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Post by Blue Sunflower on May 19, 2009 19:54:27 GMT -5
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Post by randomnation on May 19, 2009 20:09:08 GMT -5
Lots of developments in the episode, very mythology heavy, which I loved. Getting Tony back for a few minutes was nice, but am I the only one annoyed at how dismissive everyone seems toward Sam's deal/his father? Some compassion would be nice. The Devil and his suit worry were absolutely hysterical. Then trying to bring back the ascot was genius! Ray Wise, you are excellent!  |
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Post by pacejunkie on May 19, 2009 20:18:26 GMT -5
A- and I blame Sock. Would have been an A otherwise but Sock is such a pig I'm starting to seriously hate him and all plots associated with him. Let him go back to being Wrenchy please. So I suppose Maggie was their idea of frumpy and unattractive? Yeah I know (I think, I hope) they were making some kind of reverse statement there but I still found it offensive beyond belief when Maggie looked like the average real girl and not some runway ho. *Takes an ax to the media*
Okay, rant over. Back to the show. Nina was amazing here, I cracked up over her bit about not wanting to go back to hell and be tempted to torture again. Whatever she said, it was hilarious and the way she said it made me totally love her.
So who else thinks it was a deliberate shout out to the Loop the way Sam talked his way out of that board meeting? That used to happen every episode, he'd show up unprepared, wing it and they all thought he was a genius.
Oh, oh, oh favourite part? The psycho soul in the teaser! What an awesome soul grab!! Takes a bit of the suspense out of it knowing the Devil is going to show up and save him every time he's in trouble but it was still creepy and fun and it set up why he would take the corporate job nicely. Clearly he is fed up with risking his life to capture souls. So does this mean he can longer work at the Bench? What does he do for money?
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Post by randomnation on May 19, 2009 20:27:53 GMT -5
Oh I know! I really enjoyed Sock last week, but this week? Totally back to hating him. He was so unbelievably annoying and rude and the demon should have done more to get back at him.
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Post by pacejunkie on May 19, 2009 20:40:31 GMT -5
I was actually waiting for some big twist instead of having Maggie just turn up and telling him to piss off. That was so poorly executed though it had the potential of really putting Sock in his place it totally didn't.
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dagzar
Fallen Angel
The Ultimate Lurker
Posts: 25 
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Post by dagzar on May 19, 2009 23:04:20 GMT -5
Haha, I liked the episode. Though, I agree that the Sock parts made me mute the TV because I didn't feel like listening to his episode subplot. Nina was awesome as usual and Ben's poofy hair made me laugh.
Oh, and did anyone see the scene in the preview where it shows Sam dressed exactly like the Devil? That scene alone has already made me excited for the season finale. I can't wait!
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Post by novium on May 19, 2009 23:16:51 GMT -5
i was using the mute button, too. You didn't really need to hear the dialogue, and you're happier not, IMO.
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Post by Blue Sunflower on May 19, 2009 23:45:59 GMT -5
Oh, and did anyone see the scene in the preview where it shows Sam dressed exactly like the Devil? I saw that too, right down to the ice blue tie. Like father, like son.  I'm just relieved Not!Josie didn't turn up. |
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Post by cko on May 20, 2009 2:38:26 GMT -5
I really enjoyed it. Except, yeah, the Sock subplot transcended the annoying and yucky and became truly offensive. That woman was perfectly fine looking, in fact I found her rather attractive. I was wary of that theme when we read the sides waayyy back, but I figured they'd have her be, like, really overblown and over-made up, or something that seemed more deliberately tacky or clashing. Weird misstep. Only saving grace was dear Ben: "She looks like Frankenstein. It's not...natural."
