Reaction: Supernatural 4.01 - Spoiler Timeline
*mutters about work, ISP's and family nonsense*
Seperate post for the first ep of the season because it's a tad huge. These things happen with an entire hiatus for Spoilers to accumulate. :-P
Contains spoilers for episode 4.01 only, and no reference or reaction to the CW Promo. Please do not post spoilers or rumors for any episode not yet aired in North America, that includes any references to Promos or Ads for future episodes.
Spoiler Timeline for Supernatural 4.01.
Mostly from me not being sufficiently vigilant and not often from people leaving stuff outside a cut, so thank you all for being wonderfully considerate of us spoilerphobe loonies! \o/
-May 21st: Yes, 6 days after the finale. *sigh* See the entire freaking fandom exploding with angst and woe over an interview from Kripke. I see no actual spoilers, but gather enough from reactions that the interview is not sunshine and puppies.
Guess from the fervor and tone of the assorted reactions, based on who's reacting how to what that a) Bela's coming back as a demon (not likely, but the level of baying for blood evident in fandom brought it to mind) or Ruby's coming back (which I also don't think likely because 'far, far away, *cr-crick*' and all) Or b) Dean will not be coming back from Hell immediately in the season 4 premiere. I'm guessing probably not for several episodes. I kind of suspect that would be the case anyway from watching the finale. And/or c) In the process of trying to keep Dean's corpse fresh, Sam will get it possessed, and since trusting any other demon would be even stupider, and even though she's, again, 'far, far away, *cr-crick*' probably by Ruby. Which was an idea I'd already been playing with since May 17th [and eventually posted my spec about in the general Season 4 spec I posted in mid-July.]
-July 17th: SPOILERGGEDON! CW airs spoilers in crawl during repeat of Maleus Maleficarum... but I escaped! Bwahahaha! Thank you so very much to ficwriter1966 for emailing me! *smishes* \o/
-July 30th: Clicked on the link to the original spoilery article instead of the kindly unspoilered article. Oops. *facepalm* Dean DOES come back in the first episode. Hee, we scareded Kripke, we did, we did! Okay, anyway that throws my theoretical timeline out the window... or does it? What if they start with Dean coming back to life or whatever, some months later, and then have Sam and/or Bobby and anyone else stonewall him about how they got him back, with little hints developing through the season... hmm.... That could really truly rock. With Sam trying to be Sam as usual, and little slips here and there, and Dean freaking out quietly trying to find out if Sam's gone ahead and started Ragnarok to get him out of Hell, and little clues can come out over time... ooo! *glee*
-Sometime in August: Somewhere. Title and blurb. "Lazarus Rising" and Dean's going to be coming back from Hell buried alive. ...Que? That raises a lot of questions, particularly since when do Bobby or Sam bury their dead friends and family, also, if Sam's bringing Dean back, some planning would indicate that having his corpse at the very least accessible would be handy. Unless he has no options because he's gone off all lone wolf to be the king of the demons and left Dean's body behind somewhere and someone else buries it while Sam implements whatever plan to bring him back... Could be Dean and Bobby looking for Sam in the first bits? Hm.
-Sometime late in August: An interview somewhere. Jared had the first four days of shooting off, Jensen was on full-time those days. So, Dean alone and searching, or Dean and Bobby, or some kind of scenes not involving Sam, and very Dean-centric. So Sam has gone off on his own and won't be there when Dean comes back. Ooo. Amnesia? Any bets? I mean what the hell, eh? It's a mighty trope that surfaces in more than just fanfic, and if however long in Hell isn't enough reason for a little memory loss, I don't know what is. Marking "Dean as a wandering amnesiac, maybe in the clutches of non-hunter Winchester society in some way" as a possibility. Would make a handy excuse to deliver exposition to new watchers as he gets his memory back, at least.
-Sept 12: Promo, the first couple segments of "This is what the end of the world is in my culture" before I figured out what it was. Also in my defense, I watch the multicultural and aboriginal networks a lot, so titirausiq nutaaq or naskh script suddenly appearing on screen skipped past my migraine-addled spoiler filters as "Hey, how did I get switched to channel 10/82?" So, anyway, Ragnarok. End of Days. Not exactly a spoiler, because that's been being foreshadowed with large bludgeons since the beginning, but there we go.
