STAR WARS vs SUPERNATURAL genre weekend
Hey, if you ever get a chance to see the Star Wars symphony concert when it hits your town, go! We hit the Saturday matinee of this program with old pals from The Spousal Unit's work domain, and it was glorious and we enjoyed it a lot. Capped off the afternoon at a downtown restaurant for eats. All in all, a nice relaxing time and a brief respite from continuing familial melodrama.
Anyway, given Sam's Anakin/Darth Vader/Anakin-like path, it seems fitting that I spent Saturday relieving my fondness for SW. Though, of course, I was always a Han!girl - so it makes sense that it's Dean who commands a lot of my attention on Supernatural. ;)
So I've spent a few days chatting with fans, tossing off comments, and reading meta about the season five finale, which has really run the gamut of reactions - from hatred (a lot of this), to bliss, to something in between. Yeah, I ended up watching it live after all because The Spousal Unit said we should get it over with - and I guess I'm glad I did because I don't know that I would have watched it after the fact. Anyway, herein lies my belated 75-cents worth of opinion.
I'll say upfront that I think it would have played out a lot better as the originally planned "series" finale without all the radical story line changes tossed in to deal with a sixth season renewal, and a little BTS melodrama besides. As a truncated version of that finale, I think it was the absolute weakest of the five seasons. And because of that, I'm not feeling particularly confident anymore about season six. Hopefully that feeling will pass as the summer drums on.
OTOH, I think they probably do need to do something to go out on a stronger note - as long as they go into next season with the steadfast belief that it really will be their swan song, especially given how Jared is already drawing a public line in the sand indicating he's really unlikely to go beyond that point. Then again, even though Jensen has been quoted as being very positive and on board with season six, I never thought he'd sign up for more than that either. They have one more year on their contracts, and I think everyone knows they're both ready to move on.
Chuck as Kripke as God is, well, as Chuck himself said last season, "M. Night-level douchiness." But, I guess in this 'verse, God/The Author as a nerdy boozing hack with perv issues just about says it all. And his little F-U to the fans for bitching about plot holes and weak scripts is a bit of biting the hand that's fed him for five years plus one more. Maybe if he and the rest of the writers hadn't wasted a ton of opportunity and story line possibilities this year, and maybe if he hadn't written a finale script chock full of plot craters, he wouldn't be living out that self-fulfilling prophecy.
Then again, maybe Kripke was frustrated that he couldn't write the script he really wanted to precisely because of the sixth season pick-up. Though I still think he could have done a lot better than resorting to a clip show as script padding.
So I do think the episode was weak - then again, I think the overall arc was systematically watered down from season four, and throughout season five, once the producers got the feeling that they'd probably be renewed, starting with the massive #100th rewrite where Dean's role as Michael's vessel was eliminated. Without a renewal looming, I think it's obvious they would have stuck to the original game-plan for that to be the big Michael episode, because the end was always supposed to be Dean!Michael and Samifer on the battlefield yakking about their issues, with that convo allowing both bros to break through and fight their mutual possessions in order to hold hands and leap into the void together in the Thelma and Louise ending Kripke had talked about years ago and always envisioned.
By removing Dean from that very crucial half of the equation, what we got instead was a Michael who was more Keyser Soze than reality, and retconned significantly from his appearance in 5:13 to the unrecognizable version here played by an understudy almost no one gives a damn about, droning on and on with his Luciferic half in one of the worst written and acted scenes I have ever seen on this show. Jared and Jake had zero chemistry, no legitimate feeling of connection, and that only served to bring down both performances. From what I understand, even Jake Abel said at the JiB con that he hated this scene and ending. Can't say I blame him.
So, yeah, I admit because of all the retconning and last-minute changes, I felt like Jensen was thrown under the bus and got dry-screwed in the deal. I just hope Kripke at least bought him a nice dinner beforehand. It's customary, after all.
All that being said, and after reading through a boatload of meta, I actually see how Dean still had a very important role to play, despite it all, as it was his very human pain and sacrifice and loss that brought the heavy emotion. Dean is the one who ended up remaining the true leader, if not sole member, of Team Free Will, despite his doubts in the 100th episode. And given his family's violent reaction to his momentary slip in said episode, where they were instead all Up With Satan! when Sam wanted to do exactly the same thing Dean did, it seems that everyone believed they never stood a chance in the first place without Dean at the Free Will helm.
