#so i will be doing stackednatural but at my own pace

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 172: 5x21, 6x20, 9x21, 10x21

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

May 6, 2022

5x21: Two Minutes to Midnight

Written by: Sera Gamble

Directed by: Phil Sgriccia

Original air date: May 6, 2010

Plot Synopsis:

Bobby sells Crowley his soul in exchange for the location of Death, while Pestilence infects the Winchesters with a deadly disease.

Features:

A petri dish of diseases, Cas first experience with being human, Pestilence’s senior care facility, Cas cutting off Pestilence’s finger, Bobby’s soul belonging to Crowley, O Death aka the most kickass character intro possible, the sub-clause in Bobby’s contract, the distribution of Croatoan, an Angel with a Shotgun, Death’s eating habits.

My Thoughts:

This episode is where the pacing goes wrong in season 5, which is a shame because it’s so close to a slam dunk. We should not have had two horseman sharing an episode, especially not with Death as one of them. Death being markedly different from his siblings should merit him having an entire episode, even if the actual screen time he gets doesn’t change. 

Even though watching Pestilence on screen is Bad for me, the return to Croatoan as a plot point could have had more weight and we could have had more time to watch Sam be unambiguously good and strengthen Bobby’s point of view at the end of the episode. There are a couple episodes that could be tossed to split this one into two and give each horseman his due. Personally, my choice would be Swap Meat - it doesn’t have much bearing on the plot and it was my lowest ranked episode of the season. You could also do The Curious Case of Dean Winchester, which while funny has some distressing disability politics, or The Real Ghostbusters, whose only relevant plot point was learning that Bela gave the Colt to Crowley and not Lilith.

War’s episode can stay where it is, and while you could rearrange things a bit more to spread the horsemen out, I think the major issues are solved. 

Death’s intro kicks total ass. He steals every scene he’s in. I love when Reapers were freaky and just stood stock still facing whatever was coming next. The biggest bummer is that after Death’s line about reaping God, God doesn’t even die at the end of the series. 

Notable Lines:

“I'm saying that I am thirsty and my head aches. I have a bug bite that itches no matter how much I scratch it, and I'm saying that I'm just incredibly…” “Human.”

“You are not the burnt and broken shell of a man that I believed you to be.”

“Believe me, I know exactly how screwed up I am. You, Bobby, Cas...I'm the least of any of you.”

“To a thing like me, a thing like you, well...Think how you'd feel if a bacterium sat at your table and started to get snarky. This is one little planet in one tiny solar system in a galaxy that's barely out of its diapers. I'm old, Dean. Very old. So I invite you to contemplate how insignificant I find you.”

“I'm more powerful than you can process, and I'm enslaved to a bratty child with a temper tantrum.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 8.4

IMdB Rating: 9.3

6x20: The Man Who Would Be King

Written by: Ben Edlund

Directed by: Ben Edlund

Original air date: May 6, 2011

Plot Synopsis:

Castiel tells his story in his own words and confesses to some interesting choices.

Features:

Cas’ story, peak Crowley, Cas longingly looking at Dean while invisible, Bobby’s demon counterpart, smiting in the name of secrecy, Cas as God’s Chosen, teaching poetry to fish, Dean raking leaves, Cas’ sex appeal, the saddest ring of holy fire we’ve ever seen. 

My Thoughts:

This is my favourite episode of the entire series. In my head when I set my rating scale, it was Carry on on one end of the spectrum and The Man Who Would Be King on the other. There isn’t a single thing about this episode that I would change. 

Crowley is a master manipulator, succeeding even when Cas knows what he’s doing. The deal he offers is irresistible, and he plants the seeds that start a Heavenly civil war.

Dean shows more faith in this episode than we have ever seen before or since. He’s pulled a gun on his father, he’s locked Sam in a panic room, but even with every instinct and sign saying that Cas is dangerous, he can’t believe it until he’s presented with irrefutable proof and even then, he keeps trying to fix it. 

And Cas… this episode gets even better in retrospect. Not just because now, in canon, this is a tragedy of a gay love story, but also because we know for sure now that God is a writer. In praying to God to tell his story, he doesn’t just force his father into the role of audience member, he unintentionally puts himself in God, the original storyteller’s, place. And the choices he makes in this episode lead to the Godstiel arc. 

Notable Lines:

“I've been here for a very long time. And I remember many things. I remember being at a shoreline, watching a little grey fish heave itself up on the beach and an older brother saying, ‘don't step on that fish, Castiel. Big plans for that fish.’"

“the stench of that Impala's all over your overcoat, Angel.”

“The worst part was Dean, trying so hard to be loyal, with every instinct telling him otherwise.”

“It's simple. Freedom is a length of rope. God wants you to hang yourself with it."

“I believe it's what you would call a...Tragedy from the human perspective.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 10

IMdB Rating: 8.9

9x21: King of the Damned

Written by: Buckleming

Directed by: P. J. Pesce

Original air date: May 6, 2014

Plot Synopsis:

Abaddon makes a deal with Crowley to stop the Winchesters and recover the first blade. Castiel tries to bring Gadreel to his side in the war against Metatron.

Features:

Abaddon in the 1700s, Cas as commander, Gavin MacLeod and Crowley’s smidgeon of humanity, insecure weenie angels, collecting the First Blade, Abaddon’s death, 

My Thoughts:

For an episode about killing a seasons-long villain, I was remarkably bored the whole time. The theory is there - Cas becoming a commander again when the last time he marshaled forces in a civil war went so disastrously, Crowley being confronted with the human part of himself, Dean using the Blade - but it’s executed badly. I had neutral feelings the entire time except when I was being annoyed about how Buckleming write angels, which I will never stop complaining about. 

Angels should not be able to hang out in a bar and convincingly replicate humans hanging out. It gets rid of everything that makes them interesting. The contrast is glaring, having just recently watched The Great Escapist where they so clearly had thought patterns wildly different from ours. 

