#cliff bole

[celestialmega]

The X-Files - Bad Blood by Cliff Bole, Vince Gilligan.

[episodicnostalgia]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 106 (Oct. 31, 1987) - "Lonely Among Us"

Written by: D.C. Fontana Directed by: Cliff Bole

The Breakdown

There’s a lot going on this episode so I’m gonna have to break this up.

Plot 1 – The Enterprise acts as host for two warring species (Lizard-ish people and pig-ish people) as they travel enroute to a peace summit. Along the way each species tries to kill each other using methods that one might expect to be employed by rival college fraternities in a wacky summer comedy, while Riker plays interference.

Plot 2 – Picard mentions something about solving a mystery just like Sherlock Holmes would, which piques Data’s curiosity. And boy does he get INTO it. For the remainder of the episode Data walks around cosplaying as Sherlock Holmes.

Plot 3 – Okay so THIS is where it gets weird.  Amidst all the chaos, the Enterprise crew scans a nebula and accidentally gets infected by one of those space-entity-consciousnesses (you know the ones).  From there, the entity starts jumping from one crew member to the next, taking over their bodies in the process, until it ultimately ends up inside Picard.

Dr. Crusher and the senior officers are savvy enough to figure out Picard’s LITERALLY not himself, but unfortunately too inept to do anything about it.  With the approval of the entire senior staff Riker & Crusher both tell Picard that he needs to be medically checked out because they think he might be possessed, but he deftly parries their blow with a devastating “No, YOU seem possessed!”, and that inexplicably works.  Having met their match, the crew have no other  choice than to follow body-snatched-Picard’s orders to return to the nebula.

It turns out that our resident Space-ghost (no relation to the cartoon) hates it here and just wants to return home, but has decided to bring Picard with it.  The Entity reckons that since Picard is a natural explorer, he would probably leap at the opportunity to explore space as a joined-discorporate-entity (courtesy of the transporters), and then successfully enacts that plan.  Of course this is Star Trek, so we find out that following the beam-out, the joining didn’t take, and Deanna is conveniently able to sense the Captain’s presence enough to help the crew retrieve their captain using the power of technobabble and plot armour.  Since the only person who died wasn’t a main character, there’s no need to reflect on these events any further.

The Verdict

This episode tries to be too many things. Body-stealing-space-entities, tense diplomatic relations between two warring factions, and Data becomes a Sherlock Holmes stan. Any one of these things could have made a decent episode, and at certain points each story arc is almost compelling, until they all fall apart because none of them are really connected to each other.

2 stars (out of 5)

Additional Observations

Data’s fascination with Sherlock Holmes is easily my favourite part of ‘lonely among us’, because as silly as it is, Brent Spiner fully commits to it and the physical comedy. This is the delicate line Star Trek regularly has to straddle, camp vs drama, and Spiner balances those two elements expertly.

The two warring races (I’ve already forgotten their names) are mostly pointless, and easily the least interesting part of the episode. Obviously they’re introduced as a Red herring, but there’s too much tension and build up surrounding them, which ultimately leads to nothing.

Star Trek has always employed liberal usage of Deus Ex Machina, but Picard was rescued from being a space-ghost far too easily.

Picard’s an asshole: Everyone knows Picard has been possessed because he’s suddenly nice. Someone needs to talk to HR about that guy.

[defconprime]

TREKMATCH! # 792 - Voyager's "Lifesigns" vs 1986's Tampopo

TAMPOPO aka タンポポ

A couple cowboy truckers wandering Japan stop by a struggling ramen shop and decide to help turn the woman who owns it into a master ramen chef. Meanwhile there's lots of unrelated sketches about delicious food and food culture and meanwhile I'm on my couch watching it while eating a gd peanut butter sandwich.

GRADE: A-

STAR TREK: VOYAGER - "Lifesigns"

Voyager rescues a Vidiian woman dying of terrible space leprosy but the doctor manages to project her mind into a non-rotting hologram so they can hang out and even neck in a convertible on hologram Mars.

GRADE: C

Victory to Tampopo, so things are tied up 396-396!

[winchestergifs]

STACKEDextras ➙ Sam, wait! It’s Castiel. The angel.

3.6 Red Sky at Morning Written by Laurence Andries Directed by Cliff Bole Original Air Date: November 8, 2007

[mytardisisparked]

Time for my weekly viewing of The X-Files Season 5 Episode 12 "Bad Blood" starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson guest starring Luke Wilson and Patrick Renna written by Vince Gilligan directed by Cliff Bole critical rating of-

[various-things]

for the rare pair ficlet game

so many good options but intrigued by

📕 Julian Bashir/Picard

(closer to 400 words whoops :) Picard had been polite. “Doctor Bashir, I’ve heard excellent things about… I believe Doctor Crusher said it was stabilizing therapies for… EM field-induced viral mutations?” “Thank you very much, Captain. I hope we won’t see a need for it anytime soon, but we’re distributing the information.” Then, Picard: “We last met when you were on the Enterprise—” When a 27-year-old Julian snuck on board and into the sickbay to use its bio-imaging systems. “—after you assisted Commander Data with his dreams.” “Oh yes!” Julian said, smiling at the thought of his friend. “What an incredible experience. I know you were of great help to him as well.” The captain’s eyes flicked to the perimeter of their position in the reception area. Seeming to confirm that no one else was waiting to approach, he softened. "It was truly fascinating. And I was honored to be able to share in Commander Data's exploration of—well, in a way, strange new worlds." Who would have guessed? They got along wonderfully. It was now Day 3 of the commemorative event on Bolarus IX. The facility at the Cliffs of Bole was stunning, with well-appointed rooms and beautiful views. There were only a couple of scheduled events each day, which left a lot of time to kill. Sure, Julian could have been spending it on research. But the captain, a stunning man who apparently shared a great deal of interests with Julian, seemed to be quite receptive to them finding each other for meals and conversations. Julian was very attracted to him. And well, he was 35 and newly single—2 months out of a relationship with a 300 year-old Starfleet legend. Admiral Ross already avoided him whenever they were in a room together. Really, he could live with a bit of coldness from the captain of Starfleet’s flagship if a few comments were off base. By Day 2 he’d decided to flirt a little. Picard had matched it. Gracefully. Deliciously slowly. They were sitting in the building's outdoor bar, watching the sunset. “You quoted Poe the other day,” Julian said, keeping his tone light. “Have you read much of his poetry?” “I haven’t. Is there anything you recommend?” “Well, our discussion of Data reminded me of ‘A Dream Within a Dream.’ You know, I... I have a copy on a PADD I brought with me.” Julian made eye contact. “Maybe I could show it to you privately?” An expression of sharp interest spread across Picard's face. “I’d like that,” he said, voice low.

[incarnateirony]

Thrill with lissome lust of the light, O man! My man! Come careering out of the night Of Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan! Come over the sea From Sicily and from Arcady! Roaming as Bacchus, with fauns and pards And nymphs and satyrs for thy guards, On a milk-white ass, come over the sea To me, to me! Come with Apollo in bridal dress (Shepherdess and pythoness) Come with Artemis, silken shod, And wash thy white thigh, beautiful god, In the moon of the woods, on the marble mount, The dimpled dawn of the amber fount! Dip the purple of passionate prayer In the crimson shrine, the scarlet snare, The soul that startles in eyes of blue To watch thy wantonness weeping through The tangled grove, the gnarled bole Of the living tree that is spirit and soul And body and brain — come over the sea, (Io Pan! Io Pan!) Devil or god, to me, to me, My man! my man! Come with trumpets sounding shrill Over the hill! Come with drums low muttering From the spring! Come with flute and come with pipe! Am I not ripe? I, who wait and writhe and wrestle With air that hath no boughs to nestle My body, weary of empty clasp, Strong as a lion and sharp as an asp — Come, O come! I am numb With the lonely lust of devildom. Thrust the sword through the galling fetter, All-devourer, all-begetter; Give me the sign of the Open Eye, And the token erect of thorny thigh, And the word of madness and mystery, O Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan Pan! Pan, I am a man: Do as thou wilt, as a great god can, O Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! I am awake In the grip of the snake. The eagle slashes with beak and claw; The gods withdraw: The great beasts come. Io Pan! I am borne To death on the horn Of the Unicorn. I am Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan! I am thy mate, I am thy man, Goat of thy flock, I am gold, I am god, Flesh to thy bone, flower to thy rod. With hoofs of steel I race on the rocks Through solstice stubborn to equinox. And I rave; and I rape and I rip and I rend Everlasting, world without end, Mannikin, maiden, Maenad, man, In the might of Pan. Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan! Io Pan!

See also  Crowley’s Pan to Artemis

Uncharmable charmer Of Bacchus and Mars In the sounding, rebounding Abyss of the stars! O virgin in armour, Thine arrows unsling In the brilliant, resilient First rays of the spring!

By the force of the fashion Of love, when I broke Through the shroud, through the cloud, Through the storm, through the smoke, To the mountain of passion Volcanic that woke — By the rage of the mage I invoke, I invoke!

By the midnight of madness: — The lone-lying sea, The swoon of the moon, Your swoon into me, The sentinel sadness Of cliff-clinging pine, That night of delight You were mine, you were mine!

You were mine, O my saint, My maiden, my mate, By the might of the right Of the night of our fate. Though I fall, though I faint, Though I char, though I choke, By the hour of our power I invoke, I invoke!

By the mystical union Of fairy and faun, Unspoken, unbroken — The dust to the dawn! — A secret communion Unmeasured, unsung, The listless, resistless, Tumultuous tongue! —

O virgin in armour, Thine arrows unsling, In the brilliant resilient First rays of the spring! No Godhead could charm her, But manhood awoke — O fiery Valkyrie, I invoke, I invoke!

[agent-troi]

omg cliff bole directed future’s end part 2 and bad blood

[ask-naraenil]

Unconditional Love - 25th Oct 23

Fatigue shot through her body, aching her muscles and burning her nerves. She felt heavy and worn in a way she never felt until a few decades ago.

Nara’enil grabbed the last handhold on the rise and pulled herself onto the ledge. Under the light of the two moons, she squinted at the Ohn’ahran Plains, its green vastness peppered with thickets of trees spread before her. 

Once upon a time, a girl with hair as blue as the depths of the ocean winced as the mighty bear whose scalp she grazed with her arrow transformed before her eyes into a full grown druid. With blood streaming down his white hair, he shouted at her so loudly she swore his voice echoed through the woods and scared away any other predator within the next mile.

She followed his footsteps as they departed for Feralas the following day. 

She remembered a pair of faces welcoming them when they arrived at his home after their lengthy journey. Both were similar in their dark hair and sculpted cheekbones; similar in their soft jawlines, and in the shapes and golden hues of their eyes. She remembered thinking that she had been adopted into a family of greatness, so the ancient stories went. 

She remembered the formal yet gentle kindness of the woman - the druid’s wife. She remembered sleepless mornings when the elder priestess sat with her by the sea, and taught her about the Goddess in ways that the sisters in Hyjal who looked after the orphans did not. 

She remembered the reticence of their son, who looked too much like his mother. A youth of her age who had yet to fully grow into himself. Who shied away when his father introduced her as his new sister. She remembered the realization that he - that they - were her family now, and for as long as she lived, she would protect them with her life. 

Once upon a time, a young Sentinel with violet leaf markings destroyed a cursed totem atop a peak in a mountain range. She was descending a cliff when the skies erupted with torrential rain. Her grip slipped on a moss grown rock and she could not grab another in time before lightning struck the outcropping just beside her, and broke the rocky shelf she clung to.

As she plummeted, expecting to be welcome in the arms of the Mother Moon, the beat of wings reached her ears and the pain of sharp talons dug into her shoulders, trying to slow her free fall. It dragged her mid air towards the trees near the shrine of Aviana, that was the nearest place of refuge. Her leg broke, as did her arm as she crashed through several layers of canopy and landed in a heap on the ground. The owl that saved her life turned into the most beautiful man she ever saw. He brought help and rushed to her side.

