184 replies to this topic

[TWoP Tennison]

Dean and Sam investigate gruesome attacks in which victims are branded with a strange symbol; Dean meets a woman (Sara Canning) at the town bar.

[Gwonk]

So I only saw the last five minutes of this and so let me guess what the rest was:
- Dean bugging out on Family Issues and his Inner Parent
- Sam doing the hunting while being concerned about the bugging out on Family Issues and Inner Parent
- questionable wimmin jokes

And a whole heap o' angst? Right? Business as usual no new revelations? Really I just want a whole episode of outright monster slaughter.

I think I missed the preview too. Or else they just skipped it and showed Seinfield.

[Kimit]

Missy Bender grew up to be Dean's child. That's fun.

I was pretty much dreading this one, but it wasn't so bad. But let's never do the Dean and/or Sam have a kid plot again, thanks.

I enjoyed the brotherly banter. Even my boyfriend who doesn't like the show laughed at Sam with the EMF detector and the open window comment.

Also, oh hey, Evil Mayor from Buffy!

Edited by Kimit, Feb 3, 2012 @ 10:04 PM.

[Dust Bunny]

So this is my first episode I got to watch in real time since discovering this show a month ago. Half of my delight came from that alone.

But this was a good episode by itself, right? It's not just me? Because I enjoyed the hell out of that.

I love the simple dialogue of "You're just as screwed up as me, just... bigger." "What?" "I don't know!"

And it was only right that Sam was the one to pull the trigger. Dean couldn't, and it's symmetry for Amy.

Interesting that there really was no take-down of all the Amazons; they escaped. This particular case ended with Emma's death. Has that happened before with a MOTW?

I freaking love this show. I want an 8th season so bad.

Also, that sex/murder split scene with ACDC in the background was awesome.

ETA: Yup, I guess it was just me. Sigh.

Edited by Dust Bunny, Feb 3, 2012 @ 11:01 PM.

[exit only]

It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be...until the last few minutes and that damn conversation in the car. Sam, way to be a hypocritical ass.

The show made a big deal out of Bobby's flask, and both times that we had "mysterious" things happen, the flask was mentioned, so I guess that mean's Bobby's ghost is attached to it.

The daughter reminded me of the actress Piper something from Coyote Ugly (she's also currently on a USA show that I can't remember the name of).

This show has no originality anymore, I can't believe it's repeating a storyline they've just done earlier this season. That's not redudant at all, Sera.

Edited by exit only, Feb 3, 2012 @ 10:09 PM.

[melanyrose]

Best part of the episode was the Dean sex, little as it was, unfortunately. I did like SmartDean and I actually enjoyed the ending, until Sam barges in and makes what could have been an interesting ending into a predictable and boring one. Oh and Sam, yes, Dean probably would have shot Emma, but you were so busy making everything about yourself that you just had to take Emma out and not give Dean a chance to decide the fate of his own daughter, and no Sam, it's not the same as your monster girlfriend of two decades ago. Amy was a monster that killed, Emma was Dean's daughter who hadn't killed yet.

But again a very predictable story and ending. Too bad the show decided to take that route. I would have been more interested in seeing Dean's daughter actually break from the Amazons and Dean helping her. Oh wait, that's right, that would introduce yet another new character and that's not allowed on this show anymore. Meh.

But smartDean and sexyDean made for good viewing. Of course, I did switch back to Grimm when the story got boring, so I missed a lot of the Sam parts.

[DesiJ]

I liked this one. I don't think I hit the FF button even once.

As soon as Sam burst through the door, I knew they'd somehow get around to comparing this to the Amy situation.

Dean's daughter was a pretty good actor. At first I actually wasn't sure if she was playing him, or not.

[awab]

It wasn't as bad as I thought it could be.
At least Dean stayed Dean and didn't act like he's ready to kill any innocent person. The girl deserved a chance, she was talking but didn't threaten Dean's life (yet).