The Gavin thing is mildly uncomfortable and flirts with abuse apologism. Haha it’s so funny that Crowley beat his kid when he was human. It also makes the “smidgeon of humanity” thing less effective as a theme or plot device. If he didn’t give a shit while he was human the first time why would he give a shit when he’s only barely human now? I would rather see the dynamic where Gavin loved his dad and has to reckon with how different he is now that his soul is corrupted, but that humanity still comes through and saves his life. 

Notable Lines:

There was not a single one that I cared about tbh. 

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 3.9

IMdB Rating: 8.7

10x21: Dark Dynasty

Written by: Buckleming

Directed by: Robert Singer

Original air date: May 6, 2015

Plot Synopsis:

While investigating a strange murder, Sam and Dean discover the killer has the same tattoo as those from the Styne family; Castiel plays referee when Charlie and Rowena must work together; Crowley turns to an old enemy for help with Rowena.

Features:

Bogus eyesight studies, the Stynes harvesting body parts, some Microsoft product placement, Rowena and Charlie butting heads, the Winchesters lying to each other again, Crowley chatting with a hamster, Dean getting accosted while he tries to buy pizza, bioengineering, the indestructibility of the Book of the Damned.

My Thoughts:

I don’t think I need to say “Fuck Buckleming” here, but I will - Fuck them. 

Most of this episode is boring and most of what isn’t is dumb bullshit. The only thing I kind of liked was the scene where Rowena reads Charlie, but even that is more powerful if we’re going to see them together have some kind of dynamic shift, which we don’t. 

The Frankenstein twist is dumb and a human body can’t accommodate multiple hearts. The idea that a family of white douchebags caused the Arab Spring is insulting and racist, and there was no reason to include that in their backstory because it was a throwaway line. 

I understand intellectually the plot point of Charlie dying. Narratively, we need something to tip Dean over the edge to fully give in to the Mark of Cain, and a side character that they already have history with is the best way to do that. The problem is that her reason for dying so insanely stupid. She left the warded, protected room because Rowena was being annoying and she needed quiet? And she chose to do it at the moment when she was already getting what she needed because Cas had moved Rowena out of her space? Nothing you say will make me believe that Charlie didn’t own noise-canceling headphones. 

Her death scene was brave at the very least, I love her making the choice to send the information that can save her friend instead of giving it up to save herself, but it’s soured by the whole lead up to it. There were better ways to force her into a vulnerable position, but they had to choose the one that would make it Sam’s fault the most, rather than having Rowena trick her or something. 

Also, the title of this episode just makes me think of Duck Dynasty, which I know exclusively through annoying ass commercials I saw a lot of in High School.

Notable Lines:

“Let me tell you about you . . . a difficult and lonely childhood. Tragedy, absent parents. Always outside the mainstream. Sexually progressive. Living in your own head for solace and direction.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 2.2

IMdB Rating: 7.3

In Conclusion: ignoring the misery of a 2 Buckleming day, I saved 6x20 for last and I am riding that Bedlund high.

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#Stackednatural #supernatural #spn #5x21 #Two Minutes to Midnight #6x20 #The Man Who Would Be King #9x21 #King of the Damned #10x21 #Dark Dynasty #tmwwbk my fave ep of ALL TIME

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 126: 13x14

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

March 1, 2022

13x14: Good Intentions

Written by: Meredith Gylnn

Directed by: P. J. Pesce

Original air date: March 1, 2018

Plot Synopsis:

Jack and Mary escape Michael's clutches and end up finding an ally in Bobby Singer; Sam, Dean, and Castiel continue to search for a way to open a breach; one of their own may be working against them and costing them precious time.

Features:

Jack’s dreamscape, Mary and Jack meeting, Gog and Magog, apocalypse Bobby, Cas scrambling Donatello’s brains.

My Thoughts:

I know I’ve complained in the past about the writers finding excuses to put nearly meaningless monster of the week plots in the middle of an overarching plot about the apocalypse, but I’m finding the structure and pacing of a lot of later seasons episodes really weak without the framing of their standard episodes. A fair amount happens in this episode, but it’s really piecemeal and the A and B plots could be happening in completely separate episodes without affecting each other at all. In an isolated the sense the scene with Gog and Magog is fun because of how married Dean and Cas act, and there are funny lines, but in the context of the episode it makes no sense stylistically. If the episode had built up to that scene and then had them realize they had been betrayed at the very end with with the hearts not existing, it could have been a really interesting reveal.

I unfortunately find Apocalypse World as a setting extremely boring. It’s a dull colour palette that completely lacks the charm of the earlier seasons and the style of the angels that we know. Why have them using soldiers as vessels? Why can’t we have the same smarmy actor for Zachariah that we know and love? The new Zachariah’s only thing in common with the one that we already know is his name. Why do angels physically fly through the air instead of teleporting and smiting? Why are women all gone except some of them are still there except it’s weird to run into one? Why is Jim Beaver suddenly a bad actor when he’s in apocalypse world? He barely emotes all episode, even when he’s supposed to be flirting or raging mad. Side note, I don’t care for the weird romance between Mary and Bobby. It’s not even really an age issue I just don’t find it compelling at all. The scene where they run into Bobby could have been super tense or it could have been super exciting but instead it was completely neutral.

The saving grace of this episode is Jack. He gets to be smart and realize what’s going on when he’s being manipulated in his dreamscape and he gets to bust himself and Mary out of captivity. I like that he gets to be sunshiney one moment and dissolving angels in the next. I like that he plays with the other kids at the refugee camp.

