Supernatural Rewatch - 2.05 & 2.06
Jul. 29th, 2015 09:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shinysylverDate watched: Wednesday, July 29
Episode: 2.05 Simon Said & 2.06 No Exit
Simon Said returns us to the overarching plot about Sam’s visions and the special children. The episode is about a pair of twins who’ve been tinkered with by Azazel in the same way Sam was. Over the course of the episode they each choose different paths based on their upbringing and base personalities—one evil and one not. The story plays into the larger arc where Sam is afraid that the nature of his birth or the circumstances in his nursery dooms him to be evil.
Usually Sam’s ability to approach situations with more nuance than Dean is an advantage however in this instance Sam’s focus on the shades of grey is a detriment. Dean is able to see Andy’s killing of his brother as the heroic action of a man saving other’s lives while all Sam sees is the killing. He also improperly conflates immediate defense of others with emotional trauma in the past when he discusses people being pushed to kill.
What really fascinates me about the special children storyline is that at it’s core it’s a story about destiny vs free will—a theme which I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say is the heart of the entire show. It’s clear even at this point that while Sam struggles with the idea of destiny, Dean is completely in the free will camp. He is adamant in his belief that a person always has a choice which is a nice prequel to his impassioned fight for free will during the apocalypse.
No Exit focuses in on Jo, letting us learn more about her. She’s given a lot to work with which is great and I enjoyed seeing her step out as a hunter. The attempt to give her romantic tension with Dean still falls flat for me though, if anything this episode solidifies the little sister vibe she has going on.
I also find it interesting that this ep is one of the few, if not only episode to be so overtly based on a real historical person. H. H. Holmes’ ghost is pretty horrifying which makes sense given the real history of the man.
Random Thoughts on Simon Said:
-Dean’s taste in this episode is super questionable. His admiration for Andy’s van with the barbarian lady and the polar bear painted on the side—not to mention the fuck pad in the back—is pretty bad. Hilarious but bad…
-It’s hard to believe that even mind control can get Baby away from Dean.
Episode: 2.05 Simon Said & 2.06 No Exit
Simon Said returns us to the overarching plot about Sam’s visions and the special children. The episode is about a pair of twins who’ve been tinkered with by Azazel in the same way Sam was. Over the course of the episode they each choose different paths based on their upbringing and base personalities—one evil and one not. The story plays into the larger arc where Sam is afraid that the nature of his birth or the circumstances in his nursery dooms him to be evil.
Usually Sam’s ability to approach situations with more nuance than Dean is an advantage however in this instance Sam’s focus on the shades of grey is a detriment. Dean is able to see Andy’s killing of his brother as the heroic action of a man saving other’s lives while all Sam sees is the killing. He also improperly conflates immediate defense of others with emotional trauma in the past when he discusses people being pushed to kill.
What really fascinates me about the special children storyline is that at it’s core it’s a story about destiny vs free will—a theme which I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say is the heart of the entire show. It’s clear even at this point that while Sam struggles with the idea of destiny, Dean is completely in the free will camp. He is adamant in his belief that a person always has a choice which is a nice prequel to his impassioned fight for free will during the apocalypse.
No Exit focuses in on Jo, letting us learn more about her. She’s given a lot to work with which is great and I enjoyed seeing her step out as a hunter. The attempt to give her romantic tension with Dean still falls flat for me though, if anything this episode solidifies the little sister vibe she has going on.
I also find it interesting that this ep is one of the few, if not only episode to be so overtly based on a real historical person. H. H. Holmes’ ghost is pretty horrifying which makes sense given the real history of the man.
Random Thoughts on Simon Said:
-Dean’s taste in this episode is super questionable. His admiration for Andy’s van with the barbarian lady and the polar bear painted on the side—not to mention the fuck pad in the back—is pretty bad. Hilarious but bad…
-It’s hard to believe that even mind control can get Baby away from Dean.
