darkemeralds: A round magical sigil of mysterious meaning, in bright colors with black outlines. A pen nib is suggested by the intersection of the cryptic forms. (Default)
darkemeralds ([personal profile] darkemeralds) wrote2009-11-06 12:04 pm

Friday miscellany including Supernatural 5.08 comments

Supernatural 5.08: My overall assessment is "dumb episode": no forward plot motion, still more uncomfortable and shark-jumping-esque self-referential hilarity, and another new player in the Apocalypse Games.

I laughed, I admit it. And seeing Jensen shot in bright, colorful light for a change was interesting and strange and made his eyes very, very green (though frankly, he and Jared are both far more beautiful in the greyed-out Supernatural world). It was amusing, but come on, let's get on with it! Stop with the fanservice already, Kripke.

In other miscellany, I NEED A CAMERA. Mine was stolen months ago, and I'm about ready to splurge on a replacement. I miss taking my unartistic little illustrative photos.

Oh, and I liked this, from Warren Ellis by way of Wil Wheaton:

At least half of all writing involves just sitting and staring into space. Letting your brain out to hunt down ideas, bringing them back all warm and bloody between its teeth.
lyr: (Silenced Dean: lostmemento)

[personal profile] lyr 2009-11-07 09:47 am (UTC)(link)
I kind of had that feeling about episode 5.08, too. It was sort of light, fluffy fun, but I've been feeling really stalled out arc-wise. These are the end times, after all! We've come so far and turned the stakes up too high to be futzing around the way this season is doing so far, if you ask me. Plus, the plot holes were a bit sloppy (Dean set a holy fire trap in the Trickster's own world while he could see every move Dean made, and the Trickster somehow didn't notice? Really?) And on a personal note, I wish the Trickster had simply stayed a powerful god from another pantheon who was neither interested in nor subject to the concerns of Angels and Demons. It made the theology more complex, and it made me feel a little better about the otherwise unrepetant Pagan bashing SPN usually indugles in. The Gabriel twist is interesting and all, but still.

[identity profile] emeraldsedai.livejournal.com 2009-11-07 05:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes to everything you say about the Trickster (though I didn't notice the plot holes--I NEVER notice plot holes on first watching unless they're gigantic), but on the other hand, I do like the way the story is blurring the lines between other pantheons and the big God/Angels/Demons thing. An AWOL God and "angel-on-angel violence" are satisfyingly Big-Religion-bashing enough to ease my discomfort with the religious aspects of the show.

The degree to which SPN hates women and girls, however, continues to astonish me, almost to the point of thinking about considering not watching it anymore. There's an example in every ep, and in this one it was the tie between bad television and menopause, all rolled into an unquestioned insult to a manly young white man.

Aaargh. I hate that I love this show so much.
lyr: (Silenced Dean: lostmemento)

[personal profile] lyr 2009-11-09 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
The degree to which SPN hates women and girls, however, continues to astonish me, almost to the point of thinking about considering not watching it anymore.

I hear you. There are times when I just want to stage some sort of intervention with the writers and confiscate the characters.

[identity profile] kispexi2.livejournal.com 2009-11-08 11:57 am (UTC)(link)
Sounds like a 'Go Fish' episode.

And way to convince a sceptic! :D

Not sure about the sitting and staring. I get no ideas when I do that. I find my ideas when I'm supposed to be doing other things, when I'm so busy I could scream and when there's absolutely no way I can get to a computer.

[identity profile] emeraldsedai.livejournal.com 2009-11-08 07:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I hate it when that happens. I'm almost never not near a computer (of some sort--my phone at a minimum), but if the idea strikes me while I'm busy at work, all I can do is log it mentally and hope enough of it sticks until I'm in a quieter place.

Big blocks of time really are essential, though. I've rarely ever generated any meaningful fiction in short bursts.

[identity profile] kispexi2.livejournal.com 2009-11-08 07:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Do you find that when the idea strikes, the words start coming too, all in a beautiful rush? I HATE that if I'm away from a computer, and I do my level best to stop them, for fear that they'll only come once and that if I let them out NOW, I won't be able to recall them later.

*nods* That's what I meant when I was talking about the words building up on each other. You need the long periods of time to write so that they get the chance to do that.