Donatello is possibly the character I hate the most in all of Supernatural, and I mean that in a meta sense. You know how the other day I was saying that I like that John Winchester exists even though within the narrative I hate him, because he makes all the other characters more interesting by being around them? Donatello is the opposite of that. I hate him in the narrative because he’s extremely annoying and badly acted, and I also have him in a meta sense because he brings nothing to the table and he replaced Kevin, a character that actually forced emotional changes in the others and who was much more interesting within the narrative. The fact that his character sucks so much makes me not give a shit about this moral conundrum that they’re trying to set up here with Cas stripping the spell from him. It’s extremely rich to watch Sam and Dean talk about Cas not having the right to make that choice when the entire show pivots on them making that choice for every creature that they come across, even ones who try desperately to do the right thing. I wish Cas would straight up kill him so we could find a cooler prophet to have hanging around.

Notable Lines:

“I’m sorry, but I’m not going to let you or anyone hurt the people I love. Not again.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 3.9

IMdB Rating: 8.3

In Conclusion: I would have been happy for 42 minutes of Jack doing shadow puppets, but alas.

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#Stackednatural #supernatural #spn #13x14 #Good Intentions

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 116: 12x12

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

February 16, 2022

12x12: Stuck in the Middle (With You)

Written by: Davy Perez

Directed by: Richard Speight Jr.

Original air date: February 16, 2017

Plot Synopsis:

Mary asks Sam, Dean and Castiel for help on a case she's working, but neglects to mention the British Men of Letters are involved. When Mary is double crossed, everything is revealed.

Features:

Wally the demon hunter, Reservoir Dogs homage, Dean calling Cas devastatingly handsome, a yellow-eyed Prince of Hell, Mary working with the British Men of Letters, Michael’s lance, Crowley saving Cas’ life, the return of the colt.

My Thoughts:

This episode is really well written and directed. My main beef with it is that I hate Ketch and I hate him being the framing device, but I can forgive that because he’s barely in the episode. I have not seen basically any of Quentin Tarantino’s body of work including Reservoir Dogs, so I think a lot of the references in this episode went over my head. I do think that making an episode both effective in terms of the larger plot while adhering to the structure and style of an homage is a really tricky balancing act and that Davy Perez and Richard Speight Jr. nailed it. It should be possible to watch this episode and enjoy and understand it without being familiar with Reservoir Dogs, and it is.

Richard Speight Jr. is one of my favourite directors, I think generally he takes a swing when it comes to style. A lot of the other directors could sub in for each other without substantially changing the episode. I really liked the moving shots in the diner especially, it had a great pacing and rhythm to it. Right after the diner when Cas is in the car listening to the evangelist on the radio and his head fills the frame with the white sky behind him, then cutting to a shot where you can tell he’s in the car was really great too.

When Crowley says that the lance kills everything that it touches, the reaction shot is long and lingering on Dean, and doesn’t even show Cas until after it’s flipped back to Crowley first. I love this in two separate capacities, one of which is the Destiel of it all - Dean’s reaction to Cas’ imminent death is more important than Cas’ own - and the other is this meta implication that Dean is also a weapon that kills everything he touches. Whenever Dean is compared to a weapon I completely lose my shit.

I thought the parallel between the archangels and the Princes of Hell was really interesting too, with most of them giving up on their “father”, be it God or Lucifer, and just kind of doing whatever they wanted while one or two fanatics (Azazel and Michael) desperately tried to follow the plan.

There’s not much I can say about the deathbed confession that hasn’t been said a hundred times before, but it really is striking how similar it is to Cas’ actual confession three years later. It’s been a while since I saw this episode, but the cutting back and forth between Dean and Cas for most of Cas’ speech before finally going to Sam really does make Dean the focus of the “I love you”s.

I love Crowley absolutely fucking his own shit up, confronting Ramiel, and then destroying a weapon he could use to conquer basically anything because Dean was mean to him and he doesn’t want Dean to be sad. He’s so far gone on him at this point.

Notable Lines:

“My shy but devastatingly handsome friend here was just wondering, when do you get off?”

“Azazel was a fanatic, a true believer in Lucifer’s master plan. But the rest of us? Well, the truth is, we stopped caring a long time ago.”

“Allies. Is that what you call three humans with one good liver between them and a busted up angel?”

“But every Armageddon, every bloody, ‘this is the end of all things,’ a Winchester stopped it. Like it or not, they’re an asset we can’t afford to lose.”

“Thank you. Knowing you, it... it’s been the best part of my life. And the things that... the things we’ve shared together, they have changed me. You’re my family. I love you. I love all of you.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 9.8

IMdB Rating: 9.0

In Conclusion: Perez/Speight dream team!

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#Stackednatural #supernatural #spn #12x12 #Stuck in the Middle (With You) #giving this the same score as american nightmare because they’re both marred only by ketch’s existence

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 131: 12x15

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

March 9, 2022

12x15: Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell

Written by: Davy Perez

Directed by: Nina Lopez-Corrado

Original air date: March 9, 2017

Plot Synopsis:

Sam and Dean investigate an attack by an invisible hellhound at a campsite. Meanwhile, two of Crowley's own personal demons uncover what he has been hiding. Elsewhere, Castiel gets a lead on Kelly Kline.

Features:

A hellhound attack, Kelvin the Angel, Lucifer’s pet dog, Lucifer’s brief escape and Crowley’s punishment, Sam coming clean about working with the BMoL.

My Thoughts:

I was thinking about how fine this episode is and then they brought back in the bad hellhound CGI and it dropped a few notches. It’s all the more frustrating that I was so glad to see the practical effects with the blood and claw marks in the beginning of the episode.

This is one of the bigger offenders for episodes turning demons into boring ass bureaucrats instead of human souls so deeply tortured that they become twisted monsters bent on chaos and destruction. Back in the early seasons, Hell was horrible even for demons, that’s why they would try so hard to escape to Earth. I think if they were going to change it into this weird corporate thing, they could have leaned way harder into it. Use it to elevate the mundane horrors of capitalism into something monstrous. Change the aesthetic from “sex basement” back to the endless yellow hallways and lineups of The Man Who Would Be King.

