![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flowrs4opheliaI never wrote any kind of reaction post to Rich's Skins episode even though I'm gushingly in love with it, in part because it simply worked for me on such a personal and relatable level that I really couldn't think of that much to say about why it worked so much. In a really different way this one had just as good a portrayal of what being at this age is like for some people and reminded me, regretfully, of some of the kind of girls I knew in school.
However, there's definitely something to be said about the differences that are already notable between what we've seen of Series 5 so far and the last two seasons. I didn't necessarily mind the occasional outrageousness of the second gen episodes, but these characters are different people and it's good that this generation is being defined by different things so far. And somehow they're even more convincing as teenagers. I understand why he always rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, but I always liked Freddie and found him endearing because I thought he was a perfectly realistic kid of his age, and with Gen2 you kind of forgot a lot of the time how young those guys really were. It's proving to be a good formula for Gen3 that they're going back to total realism with the characters and relying more on internal conflict that may slowly boil over instead of more active drama.
I think what was the most satisfying for me in this ep was finally learning more about Liv. She kind of bothered me before because I just couldn't get a grasp on her at all based on all her appearances so far. But we saw a lot that makes it a little more understandable why Mini, Liv, and Grace are friends. Like a lot of people have said, it's nice to actually see some Skins kids with really good parents for once, but Mini's mom seems to be the first exception. They may have a caring relationship, but it seems like Liv does more to look after Mini than her mother takes it upon herself to. Which is what makes it so saddening at the end that Mini can't see that and just feels betrayed.
I wasn't even sure who to be mad at by the end of this episode. When Liv slept with Nick, Mini had just been pretty horrible to her and he led on that he was going to break up with Mini, which Liv probably thinks would be for the best anyway. Nick seems to be just using Mini and it's disgusting, but I also understand how she's expecting too much from him too fast and well, it's kind of ironic how that's going both ways, just in different areas of their relationship. In some ways he's just trying to figure her out, and if she could have been honest about how unexperienced she is, maybe he wouldn't have been pushing her into having sex so much. But by the time they actually did it I'm pretty sure he knew she was a virgin, and then he told her he loved her which is a blatant lie, and that was just so upsetting to watch and for the most part he looks like a creep now.
On another subject, RICH AND GRACE WHY ARE YOU SO CUTE. The way he's so hesitant and shy about kissing her, it's the sweetest. ♥
And then SPN...I possibly liked this episode even more than last week's. I wrote my whole review of "Like a Virgin" last week without even realizing that I barely touched upon the whole dragon hunt thing because it was practically just present as a sub-plot in the background and a device leading up to the twist at the end. But I was definitely a lot more interested in the case this week as the episode was more heavily involved in it. In typical SPN fashion, though, dealing with the monster of the week is still so far from the main point of the episode, as it's all tied directly to Sam's current conflict with the messes he keeps finding he's made and the actual supernatural threat is allowed to be the least interesting aspect of the story. This is the formula that's always made a Supernatural episode work no matter how non-terrifying the monsters are and how silly in concept the plot may be, and it's why the show is still working now.
— "Everyone uses the same crapper twice!" LOL, I can so see Sam as the smartass kid who was always like "Daaad that expression doesn't even make sense *bitch* *bitch*"
— Let me also mention how nice it is just to have a Sam-centric episode again. And I swear this isn't me talking just as a Sam girl, ever since S4 there's been a slight imbalance of attention given to both characters and always a little more focus on what Dean's going through. And now that Sam hasn't even been himself most of this season and therefore just about everything's been through Dean's perspective, they basically owe Sam the rest of this season, right? Haha.
— Hehe I love that Dean already knows Sam won't listen to him about staying inside and is able to go find him right where he is.
— THE WALLLLL OH NOOO. This shit just got real and then naturally, CLIFFHANGER OF SUCK. Did not see that one coming. (Damn, they must have had to drop a ton of bricks to do a sound effect for Jared dropping to the floor.)
Of course everyone's pointed out already if you didn't notice right away that the shot zooming in on Sam's eye and showing his memories directly mirrors the one at the end of "No Rest For the Wicked" that shows Dean in Hell, and incidentally the episode numbers 316 and 613 mirror each other. OOOOOOH.
I've honestly been kind of confused as to how uncovering memories of walking around without his soul is supposed to be at all connected to Sam's memories of the cage. Before the moment he collapsed onto the floor I wasn't really taking Dean's concerns about that seriously. I never assumed before that Death might actually have hidden all those memories behind the wall along with everything else for some reason, but at this point that seems to make the most sense. In fact, even if having repressed memories never works well for anybody no matter how traumatic a thing they haven't faced and it makes some sense that the wall might inherently bother him, if this is the much more harmless-seeming way the wall is starting to "itch" for him, that kind of works a lot better as a danger than Sam simply having an unexplainable urge to uncover memories of Hell that he knows perfectly well would destroy him.
— I'm kind of excited that it looks like next week's ep is about some kind of haunting because I kind of miss the old-fashioned ghost hunts. I know this season is all about the creatures but the boys have to have something else on their plates from time to time.
