I guess I made the leaps without it being spelled out. A lot was going on in this episode, and most of it was way more important to me than Anna, so. Anna was simply the cog that set this in motion this time, and to get to the emotional meat of the episode, that was fine with me.

Plus, Mary rocked. No gender fail there as far as I could see.

Call me crazy, but Anna has been trying to stop the Apocalypse since she became an angel. This is not new a new idea for her, but with the Apocalypse started, she's now taking a more active role in stopping it. Seems like a natural next step for her to first try killing Sam, and having failed, then killing Sam's parents. I think it's perfectly valid character development.

I would add I do think the equivocation of Anna with Fatal Attraction/Glenn Close was very sloppy and unfortunate.

I would add I do think the equivocation of Anna with Fatal Attraction/Glenn Close was very sloppy and unfortunate.

And I'm pretty sure the writer's room would be all "it was a throwaway line! Why are you harping on it?" which is its own nugget of gender fail, but not one of characterisation, I don't think.

I made the leaps as well, and I did enjoy the episode. But that doesn't mean it didn't have some sloppy aspects that were riding the genderfailboat.

The main explicitly gendered things that I wish they hadn't done were having Anna show up in the middle of that sort of dream (it's cheap laughs, but also ties the whole thing into their previous backseat contact in ways that make the Glenn Close thing more problematic) and the Glenn Close reference.

And I'm pretty sure the writer's room would be all "it was a throwaway line! Why are you harping on it?"

Also, it's a very Dean line. He's pretty genderfail-y.

"it was a throwaway line! Why are you harping on it?"

For me, that's kind of the issue--way too many of their throwaway lines are fratboy misogynistic.

For me, that's kind of the issue--way too many of their throwaway lines are fratboy misogynistic.

Bingo!

But still and all, SHOW!!!!

Did you see the way Mary handled that knife?

For me, though, and I know I'm holding up the minority here, misogyny is "hatred of women". For me, it's not misogynistic of Dean to compare Anna to another female character who went homicidal, it's just ... a similarity.

Are you saying he should have compared her to the Terminator or something male instead?

it's a very Dean line. He's pretty genderfail-y.

No, he's a feminist. I read that on the Internet, so it must be true.

Actually, I really don't like it from Dean. I think the line fails him more than it fails Anna, because if I take it at face value, he sees her as a former sexual partner gone crazy for no reason (or out of jealousy). And that reflects more on him than it does on her. Yes, it's a betrayal, but not of the beautiful special love they shared, or anything. Woman has a mission that's bigger than sex.

But I didn't get the impression that Show was calling her a bunny boiler.