However, it was more than a little annoying to see how quickly Bobby and Castiel folded like the cheap suit Cas wears the second the ring plan didn't work the first time and after Lucifer too predictably took over Sam. So, again, it was Dean alone who continued to give the finger to Destiny and, as he did in The Monster at the End of This Book, played the wild card by going off page and contacting Chuck (God) again in order to discover how to salt the game. Though I was glad Cas and Bobby came through at the end.
So Dean wasn't just some also-ran righteous man - though I don't know what meta grievance Kripke was exercising with the "You're no longer part of this story" line. What, Eric, did Jensen hurt your feelings or something? *eye-roll* I hope that line wasn't as loaded as it sounded, but regardless, the way it played out is that Dean was still The Righteous Man who started the downward spiral back in season two by selling his soul, and who really did end it when as one supposedly "unimportant" man, holding steadfastly to his free will, rolled onto the battlefield blaring Rock of Ages in typically swaggering Dean Winchester style, and told two dickish archangels to stop the fight before it had a chance to begin.
Had Dean not showed up at that moment with the Impala of Yellow Crayonitude, the archangelic slap fight would have ensued because Sam would never have broken through on his own. But with Dean's arrival as the veritable fly in the ointment, Sam was finally able to break through and redeem himself for his actions that led to the breaking of the final seal which released Lucifer. Therefore, Dean and Sam both played their righteous parts, retconned to large and small extents that they were.
I did like the history lesson of the Impala - even though a lot of that would have held way more emotional resonance had we heard the story about the toy soldier and the Legos and carving their initials into the car long before the last episode of the five seasons. What I think was more important is how the birth of the Chevy Impala in Detroit tied to Sam's fall in the same city - though even that would have played out better too had everything ended in Detroit where it actually really began, and not in Lawrence, Kansas, since we know now, again via retconning, that Dean and Sam never really needed to be THE vessels, and any two of John's bloodline would have served the same purpose. Seriously, John could have gotten two randoms pregnant and netted the same results. Mary ended up being a nonentity in that regard, and now I can only see her importance in being Dean's primary influence over his love and devotion to family.
I just wish the Impala - which as we saw in In the Beginning was always Dean's car, and not John's - had more to do with Dean for Sam than a home on wheels. Sure, all the clips had to do with brotherly moments, because that's what they have in the vault (and, yes, they were all lovely). But, I still wish Kripke had made it more definitively clear that Dean's tie to the car is what really brought the emotion home for Sam, and not the car itself, especially since canonically the Impala has always meant a lot more to Dean than Sam anyway.
All the deaths were anticlimactic at best since everyone who died was brought back within minutes - Cas, Bobby, and Sam. I therefore must conclude that Adam too was, while maybe not alive, at least brought out of the pit and plopped back into Heaven to be with mommy, which is what he wanted in the first place. The only two remaining in the pit were the archangelic essences of Lucifer and Michael, probably battling it out for all eternity.
Jim Beaver has tweeted that he'll be back, and I could care less because I'm over Bobby. But I imagine right now that his soul deal is probably going to be the little arc weaved in throughout the stand-alone episodes planned for next year. Whatever, though hopefully that means more Crowley.
I do think Castiel got the ending he deserved as I always envisioned him not only getting his powers back, but also receiving an angelic promotion of sorts exactly as he did at the end of this episode. However, I'm still surprised it happened now instead of at the end of next season given how much I was sure his being made mortal was the plot device for keeping him around next season.
So now I don't know what the deal is with Castiel, especially since Misha indicated at the Aussie con a week ago that he was still contracted for season six. Whaaaa? I'm confused. Not that I don't hope he returns, because I do, especially now that he and Dean have kissed and made up. Plus, I do believe the story line Castiel was supposed to have this year got severely truncated when Dean's did, as they were probably tied together. I think that explains why Misha had more cameo appearances than legitimate story line like he was supposed to have, and too why he was cut out of three episodes he was contracted for. So I feel like they owe him better with another season. But I guess we won't really know anything for sure until the actors go back to the set in July.
Which brings me to the Dean/Lisa hate, which I don't get. Well, that's not true, I do and dismiss all fans who can't stand to see Dean be about anything or anyone else other than Sam. But setting aside that for a minute, the one thing a viewer simply cannot overlook after five years of watching this show is the fact that Dean Winchester is and always has been about "family" - and family is not just blood, which we've been shown over and over again too for five freaking years.
