#spn 13.08

[lower-the-volume]

13.08 The Scorpion and the Frog

#dean winchester #spn #supernatural #Sam Winchester #s13e08 #13.08

[castiellesbian]

Meredith Glynn:

12.05 The One You've Been Waiting For

12.11 Regarding Dean

12.16 Ladies Drink Free

12.19 The Future (with Robert Berens)

13.04 The Big Empty

13.08 The Scorpion and the Frog

13.14 Good Intentions

13.20 Unfinished Business

14.05 Nightmare Logic

14.08 Byzantium

14.13 Lebanon (with Andrew Dabb)

15.06 Golden Time

15.11 The Gamblers (with Davy Perez)

15.17 Unity

Jeremy Carver

3.04 Sin City

3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas

3.11 Mystery Spot

3.14 Long-Distance Call

4.03 In the Beginning

4.11 Family Remains

4.15 Death Takes a Holiday

4.20 The Rapture

5.03 Free to Be You and Me

5.08 Changing Channels

5.15 Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

5.18 Point of No Return

8.01 We Need to Talk About Kevin

8.23 Sacrifice

9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here

9.23 Do You Believe in Miracles?

10.01 Black

10.23 Brother's Keeper

11.01 Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire

#supernatural #writers tournament #polls #i think this is my favorite match so far

[foxthefanboi]

@canonspngifs’s gif-a-thon: 13.08 | The Scorpion and the Frog

#canonspngifs #Dean vs. The Contraption Part 2 #you're doing great sweetie :) #spnedit #Dean Winchester #Supernatural #gif: dean #gif: spn #foxgifs #spn 13.08 #s13 #gifathon

[peakyboyos]

My version of Dean in 13.08

#Supernatural #Dean Winchester #Jensen Ackles #spn 13.08 #Spn13 #spnfam #dean winchester cosplay #tiktok

[mittensmorgul]

So I’m still out ahead of the TNT loop, but I think 13.08 aired today for everyone still chained to the broadcast schedule. But I want everyone to pay attention to it, and then continue thinking about it while watching 13.15.

Remember back in s13, when people were like... why do we need TWO episodes about heists like this in one season? Well, I’m gonna venture to say that these were two thematically similar episodes that escalated the concept in a very specific way. And post 14.20, they are rather instructive of the largest narrative arc-- the overarching spiral of the entire story.

I’d first venture to say that these episodes are two similar yet distinctly different genres: the Heist and the Noir. 13.08 is Oceans 11, and 14.15 is The Maltese Falcon. And we wrote loads of meta on this back during s13.

But post 14.20, both of these episodes look like the Big Picture Narrative Spiral in microcosm, at two different levels. And therein lies their fundamental similarity.

1. Sam and Dean are baited into the scenario with something they want and need:

-in 13.08 it’s the spell to locate a nephilim -in 13.15 it’s the blood of a most holy man

2. The thing they want is dangled in front of them by someone who recruits them to do a different job for them in exchange for the thing they want/need:

-in 13.08 it’s to steal a chest from a vault protected by a lock that only Dean can open because he was resurrected after serving time in Hell after making a demon deal in exchange for Sam’s life (as Shrike had done in exchange for his son) -in 13.15 it’s a larger series of machinations all going back to a stolen holy relic

3. The motives of the person sending them on this quest are hidden from them at first:

-in 13.08 they’re of course suspicious of the entire deal because Crowley-cosplaying demon wants something from them, and of course they’re wary -in 13.15, they initially have no reason to doubt Greenstreet’s offer for a trade for a specific relic that he sends them off on a wild goose chase for

4. Their quest for The MacGuffin in each of these episodes leads them to uncover layer upon layer of machinations and deceptions, and in the end the motives of the people they’re theoretically working for are finally uncovered to be personal greed:

-in 13.08, the motive was Barthamus retrieving his bones, which Shrike held hostage in exchange for the cancellation of the demon deal he’d made-- because Barthamus had failed to live up to the spirit of the bargain (i.e. Shrikes son he sold his soul for died anyway, even before the expiration of his 10 year contract, cheating him out of what he paid for, effectively) -in 13.15, it’s a bit more complicated, because Sam and Dean are drawn through this intricate web of setups needed to gather ALL of these people so their original “in” on the case could maliciously essentially have all of them murdered to secure sole claim to this holy relic-- just to be able to be the one who owns it.

