to pale in comparison to the previous two episodes, Dream A Little Dream Of Me & Mystery Spot. The emotional resonance between the brothers was less evident and I felt the loss. This was much more of an action-packed episode than an emotional, dramatic one. I was also spoiled quite a bit, especially for the first half, which did diminish some of my enjoyment. Subsequent viewings of the episode have changed my opinion, however, and I'm liking it more and more each time.
Having seen this episode after Mystery Spot, which was originally supposed to be episode 3.12 before they swapped the episodes due to the writer's strike, I find myself wished they'd left them in the original order. I can understand wanting to leave the possible end of the season with a slam bang ending, but the emotional interaction between the brothers was off because of it. In Mystery Spot, Sam is emotionally scarred by the end, having watched Dean die hundreds of times and living with his brother's death for 3 months. He's a changed man, with sadness in his eyes by the time the episode ends. We then move to Jus In Bello and see no evidence of this, because of the change in episode order. The worst part is when Sam is tending to Dean's gunshot wound and calls his older brother a wuss. This really bothers me and made me wince when watching the episode. After the events of Mystery Spot there's no way Sam would take Dean getting wounded so lightly. He most certainly wouldn't chide or crack a joke about it. I would expect Sam to be overly protective of his brother after Mystery Spot, and I'd like to see some evidence of the effects of that episode on Sam in the next few episodes. In all honesty, after having watched the two episodes, I would have kept the original order, strike or not. There's no cliff hanger at the end of Jus In Bello (which was originally predicted), so besides the action aspect there really wasn't any benefit of reversing the order. I can only hope that on the DVD set, they'll put them on in the original filmed order.
It's sad to see the character of Hendricksen killed off, just when he changed and could have had a whole new potential. However, this goes to further back up Kripke's stance that the boys really can't have that many allies. This is their fight, their war to battle through alone. For fans it seems like a mixed blessing. We want the boys to go through this journey alone, yet it hurts when they find someone who could be of benefit to them only to have that person killed off suddenly. It's also difficult to take Hendricksen's death because this episode really gave us a better look at his character. We learned about the man behind the tough and gruff attitude. He was frustrated by his job because he rarely caught the bad guys and really didn't feel like he was helping anyone. He could have been an amazing hunter and you could see they were leading us to believe that would have been his outcome had Lilith not eliminated him. Perhaps this was done to finally give the boys a little relief from law enforcement breathing down their necks anymore. They're officially "dead" now, so no more avoiding government facilities or hospitals. And maybe, just maybe...can we have the old license plates back on the Impala? I miss the old ones. They had meaning and personality. Anyway, I'll miss Hendricksen both as the great antagonist that he was and the potential ally he could have been.
With each of these First Impressions posts I'll include 2 cropped caps from the episode. One of Dean and one of Sam. I decided to do something different and make them b&w.
Consider these fanart. If you take either of them, please give credit. :)
These are my rather rough thoughts of the episode as it initially aired. I filled out a few extra thoughts here and there. The (=========) signify commercial breaks.
Recap:Hendricksen, Ruby, demons, Bela stole the Colt
Monument, CO
Oooh boys, guns drawn, searching Bela's room
Uh oh...caught
Hendricksen!
Love how Dean puts his head down on the floor, eyes closed and it cuts right to the Supernatural opening
4 men....in the sides it was 6
Victor's got more of a mustache...
Boys in chains
LOL....getting all tangled up together...hee
LOL...blue steel Dean on the wanted poster
Oooh...Victor has a badass boss
Victor's mean...separating the boys....even as a threat...grrrr
I really like Sam's reaction at that point to Hendricksen's threat, looking to big brother for reassurance.
Wow...Peter Deluise looks so different now
Gah! Dean gets shot again!
Demon!
No radio...bad sign & the boys know it
Oh...they're all dead (chopper)
Yikes...Reidy
========================================
Victor's just oblivious....all comms down
Hee....Sam called Dean a wuss [see more about this at the end]
Boys putting the charm on Nancy
Hey it worked!
That's not nice Sam.....Ooh pickpocket Sammy with the rosary
Possessed Victor and Sam doing Latin from memory...Dean with gun!!!!
Victor's a believer now
*Guh* Can I be Nancy and patch up Dean's shoulder?