However, there's definitely something to be said about the differences that are already notable between what we've seen of Series 5 so far and the last two seasons. I didn't necessarily mind the occasional outrageousness of the second gen episodes, but these characters are different people and it's good that this generation is being defined by different things so far. And somehow they're even more convincing as teenagers. I understand why he always rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, but I always liked Freddie and found him endearing because I thought he was a perfectly realistic kid of his age, and with Gen2 you kind of forgot a lot of the time how young those guys really were. It's proving to be a good formula for Gen3 that they're going back to total realism with the characters and relying more on internal conflict that may slowly boil over instead of more active drama.
I think what was the most satisfying for me in this ep was finally learning more about Liv. She kind of bothered me before because I just couldn't get a grasp on her at all based on all her appearances so far. But we saw a lot that makes it a little more understandable why Mini, Liv, and Grace are friends. Like a lot of people have said, it's nice to actually see some Skins kids with really good parents for once, but Mini's mom seems to be the first exception. They may have a caring relationship, but it seems like Liv does more to look after Mini than her mother takes it upon herself to. Which is what makes it so saddening at the end that Mini can't see that and just feels betrayed.
I wasn't even sure who to be mad at by the end of this episode. When Liv slept with Nick, Mini had just been pretty horrible to her and he led on that he was going to break up with Mini, which Liv probably thinks would be for the best anyway. Nick seems to be just using Mini and it's disgusting, but I also understand how she's expecting too much from him too fast and well, it's kind of ironic how that's going both ways, just in different areas of their relationship. In some ways he's just trying to figure her out, and if she could have been honest about how unexperienced she is, maybe he wouldn't have been pushing her into having sex so much. But by the time they actually did it I'm pretty sure he knew she was a virgin, and then he told her he loved her which is a blatant lie, and that was just so upsetting to watch and for the most part he looks like a creep now.
On another subject, RICH AND GRACE WHY ARE YOU SO CUTE. The way he's so hesitant and shy about kissing her, it's the sweetest. ♥
And then SPN...I possibly liked this episode even more than last week's. I wrote my whole review of "Like a Virgin" last week without even realizing that I barely touched upon the whole dragon hunt thing because it was practically just present as a sub-plot in the background and a device leading up to the twist at the end. But I was definitely a lot more interested in the case this week as the episode was more heavily involved in it. In typical SPN fashion, though, dealing with the monster of the week is still so far from the main point of the episode, as it's all tied directly to Sam's current conflict with the messes he keeps finding he's made and the actual supernatural threat is allowed to be the least interesting aspect of the story. This is the formula that's always made a Supernatural episode work no matter how non-terrifying the monsters are and how silly in concept the plot may be, and it's why the show is still working now.
— "Everyone uses the same crapper twice!" LOL, I can so see Sam as the smartass kid who was always like "Daaad that expression doesn't even make sense *bitch* *bitch*"
— Let me also mention how nice it is just to have a Sam-centric episode again. And I swear this isn't me talking just as a Sam girl, ever since S4 there's been a slight imbalance of attention given to both characters and always a little more focus on what Dean's going through. And now that Sam hasn't even been himself most of this season and therefore just about everything's been through Dean's perspective, they basically owe Sam the rest of this season, right? Haha.
— Hehe I love that Dean already knows Sam won't listen to him about staying inside and is able to go find him right where he is.
— THE WALLLLL OH NOOO. This shit just got real and then naturally, CLIFFHANGER OF SUCK. Did not see that one coming. (Damn, they must have had to drop a ton of bricks to do a sound effect for Jared dropping to the floor.)
Of course everyone's pointed out already if you didn't notice right away that the shot zooming in on Sam's eye and showing his memories directly mirrors the one at the end of "No Rest For the Wicked" that shows Dean in Hell, and incidentally the episode numbers 316 and 613 mirror each other. OOOOOOH.
I've honestly been kind of confused as to how uncovering memories of walking around without his soul is supposed to be at all connected to Sam's memories of the cage. Before the moment he collapsed onto the floor I wasn't really taking Dean's concerns about that seriously. I never assumed before that Death might actually have hidden all those memories behind the wall along with everything else for some reason, but at this point that seems to make the most sense. In fact, even if having repressed memories never works well for anybody no matter how traumatic a thing they haven't faced and it makes some sense that the wall might inherently bother him, if this is the much more harmless-seeming way the wall is starting to "itch" for him, that kind of works a lot better as a danger than Sam simply having an unexplainable urge to uncover memories of Hell that he knows perfectly well would destroy him.
— I'm kind of excited that it looks like next week's ep is about some kind of haunting because I kind of miss the old-fashioned ghost hunts. I know this season is all about the creatures but the boys have to have something else on their plates from time to time.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 07:02 am (UTC)Yeah, I was thinking about the wall thing and wondering if Death just had to basically make Sam's body be unable to remember anything that happened to him in the past year and a half, which would include the memories of his soul. It is true that it would make for a very different way of handling the story if it didn't work that way.
I guess I'll go watch that Skins ep now.