.511 -- Supernatural 4.01 and 4.02.
A little late, but my lack of laptop is making it a little hard to watch my shows the day after they've aired (being British means I have to download them or wait possibly months to see them). Anyway:
I watched the first episode with something akin to glee. There were numerous outbursts of squeeage going on, so many, in fact, that my mother actually came a-knockin' on my bedroom door to ask if I was having a fit. I explained that I was watching Supernatural and The Ackles and that seemed to suffice. She left with a roll of her eyes and never returned.
Lazarus Rising was better than I had expected it to be. Referring back to my post regarding the season three finale, in which I emphasised that Dean needed to go to Hell and return with memories of his time there, I was happy enough that they chose not to linger on Dean's time in Hell and instead hinted at future flashbacks that will (hopefully) sufficiently convey the depths of his agonising, four-month stay there. I was even willing to let it go that they didn't immediately have Dean remembering his time there (or is Dean bluffing?) because some indication has been made that Dean (and we) will eventually be privy to those buried memories at some point, or at several points, during the season.
So yes, I squee'd when my boy clawed his way back to the living. From that first simple, tense scene I knew it was going to be a good episode. And it was. It had every single element that I love about this show -- tension, action, humour, suspense and mystery. It was well-paced and well-acted, with the right mix of bittersweet and lightheartedness.
There were several scenes that were beautifully handled. Dean's resurrection and his reunion with Bobby (the fighting and the hugging and the water, and it was just Dean and Bobby the way that I love them). Dean and Sam's first glimpse of each other, the echo of Dean and Bobby's reunion, marking them all as family, but more intense, marking the brothers as something more. The scene in the diner when they both understand completely that whatever is happening is bigger than them and bigger than the demons. Dean back to his usual snarky, horndog ways when the seer suggests a threeway. And, of course, Dean's first meeting with Castiel, angry, scared, frustrated, disbelieving and self-deprecating.
I was expecting to groan in dismay when Kripke finally decided to open the religious floodgates. I wondered to myself why I, and probably a lot of people, were willing to accept talk of Evil, Hell and even Lucifer, but were wary of the show venturing too far in its exploration of their counterparts, Good, Heaven and God. Is it just the religious connotations alone? I don't know. I do know that I wasn't immediately put-off by Castiel's appearance, nor by his talk of God and Dean being chosen.
Echoing musesfool's sentiments, I don't think Dean was meant to be Chosen, merely chosen. He isn't special. He is much like Buffy in some respects. While she is Chosen, she is only one in a long line of many. Despite her supernatural strength and skills, she is expendable. She isn't born a heroine, but crafted into one by her own choice to fight the good fight. She is not controlled by destiny or fate (save the prophecy of season one) and she chooses, to a certain extent, to continue fighting. I don't draw these parallels to suggest that Dean is Buffy, because that's not the case. Buffy has an advantage over mortals that make her, maybe not unique to the Slayer legend, but unique to the human one. Buffy is special and Special. She is meant to fight because she was born a fighter. Dean, on the other hand, was not, and yet he still chooses to fight. He is special because of this, but he is not Special. He represents the exception to the ordinary, those few that embody humanity when that humanity is threatened by something bigger than itself.
So yes, I have no problems with Dean being chosen. I will continue to have no problems with it unless it leads to Dean inheriting heavenly powers or being granted quick-fix wishes that allow the characters to cheat their way out of dark situations. After all, we already have Sam. He is Chosen, with his blood-born powers and his apparent immunity to supernatural death. Though this doesn't necessarily allow them to cheat, per se, I think making both of the brothers some kind of supernatural conduit would be a little too much. For me, anyway. Sam as Chosen and Dean as chosen works for me right now, especially with the former being tied to darker connotations, such as the Anti-Christ and Lucifer, and the latter to more heavenly connotations. I think it will make for an interesting study of contrast between the ordinary and the extraordinary.
As for Hey, God..., I found it entertaining enough, though not as well-paced as the first episode. I liked that the show finally addressed the issue of humans as collatoral damage in the war that the brothers and others are fighting in. I wasn't all that clear on whether the ghosts were genuinely angry/tormented/bitter at Dean, Sam, Bobby and the other victims, or whether something else, some other being or force, was speaking/killing for them. Meg I could believe as an angry young girl who was ignored continuously, who was literally treated as cannon fodder, and who wanted revenge for her sister. I believed it more because we never knew Meg as a human. We never knew what kind of person she was or where she came from. Henrikson and and Ron, on the other hand... I didn't quite believe them. Henrikson knew the boys were fighting the good fight and he understood that there were casualties involved (their case file and their arrest regarding multiple murders is evidence of this), so I don't think he would be have been that angry. Maybe at Lillth, at the supernatural community as a whole, but not with the same people who he knew were fighting against that community to prevent deaths like his. And I don't think Ron would be that bitter, either, which suggests to me that these weren't necessarily the actual spirits of the victims, or if they were, that they were influenced by other forces to maim and kill those that they were haunting.
