8.19 "Taxi Driver" Discussion and Poll

[SoCal]

So it's time for Sam to complete the second of three quests. Retrieving an innocent soul from Purgatory. Who's the trapped soul? And why does Dean need Benny to go down there to rescue Sam?

[novemberschild]

I am both excited and halfway dreading this episode, think this one has the potential to be a heart breaker, and I don't need anymore of that.

[AntiArbitrator]

I appreciate SoCal propping herself up in her sick bed to create this thread for us.

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Kevin had the worst nightmare I have ever witnessed, poor kid. Dark circles under his eyes looks like he gets very little sleep. That was a monster sized frying pan he was holding. An 8” iron pan is heavy so that would have made a formidable dent in Dean's head.

So there are rogue reapers. We have seen that angels can be both good and bad; demons have shades of gray; so I guess reapers are corruptible also. Bobby pissed Crowley off and wound up on “King of Hell’s no-fly list”.

Ajay has to return in 24 hours for Sammy. Who’s the dude with the locks? Crowley's agent.

OMG that was a scary trip Ajay took Sam on! Must be what a bad acid trip seems like. Why is Sam in Purgatory? Oh, it’s hell adjacent.

Dean sounds like Frank when he tells Kevin how to handle their world. I understand Kevin freaking out. It is too much to handle. I remember Chuck drowning his anxiety in alcohol. “That’s my pie” – gotta love Dean.

Even the reaper Ajay is scared of Crowley. Crowley: “You’re trying my non-patience.”

Damn! I hope Sam has not been walking around for 7 hours looking for the portal to Hell. Whew! He found it and I guess Sam took his watch off because walking through Hell would alter the time.

Bobby? Yes, it is Bobby!

Dean is cooking again.

Answer to probable question: Dean did not draw a map to the exit he used because he did not know Sam would be in Purgatory.

Yes, Naomi rescued Bobby’s soul, but the boys cannot trust her!

The pain of successfully completing a trial makes me think Chuck Shurley was correct when he said God is capricious and cruel.

Now I am adding Benny and Bobby to my prayer list because I want both of them to return to earth.

[SoCal]

Anti!

Terrific episode. Lots of intricate manuevering and action and agnst.

So was Kevin having nightmares at the beginning or was Crowley searching for him? Kevin looks awful. But, at least he was able to decipher the second test. And what a doozy! Freeing an innocent soul from Hell and sending it to Heaven!?! Hello! Not surprised to see Dean want to take part. I think he believes his time in Hell better prepared him for what they might encounter than Sam's short stint in the cage.

Reapers have "rogue" members? I never would have thought Death would have allowed that. If I were Arjay, I'd be more afraid of Death than Crowley. And I'm surprised Crowley isn't afraid of Death. Crowley must be one powerful demon.

So Purgatory is the drop-off point. Hmmmmm, why did that never get discovered while Dean was there.....FOR A YEAR? O well.

I found Dean's nonchalant picking up of food for Kevin and then scrambling him some eggs later a little off. He seemed way too calm while doing that.

And Naomi. I don't trust her and I'm glad Dean doesn't either.

And when Bobby turned to face Sam, I almost cried, it was so good to see him. And the fact that Hell has been trying to break him by throwing hundreds of "Deans and Sams" at him....too sad. I found their escape from Hell a little on the easy side, especially since Castiel told Dean that many angels had "stormed" Hell to get him out.

And Dean going to Benny for help. You could tell that really hit him hard. Those two had really bonded during their time in Purgatory and Dean asking him to go back to get his brother was more than tough. And Benny made it so easy. Benny may not have been completely happy "topside," but he hadn't gotten himself killed yet, so.....

Bobby's look when Sam told him Benny was a friend of Dean's? Pure 100% Bobby. What are you idgits doing up there? And when Benny told Sam to go, but to tell Dean goodbye, awwwwww.

Dean was so worried about Sam. You could see it on his face when Sam reappeared in the forest. I do give Naomi credit for stopping Crowley from blocking Bobby's soul from Heaven again. What exactly IS the Crowly/Naomi dynamic?

And the boys just think Kevin booked on them. At least he hid the table before Crowley got him.

Next week looks silly. I, for one, am not happy to see red-haired girl back again.

[novemberschild]

I have watched 4 times, and I think I need some more time to think about it, since we got answers and yet had plot holes, i want to find the right balance.


SoCal, I hope you are doing better, I didn't know you were sick again.

[SoCal]

N-child. Not sick again, but still struggling with current pneumonia bout. It seems to be lessening a bit, but I'm staying on anti-biotics.....not gonna go off them too soon,t his time.

[AntiArbitrator]

The entire Purgatory is Hell adjacent and blocked by a big rock that Sam Winchester was strong enough to move has me alternating between hysterical laughter and total disbelief. Neither Crowley nor Death nor Heaven's angels knew about the hidden entrance? While I watched the episode, I did not think about that, but once others brought the point up, I can no longer ignore it.

I am leaning toward thinking Kevin was hallucinating (Naomi might have been causing it) and that he got away on his own. I need to watch again because I have forgotten what Naomi said to Kevin.

I developed an immediate fan-girl crush on Benny so I was torn up by the Benny-Dean scene and hope to see Benny again. They left us hanging when Sam looked back and we could not tell who was winning the fight.

I enjoyed this episode and need to watch it again.

