SUPERNATURAL 7:23
Super belated post - it was going to be an overall catch-up post on the state of me, but I'm going to do something I haven't done in probably two years, and that's discuss an episode of Supernatural. Shocking, I know.
The Spousal Unit and I did watch the finale last night - well, after we watched the Grimm season finale, which was kick-ass and a lot better than Supernatural anyway. But Grimm and Fringe have been my Friday night go-to shows for genre and horror all season, with my sticking around on the periphery of SPN only because Jensen, and thus Dean, was still there, despite Gamble's 2+ year campaign to thoroughly dismantle that role.
As someone who has been praying to the tv gods to finally put the show out of its misery at the end of this season, the news about Gamble moving on/getting the boot and Carver coming back to fix this hot mess had me kind of titillated. Then there was all the happy upfront news and pictures and videos from last week, with Jensen being super upbeat and positive for the first time since his character was yanked out of the mytharc in season 5, all of which gave me the courage to go ahead and watch it right after Grimm, instead of waiting a day or two and FF'ing through as quickly as possible.
The best thing about watching SPN off the dvr was that I still got to FF through yet another gawd-awful replay of Carry On My Wayward Son. I HATE THAT SONG - HATE IT WITH THE BURNING PASSION OF A THOUSAND SUNS!!!!!! And it's got nothing to do with its overuse on the show to the point that it became utterly meaningless and trite. No, it's because the song sucks ass. I've always hated it since it hit the airwaves when I was in the army. Try dancing to that sucker - you can't. It blows.
Was the episode perfect? Hardly. A lot of it dragged, per norm, which has been a big problem with the writing the last three years. But that finale scene in Purgatory was very awesome, and was the first and only truly creepy thing I've seen on this show in over three years. It actually looked alien enough to make me believe they were off world, so to speak.
And, *sniff* *sniff*... is that ... a potential DEAN storyline I smelled there at the end? Whaaaat? It's been so very-very long, I almost can't remember what even the mere possibility of a Dean storyline smells, tastes, feels, or looks like anymore. For the first time in a long time I feel like there might be potential again.
In general, I'm sorry, but the Leviathans were a ludicrous disaster from the jump, even though I did like James Patrick Stuart's slimy portrayal of Dick. But he's the only thing I liked about the boring stupid Levis. I'm not thrilled they're sticking around next year, but if they're going to be treated simply as monsters to hunt and kill, the way Crowley described it to Sam, rather than the silly corporate douchenozzles they were this year, then maybe they'll be more palatable.
The return of Crowley as a genuine adversary again, as the King of Hell should be, was too long in coming, much like the return of Castiel was. I look forward to more Crowley next season - he's been greatly missed. And it looks like incredibly screwed Kevin Tran will return next year too. I liked the kid, and I fear for what Crowley intends to do with him. Poor guy, all he wanted to do was get into Princeton.
I don't know what the score is with Meg. All I know is that I wince for Rachel Miner every moment she's on screen since it's clear that she's still in pain due to the disk problems Misha Collins said she'd been suffering from for a long time (even had to stop acting for a while).
I think this was the first episode I truly enjoyed Castiel again, and I liked seeing how much of his crazy pathology really had to do with his own guilt in having screwed up in the first place in betraying the Winchesters. It's pretty clear the hint of forgiveness he felt from Dean played a huge part in Castiel getting back on track at the end. That was a really well-played scene between the two men when they went to retrieve the Impala.
And, of course, I won't lie, I loved that the episode took advantage of the chemistry between Jensen and Misha once more, rather than trying so ridiculously to squash it, and that Dean and Cas worked together to kill Dick and were thrown into Purgatory side by side. I certainly can't be unhappy with all the D/C goodness in this episode - like how Meg out and out said Cas was Dean's boyfriend! You know it, sister. ;)
Seriously, though, I was honestly relieved, content, thrilled that Dean FINALLY got to play the BDH - sort of - and, again, that he did so with Cas as his wingman. Both characters really needed that moment. After spending most of the last 2+ years on the sidelines and under the metaphorical bus, seeing Dean getting in on the action was a very positive move, especially if it signals an end to the emo rut the character has been mired in designed specifically to keep him insignificant and away from the story.
