Let your heart burn with loving kindness, even when seeking justice

I think it’s pretty obvious by now that I believe in the power of the masses of humanity, and that I am seeking to apply this conceptual framework to my day to day acts. Now some of these applications are still humble, and others are off the track, but I do think that were everyone to start trying out together, reflection on their results and consulting to learn from each other – well, you know what I think!

So here is a little something I feel strongly about, and I thought hey, why not.

There is, quite unfortunately, a lot of discrimination that still goes around, even in ‘civilized’ countries likes ours’. Walmart had such an incident, the full story of which you can check out here.

In short:

Employees at the Niles, MI Wal-Mart store accused Paolucci of shoplifting some Bic lighters. Although he produced the receipt, they refused to back down, insisting that the two men go to a “detention room”. The employees, using vulgarities and hostility, frightened their special needs kids. (South Bend Tribune)

Paolucci said that while he and Hitchcock were attempting to calm down the boys, the employees ordered them to enter a “detention room” for questioning. Fearful of what might happen behind closed doors, he and Hitchcock refused to enter and asked to speak to a manager.

“Some guy came up and said, ‘I’m the manager,’ then turned around and left,” Hitchcock said.

Paolucci said he and Hitchcock then asked store personnel to call police. Within minutes, deputies from the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department’s Niles Township Patrol arrived, pleasing Paolucci who said he thought a few questions and a review of the store’s videotapes and computer records would quickly resolve the matter.

He said he was shocked when he was immediately handcuffed, without a question being asked, and placed in the back seat of a squad car. Hitchcock wasn’t handcuffed but also was placed in the back seat of a second squad car.

At this point in time, money tends to speak. As consumers, we do hold power, and yet we don’t use it nearly enough. So my suggestion is this: when such blatant incidents happen, why not send a little something like this to the corporations HQ?

Dear Sir; I am extremely distraught at the followinf story regarding one of your stores: http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2009/11/07/16449. As a Walmart Customer, I would like to know what Walmart is doing to ensure such terrible treatment never happens again, as well as how the family will be fairly compensated for the trauma they went through. Thank you for your time, YOUR NAME, YOUR CITY/STATE

If enough emails are received, they are going to start worrying about their bottom line, and that might make them do something about it – like a no-discrimination policy. It might not be the best case scenario (that would be a loving acceptance of everyone), but it could be a first step.

And then we will be able to consult about how to ignite the spark of love for all our fellow humankind.

I searched and I don’t quite know if I found

Journalism is being revamped, and that’s awesome. Seriously, how else are we going to be able to think for ourselves if our main source of ‘trusted’ information can’t be trusted anymore? Yes the Internet provides for an amazing wealth of information, but let’s be honest – it would still be nice to have news networks we could 100% trust.

And while the industry is doing it’s part, I’d like to offer a humble reflection on what I think the part of the public should be. After all, at the end of the day, newspapers have to sell to remain viable.

First, I think we need to wean ourselves off our addiction to sensationalism. There certainly is a thrill to watching a newscast following, say, a balloon in the sky with supposedly a little boy in it. But wasting an entire day to this, especially when it turns out to be a hoax, doesn’t seem to be the best use of one’s time.

Just saying.

Second, we need to develop an interest in not only watching the news, but understanding it and acting upon it. After all, what’s the use of listening to report after report of what is going wrong in the world if we don’t understand why it’s happening and are not taking steps to contribute positively to making the world a better place?

Third, we have to learn to identify underlying biases, because let’s be honest: everyone has them, and even the best of journalists cannot help but inject some of their own selves into their reports, however faint the mark might be.

Fourth, we need to learn to share our personal analysis’ with each other, for the simple reason that we are not able to read every single bit of news about every single thing that is happening in the entire world. If we build a network of interested people who are able to read everything about one little subtopic analyze it systematically and present their analysis’ in, for example, a blog (look at the coincidence) – seriously, how awesome would that be? And we don’t have to have huge, scholarly presentations. Just look at the amazing work websites like Crooks & Liars are doing, and the work that shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are doing. Let’s bank on these successes already!

Fifth, we need to be able to stop fighting with each other, trying to prove the others wrong, and learn to consult with each other. The truth is huge and we can only hope to solidly grasp a certain part of it. Were we to share or opinions, might we not come to have an even more solid understanding of the truth?

Everything is alright? Really?

I am always curious to meet the person behind claims that the world is doing OK and that we are not in need of a massive transformation of the very meaning we give to life – and everything related to it.

Then again, perhaps I can understand; it’s not easy transforming. If we could talk to caterpillars, I’m sure they would feel a little anxious before coccooning themselves, even if it is to become a butterfly.

Supernatural: Taking it another step further

For those of you who, like me, don’t watch Supernatural only because of its inherent awesomeness, but also because of a fascination with all things paranormal and supernatural, here is the URL of a fellow blogger’s work in compiling material and his personal thoughts on the topic: http://www.thesupernatural.info/. It compiles not only reviews and thoughts on the actual show, but also material related to the various monsters and phenomena featured on the show. It’s really worth your while if you’re interested in the show, in the paranormal or in both.