A century later, they tied the knot under the roots of their home, in the presence of their handful of friends and family, and with the stars as their witnesses.

There was a tall tree nearby with branches low enough to climb onto. Nara’enil scaled its bole and found enough space on a particularly broad limb to lie down. It was something she had done all of her life: find a safe vantage point and seek refuge in the open. The sky was a roof more familiar to her than those indoors. 

She could feel the leaks. The ‘surges’ of the Dream coming into the physical world, frontlines where the Circle’s archdruids went to contain them, while recruiting anyone willing to help not just with collecting the living energies, but to fight back the opportunistic incursions from the Firelands. 

The burns on her torso and her arms still stung, even though they were healing. Nara’enil rested her weight against the trunk, carefully unholstering the staff on her back. She tried not to let the flashbacks to the fires and flames stop her from seeing to her comfort.

“It’s a twig of Shaladrassil, given to me by my Shan’do before he passed on.”

“It’s from Andrassil up in the north, before it had to be destroyed. My An’do declared me its heir when I chose the path of the Branch.”

“Legend has it that it was stolen from G’hanir by one of the first druids, and it has remained hidden through the generations.”

Perhaps he was beautiful because he saved her life, despite the near-impossible chance of success. Perhaps he was beautiful because he was the only one who could pull a full bellied laugh from her, no matter how dire the circumstances. He never gave a serious answer whenever she asked where his cyclically blossoming staff was from. Each explanation only grew more ludicrous than the previous. It became a private joke between them in the millennium and a half they were together.

When the Circle returned from the first Silithus war, his staff, withered and dormant, was all that they could find of his remains. 

It took her another hundred years to learn to smile again.

It was a habit - a routine she had formed - ever since she started travelling alone. First, she removed her staff - the gnarled, dead stick, then her satchel and sickle, and finally her belt, onto which numerous pouches and containers were attached.

In the darkness of the shadows cast by the mountains and the forests, she learnt from her foster father the ways that were forbidden to her and all other women, during the few moments he found her alone on patrol and away from her various units over the years. He was already training her before she met her late husband; he continued to train her through her marriage, and he kept training her after she was widowed. Their lessons were kept away from prying eyes and ears, for nobody would ever approve. 

In the rarer times she managed to bring herself to return to the home she built after they were married, she took out her husband’s books and scrolls, and tried to learn the other craft for which he was valued by their compatriots. But she was no alchemist, and without a teacher to guide her, she learnt as any commoner did: by recipe, and by memory. 

His initials were sewn into the woven belt of ironbark. He wore it when he went to gather herbs. It hung from its hook on the wall near his laboratory table. “I won’t have the chance to forage in the desert,” he said before he left. 

Paired with the knowledge imparted to her by both him as well as her foster father about medicinal flora, she refused to let her husband’s legacy die with him, as she did her utmost to apply what she learnt, and pick up anything new.

A white ohuna flew overhead, lightly rustling the leaves as it whistled. Perhaps one of the local wildlife, or a messenger for the centaur clans. Nara’enil watched it disappear into the horizon as she hung the herbalist’s belt onto the bend of her staff, the latter secured to the branch beside her. Finally, she folded her cloak and laid her head on it as a makeshift pillow.

The stars peeked through the canopy like moonlight caught on ripples of water.

In the years that followed Nordrassil’s fall, her hair had faded into a dull grey as the navy strands were gradually replaced by white. Injuries and ailments took longer to mend. Worry and fatigue have etched themselves into increasingly noticeable lines around her eyes. 

After the orcs invaded their lands, min’do Ilisana no longer walked among them. Nara’enil’s heart broke at her failure to protect her. Shan’do Maldari wore his loss like thorns that pricked his son Meladriss so badly that he no longer spoke to his father. 

Every ache of her chest for her broken family and broken home felt as amplified as the aftermath of Veldrinath’s death. 

As she took up the mantle reluctantly given to her by the Circle, and threw herself into the frontlines of each conflict that affected their home, be it within their borders or away, Nara’enil learnt how to deal with the changes wrought from newfound mortality. Adapt or die: a lesson from ancient times. Change had become the new constant after thousands of years during the Vigil. Time had become a luxury they could no longer take for granted. 

After decades of numbing herself both in yet more learning as well as a different duty, whilst trying at the same time to find a semblance of peace in fleeting but simple moments - like the beauty of the stars in a clear night sky, and the comfort of a strong supporting tree - Nara’enil, for the first time since she learnt to adapt, felt the burden of her age. Of the tumultuous unrelenting beating her home and her kin kept continuing to take with only a pitiful couple of years of respite at most; of the tenuous ties to the only two people she had left in the world that she called her family.

After all, she was a puzzle, made from the pieces of everyone she ever knew and loved. Regardless if it was as brief as her formative years, or for as long as her lifetime, she carried them with her.  From near or far, she would protect them with her life. 

“Within this space that we have made for each other, you can say anything and I will not abandon you. Show me the worst things you have done. I will hold them with both my hands and I won’t flinch.”

Through the night, she kept watch along the ridge to the Sanctuary. The Green Flight sentries normally stationed to do so were more urgently needed in the Dream just now. Nara’enil did not mind. She always preferred solitude, especially now with the gradually swelling numbers in the Gardens.

She remained until day broke, and those who were diurnal took over once more.

[kendrixtermina]

(black rot)

You are the flesh that maggots adore:

wanted only because you’re still warm,

because you’re the only thing that’s not yet picked clean

of the shapes in the river.

Soon you shall be like them,

twisted mosaics of bare degloved muscle

the many hands that tear and rip,

the many black stains, spreading, as you scream,

the black oozes, from your ribcage, from your fluids

staining and infesting the soils,

a feat laying in state, on baren hospital bed racks,

for the slithering things, the many insects setting down on filigree wings,

the obscene feast of worms,

whose many mouths-bits cover all their lengths,

traversing you as a site of exquisite pleasure

your orchid-like explosion, bursting like a blossom,

ribbons on innards laid out.

Hung up in a slaughterhouse as the beasts,

from the ceilings,

as tribute to another field of thorns,

from which the divine angels won’t have much to reap

a soul gone off a cliff,

willing and consenting in pull power of one’s faculties

the blurred painting of a scream,

a small, bare light,

down on its knees,

surrounded on all sides by long tall shadows.

The nakedness straped in,

lying prone,

ready for dissasembly upon some gynecologists chair

The heart, ready for the reaping,

for a masterful hand to rip out,

and dress and weigh,

amid scents of formaline,

but its not yet time for it,

not now as one expertly makes the cut on the line,

presenting forth a finger to sample the quality from within,

to penetrate the innermost.

What do they aim for, the takers?

It cannot be the seats of pleasure.

The nakedness, left distorted,

bursting from within with unholy seed.

Bloated with baceteria,

that have long served it and now demand back their tribute.

And did you really think,

death would knock gently like a lover?

That he would have the need to turn you around sweetly,

and behold the swell of your pallor?

What need does he have,

when he has sat on the roof so long in patience,

when you ever saw the scraps of his black coat

hanging down your roof into the vision of your window

why would he need to hurry,

when he and his folk had you so long surrounded?

The dead birds are left emptied,

the stuffing’s left torn out,

by the skinless, twisted shapes of things,

long outgrown the affordances of mercy

even the most emaciated of white backs

is in instant target in a world of blackened hunger.

Death will come in riding the very bloated horses,

that you left for dead on the side of the road during your flight.

His shadows will ooze out from the very books and candles

of the dark magic that you once used to summon him,

and the child you never wanted, evicted from the womb,

will come to suck the blood at your anorexic chest,

bride of a cancelled wedding

Your empty-eyed gaze, your lilly white shirts,

will be crushed by the lightning-struck trees of yesteryear,

their ever-creaking boles whose leaflessness you’d long neglected.

Death would have come anyways,

were it not for this one,

it could have taken any other path,

but fact is that it comes the path that you travelled,

the one whose weight you were as what ifs.

As though you had not always known,

that to live is to know that something terrible is going to happen.

Who now dares speak on angels?

More birds for the cats,

more sheets in mausoleums,

more trick-of-the-light flickering apparitions,

hastening to a churchyard’s gate they will find closed.

Thus ever comes the optimists voice:

‘You have all the time in the world!’

it typically comes just before they, too,

are turned to skulls and mushrooms.

I hang onto time by my teeth,

and yet it is wrenched from my hands.

There’s never, ever enough.

Oh how very wasteful have I been.

[celestialmega]

The X-Files - Bad Blood by Cliff Bole, Vince Gilligan.

[episodicnostalgia]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 109 (Nov. 21, 1987) - “Hide and Q”

Written by: C.J. Holland & Gene Roddenberry Directed by: Cliff Bole

The Breakdown

Q makes his first return appearance, but this time he decides he’s going to pick on Riker, since Picard is a boring rule follower. Initially Q brings Riker (along with a few select bridge crew) to another plane-of-existence to play some kind of war simulation. After making the participants suffer grisly and painful deaths, Q decides to undo it all, and instead levels Riker up with the power of unbridled omnipotence.  Initially Riker does try to resist the temptation to do literally anything he wants, but his resolve is tested when a young child dies on a rescue mission, which leads Riker to thinking “hey technically I could actually do a lot of good with these new powers.” And in fairness, he’s kind of got a point.

So what does Riker do with his new godhood?  Of course first-things-first, he proceeds to bring the little girl back to life before reuniting her with her fami- Just kidding, lol. No, instead he offers his friends a round of good old fashioned wish fulfilment.  Riker proceeds to offer Geordie his sight back, Worf a violently horny Klingon woman, and Wesley a ripped-and-slightly-older body.  To his astonishment the entire crew turn down their gifts almost without hesitation, possibly because of their strong moral centre, but also possibly because Q is clearly playing at some kind of contrived moral lesson about humanity, and playing into his hands is generally unwise.  Realizing the error of his ways, Riker surrenders his new powers, and literally no one mentions the little dead girl ever again.  Meanwhile Q is dragged away screaming by the Q-continuum, because apparently he didn’t get the proper permits to visit the humans. I’m sure that’s the last we’ll see if that guy!

The Verdict

The concept is sound enough, as far as morality plays go, but the execution culminates in a missed opportunity to delve into some more interesting questions. Do I think Riker should possess the power of a god? No. But surely the life of an innocent child should yield greater consideration than Wesley’s desire to be a grown up. All things considered, ‘Hide and Q’ is just kind of weak, if amusing in it’s own right.

John de Lancie is starting to lean more into the trickster god vibes this time around, which I do enjoy, although still a little over-the-top, but then so is everyone else.

2 stars (out of 5)

Additional Observations

Lt. Yar has a thing for a sensitive Picard, and maybe also Worf? During Q’s games she’s sidelined and made to wait on the ship (with her life potentilally on the line).  Picard offers his moral support and she’s basically like “Wow you really are the whole package.  If ONLY you weren’t also my captain”.  And maybe it’s just me, but later when Worf is offered his potential Klingon mate, Tasha seems a bit jealous. I guess she can’t deny a strong forehead.

Wesley gets impaled, but words can’t do it justice.

Worf’s acrobatic leap over the bridge railings has got to be one of the most unintentionally hilarious pieces of acrobatics in television history. I love it with all my heart.

The bridge crew are all a little TOO impressed with adult Wesley.

[frostkingoftheapocalypse]

Darkness was peaceful. Not out of any joyless or wretched reasonings: Yggdrasil’s King savoured light as most surface-born peoples of the apocalypse did. A dawn-riser, he revered the eternity in the moment where an indistinct horizon of mountain and icefield turned pastel, glinting, glittering. Jötunheimr shared their star with three others: it was a small enduring cluster of ancient unstable gas, and it was close, dangerously precarious, kept at bay behind the broiling rises and disc-like shapes of Muspelheimr. When it tracked into a hazy view, it was to see only the aura of it refracting around their hostile neighour.

