spnanonhaven | #91

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#91 - honc

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It wasn't that strong, really. This is the guy who wrote OtHoaP, who wrote Repo Man. He could have done a really good dark, or at least conflicted and edgy Benny story. The Benny they're giving us is a series of pulled punches.

na

I was pretty surprised that the majority of the reviews I read were gushing over this episode and Benny's backstory. Many of them did declare it the best episode of the season and some even went so far as to say the best episode over the past three seasons. I thought it was nothing we haven't seen before and that cheesy, cliched element really didn't work for me.

I was slightly unenthusiastic after reading all those interviews with Ty about Benny's coming episode being all angst filled and sounding like he was a misunderstood vamp all on his lonesome with nowhere to turn. But knowing this was an Edlund penned episode I was hoping for still a darker and more conflicted element to be included here, some sort of fresher element added at least. I was only to be disappointed.

And I mean they even could have done a crackier version of vampirates or something to liven that episode up for me.

It's a shame cause I find the Purgatory version of Benny to have that bit of edge to him and that is what had my interest. But real time mopey Benny who did it for love and just wants to be a good vamp (and the take out his maker, love interest involvement with turning his back on his species, wanting to side with humanity business is basically Aidan's arc from Carver's Being Human) is boring and basically a trite overused trope. Color me underwhelmed.

I didn't realise it was an Edlund ep, and am surprised, because the writing seemed really bad to me. Who directed it?

But I think I just realised something that was bugging me about the episode, which I was blaming on the actors. The humour didn't land. Lots of the lines that were supposed to be funny were played straight, or something? I can't quite articulate this but for example the argument scene and the scene between Sam and Amelia should have been a lot funnier than they were. I wonder if the director didn't quite get Edlund's sensibilities.

Also ugh I hate Benny the Good but Snarky Vampire Pirate with A Heart of Gold and a Tragic Past and Dark Inner Conflict. Character study, my ass. I'm surprised they didn't get a prettier actor to play him, and give him a leather jacket with PLEASE LOVE ME FANDOM written on the back in studs.

But nonnies were complaining before about the spoilers calling Sam and Amelia scenes romcom, because they thought it was going to be funny hijinks instead of playing it straight.

You missed the point. Of my comment and I'd bet also the point made by the nonnies who were complaining about Sam's storyline being romcom.

DA

I liked the Sam and Amelia scenes a lot (Amelia's character is working better for me than Benny's now, which was a striking reversal of my feelings before this episode -- I guess count me among those who much prefer purgatory Benny to topside Benny), and I even found some of them amusing, but I am glad it wasn't played more for comedy, I think that would have gotten in the way of what they needed to establish.

The director was Guy Bee, btw.

da

Didn't Guy Bee also direct the episode with the Ghastly Smile Shot at the end, and the interviews that revealed a significant gap between the author's intention and the director's?

Or was that somebody else completely?

No, that was 7.11, and it was directed by someone named Jeannot Szwarc (the interview that revealed the gap was with the writer, Adam Glass).

da

I don't know about that, but I have vague memories of a podcast interview he did that caused controversy somehow. I just can't remember how.

da

That would be chair!wank, with Sam seated in the submissive/interrogated position. :D He directed Hello, Cruel World.

ayrt

O.o He caused chair!wank? Or was he dragged into it somehow?

Re: 8.12 spoilers

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da

I'm surprised they didn't get a prettier actor to play him, and give him a leather jacket with PLEASE LOVE ME FANDOM written on the back in studs.

I couldn't help but be amused that Benny's hitched up pants paired with that hat reminded me of my Grandpa. And we thought Cas's fashion sense was bad.

All I want from that wretched hat is to see it roll off into a dusty corner when Sam lops off Benny's head (not, you understand, because Benny is a monster and proves unable to control his monster nature, but because Benny GOT INSIDE DEAN'S ARM, which Sam is very not OK with, and moreover probably took the last cup of blood in the fridge. And he leaves the toilet seat up all the time and then nu!Bonesey drinks from the toilet and Sam hates that. BENNY MUST DIE.)

da

Also ugh I hate Benny the Good but Snarky Vampire Pirate with A Heart of Gold and a Tragic Past and Dark Inner Conflict. Character study, my ass. I'm surprised they didn't get a prettier actor to play him, and give him a leather jacket with PLEASE LOVE ME FANDOM written on the back in studs.

LET ME LOVE YOU, NONNIE. <333

/EBennyH

+ all the ones, nonnie.

He and his personal tragedy and his stupid pants and his incomprehensible Canadian Cajun drawl can just fuck right off back to Purgatory, as far as I'm concerned.

da

Might as well start doing crossovers with Being Human. Or can we just ship him off over to that verse? Although I could maybe sit through that if they promised me Pellegrino playing both Bishop and Lucifer simultaneously. And thinking on it, I could probably ship Sam/Sally, especially after her arc last season.

Oh Purgatory!Benny, you had potential man. Only to woefully be squandered.

da

Purgatory in general had so much more potential. Every monster Dean and Sam have ever killed are in there, including Dean's child, all that potential history and emotional drama at their fingertips, and all we get are a few minutes of slo-mo fighting shots and some standing around bickering with a new guy that doesn't even go here (or went here, but was a different character who essentially was the same character)?

I agree Purgatory is so boring. I'll even take the Sam flashbacks, there is some character insight there even if subtle.

I agree that the Sam flashbacks are more interesting, largely because they aren't trying to cram too much into them. I do see that they wouldn't have time to do both Benny/Cas/Dean and purgatory encounters from the past, but I'm not finding Benny intriguing enough, especially now that it seems there is little mystery to the character and his influence on Dean, for me to agree that Benny was the right choice if they couldn't do both. I'd rather they'd eliminated Benny and done more with Dean and Cas interacting and with their individual relationships with Dead Monster Land, given how many of them were part of Dean's past, and how many of them got sucked up into Cas. I'd much rather see some interaction of Cas with Leviathans that referred to the dramatic connection between them than be shown "ooo, cool, Leviathans falling from the sky."

ayrt

I agree. Purgatory can be added to the long list of introduced plotline possibilities that the show has fallen down on and reduced to underwhelming execution of. BOOOOOOO *says in my Stanley Hudson don't cut in line on Pretzel Day voice*

I'll still take mumbly Benny over Cas who won't go away like a bad fucking smell. Lesser of two evils.

At least Cas actually has a dark side. And he and Sam loom at each other beautifully sometimes.

Granted, the fish was more embarrassing even than Benny's tragic pirate love. They should really swear a solemn oath to keep backstories the hell away from the water.

da.

There did seem to be a real concentrated push to sell him to fandom back when this episode was filming. In hindsight it was really obvious-- everyone praising him to the high heavens.

Yeah, they started pushing hard and fast with this character pretty much directly after sdcc.

And Jensen's going on about Ty being like an immediate member of the SPN family pinged my radar pretty hard that they were gonna try to sell him in a way to keep the character around.

Can't say I wasn't warned, but man I never thought it would be this heavy on the trope.

Have they ever, once, said that kind of thing about a female actor? Or does every member of the Spn family have to have a dick?

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