New Moon: Here we go again!

And it’s back: Edward Obsession, and, concurrently, my fascination with Edward Obsession. I have been (obviously enough) reading a lot about the subject, and here is a little something my good friend Chelsea (my partner in starting up Geek Girls Anonymous) sent on the subject. It’s well worth the read.

Massawyrm drops trou and offers a moon of his own to THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON!!

Hola all. Massawyrm here.

Bella Swan is one of the most detestable, obnoxious, mentally unstable characters in modern American literature. She is a character so over the top that she borders on satire; and were she some sort of Holden Caulfield-like, deliberately unlikable character written with the intent to openly mock the ideals of modern romantic literature, she would be acceptable, if not perfect for the part. But Stephanie Meyer isn’t that self-aware. Instead, she has woven together a cloyingly insufferable romantic saga – a junkfood and cheesecake epic, if you will – centering around a woman who revels in, nay celebrates, how damaged she is. I dated a girl like Bella once. Thank god they make medication for girls like that now.

(…)

That’s not to say that I don’t understand the attraction. TWILIGHT is soap opera; neutered soap opera scrubbed clean of indecency to be sure, but soap opera none the less. In the place of the lurid we simply find the supernatural. And Meyer has found a way to turn the dark, shadowy world of the vampire into the pink frilly lace and teddy bears of a little girl’s room, creating a vampire archetype so bad it will stand for generations as an example of how badly classic monsters can be re-invented.

The review I wrote of the first film almost one year ago to the day still stands, and all of its critiques hold true for me for this mangled mess of a movie. Its attempts at creating a mythology are embarrassing at best, clearly lifting from sources that themselves were not the originators while occasionally creating an idea of its own only original for the sake of being so stupid no one else thought to put it in print. The romance is juvenile, over-sentimentalized and never truly shared with the audience and feels more akin to middle school romance than the concept of courtly love it often pretends to evoke. If you felt that Stewart and Pattinson lacked real chemistry before, just wait until you see how little time they spend together in love in this film. Sure there’s a few moment of canoodling meant to be tender, but there is still absolutely no meat to their relationship, no spark. Making matters worse is that when Pattinson leaves the picture for a while, we are treated to a second act that is merely a rehashing of the second act of the first film with a new love interest, complete with very similar lines of dialog and some of the exact same concepts.

(…)

And just as that comes to its inevitable conclusion, with Bella once again being the prized pony in the show, her boyfriend re-enters the film and we’re presented with a classic Casablanca problem. Does Bella run off with the dangerous soulless vampire who she is terrified of growing old with (because, really, if you thought Bella wasn’t shallow enough, adding in nightmares about growing old and unattractive with an unaging boyfriend will seal the fucking deal) or remain with the dependable, barrel-chested, good natured guy who has been looking out for her since minute one. Let’s see, dangerous guy, comfortable guy? Dangerous guy? Comfortable guy?

Yeah. By hour four of this terrible series, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that Meyer is going to make the wrong choice, and she does it again here. But not before rolling out a series of relationship clichés and a third act with the stunning lack of a climax. Seriously. Two hours and ten minutes and the movie has NO CLIMAX. It just ends, punctuated by one of the most hysterical final lines in cinema history. People about fell out of their seats, laughing at the last moments – even women digging the film. It was so bad friends of mine couldn’t make eye contact with one another without bursting into tears and doubling over.

Read this awesome post in its entirety here.

Review: Fringe, Season 2, Episode 7: Of Human Action

What at first seems to be a relatively simple corporate espionage kidnapping and extortion scheme turns out to be a brilliantly intricate tale of family deception. Paralleling the lie that Walter Bishop and his son are living, James Carson, a top Massive Dynamic scientist, has been telling his son an alternate version of the truth. And as the episode concludes, we find out that the truth that Tyler thought he had found out was not even close to the real truth — i.e. the Massive Dynamic truth.

Many, including myself, have understood from the beginning that while Fringe held a lot of potential, it had to get over a couple of initial hiccups to become awesome. Some have been dealt with, and others not. I seem to not be the only person very happy to see it blooming wider open with every episode (even if it seems to somewhat stall at times). In my opinion, “Of Human Action” demonstrates how far the show has already come, and gives me great hope for the end of this season.

The opening scene is very reminiscent of yet another X-Files episode, “Pusher” (season three, episode 17). Police officers drive, hellbent, to a parking lot, where three individuals are in a car: two adults and a teenager. The adults are forced outside of the car – and this is where things become a little “Pusher”-ish. One police officer starts walking backwards until he falls off the parking lot’s ledge, and another one shoots her fellow officers before turning the gun on herself.

