First Impressions: 4.10 Heaven And Hell
Dec. 1st, 2008 11:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
raloriaI've abandoned my full-length episode reviews for these shorter, First Impressions posts.
With each of these reviews 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. :)
Sorry for the HUGE delay this time. *sigh* :(
As you'll see, I've returned to the more rambly, comment-while-it's-airing type of notes. I've left them "as is", so you'll see a lot of missed punctuation and lower-case on proper names. I think they're better this way, more spontaneous and fresh.
Note: "==============" signifies a commercial break.
Recap: Lilith, Ruby, Anna, basically all the players....heh and a quick recap of our final 4x09 moments
we pick up literally where we left off.
Oh, Uriel attacking Ruby! and Dean!
Whoah....Castiel! Eeeep!
Heh. dean helps ruby get up
whoah....what did anna do???? that looks scary....not to mention very bloody.
dean sends sam off for research....it's like old times
dean takes anna to bobby's panic room....awesome....and ruby's standing outside
“how's the car?” hee!
Bobby's on vacation??? LOL
hmmmm.....anna's been a little different for a while now
she claims she doesn't know what's happening to her....
Pamela!!!!!
Hypnosis time!
Oh....she doesn't want to remember ....whoah!!!!
She's an angel????? WTH????
==========================
she was in the same foxhole with castiel and uriel....heh
and she was their boss! You Go Girl!
oh....she fell....became human
she has to find her grace again....
Research Sammy! “you're pretty buff for a nerd” hee!
Ruby wants him to pull Alastair....yeah, like he was so successful the first time he tried it.
dean wants to know why he was saved, but anna doesn't know
He wants to know why she would want to be human.
she wanted the emotions
only 4 angels have seen God
heh.....she's like dean....taking orders from an unseen father.
grace ground zero is pure creation.....cool
heh....now this is a road trip! An angel and a demon in the backseat. LOL
Oh...it's not there anymore
====================================
oh, she's listening again....
whoah.....they want dean to hand over anna or dean goes back to hell
Love how Sam will do anything to keep that from happening again.
anna and dean heart to heart
she knows what he did in hell.....ooooh
oooh....kiss!
oh yes!!!! lovin' in the impala!
heh....the handrprint brand
LOL Titanic moment :P
uh oh....Ruby what are you up to?
So she summoned Alastair to the crossroads.....hmmmm
she wants to hand over Anna....
oh....he's not going for it
Uriel....uh oh
oh, dean's dreaming!
Castiel likes dean....hee
Uriel's got anna's grace!
heh....uriel knows....”slice of angel food cake”
oooh.....dean can be replaced....eeep
no dean!!!!
oh....oh man!
omg.....ruby....poor girl
what a butcher!
oh god....he's not....is he Mengele????
oh...she'll show him where anna is...
sam's worried about ruby....
dean's drinking again.....
uh oh.....the angel boys are back
dean....you didn't!!!
she forgives dean...who looks so broken and guilty.
==========================
castiel's sorry.....a history? with anna?
uh oh....demons!
ooooh.....showdown!
oooh go castiel!
oh no! go dean!
no! boys!!!!
anna got her grace back!
wow
she wiped out all the demons....'cept ruby heh
uriel is still nasty
yeah....anna's not happy sam....dean knows...
==========================
oh....boys and the impala *loves*
not 4 months....40 years
okay, no way can I type notes during this scene....
Here's the dialog from the entire final scene:
Dean: I can’t believe we made it outta there.
Sam: Again.
Dean: I know you heard him.
Sam: Who?
Dean: Alastair...what he said. About how I had promise.
Sam: I heard him.
Dean: You're not curious?
Sam: Dean, I’m damn curious. But, you’re not talkin’ about hell and I’m not pushin’.
Dean: It wasn’t four months, you know.
Sam: What?
Dean: It was four months up here, but down there… I don’t know, time’s different. It was more like 40 years.
Sam: My God.
Dean: They, uh, they sliced, and...carved, and tore at me in ways that you…Until there was nothing left. And then, suddenly, I would be whole again - like magic. Just so they could start in all over.
And, Alastair, at the end of every day… every one… he would come over and he would make me an offer… to take me off the rack, if I put souls on. If I started the torturing.