5. During the course of the episode, Sam and Dean discover something about one of the people they’re working alongside has been motivated to be there against their will, or not by their own free choice:

-in 13.08 it’s Alice “Snatch”, who feels compelled to continue working for Barthamus so he won’t cash in on her demon deal that she now wishes she could take back... what’s become of her life because of that bad choice turns out not to have been worth it in the present -in 13.15 it’s Father Camilleri, who had been the entrusted keeper of the relic that Greenstreet greedily wanted for himself, which was stolen from its place of veneration by his congregation, his people who had put their faith in their sacred duty to preserve it for their entire community.

6. In the end, it comes down to a heroic act by said person, made of their own free will:

-in 13.08, it’s Alice choosing to free herself from barthamus by burning his bones -in 13.15 it’s Father Camilleri literally taking a bullet for them

7. One turns out to be a huge loss, while the other a surprising gain:

-in 13.08, Alice freeing herself from the demon inadvertently burns up the other half of the spell he’d promised to Sam and Dean, rendering their entire mission effectively pointless-- except Alice does free herself and another demon is removed from the playing field... but Sam and Dean are still left without hope on their specific mission to find Jack -in 13.15, All the Bad Guys plotting and scheming to buy/steal the relic end up either dead or likely to be imprisoned, and the relic is returned to its rightful place with Father Camilleri. It looks like Sam and Dean are at another dead end for their personal quest, but because they chose to give up their quest in order to do the right thing by Camilleri and his congregation, they learn that the man himself has been accorded the title “A Most Holy Man” by the pope himself, and readily gives them the blood they’d been seeking the entire time. Twist and Win.

One is a deal with hell, the other a deal with heaven. One ends up a loss, the other appears to be a win. But what does this win actually mean at the end of the day? What does this piece in the puzzle that will help them unlock the doorway to another world provide them?

(I was about to watch 13.16 when I stopped to type this, and it’s a beautiful little detour through Cas’s mission to secure the Fruit of the Tree of Life and his “marriage” to the queen of the djinn, and there’s our “false reality” connection as plain as they can make it, while they’re trapped in a literal cartoon for most of the episode... but I’m gonna skip the rest of these “tricks,” even including Gabriel having tricked everyone and Asmodeus having tricked them all, because that entire circle of plot burns itself down in a matter of episodes, too... although I realize I could also include 13.20 in this comparison of 13.08 and 13.15, because it also fits all of these themes aptly, from a third narrative genre-- the Revenge Quest of Kill Bill, based on spaghetti westerns and martial arts films, wherein they agree to help Gabriel get his revenge in exchange for his help opening the rift-- this is the same story over and over again, told through three different narrative lenses, each with a slightly different outcome bringing them all ever closer to what they think, what they hope is finally the outcome they wanted all along... and yet... just as they secure their ultimate win, another wrench is thrown into their plans, which brings me to...)

13.23: Everyone is saved, life begins to seem like it’s returning to normal. TFW 2.0 is happily hunting together, and even talking about being able to take time off and finally get that beach vacation. I think this is the magical phrase that summons Cosmic Wrenches. Those wrenches come flying through the rift to screw them over in the form of Lucifer and Michael. And the Narrative Loop loops again.

But after 14.20, this is exactly what Chuck has been doing to them since the start. All of it. It’s all clearly encapsulated in these episodes. Even when they believe they’re acting of their own free will, their choices and actions have very little bearing on the effectiveness of their own plans. There could never be a true win for them as long as the Cosmic Wrenches continued flying, and we learned in 14.20 that Chuck never intended to stop throwing them.

Because he’s entertained watching them scramble to catch wrenches.

