I’m dissappointed

Sam deserved that kill.

Seriously, why did this whole season build up to Sam standing up to his abuser only to have him succumb to Lucifer’s manipulation (I don’t blame Sam for this, I blame the stupid situation the writers wrote him into) and then get saved by Dean?

Don’t get me wrong, I liked the whole throwing the knife to Dean as a way of proving to Jack that family is important and that Lucifer was wrong, but it also kind of diminishes Sam’s arc this season. And if it wasn’t for the “only an archangel can use an archangel blade” rule they set up then they easily could have just reversed their roles in that situation, and Dean throw the knife and Sam stab Lucifer. Sure, Sam got to throw Lucifer back into apocalypse world last episode, but again, that’s diminished by Sam giving into Lucifer’s “kill each other” scheme.

On another note, Sam would have killed himself before even thinking about giving Jack that blade. The only reason the writers did it that way was to shock the audience to make us question if Sam would actually kill Jack. But that doesnt work because we all know he wouldn’t.

I think I would have been okay with Dean killing Lucifer if we would have at least gotten a big “stand your ground” speach from Sam, but we didn’t even get that, we just got… a flying fight scene that was super underwhelming.

I love seeing the relief on Sam’s face, but I keep thinking about how much stronger that moment would have been if he had been the one to kill Lucifer.

I love the contrast between how Sam and Mary react to Jack’s interactions with Lucifer and the way Castiel and Dean react to their interactions. Cas and Dean both immediately try to control the situation by telling Jack not to talk to him, but Sam and Mary take the opposite approach. 

Sam keeps himself at a distance, for most of the episode. He makes an effort to help Jack understand why Lucifer is such a problem when he says “You have no idea who Lucifer really is,” but he backs down quickly when Jack makes the argument that he never will, if he doesn’t talk to him. Telling Jack not to have a relationship with his father is exactly what’s going to make him rebel and do just that. Sam knows this from personal experience with John. He left the family business because his father pushed him away and tried to control him his entire life. Sam doesn’t want to do that to Jack, even if that is is his first instinct. You can tell from Sam’s reaction when Jack calls Lucifer his father how much Sam wants to tell him that isn’t true. Sam bites his tongue because needs to let Jack grow and become his own person. No matter how much it breaks his heart, Sam is putting faith in his son, something his father never did for him.

Mary was and still is very much the same. From her experience as hunter when she was younger, to the experience of her resurrection and being so overwhelmed that she needed to takes some time away from her boys. She understands that sometimes people need space to figure out what they need, but in the end they will make the choice that is best for them and the people they care about.

That’s not to say that Castiel and Dean’s reactions aren’t completely natural. Dean and Cas both idolized their fathers for most of their lives, and always listened when they called, so of course that’s how they would approach this situation with Jack.

The question is though, which one of these tactics will win out?

Does anyone else get the feeling that even if Sam had chosen the vamps instead of taking Lucifer to the campsite, Lucifer probably would have just brought him back to life again, and then would keep bringing Sam back until he finally said yes? Because I kinda got that feeling.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1) The way it was shot. All those close ups and the small intimate set with the vamps caging them in like, I don’t know, “The Cage.”  Seriously good on the director for making such good use of the space to convey how claustrophobic Sam is feeling in this scene. It makes the audience feel equally as uncomfortable.

2) This scene was genuinely the first time I’ve found Lucifer scary since season 5.

3) Jared and Mark are both acting their asses off, and they work so well off of each other. It took me back to the reintroduction of Lucifer in season 11, as well as the first time we saw them together all the way back at the beginning of season 5. Mark reminded me how great he can be when he’s given the right material, and every time I think Jared has given his best performance on this show, he proves me wrong. Seriously give that dude all the awards.

4) The blood. It was creeping up half of Sam’s face. Kind of reminded me of when Sam was constantly grappling with the good and evil he felt inside himself back in the first couple seasons. Or maybe even a reminder of the demon blood he used to drink? And then there was the fact that both he and Dean were wearing red in this episode.  Possible foreshadowing perhaps? Conspiracies aside though, the makeup design was pretty phenomenal in this scene. 

5) I’ll say it again because I feel like this scene sort of proves it; Sam/Jared is the real MVP of this season.

6) There are an infinite number of reasons why I love this scene. I don’t think I could count all the ways. 

In part one I discussed primarily Gally’s growth as a character through his reintroduction scene. There is one other aspect however, that I’d also like to bring up because it seems to be a moment not a lot of people are talking about. So, I’m sorry, but this isn’t about his chair, which is wonderful, or him writing Chuck’s name on the stone, which is beautiful, or the fact that he and Brenda seem to get a long, which I am very much here for, or his hoodie, which looks like the most comfortable thing in the world. It’s not any of these marvelous things that I could also probably go on and on about.