And, every day, I told him to stick it where the sun shines. For 30 years, I told him. But, then I couldn’t do it anymore, Sammy. I couldn't...And I got off that rack. God help me, I got right off it. And I started ripping them apart. I lost count of how many souls. Th -- the things that I did to them.
Sam: Dean....Dean, look, you held on for 30 years. That’s longer than anyone would’ve.
Dean: How I feel… this...inside me… I wish I couldn’t feel anything, Sammy. I wish I couldn’t feel a damn thing.
I got most of this dialog from the fanfic "Redemption" by Kelcor, with some modifications for accuracy by me. If you haven't read it yet, go....read it. It gives us the brother hug so many of us felt was lacking at the end of the episode. Have your tissues handy, though. You will cry, you will love the boys, and you will wish the episode had ended that way.
I don't think we could ask for a better episode to send us to winter hiatus on. It was everything (minus 2 points) that I hoped it would be - the Dean episode to match Sam's 4x09 episode. It was nice to see Dean getting along better with Ruby, something even she was surprised by. He's not a major fan yet, but he's coming around. This is the most civil he's been to her - ever. And I think Ruby truly proved herself to Sam & Dean's cause by sacrificing herself (or at least her host's body) to bring about the showdown between the demons and the angels. I liked Anna, which I know wasn't the case with everyone. I'm glad there was a chance to build a connection between her and Dean before their love scene in the Impala. Let's hear it for that love scene, too. Woot! It's about damn time! Dean hasn't gotten any on-screen lovin' since Season One! This one was pretty darned close in quality to the one from Route 666, IMO....but with slightly better lighting. The Titanic moment was a little giggle-worthy, but we'll forgive them for that one.
As for Jensen....well, what can you say about his acting that hasn't already been said by so many others? He did it. Again. Superbly. I was hoping for a total Dean emotional breakdown and I got it. Jensen pulled out all the stops in the final scene, but I'd also like to point out a couple of smaller moments. When Anna tells him she knows about what he did in Hell and puts her hand on his cheek? *melts* His stumbling and voice breaking....trying to stay strong. That was beautifully done by Jensen. And then when Uriel and Castiel find the group and Dean admits to giving Anna up. All that guilt and heartbreak in his eyes. *dies* But, again...the final scene was the masterpiece. You have to wonder what else Jensen can bring to Dean after playing this role for 4 seasons, but he somehow continues to unfold sides of Dean that have gone untapped. Crying can be overdone, but Jensen finds the right balance. He allows Dean to crumble, more than he ever has before, while holding onto that strength that we've always seen in him. I keep reading of people asking how Dean could even function after being in Hell, knowing of his experience as we do now. The best answer I've read is simply that he's Dean. He's a hero character. Heroes go through indescribable horrors and carry on. We've seen the chinks in his armor - the nightmares, the drinking, but he keeps going because he has to. And Dean has always been about doing the job and taking care of others before himself. It doesn't matter that he's hurting inside. He's done something horrible and in his mind he deserves to suffer. He doesn't want to be forgiven and on the outside that's what he projects. But on the inside....the walls are crumbling. The weight of the souls he tortured is getting too heavy to bear. When Dean says that he doesn't want to feel anything anymore, you've got to wonder if he wants to become an angel (if that's even possible for him). He seemed to envy Anna's description of angels, at least as far as the emotional detachment goes. He was pulled from Hell by an angel, on God's orders, surely knowing what Dean had done. Is Dean's task of saving the world from Lucifer his path to redemption?
As for my two bad points about this eppy (even though I've mentioned them before):
- Alastair's accent. WTH????? He went from a normal sounding voice in 4x09 to sounding like Marlon Brando in The Godfather! It was extremely distracting. All I kept thinking every time he opened his mouth was, "Somebody...please! Make him stop!".
- The absence of a hug in the final moments. I know Kripke wants to keep them few and far between, so they'll remain special, but c'mon! If ever Dean needed a hug it was at that moment. I let it slide in CSPWDT, but this time I feel truly cheated. I wanted that hug, to see it, to know Sam would comfort his brother in this most emotional of moments. Unless we're going to have a bigger breakdown than this on down the line, Kripke did a great disservice to the fans in not allowing a great brotherly hug to be on film.
