Reaction to 12x1, "Keep Calm and Carry On"
So first off, just have to say that I'm so glad Show is back on Thursdays. It feels like it's come home :) But can you believe that our Little Show That Could just started its TWELFTH SEASON?! Insane. I have to admit that the utter excitement I used to feel for the premiere has dwindled (since, y'know, the show has been on for 12 freaking years!), but the joy and curiosity about where the road will take us next still remains. Last night's ep was a great start to what I'm hoping will be a return to a show focused on characters instead of one that whips around wherever the Plot takes it, like it did last year with Amara. And I liked Amara, and Chuck, and even Lucifer coming back, but it was such a literally BIG storyline that the character development got lost. We never did get an explanation for why Dean was so compelled by/with Amara, for example, and the fact that it kept getting brought up but never, ever explained was so annoying! That's why I'm glad this season seems to be getting back to basics--the Family Business as much as family itself. We need a break from all the Universal Consequences stuff. Of course it's only the first ep, so who knows what the whole season will be like, but so far, we're off to a good start, IMO :)
Mary's return was just as wonderful as I'd hoped. I love Samantha Smith, and seeing her Mary interact with Jensen's Dean was as haunting as it was touching. Funny, too, in parts thanks to Dean being scarred for life after realizing Baby's backseat saw a lot of action before his time. His face was priceless >:-D And I love that they brought up Mary not wanting the hunting life for her boys, and then Dean, melting this fangirl's heart by saying "saving people, hunting things," letting her know that they've saved a lot of people and are doing some good in the world. (Though why he didn't tell her about John's connection to the MOLs confounds me. They would have still been in the hunting world even if Mary had never died, just as MOLs instead of hunters like the Campbell's. Meh. Maybe they'll bring it up in a later ep.) Also love that we got both caring!Dean and smart!Dean. Like I wrote on Twitter last night, if only we'd gotten badass!Dean, we could have had a hat trick!Dean :) Ah well. Also also loved Mary and Cas doing some bonding about being outsiders in this modern world. "It's a computer. I don't trust them." Hee :) Ooh, and Castiel's big hug for Dean when he saw him alive! That was sweet. Lots of good moments with Dean, Mary, and Castiel last night. I can't wait for Mary to reunite with Sam. And speaking of Sam...man, it's not his fault at all, but all the Sam stuff really dragged down the ep (although I loved the "Screw. You." That was awesome). New paragraph!
Now I get that this is the twelfth season, so there isn't a whole lot that they can do to the boys that we haven't already seen. And that's just the problem: how many times have we seen the Winchesters tortured? At least the writer acknowledged this with Sam's awesome line about having been "tortured by the devil himself." Well the LoLs did some bad stuff, sure, but though I felt awful for Sam (his poor feet!), honestly I was just more irritated with the old Torture Sam trope. Plus the LoLs did not instill ANY sort of awe in me, not their methods (magic brass knuckles? Really?), and certainly not their motives. So glad Sam called them on not being around when the world was ending. I hope they don't stick around the entire season. I especially hope that the lead LoL doesn't end up as a Sam love interest. Please, just no.
So what did you think of the ep?