Musings about the Quality of Storytelling
I'm watching all the reactions to the season 8 spoilers here and on tumblr, and it has me thinking about why people with similar preferences react so differently, my own feelings about them, and about the quality of the show in general.
I think at the very core of all this is the difference between good and bad storytelling vs. storylines I like or dislike.
Season 6 and 7 were, in my opinion, just bad storytelling. That's why I dislike them so much.
Personally, the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced I could have loved some of the storylines if done right. The entire civil war in Heaven storyline including Castiel's fall, even just as secondary storyline, could have been as brilliant as it was/should have been tragic. The reason why I hated it is because it was executed poorly and left me angry when it should have left me heatbroken.
When I read the spoilers for season 8, I'm not sure I'm going to like the storyline they have in store for Castiel (if there even really is one). But hearing the interviews with Jeremy Carver and Ben Edlund, I get the impression they know exactly where they want to go, and it has me confident that season 8 will be good storytelling.
I might still hate it. There are a thousand different possibilities of what they might do with Castiel next season, wether he is only in a handful of episodes or all of them. There are dozens of different relationships between him and other characters they may decide to explore or ignore. All of those are valid choices, some I'd love, some I'd hate. Same goes for characters they may or may not bring back.
As long as it's in character, and as long as the storyline makes sense, I will respect the writers' choices, even if I strongly dislike them. I may also still be anything between 'This is everything I ever wanted'-happy and deeply disappointed. There is no way of knowing until the episodes have actually aired.
One storyline I won't respect them for, no matter how well it is done - and the one I'm most afraid might still happen - is if Castiel sacrifices himself for Dean yet again. Granted, this isn't a bad storyline in and of itself. But it is one at this point in the show. Ending Castiel's storyline for good this way would have worked two or three years ago. It decidely does not anymore, not with everything Cas has already sacrificed without ever getting as much as a thank you. This is the one storyline that would make sense in theory, but was taken away from the show as a good storyline by the last few seasons. And I sincerly hope Jeremy Carver is aware of that.
If he is, I am confident that I will at least be okay with what's waiting for us in Purgatory and beyond.
Beware of spoilers in the comments
I think at the very core of all this is the difference between good and bad storytelling vs. storylines I like or dislike.
Season 6 and 7 were, in my opinion, just bad storytelling. That's why I dislike them so much.
Personally, the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced I could have loved some of the storylines if done right. The entire civil war in Heaven storyline including Castiel's fall, even just as secondary storyline, could have been as brilliant as it was/should have been tragic. The reason why I hated it is because it was executed poorly and left me angry when it should have left me heatbroken.
When I read the spoilers for season 8, I'm not sure I'm going to like the storyline they have in store for Castiel (if there even really is one). But hearing the interviews with Jeremy Carver and Ben Edlund, I get the impression they know exactly where they want to go, and it has me confident that season 8 will be good storytelling.
I might still hate it. There are a thousand different possibilities of what they might do with Castiel next season, wether he is only in a handful of episodes or all of them. There are dozens of different relationships between him and other characters they may decide to explore or ignore. All of those are valid choices, some I'd love, some I'd hate. Same goes for characters they may or may not bring back.
As long as it's in character, and as long as the storyline makes sense, I will respect the writers' choices, even if I strongly dislike them. I may also still be anything between 'This is everything I ever wanted'-happy and deeply disappointed. There is no way of knowing until the episodes have actually aired.
One storyline I won't respect them for, no matter how well it is done - and the one I'm most afraid might still happen - is if Castiel sacrifices himself for Dean yet again. Granted, this isn't a bad storyline in and of itself. But it is one at this point in the show. Ending Castiel's storyline for good this way would have worked two or three years ago. It decidely does not anymore, not with everything Cas has already sacrificed without ever getting as much as a thank you. This is the one storyline that would make sense in theory, but was taken away from the show as a good storyline by the last few seasons. And I sincerly hope Jeremy Carver is aware of that.
If he is, I am confident that I will at least be okay with what's waiting for us in Purgatory and beyond.
Beware of spoilers in the comments