But this is where the similarities end, for where “Pusher” was about an individual with a brain tumour who had acquired the ability to control others, the person to control other’s actions here is courtesy of none other than Massive Dynamics’ scientists. And once again, we realise that Nina Sharp is in on it, far more than she lets on.

I am now convinced that Nina Sharp is using everyone for her own agenda. While it seems that she is only doing it out of loyalty to William Bell, I’m certain she will end up betraying him, too, because while her own agenda is probably intricately linked to that of William Bell’s, it will somehow be different because of some fundamental yet seemingly small difference.

“Of Human Action” really was a great episode. The plot was advanced indirectly, a brilliant ploy making the experience all the more interesting. We don’t know how Peter will react when (if) he finds out he’s from the other world, but we have an idea of how Tyler reacted when he found out about what he thought were his real origins. We don’t know what her role is, but we do know that Nina Sharp is incredibly good at lying and manipulating, even to Broyles, with whom she is romantically involved. We also know that her connection with Bell, who is in the other dimension, isn’t solid; some sort of interference has occurred which makes the messages she sends him all the less certain to reach their destination.

The pacing of the action increased substantially from the previous rather slow ones, and the writers had more than one trick up their sleeves. The visuals were great — from the first shot from above of the police officer and Fringe Division looking down to the shot of Peter and Walter at Massive Dynamics, we were treated to both typical and atypical visuals. One particularly striking scene was that of the FBI agents moving in on the abandoned hangar. We were tuned into what the agents and Fringe Division could hear wearing the headphones, and it lent an air of tension and slight confusion to a scene which was otherwise visually simple.

This episode makes me wonder what else Massive Dynamics is up to, since their blatant lack of respect for human life is made all the more apparent in their creation and use of the Tylers. This particular storyline has great potential for more than one interesting ethical dilemma concerning the needs of the many versus the rights of the few. For example, the Tylers (brief X-Files flashback here – remember when Mulder walked into a room filled with clones in tanks?) had to be created to experiment if mind control would work so as to prepare our side for the imminent invasion promised a couple of episodes ago. Does it warrant such  horrific, lifelong experiments (and necessary lies)?

Of course this episode of Fringe wouldn’t be complete without a couple of Peter/Walter and Walter moments:

Peter: Walter, remember that conversation we had about personal space?
Walter: I’m bored.

Walter [briefing the FBI agents]: Do not remove them under any circumstances. If you do, you may die a gruesome and horrible death. Thank you for your attention, and have a nice day.

Walter: That was quick thinking. You proved to be more resourceful than I give you credit for.
Peter: Is that supposed to be some sort of compliment?

Walter: Don’t be ridiculous. You were abducted. Of course you need crepes.

Review: Fringe, Season 2, Episode 6: Earthling

Fringe is back, and back with quite a bang; a monster-of-the-week episode featuring an entity that will make you watch the episode with your back to a wall, just to make sure nothing creeps up on you. Hey, you never know.

The overarching plot is simple enough. It starts with a Russian cosmonaut who went to space and brought back an entity with him. While the plot is a little reminiscent of The X-Files episode “Space,” Fringe manages to push the idea further (and, dare I say, makes for an overall better episode). Said cosmonaut has been in a coma since being taken over, but that doesn’t stop the entity, as it can project itself anywhere it wants. A black shadow made of smoke, the entity absorbs radiation emitted by the human body by passing through it. The result: victims burn at a temperature so hot that they retain their shape even as their insides have been turned to ash.

Lovely.

In a desperate bid to save him, the cosmonaut’s brother steals him from the Russian military hospital, brings him to the United States (how is a question still up for debate), and starts jumping from hospital to hospital, having his brother admitted into the coma ward and bailing ship when the entity’s shadow starts killing people. The brother is also looking for a way to get rid of the entity, thus allowing his brother to wake up from his coma; he has a formula which needs solving, and until that’s done, he can (sort of) control the shadow’s excursions by applying an electric current to his brother’s comatose body. Delightful.

The opening scene was great, at once touching and consequently heart-wrenching — because you know that, invariably, one or more people in the opening scene are going to die. Randy calls up his wife, Natalie, pretending to be at the airport, about to leave the city on the evening of their wedding anniversary, when in fact he’s at home, preparing a surprise for her. Seriously, talk about toying with the viewer’s emotions.

I especially loved the fact that Natalie’s reaction was so realistic. Women in such a situation are often portrayed as shrill and hysterical, yelling at their husbands for being a killjoy and accusing them of having an affair or some other ridiculous thing. Natalie simply told her husband she was really disappointed (and she sounded really disappointed, too), but that she understood that he had to work. Newsflash: this is usually how real women react!

Perhaps Fringe is also at the cutting edge of social sciences…

The rest of the opening scene was also pretty awesome, what with the second of total silence after the black shadow attacked Randy while the camera panned the empty apartment. Perhaps there was a little Hitchcock inspiration at work here? And then, the cherry on the cake — Natalie comes home to find Randy sitting on the couch, and when she touches his arm, he falls apart in a cloud of ashes.

Awesome.