What I did like about this episode was the fact that the boys were back on form. The premiere didn't really give us a lot of Dean-and-Sam-kick-ass-together moments, and that's not a complaint. It was just nice to see them side-by-side again, with Bobby falling neatly into his role as father figure, friend and hunter, and paving the way for the much-adored Bobby/Dean scenes. I love when Dean learns something new about Bobby, or when Bobby tells him something he doesn't want to hear or something he needs to hear, and Dean doesn't like it, or secretly likes it, and it makes for good rapport. I like that Dean sees Bobby as a father figure, but doesn't have that same intense desperation in his face that he used to have whenever he spoke to or about John. I like that Dean thinks Bobby is awesome and just a little bit cool, and I think Dean really wouldn't mind if he grew up to be just like Bobby. Because we all know Dean will never give up hunting, not really, not until he's either dead or dying.
The best scene of episode was, of course, the scene between Dean and Castiel. I'm really liking Castiel, mostly because I think the show could really benefit from another alpha male who doesn't end up having to defer to Dean or Sam because of their unlimited knowledge of the supernatural. Castiel so kicks Dean's ass in that sense. I just wish they could give some of the female characters in the show the same kind of edge without making it sexual, seductive or deadly. Here's to hoping.
A little part of me thought oh no as soon as they mentioned the Apocalypse and Lucifer. I know it was referred to briefly in season three and I knew it was coming eventually, but I think part of me really worries about the prospect of personifying Lucifer, and about making Dean and Sam The Only Ones Who Can Save The World. There were echoes of that in season two, but the twist in the tale was that they didn't succeed. The doorway to Hell was opened, however briefly, and there were consequences. But with the concept of the Apocalypse coming into play, there is no room for failure, unless Kripke is brave enough to follow the characters into a Post-Apocalyptic world.
Then again, I think this is why I like this show. I honestly couldn't predict where the boys are going to end up a year from now, five years from now, a decade from now. Maybe this particular mytharch will be quite predictable, as it often is, but as long as they make it fun and interesting and tense and shocking, I don't think I'll mind.
I'm really looking forward to this season. I just hope that Kripke doesn't lose track of himself like he did in season three. There are still questions to be answered from the previous season, such as Mary's past and her link to the Yellow-Eyed Demon. They need to be answered and at some point Dean and Sam are going to have to go back and explore their roots. That particularly mystery needs to be handled with care, especially when Kripke has chosen such a predictable mytharc. I have high hopes, though. I'm just glad my boys are finally back.
I watched the first episode with something akin to glee. There were numerous outbursts of squeeage going on, so many, in fact, that my mother actually came a-knockin' on my bedroom door to ask if I was having a fit. I explained that I was watching Supernatural and The Ackles and that seemed to suffice. She left with a roll of her eyes and never returned.
Lazarus Rising was better than I had expected it to be. Referring back to my post regarding the season three finale, in which I emphasised that Dean needed to go to Hell and return with memories of his time there, I was happy enough that they chose not to linger on Dean's time in Hell and instead hinted at future flashbacks that will (hopefully) sufficiently convey the depths of his agonising, four-month stay there. I was even willing to let it go that they didn't immediately have Dean remembering his time there (or is Dean bluffing?) because some indication has been made that Dean (and we) will eventually be privy to those buried memories at some point, or at several points, during the season.
So yes, I squee'd when my boy clawed his way back to the living. From that first simple, tense scene I knew it was going to be a good episode. And it was. It had every single element that I love about this show -- tension, action, humour, suspense and mystery. It was well-paced and well-acted, with the right mix of bittersweet and lightheartedness.
There were several scenes that were beautifully handled. Dean's resurrection and his reunion with Bobby (the fighting and the hugging and the water, and it was just Dean and Bobby the way that I love them). Dean and Sam's first glimpse of each other, the echo of Dean and Bobby's reunion, marking them all as family, but more intense, marking the brothers as something more. The scene in the diner when they both understand completely that whatever is happening is bigger than them and bigger than the demons. Dean back to his usual snarky, horndog ways when the seer suggests a threeway. And, of course, Dean's first meeting with Castiel, angry, scared, frustrated, disbelieving and self-deprecating.
I was expecting to groan in dismay when Kripke finally decided to open the religious floodgates. I wondered to myself why I, and probably a lot of people, were willing to accept talk of Evil, Hell and even Lucifer, but were wary of the show venturing too far in its exploration of their counterparts, Good, Heaven and God. Is it just the religious connotations alone? I don't know. I do know that I wasn't immediately put-off by Castiel's appearance, nor by his talk of God and Dean being chosen.