So here, have the takeaway from 13.15 to sum up this futility:

Dean: What? Come on. I know that look. What's on your mind? Sam: I don't know. Nothing. I mean -- I mean, you know... You ever feel like we're -- we're doing nothing but playing defense? You know, bouncing from one apocalypse to the next? Dean: Well, it's not exactly our call. Sam: I know that, and I'm not saying we don't do good. But -- but no matter how many people we save, there will always be more people that need saving. No matter how many monsters we kill-- Dean: There's always gonna be another one around the corner. Sam: Exactly. Dean: Mm-hmm. Sam: You think we could ever change things? I mean, really change things? You know, stop all the monsters, all the bad? Dean: That would be nice. Sam: Yeah. So what are you thinkin'? Think that'll work? Dean: I have faith.

Turns out they don’t need to stop “all the monsters.” They just need to stop the one wielding all the wrenches aimed directly at them.

#spn 14.20 #spn 13.08 #spn 13.15 #spn 13.18 #spn 13.20 #spn 13.23 #spiders georg of the tnt loop #s14 meta rewatch #if you say 'mysterious ways' so help me i will kick your ass #it's spirals all the way down #dabb vs cars #because look he's been driving the bus in this direction for years now... #this isn't a sudden shocking twist because it's the story he's been telling all along #and all the puzzle pieces are already there on the table

[thayerkerbasy]

Everyone watching Supernatural last night pinged Barthamus as a cheap imitation Crowley, but this season has been full of things that aren’t what they seem and empty spaces full of those we’ve lost.  We were meant to initially see good old Bart as “the next Crowley”, what with his monochromatic wardrobe and questionable allegiances.  Heck, he was even the new King of the Crossroads.  But for those of us who actually miss Crowley, it felt awful to imagine he might be replaced so easily with someone who turned out to be incapable of filling those expensive shoes.

Consider instead, Luther Shrike.  Made a deal, died, went to Hell, and came out more powerful than when he went in.  People said he was a monster, a murderer, as bad as any demon, but that was just one side of the story.  He was a collector of rare and valuable things, but none of those things could fill the hole in his heart.  He was lonely.

He sold his soul to save his son, who then ended up drowning anyway.  I know I’m not the only one who has questioned why the hell Crowley would have sold his soul for three extra inches of willy -- this entire post was spawned because of other people flailing in their liveblogging -- but it all makes sense if you assume he didn’t.  Since when has Crowley ever honestly admitted to caring for someone besides when he’s being snarky?  If he sold his soul to save Gavin from some illness, he’d never admit to it.  He’d much rather people thought he wanted a bigger John Thomas.  Love makes you weak and all that.  But then Gavin boarded a ship for the Americas and drowned when it sank.

So there we have it.  Luther Shrike, a man who lost his beloved son, became nearly immortal after going to Hell.  He lived a lonely life making deals for things that didn’t make him happy and then died, because in the end, his love made him do something reckless.

Look at how many people misjudged Shrike until the very end.  I think the person actually meant to be a Crowley mirror was no cheap imitation.

#spn spoilers #spn 13.08 #spn meta thoughts #crowley #luther shrike #barthamus #mirrors #crowley friday

[theriverscribe]

Ummm...guys? There's no dart-spitting mouth on the ceiling. You could literally crawl across the floor and be fine.

Someone has obviously never played video games...

#spn spoilers #spn 13.08 #supernatural #sam winchester #dean winchester

[mishas-shirt]

The Scorpion and the Frog

This is the title for the episode this week, right?

Well this fable is really interesting.

The Scorpion and the Frog  A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion says, "Because if I do, I will die too."  The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream, the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown, but has just enough time to gasp "Why?" Replies the scorpion: "Its my nature..."

The moral of this story is so anti-supernatural and what it stands for. This is a show about redemption. If that’s what this week episode is about, then what point is the show trying to make in a larger sense?

@tinkdw @elizabethrobertajones @mittensmorgul @amwritingmeta @bluestar86 @margarittet @postmodernmulticoloredcloak 

Or anyone else that wants to answer...