I also like the set-up where Sam will have to put his concern outward now to work on saving Dean rather than the perpetual 7-year loop of it playing out the other way around. I'm hugely relieved that the Winchesters aren't separated by the same-old, same-old ludicrous secrets and lies and egotistical nonsense. It's just situational this time, and Dean's disappearance into another Hell realm has nothing whatsoever to do with Sam for a welcome change.
And this time Sam shouldn't be waylaid, like he was in seasons 3 and 4. No demon 'ho playing on his ego and his little Sam. This time he can step up to legitimately work toward rescuing Dean and Castiel without personal melodramatic agendas coming first. I've wanted to see Sam in that position for years, especially when the third and fourth season didn't give me that Sam.
Unfortunately, past history would seem to indicate that the Purgatory thing will wrap up too quickly in the season premiere. With Carver back and in the driver's seat, and having successfully showrun Syfy's Being Human - where he had three leads and managed to treat them all equally with their own storylines (something SPN hasn't done with just the two) - just maybe he'll manage to shake up the tired old status quo and pull a Fringe and have the first two or three episodes play out in both realms. It would be interesting to explore Purgatory for more than one single episode.
Bobby the Uber-Annoying Ghost should never have been in the first place. The show, as it always does, continued to make a huge joke out of death by wasting time on that big Bobby send-off midseason just to throw it all away by all too predictably bringing Bobby back. So he needed to be sent away, but I dunno, it felt weirdly rushed in this episode - very much like Gamble was tasked with wrapping up as much of her vision (problems) as possible, and he was just one of those plot devices on her to-do checklist. I really get the feeling that wasn't her original intention - but with her leaving, the story got truncated. But, again, it shouldn't have happened like that in the first place.
I'm honestly sort of looking forward to season 8. At least, it feels like the show has possibilities again. Here's hoping Carver can see it through.
p.s.: Discussion of Grimm season finale in comments. Spoilers!
The Spousal Unit and I did watch the finale last night - well, after we watched the Grimm season finale, which was kick-ass and a lot better than Supernatural anyway. But Grimm and Fringe have been my Friday night go-to shows for genre and horror all season, with my sticking around on the periphery of SPN only because Jensen, and thus Dean, was still there, despite Gamble's 2+ year campaign to thoroughly dismantle that role.
As someone who has been praying to the tv gods to finally put the show out of its misery at the end of this season, the news about Gamble moving on/getting the boot and Carver coming back to fix this hot mess had me kind of titillated. Then there was all the happy upfront news and pictures and videos from last week, with Jensen being super upbeat and positive for the first time since his character was yanked out of the mytharc in season 5, all of which gave me the courage to go ahead and watch it right after Grimm, instead of waiting a day or two and FF'ing through as quickly as possible.
The best thing about watching SPN off the dvr was that I still got to FF through yet another gawd-awful replay of Carry On My Wayward Son. I HATE THAT SONG - HATE IT WITH THE BURNING PASSION OF A THOUSAND SUNS!!!!!! And it's got nothing to do with its overuse on the show to the point that it became utterly meaningless and trite. No, it's because the song sucks ass. I've always hated it since it hit the airwaves when I was in the army. Try dancing to that sucker - you can't. It blows.
Was the episode perfect? Hardly. A lot of it dragged, per norm, which has been a big problem with the writing the last three years. But that finale scene in Purgatory was very awesome, and was the first and only truly creepy thing I've seen on this show in over three years. It actually looked alien enough to make me believe they were off world, so to speak.
And, *sniff* *sniff*... is that ... a potential DEAN storyline I smelled there at the end? Whaaaat? It's been so very-very long, I almost can't remember what even the mere possibility of a Dean storyline smells, tastes, feels, or looks like anymore. For the first time in a long time I feel like there might be potential again.