I want to talk about that scene. Or maybe I should really just say that shot. Because it really is just one simple shot. Lawrence has his army of soldiers launching explosions into the city, setting off a riot. Gally looks at this destruction and says “We were supposed to take down WICKED, not the whole damn city.” The camera holds on him for another ten to fifteen seconds  And there it is. That look of utter heartbreak, and fear, and guilt spread across his face was arguably one of the most moving moments in the entire film, at least for myself. It’s brief, and it could have easily been overlooked, but between Will Poulter’s performance and Wes Ball’s direction, it becomes incredibly poignant.

I think the thing I love most about this moment is we get to see Gally at his most vulnerable state. It’s obvious very early on in the film that Gally is trying to make up for the mistakes he made in the glade;those that were his fault, like trying to offer up Thomas and Teresa to the Grievers and letting his own pride get in the way of what was really important; and those that were not his fault, but blames himself for them anyway, like when he gets stung and attempts to kill Thomas, but ends up shooting Chuck instead. 

Okay, so there’s a lot to unpack here, and I find it easiest to track what’s happening by going step by step.

• Gally just witnessed an explosion.
• An explosion that could kill hundreds of innocent people.
• An explosion that was caused by the people he was working with.
  
• By the people he trusted.
• They saved his life.
• They gave him a home after he lost the one he built for himself.
• They gave him a home after his friend’s- his family turned on him.
• After his family left him to die.
• And suddenly this group of people he’s trusted turn on him too.
• They’re just as bad as Wicked, he thinks.
• I’m just as bad as Wicked.
• All this time he thought even if he wasn’t a good person at least he was doing good.
• He thought if he couldn’t earn his family’s forgiveness, he could still accept the consequences of his mistakes and work toward a better future.
• He was trying not to be better, but to do better.
• He thinks he should have known better.
• He blames himself.
• Lawrence was not his family.
  
• Lawrence was just the other extreme.
• Just like he had been the other extreme in those final days in The Glade.
• He blames himself.

• Gally just witnessed an explosion.
• An explosion that could kill hundreds of innocent people. 
• Innocent people.
• Chuck was innocent.
• He blames himself.
• All Gally has ever wanted was to keep his family safe. 
• To keep everyone safe. 
• Even Thomas, although he would probably never admit it out loud.
• All he wanted was to keep everyone safe, and he failed.
• He failed again.
• He blames himself again.
• And again and again.
• Even if he were to earn the forgiveness of his brothers, he will never forgive himself.
• He will never stop blaming himself.

He keeps this to his chest for most of the film. Here he cracks, not a lot, but just enough for us to see what’s boiling underneath the surface. Will Poulter manages to express all of this in about 15 seconds of screen time. Thank you for that incredible performance Will and thank you Wes for holding on that shot for as long as you did. It’s clear you know how to get great performances from your actors.  

This shot is heartbreaking and tragic and it reminds me why I love Gally so much. It’s the same reason I mentioned in my previous post. 

Gally is simply and incredibly human. And that in itself is beautiful.

I just want to say that Thomas and Gally’s first interaction in Death Cure is a great parallel to the wrestling scene in the first film.

In Maze Runner, Gally is egging Thomas on because he’s too vain to think that he could possibly lose, and is rather embarrassed when Thomas pushes him to the ground, so much to the point that rather than beating Thomas fairly he trips him, and Thomas’ head goes head first into the sand.

When Thomas wrestles him to the ground in Death Cure he let’s Thomas go at him; thinking that he deserves it. He tells the other soldiers that it’s okay. There is an incredible amount of humility here that Gally didn’t have before, and it shows just how much he has grown as a person since the audience last saw him. He’s not going to take the easy way out. He’s not going to try and beat Thomas unfairly. And he never, not once, expects anyone to forgive him for what he has done. He recognizes his mistakes and he is not afraid to face them head on. And he continues to try and make better and smarter choices throughout the rest of the film. Sure, he slips up sometimes, but he’s trying. I not only find that to be admirable, but also just simply and incredibly human.  And that in itself is beautiful.

I’d also like to point out that Gally is not as expressive in his dialogue the way Newt and Thomas are. And while I think the entire cast does an incredible job, I really do have to tip my hat to Will Poulter. He is so good at peeling back the layers of a character, often in just a single glance. One can tell there is something always going on in Gally’s head, hidden underneath everything, something we as an audience don’t always get to see, and it’s absolutely mesmerizing to watch.