But a free breath above ground held connotations the old King could not shake. And so his dreams, his private domain, was the heavy, silky indigo of night.

He did grieve in daylight hours: a reverent crack in his armour, a rare relief of his unveiling, travelling solo across the realms, the months that he did not have to bear the influence of his consideration and presence over his peoples. He did not resent it, that primary nature of his, it was duty and pride. But that did not lessen the exposed nerve of his feelings.

Those whose energies he touched in their last moments filled his lungs like drowning. The last of anything, especially a civilisation, was the hardest to compartmentalise.

Indigo and ink. Hazy sensation. The King’s dream sat at the bole of the dead tree. He recognised it in his sightless, unfurling, gentle touch, sensitive fingertips finding the bark by his cheek. It had spoken to him, until the few remaining cells in it had succumbed to the frost, no longer speaking its final tale, and the elder’s own tear-tracks had formed grim, frozen lines into his beard. He was not surprised to find it here, in the unconscious realm.

The flicker of light around the tree’s corner however.

Crimsons narrowed. It had the paranoia of being shoved off a cliff for peering over the edge, punishment for his vice of knowledge. But one could not have iron will over all their internal domains, train for that as one may. You could not choose how you processed the passing of daytime in your sleep.

The King’s dream-body was glacial slow as he coiled back into a hunter’s posture, not responsive enough for alarm bells yet, but getting closer as he approached the dream-lure, those spears of solid sunlight through the sliver of a root-gap. He had never seen light like that. Golden. A true gold. Curiosity burned a taut rope along his posture: a dim simulation of his waking hours, but even reduced to this. This vice of his was a force.

The light seared him as the King jerked back. Grimacing. The shock stirred enough wit into him now to wither at it internally, a tense scowl at his idiocy: this piercing light harsh enough to thrust hard-defined lines into the dark? A light that could slice through a pitiful splinter between roots? One might as well have stared unblinking into the fire in a torturer’s dungeon set before your face, speeding up the intended blinding of you, hapless little fool.

The King’s back was a solid ache as his jaw ticked away, struggling to think. He had the dread, quicksand feeling of importance - so lucid in this moment that waking up was a disaster away from being his reality. There was something, beyond that gap. The Norns had their claws in his lungs. A warning. A sinus pressure, like an alarm bell that wherever his body rested in the waking realm, he had ceased to breathe with it.

He crouched. Doing the only thing that there was left to do, and praying it was enough as he set his ear against the gap, the well-worn V of his brow keeping eyes closed as he ceased to breathe and listened.

@ncrthernattitude​

[winchestergifs]

STACKEDNATURAL ⇉ 90.5/327

3.6 Red Sky at Morning Written by Laurence Andries Directed by Cliff Bole Original Air Date: November 8, 2007

[denim-wrapped-nightmares-podcast]

Berly and LA recap the season three Supernatural episode, Red Sky at Morning. Over drinks, they'll discuss lore, gore, and what they adore about the Winchesters and their adventures. Now, let's get tipsy!  CW/TW for violent and lewd commentary; listeners beware! 🔞

[bustyasianbeautiespod]

Episode 50 Transcript: You Play D&D?

[intro guitar music]

G: Hello! My name is Grey. 

C: And my name is Crystal. 

G: And this is Busty Asian Beauties, a Supernatural commentary podcast, where I, someone who has seen this show several times…

C: And I, someone who only knows the show through social media, discuss every single episode of Supernatural from start to finish. Also, we are both Asian. 

G: Both Asian! For today's episode we'll be discussing Season 3 Episode 6: “Red Sky at the Morning,” written by Laurence Andries, directed by Cliff Bole. Both of these people we're seeing for the first time. 

C: And the only time.

G: The only time for both of them?

C: Yeah, which is interesting. 

G: Fascinating. 

C: I don't know why that is, like, I'd say that this is not the worst episode in any way. [G laughs] So.

G: Yeah. 

C: Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, Laurence Andries worked on How To Get Away With Murder, he sort of seems like hot shit, so maybe they just couldn't afford him again.

G: Ohh, yeah, perhaps so. Onto greater things, that guy.

C: Yeah.

G: Yeah. So what's our pre-discussion thoughts?

C: Like, I mean, not a fan of misogyny, but love to see a Bela. [G laughs] So that’s basically it.

G: I can't help but think about that post that's like, “For this week's episode, Dean will be talking to someone who will embody his childhood trauma, blah blah blah!"

C: Uh-huh.

G: "Meanwhile, Sam is going to go talk to the MILFs.” 

C: [laughing] Yeah, this is true.

C: Sam will be talking to MILFs. 

G: He literally talked to that MILF.

C: Yeah. Well, I guess she was a MIDLF? A mother he did not like to fuck?

G: Yeah, and it was quite upsetting to see him be harassed so much during the episode, so.

C: Yeah, it wasn't very funny. 

G: Yeah, the episode treats it like it's funny, and Dean treats it like it's funny, but like, I don't know, it's just, it's baaaad to watch.

C: Yeah, like, maybe you shouldn't grab people's asses when they're not comfortable with it. Revolutionary thought. [G laughs]

G: Poor Sam. But, yeah. So before going into this episode, what did you know about it?

C: Honestly, nothing, like from the title? I think this episode and “Bad Day at Black Rock” both just have really long titles that have nothing at all to do with the actual episode. Like, I definitely, like, as soon as I watched it I definitely recognized scenes, mostly the Dean coming down the stairs, looking like shit in his tuxedo, you know. [G laughs]

G: In his ill-fitting suit.

C: Yeah, which, you know, I really appreciate that they were like, “Ooh, ladies, look at this!” meanwhile he has never looked worse in his life. [G laughs]

G: He looks like a stumpy little guy. [C laughs] Like he looks so short.

C: He does!

G: And I support a short king. But like, the fact that we're supposed to go, “Ooooh,” is so funny. [G laughs]

C: Right, like, “Look at this raging piece of red meat and masculinity,” like, whatever, he looks awful.

G: Yeah.

C: But yeah, I didn't really know anything about the episode, besides that the writer is Black because I saw that on a post about how there are no Supernatural writers who are people of color except for like, this one guy this one time.

G: Mm, yeah. I actually remember this episode pretty well. I remember pretty much everything that happens, and also I remember the title, because- I don't even know why. I think I just remember the Bela episodes quite well, because this is also my reaction during our last Bela ep. So yeah. I was very fond of Bela when I was watching Supernatural the first time. So that's no surprise. Yeah.

C: Yeah.

G: Yeah. So, shall we start the episode? [G laughs]

C: Sure.

G: I hate it here. [C laughs] I already said that, but I’m just reiterating it. I hate it here.

C: Yeah, I think this episode did get one of my “I hate Supernatural so much it's unreal” Discord messages.

G: Exactly. Which happens, I think, once every three episodes?

C: [laughing] Yeah, approximately.

G: Yeah. Oh, also this episode, they mention Castiel.

C: They do!

G: Did you catch that? 

C: Yes, I did catch that, of course I caught that. God. 

G: And I felt happiness bloom in my heart.

C: [laughs] For the first time in years.

G: [laughs] Exactly.

-

G: So we start with this young woman, she's running-

C: In the dead of night. 

G: In the dead of night, middle of the street. She's not even running on the side- what's the pavement, what's that called for you? Side road?

C: Sidewalk?

G: Sidewalk. She's not even running on the sidewalk. She's just running in the middle of the street, which I respect.

C: Yeah, she's wearing like a sports bra that is far more bra-looking than the average sports bra, I'd say.

G: Yeah, I think people just really do wear that, right? Well, not here, but-

C: Not in the dead of the night!

G: Yeah, perhaps! She stops for some water, and she's like, drinking from the water fountain, and she looks up, and she sees a ship! Yeah, it's spooky. It's a spooky ship. You know what I said like a couple of episodes back? I don't know if you remember this, and I don't even know if I actually did say it. [C laughs] But I said something along the lines of, “I want them to do an episode on a haunted ship, but I think it's gonna be way too expensive.” 

C: Oh yeah. Yeah, this is how they did it.

G: She comes home, and she's showering, because of course she is. 

C: Yeah, and like, she's, like, just looking up with her mouth open in a sexy way, just like, glugging all that shower water, as you know, women often do.

G: [laughing] Yeah! The way she was like, wiping her hair down, you know, like, the shower motion that you see in television, except that's the only thing she was doing. And this is a long scene!

C: Yeah! Right, no shampoo! 

G: [laughs] No shampoo, no soap, no anything. [C laughing] No conditioner, no nothing. She's just wiping her hair up and down. 

C: Just down, not even up, 'cause like [overlapping] if it was up, it would get all frizzy and be unattractive. 

G: [laughs] It's so funny because she, like, okay, here's what happened. She's showering, right, and then she hears some noise, so she checks it out, and then she goes back to the shower and continues doing the exact same thing that she was doing from before, and this keeps on going and going for so long that it's impossible to not know this. At some point I was like, "Are they reusing this clip? What's happening?"

And we cut to outside, and we see her like, scream and like, get pushed against the door of the shower, and then, like it ends with her hand sliding down the shower door.

C: Yeah.

G: Which is like, I don't like that.

C: Me neither.

G: Because well, I mean, I think we've said this often in the show, or at least we've said it at some point, but like, the whole concept of "when a woman dies, she has to die in the shower!" [laughs] is so fucking stupid.

C: Yeah. Naked, sexy.

G: She has to die in a bathtub. And the other men who died in this episode don't die like that. It's just her.

C: Right. Yeah, I mean at least one of the men who dies is shirtless. #Equality. [G laughs] But yeah, he's not in the shower, and he didn't have to be all sexy and weird before he died. Yeah, no, as soon as I saw her in that sports bra that's bra-shaped instead of binder-shaped, I was like, “This is not gonna end up well, is it?” and it did not.

G: Yeah.

C: At least we didn't have to see her dead body naked with the spiders around it, like we saw in “Bugs” or whatever.

-

C: So we cut to the Impala, where Sam and Dean are about to have a fight. And Dean's like, "You gonna tell me like, what it is you've been keeping from me?" Sam, like, jokes, "Happy Purim?" which is, you know, more Jewish Winchesters evidence, so good for them. So Dean reveals that he has noticed that there is a bullet missing from the Colt, so Sam has discharged it at some point. And Dean's upset that Sam went after the crossroads demon that he made the deal with, but, like it seems like the main thing that he's worried about is that Sam could have gotten himself killed, which was- it was kind of sweet. I did go “Aww” a little at that. Sam says that he shot her because-

G: I mean, it doesn't feel like the reason why he's mad [laughs], I mean-

C: Maybe it's not the reason.

G: I think he's just like upset because of like, the hiding and stuff, and like, "You could have gotten killed," blah blah blah. And then he immediately goes, "What happened to the demon? You killed her! Now we have no lead."

C: That's true.

G: I think there's a feeling here that Dean, even though he's denying it, still feels-

C: Yeah, hoping.

G: - a little bit like, "Oh, I hope I can get out of this deal."

C: Yeah, definitely. Sam says that he shot her because "She was a smartass."

G: Hell yeah.

C: What's wrong with this man? Why is he using the logic I use in like, my kills in D&D in like, real actual life? [both laugh] God.

G: You play D&D? Is that for real?

C: Yeah, I mean, I guess I use D&D just to mean tabletop roleplaying in general. Like, the current campaign I'm playing with my ex-fiancee and our friends is Masks, so that's not the D&D mechanic. But yeah.

