That was gross. Not as gross as Home (the X-Files Home, I mean), though it tried.

AHAHAHA!

Okay, you know what is totally hilarious?

I had been thinking of the Benders, right? And I'd MENTALLY INSERTED scenes from that Home into it. Accidentally. Like, I was thinking, "Yeah, Benders was creepy, with that whole mother under the bed and the incest and the mutations."

I need a vacation. My head is crossing things over for me in bad ways.

I will note that I would like them to stop ending episodes with the SamandDean heartfelt conversation wrap-up.

God, yes. It's not that hard to integrate this kind of character development into the show. Especially when the A-plot is something relevant, like, say, people becoming horrible when they've been abused. Duh.

It's boring and it fucks with the pacing, so the story staggers to a halt at the 49 minute mark, and then the viewers who don't care about Dean's Angst wander away.

And yeah, Dean's reaction to the incest does sort of put a little bit of a damper on the whole Wincest thing. Not that he should care, after spending ten years torturing people.

What, exactly, is the state of his soul at the moment, anyway? Is he repentent? Has he been forgiven? He clearly thinks he shouldn't be, but that's not the same thing as penitence. He knows it was wrong, but if he were thrown back in Hell, would he do it again?

Also, these new revelations about Hell make Castiel's early threat about throwing him back rather dodgy in retrospect...

He knows it was wrong, but if he were thrown back in Hell, would he do it again?

No doubt he would try. Let's say for the sake of argument that he would try and fail. Does being unable to withstand torture indefinitely at what you did make your repentance less real? I know part of repentance is a commitment not to sin again. But does that really include guaranteeing you won't break under torture? I don't think breaking under torture is an act of free will.

I don't think breaking under torture is an act of free will.

True. Except this is SPN, and I don't really trust their comprehension of either theology or psychology anymore...

Except this is SPN, and I don't really trust their comprehension of either theology or psychology anymore..

Is this new? I always thought that both pretty much consisted of whatever advanced the plot. Where the writers do well on the show is in a willingness to go there, whereever there is, and in grasping the small parts of the psychology, the little things that make the characters real. Of course acting talent does not hurt there. Plei I think once said something along the line the the show has more heart than brain. As usual, she has a point.

The emo chat at the end was totally different this time . . . they were eating instead of drinking.

Also, I seem to be stuck on the fact that we're expected to believe that Dad/Grandpa stuck the kids behind the walls and lowered food to them but otherwise ignored them such that they like to chew on rats but also taught them to read and write so they could send that "GO" message?

I loved the creepy, I said "Oh, DEAN" with the rest of you, but I just didn't care for the episode overall.

Also, I seem to be stuck on the fact that we're expected to believe that Dad/Grandpa stuck the kids behind the walls and lowered food to them but otherwise ignored them such that they like to chew on rats but also taught them to read and write so they could send that "GO" message?

and somehow knew to slash tires and that a trunk full of weapons would be a good thing to steal.

Not to mention how to break into a locked trunk when they've theoretically never even been around a car.

I get the horrific aspect of the whole Hills Have Eyes thing, but Dean and Sam were WAY too tactically ineffective in dealing with a couple of feral kids who had zero experience bringing down something as large as a human being before the teaser. These are the same guys who've brought down vampires and werewolves and hordes of demons?

I actually enjoyed it for the creep factor, but the episode did require a large dose of handwavium to swallow the stupid. I wonder if they've been talking to the Heroes writers?

I've done papers on urban legends. No way in hell does a horror show make a big deal about a dog licking someone's hand in a darkened room if it's actually the dog doing the licking.

I thought that is why the girl said Casper the pervy ghost.

Huh. I think they just made wincest definitely non-canon.

I missed something, didn't I?

When Sam was trying to explain the girls parentage to Dean, then Dean's realization was one of shock and "Gross!" Then Sam's reply was that the guy was a "monster."