"They were never, in fact, homeless" made me cry so fucking hard.

Oh you and me both. Yay for my little Weechesters. You did have some happy kid times. Also, no wonder Dean loves the car so much. It was not just a memory and from his dad, it was his home.

But they did it together! They went to ballgames! They did stuff, you know? The whole episode was a fic-feeding frenzy.

This was HUGE. It means they were doing stuff in between the hunting and not just going from one monster hunt to the other and sleeping in between. They were living life. Together. Oh boys.

It was like what they should have had in Heaven, all wrapped up in a lovely fast montage.

I like this idea.

I'm about to start obsessing about whether or not Misha will be a regular next season.

Already there.

I think if it had ended with S5 they would have driven right in the pit (a la Thelma & Louise).

That's good. That's the first that I've thought about all three of them going together. If it had been the series finale (and in many ways it was for the five years) I definitely can see where changes would have been made. They had to leave somethings dangling for next season though.

Plus with an ending "Fans will always bitch."

I would not be okay with that ending if this were the series finale. I don't want Dean settling with Lisa. I think it's weird and broken and unfair to both of them. I have to keep thinking of them as temporary. This will severely colour my fic consumption over the summer.

In fact, my personal initial interpretation of it had him sleeping on her sofa because he's too broken to even start up a sexual or intimate relationship with her.

Also, no wonder Dean loves the car so much. It was not just a memory and from his dad, it was his home.

The car-bashing scene just got more emotionally charged...

Mo Ryan's review is up.

The car wasn't just a car, it was literally a vehicle for Sam and Dean's relationship; it transported them through their childhood and into their difficult youths and into their sometimes fractious adulthoods.

Link

She accidentally calls Lisa Cindy and seems to believe confidently that it's Lucy!Sam standing outside.

Yeah, she thinks Sam is Lucifer. I'm pretty adamant he's not.

Mo's review got me thinking about a couple of things.

1. It reminded me of Chuck's line when we first met him and it made me giggle. "I'm some sort of God... a cruel capricious God."

2. In choosing family, faith and love I think it smooths the way for a reunion one day with John if show so chose. The point is Dean and Sam are not Michael and Lucifer. They have the capacity to accept their failures and still have the capacity for love. This might be wishful thinking on my part but I'd like to see JDM reprise John Winchester one last time.

I'm gonna post this before I catch up. It's just my reaction so far. I haven't read a lot, and my slant may change once I do.

I think all the actors acted the hell out of the script. I loved them all. And I loved the impala getting the spotlight, and having a role in destiny. Again.

I'm not a fan of predestination, so I was hoping for a subverting of "destiny", and was disappointed. I don't think Dean's going to be happy, or make Lisa or Ben happy, as long as he attempts to keep his promise to Sam. I don't know who's under that streetlight. Lots of people have said if this had been the series rather than the season finale that Sam would not have been there, that his story would be over. If that was true, I would have felt the worst betrayal I've experienced (on film) since Wash's death.

I see the narrative choices and the reasons for them. I just don't share or take any comfort in thoughts of predetermined fate. Angel summed up my philosophy--if nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do--and if it's all set in stone beforehand, then life is completely futile and pointless. So, I choose to believe destiny can be fought, and changed. That was the show I thought I'd been watching for five years.

Guess I was proved wrong.

Beverly why wasn't destiny subverted? Is it the degree to which it wasn't subverted that is at issue?

I'm not a fan of predestination, so I was hoping for a subverting of "destiny", and was disappointed. I don't think Dean's going to be happy, or make Lisa or Ben happy, as long as he attempts to keep his promise to Sam. I don't know who's under that streetlight. Lots of people have said if this had been the series rather than the season finale that Sam would not have been there, that his story would be over. If that was true, I would have felt the worst betrayal I've experienced (on film) since Wash's death.

But they did subvert destiny. It was just epically hard to do so, and came at a cost.

I think Sam did choose. I think he did fight his destiny for years, even before he knew what it was, by carving out his own goals and desires. And I think last night he made a conscious choice to do what he thought was best. He may have been fated to be Lucifer's vessel, but he did it for his own reasons, consciously, unlike, say, Ava and Jake, who totally caved to Azazel, seduced by the power, unwilling to see if they could stand up to him.

Stories have endings. Sometimes they're not idyllic, but I'm okay with that if they're satisfying, if they CONCLUDE A STORY and show the character's journey to that point logically and dramatically and compellingly. And if the series had ended last night, I have to say I would have been all right with it. Sam made a heroic choice to SAVE THE WORLD (or die trying) and it might have cost him and Dean a hell of a lot, but I applaud it.

I think they had their heaven, as flawed and messy and confusing as it was, in their brotherhood, and the journey they made together.

Frell. Long response, typed in posting box rather than notepad, b.org ate it. Frack.

Thanks for the links. Missyjack's meta eased the sting a little by emphasizing choices made within unchangeable destiny. Refur's coda offers a bit more hope than a Sam-shape standing beneath a sparking streetlight.

My inability to make peace with 5.22 is founded in perhaps a futile hope that destiny can be changed. That we don't have to stand on the square some unseen hand nudges us toward, that we can in fact move the opposite direction, even off the board, if we're smart enough and willing to take risks and work hard. Instead of being the best possible knight to ever grace a chessboard, you know?

It's a basic philosophy disagreement. I wanted there to be a way to avert the apocalypse (and after BtVS and SPN, I never want to hear that word again unless there is literally fire raining from the skies) without Sam required to be Lucifer's vessel and carry him back into his cage. I wanted the Winchesters to give god the finger and say, No, we don't. This is your mess, you clean it up, don't put that on us.

Yes, they were both heroes. Yes, they were true to themselves. And Sam's in hell and Dean's in hell, and really, what the hell?

I hope that there would have been some other resolution had this been the series finale, because the crap they've each and both been through in the last five years--this is the payoff? This is the peace when they're done? I'd hope this ending was the setup for S6, instead, and that I can look forward to a happier resolution by 6.22.