Sympathy for the fans! Yay, it's back! Thank God?
@!#@$#%$#Y%$^%#@$@%!!!11eleventyone11!!!!
Ahem
Okay. I think I loved it. I think. Nearly three viewings and a night to think on it means I'm on my way to forming a coherent opinion.
On character: Well, for the first time in nearly a season, I enjoyed every portrayal.
Jensen, naturally, delivered but I have this funny feeling I am going to ADORE season five Dean. He seems together this season. I mean, S1 he was not fully fleshed out as a character. S2 they threw John's death on him, the poor boy. S3 he had on this game face that both the audience and Sam saw straight through but was nonetheless a mask of indifference. Of course, S4 he had PTSD and we felt for him and he was awesomely brave, yada, yada, yada.....but throughout our four seasons Dean has never been the Dean that he had in him all along. It seems this season he is Dean Winchester, no pretense, for the first time, well, probably even pre-series as well. He looks like he's ready to step up. He doesn't think they had a chance in winning but he's going to fight, not for Sam, not for Dad, not for the angels but because he himself believes its the right thing to do. Oh Dean my boy, of all things, is growing a pair! Because he can, because he should, not because he has been told to by some other entity that has a hold over him.
And then we turn to Sammy. Yes, I say Sammy because he is Sammy again! Yays! Jared has grown so much over the course of Supernatural, not just physically, but as an actor. He wasn't great to begin with, admittedly, and although I personally think he is in no way anywhere near Jensen's league (sorry) he has grown very nicely. I think when it comes down to it I do not like evil!Sam simply because Jared is not very good at it. And, yes, I feel guilty at admitting that, but its the truth. He is amazing at comedy, can kill the puppy dog eyes, but he just doesn't have the capacity for really digging into that other side. Screwed up facial expressions does not equal evil. Many will disagree with this, but basically, watev, I speak what I think. But hey, I loved the Sam of 5.01. Stronger, wiser, guiltier, yet he is in no way sinking into a daze, unable to comprehend what he has done like I feared. A cross between s1 Sam of rookie/little brother status and s3 desperate/independent Sam. He hit every note this week. I prefer the small, subtle reactions from Jared rather than the big blowouts and he delivered in spades this week.
Bobby, oh, Bobby. I knew it wasn't you the moment you shut down Sam. And then you stabbed yourself rather than kill Dean, breaking free of that demon, oh Bobby. And apparently he's now stuck in a wheelchair because of it. For good. Aha. Such a totally out of the blue thing but it has so much potential story wise. It just adds another layer to what Bobby brings to the show.
Castiel is badass. FINALLY! It was like, dude, I'm a rebel now, don't mess with me. Oh, and I have a big angel killing knife, yes, I know, I'm awesome, I'm badass, leave those boys alone! Castiel has always been intriguing, but now he is proactive and intriguing. Me likey.
Chuck and Zac were their usual selves, no complaints whatsoever from me and Becky was a nice addition, hilarious to those who know the wonders of online fandom. I just don't want to see too much of her, in fact, I'll be happy if we never see her again. Meg was, meh, better than newRuby but in no way a scratch on Nicki Aycox. I'm not complaining though, no, not at all, just meh...
On plot: Now this was rather more shaky.
Most of my issues have to do with the gimmicky plot excuses. How did the boys escape? How did Castiel survive? God did it. Where's the Michael sword? What do we do next? Let's go ask Chuck. Now come on, both of those are just totally cheating on the writing side of things. I will say no more so far, but if this carries on throughout the season I will not be impressed.
Though, I think the biggest cop-out I have issue with is Sam's "it's like whoever put me on that plane, cleaned me right up." So this demon blood thing was such a big deal in the wrap up to last season and now its explained away!?!??!?!?! Come on!!!! Yet, again, I will hold my breath for the next few episodes . And Bobby being jumped by demon smoke, Bobby, of all people? DItto to the above, hopefully patience will be rewarded.
My final iffy is this whole michael sword thing. Dean is the vessel? Oh, good grief. This has grace-like potential. Kripke, Gamble and co, please tread carefully.
Now that I've got the bad out of my system: THE ENDING WAS AWESOME. SHOT, ERIC! Of all the angsty brotherly endings we've had across the show, I found this one to be the most necessary, the most needed, the most just. Even if it broke the hearts of both the audience and the Winchester's alike, it had to happen for the boys to move forth into whatever new ground their relationship, or lack of, will cover.
In all, the tone of the whole episode was just plain awesome. Like, excitingly awesome. Alien and unknown, a new frontier. They managed to show the same world just with what I felt was very effective differences to it, slight and concerning. I don't really know what I rate the eppy in total as of yet, all I do know is that I left the episode positive. What more can you ask for. Positive and excited for the future. Congrats team, mission accomplished. Harvelles next week! Yay!
