Certainly not at painful as The Racist Truck [TM], and there were good brotherly moments. I am glad to see a MotW, but the whole premise was just... weird.

Please, please, please remind me not to read reviews outside of this thread. People upset because Sam said Dean was a jerk to Jo.

He WAS. But in the only way that worked for their characters. That's why Jo's goodbye with Dean was so touching, because they cut through the bullshit and he admitted that he loved her. Not romantic love, but little sister love. C'mon peeps, if you expect Dean Winchester to have never done anything wrong...I don't even know what to suggest. It's kind of his thing and then after an epiphany, feeling bad about it.

No one on this show is blamelss. I like my heroes flawed.

My Dad trying to have a bonding moment watched the show with me tonight. After the second Double that Dean ordered at the bar Dad asked, "is he an alcoholic?".

Oh naive non-fan, this was a light drinking night. Dean is so far beyond alcoholic that I honestly don't know if he'd survive detox.

Please, please, please remind me not to read reviews outside of this thread

There are places that I am avoiding for the foreseeable future, because of that bit where Sam declared he didn't feel guilt any longer. There are people out there who barely tolerate Sam as it is, and now that he doesn't want to slit his throat with every breath, well, they're going to be gathering the pitchforks and razor blades.

(Last night I read a LJ that was so full of vitriol that I still haven't recovered. I stumbled across it by accident, and man, was that a mistake.)

Random thought 1: Dean did not get laid in tonight's episode, because he was cockblocked by Osiris. That is a reversal of the way things normally go for that particular god.

Random thought 2: Maybe they should consider finding a Psychiatrist who knows about the supernatural. Sam made a smartass remark about that along the lines of "What will they do, give me drugs?" But there are a lot of mental illness for which various pharmaceuticals can relieve or control major symptoms of. If he ever gets tired of seeing Lucifer in the mirror when he brushes his teeth, there are might be something that could make that less likely.

I've really stopped discussing show with anybody except here and with a few like-minded friends. Occasionally I'll take a quick look at someone on my flist's review or meta post. But I haven't really been looking for discussion--I'm all too aware of what I'd probably find.

I was struck by how *young* both brothers looked in the flashback montage, especially Dean. (The crying scene was in Heaven and Hell, S4, BTW). I was SO hoping Dean would 'fess up about Amy, but nooooo. If these guys ever just honestly talked to each other the world would probably stutter on its axis.

For those who follow the actors, I found a report of Toronto con that's a bit more revealing than most. She mentions convention roles I knew were true at Chicago Con in 07, but I'd thought things had changed somewhat since then. Apparently not. I found it interesting, anyway. It's here.

I didn't like it much, aside from it being nice to see Jo again. I'd hoped that "Hammer of the Gods" meant they would treat pagan deities with a little more respect moving forward. Osiris did not impress. (I do think throwing in a couple MotW eps was a good idea, just not this particular one.)

Osiris did not impress.

This. To draw out Dean's profound sense of guilt using Osiris as judge and jury, and Jo as first witness, was too anvil-ish to me. And although I found the scene with Dean and Jo sweet, I didn't need this story to tell me Dean is damaged and over-flowing with self-loathing and guilt. Plus, who didn't know Sam was going to show up in the nick of time and impale Osiris with a shofar?

Some elements were nice, but overall... meh.

It was a very workmanlike episode. I didn't feel it really brought much new to the mix, except maybe that Sam feels he's healing faster than Dean does. But it was still enjoyable. It gave us the boys working together, Sam saving Dean, a nice peek at Jo. It's kind of like a comfort food episode, nothing you'd write home about, but there are times you're going to keep going back for it because it sticks to the ribs.

I didn't dislike it.

I mean, I think gods should be treated with a little more respect and be a little harder to kill, even only for a few centuries. Sharpened ram's horns aren't exactly rare and the skill needed could be found in your basic street thug. And I miss where there were things that really frightened the Winchesters. Actual demons, angels and gods should scare you.

And Dean's guilt is always a funny thing. He's massively guilty for things like Sam about which I don't think he needs to feel ~all~ of the guilt. So I am glad to see he's feeling some guilt about Amy. Though the wrongness, for me, wasn't just the lying to Sam. Still, he's not just shoving the guilt all aside, so that's a good thing for me.

Things I really liked were getting back to MotW eps while really remembering the past. And Dean saying that when ghosts come to go after him, they've got a valid case for revenge. Sam's hair. The guy just looked good. And, wow, Dean is attractive. No wonder the bartender went from therapist with unlimited alcohol to, hmm, he'd be fun tonight.

So emotionally-stunted brothers, trying to save people, having a case that is wrapped up but evokes their past and the Impala is okay? I liked the ep overall.