Just some food for thought

#the scorpion and the frog #spn 13.08 #meta questions

[i-drifting]

Supernatural 13.08

good writing is so refreshing yall

this episode was honestly good and entertaining i loved a lot of it

anyways Wheres Cas

i cant get the image of teenage Dean chugging 3 cans of pure caffeine while Sam watches in complete horror

(he follows his example in college tho)

Dean in that black jacket has me combusting

Sam is a complete nerd and i would die for him

fuck that Charlie parallels werent needed im crying

“its good to hear you speak like that again” I KNOW ME TOO SAM

that hell flashback..... listen i didnt Ask

“there could be spiders” i love him

it was righT THERE FUCK THE GIRL COULDVE TAKEN IT BEFORE WALKING TOWARDS THEM

i am Not Ready for the midseason finale what the fuck (WHERES CAS)

#this is sorta brief #but it was a good ep #spn spoilers #spn s13 spoilers #spn season 13 spoilers #spn 13.08 #spn 13x08 #13.08 #13x08 #supernatural season 13 #spn #supernatural s13 #spn reviews #supernatural season 13 spoilers #supernatural s13 spoilers #supernatural spoilers #supernatural 13.08 #supernatural 13x08 #spn s13 #supernatural #id op #supernatural reviews #my reviews #goodnight

[canonicallysoulmates]

I liked that the demon called Jack Sam and Dean’s boy ❤️

#wincest #does this count???? #spn 13.08 #spn #mine

[gabavaldman]

Moose needs nougat!!!

#moose #need #nougat #sam winchester #jack kline #spn 13.08 #spn 13x08

[durenjtmusings]

Bad Guy: Glares from inside big red truck at boys in The Impala.

Winchesters: Stop and swear.

Bad Guy: Guns truck towards Winchesters.

Winchesters: Drive backward and start shooting.

Me @ Everyone: OMG, don’t you DARE hurt BABY!

#well SOMEone had to worry! #spn 13x08 #spn 13.08 #spn season 13 spoilers #impala #spn baby

[castiellesbian]

Meredith Glynn:

12.05 The One You've Been Waiting For

12.11 Regarding Dean

12.16 Ladies Drink Free

12.19 The Future (with Robert Berens)

13.04 The Big Empty

13.08 The Scorpion and the Frog

13.14 Good Intentions

13.20 Unfinished Business

14.05 Nightmare Logic

14.08 Byzantium

14.13 Lebanon (with Andrew Dabb)

15.06 Golden Time

15.11 The Gamblers (with Davy Perez)

15.17 Unity

Daniel Loflin (all with * were co-written with Andrew Dabb)

Writer of

4.06 Yellow Fever*

4.13 After School Special *

4.19 Jump the Shark*

5.06 I Believe the Children Are Our Future*

5.11 Sam, Interrupted*

5.16 Dark Side of the Moon*

5.19 Hammer of the Gods*

6.04 Weekend at Bobby's*

6.07 Family Matters*

6.13 Unforgiven*

6.18 Frontierland*

7.03 The Girl Next Door*

7.08 Season Seven, Time for a Wedding!*

7.14 Plucky Pennywhistle's Magic Menagerie*

7.22 There Will Be Blood*

8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy?*

8.09 Citizen Fang

8.16 Remember the Titans

#supernatural #polls #writers tournament

[foxthefanboi]

@canonspngifs​’s gif-a-thon: 13.08 | The Scorpion and the Frog

#spnedit #canonspngifs's wishlist #Dean vs. The Contraption Part 1 #Dean Winchester #Supernatural #gif: dean #gif: spn #foxgifs #canonspngifs #spn 13.08 #s13 #gifathon

[nancylou444]

Okay got home late and after I got changed and fixed myself something to eat I ended up watching the last 20 minutes or so.

It looked kind of good?

#spn 13.08

[mittensmorgul]

Great Plains Bus Lines. They’re putting Alice on a bus.

I already had Charlie vibes from her.

Alice: “See you around.”

Dean: Hey Alice-- Stay weird.

#spn s13 spoilers #spn 13.08