Epic SPN Rewatch: Season 5

S5 continued the awesomeness of S4. It's incredibly tight with very little wasted space for monsters-of-the-week that don't advance the main plot, something later seasons really struggle with in a visible way.

A bunch of things I had forgotten: How everyone treats Sam like crap for starting the Apocalypse--this really only recedes in the penultimate episode when Bobby watches him rescue like twelve people without blinking. "We've been sending that boy into burning buildings since he was ten years old" YES YOU HAVE. Also how transparently multiple characters are dealing with depression/suicidal ideation because of being unable to deal. Early on Bobby is confined to a wheelchair, and in a later episode he pulls out a bullet and a revolver and explains that he looks at them first thing every morning and asks himself if "this is gonna be the day" he blows his brains out. Castiel is basically prepared to lie down and die several times ("I went to a liquor store and I drank it." Gee, wonder where he got that coping mechanism from?). Dean is actually about to allow Michael to use him as a vessel in return for Lisa and Ben's safety and Sam identifies it as a "farewell tour." And SOMEHOW I had forgotten that Castiel angrily beats Dean up for being willing to do this, because "I gave up EVERYTHING FOR YOU and THIS his how you repay me?!"

Which actually sets up S6 very nicely, with Cas's determination to keep Dean safe.... Even if it goes particularly poorly.

I also noticed that early Lucifer is way less manic than current Lucifer. Also that Padalecki plays him very differently than Pellegrino--and that when Collins played Cas-possessed-by-Lucifer in S11 he was basically using Pellegrino's mannerisms and, uh, vocal tones? Whatever you call that, I went back and checked and he sounded a LOT like Pellegrino in a really eerie and interesting way. I don't think Padalecki's choice to not do that in both his eps as Lucifer is a lesser choice, just an interesting one, in that it gives a little more space for the vessel-as-influence, if that makes sense.

I had also overlooked that they clustered the more lighthearted eps--"Changing Channels" and "The Real Ghostfacers"--right before "Abandon All Hope" which....damn. That was dark, writers, that was dark.

I also think that the original "happy ending" of Dean's apple-pie life with Lisa is really weak, and I have a new appreciation for how S6 shows that up. Dean tries to be normal, but at this point he has so much PTSD that it is hard if not impossible. And we already know as the years go by that that gets worse and not better--even Sam gives up on the idea of leaving the life. Which I think sets up in a way that, whenever the show does end, it's not gonna be to that apple-pie life...

Today's Bad Day in Mental Health

1) I have not been sleeping well with Scott gone, mostly because I am weak and if allowed to stay up til 2am on a regular basis I will and partly because the dogs miss him and are extra hyper at night.

2) Sideways, Scott left Nairobi just in time for it to be attacked by terrorists today. He called before the news was out, so I know he's safe in his hotel in Tanzania. But he will still have to go back to Nairobi in two weeks for a night at a hotel before his first flight homewards, which makes me so anxious I have literally been sick to my stomach and shaking all day.

3) Called PODS so they could pick up the PODS, but Scott was the one who set up the account so I can't do anything until he authorizes me. So they are gonna email him paperwork to do so. But his wifi is iffy right now--we had a ten minute call by Google that was a lot of "What? What?"

4) Nasty gram from old!man!book editor who pointed out a bunch of minor errors in the files I sent him (which, fair enough, minor word differences in TOC and actual chapters) and because I didn't send a thumb drive with the hard copy (...because the main acquiring editor said they don't do that anymore, that's what their FTP servers or for...except he wanted a paper copy because again old man...) so I spent an hour doing minor copy-editing...and I've already done a TON of copy-editing on this, it's time for SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT, DARNIT, and then I need to go to Kinko's again.

**exhausted sigh**