Lucifer was also deeply pathetic this episode, and not in a narratively effective way. I think you can have him be all chained up and still retain a sense of danger and gravitas if you lowered the light, had him sitting upright but with his head dropped down, and then just looked up enough that you could see his eyes glow. He could have sat perfectly still during the random demon’s demands, nodded once, and then exploded them the instant he was unlocked. That makes Crowley’s triumph over him with the (actually really smart and interesting) vessel trick way more exciting.

I did enjoy Crowley flirting with Dean via insult and cheap sex joke like they’re in Jr. High. That’s pathetic in a way I can get behind.

I wish Cas had gotten to do a bit more in this episode, the pacing was weird with his plot being so divorced from the rest of the episode. I did catch a sign for El Sol in the bar with him and Kelvin, so obviously there’s some angelic deception going on that will play out later. I either haven’t seen or don’t remember a lot of this plot point.

There was something lovely about Sam and Dean both getting out of the car while being on the phone - Sam says, “I love you” to Mary right as Dean is saying bye to Cas. I don’t know why exactly but that was very sweet to me. I liked that Dean can notice something about Cas is off just from one phone call (which is why the whole Asmodeus plot sucked).

Notable Lines:

“Look, you’ve got more field experience than the next thousand angels combined.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 6.0

IMdB Rating: 8.2

In Conclusion: We’re all in agreement that the “fancy shampoo” Dean refers to is just drugstore instead of dollar store, right?

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#Stackednatural #supernatural #spn #12x15 #Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell #the secret good spn that lives in my head

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 117: 7x15, 10x14, 11x14

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

February 17, 2022

7x15: Repo Man

Written by: Ben Edlund

Directed by: Thomas J. Wright

Original air date: February 17, 2012

Plot Synopsis:

Four years ago, Sam and Dean exorcised a demon serial killer. Now he's back for revenge.

Features:

Dean torturing demons again, Hallucifer, an old enemy, Dean getting kidnapped, a human serial killer, a demonic talent scout.

My Thoughts:

I liked this episode! It’s strong for the usually somewhat floundering, cas-less part of season 7. Generally it was well paced and structured, and I thought that the opening scene particularly was really well directed.

This narrative is what they were going for (and missed) with Nick and Lucifer in season 14. In my opinion the issue there is that Buckleming are the ones driving that plot forward, being as obsessed with Pellegrino as they are, rather than Bedlund, who wrote this one.

I dislike Nick and Lucifer so much in those late seasons that I was surprised to remember how much I like Hallucifer in season 7. I think Sam’s vision of the people in the library slamming their heads into the desk was really effective, and I like that Bedlund at least remembers that Lucifer is Sam’s subconscious at this point and so he can show us aspects of Sam’s thought process that are usually pretty difficult to depict in a televised medium without voiceover. Even the quirkiness of Hallucifer vs his behaviour in season 5 doesn’t really bother me, because again, it’s Sam’s memories mixing with his own brain. Late season Lucifer is based way too strongly on Hallucifer instead of the actual canon villain of season 5.

I think it’s cool that this episode came so close to 1x15 The Benders, the original “Dude, they’re just people” episode.

Notable Lines:

“Did you ever think that maybe I loved being possessed? Did you? I loved the connection, the power. And I loved him. Love of my life, actually.”

“God... you were so desperate to fix the world back then.”

“You going to sleep?” “Damn straight. Screw consciousness – that's what I say.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 8.4

IMdB Rating: 8.3

10x14: The Executioner's Song

Written by: Robert Berens

Directed by: Phil Sgriccia

Original air date: February 17, 2015

Plot Synopsis:

Sam, Dean, and Castiel must deal with Cain's return. Rowena and Crowley grow closer.

Features:

Cain breaking into a death row, Cas torturing a demon, Crowley’s mommy issues, mass graves, Dean and Cain fighting for the First Blade, remission and relapse.

My Thoughts:

I wasn’t totally sold on the pacing of this episode, something felt a bit off to me, but damn if every single line of Cain’s dialogue isn’t raw as fuck. And also he’s a dilf.

Once again I find this version of Hell very boring. I think that Hell is malleable and it looks different at different times, but you could do way more interesting things with it than a basement that still appears to have daylight coming in. Remember the endless yellow hallways and lines and sickly lighting of the Hell from The Man Who Would Be King? That kind of creativity is what I want to see. Or at least some redder lighting.

I do find Crowley and Rowena’s relationship very interesting. I like that even when he’s trying to be aloof he still desperately wants her to be proud of him. I like that despite that he still chooses Dean over her and then loses both of them. He’s become very human in these later seasons. It’s cool that despite this episode nominally being about Dean struggling with Cain and the Mark, it’s almost a Crowley POV episode.

Everything about Dean vs Cain rules. I had forgotten how explicitly Cain names Cas as Dean’s lover. He delivers that line about killing Cas hurting Dean “something awful” right after saying that Dean is living his life in reverse, when Colette had that spot in his own story. Somehow a scene without Cas at all is some of the most blatant queerbaiting the show has had.

I really liked the moment at the end of the episode where Dean pats Cas on the shoulder. Usually that’s played so casually but in this moment it was very serious and lovely.

Notable Lines:

“I've gone by many names in this life. The father of murder is one of them.”

“You know last week, when I said that I would go down swinging when the time came? I meant that I was at peace with that. I just didn't realize the time would come so soon, you know, like right now. I'm scared, Sam.”

“Look to my example, boy! There is no resisting the Mark or the Blade. There is only remission and relapse!”

“Your biggest weakness, the thing I noticed the moment I met you, your courage, your reckless bravado.”