And Sam, shut up! Like you care! Just stay away from Dean and his friends and kids. You have a maniacal tendency to kill them.

[mustbekarma]

I'll admit; I just watched the little preview right after Nikita, and when the girl did the whole "Dean, you're my daddy" spiel, I gagged a bit. I knew that she'd be dead by the end of the episode. So I turned the channel. I just had to snoop over here and see if my prediction was correct.

Edited by mustbekarma, Feb 3, 2012 @ 10:17 PM.

[MichaelaBelle]

I thought it was just awful. Truly.

[Parcae3]

Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it might be from Jared's recent spiels on it!!!

We got Smart Dean, hot Dean! And obviously Dean's issues are still there, though I hope they don't get exacerbated by his daughter being a monster. And I really was hoping that they would make her not be a monster, but alas...sigh.

She was a good little actress though! I liked her!

The only thing that didn't work for me was the whole trying to make this like the Amy thing. One, Dean didn't let her go. She hadn't murdered a bunch of people - she hadn't even murdered one - and then he let her go like Sam did with Amy just cause she said "please" and claimed she wouldn't do it again. And two, she was his DAUGHTER. There's a huge difference between your child, even if she's a monster, and some chick you knew when you were teenagers for one day. So this whole "Emma equals Amy thing" is so overblown, and I hated how Sam was a hypocritical ass over it. Yelling at Dean for it? Dean had a gun on her, he hadn't let her go, she wasn't attacking him yet. So Sam just blowing a hole in her like that, and then yelling at Dean over it, just made him look like an ass. And acting as if it was the same thing as Amy was ridiculous.

And once again, it's all about what SAM needs from Dean. Dean is finally getting his mojo back a bit with hooking up, and Sam is an ass over it. Dean is upset about his daughter, and Sam is an ass over it. It'd be nice if Sam could not be an ass to his brother, and actually care about him for a change. Ah well.

Dean looked good in the sex scene though! I love how he's this seemingly aggressive guy, but in his love scenes, he always lets the women lead and they are more aggressive. So sweet!

[Kimit]

At least Dean stayed Dean and didn't act like he's ready to kill any innocent person. The girl deserved a chance, she was talking but didn't threaten Dean's life (yet).

I would say she did. She was going to stab him and flat out told him she was there to kill him. I would call that threatening his life.

Sam cares. Sam did what he had to do. That girl was there to kill his brother.

Dean is finally getting his mojo back a bit with hooking up, and Sam is an ass over it.

He was just having fun with it. He was acting like a little brother. I enjoyed all that banter, it reminded me of how the boys used to act back in season one.

Edited by Kimit, Feb 3, 2012 @ 10:15 PM.

[Ranwing]

And Sam, shut up! Like you care! Just stay away from Dean and his friends and kids. You have a maniacal tendency to kill them.

Fine by me. Next time Sam can stay out of the way while Dean continues to pickle his liver and freezes when faced with a monster pulling a poor lost little girl act.

Edited by Ranwing, Feb 3, 2012 @ 10:13 PM.

[MichaelaBelle]

Sam cares. Sam did what he had to do. That girl was there to kill his brother.

True. At least Sam was smart and caring. Dean has turned into a zombie.

[melanyrose]

Sam cares. Sam did what he had to do. That girl was there to kill his brother.

And she was Dean's daughter. She was threatening him yes, but the Dean should have been allowed the chance to act. As it was, Sam took that choice away for no reason other than his resentment over Amy. That's how it looked to me. If that's not how the writers meant it, then maybe they shouldn't have had Sam so gun-ho killing Emma.

And how stupid to give Emma a name that resembles Amy, just to pound in our heads the connection.

[MichaelaBelle]

Sam took that choice away for no reason other than his resentment over Amy.

Sam's only concern was saving his brother's life. That was his sole reason.

Edited by MichaelaBelle, Feb 3, 2012 @ 10:19 PM.

[Ranwing]

Sam killed Emma for no other reason than the fact that she was there to kill Dean, made it clear that she was going to kill Dean (the running away was all a ruse to get Dean to lower his guard) and Dean had lowered his gun.

