lunabee34

I read a lot of the episode reviews for "Heart" and some posters had quibbles that I don't share. Let me tell you why.

1. Several people said that they thought the emotion Sam displays at the end of the episode is unwarranted for a girl that he's only known for a couple days. Um....hello! I don't think Sam cries because he's about to kill the girl he's decided to drag down the aisle. I think he cries because he's going to kill a person--a human being who is in a situation he finds remarkably similar to his own. I know that Sam has killed before in the heat of battle and to protect himself and his family, but I shudder to think of the day Sammy won't shed a tear before he commits a mercy killing. For anyone. I also think Sam's crying for himself (he seems pretty sure he's going to be the one begging for death again sometime soon) and for Dean (because now he knows a tiny sliver of what Dean must feel like with that promise hanging over his head).

2. Sam pounding on the door of their motel room instead of calling Dean or opening the door with his own key bothered some people. My take--sometimes you don't want to say a thing over the phone. You want the reassurance of saying it to someone in person. Also, maybe Sam needs time to see if he can come up with a solution before he tells Dean; he knows what Dean's solution will be. I can see him racking his brains on the way over there, trying to think of another solution to the problem. I think he also might be afraid that Dean will immediately take matters into his own hands in order to spare Sam the pain. I think Sam knocking instead of opening the door is a nod to the fact that Sam thinks Dean's likely got a girl in there and he doesn't want to walk in on anything.

3. Someone mentioned that the heart thing wasn't fully explained. The episode did not go into detail about the hearts, but the first scene indicated that a missing heart is a sign of a werewolf attack, and that was good enough for me. Also the title nicely references Sammy's poor ripped out heart. ETA: Also, I somehow didn't catch the first go round that the werewolves had to be shot in the heart to die.

4. Others took beef with the way the werewolves looked. I have really never liked the way werewolve are portrayed on film. I think they look stupid. I have always thought they ought to just look like wolves, not like weird human/wolf hybrids (which is just a personal preference). I am really pleased SPN erred on the side of less special effects than too many. The werewolves were clearly not human and clearly evil in their changed form and that was good enough for me. I'm glad my total angst on didn't get interrupted by the hilarity of somebody with a giant wig glued to them.

But there are a few quibbles I agree with:

1. I do think that the lunar cycle and the way it affects werewolves was poorly explained. How often do they wolf out, etc? Why doesn't she change that one night? Is Sam just that good in the sack *g*? ETA: On second watch, the show does make it clear that werewolf activity occurs in the week leading up to the full moon.

2. I find it almost impossible to believe that hunters don't know that werewolves aren't in control of their behavior when they change and that in between changes they have no knowledge of what they do. I can't imagine that John, say, wouldn't know that. This means that many hunters do know and just don't care (ala Gordon refusing to believe that Lenore can behave ethically because she is a supernatural creature). I want the show to discuss the implications of information, especially as it regards their father, but I know it won't. Guess that's what fanfic is for, huh?

3. Is there really nothing else they could do besides kill her?

4. Shouldn't they have wiped down everything *before* Sam killed her? Or driven her out somewhere secluded?