G: ... Alright. [laughs]

C: Oh, oh! You said that to be judgmental. [laughing] I understand now. [both laughing]

G: I said it to be a cunt. [both laughing]

C: Slay.

Yeah, so Dean has a little hope, it seems, because he goes like, "So, does that mean that I'm out of my deal, then?" And Sam's like, "No, I probably wouldn't have mentioned it if that was true." I do want to live in the universe where Sam gets Dean out of the deal and then just doesn't tell him. I think it'd be fun.

Yeah, Sam says that he doesn't know who actually holds the contract, and Dean does this whole like, "It'd be great to figure out who it was. I wonder who our best lead was. Oh, wait. You shot her." Yeah. And then Sam does this whole like, "I'm not sorry for doing it. You're my brother. [G laughing] I'm gonna try to save you, no matter what," blah blah blah. Okay, whatever. Sure.

G: The thing is, they've been at it for six episodes, and nothing has happened so far, and I am beginning to feel like-

C: Maybe they're not gonna to get out of it? Maybe Dean might actually die?

G: No, no, no. I'm beginning to feel like they're running out- they're like, running out of ideas to put in the episodes for brother conflict, and they're like, "Let's just milk this one. Let's just do this one over and over again for 16 episodes [C laughs], and that will be the entire season." And I get the Supernatural does that, and I get like they have to keep doing that because this is a TV show that is like, weekly.

C: Yeah. And some people weren't watching last week's episode.

G: Yeah, exactly. But part of me is like, "Okay, we get it. We get it. I get it."

C: Yeah. I think maybe also this might be them realizing like, "Oh, in season 2, we like, totally dropped the overarching plot until the end. So I think that the solution for season 3 is just to have a case and then have every other moment just be them being like, 'Hey, remember the overarching plot? Let's talk about that.'"

G: So Sam and Dean enter this house, and there's this old lady-

C: We don't get a city for this episode.

G: Oh, yeah, we don't.

C: Which is odd. I feel usually, we get a city.

G: Also, like, I think, you know, it's near a port. Is that a port? What is it?

C: Yeah.

G: So like, it's gonna be reasonable that they're like, "Oh, it's near a body of water," so it'll be easy to have a city. Or maybe that makes it more difficult. I'm not sure.

But so they enter this house, and there's an old lady, and she's like, “Why are you guys here? I already talked to the other detectives?” And they're like, "No, no no no."

C: She's so chipper for someone whose niece just died.

G: It's her niece?

C: Yeah.

G: I thought it was her granddaughter.

C: No, it's her niece.

G: That's actually wild. Like-

C: Yeah.

G: Why is she so happy? [laughs]

C: I don't know. I think the implication is that Bela/Alex has been like, doing seances where she's been talking to her niece, so she doesn't feel that she's like lost her entirely, maybe?

G: Yeah, yeah yeah. [laughs] The way they said that was so funny, which we'll get into later.

C: Yeah. [laughs]

G: So she's talking about who these guys are like, "Who are you guys?" And they're like, "Oh, we're with the sheriff's office. We're different detectives. So like, just talk to us. Like, what happened?" And she says, like, "She drowned in the shower." So that's a clue for us, that the way she died was drowning. But like, how did she drown in the shower? And Sam starts asking about behavior during the days before the accident, and then- and the lady goes, "Oh! Are you guys working with Alex?" And Dean latches onto this and is like, "Oh, yeah, sure. We're working with Alex. Alex and us: coworkers!" Like, he's hammering this home.

C: "We're super, super tight. My brother is gonna have a sex dream about her in future episodes!" [G laughs]

G: Noo! Yeah. And she says like, "I thought the case was closed. What's the deal?" And Sam and Dean says, "Oh, it's not actually closed, and we're still investigating it." And she mentions that Sheila saw like, the ship. And this starts a thing in the episode where she's like, really flirting it up with Sam. And by "flirting it up," I mean, like sexual harassment-

C: [overlapping] - sexually harassing him.

G: Yeah. Like, here it's like, "Oh, don't call me Mrs. Case. It's just Miss Case." Which is like, that's fine.

C: Yeah, that's fine.

G: It's forward, but it's fine. And then she starts caressing his fingers, which is weird.

C: Yeah. Yeah.

G: And then that's it for this scene, and we'll get more later.

C: Mm-hm.

G: I feel so bad for Sam.

C: Yeah, it's very sad. He's not having a good time this episode.

Oh, also, Alex- Specifically, Gert says that Alex thinks that it's a ghost ship, so-

G: Yeah.

C: So that's a hint that this Alex might be a hunter, but obviously, it's Bela, because yay, Bela!

-

C: Right, so Sam and Dean are outside, and so Dean's teasing Sam a bit about the Miss Case thing. I think in this scene, it's not entirely clear how Sam feels about her. Because, like, Dean's like, "Oh, haha! Like, you're saying she's not crazy because you're sticking up for your girlfriend, you cougar hound." And Sam seems alright with the teasing. He's like, "Bite me," and Dean's like, "Okay, not if she bites you first," and like, they seem to be laughing it off. But I guess it's just because she doesn't really seem like a threat to Sam quite yet. The finger caressing is not as bad as later things. So yeah, they wonder if Alex might be a hunter. And then Sam does a bit of a lore dump, where apparently, the ship is sighted every 37 years, and then a bunch of people drown on land, and they all see the ship out in the bay. Sam says that his next step is to figure out what boat it is, but there are apparently over 150 boats matching that description that got wrecked off this coast, so yeah. Not doing well. Also, sometime, during this, Dean uses the phrase, "you pucker up and kiss your ass goodbye," which I actually thought was kind of fun. [G laughs]

But they go to where the Impala was parked, and it is not there, and Dean starts freaking.

G: He's hyperventilating. [laughs]

C: He goes like, "Where's my car?? Somebody stole my car!!" He- yeah, no, he's bent over. He is hyperventilating. He's not doing well. It is a fairly humorous scene, but also like, if your house was your home, and also all you had left of your father who died, I understand why he is doing this. But it is very, very funny. Especially because, like, when he's being really angry, he's like, gesticulating a lot and sort of the tails of his suit coat are like, [G laughs] flapping around with his arm motions, so he just looks like a silly little penguin man.

G: Yeah. And he looks so short this episode.

C: He does. This entire episode.

Sam's like, going over and telling Dean to calm down. But like, he's being quite supportive about it, just like, patting him, going like, "Take it easy." So he's not really making fun of him, which, you know, I guess is rights for neurodivergent Winchesters and helping each other cope.

So we hear someone coming up, and it's Bela! It's Bela!

G: Whoo!

C: She looks so good this episode, you guys. She's wearing like, this leather jacket, but it's like, brown, but then like not like, regular leather jacket brown. It looks really good on her. You know, her earrings match her necklace, her eyes are shining, she is beautiful and radiant, and we love to see her.

So yeah, she's all like, "Oh, sorry, was that car yours? I had it towed." So real. So real. And both of them are like, very upset to see her here. And Sam realizes that Bela is Alex, and Bela reveals that what she's been doing is just like, basically scamming old women. [laughs]

G: [laughing] Yeah, but the way she said it-

C: Yes, is great. She says that she sells them charms and performs seances so that they can commune with their dead cats. And Dean says, “Oh, and it's like all a con, and none of it is real,” and she goes, “The comfort I provide them is very real.”

G: She's so real. She's so iconic.

C: She is so iconic. Like, I support women's rights, but, moreover, I support women’s wrongs, etc. God bless. Yeah.

Also, like, of the things that she could be doing with her skillset, like the fact that she's bothered- well, she- at least from- I think she's lying here. But the fact that in this universe, where she's telling the truth, she's bothering to, instead of like, selling things for millions of dollars, she's just going to old women and being like, "And Mr. Tuna says that he's having a great time in cat heaven!" [G laughs] is so fun to me.

G: I think she's telling the truth, because, like Miss Case doesn't- like, she actually believes her, and she says that Bela has brought her great comfort, and Bela- Like, at the end, they're like, obviously like, friends in a way. Like, they know each other. So I think she's telling the truth here that, like, she does scam these old women.

C: That's true, but I feel like that's like, her side quest, 'cause she's mostly here for the Hand of Glory.

G: Yeah. I'd like to believe that she does this for multiple old women.

C: Yeah. Yeah.

So Sam, at this very small crime, like, honestly, not even a big deal, goes, "How do you sleep at night?" Girl? I don't get it.

G: The thing is like, every single psychic in this universe, aside from like, Missouri, is the exact same way.

C: Yeah.

G: I think her crime is knowing that it's true, and yet not doing anything.

C: Right, like she could possibly actually commune with their dead cat, but she isn't bothering?

G: Yeah, perhaps? [C laughs]

C: Right. She does have her ouija board that she used to talk to the spirits who'd been killed by the rabbit's foot, so yeah, she could totally actually talk to these women's dead cats; she just isn't bothering to. So yeah, Bela has her iconic line of "On silk sheets, rolling naked in money." And she's surprised that Sam is judgmental because she only expected this from Dean. But Sam goes like, "You shot me!" [G laughs] And Bela goes like, "I barely grazed you!" She's so real.

G: I laughed out loud when he said, like, "You shot me!" because I didn't expect them to like, call back to the last episode she was in.

C: Yeah!

G: Like, you know, Supernatural episodes are so disjointed that any callback is like, takes me aback.

C: Mm-hm.

G: This was fun.

C: Yeah, yeah. I also wonder if there are more callbacks in this one because it's a guest writer. I feel like if you're a guest writer, you're like, "Oh, I have to do a good job, and I have to like, watch all the episodes and do my research." Meanwhile, if you're like Robert Singer, [G laughs] you're just like, "What the fuck ever." [laughs]

G: Maybe.

C: Yeah.

So they question her about the ghost ship thing, and she's just like, "Well, I'm mad at you for telling Gert that the case is still open, because now she wants actual answers instead of just paying me. So just stay away from me. Plus, like, your car- like, something bad is gonna happen if they find the one million guns you have in the trunk, so you should go get that." And she says, "ciao" to say goodbye, and she walks away. She is iconic, she is the moment, etc.

G: She's so fun.

C: And Dean goes, "Can I shoot her?" and Sam goes, "Not in public."

G: The thing is like-

C: Have they joked about killing real human people before, like ever in the show?

G: I don't think so. They're so mean to Bela! Like, maybe I'm biased because I like her [C laughs], but also like, maybe not. Have we considered that?

C: Maybe I'm bisexual because I like her? [both laugh]

G: Exactly. But like, they're so mean to her, and it upset me.

C: Right.

G: Even towards the end of the episode, she's like, "Yeah, I stole it." They were like, "This is the worst thing that you could ever done."

C: I know!

G: And it's like, calm down!

C: Calm down! There's like, murderers out there.

G: Yeah.

C: The disdain for her is definitely, completely disproportional from any like, metric of how bad of a person she is, or how dirty she's done any of them.

G: Yeah. And also like, how they react to previous people who are in this vein.

C: Yeah. Right.

G: Anyway.

C: Yeah, but I wonder- I feel like she's also being set up as a clear foil for Dean, so like, maybe this is like their shoddy attempt to just show conflict between a foil and Dean, and like, make it like about like, self-hatred. Because there's a lot of like, pointed lines about like-

G: Yeah, "We're the same."

C: "Takes one to know one," and like, "We have the same damage." Maybe they're trying to say like, they just hate on her so bad because she's like, Waluigi Dean.

G: Just like me for real, yeah. [laughing] "Waluigi Dean"! If anyone is Waluigi-

C: No, Dean is Waluigi.

G: Yeah, Dean is Waluigi.

C: Yeah.

-

G: So Sam and Dean arrive at this crime scene where Bela is like, posing as a reporter and trying to interview this one guy.

C: Uh, yeah, so we see his brother be killed like, right before this scene where he's near his bathtub, and then, like, someone comes out of the bathtub and drowns him.