[novemberschild]

I didn't watch it again but I went ahead and gave it a 3, I am going with good for this one. I know it had plot holes big enough to drive a car thru and some of what happened defied all logic but I was satisfied for the most part.

I liked Ajay and wished they hadn't killed him off, you never know when you might need a rogue reaper.

I like that Sam got a chance to endure Purgatory for a little bit, it will give him a chance to better understand what Dean went thru.

I will be honest and say I never trusted Benny, but I will admit he came thru for the guys and I will give him the credit for that.

I really wish Dean would have tried to hurt Naomi, I was really wanting someone too. She is too manipulative and i need her to go away.
I just have to say Jared and Jensen look awfully good this season.

And one more thing- Leaving the back door to Hell open into Purgatory is not going to end well, someone will find it.

[Deleted]

Poor Adam! I understand that the actor might not be available, now that he's doing movies like The Host. But there was NO mention of him! It's like he never existed.

Good send off for Benny

[AntiArbitrator]

Apr 6, 2013 16:55:13 GMT -5 @smallvillian0 said:

Poor Adam! I understand that the actor might not be available, now that he's doing movies like The Host. But there was NO mention of him! It's like he never existed.

Good send off for Benny

I read this and wondered "Who is Adam?" Gee, you're right, not a mention of him. I guess he is roasting in Heaven. Oh wait, he fell in the pit and no one asked if he is still there.

That was a wonderful exit for Benny. I am so glad it looked like he was popping a cap off of a blood bag while talking to Dean in the car, and he makes a good tragic soul.

[waggy3015]

Apr 6, 2013 14:19:38 GMT -5 novemberschild said:

I will be honest and say I never trusted Benny, but I will admit he came thru for the guys and I will give him the credit for that.

I agree with you about never trusting Benny, but he did come through at the end, so I'll give him props for that.

So is it the consensus that Kevin hearing Crowley in his head at the beginning was NOT REAL? I'll buy that Kevin talking to Crowley at the end, as well as the windows blasting out, was a hallucination, but I was under the impression that Kevin hearing Crowley was real.

[anicat]

Now that they've been pointed out to me by all you fine folks, I do see the plot holes.

Could be trying to cram a whole lot of story into 42 minutes, with the beginning needing to lead to a specific end and so the middle parts had to fit that path somehow. Or maybe the holes were created because there wasn't all the time for proper exposition to explain the reasoning.

I was thinking about this the other night, maybe came up with a few rational explanations for what appears to be holes....so maybe the writer thought about them and like I said didn't have enough time to have things make better sense, or maybe I'm just trying to find ways to make the facts fit established canon.

For the door to Purgatory: no one knew where it was in Season 6, that was the whole basis for the season. The search for Purgatory. So how come there was this instant magic-presto door accessibility now? Well, Death never came out and offered the Purgatory access, it stands to reason that if the Reaper knew, then bridges to Purgatory are part of Death's jurisdiction. I don't think anyone actually came straight out and asked Death if he could open a doorway for them, and Death didn't volunteer the intel. So technically this Purgatory access could have been there all along...just no one knew to ask the simple question of the guy in the know. You could force a door open with all that bloody ritual...or just ask a passing Reaper. Who knew? LOL

How could Sam find Bobby so quickly? We know Cas said Dean's soul was a bright and shining thing in Hell...even after all the time he spent there. So Bobby - not being actually a damned soul deserving to be there - would also be a brighter beacon than those around him. We know that everyone sees Heaven differently...Cas asking Sam and Dean about how they saw the path they needed to follow to reach Joshua...so it would make sense to me that Hell has a similar setup. Sam didn't see what Cas and Crowley were seeing, his mental picture of how Hell should look would have been influenced by Dean's experience, and Lucifer's version that he picked up when being his meatsuit and having Luci in his head for a year. He never saw Crowley's eternal waiting room of the damned Hell, so that's why we got the version in this episode. Like draws to like....Sam being in Hell and not damned might have drawn him to Bobby's undamned soul. Shortest path between two points.

Why did Sam seem to have such an easy time freeing Bobby when Cas said it took a garrison of Angels to free Dean? Maybe because Dean was a special soul...the Righteous Man...and was key to the whole being the first Seal to fall. He was Alastair's special project. Bobby was dragged to Hell out of Crowley being pissed-off at him, but wasn't much of anyone to require extra attention. He got stuffed in a cell and was forgotten outside of the usual eternal torture specific to the individual routine. Lucifer and Yellow-Eyes had known the plan for Sam and Dean since before birth, so Dean wasn't a normal damned soul in Hell. He was probably buried extra-deep levels in, and had lots of eyes focused on him all the time. No chance to slip in and out to free him.

I agree with NC...now that angels and Crowley know of these doors to and from Purgatory and how to access them without all the ritual, and through Purgatory there is direct access to Hell...that's gonna cause trouble.

[novemberschild]

I see lots of trouble coming from the portal being left open between Purgatory and Hell, doesn't matter that it is not well known, someone will find it.

I did notice one small thing, and it goes to the comments that I have seen that said that Sam didn't appear upset by going back to Hell. When Sam and Dean found out from Kevin that someone (Sam) was going to have to go back to Hell, Sam had a scared look in his eyes and on his face for just a few seconds, it is a pity we couldn't have seen more of how it affected him having to go back.

I just don't know what to believe about who actually has Kevin or if he just hid, they should have really made this one a two part-er, that would have been so much better than the hunter school episode.