sweetondean

Report - All Hell Breaks Loose III Supernatural Convention, Sydney Australia. Part 1 - cocktails, breakfast, unexpected Misha meetings and odd boots…….….. by sweetondean

Last weekend I attended the All Hell Breaks Loose III convention in Sydney. How it works is, Sydney gets the cast on the Friday night and all day Saturday, before they fly to Melbourne on the Saturday night for another full day of panels and whatnot on the Sunday. Busy cast is busy! Our very special guests this year were Misha, Jim, Richard, Traci and Corin. Corin was literally last minute as AJ Buckley and Travis Wester were late pullouts. So Corin basically hopped on a plane at a moment’s notice, bless him and thank goodness because he’s awesome…but I’ll get to that later.

I got myself the big ticket. That’s the one that gets you into all events. Yep, I went Platinum. I bought it when the tickets first went on sale in 2010 would you believe! I can’t even remember if any guests were confirmed at that stage…it was so long ago! 

Anyway, I live in Sydney about 40 minutes from the city, but as the Friday night cocktail party and the breakfast on the Saturday morning were both going to be held at the Mercure Hotel in town, I thought, well, why not make a weekend of it. So on the Wednesday before the convention, I booked a room for the Friday and Saturday nights.

I took the Friday off work and headed to the hotel about 2 in the afternoon. I checked in and went up to my room just as Jim tweeted a picture that looked startlingly like the view I was looking at out of my window at that exact moment! Right down George Street with a glimpse of Central Station. Hmmmm. 

Seeing as I was probably going to have a couple of drinks that night, I decided I better pop out and get a snack. So I grabbed my wallet and headed down stairs. I got out of the lift and walked towards the lobby and stopped in my tracks. There standing right in front of me playing with his phone was Misha Collins. AN UNEXPECTED MISHA SIGHTING! I froze.

About a million things went through my mind. Is that…yes it is…oh God it’s Misha….wait…should I say something…he’s staying HERE? I guess so….whoa that’s odd….so should I say hi…maybe I should just leave him alone…I probably shouldn’t bug him…I don’t want to come off as stalky….is it weird to go say hi? It’s probably rude not to right? Hang-on…is he looking at me? Gah! He’s seen me looking at him…okay, he can tell I’ve recognised him…I better say something…I’m going say something…oh no I’m walking past him…why am I walking past him? Amy stop being an idiot…turn around and….. 

“Hey Misha!” 

So there I stood chatting to Misha Collins in the lobby of the Mercure Hotel in Sydney. 

He stuck out his hand and I shook it… Read more

Review of the Supernatural season 7 finale - 7.23 “Survival Of The Fittest” by sweetondean

Warning: Spoilers ahead! 

See here’s the thing when dealing with Crowley, he will always find a way to bone you.

Supernatural season finales, is there anything as exciting and harrowing? I must admit I spent the whole week sweating on it. I’d managed to stay relatively spoiler free. I didn’t read any of the preview articles. I didn’t watch any of the preview clips. Then the Upfronts came along and I’m afraid I’m weak willed and couldn’t stay away from Jensen in that grey suit, shiny tie and hiatus scruff…so bam…suddenly I knew more than I wanted to know about where the brothers were going to find themselves at the end of “Survival Of The Fittest”. Between Mr Ackles and his extra tall buddy, apparently masquerading as Grizzly Adams, I was spoiled rotten; both in plot possibilities, prettiness and the wonderful visual of the boys voting with their 5^th extremity. Thank you Jensen. That will forever be seared into my mind’s eye to muse over………………

What was I saying? Oh right. Finale.

So Saturday comes along (remember I’m an Aussie) and I wake up extra early, feeling slightly nauseated and in a flop sweat. The closer it gets to the time the more I’m overcome by a sense of dread. I mean I literally feel like I might throw up a little. I’m so concerned about Sam and Dean Winchester I’m having a minor panic attack! Is this normal? I know most of you would say, yes, yes it is and I know nearly everyone outside of my Supernatural family would say, no Amy it certainly is not, please get a life. Then I would explain to them how I have a life, rich with stories of love and loyalty, of brothers and family, of heroes and villains, of rising above expectations, of falling to temptation, of shiny black cars and the myriad of emotions and frailties that make up humanity and they would walk away shaking their heads as I grinned triumphantly! But I digress. I was so nervous before watching this finale I didn’t know what to do with myself. Then Carry On Wayward Son started and then I cried….