And referring to Emma as Dean's "daughter" is really stretching it. He's link to her is bare genetics at best and it was clear that she was not human, was raised to kill and was going to kill. And would have continued the cycle of having babies and sending them out to kill the poor saps who sired them. Dean was a sperm donor here and nothing more.

Sam was right to call Dean on his bullshit. If it was right to kill Amy (which Sam eventually came around to accept) then giving Emma "a chance" just because she initially seemed sympathic was idiocy.The shoe is just on the other foot now.

Edited by TWoP Tennison, Feb 4, 2012 @ 6:39 AM.
Manners

[Demian]

Fine by me. Next time Sam can stay out of the way while Dean continues to pickle his liver and freezes when faced with a monster pulling a poor lost little girl act.

That would be awesome. You think it would finally shut up the rabid batshit Deangirls?

Yeah, probably not.

[sallysweeet]

I don't think it was as bad as it sounded like from the interviews, but it wasn't very good either.

I loved that we got Dean getting back into the swing of things, observant Dean, smart Dean and sexy Dean!

I don't agree that we know that Dean wasn't going to kill the girl, we don't know that. It wasn't shown that he was going to let her go.

[Parcae3]

And she was Dean's daughter. She was threatening him yes, but the Dean should have been allowed the chance to act. As it was, Sam took that choice away for no reason other than his resentment over Amy. That's how it looked to me. If that's not how the writers meant it, then maybe they shouldn't have had Sam so gun-ho killing Emma.

Yea, it kind of felt like that to me too. It was the fact that Sam was yelling at Dean for it all and calling him on it like Dean had let the girl go to go off and kill more people. Dean had his gun on her, he hadn't let her go. She hadn't even killed anyone yet like Amy had! So Sam being so condemning and hypocritical in the car conversation felt more like he was acting out of a petty vengeance towards Dean, then out of any real protection of Dean.

[melanyrose]

Sam's only concern was saving his brother's life. That was his sole reason.

We will have to agree to disagree, since Sam didn't bother even giving her or Dean a chance to resolve the issue.

If it was right to kill Amy (which Sam eventually came around to accept) then giving Emma "a chance" just because she initially seemed sympathic was idiocy.

My point is that she wasn't attacking yet, and Dean should have been given the chance to make the choice. And yes, it was his biological daughter and I think that trumps a monster that wasn't related.

By your logic, Dean should kill Sam, since Sam has killed innocents and done other bad things, but just happens to be Dean's brother, but hey, that shouldn't stop Dean from taking him out.

[Isabelle417]

I spent most of the episode being annoyed with Sam for being such a dick to Dean, but I don't think it's his fault. I think my problem is that whether directed toward Dean or Sam, the 'playful, brotherly' insults just seem so cruel these days. Your lives are shit, why can't you be nice to each other? Both of them are so miserable now, the teasing comes across as vicious and hateful.

That being said, I hope the writers weren't actually trying to equate Dean's kid with a chick Sam knew for 1 day. Of course it's a different situation, monsters or not! I'm just going to assume they want Sam to sound like an grudge-holding bastard, that it's going to play into his crazy later in the season.

I've sadly come to realize, I'm so tired of the brothers. I know I'm in the extreme minority, but I'd have loved it if Emma had ended up tooling around with them in the back of the car. At least it would add something new to the dynamics and stories. The boys don't even seem to like each other anymore, and I find myself wishing they'd both shut up and go their separate ways.

[Ranwing]

I don't agree that we know that Dean wasn't going to kill the girl, we don't know that. It wasn't shown that he was going to let her go.

At the point that Sam shot her, Dean had lowered his gun. He no longer had it trained on her in a ready position. He froze. She pulled the "but I'm your daughter and I don't want to be like them" and it was an act! Sam saw it was an act when her eyes went red the way the Amazon that attacked Sam did. She wasn't a harmless little waif. And I give Sam credit that he wasn't going to risk Dean's life when Dean's head is clearly not where it needs to be on a hunt.