Loved the Hell Portal, man they are so good with fire on this show. Yeah I want to get Nina's quote about going back to Hell, pace, that was hilarious. Ben's expression with "...but you've changed now, right??" was so funny. I liked that it had more Bret and The Devil, seemed like the show's been missing Bret lately. Loved the corporate stuff, now that seemed like a shoutout to Wolfram & Hart in Angel. And yet another shout out: that opening scene, with the plastic hanging everywhere and the table-torturer Soul? Looked just like Dexter. Plus Sam bound with leather straps to a table? Okay.
Shirtless Ben! ("Zero Zero One...Zero Zero Two"), Victory Martini! We have to have those if (when!) the show gets renewed. "Dude there's a telephone in that bathroom. I just got a lot of stuff done in a really short time."
Damn. I really love this show.
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Post by bec on May 20, 2009 5:16:30 GMT -5
Pace, it definitely made me think of The Loop, too. Not just the boardroom, the awkward elevator scenes, too. And someone getting mad at Sam and him scrambling to make the person not mad. That stuff happened all the time on that show, too.
Oh, and hanging out with the gang at his fancy office. That never happened on The Loop, but it brings back memories of the first season of that show when he had to balance a corporate career with his party-hearty friends. And hey, wasn't his assistant on that show also named Avery? (Okay, no, just checked, her name was Darcy. I don't know why Avery sounds so familiar, then. Maybe I'm thinking of the office supply brand.)
I loved the psycho killer teaser, too. Those plastic sheets remind me of this "haunted house" attraction I've been to where you go through this maze of passageways and there are there plastic sheets hanging all through some of it, and at one part you go through a thicket of plastic sheets and all of a sudden you're getting smacked by dead bodies dangling from the ceiling wrapped in the same plastic. Those are mannequins type things, of course, but it's still freaky.
I thought Maggie would show up looking like the Frankenstein monster (made of all those "beautiful" parts) and then chase a freaked out Sock around a bit, and then he'd wake up from the demon whammy dream like what Gladys and Nina did to him.
But they probably don't have the budget for that much special effects.
No fair that everyone else took their shirts off but Sam kept his on. He got shirtless for a grand total of one episode this year, come on. I remember a time when he would find a way to get shirtless in just about every episode. Whereas this season, Sock is the one to find a way to get shirtless in just about every episode. I did, however, appreciate Ben's nice muscles, and the way his hair is tied back this time when he's shirtless so I can admire without getting distracted by the hair. Love that he did it to "blend in". That guy who opened the lock for them was totally checking him out.
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Post by loandbehold on May 20, 2009 7:08:11 GMT -5
There was so much to like in this episode, starting with Sam escaping from Dexter's clutches using his scary vessel. Once again, Nina was fantastic and she and Ben are probably the cutest couple around. I never watched The Loop, so I was leaning more towards the W&H view of corporate life. Sock's subplot bugged. With the exception of last week's Wrenchy story, he's been offensive instead of slacker-inappropriate. Best I can give it is an A-.
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Post by cko on May 20, 2009 22:27:06 GMT -5
The CW Source review/recap of this episode, and a little poll about what we think will happen in the finale. I wanted to vot for all of the above. |
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Post by Diamondfire on May 20, 2009 23:40:13 GMT -5
I loved almost all aspects of this episode but ended up only being able to give it an A. This was mainly due to the sock storyline. Maggie was right, what a pig! I just felt the whole thing was pointless and annoying. He didn’t learn anything! Other than that I L/O/V/E/D the episode. The asylum seen was a fun way to get things started. I liked watching Sam freak out about being strapped down and the devil suddenly appearing and being like hey you almost done, to cool. The Idea of a big corporation solely for the purpose of making people sin and eventually getting them to hell was really interesting.
Poor Phil. Was I the only person who felt really sorry for him. He tried so hard and they kept shooting him down. Then when he started going on about his life story, OMG, his wife left him for his dad? That’s not gross at all. I found it funny at the end though when they had him break out of hell for a few seconds and he got all excited about finally making it onto the seventy-fifth floor before he was chased back.