Echoing musesfool's sentiments, I don't think Dean was meant to be Chosen, merely chosen. He isn't special. He is much like Buffy in some respects. While she is Chosen, she is only one in a long line of many. Despite her supernatural strength and skills, she is expendable. She isn't born a heroine, but crafted into one by her own choice to fight the good fight. She is not controlled by destiny or fate (save the prophecy of season one) and she chooses, to a certain extent, to continue fighting. I don't draw these parallels to suggest that Dean is Buffy, because that's not the case. Buffy has an advantage over mortals that make her, maybe not unique to the Slayer legend, but unique to the human one. Buffy is special and Special. She is meant to fight because she was born a fighter. Dean, on the other hand, was not, and yet he still chooses to fight. He is special because of this, but he is not Special. He represents the exception to the ordinary, those few that embody humanity when that humanity is threatened by something bigger than itself.
So yes, I have no problems with Dean being chosen. I will continue to have no problems with it unless it leads to Dean inheriting heavenly powers or being granted quick-fix wishes that allow the characters to cheat their way out of dark situations. After all, we already have Sam. He is Chosen, with his blood-born powers and his apparent immunity to supernatural death. Though this doesn't necessarily allow them to cheat, per se, I think making both of the brothers some kind of supernatural conduit would be a little too much. For me, anyway. Sam as Chosen and Dean as chosen works for me right now, especially with the former being tied to darker connotations, such as the Anti-Christ and Lucifer, and the latter to more heavenly connotations. I think it will make for an interesting study of contrast between the ordinary and the extraordinary.
As for Hey, God..., I found it entertaining enough, though not as well-paced as the first episode. I liked that the show finally addressed the issue of humans as collatoral damage in the war that the brothers and others are fighting in. I wasn't all that clear on whether the ghosts were genuinely angry/tormented/bitter at Dean, Sam, Bobby and the other victims, or whether something else, some other being or force, was speaking/killing for them. Meg I could believe as an angry young girl who was ignored continuously, who was literally treated as cannon fodder, and who wanted revenge for her sister. I believed it more because we never knew Meg as a human. We never knew what kind of person she was or where she came from. Henrikson and and Ron, on the other hand... I didn't quite believe them. Henrikson knew the boys were fighting the good fight and he understood that there were casualties involved (their case file and their arrest regarding multiple murders is evidence of this), so I don't think he would be have been that angry. Maybe at Lillth, at the supernatural community as a whole, but not with the same people who he knew were fighting against that community to prevent deaths like his. And I don't think Ron would be that bitter, either, which suggests to me that these weren't necessarily the actual spirits of the victims, or if they were, that they were influenced by other forces to maim and kill those that they were haunting.
What I did like about this episode was the fact that the boys were back on form. The premiere didn't really give us a lot of Dean-and-Sam-kick-ass-together moments, and that's not a complaint. It was just nice to see them side-by-side again, with Bobby falling neatly into his role as father figure, friend and hunter, and paving the way for the much-adored Bobby/Dean scenes. I love when Dean learns something new about Bobby, or when Bobby tells him something he doesn't want to hear or something he needs to hear, and Dean doesn't like it, or secretly likes it, and it makes for good rapport. I like that Dean sees Bobby as a father figure, but doesn't have that same intense desperation in his face that he used to have whenever he spoke to or about John. I like that Dean thinks Bobby is awesome and just a little bit cool, and I think Dean really wouldn't mind if he grew up to be just like Bobby. Because we all know Dean will never give up hunting, not really, not until he's either dead or dying.
The best scene of episode was, of course, the scene between Dean and Castiel. I'm really liking Castiel, mostly because I think the show could really benefit from another alpha male who doesn't end up having to defer to Dean or Sam because of their unlimited knowledge of the supernatural. Castiel so kicks Dean's ass in that sense. I just wish they could give some of the female characters in the show the same kind of edge without making it sexual, seductive or deadly. Here's to hoping.
A little part of me thought oh no as soon as they mentioned the Apocalypse and Lucifer. I know it was referred to briefly in season three and I knew it was coming eventually, but I think part of me really worries about the prospect of personifying Lucifer, and about making Dean and Sam The Only Ones Who Can Save The World. There were echoes of that in season two, but the twist in the tale was that they didn't succeed. The doorway to Hell was opened, however briefly, and there were consequences. But with the concept of the Apocalypse coming into play, there is no room for failure, unless Kripke is brave enough to follow the characters into a Post-Apocalyptic world.
Then again, I think this is why I like this show. I honestly couldn't predict where the boys are going to end up a year from now, five years from now, a decade from now. Maybe this particular mytharch will be quite predictable, as it often is, but as long as they make it fun and interesting and tense and shocking, I don't think I'll mind.
I'm really looking forward to this season. I just hope that Kripke doesn't lose track of himself like he did in season three. There are still questions to be answered from the previous season, such as Mary's past and her link to the Yellow-Eyed Demon. They need to be answered and at some point Dean and Sam are going to have to go back and explore their roots. That particularly mystery needs to be handled with care, especially when Kripke has chosen such a predictable mytharc. I have high hopes, though. I'm just glad my boys are finally back.