"Have you never mused upon the fact that you're living my life in reverse? My story began when I killed my brother, and that's where your story inevitably will end. [...] First ... first, you'd kill Crowley. There'd be some strange, mixed feelings on that one, but you'd have your reason. You'd get it done, no remorse. And then you'd kill the angel, Castiel. Now, that one... that I suspect would hurt something awful. And then! Then would come the murder you'd never survive, the one that would finally turn you into as much of a savage as it did me.”

“Tell me I don't have to do this. Tell me that you'll stop. Tell me that you can stop!”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 9.0

IMdB Rating: 8.8

11x14: The Vessel

Written by: Robert Berens

Directed by: John Badham

Original air date: February 17, 2016

Plot Synopsis:

Sam and Dean convince Lucifer (unknowingly, thinking he's Castiel) to send them back in time to find a hand of God which could destroy Amara.

Features:

A French female spy murdering a Nazi, Crowley chained up like a dog, historical Men of letters, the Ark of the Covenant, an Allied submarine, Cas and Lucifer fight for control of the vessel.

My Thoughts:

Holy SHIT, y’all.

I’ve never seen this episode before, I had no idea what the plot was. I guessed that the Casifer secret might come out because of the title, but that was it.

That was a fantastic episode of television. You were all right, Casifer is incredible, Misha does such a great job playing him. I cared about the side characters, the stakes felt real and urgent and important, the design was great.

Really the only things I didn’t like were the CGI on the sub in the water (just cut the establishing shots if you can’t afford the effects, folks) and the look of hell and behaviour of the demons, which I don’t really need to elaborate on because I complain about those same things all the time in Stacked reviews.

For once, the Nazis in Supernatural didn’t feel like a gimmick. Robert Berens has the honour of successfully writing Nazis into the story. I loved Delphine. I was hoping right from the beginning of the cold open that she would be a spy, mainly because I’ve read a lot of novels about female spies in WWII (read The Alice Network if you’re interested). I love how delighted Dean is about there being a Woman of Letters. I love how smart, powerful, and dedicated to her cause she was. I love that she ripped through that ship and burned the Nazis inside and held the power of God in her hands. And the setting was great! Almost a bottle episode, the lighting and the tension were so well played. The way that Dean knows by now that he can’t change the past but he still believes that he can find a way to save them.

The Casifer reveal is played perfectly. The pacing throughout the episode is so clean. I love the little hints that Sam misses, assuming that Cas is being meaner than usual to him because he’s worried about Dean. I love that he takes the iconic trench coat off before he reveals his true nature. I love the moment that he realizes he can drop the act and the few seconds that it takes Sam to catch up.

Dean has so much faith in Cas at the end that it’s heartbreaking. I’m deceased. And the way that Cas refused to eject Lucifer because he needed to save Dean.

Notable Lines:

“It's not like your war, it's big. Biblical, end-is-nigh big.”

“Kill me [...] It's spell-bound to my blood, my heart. Its' power lives and dies with me.”

“Dean's the one with the link to Amara, why have I been trying to spare you? I mean maybe it's because you're like the girl who kept turning me down at the prom.”

“I wanted to be of service to the fight.”

“I was just a witness.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 9.9

IMdB Rating: 8.8

In Conclusion: Casifer makes me like late-season Lucifer in a way I thought was impossible.

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#Stackednatural #supernatural #spn #7x15 #Repo Man #10x14 #The Executioner's Song #11x14 #The Vessel #when Cas and Cain were arguing in 10x14 my roommate said ‘such a shame to witness dilf on dilf violence’ #I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW GOOD THE VESSEL IS

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 73: 8x09, 15x07

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

December 5, 2021

8x09: Citizen Fang

Written by: Daniel Loflin

Directed by: Nick Copus

Original air date: December 5, 2012

Plot Synopsis:

Benny seems to be attacking innocent people and only Dean believes he's innocent.

Features:

Bad news for Benny, Dean believes Benny but no one else does, Sam runs to Amelia’s side, Dean is a sneaky bitch.

My Thoughts:

The Benny half of this episode is pretty good, there’s a ton of great tension and history between Benny and Dean and the imminent threat of Martin keeps it exciting. Unfortunately the Amelia plot keeps interrupting to ruin the pacing.

It’s funny how I like Benny so much more on this rewatch. I think I was a bit feral in my Destiel shipping when I watched this live and so I didn’t like Benny because he and Cas didn’t get along, but now I count any evidence of Dean being bisexual as a win and so Benny rules.

I had a bit of a brainwave thinking about how I really don’t like Sam this season, and I didn’t watching live either - it’s possible that watching this season live is what plaed me firmly in the Deangirl camp. Because at least in the corner of the fandom where I was active when watching this live, we weren’t really picking brothers as active favourites the way we do now. But Sam’s plot is so boring and his ethical system has completely reversed from just last season, where he so firmly believed that some “monsters” can live without killing, that I just dislike him as a person and as a character. If I was Dean I would pick Benny over him too.

Martin deserved what happened to him when he threatened a random civilian out of spite.

I am, as always, mad that Amelia wasn’t some kind of creature. Why the sign for El Sol beer in the background of the last shot? What is the false reality or deception happening with Sam and Amelia here?

Notable Lines:

“I know it’s hard to believe but I haven’t always been this cute and cuddly.”

“The one thing I can say about Benny is he has never let me down.”

“Guys like us, we don’t get a home. You know, we don’t get a family.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 6.8

IMdB Rating: 8.2

15x07: Last Call

Written by: Jeremy Adams

Directed by: Amyn Kaderali

Original air date: December 5, 2019

Plot Synopsis:

Dean goes off on his own to take on a case. Meanwhile, Castiel has an idea of how he can help Sam track down God.

Features:

Lee Webb AKA Leverage Man (I have not seen Leverage), karaoke in front of a bi pride flag, Dean kills his old sweetheart, Cas and Eileen try to learn about Sam’s link with God, fucking Sergei is back again, God is weak and Sam thinks they can beat him.