G: Oh yeah! Somebody does come out of the bathtub. That was funny. [both laughing] I was watching-

C: A man just died, Grey! ...It was pretty funny.

G: [laughing] It was pretty funny. But yeah, Bela is interviewing, posing as a reporter, and she's like, [British accent] "I'm so sorry for your loss." [C laughs] You know how she is?

C: Yeah.

G: Sam and Dean come up and are like, "Hem-hem. I think you should leave the guy alone, Ms. Reporter. The guy's been through enough!" [C laughs] You know, they're being so mean, and they're shooting like, looks at each other. But Bela does concede, and she walks away, and Dean goes, "They're just like roaches, aren't they?" [both laugh] And Bela looks menacingly at him. And then Sam starts asking about the ship, and the guy starts describing the ship like, with full intensity.

Okay, you've seen the ship, right?

C: Yeah,

G: How would you describe the ship?

C: It was a boat [G laughs], but it had sails, so I guess it was a ship. That's how I would describe it.

G: It was a ship, and it had sails, and they're big. Potentially masts. Is that the term? I would say it had big masts.

C: Yeah, yeah, I think those are what the big wood sticks that hold up the sails are called.

G: Yeah, and it's a big ship. And that's all I would say. But this guy is like, "Here's some details. Old Yankee Clippers, smuggling vessel, rakish topsail, a barkentine rigging. Angel figurehead on the bow." And Sam was like, "That's way too much detail for a ship that your brother saw," and he's like, "Well, I saw it, too." And even then, I was like- [both laughing]

C: That's too much detail for a ship that you saw.

G: Exactly. I wish they were like, "I'm a bit of a boathead, you know. I love the ships."

C: Are you also currently trying to figure out how to make a joke about a ship with an angel on it that leads to the punchline "Destiel"? [G laughs] 'Cause I'm not coming up with the right sentence, but I would like to do that.

G: Well, the the fact that we kept on saying "ship" over and over again, it did cross my mind. But alas.

C: Alas.

G: You know, we're not professional podcasters.

C: That's true.

G: We're not doing advertisements. We don't- we're not funny enough.

C: But also, if anyone wants to sponsor us, like, hit us up. [laughs]

G: If somebody decides to sponsor us big-time, I will write down jokes before we record [both laughing] the podcast. I promise. I will be extra funny. And my chair will not be creaking all the time like it does.

C: Yeah. I won't yell at my roommate Evan in the background- [G laughing]

G: And I will cut it off when it happens, instead of leaving it in the recording. [both laughing]

So yeah. I mean, Sam and Dean are like, "Ooh, you saw the ship too? Alright. We'll keep in touch." And then it cuts to them loading up guns in the middle of the day, in the middle of the road-

C: Yup. Like, right next to where the cops were just then-

G: It's so funny because-!

C: -after them, because Bela was talking to them, points- talking about them and pointing at them and going like, "I don't think those are real FBI agents."

G: Yeah! What's the deal? What are they doing? But yeah, they're- And Bela starts saying like, "Oh-"

C: Yeah, she just shows up behind them, like, over their shoulders. It's a great shot. I like that she keeps showing up to bother them. Like, they're like the funny little stray cats that she found in her neighborhood, and she's coming over to take photos of them for Instagram and disrupt their mice hunting.

G: [laughs] Yeah. And she asks what they're still doing, and Sam and Dean are like, "The guy saw the ship. We have to save him." And Bela is of the opinion that it's not useful or worth it to try to save the guy because he's cannon fodder. He's dead anyway, so what's the point? And Sam and Dean are like, "You're such a heartless, soulless bitch." [C laughing] And she's-

C: Yeah, "I have a loaded gun right now. Why are you talking to us? We're gonna murder you literally in broad daylight for being slightly unsympathetic for two seconds."

G: Yeah. And Bela's like, "Well, it's better to just focus on figuring out what the boat is, and like, getting to the bottom of the situation, to the root of it."

C: And she's right.

G: Yeah, she's right, and the episode degrees that he's right because- spoiler! The guy dies.

C: [overlapping] - the guy dies anyway, yeah. But they never say Bela was right.

G: Yeah.

C: But she was.

G: Yeah, anyway, Dean was like- It's weird to me, because what she's saying makes sense, right? But Dean is so mad. Dean is so mad.

C: He's so mad! Is he just upset that she wasn't like, "It makes more sense to focus on the big picture. However, I will cry every day at the thought of this guy dying"? Like, is it just the fact that she doesn't feel bad that this guy is gonna die? Is that what he's so upset about? 'Cause like, I don't think that matters.

G: Yeah.

Anyway, before they go, Dean goes like, “How did you get like this? Did Daddy give you not enough hugs or something?" And Bela goes, "I don't know. Your dad give you enough? Don't you dare look down your nose at me. You're no better than I am."

C: Right, so Bela's background that we learn later is that her parents were- were they sexually abusive as well as like, physically and emotionally?

G: This is the one thing about Bela that I don't remember. Like, I remember the scene where they reveal it, but I don't remember the details because I think I was like, "Oh, this sucks! I'm not gonna think about this anymore." So I don't actually know. I don't remember.

C: Right. But yeah, like, I feel like in any situation where her parents were abusive, that is not a good line to-

G: Yeah, but it's intentional.

C: Yeah, it was on purpose, but yeah, especially if her father was sexually abusive, that would be rough.

G: Yeah, anyway, Bela continues on, and she says like, "You do this job for vengeance and obsession, and you're stone throw's away from being a serial killer."

C: So real.

G: She says, "I, on the other hand, have a job." Well [laughs], good for her. And also, "I do my job, and I get paid for it, and that's it. So I'm faring much healthier than you guys are."

C: Yeah.

G: And Sam is like, [snippily] "Why don't you just leave? We've got work to do." [C laughing] In that exact voice.

C: [laughs] Yeah.

G: And she says, "We'll, you're O for 2." And [laughing] it took me so long to understand what the fuck she was saying.

C: Yeah?

G: She was like, "Yeah, you're 0 for 2, so bang-up job so far." She's super fun.

C: She's so good.

G: This entire episode, she's super fun, and love her.

-

C: Sam and Dean they're parked outside this guy whose brother died's house. This guy's name is Peter, I guess, but I did not notice that the whole episode. So Sam's researching their backgrounds. Both brothers don't really have a criminal record. Six years ago, their dad died and they inherited $112 million. And yeah, Sam's wondering what the connection between them and Sheila is, and why the ghost went after them. And Peter notices that they are parked outside, and he is like, "Why are you guys here? Why are you watching me?" He says, "You guys aren't cops! Not dressed like that. Not in that crappy car." [laughs] So real. And Dean's like, "Whoa. No need to get nasty!" Yeah. So Sam says that, "Oh, we're just undercover! We think you're in danger! Let's just talk about it." And Peter is like, "No, get away from me," and he gets into his car and starts driving away. I guess we're supposed to realize later that he was acting- like, we're supposed to go, "Oh, he was acting weird because he thought that like people were after him for killing his dad," right? But I think that this is a normal reaction.

G: No, I don't think so. I think it's normal.

C: Okay, just the normal reaction, okay. So yeah, he he gets like five feet in the car, and then it breaks down, and- Sam and Dean, they're not that far away from him, right? Like-

G: Yeah. It took them so long-

C: It took him so long for them to run towards his car, which was like-

G: Have we considered that it's their fault that this guy's dead? [laughs]

C: Yeah, it's literally their fault that this guy's dead because they r- they like, slow-jogged over to the car, and by the time they got to the car, this ghost, who looks like a stereotypical pirate, I think, has choke-drowned him to death inside his car.

G: Yeah.

C: Woof

G: Whoops! Yeah, the effect is pretty good. The guys like, vomiting out the water.

C: Yeah, it does look pretty neat. I think the special effects this episode in general were quite good.

G: Eh, it's a hit or miss. I think the practical effects were good.

C: Yeah, yeah, that's true.

G: The other effects were like, a bit hit or miss.

C: Yeah. Though I mean, I honestly thought that the effects when at the end, when the ghost disappears, was like- I mean it was a lot better than most ghost disappearing effects, at least. [G laughs]

G: But you know how it is with ghosts disappearing. They're always bad.

C: Yeah.

G: My favorite one is still the one where she gets like, sucked up to Hell, and it looks exactly like the Castiel Empty one. I think that was like the first episode of the show, right?

C: Yeah, it was the Woman in White.

G: It was so funny. That was so funny.

C: It was.

G: Yeah.

-

G: The next scene, we have Sam and Dean like, in the car again. And Sam is moping, and Dean is like, "Okay, I'm gonna say it. You can't save everyone." And Sam is like, "Okay. Does that make you feel better, now that you said it?" And Dean is like, "No." And Sam goes, "Yeah, me, too. It just feels like I can't save anybody anymore." [laughing] It was something like that, and it's so corny!

C: It is very, very corny.

G: It's so corny!

C: I think some of it is like, Jared Padalecki's acting choices. 'Cause like, for the next three scenes or so, like, he's trying to show Sam being shaken up by this man's death-

G: [laughs] Yeah.

C: But like, he does that by just sort of having him look like, constipated but angry about it? [G laughs] Right, like, I think the makeup team sort of put some dark shadows under his eyes to like really bring home that he's upset, but like, he looks silly. He looks silly.

G: Yeah. So we are at this house that they're squatting in. And as they're sitting, Bela knocks, and she comes in, and she's like, "Wow, you guys are squatting for real? Charming." This is her only crime.

C: Yeah.

G: And she asks like, "What happened with the guy you were watching last night?" and they're like, completely quiet, and she goes, "That well, huh?" And Dean is like, very mad. Like, "If you say I told you so, I'll start swinging!" And Bela goes like, "Well, let's just have a heart-to-heart," and Dean goes, "If you even have a heart!" He's really going hard. [laughs]

C: Yeah, what's going on?

G: It's so funny because saying it consecutively the way we are really makes you realize like, how much they're doubling down on like, "Everything Bela says, I'm gonna rebut with  a snarky comment about how eeevil she is [C laughing], because she's an evil, evil woman."

C: Oh, god bless.

G: And basically, she says, "I've identified the ship, and it's the Espirito Santo." I love that. And there was a time when a sailor was accused of treason, and he was tried in a kangaroo court and hanged. I have a question.

C: Yeah?

G: What does kangaroo court mean?

C: This is a great question, and I'm gonna redirect that question to duckduckgo.com.

G: Like, I know what it means, but like, why it means? [laughs] You know what I mean?

C: [laughs] Yeah.

G: Like, why is it called kangaroo court?

C: Why called- yeah, maybe it has something to do with Australia.

G: Ohh.

C: Let's see. Oh, hm. Yeah, okay, I don't know. People just seem to say that they don't know, except it's probably just about how like the court is sort of slapdash, so it's like an animal in the wild, and also, another theory is that kangaroos are quick and unpredictable. Yeah, I don't.

G: I'm going with the Australia thing. I think that's more fun.

C: Yeah.

G: Yeah. And he was 37 when he died, which kind of explains the 37 year gaps between the deaths. Which is like, they've never done this before in Supernatural. Like, "He was 50 years old, so every 50 years, someone dies." [C laughs] Like, it's never like that, right? This is the very first one. So I thought it was fun that they- it was like funny. It was funny that they were like, "In this episode, it's gonna be 37 years because he's 37 years old!" [C laughs]

C: Yup.

G: And yeah, they like, showed pictures, and Sam recognizes that this was the guy who they saw the other day with the guy who died, and he was missing a hand. And the reason for that is the sailor's body was cremated. Which is fascinating, because they- don't they just toss that shit in the ocean?

C: Yeah, I thought they tossed them in the ocean. But I guess it'd be too hard for them to find the body from the ocean and burn it.

