Supernatural 6.01 (Massive Spoilers)
My show is back. This is a good thing.
I'm not sure about this episode, though.
I'm willing to cut Supernatural some slack at this point. I understand they're trying to lay the groundwork for this new arc. But man, the show was kind of odd tonight, I thought.
What I liked:
- Loved the opening montage and the depiction of Dean as a "beautiful fool."
- Loved seeing Fred Lehne again. His Old Yellow Eyes is easily my favorite demon. He plays the role with such relish.
- I don't mind Lisa as a character. I like that she has a backbone. I like that she doesn't see their relationship through rose colored glasses, and I like that she's willing to call Dean on his BS.
- I thought Jensen's performance was strong and I really felt for Dean. Has that poor guy been put through the wringer or what?
- I liked what I thought were callbacks to former episodes--the small dog in Yellow Fever; the laundry in Dream a Little Dream; Sam saying it's better with Dean around, thus referencing Mystery Spot. It gave the show a sense of history.
But on the other hand:
- Sam doesn't seem like he's the same person...like...at all. I get that Hell changed him. But it's almost as if he doesn't remember who he used to be. His recognition that he wouldn't have tried to save the neighbors--at one point in his life, Sam would have been the first man out the door. I'm fine with him not being willing to do that any longer. But I would have liked to have seen him recognize that's different for him. The way it was played, it seemed there just wasn't anything there at all emotionally--and Sam doesn't even understand how odd that is. I'm willing not to harp on this too much though, if the show does something with it.
- The Campbells creep me the hell out, and I don't buy that suddenly they're around when no one had ever even mentioned them before. However, as clearly not all is what it seems, I'm willing to wait and see.
- The pacing of this ep seemed way off to me. It dragged. Even what should have been the more exciting scenes, like Dean tracking his would-be demon seemed to take far longer than it should.
- Explain to me how Lisa can afford the house she has. Explain to me too why it's a different house than the finale. I could buy that she'd moved from season three. I don't buy that in this past year Dean, Ben and she moved again.
- I realize one of the hooks of this new season is that the monsters aren't acting as they should. But the djinn seemed like new monsters entirely. Their entire modus operandi was off and no one seemed to have any trouble making the transition to take on this new variety of beastie. The whole thing felt arbitrary--that includes the way that even though Dean got a double dose of poison, he didn't die (unlike his neighbors--clearly the djinn knew how to kill when they wanted to).
- Ben had almost no presence on screen.
- It's really hard to watch the guys when they're estranged. And they felt more estranged here than they did last year when Sam climbed into a stranger's car and drove away.
I'm willing to withhold judgment...for now. I want to let them get on their feet here. But I truly hope Sam and Dean feel more like Sam and Dean (together) soon.
I'm not sure about this episode, though.
I'm willing to cut Supernatural some slack at this point. I understand they're trying to lay the groundwork for this new arc. But man, the show was kind of odd tonight, I thought.
What I liked:
- Loved the opening montage and the depiction of Dean as a "beautiful fool."
- Loved seeing Fred Lehne again. His Old Yellow Eyes is easily my favorite demon. He plays the role with such relish.
- I don't mind Lisa as a character. I like that she has a backbone. I like that she doesn't see their relationship through rose colored glasses, and I like that she's willing to call Dean on his BS.
- I thought Jensen's performance was strong and I really felt for Dean. Has that poor guy been put through the wringer or what?
- I liked what I thought were callbacks to former episodes--the small dog in Yellow Fever; the laundry in Dream a Little Dream; Sam saying it's better with Dean around, thus referencing Mystery Spot. It gave the show a sense of history.
But on the other hand:
- Sam doesn't seem like he's the same person...like...at all. I get that Hell changed him. But it's almost as if he doesn't remember who he used to be. His recognition that he wouldn't have tried to save the neighbors--at one point in his life, Sam would have been the first man out the door. I'm fine with him not being willing to do that any longer. But I would have liked to have seen him recognize that's different for him. The way it was played, it seemed there just wasn't anything there at all emotionally--and Sam doesn't even understand how odd that is. I'm willing not to harp on this too much though, if the show does something with it.
- The Campbells creep me the hell out, and I don't buy that suddenly they're around when no one had ever even mentioned them before. However, as clearly not all is what it seems, I'm willing to wait and see.
- The pacing of this ep seemed way off to me. It dragged. Even what should have been the more exciting scenes, like Dean tracking his would-be demon seemed to take far longer than it should.
- Explain to me how Lisa can afford the house she has. Explain to me too why it's a different house than the finale. I could buy that she'd moved from season three. I don't buy that in this past year Dean, Ben and she moved again.
- I realize one of the hooks of this new season is that the monsters aren't acting as they should. But the djinn seemed like new monsters entirely. Their entire modus operandi was off and no one seemed to have any trouble making the transition to take on this new variety of beastie. The whole thing felt arbitrary--that includes the way that even though Dean got a double dose of poison, he didn't die (unlike his neighbors--clearly the djinn knew how to kill when they wanted to).
- Ben had almost no presence on screen.
- It's really hard to watch the guys when they're estranged. And they felt more estranged here than they did last year when Sam climbed into a stranger's car and drove away.
I'm willing to withhold judgment...for now. I want to let them get on their feet here. But I truly hope Sam and Dean feel more like Sam and Dean (together) soon.