This scene’s emotional build-up, from a beautiful romantic moment between two people who seem to be in a healthy relationship shattered by a Smokey Black Shadow, seems to have been written on purpose to tug at the emotional heartstrings of the viewers and to ready them to open up to Broyles. Because although the show is a monster-of-the-week, it’s pretty obvious as soon as the credits are over that it’s about Broyles. For the second time in the history of Fringe, we see a more human side to him (the first being when we find out he has a relationship with Nina Sharp). For impenetrable and sometimes overly seriously Broyles is sitting in a restaurant and playing peek-a-boo behind his menu with an adorable little boy. How cute is that?

I like the idea, I really do – but I don’t think this episode did what it set out to do quite as planned. On the one hand, we do find out a little bit about Broyles’ past, and how he had already investigated the Smokey Black Shadow only to see it destroy his marriage. And we see how that left a bitter taste in Broyles’ mouth, and would explain a little bit more about his mostly deadpan façade.

Broyles: I took this job to make the world a safer place for my family. And now, I don’t even have a family.

But just like with Olivia Dunham, I found it hard to connect with Philip Broyles. While Walter Bishop’s discomfort at watching a patient tied down as he was back at St. Claire’s (season two, episode five), I didn’t really feel bad for Broyles having had a divorce as a direct consequence of the Smokey Black  Shadow case. I don’t know if it makes me an insensitive person, but if it does, there are a lot of Fringe viewers who suffer from the same problem.

Thank goodness for Walter Bishop. According to the fan forums and discussion boards, even Astrid summons more empathy and caring that Broyles and Dunham. I don’t know why.

On a more positive note, the cosmonaut’s brother’s devotion is heart-warming, especially when such a thing is fast dwindling as individualism slowly creeps into the hearts of even the most caring of us.

And there was one particularly adorable Walter Bishop moment:

Olivia: Walter, do you have any thoughts?
Walter: Reminds me of Christmas. Like a fire log that burns so hot it remains intact, holding the shape of its former self. You (Peter) used to love that when you were a child, you’d poke the log with your little finger when cold, and you’d draw genitalia on the reindeer decorations.
Peter: Happy memories, Walter. But what I think she meant was having thoughts to what happened to Dusty here.

So just like its plotline, my opinion of Fringe has plateaued once again. It’s an intriguing show with a lot of potential that needs to be worked harder. The writers should perhaps consider taking some advice from Supernatural writers — put more into one episode, advance not only the plotline and one character, but rather the entire cast together within the plot. I would really hate to see a show with so much potential go to waste simply because after a great beginning to the season, it manages to lose the audience’s interest.

Review: Supernatural, Season 5, Episode 9: The Real Ghostbusters

What a blast this week’s episode of Supernatural was. The line between letting the fans in on the joke and making fun of them was fine, and once again the writers were risking being ostracized, but I think it was trod very carefully (albeit still in a deliciously blasphemous, typical Supernatural way). I don’t know if the full effect was appreciated by some if not most of the fans, as those with whom I talked on discussion forums didn’t seem to make the connection between their behaviour and what was going on in the episode.

This is the one thing that makes me sad, for as I have made it quite clear in previous Supernatural reviews, this show isn’t fantastic only because of the quality of its various parts, but rather because of the subtext of the entire series, the fight for good, and how it easily parallels the reality of the world around us and the choices that each one of us must make.

“The Real Ghostbusters”, the ninth episode of Supernatural’s fifth season, was a monster-of-the-week type wrapped in an aura of the show’s mytharc, as we find out, courtesy of our favourite insane Supernatural fan, where the Colt is (hurrah!). Becky gets involved in organizing (or does she start it?) a Supernatural convention and tricks Sam and Dean to attend.

Devious insane little minx. I really like her.

The Supernatural convention was a brilliant idea, and the perfect context for the return of Becky. The various Sam and Dean wannabes were also an amazing touch, as was adding the real Sam and Dean to the mix. Poor Chuck; he probably couldn’t imagine how fiercely those two were going to react to the whole idea.

Then there was the hunt within the hunt. As part of the Supernatural convention experience, a hunt for a ghost was organized, and of course, it finally came to light (pun oh-so-intended) that there were some real ghosts involved, too. Again, a predictable yet brilliant twist that got twisted again when we figure out who the real killer ghost is — or rather, who they are.

I also loved the titles of the two panels that were announced near the beginning of the episode: “Frightened Little Boy: The Secret Life of Dean” and “The Homoerotic Subtext of Supernatural“.

I have to admit that I am still puzzled as to why Sam and Dean stayed at the convention in the first place. I know, I know, if they hadn’t, they wouldn’t have seen the ghosts blah, blah, blah, but they didn’t even make an attempt early on to leave. I would have honestly thought that they wouldn’t have even entered the hotel, and that something would force them enter.

Then again, perhaps I am simply underestimating the strength of one’s curiosity.