G: Yeah, you're right. That would stump the audience, so they didn't do it.

But before they did that, they cut off his hand first to make a Hand of Glory. [laughs]

C: Oh, oh. This is when I sent "I hate Supernatural so much it's unreal" in the Discord.

G: Why?

C: When Dean- at Dean's line?

G: Oh, okay. He says, "A Hand of Glory? I think I got one of those in the end of my Thai massage last week." [C sighs] Yeah. I mean, I completely forgot about that line. [laughs]

C: That's good. You probably live a better life than I do because you forgot about that line.

G: [laughs] Yeah. I will say-

C: Do we even have to unpack that? I don't even know if we have to unpack it.

G: Yeah, it's whatever. Yeah. I mean, it just is what it is. And by "is what it is," I mean it's a horrible thing. But like, okay. I think we talked about this in that- like a couple of episodes back, so.

C: Yeah, just go relisten to our "Tall Tales" episode. [G laughing] We will never talk about the topic of- the title of our show ever again because we already talked about it that one time.

G: [laughing] You have to have listened to every single episode of this show to understand every single episode of the show.

C: Yeah, that was a really important part of BABPod canon, and you should be ashamed if you haven't listened to that part. [G laughs]

G: Anyway, Sam reprimands Dean, and he's like, [broody voice] "Dean, this is a very serious occult object. It's very powerful." [C laughs]

C: We're being so mean to Sam in this episode! [G laughs] His line about how he can't save anybody wasn't like, the worst thing ever! [G laughs] I did like that like, that he says it by cutting Dean off mid-sentence which doesn't happen often in Supernatural because in TV shows, people say their full sentences, and then they respond to the full sentences. Like, that was a good move! But yeah, no, Sam is not getting too many points for this episode. [G laughing] Dean is getting negative points this episode, though, so like honestly, we should clown on Dean more.

G: Yeah. And anyway, the hand counts as remains, so they need to find it and burn it. And Bela knows where it is. It's in Sea Pines Museum. It's a macabre bit of maritime history. And she says-

C: Yeah. I'm surprised that Sam wouldn't have figured this out already if it was like, in a local museum. You'd think that'd be one of the first places you hit up for research.

G: Anyway, Bela says, "I need help," and Sam goes, "What kind of help?" And, dun-dun-dun!

-

C: We cut to the house, but later that night, and Bela is waiting downstairs, and she looks very good. She's wearing the like, black dress that every single-

G: I know.

C: - slightly evil or slightly hot woman on Supernatural wears, but like-

G: Like, Sarah wore this. Sarah wore this.

C: Yeah, Sarah wore this, I think like, half of the crossroads demons wore this. Tessa wore something quite similar. But Bela looks really good. Plus, she has like, a necklace that has just a lot of gems on it, and I like the shape of it. It looks very good with her collar line.

So Bela's yelling upwards to Dean, like, "Why are you taking so long?" Dean says, "I'm so not okay with this." And Bela says, "What are you, a woman?" [laughs] Okay, two things Bela has has done wrong this episode, I suppose.

Yeah. I think this is trans on trans violence where she's misgendering Dean on purpose. So yeah, she tells him to come down, and there's- there's like this music that plays when he comes downstairs, and the transcript says that this sounds like the James Bond theme tune, but you know, I've never engaged in that media, so I don't know how accurate that is. And it does like a pan up.

G: [laughing] Yeah, and he looks so bad!

C: And Bela's being like- Bela's like, basically like gagging herself with how much she wants to suck his dick, apparently. But he looks like shit. Like, we've already said this, but he looks so bad. He looks awful.

G: It's so funny. It's such a funny scene.

C: Yeah, I just- Right, like I'm assuming- Like, what do you think was going on? Like, they were like, "Well, I believe that women who are attracted to men are more attracted to them when they are in suits, so we're just gonna say that in a tuxedo, he is so so hot, even though he looks like shit"? Like- he looks like he's going to his high school prom.

G: How different is a tux from a suit?

C: I think there's like, more satin on it, but it's like, not that different. He has a bowtie instead of like, a hanging tie-

G: A tie tie, yeah. He should have worn a cravat. That's my take.

C: Yeah, yeah. Maybe if he'd worn a cravat, he would have been hot. I mean, I don't think he would have, but it would have been better

G: She says, "When this is over, we should really have angry sex." [laughs]

C: Dean's reaction to this is like- It's very long. It's like, ten whole seconds of him being like, "Hm, well- NO! Hm, well- NO!" [laughs] Right, he's just very uncomfortable, but clearly sort of into it, and then he says, "Don't objectify me." God.

Right, so I'm assuming- What is going on here is that the writer's making fun of feminism. Is that what's going on in that sentence? [G laughs] Like, it's a really funny sentence, but I do wonder what the motivation behind it is.

G: I don't think it's like, making fun of feminism.

C: Okay.

G: But I just think it's a funny line.

C: It is a really funny one. It's good. I appreciate it. So yeah, they go to the museum.

-

G: Bela and Dean walk in, and Bela is like, "Okay, you're chewing gum, which you shouldn't be doing. Also, can you just fucking act like you've been here before?" And Dean, you know, is upset at this, takes out his gum, and he sticks it under this thing. How you describe it?

C: It's like a silver bowl- the current transcript says that it's a flowing champagne fountain. It's a fancy event.

G: Yeah. And they're doing the whole- Oh my god, I just realized! I just realized they're doing a fake dating!

C: Yeah, they are!

G: Oh, I'm so happy.

C: Yeah.

G: Good for them!

C: Yeah.

G: Oh, earlier they mentioned that like Sam has a date, and the date is Miss Case.

C: Sam's not doing well.

G: Yeah, like Sam is there, and he's like, he's offered champagne, and he's like, "Remember, we're on business," and she's like, "Business can be pleasure, right?" It's so uncomfortable. I feel so bad for Sam!

C: Yeah.

G: And she's like touching him a lot. She's like sliding his her hand up and down his chest. And later, she grabs his ass.

C: Yeah, like multiple times.

G: Yeah. And when Sam notices them, when Sam notices Dean and Bela, he like, goes over to them and says, like, "How long am I supposed to entertain my date?" Which, like, okay, here's the thing. Why did he need to have a date?

C: I think they needed- well, just because Gert is like, rich, and she actually had invitations to this event.

G: Oh, so it's like he's the plus one.

C: Yeah.

G: But like, from the looks of it, Sam didn't need to be there.

C: Yeah, I mean, maybe she was- maybe she was like, "I'll like-"

G: Noo.

C: "I'll give you the invitations if like, this hot piece of ass goes as my date."

G: I feel bad for him.

C: Yeah, which is highly unfortunate.

G: Dean makes a joke like, "He's playing hard to get. Look at him, he's playing hard to get." And then he says, "I want the details in the morning," which is such an ugly thing to say.

C: Yeah, 'cause Sam says, "You know there are limits to what I'll do," so like, the joke is like, "I'm not gonna sleep with her for the case." Ugh.

G: Yeah. Anyway!

C: But I feel like the whole portrayal of her I think is like, built out of the idea that, like, it's laughable for older women to view themselves as sexual or want sex. Because, like, they're like, "This sexual harassment isn't serious because she's a harmless old woman, and it's just funny for her to think that anyone could be attracted to her."

G: "She has a chance," yeah.

C: Yeah, so right, it's not good, not a fan.

G: Yeah. And anyway, as Dean leaves- this scene is iconic.

C: Yeah.

G: Sam is handed champagne, and he takes it, and they cheers. And instead of sipping on it, like you usually do champagne, he throws it back.

C: Yeah. One swallow.

G: Drinks the whole grass. And I remember this scene only because of, and I mean only- because of the Profound Bond trailer. [both laugh]

C: Nooo!

G: Which is such an important piece of media.

C: I mean, this summer, a man afraid of flying and an angel afraid of falling are gonna fall in love, though. Well, "they're gonna meet in the middle" is the specific line. Ugh. Yeah. Fully understood. It's a good fake fan trailer.

G: Yeah. I mean, I think that was one of the very first fan-related things that I ever watched in my life.

C: Yeah, my first was the clicky AMV. Oh, for Supernatural. But you mean the first any fan thing.

G: Yeah.

C: Wow.

G: 'Cause what happened was like, I didn't have Tumblr, I didn't have Twitter, I didn't have any social media aside from YouTube, so like, I would go on YouTube and look up like, "clips of Castiel" or something [C laughing] and watch them. And then like, at some point-

C: "Videos where Castiel is my boyfriend and loves me so much"-

G: - "ASMR." [both laughing] And eventually, this showed up, the trailer showed up, and I watched it. And I was like, "That's super fun!"

C: Yeah.

G: So yeah, it's my first fan content.

C: Did you ship Destiel like, as soon as Cas showed up? What was your journey there?

G: That's interesting. I don't know. I don't remember well enough. But I think like immediately, I was- I remember feeling vindicated when I realized that many people ship them.

C: Yeah!

G: I do remember that. Because- so like, that implies- the vindication implies that I already shipped them prior.

C: Yeah.

G: And it was like a feeling of like, "Oh, everyone else sees what I'm seeing," but I don't remember. I don't remember well enough.

C: Yeah.

-

C: So we cut to Dean and Bela, and they're like, off to the side trying to figure out how to get upstairs where the Hand of Glory is being kept. The guards look very professional. They are apparently state troopers. And yeah, Bela's like, "What do you suggest for us to get upstairs?" Dean says, "I'm thinking," and she says, "Don't strain yourself." So real. And she says, "Interesting how the legend is so much more than the man." What channels do you think she heard about Sam and Dean through?

G: I don't know. I mean, they seem to be very famous everywhere.

C: Yeah but like, I mean, whenever they're famous, it just seems to be like, "Bobby was bragging about his kids at the bar yesterday." [G laughs]

G: Maybe she goes to hunter bars.

C: Yeah, maybe. So Dean's like, "Well, do you have any ideas?" And Bela goes, "Okay." And then she fake-faints in his arms, and she's so fun for this. She's so fun and right for this.

Yeah, so Dean does his whole fake dating thing where he's like, "Honey, are you all right?" Like waiter, like my wife-

G: It's so funny!

C: It's so good. He's like, "Waiter, come over here. My wife has a severe shellfish allergy. There's no crab in that, is there?" And the waiter says no, and Dean says, "No?" and then he takes one and eats it, and he says, "They're excellent, by the way." So good.

G: He's so funny. Also, like, the concept that this woman faints in the middle of an event, and nobody comes to help? Like, they're all like, "Mm... okay." I respect that.

C: Yeah.

G: Mind your own business. [both laugh]

C: Does Dean have a shellfish allergy?

G: No.

C: Okay, yeah, because I-

G: Oh, the implication being that-

C: He's like, "Oh, my wife has a shellfish allergy, so is there shellfish in that? No? Okay." And then he eats it. Yeah, like I was like- I mean, I think the implication is that he's looking for like, a reason that Bela fainted, and then, when it fails, [laughing] he just eats the food that's in front of him. But I also like the idea that he just literally called the waiter over because he wanted to eat the food and just asked about the allergies.

G: Checks, yeah.

C: So a guard comes over, and Dean's like, "Oh, you know, my wife is a lightweight when it comes to champagne, so, you know, she just randomly fainted in the middle of an event," which is how people react to drinking too much. And then he asks if there's somewhere that he can lay her down so that she can feel better, and the guard takes him upstairs. And Dean- Yeah, Dean picks Bela up and carries her.

G: Yeah.

C: They should have had angry sex.

G: Yeah. Anyway, they end up in a room, and he like-

C: I know. I know.

G: - literally plops Bela down so hard on the couch.

C: And he says the rudest fucking thing.

G: Yeah, he said, "You think he's a pain in the ass now? Try living with her."

C: Imagine you're at an event, and a man's wife faints, and this is what he says over her unconscious body.

