Supernatural 6.01
As usual I find myself being more thoughtful in response to other people's responses than in my own right. I love reading episode responses, and I got my download really quickly today (thank you, anonymous donor!). That's one reason to be pleased that SUPERNATURAL HAS RETURNED.
Anyway-
The crux of this episode for me is in the whole "I've been back for a year but I thought I'd let you be happy going on thinking I was in a hole in hell" scenario. For me, this is severely flawed as an idea. C'mon, Sam. You know better than that. And Bobby? REALLY? No. Just... no.
There are two ways to look at this from a story point of view. Firstly, it could just be an epic fail on the part of the writers/directors/tptb. I'm hoping very strongly that this isn't the case. Which leaves me with...
Secondly, this is for me CLEARLY a set-up of epic proportions for revelations and events which are currently pending.
Sam is just not right. Is it really Sam? I don't think so. Or, Sam is so badly damaged from his time in hell that he's no longer himself. But I don't think that's right either. Even going through demon blood roid-rage, Sam had a conscience, and throughout the last two seasons has well-intentionedly and good-heartedly made a lot of mistakes, but ALWAYS been well-intentioned. HAS ALWAYS MEANT WELL. He has ALWAYS cared for Dean, even if Dean didn't think so. Sam's always been conflicted, but all his emotional makeup leads back to Dean. Sam Winchester saved THE WHOLE WORLD. We all know this. QED: THIS IS NOT SAM. Or there are reasons we know not of.
I don't think Bobby was really Bobby either. Or that's the worst bit of writing ever. Because, sure, Dean was making his own way in life at the beginning, and Lisa and Ben were a family for him, and he clearly cared about them. He was doing okay. This doesn't ameliorate the fact that his grief must have been terrible beyond the imagining of it. No only was Sam dead, but suffering terribly, as a consequence of Dean breaking in hell (something he's always blamed himself for). Dean would never forgive himself, he'd never be properly happy. Bobby knows that. Also, both Bobby AND Sam must have known that the shit would hit the fan at some point, and Dean would have to be approached. It's not even that it was cruel to Dean, even though, it was. But it's cruel as hell to Lisa (an innocent party in this, and a rocking good chick, loving and understanding and with moxie) and especially to Ben. Women and Children. Innocent civilians. QED. THIS IS NOT BOBBY. Or there are reasons that we know not of.
Next: Djinn. Who make you believe in false lives. There's obviously a thematic similarity in the opening sequence to WIAWSNB. Is this whole thing a false life? Why did the Campbells want the Djinn? Why Djinn, of all the monsters of the week we could possibly have had? If not to make us question what is real and what is not?
The Campbells are clearly psycho-survivalists (on the Mayflower, my ASS) who make Gordon look like Mary Poppins mated with Little Bo Peep. They're just not right. Samuel Campbell is too creepy to not be evil. Or, you know, the kind of "good" that we don't like either.
Other clues:
The Yorkie.
Either one of the producers has an infamous yorkie or this is part of Dean's brain. He only recognises three kinds of dog: hell hounds, dogs that Sam adopted when he ran away, and SCARY YORKIES. Or was that part of Dean's "djinn poison"? And... isn't that a bit fishy? I think it's fishy.
The Impala.
Sam didn't accept (or even recognise the gesture of) Dean's offer of the Impala. (Remember when he put the ipod in the Impala during the six months Dean was in hell? That always seemed a kind of off thing to do, a clue to what Sam had been going through that we didn't really realise until later). But also we didn't see the Impala in her entirety at all. This is Supernatural, people. Ie, the show about the two brothers and the awesome car. We've been subject to almost pornographic images of the Impala in every episode ever, and we don't even see in the trunk? WHAT?
Finally, where the HELL is Castiel? I think when he re-emerges (as I believe he will... I haven't been spoiled for that, but it's pretty clear, yeah? Otherwise he would have let Jimmy get back to being a tax-accountant) things will start to become at least a little more defined.
Also, if Sam's back... where's Adam?
And, Sam could still take Dean in the Pilot, after 2 or 4 years apart. So why would Dean suddenly be a pathetic infant of a hunter after 12 months? Sam wouldn't buy that.
And... and... and...
I had this moment of pausing the playback (I was watching on my laptop) turning to Tony and saying "either this is a set-up for something epically awesome or this is the shark-jumpingest episode in the history of ever".
I think it's the former. My fingers are so far crossed for this that it's almost impossible to TYPE.
I WANT MORE NOW. MAKE THIS RIGHT, SERA GAMBLE. I'm TRUSTING YOU ON THIS ONE.
ETA. Oh, oh, oh. WAIT. The most important thing of all. Dean wakes up and sees Sam and immediately thinks that he's died, that this is heaven. That made me CRY TEARS. My personal favourite moment in the whole thing.