My Thoughts:

There’s a LOT of evidence for bi/queer Dean Winchester over the 15 seasons of Supernatural but this episode might make the strongest case out of all of them. Literally the moment he sees Lee, and almost every other scene with both of them in it after, Dean’s face is lit up with neon pink and purple lights. They hunted together when Sam was at Stanford and Dean was all alone otherwise. It’s strongly implied that they had either a threesome or an orgy together? I prefer threesome personally because it yucks me out to think that all the triplets were there at the same time, but either way…. That shit’s gay. Dean is telling him embarrassing stories completely unprompted! And he’s got his little eye crinkles on full display! Even when Lee is dying it’s like, extremely romantic. Just whispering at each other and Lee is holding Dean’s chest the entire time.

Unfortunately Sergei is also present in this episode, so that takes the score down for a bit because my blood pressure goes up every time I’m forced to think about him. Someone explain to me why Cas would call Sergei when last time he did it literally killed his son. Sergei has never once improved a situation, he’s only made it worse.

I love Cas and Eileen together, they make a great team when threatening Sergei and that does work for me. They should have killed him at the end of the episode, though. I want to see a bunch of scenes of Cas and Eileen just bitching about Dean and Sam, they’ve earned it.

My favourite thing about this episode is actually how well it plays into Chuck as the Author and the metanarrative. This post by @deanmarywinchester explains it really well. Even if you don’t see Dean as queer or Lee as someone he has a romantic history with (which, why on Earth wouldn’t you?), Lee is the narrative saying, “here is what you want and here is the monster that you would have to become to have it”. For a fun extra, it counts as a reinforcement of heteronormativity. This guy is queer and also he’s evil, so all the flirting and singing and dancing you were just doing with him was queer and that makes you evil, too. Depressing and repressing! And then we round off the episode with some delicious tension between Dean and Cas in the bunker. Love the divorce arc.

Notable Lines:

“I thought you were-” “Dead? I got better.”

“They were triplets, uh, and we split them up fair and square.”

“It’s been a rough decade, Lee.”

“If evil like that exists in the world, then guys like you and me, we ain't ever gonna win. The best we can do is just have a little fun.”

“After everything we've done, aren't... aren't we owed a little happiness, huh? Don't we deserve that much?”

“I am you. I'm just you that woke up and saw that the world was broken.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 8.8

IMdB Rating: 8.4

In Conclusion: As was noted in the Stacked discord - today is about Dean catching up with his ex-boyfriends and it Doesn’t Go Well.

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#Stackednatural #supernatural #spn #8x09 #Citizen Fang #15x07 #Last Call

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 9: 1x03

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

September 27, 2021

1x03: Dead in the Water

Written by: Sera Gamble & Raelle Tucker

Directed by: Kim Manners

Original air date: September 27, 2005

Plot Synopsis:

Something, in the lake of a small town, is killing innocent people.

Features:

An episode for the Deangirls, Dean's childhood trauma-induced mutism, bullies grow up to be cops, Lucas' trauma-induced psychic abilities.

My Thoughts:

If I wanted to show someone a perfect example of the early season’s monster of the week episodes, this is the one I would show them. The monster and mystery are creepy and well-executed, the pacing feels urgent, the locals are reasonably realized characters, and there’s a thematic and emotional connection to the boys (okay, to Dean). I would also use this episode to convert them to Deangirls* (*gender non-conforming), but that’s neither here nor there.

There’s a lot of good stuff going on in this episode, but I’m going to focus on the things that I haven’t seen said a million times because I only have like 5 minutes left in my lunch break.

Dean used to love the little green army men. Beautiful connection to the Swan Song. When he sits next to Lucas at the park while he’s drawing, it really struck me how young Dean looks. I know he’s only 26 (my age!) but it really shows when he’s sitting next to a kid who misses his dad while he wears his own dad’s too-big coat.

When Bill said “My children are gone. It’s worse than dying,” all I could think about was All Hell Breaks Loose and Dean’s deal for Sam. Surely someone has made/is making that parallels gifset post by now, right?

Sam is still so focused on finding their dad so that he can find Jess’ killer, and it really drives home how much Sam doesn’t understand Dean at all. He thinks he doesn’t like kids, he didn’t know about Dean’s period of trauma-induced mutism, and he didn’t get why Dean wasn’t ready to leave town when they got threatened by the sheriff. As it’s been said before; you never really know your parents.

That final moment where she kisses Dean before they leave and he is once again shocked by any tenderness. Someone help him.

Notable/Kickass Lines:

“I'm the one that's been with him every single day for the past two years, while you've been off to college going to pep rallies. We will find Dad, but until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there. Okay?”

“Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over.”

“I don't know exactly what happened to your dad, but I know it was something real bad. I think I know how you feel. When I was your age, I saw something.”

‘You're scared. It's okay. I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared, too. I didn't feel like talking, just like you. But see, my mom—I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave.”

L”aura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 9.5

IMdB rating: 8.0

In Conclusion: My best friend @weedsinavacantlot went to university with the actor that plays Lucas and apparently he grew up to be a really bad writer. THESE are the tidbits that y'all should be coming to me for.

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#Stackednatural #supernatural #spn #1x03 #Dead in the Water #i don't think i actually have any more tidbits. sorry

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 147: 5x16, 10x17

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

April 1, 2022

5x16: Dark Side of the Moon

Written by: Andrew Dabb & Daniel Loflin

Directed by: Jeff Woolnough

Original air date: April 1, 2010

Plot Synopsis:

Dean and Sam are killed by the hunters Walt and Roy. They awake in heaven and Castiel contacts Dean and asks him to seek out the angel Joshua. Meanwhile Zachariah is chasing them in Heaven to force Dean to be Michael's vessel.