G: I mean, to be fair, the guard thinks that she's fucking someone else while this-

C: Oh, yeah, later. Yeah, no. I think the guard is thinking, "Good for her," right? [G laughs]

G: Yeah. Anyway, as the guard gets out, Bela "wakes up," in quotation marks. And Dean says, "Next time, give me a little heads up with your plan," and Bela goes like, "I didn't want you thinking about it. You're not very good at that." I love her!

C: So real, so true. She's so funny.

G: Dean is like standing there glaring at her, and she goes, "Oh, look at you. Trying to think of a witty thing to say." And Dean is like, [both] "Screw you." "And then Bela, you know, says like, "Oh, the thing is in Room 235. It's in a locked glass case wired for alarm. I'm sure that won't be a problem?" Which, like, for a bit I was like, "Oh, they're gonna do a thing where Dean gets caught or something, and like, Bela has to save him or whatever, because it's a wired glass case." But no, he just gets it instantaneously.

C: Yep. He just gets it.

-

C: So we cut to downstairs, where poor Sam is there, and he's dancing with Miss Case, and Sam is not having a good time. That's about it. There's like, no actual point to the scene in any way besides "Isn't sexual harassment funny."

So Dean gets the Hand of Glory out of the case, no problem. And then [G laughs] a guard knocks on the door where Bela is at, and he's like, "Is everything okay?" So like Bela, like she, like sort of like, takes one of her dress straps down so that she can like, pretend that she's like, mid-fuck, and she opens the door-

G: Yeah, and she smudges her lipstick. It's super fun.

C: Yeah, yeah. It's very fun of her. She's like, "Oh my god, yeah, hi. I'm feeling better, but I'm not exactly done with room yet...can we have a few more minutes?" He leaves, and then Bela starts making fake like, giggling sounds that I guess are just like, her version of sex sounds? Apparently she says, "Stop it! That tickles!"

G: Yeah.

C: Who's doing this? Yeah, I mean, I'm glad that she isn't fake moaning because, like, yeah, you wouldn't get back to fake moaning that fast after a guard shows up. [G laughs] So yeah, good for her. She's doing the build up, she's like, simulating the foreplay. And the guard walks around the corner, and he bumps right into Dean! And Dean's like, "Oh, yeah, sorry, I was like in the bathroom. But thanks for looking after my wife!" And the guard goes, "Oh, she's being looked after, alright." [laughs] God. This is so funny. I did like this part a lot.

Dean shows Bela that he got the hand, and she asks to take it because it would fit in her purse better, and Dean's like, "Uh, fuck no," and puts it in his pocket. Bela says she's trying to be helpful. Dean says, like incredibly condescendingly, like, "Well, sweetheart. I don't need your kind of help." What- I mean, I guess, like, I guess by now, probably this whole time he has suspected- Well, okay, see, like, I feel like we all know that she is not here to save people, she's here for this artifact. But Sam and Dean seem genuinely surprised and upset when they're like, [whiny] "And this whole time, you were just manipulating us to get into the event?" So why is he being so rude?

G: Well, I mean, I think it's like he's more angry at the fact she was able to steal than, you know, the actual stealing.

C: Mm. Okay. So you think that he does know that this is just what she's after already?

G: Yeah, yeah yeah.

C: Okay. That tracks.

G: Yeah, anyway, back downstairs, Gert and Sam are still dancing, and she's still doing the thing, groping him, blah blah blah. But she starts talking about the Warren brothers, and like, how they got it coming in the Biblical sense, and Sam's like, "Oh, what's that supposed to mean?" And apparently the father was like- Dad was killed by the boys.

C: Yeah.

G: And Sam asks if Sheila had any connection to them, and she says, "No, none of that." But she had a tragedy in her life, where when she was a teenager, she got into a car accident, and her cousin died in it.

C: Right, this was so unclear. So like, Sheila. Okay, first of all, who intentionally kills their cousin? What has a cousin ever done to warrant killing?

G: No, I think it's like- It's not intentional.

C: Okay, that makes sense. Just, she was driving the car badly.

G: Yeah.

C: Well, if it could have been an accident, then why are Sam and Dean immediately so judgmental of Bela when she says she's seen the ship? Like, that implies that it had to be like, on-purpose murder, right?

G: Yeah. No. I think they're just judgmental.

C: Okay, yeah, they're just mean. Because I was trying to figure out the mechanics of murder via car accident where you're also in the car, and I don't think that's- I think that's way too risky.

G: [laughs] Yeah.

Anyway, Bela and Dean arrive, and Bela starts talking to Gert, and Gert is like, "He wants me." And Bela is like, "Okay, let's take you home now." And Sam and Dean head to the car. Oh, before that, like, Dean tells Sam, "You stink like sex." Which, again, the episode is trying to be funny.

C: Yeah. Sam asks about the hand. He calls Miss Case "Mrs. Havisham," who is a character in Great Expectations who got left at the altar and then wore her wedding dress for the rest of her life. So yeah, I think it's just like, "old woman who thinks she has a chance, but is just obsessed with the idea of getting a man or something." Whatever. Yeah, and Dean's like, "Yeah, I totally got this hand." And he takes the handkerchief that he had the hand wrapped in out of his pocket. He unwraps it, and it's like a ship in a bottle. It is not the hand. And he goes, "I'm gonna kill her."

Meanwhile, in Bela's car she is looking at a box with like, millions of dollars in it, and she flips through the money. She looks great, she is doing so well, and then she looks out in the distance, and she goes, "Oh, no." And the ship is there.

-

G: She goes into Sam and Dean's room, and Dean is talking about like, "I'm not gonna kill her. I think I'm just gonna slow torture her." And [laughs] yeah. They're like, just super upset that Bela, as they said, "got one over us" [C laughs], which Sam corrects as "No no no. She got one over you. She didn't get one over me." [C laughing] And Dean is like, "Oh my fucking god, Sam." And a knock comes, and it's Bela.

C: Yeah.

G: And it's very urgent-

C: Yeah, I do appreciate that in the two episodes that she's in, it's like "cringefail thief is unable to complete her thievery due to the cursed object cursing her." It is fun. I like when women are a little bit pathetic.

G: She explains what happened, which is that she sold the thing, and of course Sam and Dean are mad, and she's like, "The whole reason for the charity ball was, yeah, a cover?" Blah blah blah, and "You guys were convenient." Yeah. And Sam was like, "Just go buy it back then," and Bela says like, it's already halfway across the ocean, we don't have the time. And they're like, "Time for what?" and she reveals that she did saw the ship. And Dean is like [C groans] "Oh, wow. I thought you were just a thieving, immoral person."

C: He says, "immoral, thieving, con artist bitch."

G: Oh my god.

C: Yeah.

G: And then he's like, "Just when I thought that you couldn't get any lower than this?" And Bela is like, "What are you talking about?" And they saw what's happening, which is that people who kill family members are the target of the thing because the guy who was tried for treason and killed, his brother was the captain who tried him and ordered his execution. So yeah, they were brothers! Cain and Abel.

C: Yeah, he literally references Cain and Abel. God bless. I liked-

G: Yeah, and Dean is like, "So who is it, Bela? Who'd you kill? Was it Daddy? Was it your little sister?" He's so annoying.

C: He's so fucking annoying, especially when-

G: I mean, hasn't he learned? Hasn't he learned? Because, like, this also happened that one time he was like, "Why did you sell your fucking soul? Was it to be a selfish cunt to marry your wife?" Blah blah blah.

C: Yeah.

G: "For her to like you?" And then the guys like, "No. She had cancer, and I wanted her to live."

C: Yeah.

G: And Dean was like, "[gasps]." I mean like, haven't you learned from that, Dean, that people are not as evil as you think they are?

C: Dean has never learned anything ever in his entire life.

G: It's so annoying.

C: I did like- 'cause, okay, like, earlier in the episode, when the three of them were working together on the case, Sam's being like, "Well, we need to figure out the ghost's motivation. We need to figure out the ghost's backstory," and Bela was like, "Oh, I know his backstory. It's who fucking cares. Let's just go and get the hand." So I like that it's like, both of them, like, both groups of people on this case fucked up at points. Like, Sam and Dean fucked up by not looking at the bigger picture and being focused on saving that one guy that they couldn't save. Bela fucked up by not like, looking at the backstory of the ghost and just focusing on the profit motive. So like, my point is that they should all- that she should join Team Free Will, and they should all work together all the time and they should stop being mean to her. But, you know, it's not going to happen.

G: Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, Bela says, "It's none of your business." And she kept saying that nobody understands. Nobody understood back then, nobody understands now. And they try to leave her-

C: To die.

G: And she's like, "You can't just leave me!" And Dean is like, "Oh, I thought we were serial killers." He's so annoying. I'm so sorry. I know this is like quite- I mean, is it a reasonable response?

C: I would find this more reasonable if what he called back to was her saying, "Oh, that one guy is cannon fodder anyway, so you should just focus on getting the hand."

G: Yeah.

C: Like, if they're like, "Okay, well if you think that all these collateral deaths don't matter, then, we'll just leave you and get the hand." But like, I think like, you've had multiple conversations with this woman. Does your fake dating mean nothing to you?

G: Also, it makes his anger at her so personal instead of what he's trying to insist, which is that it's a moral thing.

C: Yeah, exactly.

G: Like, suddenly, it's not a moral thing. It's just that she said something mean to you about you.

C: Yeah. Yeah. I guess like- well, I guess he was more like, "Oh, like I thought you thought that like, hunting and hunters were cringe and fail, so why are you asking for help in the way that we provide help?" But yeah, it's fucking annoying.

G: Mm-hm. Anyway, Sam figures out the way that they can save her life. [spooky voice] Dun-dun-dunnn!

C: Yeah.

G: Wow, this is a variation of our typical dun-dun.

C: It is a variation. Fun.

G: A remix, if you will.

C: Right. Also, like, Bela like, literally apologizes, right? She says like, "That was a bit harsh."

G: Yeah.

C: "But it doesn't warrant a death sentence." And she's just- I like her very much. I don't even think she needed to apologize for that, but she did. And also like, before Sam offers to help, like, she's about to head out. She goes like, "I'll just do what I've always done. I'll deal with it myself." And, I don't know, that coupled with like, "You wouldn't understand. No one understood, even back then" makes me sad because it's like, that implies like she had like friends and stuff when she was like, a child, and she tried to open up to one of them about her parents' abuse and how she killed them, and they were just like, "Ew, get away from me," you know? Ugh. Oh, Bela. You will always be famous, and I'm gonna miss you after this season ends.

-

C: So they're in a graveyard, and Sam's setting some stuff up. There's like a pentagram, and like candles and shit. And Bela's afraid. And like, this sudden rainstorm starts happening so that Bela is wet and pathetic, as all women ought to be sometimes. And Sam starts reading Latin, and the second word that he says is Castiel!!

G: Whoo!

C: It's Cas. It's Cas. He's here. That's my boy. He's literally right here.

God, yeah. So he does this whole incantation. It's raining really hard, there's a lot of wind. And the ghost sailor appears and just throws Dean in the air, and then he starts drowning Bela by putting a hand on her face, and she starts coughing up water. And yeah, the ghost does not go after Sam at all, even though Sam is the one who is doing the incantation that might defeat him.

So what Sam has done is apparently summoned the spirit of the ghost's brother. Are we assuming this incantation- they're in the graveyard, so is he like, raising this brother from his grave?

G: Yeah, I guess so.

C: You can just do that? Like, with anyone?

G: [laughs] I don't fucking know, bro.

C: Like, do they ever do this again?

G: I don't think so.

C: I just- this just seems like a useful thing. Like, you can summon literally anyone from the dead, even if they didn't die as- I mean, maybe the brother is still a ghost, but like sort of like, I feel like we would have seen him around if he was a ghost earlier, too, right? Like, I feel like he wasn't a ghost. So like, he was in Heaven or Hell, and Sam yoinked him out?