This is a man who started stepping in to clean up family messes when he was only four-years-old. Then he raised Sam, took care of his father, and spent the rest of his life deferring any dreams of his own (mentioned as far back as season one's Skin) just to continue to take care of John and Sam and work in the family business. So, I'm sorry, to believe that after having lost everything that Dean couldn't or shouldn't even try to find momentary peace, if not happiness, in the loving arms of another family who might actually want him around, and just for who he is, is an attitude I can't sign on for.
I also don't understand how fans are conveniently forgetting or dismissing Dean's season three "dream" where it was clearly portrayed that after hooking up with Lisa again, Dean did start to fantasize about making a life with her and Ben. At the same time, I don't believe anyone, including Dean, sees Lisa as the love of his life or anything - and I don't think she sees him the same. Then again, I'm not convinced Dean believes there is one grand love out there waiting for him. But I do think he could be happy, or at least very content, making a life with Lisa and Ben. This is a very adult relationship they have here.
Of course, Dean is hurting and he'd always mourn for Sam (even while we know that's only short-lived anyway); but I liked the fact that he's shown not wallowing in anger and is taking the opportunity to find some respite with Lisa and Ben at the end, even if not especially as part of a promise to Sam.
But the real point here is that by honoring his promise to Sam not to turn right around and seek revenge due to his pain and anger, Dean has grown up (as he stated he needed to) and finally - mercifully - broken the long-standing self-destructive Winchester cycle of self-sacrifice for the wrong reasons that led to the world being broken and brought the two men to the lowest point imaginable. Having broken the cycle is what, I believe, led to God giving Dean his reward by resurrecting Sam at the end - even if Dean doesn't know it yet. At least, this is what I'm going with given the final shot - which, sorry, Kripke (probably with Edlund's help) ripped off almost to the letter from Joss Whedon and Angel's season four finale with Angel watching Connor through the window having dinner with the family he had Wolfram and Hart plant him with. Same scene, hell almost the same kind of house.
I really hope the blank look on Sam's face means nothing in particular right now - and I gotta be honest, scenes where Jared has no lines and nothing physical to do are not his strong suit, and I think that in part may account for why we don't know what's going on there. But it makes absolutely no sense to me if Sera Gamble is intending on going right back to that dusty moldy stinky drawing board of making Sam EVOL or part-EVOL, or something. Come on, we've been playing at that game since season one. We've all got the tee-shirts, spilled pizza on them, barfed on them, used them to wash the car, and finally burned them. It's time to move on. Besides, once you've played the ultimate baddie - Darth Vader, er Lucifer - it's all down hill and really-really stupid after that.
So I'm hoping this is Sam himself returned as his and Dean's reward for stopping the Snorepacalypse, and one of two things is happening here. It's either Sam watching Dean starting to live the life Dean promised him he'd try to, and Sam is going to leave for a while because he thinks he's giving Dean what he wants and what will make him happy. Yes, ultimately that's a little cruel for Sam not to let Dean know he's alive right away, but I'll give Sam a pass if he's planning on going underground and laying low with no other thought than to give his brother a chance to be happy with a normal life and family.
If not that, then maybe Sam has been returned without his memories, for some reason, and he was plopped outside the house and is watching these people having dinner and not knowing who they are or why he's there. I don't know what the purpose of this story line would be, but it would make more sense if it were something like that as to why Sam doesn't contact Dean right away. And maybe the exercise is supposed to be that if these two previously psychotically, irrationally, erotically codependent individuals are meant to find each other again, they will, and God or Heaven or whoever brought Sam back is leaving it up to Free Will, rather than Destiny or Fate.
My big beef with the Dean/Lisa ending is that while I do believe this may have been a series finale ending for Dean, providing God was going to return both Dean and Sam after the Thelma and Louise swan dive - once they knew they had a sixth season, they should have postponed this ending until next season. I'm not sure I'm ready for Dean Winchester to play a one-woman man for the entire sixth season. But, more than that, it's going to be near impossible to maintain this connection if Sera is going to throw the boys on the road again.
However, I hope if or when Dean does have to move on from this new "family", that it's a mutual decision between he and Lisa, and they stay friends. Or, the way I'd like to see it is that Lisa, knowing who and what Dean is - which is a really good thing for Dean - tells him to go do what he needs to do, but that she and Ben will always be there waiting for him.
The one thing Sera Gamble better not do is kill her and the kid as an excuse to put Dean on the road again in a mirror image of the Pilot. Again, that's just so much stupid redundancy, and I'd really rather they don't waste their last 22 episodes playing out old story lines. I understand they're probably going back to a more stand-alone first season format, and that's fine - but you can still make it different from the first season if for no other reason than these two men are entirely different people from who they were at that time. They were veritable kids back then, and now they're literally battle-weary warriors back from war - sadder, older, and hopefully wiser.