In general, I'm sorry, but the Leviathans were a ludicrous disaster from the jump, even though I did like James Patrick Stuart's slimy portrayal of Dick. But he's the only thing I liked about the boring stupid Levis. I'm not thrilled they're sticking around next year, but if they're going to be treated simply as monsters to hunt and kill, the way Crowley described it to Sam, rather than the silly corporate douchenozzles they were this year, then maybe they'll be more palatable.
The return of Crowley as a genuine adversary again, as the King of Hell should be, was too long in coming, much like the return of Castiel was. I look forward to more Crowley next season - he's been greatly missed. And it looks like incredibly screwed Kevin Tran will return next year too. I liked the kid, and I fear for what Crowley intends to do with him. Poor guy, all he wanted to do was get into Princeton.
I don't know what the score is with Meg. All I know is that I wince for Rachel Miner every moment she's on screen since it's clear that she's still in pain due to the disk problems Misha Collins said she'd been suffering from for a long time (even had to stop acting for a while).
I think this was the first episode I truly enjoyed Castiel again, and I liked seeing how much of his crazy pathology really had to do with his own guilt in having screwed up in the first place in betraying the Winchesters. It's pretty clear the hint of forgiveness he felt from Dean played a huge part in Castiel getting back on track at the end. That was a really well-played scene between the two men when they went to retrieve the Impala.
And, of course, I won't lie, I loved that the episode took advantage of the chemistry between Jensen and Misha once more, rather than trying so ridiculously to squash it, and that Dean and Cas worked together to kill Dick and were thrown into Purgatory side by side. I certainly can't be unhappy with all the D/C goodness in this episode - like how Meg out and out said Cas was Dean's boyfriend! You know it, sister. ;)
Seriously, though, I was honestly relieved, content, thrilled that Dean FINALLY got to play the BDH - sort of - and, again, that he did so with Cas as his wingman. Both characters really needed that moment. After spending most of the last 2+ years on the sidelines and under the metaphorical bus, seeing Dean getting in on the action was a very positive move, especially if it signals an end to the emo rut the character has been mired in designed specifically to keep him insignificant and away from the story.
I also like the set-up where Sam will have to put his concern outward now to work on saving Dean rather than the perpetual 7-year loop of it playing out the other way around. I'm hugely relieved that the Winchesters aren't separated by the same-old, same-old ludicrous secrets and lies and egotistical nonsense. It's just situational this time, and Dean's disappearance into another Hell realm has nothing whatsoever to do with Sam for a welcome change.
And this time Sam shouldn't be waylaid, like he was in seasons 3 and 4. No demon 'ho playing on his ego and his little Sam. This time he can step up to legitimately work toward rescuing Dean and Castiel without personal melodramatic agendas coming first. I've wanted to see Sam in that position for years, especially when the third and fourth season didn't give me that Sam.
Unfortunately, past history would seem to indicate that the Purgatory thing will wrap up too quickly in the season premiere. With Carver back and in the driver's seat, and having successfully showrun Syfy's Being Human - where he had three leads and managed to treat them all equally with their own storylines (something SPN hasn't done with just the two) - just maybe he'll manage to shake up the tired old status quo and pull a Fringe and have the first two or three episodes play out in both realms. It would be interesting to explore Purgatory for more than one single episode.
Bobby the Uber-Annoying Ghost should never have been in the first place. The show, as it always does, continued to make a huge joke out of death by wasting time on that big Bobby send-off midseason just to throw it all away by all too predictably bringing Bobby back. So he needed to be sent away, but I dunno, it felt weirdly rushed in this episode - very much like Gamble was tasked with wrapping up as much of her vision (problems) as possible, and he was just one of those plot devices on her to-do checklist. I really get the feeling that wasn't her original intention - but with her leaving, the story got truncated. But, again, it shouldn't have happened like that in the first place.
I'm honestly sort of looking forward to season 8. At least, it feels like the show has possibilities again. Here's hoping Carver can see it through.
p.s.: Discussion of Grimm season finale in comments. Spoilers!