-Sept 13: While checking to confirm that no, there is no non-CW, non-cable option for viewing Supernatural open to me anymore (*kicks CityTV and CTV and also SUNTV for not having a BC station), part of the episode blurb snuck out around the side of a covering window. Dean's coming to in a pine box. *headdesk* Ah well, at least I already knew about the 'coming back immediately' bit. Watch out for splinters, Dean!
-Sept 16: IMDB. *facepalm* (Yes, I know. Spoiler central. I was trying to figure out roughly how long Jensen Ackles had been working on stuff filmed in Vancouver, and IMDB seemed like a good idea at the time, all right? I don't know what I was thinking.) Title of first episode (again, so no big) and a string of teeny little promo shots across the top of his page. Which I blocked as fast as I could and am trying to tell myself were probably mostly from "My Bloody Valentine 3D" but, uh, no.
From memory of a one second glance at them, so maybe way off: Sam and Dean in the Impala; upside-down red-lit face screaming (didn't look like Jensen, but it's his page, so...); Sam and Dean and a female character (who looked a bit like the girl from Hollywood Babylon, but it wasn't a shot from HB...?) appearing to be in a 'we are all on the same side' tableau; people in a circle around a big ritual-y flamey thing; Sam, Dean and Bobby holding unconscious new girl; new girl in profile gripping Dean's shoulder, I think there was something (maybe a new tattoo?) on his shoulder above her hand; Sam looking at Dean looking intense and broody; Sam and Dean in Impala again; Sam and Dean at diner. *sigh* My memory usually truly sucks. This time it was like an instantaneous burn into permanent storage. :-P
So. Let me tot up the possible spoilage on that last one here.
-Pictures of girl combined with a mention of a 'new' character combined with some observed reactions to spoilers... *sigh* We're getting another 'female regular' aren't we? Hopefully she'll be an actual character and not a cardboard cutout with 'love interest' or 'adversary' or "OMG MARY-SUE YAY!!1!" stickers slapped on it that will be damn near impossible for any actress to make tolerable to an already defensive fandom. Beyond that, I reserve judgment. She might be awesome, she might suck, she might be a great big honkin' "CW says we need a hot chick" character. I will wait and see. *is sanguine*
-Regarding the character herself, from my memory of the photos, I'd say she's a hunter or a practitioner of some kind of arcane art. If she's a variety of Wiccan/Pagan I REALLY hope they manage to undo some of the bad taste still lingering after "Malleus Maleficarum" and I don't mean the burger. :-P
-Tattoo or whatever. Hm... To keep things out, or to keep Dean in? Could be a 'binding lock' thingy, and Dean might have come back in demon-smoke format... though they won't be able to use the awesome plotline possibilities of that considering the budget *glares at Dawn Ostroff and "9021Oh my god I'm gonna hurl"* Also, if it is a new tattoo, take a good long look at that shoulder, because unless the make-up department has a dedicated budget section for temporary tattoos, it will not be out from under clothing without good reason for the majority of the rest of the tattoo's existence. However, on the up side, that means that Dean's probably not going to get shot/stabbed/pokered in that shoulder quite as much. Hypothetically. If it is a tattoo. One second glance at a thumbnail on IMDB, it could have been a frigging huge spider.
-Guessing Dean being amnesiac isn't going to happen, or at least not for long and not pervasively. Foo.
-Sam and Dean are back in proximity to each other, and Bobby is still there helping them, YAY!!
-Dean's going to do some brooding, (possibly about inarguably now being 'one of the things they hunt', probably about Sam ending the world sacrificing himself to save Dean in fine Winchester family tradition). Sam's going to do some worrying (about Dean, and about Dean finding out what he's had to do to save him). *glee*
-There will be driving in the Impala and discussions in diners, and Bobby will be there to smack sense into them when they need it, and all will be right with the Winchester world, right? Right?? *twitch*
So, that about sums it up for the spoiler timeline, next one won't be quite as huge because there's only, um... 800 words of spoilers being carried forward but some should be expired as I think they got killed by the strike last season. Anyway, there's only a week between now and 4.02, not months and months, so the chances of another 1600 words of solid spoilage accumulating in that time is... not likely *knocks wood*
Incidentally, in case anyone is wondering, yes, I still have the spoiler screen in place and ready to engage at a moment's notice. And yes, I'm crazy.