I've been swooning over every leaked wedding photo of the beautiful Jensen and Danneel. They make me smile. :)
Anyway, given Sam's Anakin/Darth Vader/Anakin-like path, it seems fitting that I spent Saturday relieving my fondness for SW. Though, of course, I was always a Han!girl - so it makes sense that it's Dean who commands a lot of my attention on Supernatural. ;)
So I've spent a few days chatting with fans, tossing off comments, and reading meta about the season five finale, which has really run the gamut of reactions - from hatred (a lot of this), to bliss, to something in between. Yeah, I ended up watching it live after all because The Spousal Unit said we should get it over with - and I guess I'm glad I did because I don't know that I would have watched it after the fact. Anyway, herein lies my belated 75-cents worth of opinion.
I'll say upfront that I think it would have played out a lot better as the originally planned "series" finale without all the radical story line changes tossed in to deal with a sixth season renewal, and a little BTS melodrama besides. As a truncated version of that finale, I think it was the absolute weakest of the five seasons. And because of that, I'm not feeling particularly confident anymore about season six. Hopefully that feeling will pass as the summer drums on.
OTOH, I think they probably do need to do something to go out on a stronger note - as long as they go into next season with the steadfast belief that it really will be their swan song, especially given how Jared is already drawing a public line in the sand indicating he's really unlikely to go beyond that point. Then again, even though Jensen has been quoted as being very positive and on board with season six, I never thought he'd sign up for more than that either. They have one more year on their contracts, and I think everyone knows they're both ready to move on.
Chuck as Kripke as God is, well, as Chuck himself said last season, "M. Night-level douchiness." But, I guess in this 'verse, God/The Author as a nerdy boozing hack with perv issues just about says it all. And his little F-U to the fans for bitching about plot holes and weak scripts is a bit of biting the hand that's fed him for five years plus one more. Maybe if he and the rest of the writers hadn't wasted a ton of opportunity and story line possibilities this year, and maybe if he hadn't written a finale script chock full of plot craters, he wouldn't be living out that self-fulfilling prophecy.
Then again, maybe Kripke was frustrated that he couldn't write the script he really wanted to precisely because of the sixth season pick-up. Though I still think he could have done a lot better than resorting to a clip show as script padding.
So I do think the episode was weak - then again, I think the overall arc was systematically watered down from season four, and throughout season five, once the producers got the feeling that they'd probably be renewed, starting with the massive #100th rewrite where Dean's role as Michael's vessel was eliminated. Without a renewal looming, I think it's obvious they would have stuck to the original game-plan for that to be the big Michael episode, because the end was always supposed to be Dean!Michael and Samifer on the battlefield yakking about their issues, with that convo allowing both bros to break through and fight their mutual possessions in order to hold hands and leap into the void together in the Thelma and Louise ending Kripke had talked about years ago and always envisioned.
By removing Dean from that very crucial half of the equation, what we got instead was a Michael who was more Keyser Soze than reality, and retconned significantly from his appearance in 5:13 to the unrecognizable version here played by an understudy almost no one gives a damn about, droning on and on with his Luciferic half in one of the worst written and acted scenes I have ever seen on this show. Jared and Jake had zero chemistry, no legitimate feeling of connection, and that only served to bring down both performances. From what I understand, even Jake Abel said at the JiB con that he hated this scene and ending. Can't say I blame him.
So, yeah, I admit because of all the retconning and last-minute changes, I felt like Jensen was thrown under the bus and got dry-screwed in the deal. I just hope Kripke at least bought him a nice dinner beforehand. It's customary, after all.
All that being said, and after reading through a boatload of meta, I actually see how Dean still had a very important role to play, despite it all, as it was his very human pain and sacrifice and loss that brought the heavy emotion. Dean is the one who ended up remaining the true leader, if not sole member, of Team Free Will, despite his doubts in the 100th episode. And given his family's violent reaction to his momentary slip in said episode, where they were instead all Up With Satan! when Sam wanted to do exactly the same thing Dean did, it seems that everyone believed they never stood a chance in the first place without Dean at the Free Will helm.
However, it was more than a little annoying to see how quickly Bobby and Castiel folded like the cheap suit Cas wears the second the ring plan didn't work the first time and after Lucifer too predictably took over Sam. So, again, it was Dean alone who continued to give the finger to Destiny and, as he did in The Monster at the End of This Book, played the wild card by going off page and contacting Chuck (God) again in order to discover how to salt the game. Though I was glad Cas and Bobby came through at the end.
