It seems like most people were a bit meh on the episode. I loved it. And part of the reason is that it was incredibly beautiful. I mean, gorgeously shot. I don't know where they found the sun, but they used it to great effect, and the transitions between scenes were great. I've been looking this season for noir touches, since they had mentioned there would be a noir feel to it, and I really felt it with this episode.
Thematically, the latter seasons of SPN have been pretty noir anyway, but this season the regular directors are playing a bit with it I think. I'm not expert on it, or even particularly well-informed, but I have noticed some of the venetian blind stuff happening. And this episode brought in some forced visual angles and some hard sunlight/strong demarcation of shadow to the mix. It was awesome.
Not to mention Padalecki's performance, which was great, and seeing Ackles respond to it as Dean, also new and great. The characters and actors are all up in the air with the new dynamic and really making it work. It's fascinating to watch.
I think the reason for the title is because the Christian church historically has taught that dogs don't go to heaven because animals don't have souls. (I don't know if that teaching has changed or if they just sugarcoat it for kids and the pet-loving populace.) And that, along with all the skinwalkers of course, is relevant to the soulless Sammy storyline, and relevant to noir themes too, in ways I'm not skilled enough (or knowledgeable enough yet) to articulate. Poor Dean, Sam was his world and his world is now soulless. Part of him has to be wishing Sam hadn't come back at all.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
My predictions on SPN S6, unspoiled
This will be somewhat incoherent because I doubt I'll edit it. Spoilers up to episode 7.
Crowley: I think he has some angelic assistance. I don't believe he could, even as king of Hell, pull Samuel's soul from Heaven. I question whether he can get into Lucifer's cage. My thought is he knew the plan to box up Lucifer, he told Bobby he saw Sam's swan (hee) dive into the cage, and he had a plan ready for the occasion. He was able to pull Sam out at the last minute and still have Lucifer (and Michael?) fall in. But I hope he pulled all of Sam out and just stashed the soul part somewhere because I'm not sure I believe he could get into the cage once it was locked, so if Sam's soul is in there, I'm not sure Crowley can retrieve it for him.
Mothers: I think it's all about the girls this time and all the alpha male, our father, etc., par for the SPN course stuff is, this year, a red herring. The alpha vamp said: We all have our mothers. The only reason I can think for Samuel to make a deal with Crowley would be for his wife or daughter, and Deanna has never been a big part of the show. I think Mary is supposedly in Purgatory. Crowley is clever. He could threaten Samuel's descendants with something, he could find some other leverage (hee), but how much better to make Samuel want to find what Crowley wants him to find. If he's convinced his daughter is stuck in Purgatory with the freak souls, he would agree to find Purgatory for Crowley.
Why Mary would be there, if she is, is a mystery to me. Obviously Crowley couldn't put her there if he doesn't know how to get to it, so somebody else did. Maybe Zachariah when he was messing with the boys, but why he wouldn't mention it. And do the angels know where it is? Doubtful.
However...My earlier crackpot theory had to do with Kali, who was pissed about the Western Judeo-Christian apocalypse and getting beat down by Lucifer, coming back in the confusion that happened when the apocalypse fizzled out to gain some power on the continent and bring the pagans back into ascendancy. She could be bringing in the monsters from Greece and Japan that aren't usually in the states. She could have a plan or just be stirring up trouble.
But also, with the whole Mother idea, the feminine powers coming back into play after the male Christian/Jewish/Muslim god and his male archangels and mostly male (vessel-wise anyway) angels, Kali might fit in. What if the mother of the alphas is Gaia? The new showrunner is a woman, so meta-wise it would even fit if the mother goddess came back into play this year.
Anyway, like I said, incoherent, but I think it would be awesome for the pagans, for the feminine, to have a shot at ruling the SPN verse this year. You do not want to piss off the mother goddess!
ETA: Also, if in this 'verse Purgatory is for the so-called freak souls, could it also be for the pagan souls? That might keep Kali or Gaia in the game as far as that arc of Crowley trying to take it over.
Crowley: I think he has some angelic assistance. I don't believe he could, even as king of Hell, pull Samuel's soul from Heaven. I question whether he can get into Lucifer's cage. My thought is he knew the plan to box up Lucifer, he told Bobby he saw Sam's swan (hee) dive into the cage, and he had a plan ready for the occasion. He was able to pull Sam out at the last minute and still have Lucifer (and Michael?) fall in. But I hope he pulled all of Sam out and just stashed the soul part somewhere because I'm not sure I believe he could get into the cage once it was locked, so if Sam's soul is in there, I'm not sure Crowley can retrieve it for him.
Mothers: I think it's all about the girls this time and all the alpha male, our father, etc., par for the SPN course stuff is, this year, a red herring. The alpha vamp said: We all have our mothers. The only reason I can think for Samuel to make a deal with Crowley would be for his wife or daughter, and Deanna has never been a big part of the show. I think Mary is supposedly in Purgatory. Crowley is clever. He could threaten Samuel's descendants with something, he could find some other leverage (hee), but how much better to make Samuel want to find what Crowley wants him to find. If he's convinced his daughter is stuck in Purgatory with the freak souls, he would agree to find Purgatory for Crowley.
Why Mary would be there, if she is, is a mystery to me. Obviously Crowley couldn't put her there if he doesn't know how to get to it, so somebody else did. Maybe Zachariah when he was messing with the boys, but why he wouldn't mention it. And do the angels know where it is? Doubtful.
However...My earlier crackpot theory had to do with Kali, who was pissed about the Western Judeo-Christian apocalypse and getting beat down by Lucifer, coming back in the confusion that happened when the apocalypse fizzled out to gain some power on the continent and bring the pagans back into ascendancy. She could be bringing in the monsters from Greece and Japan that aren't usually in the states. She could have a plan or just be stirring up trouble.
But also, with the whole Mother idea, the feminine powers coming back into play after the male Christian/Jewish/Muslim god and his male archangels and mostly male (vessel-wise anyway) angels, Kali might fit in. What if the mother of the alphas is Gaia? The new showrunner is a woman, so meta-wise it would even fit if the mother goddess came back into play this year.
Anyway, like I said, incoherent, but I think it would be awesome for the pagans, for the feminine, to have a shot at ruling the SPN verse this year. You do not want to piss off the mother goddess!
ETA: Also, if in this 'verse Purgatory is for the so-called freak souls, could it also be for the pagan souls? That might keep Kali or Gaia in the game as far as that arc of Crowley trying to take it over.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)