Lots of Sam devil interaction in this episode that always makes me a really happy person. The deeper the season progressed the less I felt the devil was appearing. This episode made up for all of that to me. His tailor problems just added icing to the cake.
I was really hoping that Mr. Oliver would come back with Nina. What business could he be taking care of down there now? I guess it’s just another question I will have to add to the long list of questions that seem to be abundant in this show.
In general (excluding the sock parts) I thought it was an awesome episode and well deserving of an A.
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Post by Blue Sunflower on May 21, 2009 3:42:03 GMT -5
The asylum seen was a fun way to get things started. I liked watching Sam freak out about being strapped down and the devil suddenly appearing and being like hey you almost done, to cool. I could not stop cracking up at that. And the "outside-the-box" thinking by pushing the bed over for Sam to fall on the vessel. Heh. I caught that too. Almost missed it though. I have noticed that too. |
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Post by beatrixkiddoe on May 21, 2009 12:00:18 GMT -5
I really liked this episode, especially Nina reminiscing about Hell. I also giggled when the Devil said that he was wearing his "afternoon suit". I agree with everyone that Sock was way too annoying, he was so awesome as Wrenchy and this week I kind of wanted to punch him in the face.
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Post by edgyauthor on May 21, 2009 17:33:53 GMT -5
I thought Maggie would show up looking like the Frankenstein monster (made of all those "beautiful" parts) and then chase a freaked out Sock around a bit, and then he'd wake up from the demon whammy dream like what Gladys and Nina did to him. I thought she'd show up all Frankensteiny, too. Sock would be horrified while she's all, "Oh, I'm sorry, did I transform into that picture of yours too literally?" That would have been hilarious (and better payback at Sock), but oh well. I agree with everyone here when it comes to the episode being great while everything with Sock is not. Yeah, he was obnoxious last season too, but at least he had his redeeming moments then, like sticking by Sam's side in "Leon," replacing all of the stuff he'd burned of Josie's, etc. Oh, well; there were still lots of fun little moments in this eppy to overshadow the Sock plotline, like Nina thinking fondly about torture and the Devil lamenting about his suits. (And, of course, the Devil's reaction when Sam says, "Don't you only own one suit?" Haha, priceless.) |
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Post by Kwyjibo on May 22, 2009 23:58:54 GMT -5
This was a really good episode. I liked how Sam was fired for not killing anybody... hahaha
I got confused about the previews from the finale, one of them shows Sam dressed exactly like the Devil and they begin playing quarters, but there's another one where the Devil makes Sam dance like a monkey. I hope my two "finales" theory doesn't have anything to do with that.
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Post by bec on May 23, 2009 2:40:52 GMT -5
Ha, I doubt Sam can beat The Devil at quarters. Maybe we'll see a montage of things Sam tries and fails to beat The Devil at.
I wonder if it was a clue to what Sam can beat The Devil at when he said in this episode that he is really good at doing nothing. If he challenges The Devil to that, The Devil would go stircrazy. Hours and hours of not spreading evil in the world? Not corrupting people and taking their souls? The Devil would never make it.
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Post by motherbear on May 23, 2009 20:20:21 GMT -5
This episode was a great comment on corporate America, especially considering what's happened on Wall Street and with the economy the last couple of years. Very timely. (The devil's behind all of it!)
Yeah, RE all the above posts about Sock. He's so lame and annoying it's downright painful, and in this episode he was excruciating. Everyone just winces when he opens his mouth.
I've alway thought it would be fun, though, if he found out he's headed for hell because of all the stuff he's pulled. It could be a funny storyline to see him frantically try to change his ways before it's too late. And Tyler Labine could pull it off and make it very endearing (and get a respite from everyone hating his character).