So Dean wasn't just some also-ran righteous man - though I don't know what meta grievance Kripke was exercising with the "You're no longer part of this story" line. What, Eric, did Jensen hurt your feelings or something? *eye-roll* I hope that line wasn't as loaded as it sounded, but regardless, the way it played out is that Dean was still The Righteous Man who started the downward spiral back in season two by selling his soul, and who really did end it when as one supposedly "unimportant" man, holding steadfastly to his free will, rolled onto the battlefield blaring Rock of Ages in typically swaggering Dean Winchester style, and told two dickish archangels to stop the fight before it had a chance to begin.
Had Dean not showed up at that moment with the Impala of Yellow Crayonitude, the archangelic slap fight would have ensued because Sam would never have broken through on his own. But with Dean's arrival as the veritable fly in the ointment, Sam was finally able to break through and redeem himself for his actions that led to the breaking of the final seal which released Lucifer. Therefore, Dean and Sam both played their righteous parts, retconned to large and small extents that they were.
I did like the history lesson of the Impala - even though a lot of that would have held way more emotional resonance had we heard the story about the toy soldier and the Legos and carving their initials into the car long before the last episode of the five seasons. What I think was more important is how the birth of the Chevy Impala in Detroit tied to Sam's fall in the same city - though even that would have played out better too had everything ended in Detroit where it actually really began, and not in Lawrence, Kansas, since we know now, again via retconning, that Dean and Sam never really needed to be THE vessels, and any two of John's bloodline would have served the same purpose. Seriously, John could have gotten two randoms pregnant and netted the same results. Mary ended up being a nonentity in that regard, and now I can only see her importance in being Dean's primary influence over his love and devotion to family.
I just wish the Impala - which as we saw in In the Beginning was always Dean's car, and not John's - had more to do with Dean for Sam than a home on wheels. Sure, all the clips had to do with brotherly moments, because that's what they have in the vault (and, yes, they were all lovely). But, I still wish Kripke had made it more definitively clear that Dean's tie to the car is what really brought the emotion home for Sam, and not the car itself, especially since canonically the Impala has always meant a lot more to Dean than Sam anyway.
All the deaths were anticlimactic at best since everyone who died was brought back within minutes - Cas, Bobby, and Sam. I therefore must conclude that Adam too was, while maybe not alive, at least brought out of the pit and plopped back into Heaven to be with mommy, which is what he wanted in the first place. The only two remaining in the pit were the archangelic essences of Lucifer and Michael, probably battling it out for all eternity.
Jim Beaver has tweeted that he'll be back, and I could care less because I'm over Bobby. But I imagine right now that his soul deal is probably going to be the little arc weaved in throughout the stand-alone episodes planned for next year. Whatever, though hopefully that means more Crowley.
I do think Castiel got the ending he deserved as I always envisioned him not only getting his powers back, but also receiving an angelic promotion of sorts exactly as he did at the end of this episode. However, I'm still surprised it happened now instead of at the end of next season given how much I was sure his being made mortal was the plot device for keeping him around next season.
So now I don't know what the deal is with Castiel, especially since Misha indicated at the Aussie con a week ago that he was still contracted for season six. Whaaaa? I'm confused. Not that I don't hope he returns, because I do, especially now that he and Dean have kissed and made up. Plus, I do believe the story line Castiel was supposed to have this year got severely truncated when Dean's did, as they were probably tied together. I think that explains why Misha had more cameo appearances than legitimate story line like he was supposed to have, and too why he was cut out of three episodes he was contracted for. So I feel like they owe him better with another season. But I guess we won't really know anything for sure until the actors go back to the set in July.
Which brings me to the Dean/Lisa hate, which I don't get. Well, that's not true, I do and dismiss all fans who can't stand to see Dean be about anything or anyone else other than Sam. But setting aside that for a minute, the one thing a viewer simply cannot overlook after five years of watching this show is the fact that Dean Winchester is and always has been about "family" - and family is not just blood, which we've been shown over and over again too for five freaking years.
This is a man who started stepping in to clean up family messes when he was only four-years-old. Then he raised Sam, took care of his father, and spent the rest of his life deferring any dreams of his own (mentioned as far back as season one's Skin) just to continue to take care of John and Sam and work in the family business. So, I'm sorry, to believe that after having lost everything that Dean couldn't or shouldn't even try to find momentary peace, if not happiness, in the loving arms of another family who might actually want him around, and just for who he is, is an attitude I can't sign on for.