G: Yeah,

C: I- if Sam can do this, like-

G: He can do anything.

C: Why do they even bother with the cases? Why doesn't he do the Ace Attorney thing [G laughs] where he just communes with the dead and asks what killed you?

G: Yeah, well, according to Ace Attorney, that doesn't really work too well, so.

C: Fair. Yeah, Sam was like, "I know this neat new trick, and I'm gonna use it." And then he played all of Ace Attorney so that he could be better friends with you, and then he was like [G laughing], "I guess I'm not gonna use this trick anymore."

G: Exactly.

C: Yeah. So the brother, he shows up, and he looks like a regular guy, cause like, the original ghost, he has like straggly hair, and he's like wet and rain-soaked and drowned, but this other guy looks like he works in an office and has like a 401k. [G laughs] So he shows up, and the ghost is like, "You killed me!" and the brother's like "I'm so sorry! I'm sowwy! Sowwy about that!"

G: "Sowwy!"

C: "Sowwy!" And then original ghost charges into his brother and sort of like, as soon as he hits him, like the place where he hits him becomes like a water splash, and as he goes through him, they both like, dissolve in water. And I don't know, I thought that was kind of neat because I feel like ghosts usually die by a fire, and it looks silly. And this looked better than the fire, at least. And Bela's okay now. Yay!

G: Yay!

-

G: So we go to- back to the room where Sam and Dean are squatting. And Bela comes in, and she's like, "You guys should lock your door." And then she throws money at them. So a whole wad of cash. Apparently it's-

C: Yeah, $10,000.

G: You think it's for both of them?

C: I think it's $10,000 each.

G: Damn. Yeah, and Dean is like, "Wow." Well, she says first that- Bela says that she's paying them because she doesn't like owing people things, so that about covers it, right? And Dean is like, "Wow! You'd rather pay ten grand than to say thank you. You're so damaged." And Bela goes, "Takes one to know one!" [laughs]

C: Yeah.

G: I love them. Anyway, she says "Goodbye, lads," which I love.

C: Mm-hm.

G: And Sam goes, "She got style. You gotta give her that." [laughing]

C: So true!

G: Why do I keep voicing Sam like this? I'm so mean. [C laughs]

And Sam says, like, "We don't know where this money's been, though." And Dean says, "No, but I know where it's going." Then they go to the car. What's Atlantic City mean?

C: It's like somewhere- is it in New Jersey?

G: I think it's like, I think it's in the South, right?

C: I think it's East Coast Las Vegas or something, or maybe South- it's in New Jersey. Atlanta is in Georgia, and that is in the South, not Atlantic City. Okay, so it's a resort city in New Jersey. So I think it's-

G: Are you sure?

C: Atlantic City? Yeah, I'm sure. So there's a lot of casinos there.

G: I think I'm thinking of Atlanta?

C: Yeah, you're thinking of Atlanta.

G: Yeah, anyway, they're gonna go to a casino. And Dean goes, "Actually, I just want to tell you that I understand why you're doing the thing with the crossroads. I understand why you went after her. If the situation was reversed, I would have done the same thing."

C: He literally did do the same thing. That's what got them in this situation.

G: Yeah. And he says, "I see what you're going through with this whole deal. Me going away and all that. But you're gonna be okay." And Sam is like, "Oh, you think so?" Like, rather, you know, out of life. And Dean is like, "Yeah! You'll be fine. You'll hunt, you'll, you know, you'll live your life. You're stronger than me." And then he goes like, "You'll get over it. But I want you to know that I'm sorry for putting you through all of this shit."

C: Yeah. Which is his like, first actual apology for this, right?

G: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sam is like, "Go fuck yourself. This is such a terrible-ass apology. And besides, I don't want an apology from you, and I can take care of myself." The point he's making is like, "I know I'm gonna be fine. That's not the point. The point is like, you keep on worrying about me, and that's what led us here in the first place."

C: Yeah.

G: And he says, like, "I don't want you to worry about me. I want you to worry about you. I want you to give a crap that you're dying." And that's pretty much the end of the episode. They have like, a little banter where Dean is like, "I'll just play their craps or something. I'll just play like, Russian roulette." No, like, he says, "I'll just go to the casino" or something.

C: Yeah, well he says, "I'll play craps," which is a casino game, which I think is his response to Sam saying, "Give a crap that you're dying." Dean's like, "I don't give a crap that I'm dying, but I'll play the game of craps." I don't think it counts as banter if Sam is like, glaring straight ahead the entire time. [both laughs

G: That's just what banter with me is like. Haven't you heard?

C: "Oh, so you play D&D?" [both laughing]

Yeah. Yeah. So that's the end of the episode. I did like this last scene.

G: I liked pretty much- I liked a lot of the episode.

C: Yeah. I also liked a lot of the episode. There were moments that I did not like at all, but yeah, overall, I think Bela is such a good character, she adds so much to their dynamic, by being- Can you imagine how fucking boring this episode would be if it was just Sam and Dean?

G: Oh, it would be unbearable.

C: And it's just like, "Oh, there's a ship, and there's a ghost guy on the ship." Like, who give a single shit?

G: [laughs] Yeah. What's your best line?

C: Oh, shit. Um... I mean, I like a lot of the ending scene, I guess.

G: I would say I like the line about like, "Your daddy gave you enough hugs?" and Bela replies, "What, your daddy didn't?" I think that's like, you know, it's foreshadowing. Also, it's like, you know, that kind of banter shows you that Bela does see through Dean, and like, she can see what he's like, and that kind of acknowledgment of like, knowing who you're talking to from- I know it's not gonna lead to anywhere, but it provides this feeling of "they understand each other." And that's fun!

C: It is fun. Yeah. I guess I'll just go with the like, "I don't want you to worry about me, Dean. I want you to worry about you. I want you to give a crap that you're dying" thing. Because-

G: Yeah.

C: I feel like this scene's the first time either of them are like, fully voicing a lot of the tensions that-

G: What they're feeling, yeah.

C: Yeah, have been going on throughout season three, and, I don't know. It's a good time.

G: My worst line is the Thai massage line.

C: Yeah, that is also my worst line. I did have to pause the episode for a few minutes.

Misogyny... there was misogyny. Racism, there was one moment of racism. I'd say...

G: I think, let's do one point for racism.

C: Yeah, I think misogyny, maybe 2?

G: Yeah.

C: Yeah, like Gert's whole thing, not a fan.

G: Yeah, Gert's whole characterization, and also, they're just extra mean to Bela, I feel.

C: They're so mean to Bela.

G: Like, if this was a guy, I feel like there would be like a little more like, "Oh, we respect him for what he is." You know what I mean? Like, maybe I'm wrong, but that's the vibe.

C: Yeah, I like that is probably the vibe. But yeah, I don't know. What are- are there a lot of evil men that we've met?

G: Gordon.

C: That's true, that's true. I mean, they are worse to Gordon than they are to Bela. At least they don't tie Bela up and leave her in her own piss for like, a week. But I do think- I think a white man would probably be treated a lot better than Bela is.

G: Okay, IMDb rating. What's our rating for this ep?

C: Huh! Like, I like it, but I know that Bela was controversial, like her presence in the show was controversial way back then. So it's hard to know how it's gonna shake out, so I'm gonna just go with like a 8.5?

G: You know what? I'm gonna go a bit higher than you.

C: Okay.

G: I'll say 8.7.

C: Alright.

G: Okay, let's check.

Holy shit!

C: What?

G: 8.0.

C: Oh, no! Really? They hate Bela that much?

G: Devastating.

C: It's not a bad episode! Like, there are moments, but like, overall, I had a fun time. I know we opened this episode being very, very negative about this episode, but now I'm very upset. Ugh, okay, let's see what people are saying-

G: Wait lang.

C: Yeah?

G: Apparently, Eric Kripke apologized for this episode in “Monster at the End of this Book,” because it's bad.

C: Wait, why? What did he say about it?

G: I don't know! [C sighs] This one can't stand Bela.

C: Ugh, boo.

Sorry, this first review said "the worthless but sexy Bela Talbot." [G laughs] Sorry, what? And they also call her "the despicable Bela." What? Who are you? Who talks like this?

G: This one says, "I can't stand her. Her character annoys me like hell, so much so I have almost a problem watching the scenes she's in. I like Jo, because, although she's a bit of a stereotype, the actress was able to fill that character with some sort of life. Bela doesn't seem like a real person, rather like some kind of force. She's the perfect example for the current problem on the show, a total lack of heart."

C: Okay? I- I mean, maybe we are attributing more depth to her than she has been shown so far in season 3-

G: Yeah, because we know her.

C: - because we know about her backstory and about the demon deal.

G: But this is a retrospective show.

C: Yeah. And the hints for these things like, have been dropped throughout. Like, "We're all going to Hell, so like, just have fun with the ride," and like her- clearly, like, they're setting something up with the death of her family member, so like, I don't think she completely lacks heart. And I think it's clear that she's putting on an act when she's acting like not a real person because we see her at more vulnerable places in this episode, so I don't get it!

G: Yeah.

C: At least this person said that "Just watched it and was taken with Bela. She will add much to the series." So true, you're right.

G: You're so real.

C: I respect no one but you.

G: Okay, so that's it for this episode of Busty Asian Beauties. Next week, we will be discussing Season 3 Episode 7: “Fresh Blood.” [laughs]

C: Oh, no, do we have to? [G laughing] What if we didn't?

G: Leave us a rating or- Well, Sera Gamble is at it again. Leave us a rating or review wherever you get your podcasts.

C: Follow us on social media. We are on Twitter at twitter.com/BeautiesPodcast and on Tumblr at bustyasianbeautiespod.tumblr.com. Our official tag is #BABPod, B-A-B-POD, and thank you to everyone who's donated to our Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com/bustyasianbeautiespod.

G: You can leave us any feedback, comments, or inquiries at

bustyasianbeautiespod@gmail.com. See you guys next time! [both] Bye!

[guitar music]

-

G: Okay, what I'm going to say is- like, the first part of this sentence made me laugh, like the "Hand of Glory" part because, I'm going to cut this out-

C: Okay.

G: I've been reading DGS fanfiction, and as you know, DGS is set in the Meiji era/Victorian era, and apparently, during that time, it's a common time to "bring someone to their glory" [C laughs], which means to make someone come, which I think is so fun, and I'll start using that.

C: It is. So real.

G: We better start bringing that back.

C: Yeah, I agree. No, I think that's still a thing. People call- like, I think- Never mind, I read that in Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle fanfiction, let's move on with our lives. [both laughing]

G: [laughing] What is it? What is it? What is it?

What is it?

C: What?

G: What is it?

C: Oh, I think "afternoon glory" and "morning glory" were phrases they used to refer to morning sex and afternoon sex.

G: Yeah, I think that's just how it is during that time period.

C: Yeah.

G: When was ACD Sh- ACD Holmes written? I keep saying "Sholmes" because I'm so used to Ace Attorney.

C: Yeah, huh. Let me check when The Scarlet- or, wait, sorry.

G: Study in Scarlet.

C: Yeah, Study in Scarlet was published.

G: Oh my god!

C: What?

G: I need you to play DGS! [both laugh] I need someone to play DGS!

C: It was published in 1887.

G: Ah, okay, got it. So yeah, that's- it's set around that time.

Anyway...

C: Anyway...

[beep]

G: [laughing] What are- I'm so sorry. My iPad notified me about a Tweet of mine that someone liked, and the Tweet reads, "I need a bisexual man {Shi-Long Lang) in my life (pussy)." [C scream-laughing] What's going on?! [both scream]

C: You should keep that in. [both laughing] God.

G: I'm gonna put it at the end of the episode.