We have 44 days left to wait before S4 resumes. Is it January yet?
With each of these reviews 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. :)
Sorry for the HUGE delay this time. *sigh* :(
As you'll see, I've returned to the more rambly, comment-while-it's-airing type of notes. I've left them "as is", so you'll see a lot of missed punctuation and lower-case on proper names. I think they're better this way, more spontaneous and fresh.
Note: "==============" signifies a commercial break.
Recap: Lilith, Ruby, Anna, basically all the players....heh and a quick recap of our final 4x09 moments
we pick up literally where we left off.
Oh, Uriel attacking Ruby! and Dean!
Whoah....Castiel! Eeeep!
Heh. dean helps ruby get up
whoah....what did anna do???? that looks scary....not to mention very bloody.
dean sends sam off for research....it's like old times
dean takes anna to bobby's panic room....awesome....and ruby's standing outside
“how's the car?” hee!
Bobby's on vacation??? LOL
hmmmm.....anna's been a little different for a while now
she claims she doesn't know what's happening to her....
Pamela!!!!!
Hypnosis time!
Oh....she doesn't want to remember ....whoah!!!!
She's an angel????? WTH????
==========================
she was in the same foxhole with castiel and uriel....heh
and she was their boss! You Go Girl!
oh....she fell....became human
she has to find her grace again....
Research Sammy! “you're pretty buff for a nerd” hee!
Ruby wants him to pull Alastair....yeah, like he was so successful the first time he tried it.
dean wants to know why he was saved, but anna doesn't know
He wants to know why she would want to be human.
she wanted the emotions
only 4 angels have seen God
heh.....she's like dean....taking orders from an unseen father.
grace ground zero is pure creation.....cool
heh....now this is a road trip! An angel and a demon in the backseat. LOL
Oh...it's not there anymore
====================================
oh, she's listening again....
whoah.....they want dean to hand over anna or dean goes back to hell
Love how Sam will do anything to keep that from happening again.
anna and dean heart to heart
she knows what he did in hell.....ooooh
oooh....kiss!
oh yes!!!! lovin' in the impala!
heh....the handrprint brand
LOL Titanic moment :P
uh oh....Ruby what are you up to?
So she summoned Alastair to the crossroads.....hmmmm
she wants to hand over Anna....
oh....he's not going for it
Uriel....uh oh
oh, dean's dreaming!
Castiel likes dean....hee
Uriel's got anna's grace!
heh....uriel knows....”slice of angel food cake”
oooh.....dean can be replaced....eeep
no dean!!!!
oh....oh man!
omg.....ruby....poor girl
what a butcher!
oh god....he's not....is he Mengele????
oh...she'll show him where anna is...
sam's worried about ruby....
dean's drinking again.....
uh oh.....the angel boys are back
dean....you didn't!!!
she forgives dean...who looks so broken and guilty.
==========================
castiel's sorry.....a history? with anna?
uh oh....demons!
ooooh.....showdown!
oooh go castiel!
oh no! go dean!
no! boys!!!!
anna got her grace back!
wow
she wiped out all the demons....'cept ruby heh
uriel is still nasty
yeah....anna's not happy sam....dean knows...
==========================
oh....boys and the impala *loves*
not 4 months....40 years
okay, no way can I type notes during this scene....
Here's the dialog from the entire final scene:
Dean: I can’t believe we made it outta there.
Sam: Again.
Dean: I know you heard him.
Sam: Who?
Dean: Alastair...what he said. About how I had promise.
Sam: I heard him.
Dean: You're not curious?
Sam: Dean, I’m damn curious. But, you’re not talkin’ about hell and I’m not pushin’.
Dean: It wasn’t four months, you know.
Sam: What?
Dean: It was four months up here, but down there… I don’t know, time’s different. It was more like 40 years.
Sam: My God.
Dean: They, uh, they sliced, and...carved, and tore at me in ways that you…Until there was nothing left. And then, suddenly, I would be whole again - like magic. Just so they could start in all over.
And, Alastair, at the end of every day… every one… he would come over and he would make me an offer… to take me off the rack, if I put souls on. If I started the torturing.