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Review of Supernatural 7x 21…….. “There Will Be Blood” by sweetondean

Warning -  Contains spoilers

After the sometimes baffling and very complex episode last week, this week we were served a pretty straightforward, let’s just get in there and set up the season finale kind of episode. “There Will Be Blood” laid a lot of ground-work for the big shebang and while on the surface it didn’t appear to be particularly action packed, for me it was a satisfying hour of television that seemed to be over only minutes after it begun. We were reintroduced to a couple of well loved villains, got more time with Dick and his creepy henchman Edgar, witnessed further disturbing developments with Bobby’s anger management issues and were party to some thoroughly enjoyable brotherly interactions that were topped off by Dean’s no junk food freak-out. I’m with you Dean, you don’t win friends with salad.

Review of Supernatural 7x 21…….. “Reading Is Fundamental” by sweetondean

Warning: Contains episode spoilers.

The Angels, they don’t care. I think maybe they just don’t have the equipment to care. Seems like when they try, it just breaks them apart.

Supernatural is a complex show. It sounds pretty simple on paper, 2 brothers travelling the back roads of America, hunting monsters and saving the world, but any one who watches it knows that there is soooooooo much more to it than that. It’s a deeply layered story, rife with multi-faceted relationships, profoundly damaged characters and rich mythology. “Reading Is Fundamental” is a perfect example of the kind of show Supernatural can be. Layered, multifaceted and rich. One that sometimes leaves you not knowing how to feel, or feeling all the feelings, or flip-flopping between the two. This was an episode screaming to be dissected, if that’s your bag, and for the first time in a long time, I actually made notes….on my 3rd rewatch….because there was so much happening, I found it hard to keep track of it all. I will, of course, miss stuff. I always do. I never read anything before I write an episode up, but after that I go and read everything and half the time I wind up going, “Awww. Nuts!” because I’ve totally misread a situation or didn’t pick up on a nuance in a certain scene. I have a feeling “Reading Is Fundamental” is going to be one that makes me go, “Awww. Nuts!” a lot and probably loudly.

Ben Edlund wrote and directed “Reading Is Fundamental” and if you know anything about me, you know that I’m a massive fan of this man, his crazy brain and his brilliant writing. Edlund knows how to tell a story. This was the 21st episode of Supernatural he’s written and the 2nd one he’s directed. Looking back at Ben’s work, one thing jumps out, there’s always more to his episodes than initially meets the eye. Even with the funny ones there are layers upon layers and he manages to bring all those elements together without it feeling disjointed. Other writers on the Supernatural team don’t quite have the same level of skill. When they attempt this layering they somehow just miss the mark in making the whole thing feel cohesive and their episodes wind up feeling tonally disjointed. It’s one of the things I love most about Edlund’s work, that he can deliver complex narrative and still maintain cohesiveness in concept and tone. On some level “Reading Is Fundamental” was baffling, because it confronted us with changes in characters and relationships that we may not have been prepared for, but tonally it never waivered. The comedy, though still there, took a back seat to the guts of the story, which built momentum as the hour progressed. It’s an episode that’s in desperate need of a rewatch. If you got everything going down on the first pass through, you’re way brighter than I am….

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Review of Supernatural 7x20 “The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo” by sweetondean

Warning: Contains episode spoilers

“She’s kinda like the little sister I never wanted” 

Well that was fun! Kinda Supernatural meets Ocean’s 11 or Leverage even. A caper comedy! Complete with gadgetry and split screens! I don’t think we’ve seen them do a caper style episode before. After so much angst it’s always good to get a bit of lighter fare. Though we can’t be completely angst free now can we? We still have the “Bobby issue” to contend with, just so we don’t get too happy. This is Supernatural after all.

I thoroughly enjoyed “The Girl With The Dungeons And Dragons Tattoo”. It was a geek-gasam the like of which I haven’t had since I went to see Joss Whedon talk at the Opera House. It was geeky reference after geeky reference. Star Wars, The Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter, Wargames, Star Trek, Dungeons And Dragons, Comic Con, Batman and Wonder Woman mugs and the pièce de résistance…Veronica Mars. Veronica Mars! I screamed…..

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Now that Sam and Dean know that Bobby decided to stick around and not go with his Reaper, they face a tough decision. Keep Bobby with them? Or help him move on for good?

Post episode scene for 7.19.

“Do you think this is far enough?” Dean indicated a sign ahead that said ‘Bar’.

Sam nodded, “Yeah, I’d say we’re out of range.”

Dean swung the car into a parking space and got out.

“This ain’t right Sam. I feel bad.”

“I know. Me too. But we’ve gotta talk and we can’t do it with him around.”

“Yeah but leaving him behind like that….”

They’d entered the bar and were making their way to a booth in the back.

“We told him we were going out. We’ll explain later. He’ll understand.”

“Hmm maybe…” Dean mumbled as he slid across the seat. “Don’t make me feel any better though.”

Sam simply shrugged.

A waitress came to take their order. “What can I get you two?”

“Just a couple of beers sweetheart.” Dean said, flashing her a weary smile.

