amberdreams | S12E14 Episode reaction

S12E14 The Raid

Aaaaaaah Bobo Berens, how I love thee! Now that? That was so interesting!

Sam and Mary potentially on one side, doing their big picture thinking (even if it’s probably for different reasons) and looking to change the world; Dean on the other, wanting to keep things small, individual, family orientated – hunting, the family business. Partnering Dean with Ketch is (on the face of it) reinforcing Dean’s old view of himself as a killer not worth saving, but might actually be the one thing that will show Dean that his own humanity and compassion make him shine in comparison. That’s if he can get past what he will doubtless see as the ultimate betrayal by Sam and Mary.

Dean and Sam’s scene with Mary at the beginning of the episode moved me. I don’t know if it was supposed to, as it wasn’t played as an over-emotional scene, but by the time Dean walked away, I had tears in my eyes. I love that the show can still evoke an emotional response out of me like this!

I also loved:

The episode showed both brothers as thoughtful, intelligent men, as well as Sam as a complete badass again! We are getting a delicious helping of BAMF Sam this season, and it’s marvellous!

How you could see Sam absorbing everything and processing the pros and cons.

That Dean was allowed to show how clever he is in deducing Ketch’s purpose in visiting the Bunker.

With Mary, I loved that they showed us how the disconnect from her boys was hurting her, and that she got to explain her real reason for joining the BMoL’s mission – that she saw it as a way to cleanse the world of the need for hunting, and this was her chance to get her family out of the game forever. Finally, her motivation is out there, and makes so much sense, given what we know about her past.

I liked:

That Mick’s accent was less distracting (though still dreadful)

We got a little insight into Mr Ketch and his motivations – basically he should probably be a serial killer but he’s been diverted into killing monsters instead.

That we got to see how Dean really isn’t like Ketch at all.

That the curly haired hunter guy turned out to be a traitor, and for money too! I hadn’t seen that coming. Plus I liked that they didn’t over-labour that point, it was left to us to realise this was how the Alpha Vamp knew where the BMoLs were and what they were doing. (Hey Lemming/thingy duo, please take note – we don’t need bludgeoning over the head with two minutes of exposition for these things!)

I didn’t like:

·They killed the Alpha Vamp! He was such an awesome villain, so smooth and well spoken and dangerous. Yeah, yeah, I know he had to go but still, it’s a shame.

They killed little PhD student.

·And so far, that was all that bothered me about this one! YAY!

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

kazluvsbooks.livejournal.com

Yes so good!!! I really didn't know where the Ep was going to go and I like being surprised.
Jared and Jensen were brilliant in the Ep, the emotional moments felt real, they made me teary too.

From:

sw0rdy.livejournal.com

Funny, I'd just said to milly that the scene at the beginning had made me cry. I was surprised, because I wasn't emotional during Regarding Dean (which I LOVED), but to really got to me. Dean's expression, his 'I never was' comment... him calling her 'Mary'. Most of all I think it was that Sam was backing Dean, even though he didn't say anything at all, reinforced when Sam told Mary to go. They really are all each other has. Obviously, it didn't last since they were at odds by the next morning, but it was a really powerful scene.

From:

amberdreams.livejournal.com

Very powerful but so understated! And although you say at odds by the end - I'm not sure how that's going to go. Dean's been so much more mature in his reactions lately, I think Sam might persuade him to come round - eventually at least. Though I still think the BMoL have their own agenda that maybe neither Ketch or Mick are aware of.

From:

amberdreams.livejournal.com

Absolutely - and yes, being surprised is great!

From:

walking_tornado

Really enjoyed this ep. I've been rewatching season 1 and I thought it was a nice flip having Dean accuse Sam of playing peacemaker between Dean and Mary when I just watched S1 Dean trying to smooth things out between Sam and John. And I laughed when Ketch (who's growing on me) bought his way into the bunker with alcohol like Dean did with Rufus. Plus Dean's observation that they're all independent adults was long overdue.

From:

jj1564.livejournal.com

I completely agree with you, it was a really good episode, we got to see Mary's POV and as I expected she's trying to save her sons from living as hunters for the rest of their lives. The scene at the start made me cry too, when Mary said 'you're not a child' and Dean answered 'I never was' - oh Dean! All their eyes looked shiny in that scene with suppressed tears, which was so well done, so much emotion.

It was a shame the Alpha vamp died though, I wonder what will happen to all the vamps now without him.

From:

dreamsofspike.livejournal.com

I kinda like Mick now. He showed his smarts under pressure, and I think that's a big part of what won Sam over in the end. Like, these guys have NO IDEA what they're really up against, but there IS potential there, and the way they worked together to take out the Alpha without being able to discuss it or anything beforehand was kinda impressive.

I agree with pretty much all of your likes and dislikes on this one, and your opinions on Ketch. Pretty sure this guy is NOT the kind of guy Dean needs to be hanging around with. :/

From:

fufaraw

Yes, all of this--what you said.

Plus, Hello, Chief!

From:

sillie

This was a solid ep. I really liked it. <3

From:

sinfulslasher

I'll just co-sign your entire post (though I knew right from the start that this was Mary's motivation, it was nice to have it spelled out like that - and it's a pipe dream for sure).

Especially loved this; (Hey Lemming/thingy duo, please take note – we don’t need bludgeoning over the head with two minutes of exposition for these things!) YESSS!!!!!!!

From:

katwoman76.livejournal.com

Random add-ons (totally agree with all your thoughts):
I was totally wearing my "I &heart; Cylons" t-shirt today in honour of Aaron Douglas and Rick Worthy being in this episode (BSG-Alumni ;) )
I love love love BAMF Sam so much!!!
So Ketch used to date Toni? Does that mean the little child they were showing when she was introduced could be his son?

From:

dizzojay.livejournal.com

Dean saying he never was a child was heartbreaking. It's easy to forget that Mary isn't aware of any of this!

x

From:

hugemind.livejournal.com

I greatly enjoyed the ep and agree with most of your points (my language ear was not sensitive enough to detect a difference in Mick's accent). :D

Reading this made me think about Ketch calling Dean a killer and I was suddenly reminded of 12x05 and this piece of conversation:

Sam: Dean its called sublimation.
Dean: Yeah. Yeah, it's kinda my thing.

Ketch needs to kill because he's a psychopath who enjoys inflicting pain, but it would seem like Dean's aware that he uses hunting to take his mind off things. The fact that it's been acknowledged gives me hope that he indeed doesn't see himself as a killer not worth saving. Also, Ketch is a psycho like Toni called him, what does that make of Toni? A future ally?

From:

aerynsun5.livejournal.com

You are such an insightful and articulate woman. Yes to everything.

Do Sam and Mary really think they can kill all the monsters and retire?

From:

madebyme-x.livejournal.com

I loved this ep too!!!! Loved the family drama and how I could understand all the points of views, and felt the pain, and that they revisited this at the end and we got apologies and forgiveness. It felt...I don't know, very family, and very real. Because yes, Mary is not just a mom, and her children are now adults, and that's confusing for everyone. I also love how Sam is sort of playing the peacekeeper in the middle like Dean did with Sam and John - I think that's all kinds of cool (I don't know if it was done purposefully, but I love it!)

I could understand Sam seeing the bigger picture here, but perhaps once he knows all the bad they've done (Poor Magda and those special agents) this will change. They certainly don't see the shades of grey that our boys do, and I think there's going to be clash when it's revealed.

This was an interesting ep, and clarified a lot of things for me too. I'm looking forward to seeing how all of this will unfold.