Thoughts on "Death Takes a Holiday" and Castle

Thoughts on last week's Supernatural as I watched for a second time:

Some have called Dean passive-aggressive in the diner, when he said "I don't want to hold you back." But it wasn't random. He was triggered by Sam bossing him, telling Dean to get his food to go. It's not just that Dean used to be the one ordering Sam around--it's evidence that Sam really meant what he said and wasn't completely under the siren's influence.

I loved that even with teh undercurrent of animosity toward each other, they still work unerringly well together, sharing a brain. Dean says someone's not dragging souls into the light, Sam immediately thinks of reapers. It's beautiful.

I love the scene in the graveyard. There's so much subtlety in this episode. Sam saying the normal rules don't apply to him and Dean--that's one of the steps to downfall. He starts using power to help people, to banish demons while saving the possessed, but the more he uses it, the more it changes his viewpoint. Yes, they are unique, but they aren't better. Dean sees that. Sam doesn't really anymore.

That said, Sam using his powers--guh.

Dean's so hopeful when he asks Sam why Alistair could chuck him now. I'm glad he called Sam on it, but Sam is pissing me off with his lies and the rift he's putting between them.

Watching for the second time, I'm amused by the irony that Bobby was really Castiel, and right after he called Sam was saying he wished the angels were there. Hee.

Sam's wee bitty hoodie is so right and so wrong.

Sam has to lie angled on the bed when Pam astrally projects them. Guh again.

"Get out of me" is my favorite line of the episode.

When the mother is calling Cole, why does she assume he's on the ceiling? And how can Sam and Dean sit in chairs and lean on the table when they can't touch stuff? (That's always tricky with ghost/spirit stories.)

Tessa looks so different to me. Mary said maybe it's because her hair is longer. It might also be partly because her demeanor is quietly intense instead of earnestly appealing, and she's a little older. But her facial structure looks completely different.

That's a very old iMac on that desk in Cole's bedroom. But I love the overhead camera angles like that, especially on Sam. I wonder if this is the same house they used for "Family Remains." It looks similar.

Sam is breaking my heart with all of his Machiavellian changes.

No guy should look so good in such extreme closeup.

I said this in the Supernatural Sisters comments, but I don't believe Tessa. I think she's stuck doing her job, never able to move on to where the souls she collects go. constantly seeing the pain and sorrow of both the people who are dead and the ones left behind. I think that makes her resentful and bitter, and she told Dean there's nothing better becausu that's what people in pain do--try to ease it by spreading it around. (Plus, the things she says are not mutually exclusive. Something ugly may be coming down the pike, but AFTER that, the angels could have something good in store for Dean.)

Why is a ghost flickering out creepy, but Dean flickering out hot? Never mind. The question answers itself.

Poor old reaper--but then again, pretty easy gig, just lying on the floor for a while, then having your head sliced. Except for the head-slicing part.

I like the angel-proofing thing. It not only explains how they got the gig, but hints at why Castiel pulled Dean in the first place. Not just any human would have the mental or physical ability to fight on the side of the angels. He's a tool, as I've said before, one that can do what the angels can't. The whole angel-demon war is evolutionary, with one side developing new ways to overcome an obstacle presented by the other side.

I love how Tessa is so gentle with taking Cole, both in what she says to him and then the hug to take him over, but then turns so cold with Dean. I'd love to see Tessa back again. (She'd be a good actress to have at a convention.)

I also love how the spirits of Dean and Sam are so washed out, kind of blueish, and when they're back in their bodies, they've got color and vibrancy back.

Someone on another blog said it was weird to have a tribute to Kim Manners at the end of this episode, being all about death, even though it was the first episode back after he died. But from the little I know of Kim Manners, I have a feeling he'd have appreciated it.

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I watched the second episode of Castle last night, and it was much better. Still flat and irrelevant secondary cops, but we got more interaction between Rick and his daughter, and I adore their relationship. We also kind of got an answer about the exes. He said the girl's mother was an actress, so she wasn't the publisher that's his ex-wife. I like that.

There was no "Apples! Apples! Apples!" moment, but I loved when he told the tale of 8B and had them all mesmerized. And I love the look on his face when he's writing, even such trite stuff as "she's had her heart broken." (I like his new heroine's name.) Fillion is just tremendous and I'm very happy about his show right now.