[meta] 5.13 - unfortunately, the song really does remain the same

[vanitashaze]

One: What? I thought the whole point was that angels hadn't come down to earth in thousands of years, and Castiel was the first one. That Dean was the trigger. The whole "Uriel pops down casually" thing just cheapens the whole mythology. Like - what? He didn't have a bigger reaction to being the first angel to once again walk the earth? It's just, I like smiting?

Secondly: So, forty years in the past, before Uriel has even clapped eyes on his vessel, and he's still a scary violent black man who takes orders from a white woman? I mean, come on. They could have made him anyone. One, vessels don't matter to angels, and two, Uriel hasn't even encountered his future vessel, so it's not like he has associations or anything. And so the fact that they specifically chose a male, black actor - who even physically resembles the previous male, black actor - means that they were consciously casting the cruelest - "I like smiting" - most violent, least sympathetic* character as a black man.

Just - dude! Get your racist head out of your hindparts!


*At least Anna's motivations, we understood, and were meant to sympathize with. There was emotional resonance. Whereas, Uriel was given an excuse - "they killed you in the future" - but there was no emotional resonance or empathy at all. He was just a plot point, a tool.

ETA: The only thing I could think of that would not make this the biggest race!fail since - well, the last one - is if past!Uriel's vessel was supposed to be a younger version of future!Uriel's vessel. Which would actually be really interesting, and I want to hear more about that, and why. But since they didn't hint towards that, I'm going to assume the worst.

ETA 2: Okay, so the consensus seems to be that it really was a young Uriel. In which case: Well, the problem still stands. Instead of having two black male characters who are violent and toolish, we have one who is even more so. Not really an improvement, in my opinion.

ETA 3: ...I wonder if experiencing being a black man in 1970s America had any effect on future!Uriel's determination to bring about the apocalypse.

ETA 4: Basically, this episode? I liked the first five minutes or so, right up until title sequence, or whatever it's called - I love the Dean-Anna dynamic and the gentle old-ex feeling; the hints that, had they been allies, they would have been friends - and the last two minutes - OH MY GOD CREEPY - and the bits with Castiel, because Misha Collins is the only actor I've seen so far who really gets the otherness of angels. (Collins' acting talent is about 60% of why I love Castiel.) Everyone else just treats them like they're human, and while I could buy Anna acting like that, everyone else - no. Not so much. So, sorry, ticketsonmyself - your fears were entirely justified.

ETA 5: What the fuck? Why is fandom so gleeful over Anna's death? SHE WAS A COOL CHARACTER, PEOPLE! THE ACTRESS WAS KEANU-REEVESESQUE BUT THE CHARACTER WAS COOL! Also, how much did everyone love that her roots were showing? The bottle-red we had previously seen had faded a lot, and there were brown roots. I don't know why I loved that so much, exactly, but it was such an intersection - human Anna obviously cared about her hair a lot (trust me, it takes a lot of dyeing and maintenance to build up to that color), and angel Anna doesn't even notice. It's such a weirdly human thing, really, and a constant reminder of her imprisonment.

Comments

[ticketsonmyself.livejournal.com]

LOLcats Rule 34! I like it!

Chi chis?

The magical laptop is indeed magical! Though I was disappointed that Dean didn't stab him anyway. I guess it's less overwhelming when your first acquaintance is via laptop.

re: the chi chis

[vanitashaze.livejournal.com]

She Taught Every Angel to Rearrange the Sky (http://luchia13.livejournal.com/189595.html). Ellen Harvelle's bar gets some angelic visitors, mostly because the angelic visitors need some help dealing with non-angelic people. And advice for hitting on Dean.

Re: the chi chis

[ticketsonmyself.livejournal.com]

Ah, yenta fic.

I did like that part:

“Anna challenged Castiel to a drinking contest. They were twirling a quarter with their angel powers or something, and when they couldn’t twirl them anymore they asked me what they could use the quarters for, and I told them two quarters could get you a song from the jukebox.” She grimaced. “They picked the one with ‘hallelujah’ and ‘amen’ in it.”

Re: the chi chis

[vanitashaze.livejournal.com]

I did love that part too, because, well, of course they would do that. And this:

Castiel nodded again, and turned to give the man in front of him an excited look. “Did you know Mother Nature’s a single woman, Dean?”

“She’s going to teach every angel to rearrange the sky,” Anna added. “And then help all the women find the perfect guy.”

“Let me guess,” Dean said dryly. “It’s raining men.”

“Hallelujah,” Ellen finished.

Well, okay, it's yenta fic, but I have respect for the classics. Actually, I think luchia13 pulled off the cliche fairly well - as a bartender, Ellen probably did have experience with those sort of problems (along with the hunter angst), and though I could have done with a little less Dean, Cas, and Anna, and more Ellen, I was very happy with the bits we did get. Ellen was Ellen, and not the usual "I have a strange, at times creepy fascination with my friends' and acquaintances' relationships and no respect for boundaries at all" that usually characterizes yenta fics. Basically, in conclusion: YAY ELLEN.

Re: the chi chis

[ticketsonmyself.livejournal.com]

That part was spot on, too! Mostly, though, it didn't really click for me. It's true, I can think of at least one yenta fic I've loved in a different fandom, for a pairing to which (as with Castiel/Dean) my reaction has settled somewhere between indifference and mild interest. It's probably that I can't take yenta fic unless I find it funnier, I guess. Also I was confused by this: “If I could bless you without damning you at the same time, I would,” Anna said quietly. But yeah, avoiding a creeptastic, no-boundaries level of preoccupation with others' relationships - at least with respect to Ellen's POV - is a standard of quality the author did meet!