And, every day, I told him to stick it where the sun shines. For 30 years, I told him. But, then I couldn’t do it anymore, Sammy. I couldn't...And I got off that rack. God help me, I got right off it. And I started ripping them apart. I lost count of how many souls. Th -- the things that I did to them.
Sam: Dean....Dean, look, you held on for 30 years. That’s longer than anyone would’ve.
Dean: How I feel… this...inside me… I wish I couldn’t feel anything, Sammy. I wish I couldn’t feel a damn thing.
I got most of this dialog from the fanfic "Redemption" by Kelcor, with some modifications for accuracy by me. If you haven't read it yet, go....read it. It gives us the brother hug so many of us felt was lacking at the end of the episode. Have your tissues handy, though. You will cry, you will love the boys, and you will wish the episode had ended that way.
I don't think we could ask for a better episode to send us to winter hiatus on. It was everything (minus 2 points) that I hoped it would be - the Dean episode to match Sam's 4x09 episode. It was nice to see Dean getting along better with Ruby, something even she was surprised by. He's not a major fan yet, but he's coming around. This is the most civil he's been to her - ever. And I think Ruby truly proved herself to Sam & Dean's cause by sacrificing herself (or at least her host's body) to bring about the showdown between the demons and the angels. I liked Anna, which I know wasn't the case with everyone. I'm glad there was a chance to build a connection between her and Dean before their love scene in the Impala. Let's hear it for that love scene, too. Woot! It's about damn time! Dean hasn't gotten any on-screen lovin' since Season One! This one was pretty darned close in quality to the one from Route 666, IMO....but with slightly better lighting. The Titanic moment was a little giggle-worthy, but we'll forgive them for that one.
As for Jensen....well, what can you say about his acting that hasn't already been said by so many others? He did it. Again. Superbly. I was hoping for a total Dean emotional breakdown and I got it. Jensen pulled out all the stops in the final scene, but I'd also like to point out a couple of smaller moments. When Anna tells him she knows about what he did in Hell and puts her hand on his cheek? *melts* His stumbling and voice breaking....trying to stay strong. That was beautifully done by Jensen. And then when Uriel and Castiel find the group and Dean admits to giving Anna up. All that guilt and heartbreak in his eyes. *dies* But, again...the final scene was the masterpiece. You have to wonder what else Jensen can bring to Dean after playing this role for 4 seasons, but he somehow continues to unfold sides of Dean that have gone untapped. Crying can be overdone, but Jensen finds the right balance. He allows Dean to crumble, more than he ever has before, while holding onto that strength that we've always seen in him. I keep reading of people asking how Dean could even function after being in Hell, knowing of his experience as we do now. The best answer I've read is simply that he's Dean. He's a hero character. Heroes go through indescribable horrors and carry on. We've seen the chinks in his armor - the nightmares, the drinking, but he keeps going because he has to. And Dean has always been about doing the job and taking care of others before himself. It doesn't matter that he's hurting inside. He's done something horrible and in his mind he deserves to suffer. He doesn't want to be forgiven and on the outside that's what he projects. But on the inside....the walls are crumbling. The weight of the souls he tortured is getting too heavy to bear. When Dean says that he doesn't want to feel anything anymore, you've got to wonder if he wants to become an angel (if that's even possible for him). He seemed to envy Anna's description of angels, at least as far as the emotional detachment goes. He was pulled from Hell by an angel, on God's orders, surely knowing what Dean had done. Is Dean's task of saving the world from Lucifer his path to redemption?
As for my two bad points about this eppy (even though I've mentioned them before):
- Alastair's accent. WTH????? He went from a normal sounding voice in 4x09 to sounding like Marlon Brando in The Godfather! It was extremely distracting. All I kept thinking every time he opened his mouth was, "Somebody...please! Make him stop!".
- The absence of a hug in the final moments. I know Kripke wants to keep them few and far between, so they'll remain special, but c'mon! If ever Dean needed a hug it was at that moment. I let it slide in CSPWDT, but this time I feel truly cheated. I wanted that hug, to see it, to know Sam would comfort his brother in this most emotional of moments. Unless we're going to have a bigger breakdown than this on down the line, Kripke did a great disservice to the fans in not allowing a great brotherly hug to be on film.
We have 44 days left to wait before S4 resumes. Is it January yet?