A theme that seems a little recurrent in Supernatural’s current season is that of celebrity obsessions. The obsessed-fan theme of this episode culminated with this exchange:

Dean: All right, you know what? That’s it. That is it. [...] What is wrong with you? Why the hell would you choose to be these guys?
Barnes: Because we’re fans. Like you.
Dean: No. I am not a fan, okay? Not fans. In fact, I think that the Dean and Sam story sucks. It is not fun, it’s not entertaining, it is a river of crap that would send most people howling to the nuthouse. So you listen to me. Their pain is not for your amusement. I mean do you think they enjoy being treated like, like circus freaks?
Damien: I don’t think they care, because they’re fictional characters.
Dean: Oh, they care. Believe me. They care a lot.
Sam: He, uh, takes the story really seriously.

This episode is all the more interesting in wake of the passing of Michael Jackson. It’s good to look up to people and be inspired by them. Heck, there are so many people that inspire me (including Michael Jackson, by the way), it would be hypocritical of me to condemn that. But I think it’s gone way too far; for when more people recognise celebrities than they do philanthropists and heads of state, when more people can quote full conversations from their favourite movies and not remember the basic tenets of their country’s constitution, then we have a problem.

The other adverse effect that such an obsession has is that we start taking a sort of perverse pleasure in these people’s suffering. How else can we explain the interest, time, and money we pour into following them as they head straight into the abyss? Rather than respecting their privacy in their darkest moments, we seem to be pushing them even faster and farther into it. How degraded has our society become when we enjoy the pain of others?

But, again, this doesn’t mean that we should scrape away the entire ‘looking up’ to famous people thing; after all, they can be pretty inspiring, and they can make us work hard to become better than what we currently are. And, in the context of Supernatural, perhaps the exchange below will finally allow Dean to get over some of his resentment at not being able to have a normal life, and to appreciate that, even with the mistakes that he made, Sam is a pretty special brother to have:

Damien: No offense, but I don’t think you get what the story is about.
Dean: Is that so?
Damien: In real life, he sells stereo equipment. I fix copiers. Our lives suck. But to be Sam and Dean, to wake up every morning and save the world, to have a brother who would die for you, well who wouldn’t want that?
Dean: Maybe you got a point.

Another nod to the Supernatural fandom was the fact that Barnes and Damien, who were playing Sam and Dean respectively, turned out to be partners. So much for the homoerotic subtext of Supernatural.

Some great lines and moments:

I know that technically this one is from another episode, but still…

Becky: Sam! Is that really you?
Sam: Uh, lady, are you okay?
Becky [touching Sam’s chest]: And you’re so firm!Sam: Oh, uh, Becky?
Becky: Oh. You remembered. You’ve been thinking about me.

Dean: Who gave you the rights to our life’s story?
Chuck: An archangel.

Dean: Great. We got a real ghost and a bunch of people pretending to be us poking at it.

Dean: Give me the map, Chuckles.
Damien as Dean: No. You’re the chuckles, Chuckles.

Dean: A little gratitude would be nice once in awhile.

Dean: Just give her the puppy dog thing.

Damien as Dean: How come Dean always lights this thing on the first frigging try?

Becky: Will you be okay?
Sam: I’ll find a way to live, I guess.

Sam: Hey Chuck, look, if you really want to publish more books, I guess that’s okay with us.
Chuck: Wow, really?
Sam: No, not really. We have guns and we’ll find you.

Review: Supernatural, Season 5, Episode 8: Changing Channels

No, no — contrary to what some emails from disgruntled fans might have implied, I was as usual really looking forward to this week’s episode of Supernatural. And I have a secret to share with you all: being critical of something doesn’t mean you don’t like it!

What, me, defensive? Not at all. Seriously. I’m amused.

And I’m grateful that this week’s episode was just as amazing as the first six of this season were, so that I don’t have to comment again on the fact that, you know, as awesome as it was, it wasn’t as awesome as…

I should really not go there again.

The episode starts off with a Then/Now recap, in which we are reminded of the fact that Dean is perhaps Sam’s greatest weakness. I don’t think it’s as simple as that; for if that were the case, Sam would also be Dean’s weakness, and, although Sam is the one person Dean would literally go to hell for, this doesn’t mean that Dean is going to break because of Sam.

Case in point: remember when Zachariah, trying to convince Dean to accept being Michael’s vessel,  took out Sam’s lungs? Although Sam was at great risk of dying, pending Cas’ very timely intervention, Dean didn’t crack. Dean has integrity, and while, to a certain extent, so does Sam, that integrity doesn’t withstand some tests. So I would argue that no, Dean isn’t Sam’s weakness, but rather that Sam’s integrity isn’t strong enough to withstand the test of losing Dean, or losing the war.

This also touches a little bit on last week’s (brief) discussion about love. Some might argue that Sam loves Dean more than Dean loves Sam, but I disagree. I think that Dean’s love is more rational and mature than Sam’s love for him, which is still highly emotional and scarred from the way their father raised them. And unless and until Sam deals with his feelings of inferiority, he is going to remain extremely vulnerable to Lucifer’s offer.