*flails* black t-shirt
Lots of salt
Dean goes out to the Impala to raid the trunk....how come his shoulder's not hurting him now?
Eeeep! Demon cloud! Run Dean!
========================================
Wow...talk about surrounded
Oooh charms...Yes! Tattoos for the boys
Oh man!...He broke the salt line!
Victor finding out about the truth as he and Dean have a heart to heart....Vic's frustrated in his job
Ruby!!!
30 demons outside
Lilith...the new big bad
Ruby's just a tad bitchy...especially when she finds out they lost the Colt
Sam didn't tell Dean about the new demonic leader gunning for him....uh oh
Dean's surprised that Nancy's a virgin
He and Victor on the same side...even Dean seems surprised at that
Sam is staying very silent...Dean doesn't like it
Nancy's willing to sacrifice herself to save her friends
Sam & Dean talk....Dean is dead set against killing a virgin
Dean has a plan!!!!
========================================
Ruby bails on them
Let them all in and fight...eeep
Trapping the demons inside...hmmmm
Wow...mass exorcism.....smart
Ooops....one got away
That explosion was cool
Hendricksen “kills the boys” ...I think they just gained a new ally & maybe a fellow hunter
Yikes!Evil little girl...eeep!...it's Lilith!!!!!
=======================================
Lilith killed them all...Hendricksen, Nancy...all the others... :(
Ruby chews them out, gives them things to keep Lilith from finding them....they have nothing to say....they screwed up...oh boys, it seemed like a good plan...
More thoughts:
When I first watched the episode I didn't like it very much. It seemed to pale in comparison to the previous two episodes, Dream A Little Dream Of Me & Mystery Spot. The emotional resonance between the brothers was less evident and I felt the loss. This was much more of an action-packed episode than an emotional, dramatic one. I was also spoiled quite a bit, especially for the first half, which did diminish some of my enjoyment. Subsequent viewings of the episode have changed my opinion, however, and I'm liking it more and more each time.
Having seen this episode after Mystery Spot, which was originally supposed to be episode 3.12 before they swapped the episodes due to the writer's strike, I find myself wished they'd left them in the original order. I can understand wanting to leave the possible end of the season with a slam bang ending, but the emotional interaction between the brothers was off because of it. In Mystery Spot, Sam is emotionally scarred by the end, having watched Dean die hundreds of times and living with his brother's death for 3 months. He's a changed man, with sadness in his eyes by the time the episode ends. We then move to Jus In Bello and see no evidence of this, because of the change in episode order. The worst part is when Sam is tending to Dean's gunshot wound and calls his older brother a wuss. This really bothers me and made me wince when watching the episode. After the events of Mystery Spot there's no way Sam would take Dean getting wounded so lightly. He most certainly wouldn't chide or crack a joke about it. I would expect Sam to be overly protective of his brother after Mystery Spot, and I'd like to see some evidence of the effects of that episode on Sam in the next few episodes. In all honesty, after having watched the two episodes, I would have kept the original order, strike or not. There's no cliff hanger at the end of Jus In Bello (which was originally predicted), so besides the action aspect there really wasn't any benefit of reversing the order. I can only hope that on the DVD set, they'll put them on in the original filmed order.
It's sad to see the character of Hendricksen killed off, just when he changed and could have had a whole new potential. However, this goes to further back up Kripke's stance that the boys really can't have that many allies. This is their fight, their war to battle through alone. For fans it seems like a mixed blessing. We want the boys to go through this journey alone, yet it hurts when they find someone who could be of benefit to them only to have that person killed off suddenly. It's also difficult to take Hendricksen's death because this episode really gave us a better look at his character. We learned about the man behind the tough and gruff attitude. He was frustrated by his job because he rarely caught the bad guys and really didn't feel like he was helping anyone. He could have been an amazing hunter and you could see they were leading us to believe that would have been his outcome had Lilith not eliminated him. Perhaps this was done to finally give the boys a little relief from law enforcement breathing down their necks anymore. They're officially "dead" now, so no more avoiding government facilities or hospitals. And maybe, just maybe...can we have the old license plates back on the Impala? I miss the old ones. They had meaning and personality. Anyway, I'll miss Hendricksen both as the great antagonist that he was and the potential ally he could have been.