Features:

Another death scene, Heavenly lens flare, Heaven as a road, Joshua who talks to God, Flagstaff, the triumphant return of Ash and The Roadhouse, Ash’s practical application for String Theory, the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, God as a deadbeat dad.

My Thoughts:

Classic season 5 episode. The writing is great, the directing is great, the acting is great. The vibes are off the charts.

I believe this is our first proper look at Heaven as a setting, and the origin of the lens flares (notably not present in the finale’s version of heaven). I love seeing the fringes of Zachariah’s true form through the earthquakes and the searchlights. At this point in time, the show hadn’t forgotten that angels are eldritch beings that are fundamentally unknowable to humans. That rules.

This episode has no John Winchester and yet is one of the strongest cases against him as a character since Dream a Little Dream of Me. Despite how furious Dean is that all of Sam’s memories are times he was away from the family, all of Dean’s heaven memories are also conspicuously void of his father. In the Fourth of July scene Sam specifically says that it’s something Dad wouldn't have ever let them do, and in his four-year old scene it’s when he’s out of the house after an argument with Mary. Absolutely devastating that the only two happy memories we see of Dean are still the ones where he’s caring for other people. Fundamentally, that’s the way he sees himself, even as a four year old.

All of the criticism of John in this episode did give me some righteous fury about the existence of 14x13 Lebanon. Even before all the trauma of Mary’s death, John Winchester wasn’t some perfect man and father, he was leaving his wife alone with their four year old and no other support system, considering her parents were dead.

I love them bringing Ash back, and I think this was the perfect way to do it. I love the reveal that they’ve been to Heaven a bunch of times and Heaven keeps wiping them. We shouldn’t have been surprised about all of Cas’ lobotomies in season 8.

Notable Lines:

“When i come back, I’m going to be pissed.”

“I’m dead.” “Condolences.”

“Dad always said they had the perfect marriage.” “It wasn’t perfect until after she died.”

“I just never realized how long you’ve been cleaning up Dad’s messes.”

“You ran away on my watch. I looked everywhere for you. I thought you were dead. And when Dad came home…”

“I was on my own. I finally got away from Dad.” “Yeah, he wasn’t the only one you got away from.”

“Everybody leaves you, Dean. You noticed? Mommy. Daddy. Even Sam.”

“Lucifer may be strong, but I’m petty.”

“Just another dead-beat dad with a bunch of excuses, right. I’m used to that. I’ll muddle through.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 9.7

IMdB Rating: 8.8

10x17: Inside Man

Written by: Andrew Dabb

Directed by: Rashaad Ernesto Green

Original air date: April 1, 2015

Plot Synopsis:

Castiel comes back and he and Sam check out a lead on the Mark of Cain. They decide to go to Bobby for help. Meanwhile Dean and Rowena meet up.

Features:

Bobby’s Heaven, Dean’s nightmares, a crotchety old mind reader, Rowena’s attack dogs, a little Drowley drink date, Cas visiting Metatron, differing views of leverage, Crowley throwing Rowena out.

My Thoughts:

This episode is weird because even though I was more or less into everything that happened, the pacing was so weird that it doesn’t feel like an episode. A bunch of stuff happened in succession and then it was done. The framing of starting in media res with speaking to Bobby and then going back was abandoned so early that ending it with Bobby back in his Heaven felt weak.

I actually really like the visual of the white honeycomb back halls of Heaven, but the angels feel so much weaker in this episode compared to Dark Side of the Moon. Even when Zachariah was appearing in his vessel it was clear that that was to make him comprehensible to Sam and Dean, whereas Hannah and the other angels in this one were stymied by a mildly clogged hallway and a few wayward souls. I think so much could have been done with a heist inside Heaven and the spent too much time focusing on Crowley and Rowena’s relationship instead.

The “Sam and Cas are chaotic besties” theory proved true once again. Love them sneaking Cas into Heaven so they can kidnap and torture the Scribe.

Notable Lines:

“The Mark? It’s just a curse. The First Curse. But still, it can be removed.”

“Because we’re family. Blood.” “That’s not the same thing.”

“You will answer our questions, or Sam will, um . . . What's the phrase? Blow your fricking brains out.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 7.8

IMdB Rating: 8.6

In Conclusion: NICE Stack with Bobby’s Heaven immediately following Dark Side of the Moon.

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#Stackednatural #supernatural #spn #5x16 #Dark Side of the Moon #10x17 #Inside Man

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 143: 4x17

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

March 26, 2022

4x17: It's a Terrible Life

Written by: Sera Gamble

Directed by: James L. Conway

Original air date: March 26, 2009

Plot Synopsis:

At Sandover Bridge & Iron Inc., Dean is Dean Smith, the buttoned-down director of Sales & Marketing. Sam is Sam Wesson, a cubicle-dwelling tech support guy. What the heck is going on? Or is it what the Hell?

Features:

Dean Smith the Director of Sales and Marketing, Sam Wesson the Tech Support Associate, a wildly unhealthy attachment to work, wildly unhealthy juice cleanses, microwaving one’s own head, a Ghostfacers cameo, decapitation via elevator door, Zachariah’s introduction.

My Thoughts:

Classic episode, and a great pacing choice to follow On The Head of a Pin. I like an initially light-hearted wacky episode following really dark ones, especially when they turn out to be extremely relevant to the overarching plot and moving their emotional journeys forward.

Getting the obvious out of the way, we all agree the Dean Smith is gay, right? He has multiple styles of cute little suspenders, he drinks rice milk and watches Project Runway. When he grew up with Ellen and Bobby instead of John Winchester, he doesn’t even like the same music. He doesn’t perform masculinity the same way he does in the main timeline.