Then there was the special opening sequence, featuring the boys in less than usual situations: scaring each other by bumping into one another’s back, Sam finding a white sheet with holes for eyes ghost in the closet, Dean wiping his brow only to get car grease on it, the boys tandem biking and racing on mini motorcycles, playing football in the park and eating supper at a proper dining room table in a proper kitchen?

Amusing, yet slightly creepy at the same time…

The case the boys were investigating, the one that started it all off, was interesting in many ways. First off, the irony of the Incredible Hulk killing off a hothead was simply and brilliantly underlined:

Sam: A hothead getting killed by TV’s greatest hothead. Kind of sounds like just desserts, doesn’t it.

But before they came to that conclusion, it was interesting to see the witness in denial about what she had seen for the simple reason that she knew she wouldn’t be believed. Even more curious was the fact that it made more sense to accept that a bear had done all the damages mentioned, which is seemingly just as impossible at the Incredible Hulk coming to life.

Dean: Is it common, a bear doing that?
Deputy: Depends how pissed off the bear is, I guess.

How intriguing that the woman, who saw with her own eyes what happened, changed her story because people were too narrow-minded to believe that potentially she might be right. Then again, I don’t quite blame them, since, well, the Incredible Hulk coming into one’s house to kill one’s husband does make for quite a ridiculous story.

If we push the thought further, perhaps it could be argued that although she saw it, the woman didn’t even believe herself. Which makes me wonder, how many of us do that all the time in our day to day lives? How much do we not see, even if it is right in front of us? Again, it reminds me of The X-Files and Supernatural, how only Mulder and Scully in the former and Sam and Dean in the latter see things and are judged for being able to see them.

Speaking of being blinded, it’s interesting to see how it’s not just Zachariah and Raphael that were blinded, as we find out that, all this time, the Trickster was yet another archangel, Gabriel, blinded by what he thinks is the only solution to the Apocalypse.

Dean: And for the record, this isn’t about some prize fight between your brothers, or some destiny that can’t be stopped, this is about you being too afraid to stand up to your family.

Ah, truer words have yet to be said in this episode. Dean is absolutely right. Zachariah, Raphael and Gabriel are so intent of solving the problem using the path that seems the most obvious and the easiest to them that they are not even able to fathom the possibility that perhaps there is another solution – or even, more than one solution. I again can’t help but wonder what would happen if this dysfunctional family would sit with a therapist (Castiel, perhaps?) and try to consult on other ways of dealing with the problem once and for all.

But until they all see the truth for what it is, rather than what they think it is, no amount of therapy can possibly help.

Dean: All that stuff he (Gabriel) was spouting in there, you think it was the truth?
Sam: I think he believes it.

And so each Archangel is going to continue believing what he wants to believe, while the world continues falling into the abyss caused by the Apocalypse. Does that sound familiar? When there is a problem at the local, provincial, national or international level, does anyone seem to stand up and say: it’s partly my fault, I’m sorry, let’s not try to fix it?

Come to think of it, this situation depicted in Supernatural mirrors what is happening in the world right now. Think about it: we have a conglomerate of very powerful countries (Archangels) and some powerful ones (angels) all refusing to admit that there can be another solution to the problem (Sam and Dean accepting their ‘destiny’). Perhaps if all these countries, be it at the top-most level or at the grassroots level, would reflect on their contribution to the problem, accept it and rise up to their responsibility the world would definitely not be in the state it’s in today.

And what with the two shootings in less than 24 hours that happened in the United States yesterday (Thursday the 5th) and today (Friday the 6th) — don’t tell me there is nothing wrong with the world. No wonder society seems more obsessed with what is going on in Kate and Jon’s lives than the health care debate. Seriously, sometimes when I read too much news, all I want to do is buy a celebrity gossip magazine (and sometimes, when it just gets too much, I do).

Dean: So what do we do?
Sam: I don’t know.
Dean: I tell you one thing. Right about now, I wish I was still in a TV show.
Sam: Yeah, me too.

And the biggest question of the current season of Supernatural still remains without an answer: where is God? Bravo, Jeremy Carver, for writing a great episode. Just one question… how come Dean knows about Facebook, but he didn’t know about MySpace?

Some amazing moments:

• Dean knowing all the characters from the doctor show
• Dean’s man-crush on Doctor Sexy
• Jared’s amazing CSI Horatio-voice

Some great lines:

Sitcom Dean [looking at the giant sandwich he made himself]: I’m gonna need a bigger mouth.Sitcom Dean: Hey there, Sammy. What’s happening?
Sitcom Sam: Oh you know. Just the end of the world.

Sitcom Sam [spotting the huge sandwich Dean made for himself]: You’re gone need a bigger mouth.