( Episode Reaction Here)
Seperate post for the first ep of the season because it's a tad huge. These things happen with an entire hiatus for Spoilers to accumulate. :-P
Contains spoilers for episode 4.01 only, and no reference or reaction to the CW Promo. Please do not post spoilers or rumors for any episode not yet aired in North America, that includes any references to Promos or Ads for future episodes.
Spoiler Timeline for Supernatural 4.01.
Mostly from me not being sufficiently vigilant and not often from people leaving stuff outside a cut, so thank you all for being wonderfully considerate of us spoilerphobe loonies! \o/
-May 21st: Yes, 6 days after the finale. *sigh* See the entire freaking fandom exploding with angst and woe over an interview from Kripke. I see no actual spoilers, but gather enough from reactions that the interview is not sunshine and puppies.
Guess from the fervor and tone of the assorted reactions, based on who's reacting how to what that a) Bela's coming back as a demon (not likely, but the level of baying for blood evident in fandom brought it to mind) or Ruby's coming back (which I also don't think likely because 'far, far away, *cr-crick*' and all) Or b) Dean will not be coming back from Hell immediately in the season 4 premiere. I'm guessing probably not for several episodes. I kind of suspect that would be the case anyway from watching the finale. And/or c) In the process of trying to keep Dean's corpse fresh, Sam will get it possessed, and since trusting any other demon would be even stupider, and even though she's, again, 'far, far away, *cr-crick*' probably by Ruby. Which was an idea I'd already been playing with since May 17th [and eventually posted my spec about in the general Season 4 spec I posted in mid-July.]
-July 17th: SPOILERGGEDON! CW airs spoilers in crawl during repeat of Maleus Maleficarum... but I escaped! Bwahahaha! Thank you so very much to ficwriter1966 for emailing me! *smishes* \o/
-July 30th: Clicked on the link to the original spoilery article instead of the kindly unspoilered article. Oops. *facepalm* Dean DOES come back in the first episode. Hee, we scareded Kripke, we did, we did! Okay, anyway that throws my theoretical timeline out the window... or does it? What if they start with Dean coming back to life or whatever, some months later, and then have Sam and/or Bobby and anyone else stonewall him about how they got him back, with little hints developing through the season... hmm.... That could really truly rock. With Sam trying to be Sam as usual, and little slips here and there, and Dean freaking out quietly trying to find out if Sam's gone ahead and started Ragnarok to get him out of Hell, and little clues can come out over time... ooo! *glee*
-Sometime in August: Somewhere. Title and blurb. "Lazarus Rising" and Dean's going to be coming back from Hell buried alive. ...Que? That raises a lot of questions, particularly since when do Bobby or Sam bury their dead friends and family, also, if Sam's bringing Dean back, some planning would indicate that having his corpse at the very least accessible would be handy. Unless he has no options because he's gone off all lone wolf to be the king of the demons and left Dean's body behind somewhere and someone else buries it while Sam implements whatever plan to bring him back... Could be Dean and Bobby looking for Sam in the first bits? Hm.
-Sometime late in August: An interview somewhere. Jared had the first four days of shooting off, Jensen was on full-time those days. So, Dean alone and searching, or Dean and Bobby, or some kind of scenes not involving Sam, and very Dean-centric. So Sam has gone off on his own and won't be there when Dean comes back. Ooo. Amnesia? Any bets? I mean what the hell, eh? It's a mighty trope that surfaces in more than just fanfic, and if however long in Hell isn't enough reason for a little memory loss, I don't know what is. Marking "Dean as a wandering amnesiac, maybe in the clutches of non-hunter Winchester society in some way" as a possibility. Would make a handy excuse to deliver exposition to new watchers as he gets his memory back, at least.
-Sept 12: Promo, the first couple segments of "This is what the end of the world is in my culture" before I figured out what it was. Also in my defense, I watch the multicultural and aboriginal networks a lot, so titirausiq nutaaq or naskh script suddenly appearing on screen skipped past my migraine-addled spoiler filters as "Hey, how did I get switched to channel 10/82?" So, anyway, Ragnarok. End of Days. Not exactly a spoiler, because that's been being foreshadowed with large bludgeons since the beginning, but there we go.
