SPN Episode Recaps Confirm My Thoughts
Warning: Those 100% happy and content with the last two episodes should probably mosey along. *pats heads* Mosey on, now. Nothing to see here.
So, anybody been keeping up with Maureen Ryan's reviews the last two weeks? I normally don't because I normally don't read any reviews--particularly since the debacle that was last season's first half. But, I've had some people point out the last two reviews by Mo and I was curious enough about what she made of these last two episodes to check them out. Man, did she nail them. I can't say as I agree with every single word, but enough to make any differences nearly negligible. She seems to be feeling the loss of quality writing like I do. Makes me feel better considering so many people are all too happy to jump on your back and start banging your head into the sidewalk until you profess nothing but gleeful enjoyment and praise of every single episode right down to the word. *grins*
I will say, I enjoyed several of the episodes at the end of the year last season and I did enjoy the first two episodes of this season, but the last two seem to have failed me a bit and for the same reasons Mo gives in her write ups. Honestly, I'll admit that I'm far too tired to delve into all of it because there's a lot I have to say, it could be a full-fledged book if I covered everything point by point. Instead, I'll touch briefly on something that's been bugging me for a while now and then leave links to Maureen's reviews should you be interested in what she had to say.
Basically, my feeling is this--the quality of the writing is lacking and it's not consistent. One of the things I first admired about this show was the smart, smart writing. You don't get a lot of that on TV. I don't mean to say that regular TV sucks (though, some of it really does) in general, but a lot of the time, it doesn't make you really sit up and take notice, either. That used to be one of the things about Supernatural that drew me to it and made it stand out. The writing was smart. They covered their bases, they addressed issues nearly realistically and they built on a foundation solid as cement. They would set situations up ahead of time so that you'd get that a-ha! moment usually saved for the movies. Canon was reliable and followed a certain set of rules that carried over from one episode to the next. And, the writers did their homework! They'd stayed apprised of canon and characterizations and they actually researched the supernatural creatures and based the episodes on actual lore.
I always thought it was cool how you could look up the real myths and see basically the same information presented in the show. I also appreciated how things wove together to fit like puzzle pieces. The storytelling was reliable, consistent and cohesive. You could look back at the end of a season and see how it all fit together--and it was awesome! But, somewhere along the way, it felt like someone pulled a string and it all came unraveled. Canon no longer really meant anything because any of it was subject to change--as was characters motivations, actions and characteristics. I found myself unable to look back at the season and nod in appreciation of how well it came together and made sense.
Now it feels like a jumble of random and dropped thread after dropped thread. It feels like a hodge-podge of whatever was leftover in the refrigerator. I get the feeling that either the writers don't care about it the same way and have decided to phone it in or like perhaps the new people don't have a clue. Or maybe there's a serious lack of leadership and quality control. Or, even worse, that anything goes as long as it accomplishes what the leadership wants to have happen--that nothing is sacred and the past means nothing as long as agenda a, b and c get accomplished.
We rarely get closure that is entirely fulfilling. It's frustrating to always feel like carrots are being dangled only to have them snatched away right when you want it most or you have to imagine what this or that was supposed to mean--like you're constantly plugging holes. As for hope? There is none. The SPN universe is one long diatribe of gloom and doom. Lies and betrayals--constant beat downs. The brothers fight each other as much as they fight the monsters and their relationship rarely gets any new exploration or growth that carries over. We briefly touch on things, but there's hardly ever any real and meaningful moments between the boys. Every character we've come to know and love dies. I like a little hope served up with my angst, thank you very much. The show's supposed to be about family--but the family members are either dead or keeping some deep, dark secret from the others. *sigh*
Anyway. This is where I'm at right now. I don't hate the show by far, but I recognize that too many of my good feelings about the show come from the actors and from my loyalty and nostalgia about past seasons--a still steady love of what came before and who the characters and their relationships were. We're only four episodes in, so I still have hope it can get back to good--but my confidence is shaky and I fear my favorite show has slipped into average TV fare. For the first time ever, I find myself feeling like I could DVR it and be okay with going out instead. I no longer feel like I MUST be home to watch it live. *shrugs*
If you're interested in reading Maureen's reviews, you'll be able to find them here:
"Defending Your Life" recap link
"The Girl Next Door" recap link