Sam: This show has ghosts? Why?
Dean: I don’t know. It is compelling though.
Sam: I thought you said you weren’t a fan.
Dean: I’m not. I’m not… Oh God.
Sam: What?
Dean: It’s him. It’s Doctor Sexy.

Sam: I thought you’re not a fan.
Dean: It’s a guilty pleasure.

Sam: It was a trick.
Trickster: Hellooooooooo. Trickster!

CSI: He has a roll of quarters down his throat.
Sam [in his best Horatio voice]: Well I say… Jackpot.
CSI: […] a stab wound to the abdomen.
Dean: Well I say… Not guts, no glory.

Dean: Sam? Where are you?
Impala Sam: I don’t know. Oh crap. I don’t think we killed the Trickster.

Impala Sam: Dean?
Dean (looking through the Impala’s trunk): What?
Impala Sam: That feels, uh, really uncomfortable.
Dean slams the trunk shut.
Impala Sam: Ouch.

Trickster: Wow, Sam, get a lot of the rims on you.
Sam: Eat me.

Trickster: Where did you get the holy oil?
Dean: You might say we pulled it out of Sam’s ass.

Review: Supernatural, Season 5, Episode 7: The Curious Case of Dean Winchester

I still think that Supernatural is the best TV show currently being aired. The entire team, from the writers to the producers to the actors, have set the bar extremely high. Episodes are filled with humour, drama, and action, and missing one episode is akin to missing one or more vital links to understanding the story.

Or so it usually is.

Don’t get me wrong here, I do not want to seem like I think Supernatural isn’t great or has jumped the shark or anything, but this episode was, in my opinion, the worse one of this season.

And yes, I realise that I am probably going to be attacked by hate mail and hate comments. But if that’s the cost of reviewing honestly, then so be it.

But before you condemn me, dear fan, please consider the following. This episode was good, but in all fairness, after the first amazing six out-of-this-world ones season five started with, it wasn’t at par. It was less fast, less funny, and less interesting than the episodes it was preceded by.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch it, nor does it mean I didn’t enjoy doing so. From the opening scene, where we see a woman reading Weekly World News! (hello Men in Black!) to Dean struggling to adapt to his newfound (and thankfully temporary) old age to the intense scene between Dean and Bobby to the one-liners, this was a great episode.

Just not an amazing one.

There were also some pretty interesting topics to cover in this review. For one, our monster-of-the-week was delightfully grey-toned; he wasn’t all bad, as his two kind acts of the episode clearly showed, nor was he all good, as the ghosts of the numerous people he killed can testify.

In all honesty, can Patrick really be considered a villain? After all, he is clearly setting the rules of the game for his opponents, and doesn’t cheat – he’s just a master at poker. If he truly was evil, he would have taken advantage of the older man’s terrible game of poker to win 13 years, and yet he folded, knowing he had the better hand, to give the old man the chance to attend his granddaughter’s bat mitzvah.

As for those who lost and consequently died, they did know what they were playing for. Can we truly blame Patrick when it’s the opponents’ greed that is making them bet on things they shouldn’t be betting on? If you aren’t a great poker player – heck, even if you are – you aren’t playing for pennies or for fake chips like many of us do with our friends; you’re playing for your life.

Perhaps the fact that Patrick knows humans so well and uses their weaknesses to his advantage makes him definitely devious; I do not for one condone this fact. However, this is one of those cases in which the solution will not be putting someone like Patrick in jail. The entire system needs to be changed, because even if you lock this Patrick away, there are many more in the woodwork that you can go after.

In short, Dean and Sam can fight all the bad guys that they want, but ultimately — we know it and they probably know it — they have to fight Lucifer

On another Patrick-related note, the last scene between him and his girlfriend was quite poignant (and very well filmed and acted – bravo, everyone). In a Twilight-obsessed world, I can’t help but see the social criticism of the act; Patrick gave her what she needed rather than what he thought she needed. I don’t know if it struck a nerve with anyone else, but this made quite the impression on me, all the more that I compared it bore a striking parallel to the relationship between Dean and Bobby, and that of Dean and Sam, the latter relationship being more about each brother giving the other what he himself needs rather than what the other needs.

Oy — this is getting slightly confusing.

What the girlfriend asked of Patrick was horrible for him; while it meant the end of her suffering, it meant only the beginning of his. Was it loving of her to trick her way into being killed, by sneaking the formula to the boys? Not at all. Neither was it loving of her to ask of Patrick to die, when she promised him a lifetime at his side. Her behaviour was actually quite selfish, and – I can’t believe I am going to say this – perhaps she didn’t deserve someone like Patrick, who loved her so much so that he gave her what she wanted, at the cost of his own well-being.

It’s similar in many ways to the conversation between Dean and Bobby; Dean tells Bobby that he and Sam have nothing else but Bobby to hang on to, and he’d better not leave them. But is that a fair statement? Wouldn’t it have been kinder to tell Bobby to consider the fact that Dean and Sam have no one other than him, rather than laying it on his shoulders as yet another weight to bear?