[Anthony W]

This could have been a really good pilot for a new CW series. Cut out the Winchester part and nothing changes.

If given the choice between watching Emma slay monsters and meet ancient gods while evading a deadly sisterhood out to destroy her or watching Cassie give the same slutty/confused/pouty look on The Secret Circle every week, I would go with Emma. We can call the series "AMAZON".

[Lemuria]

Wow, could Sam have been any more of an arrogant asshole and dick toward Dean during most of this episode? (And an idiot--but we'll come back to that in a moment. Oh, and self-absorbed--but we'll come back to that in a moment.) I suppose we were supposed to see some of the dialogue as Sam's teasing Dean, but for me, Padalecki only rarely ever conveys any affection in Sam's teasing of Dean. Mostly (as there was often for me tonight) there's a smug, superior tone, with an edge of contempt.

Sam's attitude toward everything Dean was telling him. that he was doing (such as, staking out Lydia's house) and later back at the motel, what he observed, was beyond grating to me. It was so totally contemptuous of Dean and Dean's abilities as a hunter. And it was exactly the same as Sam's attitude in "Dead Things." So, no progression or growth there in six years. And I'm supposed to buy this wonderful brotherly "bond?"

And then, Idiot!Sam raises his unkempt head: They now know who has been doing the killing and why their going after those particular men. They know that Dean's inside the parameters--yet Sam (a/k/a The Guy Who Slept His Way Into Stanford Because He Sure Didn't Get There On His Brains) not only goes off to the university alone, he insists that Dean not come with him! Because leaving Dean alone in the motel when Sam knows there's something not human gunning for Dean makes all the sense in the world.

Then again, it's what Sam did in 7.03. And 4.01. So I guess Sam is at least consistent.

Dean couldn't, and it's symmetry for Amy.

We don't know this from the episode. We don't see Dean letting her walk. We don't see Dean even saying he'd let her walk. And we know--and so does Dean from what Emma told him just before Sam came in--that she said that she couldn't walk away. That meant that she was going to try to kill him, and he knew that and I didn't anything to show that he would let her.

Just because Sam said it did not make it true.

Which brings us to Self-Absorbed!Sam: That whole scene in car at the end. Unbelievable. This is totally: "He who is giddy thinks the world turns 'round." So because Sam let Amy walk, that means that Dean would do the same thing. Except, Sammy, Dean has always been the one to make the hard decisions and do what others, including you, couldn't do.

It would be one thing if Sam had asked what Dean was going to do. But to go on a rant when he had no basis for it other than his own actions with Amy?

And in answer to your question, Dean, yes, Sam does think you're an idiot. He made that very clear all through this episode--and for the last eight years. It's too bad Dean always feels responsible for his family, because that means he can't pack his bags and leave Sam behind--not his Sam's current mental state--as this relationship has become totally toxic for him.

[Kimit]

I know I'm in the extreme minority, but I'd have loved it if Emma had ended up tooling around with them in the back of the car.

...and if that were to happen I don't know if I would continue to watch. The very thought makes my eyes roll.

I'm with the people saying calling her his daughter is a stretch. There was no connection. She was alive for three days. Dean didn't know her, Sam didn't know her. Sam especially knew what she was capable of, having just learned that from the Professor. She may have been "his kid" but she was really just another monster who would have killed Dean and gone on to kill more people. I think Sam did the right thing by not hesitating.

[sallysweeet]

At the point that Sam shot her, Dean had lowered his gun. He no longer had it trained on her in a ready position. He froze. She pulled the "but I'm your daughter and I don't want to be like them" and it was an act!

I disagree. He didn't freeze and he could have pulled the gun up quickly and shot her, it happens on every cop show and on this one before, the character lowers the gun, then raises it and shoots the person. Also, Dean pretended to fall for her act before, so it could've been the same thing happening here. We don't know for sure sure either way because the show didn't show it.