“You got it,” she said and Dean absentmindedly watched her sashay away.

“So, what are we gonna do?” Sam asked.

Dean turned to his brother and sighed. “I don’t know Sammy, I don’t know. What can we do? I mean, short of burn the flask, which obviously we are not going to do.”

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Review of Supernatural 7x18…….. “Party On, Garth” by sweetondean

Warning – contains HUGE episode spoilers

“I’m right here you idjit! Balls!”

If I wasn’t in love with Jim Beaver before, I sure as hell am now! Abominable Snowman movie my ass! Here I was, looking at all the pictures he was tweeting thinking…crikey, that looks cold! Here I was watching him at Burcon thinking…why haven’t the “Supernatural” Powers-That-Be rung Jim yet, booo on them. Yeah, like he’d tell us anyway. Then last night’s episode, “Party On, Garth” happens. An innocuous little amuser I will get to later…and I’m sitting on the couch, watching Sam and Dean leave the hotel room after a chat that left me feeling a tad sad…camera pulls back…pans left….OH. MY. GOD! The noise heard across Australia was Amy screaming! I screamed “Oh my God!” Then I screamed “Bobbbbbbby!” Then I cried. Then Dean remembered his flask. Then I gasped. Then I held my breath. Then Dean didn’t see Bobby. Oh no. Idjits. Balls. Then it kind of went something like this… Bobby, sob, sob, oh my God, oh my God, sob, sob, sob, Bobby, sob, huh, giggle, Bobby, gasping in air, ha ha ha, sniffle, oh I can’t…..tweet, tweet, tweet, laugh, sniffle, laugh, grin like an idiot. Grin for about 3 hours. Wake up grinning. Weeeeeeeee another “Supernatural” rollercoaster ride! Everyone please check your safety bar! Bobby. Yay! Mr Beaver, your pants were so on fire I’m surprised a national disaster was not declared! Abominable Snow man movie my ASS! I’m still laughing. Bad Jim, bad! He looks so trustworthy too! Bloody brilliant hoax. Really great acting by everyone at Burcon, like I’d expect less. My love for this show has grown even more, if that’s at all possible, because the cast and crew are such sneaky S.O.B.s! Because they worked so hard to keep us from being spoiled. Thank you. AbSno. Oh the laughter…..

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Review: Supernatural 7.17 “The Born-Again Identity”

Warning: Contains episode spoilers.

“We didn’t part friends Dean.”
“So what?”

I’m going to start off shallow and just get this out of the way. I found it very difficult to concentrate during Sam’s hospital scenes. There. I said it. Jared was really working that whole floppy hair, scruffy, unshaven, dishevelled, tight-white-t-shirt look. Crazy Sam was fiiiiiiiiinnnnnne. Is that bad of me? To be so totally pervy during such a heartbreaking and epic episode? Pffft! I know I’m not alone. Yes I’m looking at you out there. I know you!

But seriously folks, wow, just wow. “The Born-Again Identity” was a near perfect hour of television. I say near, though off the top of my head I can’t think to fault it. I’m sure there’s some out there who are pickity picking at it, but not me. It was a beautiful script, beautifully realised and beautifully performed. It’s up there in my top 3 for the season, jostling for first place with “Meet The New Boss” and “Death’s Door.” Sera Gamble did us proud. She did the Winchesters proud and she did Castiel proud. Cas’ return was glorious. She’s an absolutely beautiful writer. Regardless of what you may think of her in other capacities, surely that one fact can’t be denied. I applaud her. Sera and Ben Edlund are tag-teaming perfection this season. Now I’m completely busting to see his next episode! There was so much hype about this week’s outing, because of the return of that certain Angel, that rattling around in the back of one’s mind is always the niggling thought, what if it doesn’t deliver? Well it did. And how. “The Born-Again Identity” was magnificent….

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The Born-Again Identity and why I’m REALLY excited!

Warning! Ahead be spoilers and some gushing!

I’m always excited about a new episode of “Supernatural,” but sometimes an episode comes along that has me REALLY excited. Whether it’s the opening of the season, or the almighty season finale, or something with cowboys, invariable there are a few moments throughout a season where I can literally feel my heart beating faster and faster as we head towards the weekend and a brand new “Supernatural.”
 
Like this week. I’m practically having palpitations.
 
When it comes to “Supernatural,” my favourite episodes are always the emotionally fraught ones. Sure, I love a good Unicorn-farting-out-a-rainbow moment as much as the next fan, but give me high stakes, give me brother worried for brother, give me great big dollops of Dean angst and I’m the happiest/saddest/happiest gal in the world.
 
And ”The Born-Again Identity” looks like it’s going to deliver angst….lots of beautiful, beautiful Winchestery angst. Yay….

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