Then again, all this just might not be real love. For isn’t love about giving and taking? Shouldn’t the girlfriend have spoken up her mind about her dilemma and together, they would have made the decision? Shouldn’t Dean have spoken up his mind, but also have offered Bobby a hand? After all, in both cases, the other person is also clearly suffering; to put the weight of the responsibility of the others’ happiness on top of that suffering hardly seems like love.

On the related theme of suffering we have Bobby, who has been having a very tough time accepting that he’s not a hunter anymore. Being stuck in a wheelchair is hard for anyone, but probably even harder for someone like Bobby, a trained hunter who knows the Apocalypse has happened and can’t be out there fighting it with his friends and the boys, who are like sons to him. It’s also understandable that Bobby took the risk playing Patrick to get his legs back; and it’s sweet that he was willing to sacrifice himself for Dean, knowing that on the field at least, Dean would be more useful.

But there are two reasons for which Bobby’s life couldn’t be sacrificed. One is that, wounded or not, Bobby is still a soldier, and there is a lot he can still do. The second is that his presence is important to the well-being of two other hunters, i.e. our boys.

Dean: You don’t stop being a soldier because you got wounded in battle. No matter what shape you’re in Bobby, bottom of the line is you’re family. Now I don’t know if you’ve noticed but me and Sam, we don’t have much left. I can’t do this without you. I can’t. So don’t you dare think about checking out. I don’t want to hear that again.

There is one thing that bothered me about this particular scene, and that I was a little disappointed it wasn’t addressed in Dean’s above-mentioned rebuttal. Bobby mentions how he had lacked the courage to kill himself the day he got back from the hospital. To that I would have replied: does it take more courage to kill yourself, or to live in a way you couldn’t have previously fathomed, but persevering because you know there is an Apocalypse happening and two of the best hunters out there, Dean and Sam, are going to need you to back them up, be it with a pep talk or with the thorough research Bobby is known for? For suicide isn’t an act of courage; it’s an act of desperation, one that poor people stuck in terrible conditions and who can’t see an end to their pain and suffering choose to take. And I think we can agree that the one thing Bobby doesn’t lack is courage.

On yet another related note, I would love to hear some opinions on if the girlfriend (WHAT is her name?) was trying to commit suicide when she gave the reversal formula to the boys, or when she played against Patrick knowing she would lose. I think that if you are going to encourage someone and/or empower them to do something that will kill you, then you are, at least indirectly, killing yourself.

Sam: You’re crying? For a witch you’re so nice, it’s actually creepy.

There were, of course, a lot of old people jokes, from Cliff not knowing what an Xbox is to the maid comparing Dean’s flirting to her grandfather hitting on anything that moves. Dean’s physical condition is given a beating, with him barely able to make it to the second floor without being winded, not being able to eat a cheeseburger without getting heartburn, and not being able to see the numbers on the safe’s dial. My favourite one is when Dean Senior tries to talk some sense into Sam by pulling a ‘when you’re our (his and Bobby’s) age…, to which Sam replies: “Dean, you’re thirty”.

On a closing note, we know by now that Supernatural writers have a tendency to play with their viewers (remember Becky?). Which makes me wonder if the exchange below is a hint of things to come, or just them messing with our minds:

Dean: Hope I get that kind of kick around his age.
Sam: Yeah, like either of us will live that long.
Dean: True.

I fear it is going to be a very, very long season.

Some great lines:

Doctor: You expect me to believe you’re CDC?
Sam: Excuse me?
Doctor: It’s just that you’re a day early. First time in history I haven’t sat on my ass waiting for you people.
Dean: New administration. Change you can believe in.Cliff: It was a game.
Sam: Like Xbox?
Cliff: What’s Xbox?

Dean: And you beat me here.
Bobby: Brain trumps legs, apparently.

Dean Senior: Bobby’s an idiot, that’s what happened.
Bobby: Hey, nobody asked you to play.
Dean Senior: Right. I should have just let you die.
Bobby: And for damn sure, nobody asked you to lose.
Sam: It’s like Grumpy Old Men.
Dean Senior & Bobby: Shut up, Sam!

Dean Senior: I’m having a heart attack!
Bobby: No you’re not.
Dean Senior: What is it?
Bobby: Acid reflux.

Housekeeper: Ready for housekeeping, sir?
Dean Senior: Born ready.
Housekeeper: You’re just like my grandfather. He hits on anything that moves, too.

Sam: It’s more like ‘Mission: Pathetic’.

Dean Senior: You may be in a wheelchair but I’ve been to Hell, and there’s an archangel there waiting for me to drop the soap.

Bobby: Are we done feeling our feelings? Because I’d like to get out of this room before we both start growing lady parts.

knowing that on the field at least, Dean would be more useful.But there are two reasons for which Bobby’s life couldn’t be sacrificed. One is that, wounded or not, Bobby is still a soldier, and there is a lot he can still do. The second is that his presence is important to the well-being of two other hunters, i.e. our boys.