Edited by sallysweeet, Feb 3, 2012 @ 10:34 PM.

[Kojuro]

ETA:

He no longer had it trained on her in a ready position. He froze.

He didn't freeze from what I could see. Lowering it is not the same as freezing. He could have quickly raised the gun and shot her at any time she moved in a threatening manner.

Also, Dean pretended to fall for her act before, so it could've been the same thing happening here. We don't know for sure sure either way because the show didn't show it.

Exactly, there is precedence for Dean pretending to fall for her act(and in the past in other situations he's done the same thing), he's holding a gun. He could have shot her at any time she actually became threatening. He's a hell of a good shot and a hell of a fast shot, it's not like he'd have missed.

It was the fact that Sam was yelling at Dean for it all and calling him on it like Dean had let the girl go to go off and kill more people. Dean had his gun on her, he hadn't let her go. She hadn't even killed anyone yet like Amy had! So Sam being so condemning and hypocritical in the car conversation felt more like he was acting out of a petty vengeance towards Dean, then out of any real protection of Dean.

I didn't get that Sam did it because he cared about his brother, it looked and sounded more to me like payback. Dean hadn't let her go nor had she killed anyone yet in any case. Amy had. Dean let Amy's son go, why? Because he hadn't done anything bad yet. SO basically it shows me that Sam's even more extreme than Dean, yet Dean got reamed for killing Amy(and even Sam's admittance that maybe Dean was right was very grudging, imo and more like "perhaps it was a valid choice" than actual agreement). So Dean gets reamed by Sam for killing Amy, who was a serial killer, and Dean gets reamed by Sam for not killing Emma quickly enough, even though Dean was still holding his gun and hadn't let her go anywhere yet and she hadn't actually moved to kill him yet.


Jensen Ackles is gorgeous, but I'm glad he doesn't do a lot of shirtless/sex scenes because it's such a treat when he does do one. :D It's like a rare special occasion and memorable. Very hot. Great actor. The guest stars were good, always did like "Missy Bender" and Sara Canning was very good. :) Dean was smart and observant so no complaints there.

Otherwise this episode was so lame. Redundant, unoriginal, same old same old. Nothing new. Move along, nothing to see here. IMO of course. :)

Lame set up, lame "lesson" and Sam still comes off as a superior twit instead of a caring brother.

Let's see, Dean's a target, so just like in Long Distance Caller, he leaves Dean alone. What the hell? Why would he INSIST Dean stay in the room ALONE when Dean's clearly going to be a target? Personally I think Dean could have taken the shot, but naturally Sam's assumes he wouldn't have, to make him feel better about himself, and we'll never get to know.

I really prefer it when the brothers work with other people on seperate cases(or perhaps seperate but connected) at this point, that way one doesn't need to be put down to build the other up.

And it was only right that Sam was the one to pull the trigger. Dean couldn't, and it's symmetry for Amy.

How do we know Dean couldn't have pulled the trigger if push came to shove? He wasn't exactly given the chance. She had a knife, he had a gun, it would be quite easy for him to lift the gun up again to shoot her if she came at him.

I don't think Emma should have been given a chance to live because she was sympathetic, she wasn't really sympathetic. I think Dean should have been the chance to kill her once she actually made a move to kill him, and he wasn't. It was never shown that he was going to let Emma go. It's not bashing Sam for doing what Dean did in the past. I'm saying I think the show is trying to force symmetry into situations that are not symettrical.

Edited by Kojuro, Feb 3, 2012 @ 11:15 PM.

[Demian]

She was alive for three days.

And yet, she was able to make a "sweet sixteen" joke.

[MichaelaBelle]

On a non Sam and Dean note, what was the point of having Bobby's house burn if little things like ancient Greek parchment with just the right information was going to survive to save the day? That was Bobby's wasn't it? How convenient it survived.

Edited by MichaelaBelle, Feb 3, 2012 @ 10:39 PM.