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Post by pacejunkie on May 23, 2009 20:47:56 GMT -5
That's the thing about Sock, it's as if the writers have forgotten how to write for him. And Sock actually is a complex character, in that he's not easy to write for. In a way he's like Barney on How I Met Your Mother. You need him to do selfish and stupid things while at the same time keep him occasionally sweet and endearing so he's still likeable. His best qualities have always been his loyalty to Sam and to Ben and when Sock steps up to the plate, he can be a great bro. We've seen precious little of that this year, it's like the balance is off. I hope they can return to the Sock we saw in season one that was immature but basically a sweet guy.
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Post by Blue Sunflower on May 23, 2009 21:13:10 GMT -5
We've seen precious little of that this year, it's like the balance is off. That would be because there's no one around anymore to tell him to Shut. Up. |
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Post by motherbear on May 23, 2009 22:16:52 GMT -5
It's not just Sock, though. The Devil Himself had more dimension to his character last season- hints that he was still capable of feeling love, etc, and in the finale he even said he respected Sam. All suggestions that there still might be a flicker of light in that dark heart, and that a part of him was in conflict with his evil nature. If the writers had expanded on that, it could have made for an interesting multidimensional character.
And what happened to Gladys? We began to see more into her last season when she kept helping that soul escape because she was lonely. But this season she's become rather invisible.
I love Reaper, but I think they could do a better job developing the characters, and I think they will WHEN the show continues. Reaper has such GREAT potential!
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Post by Kwyjibo on May 23, 2009 22:27:42 GMT -5
I think that was because of the fact that the show's future didn't look so bright, and because of the CW's involvement in the show's production. I'm sure that if the show gets its much deserved third season, and hopefully it will, the quality bar will be raised in order to keep it in the air for as long as it needs to be.
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Post by pacejunkie on May 23, 2009 22:30:30 GMT -5
I for one look forward to seeing a version of Reaper that has not been effed up and interfered with by the CW all in the sake of it's target demo.
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Post by motherbear on May 23, 2009 23:04:11 GMT -5
Ahhh...I wondered about that, how much the CW might be interfering with the writing. It seemed to get sillier this season, maybe because the CW was trying to appeal to all the teeny-boppers and bubble-gummers it's trying to attract. But the premise is so great, I mean, THINK about it- making the devil into a character that plays off a hapless human like Sam (like all of us)- what the show could say. Got to post some stuff on the mythology thread sometime.
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kathyk
Demon
Bounty Hunter Extraordinaire
Posts: 165
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Post by kathyk on May 24, 2009 0:00:02 GMT -5
I thimk that's why the show misses Josie so much. She was the only one who could rein Sock in. It really bothers me how Sock treats his friends. He uses Ben like a slave and I wanted to smack him for slapping Sam in My Brother's Reaper. I agree that Gladys was underused this year. Sometimes I wonder if the writers read last year's scripts. Gladys seemed to have a bit of a soft spot for Sam. That appeared to be missing this year.
I actually liked two of the three new characters this year. Kristin sucked and was a waste of screen time. Arnie Hammer and Bret had great screen chemistry and he should have been cast as Kyle instead of that annoying actor whose name I can't remember. Nina and Ben have been the highlight of the season and if Jenny Wade is lurking I will now watch anything you do in the future.
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Post by cko on May 24, 2009 1:48:57 GMT -5
Oh, bec, I can't wait to get home from this dumb holiday to my own (instead of patchy hotel) internet and have a nice long read of your recap, I love your take so much always. Tomorrow! The bits I did see are so hilarious.
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Post by Blue Sunflower on May 26, 2009 14:26:53 GMT -5
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Post by cko on May 28, 2009 3:14:16 GMT -5
Okay well I posted my excitement about bec's recap in this the wrong thread, but anyway, I'm here to praise novium's recap of this episode! So many great references, so much attention to detail that I apparently totally forgot.
This is a debate we've had since the first season: does the Devil think of Sam as a kid, his kid, or more like a pet?
Now this has been a theme this season. Hey we're going to have to get all TWoP here and start our own jargon.
Really great read, thanks, nov!
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