It makes sense that the emotional arc is stronger for Dean (Sam has one foot out the door already at the start of the episode), because Heaven is so much more interested in Dean than in Sam. I do think it’s a wild choice to make Madison, rather than Jess the fiancée that Sam left, considering that Madison was someone he knew for like 3 days and slept with once rather than the woman he was considering marrying who he had visions of losing before it actually happened, although I do appreciate how convenient it is for Stacked that we just watched Heart recently. I guess Sera Gamble just wanted to callback her own episode.

I love Zachariah as an antagonist and I had forgotten this was his entry into the story. It makes sense that higher ups in Heaven are getting involved if Cas has started displaying emotions towards Dean.

Notable Lines:

“So you're telling me that your dreams are special visions and you're some kind of psychic?”

“There's just something in my blood. Like I was destined for something different.”

“What if we think this is our life, but it's not?”

“Most folks live and die without moving anything more than the dirt it takes to bury them.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 8.8

IMdB Rating: 8.7

In Conclusion: Knock on wood, but I think the covid is starting to go away.

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#Stackednatural #supernatural #spn #4x17 #It's a Terrible Life

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 135: 7x16, 15x12

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

March 16, 2022

7x16: Out with the Old

Written by: Robert Singer & Jenny Klein

Directed by: John F. Showalter

Original air date: March 16, 2012

Plot Synopsis:

Sam and Dean stumble onto one part of the Leviathan's ultimate plot while tracking down some cursed objects in a small town.

Features:

A snotty ballerina literally dancing herself to death, Dean getting kicked in the face by a little girl, cursed objects galore, Sam’s sleep deprivation, Leviathans as corporate scum, Leviathan disease research centers, the death (?) of Frank Devereaux.

My Thoughts:

This episode is fine. Good even, if you consider that it was written by my nemesis Robert Singer. The pacing is super weird, with it being split so cleanly between the cursed object half and the leviathan half. A lot of the writers on this show struggle with integrating movement in the episode plot and movement in the overarching plot so that actually happens a lot.

I think they were really trying to make fun of Dean for being into the ballet slippers, when what actually happened was Jensen played it earnestly, so it just made me picture little young Dean watching Billy Elliot on a motel TV while his dad was on a hunt or something. Your clumsy homophobia has only resulted in a gentle queercoding of an already queercoded character.

The major failing of the leviathans as a season big bad (besides the cgi) is the way they become boringly, mundanely evil. The real estate lady is a cartoonishly mean boss and they talk about being West Coast representatives. How does that translate into vicious, primordial beings older than (as the spn wiki says), “angels, humans, and the soul itself”? In the version of season 7 that I am constantly writing in my head, leviathans are a hive mind, which makes the shapeshifting and inability to die more interesting to me. But I digress. They’re just not scary or interesting villains in this episode, or a lot of the season at large.

Last nit-picky things - no way a woman like the ballerina who dies in the opening scene would be carrying her ballet slippers around in a plastic target bag. She’s already carrying a nicer leather bag in her other hand, why wouldn’t you just put the slippers in there? And it’s weird that Scott has the addresses of the people he sold cursed stuff to. Giving up personal information is not a requirement to buy something secondhand.

I do like Dean talking about guilt not being able to bring people back one episode before Cas returns, who will himself be burdened with intense guilt.

Notable Lines:

“feeling guilty ain't gonna bring 'em back. Best you can do is live your life the way that you think would make her proud.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 4.6

IMdB Rating: 8.2

15x12: Galaxy Brain

Written by: Meredith Glynn & Robert Berens

Directed by: Richard Speight Jr.

Original air date: March 16, 2020

Plot Synopsis:

Sam and Dean respond to a frantic call and assist in an extraordinary and heartbreaking rescue; Billie surprises everyone with a visit to the bunker.

Features:

God in a Radio Shed, Destiel toast from every AMV, Jody getting kidnapped, Cas and Jack playing Connect Four, Jack the Special Boy, baby’s first intimidation, God’s Death Book.

My Thoughts:

The thing about Kaia is that I’m super happy that they brought her back, because it was a total waste to kill her the way they did, but also it makes no sense and they make very little effort at explaining it. How did she survive that wound? Sure, Dark Kaia helped her, but even so it’s not like they have antibiotics or sterile operating procedures in that world. And then she lived there for like 2 years, presumably having to hunt and kill her own food? Also, and I’m sure I’ve asked this question before, why was this random spear from this random world able to hurt Michael? Why does Dark Kaia have makeup on all the time, even when she had just come from the Bad Place? Is she stealing eyeshadow and mascara from drugstores? What’s her actual name? What does she use when she thinks of herself?

I understand the drama of Dark Kaia dying with her world but honestly it would not have been difficult to fake some documents and say they were twins separated at birth. Give her an ounce of help and she would have been able to adjust to their world.

I LOVE Jack and Cas playing Connect Four. That’s a DAD with his KID. I also like how Cas has clearly dragged a stool around to sit right next to Dean in the kitchen rather than across from him, and the little drink they have together in the library while smiling at each other with their sweet little eye wrinkles.

I think the portals into alternate universes is one of the few times that a special effect introduced in the later seasons is actually well done. The look is really cool.

The Radio Shed employee is one of my favourite bit characters from the series. The delivery of the line, “Sir, this is a Radio Shed” is iconic. And I love the scene where Chuck touches his face and he’s kneeling looking up at him. It’s neat.

Notable Lines:

“It’s monologue time.”

“Feels like we’re taking a big, probably stupid risk. Feels good. Disobeying cosmic entities, doing the, uh… dumb, right thing? Feels like we’re back.”

“They’re all dying. All the worlds… each and every world… but this one.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 7.3

IMdB Rating: 7.6

In Conclusion: Absolutely buckwild that we never got to see the Claire and Kaia reunion.

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#Stackednatural #supernatural #spn #7x16 #Out with the Old #Galaxy Brain #15x12