Re: the chi chis

[vanitashaze.livejournal.com]

I read that line as a commentary on Anna's opinion of what happens to people she cares about. Like, "everything she touches is destroyed". Alternatively, it might be the blessing would call down the angels and they would hurt Ellen. Or something.

What's the fic you could stand? I am highly curious and intrigued.

Re: the chi chis

[wordsatourbacks]

I read that line as a commentary on Anna's opinion of what happens to people she cares about. Like, "everything she touches is destroyed". Alternatively, it might be the blessing would call down the angels and they would hurt Ellen. Or something.

I like your readings VERY MUCH! Suddenly Anna-in-the-story is a LOT more interesting to me.

"Turtle Eclipse of the Heart," which is goofy in a way that makes me smile, from the title on down. I enjoy the dialogue and narrative voice - pretty much equally goofy! It's Kowalski/Vecchio, PG-rated, which suits me fine. Mainly I like how the story reminds me of how much I've enjoyed all the characters involved and how ridiculous but likeable they can all be. (I know the biggest pairing in dS fandom is Fraser/Kowalski, which is plenty slashy, but even though I like Kowalski a lot I didn't like Fraser as much in S3-S4 due to overall changes in the show's tone and characterizations, so I could never really get behind that 'ship. If I had to pick one dS pairing, it would probably be Fraser/Vecchio, but mostly I just kind of wish there were more gen in the fandom!)

I want a Sherlock Holmes icon. Actually, I want more icon space in general.

[vanitashaze]

This is my secret power - making slightly bland and meta characters suddenly a whole lot more interesting!

Though I will read it and probably enjoy it - because, of course, you don't rec subpar fic - I can't comment on the pairing wars you noted in your commentary. Sadly, I am not that familiar with due South, which I'm sure reflects in some horrible way on my fangirl identity - because, really? A fanfiction writer saying she's not familiar with due South? It's like saying you don't know anything about Highlander! Which, um, I'm not familiar with either. Anyways... I don't know if you like Sherlock Holmes, but I did recently come across another yenta fic that I thought was very well done. Holmes strikes me as a little bit out of character in it, but maybe it's because I'm only slightly familiar with the canon - maybe he really is that congenial - but the story features a Watson and Irene Adler that I like very much, and though Adler serves as the yenta to the Holmes/Watson, it's dealt with quite respectfully and believably. Thoughts Without Words, by Katie Forsyth. Rather long - 15000 words.

Speaking of Sherlock Holmes, if you're into Mary, I strongly suggest you check out the Clever Woman, Doctor's Wife series. It features AWESOME Mary, who is feminist in a believably Victorian way, a well-done Mary/Watson, and eventually a well-done OT3. Mary and Holmes' relationship is quite clever, too, and I love how she doesn't roll over, but rather, they're drawn as intriguing to each other and, though different, quite well-matched.

Re: I want a Sherlock Holmes icon. Actually, I want more icon space in general.

[vanitashaze]

Best pick-up line ever:

"Hey, Vecchio," he said softly. Ray looked up, and Kowalski gave him a soft bright smile. "You wanna put down that tomato?"

Re: I want a Sherlock Holmes icon. Actually, I want more icon space in general.

[wordsatourbacks]

This has nothing to do with dS, but in case you haven't seen it already, I recently watched the best vid for Jo I've ever encountered yet - funny, wry, sharply bittersweet, heartbreaking in ways that are absolutely true to her character and her story and its unfulfilled promise. It's set to Ani DiFranco's "God's Country": You know I have left everywhere I have ever been.

Re: I want a Sherlock Holmes icon. Actually, I want more icon space in general.

[wordsatourbacks]

Fraser, canonically, is a guy who's highly guarded in terms of his self-perceived points of emotional vulnerability, but who also has a weird and somewhat invasive sense of personal space/boundaries! (Y'know, hence the slashy.) Often charming, sometimes off-putting.

I know little about Highlander besides the basic premise, the basic premise of the spinoff, what's in this wacky picspam of an episode (incidentally, by the author of "Turtle Eclipse of the Heart," who's a Nicholas Lea fan! the actor guested on that HL episode... I enjoyed Krycek on The X-Files and that's about all I know of Nick Lea), and what's in this gen crossover short with House (I don't even know what Watchers on HL are, but I highly recommend the oneshot based on its excellent characterization of House). So, nothing more than what I got through fannish osmosis, but - like you, I'm guessing - I've never been all that interested in HL either.

At a glance, Adler is charming in "Thoughts Without Words," but you're right - Holmes is kind of OOC (many years ago, I was a little interested in the books). I'm not really into Sherlock Holmes, but I will take a closer look at the stories later! Thank you for the recs. The "Clever Woman, Doctor's Wife" series looks sweet and kind of promising, and the installments are short!

Heeeee! TURTLE.

Re: I want a Sherlock Holmes icon. Actually, I want more icon space in general.

[vanitashaze]

Oh, I envy your not-really-into-Sherlock-Holmes-ness. I am quickly falling head over heels for the characters, if not the fandom - a great deal of it consists of the Victorian purple prose that I CANNOT STAND, and has some iffy gender issues what with Mary - and the new movie makes me squeal, but it's a bittersweet love, as I know I will never in a million years be able to write anything for it. I have my writing style, and I really can't emulate anyone else's; same with all the other art forms, except music (to a limited degree). It's really one of my great failings.

But yes, let me know how the readings go! If you're into it, there's a series AU by the same author that's a delightful Holmes/Mary/Watson/Adler, with absolutely perfect characterization.