I also don't understand how fans are conveniently forgetting or dismissing Dean's season three "dream" where it was clearly portrayed that after hooking up with Lisa again, Dean did start to fantasize about making a life with her and Ben. At the same time, I don't believe anyone, including Dean, sees Lisa as the love of his life or anything - and I don't think she sees him the same. Then again, I'm not convinced Dean believes there is one grand love out there waiting for him. But I do think he could be happy, or at least very content, making a life with Lisa and Ben. This is a very adult relationship they have here.
Of course, Dean is hurting and he'd always mourn for Sam (even while we know that's only short-lived anyway); but I liked the fact that he's shown not wallowing in anger and is taking the opportunity to find some respite with Lisa and Ben at the end, even if not especially as part of a promise to Sam.
But the real point here is that by honoring his promise to Sam not to turn right around and seek revenge due to his pain and anger, Dean has grown up (as he stated he needed to) and finally - mercifully - broken the long-standing self-destructive Winchester cycle of self-sacrifice for the wrong reasons that led to the world being broken and brought the two men to the lowest point imaginable. Having broken the cycle is what, I believe, led to God giving Dean his reward by resurrecting Sam at the end - even if Dean doesn't know it yet. At least, this is what I'm going with given the final shot - which, sorry, Kripke (probably with Edlund's help) ripped off almost to the letter from Joss Whedon and Angel's season four finale with Angel watching Connor through the window having dinner with the family he had Wolfram and Hart plant him with. Same scene, hell almost the same kind of house.
I really hope the blank look on Sam's face means nothing in particular right now - and I gotta be honest, scenes where Jared has no lines and nothing physical to do are not his strong suit, and I think that in part may account for why we don't know what's going on there. But it makes absolutely no sense to me if Sera Gamble is intending on going right back to that dusty moldy stinky drawing board of making Sam EVOL or part-EVOL, or something. Come on, we've been playing at that game since season one. We've all got the tee-shirts, spilled pizza on them, barfed on them, used them to wash the car, and finally burned them. It's time to move on. Besides, once you've played the ultimate baddie - Darth Vader, er Lucifer - it's all down hill and really-really stupid after that.
So I'm hoping this is Sam himself returned as his and Dean's reward for stopping the Snorepacalypse, and one of two things is happening here. It's either Sam watching Dean starting to live the life Dean promised him he'd try to, and Sam is going to leave for a while because he thinks he's giving Dean what he wants and what will make him happy. Yes, ultimately that's a little cruel for Sam not to let Dean know he's alive right away, but I'll give Sam a pass if he's planning on going underground and laying low with no other thought than to give his brother a chance to be happy with a normal life and family.
If not that, then maybe Sam has been returned without his memories, for some reason, and he was plopped outside the house and is watching these people having dinner and not knowing who they are or why he's there. I don't know what the purpose of this story line would be, but it would make more sense if it were something like that as to why Sam doesn't contact Dean right away. And maybe the exercise is supposed to be that if these two previously psychotically, irrationally, erotically codependent individuals are meant to find each other again, they will, and God or Heaven or whoever brought Sam back is leaving it up to Free Will, rather than Destiny or Fate.
My big beef with the Dean/Lisa ending is that while I do believe this may have been a series finale ending for Dean, providing God was going to return both Dean and Sam after the Thelma and Louise swan dive - once they knew they had a sixth season, they should have postponed this ending until next season. I'm not sure I'm ready for Dean Winchester to play a one-woman man for the entire sixth season. But, more than that, it's going to be near impossible to maintain this connection if Sera is going to throw the boys on the road again.
However, I hope if or when Dean does have to move on from this new "family", that it's a mutual decision between he and Lisa, and they stay friends. Or, the way I'd like to see it is that Lisa, knowing who and what Dean is - which is a really good thing for Dean - tells him to go do what he needs to do, but that she and Ben will always be there waiting for him.
The one thing Sera Gamble better not do is kill her and the kid as an excuse to put Dean on the road again in a mirror image of the Pilot. Again, that's just so much stupid redundancy, and I'd really rather they don't waste their last 22 episodes playing out old story lines. I understand they're probably going back to a more stand-alone first season format, and that's fine - but you can still make it different from the first season if for no other reason than these two men are entirely different people from who they were at that time. They were veritable kids back then, and now they're literally battle-weary warriors back from war - sadder, older, and hopefully wiser.
I've been swooning over every leaked wedding photo of the beautiful Jensen and Danneel. They make me smile. :)