Ahem
Okay. I think I loved it. I think. Nearly three viewings and a night to think on it means I'm on my way to forming a coherent opinion.
On character: Well, for the first time in nearly a season, I enjoyed every portrayal.
Jensen, naturally, delivered but I have this funny feeling I am going to ADORE season five Dean. He seems together this season. I mean, S1 he was not fully fleshed out as a character. S2 they threw John's death on him, the poor boy. S3 he had on this game face that both the audience and Sam saw straight through but was nonetheless a mask of indifference. Of course, S4 he had PTSD and we felt for him and he was awesomely brave, yada, yada, yada.....but throughout our four seasons Dean has never been the Dean that he had in him all along. It seems this season he is Dean Winchester, no pretense, for the first time, well, probably even pre-series as well. He looks like he's ready to step up. He doesn't think they had a chance in winning but he's going to fight, not for Sam, not for Dad, not for the angels but because he himself believes its the right thing to do. Oh Dean my boy, of all things, is growing a pair! Because he can, because he should, not because he has been told to by some other entity that has a hold over him.
And then we turn to Sammy. Yes, I say Sammy because he is Sammy again! Yays! Jared has grown so much over the course of Supernatural, not just physically, but as an actor. He wasn't great to begin with, admittedly, and although I personally think he is in no way anywhere near Jensen's league (sorry) he has grown very nicely. I think when it comes down to it I do not like evil!Sam simply because Jared is not very good at it. And, yes, I feel guilty at admitting that, but its the truth. He is amazing at comedy, can kill the puppy dog eyes, but he just doesn't have the capacity for really digging into that other side. Screwed up facial expressions does not equal evil. Many will disagree with this, but basically, watev, I speak what I think. But hey, I loved the Sam of 5.01. Stronger, wiser, guiltier, yet he is in no way sinking into a daze, unable to comprehend what he has done like I feared. A cross between s1 Sam of rookie/little brother status and s3 desperate/independent Sam. He hit every note this week. I prefer the small, subtle reactions from Jared rather than the big blowouts and he delivered in spades this week.
Bobby, oh, Bobby. I knew it wasn't you the moment you shut down Sam. And then you stabbed yourself rather than kill Dean, breaking free of that demon, oh Bobby. And apparently he's now stuck in a wheelchair because of it. For good. Aha. Such a totally out of the blue thing but it has so much potential story wise. It just adds another layer to what Bobby brings to the show.
Castiel is badass. FINALLY! It was like, dude, I'm a rebel now, don't mess with me. Oh, and I have a big angel killing knife, yes, I know, I'm awesome, I'm badass, leave those boys alone! Castiel has always been intriguing, but now he is proactive and intriguing. Me likey.
Chuck and Zac were their usual selves, no complaints whatsoever from me and Becky was a nice addition, hilarious to those who know the wonders of online fandom. I just don't want to see too much of her, in fact, I'll be happy if we never see her again. Meg was, meh, better than newRuby but in no way a scratch on Nicki Aycox. I'm not complaining though, no, not at all, just meh...
On plot: Now this was rather more shaky.
Most of my issues have to do with the gimmicky plot excuses. How did the boys escape? How did Castiel survive? God did it. Where's the Michael sword? What do we do next? Let's go ask Chuck. Now come on, both of those are just totally cheating on the writing side of things. I will say no more so far, but if this carries on throughout the season I will not be impressed.
Though, I think the biggest cop-out I have issue with is Sam's "it's like whoever put me on that plane, cleaned me right up." So this demon blood thing was such a big deal in the wrap up to last season and now its explained away!?!??!?!?! Come on!!!! Yet, again, I will hold my breath for the next few episodes . And Bobby being jumped by demon smoke, Bobby, of all people? DItto to the above, hopefully patience will be rewarded.
My final iffy is this whole michael sword thing. Dean is the vessel? Oh, good grief. This has grace-like potential. Kripke, Gamble and co, please tread carefully.
Now that I've got the bad out of my system: THE ENDING WAS AWESOME. SHOT, ERIC! Of all the angsty brotherly endings we've had across the show, I found this one to be the most necessary, the most needed, the most just. Even if it broke the hearts of both the audience and the Winchester's alike, it had to happen for the boys to move forth into whatever new ground their relationship, or lack of, will cover.
In all, the tone of the whole episode was just plain awesome. Like, excitingly awesome. Alien and unknown, a new frontier. They managed to show the same world just with what I felt was very effective differences to it, slight and concerning. I don't really know what I rate the eppy in total as of yet, all I do know is that I left the episode positive. What more can you ask for. Positive and excited for the future. Congrats team, mission accomplished. Harvelles next week! Yay!