-Sept 13: While checking to confirm that no, there is no non-CW, non-cable option for viewing Supernatural open to me anymore (*kicks CityTV and CTV and also SUNTV for not having a BC station), part of the episode blurb snuck out around the side of a covering window. Dean's coming to in a pine box. *headdesk* Ah well, at least I already knew about the 'coming back immediately' bit. Watch out for splinters, Dean!
-Sept 16: IMDB. *facepalm* (Yes, I know. Spoiler central. I was trying to figure out roughly how long Jensen Ackles had been working on stuff filmed in Vancouver, and IMDB seemed like a good idea at the time, all right? I don't know what I was thinking.) Title of first episode (again, so no big) and a string of teeny little promo shots across the top of his page. Which I blocked as fast as I could and am trying to tell myself were probably mostly from "My Bloody Valentine 3D" but, uh, no.
From memory of a one second glance at them, so maybe way off: Sam and Dean in the Impala; upside-down red-lit face screaming (didn't look like Jensen, but it's his page, so...); Sam and Dean and a female character (who looked a bit like the girl from Hollywood Babylon, but it wasn't a shot from HB...?) appearing to be in a 'we are all on the same side' tableau; people in a circle around a big ritual-y flamey thing; Sam, Dean and Bobby holding unconscious new girl; new girl in profile gripping Dean's shoulder, I think there was something (maybe a new tattoo?) on his shoulder above her hand; Sam looking at Dean looking intense and broody; Sam and Dean in Impala again; Sam and Dean at diner. *sigh* My memory usually truly sucks. This time it was like an instantaneous burn into permanent storage. :-P
So. Let me tot up the possible spoilage on that last one here.
-Pictures of girl combined with a mention of a 'new' character combined with some observed reactions to spoilers... *sigh* We're getting another 'female regular' aren't we? Hopefully she'll be an actual character and not a cardboard cutout with 'love interest' or 'adversary' or "OMG MARY-SUE YAY!!1!" stickers slapped on it that will be damn near impossible for any actress to make tolerable to an already defensive fandom. Beyond that, I reserve judgment. She might be awesome, she might suck, she might be a great big honkin' "CW says we need a hot chick" character. I will wait and see. *is sanguine*
-Regarding the character herself, from my memory of the photos, I'd say she's a hunter or a practitioner of some kind of arcane art. If she's a variety of Wiccan/Pagan I REALLY hope they manage to undo some of the bad taste still lingering after "Malleus Maleficarum" and I don't mean the burger. :-P
-Tattoo or whatever. Hm... To keep things out, or to keep Dean in? Could be a 'binding lock' thingy, and Dean might have come back in demon-smoke format... though they won't be able to use the awesome plotline possibilities of that considering the budget *glares at Dawn Ostroff and "9021Oh my god I'm gonna hurl"* Also, if it is a new tattoo, take a good long look at that shoulder, because unless the make-up department has a dedicated budget section for temporary tattoos, it will not be out from under clothing without good reason for the majority of the rest of the tattoo's existence. However, on the up side, that means that Dean's probably not going to get shot/stabbed/pokered in that shoulder quite as much. Hypothetically. If it is a tattoo. One second glance at a thumbnail on IMDB, it could have been a frigging huge spider.
-Guessing Dean being amnesiac isn't going to happen, or at least not for long and not pervasively. Foo.
-Sam and Dean are back in proximity to each other, and Bobby is still there helping them, YAY!!
-Dean's going to do some brooding, (possibly about inarguably now being 'one of the things they hunt', probably about Sam ending the world sacrificing himself to save Dean in fine Winchester family tradition). Sam's going to do some worrying (about Dean, and about Dean finding out what he's had to do to save him). *glee*
-There will be driving in the Impala and discussions in diners, and Bobby will be there to smack sense into them when they need it, and all will be right with the Winchester world, right? Right?? *twitch*
So, that about sums it up for the spoiler timeline, next one won't be quite as huge because there's only, um... 800 words of spoilers being carried forward but some should be expired as I think they got killed by the strike last season. Anyway, there's only a week between now and 4.02, not months and months, so the chances of another 1600 words of solid spoilage accumulating in that time is... not likely *knocks wood*
Incidentally, in case anyone is wondering, yes, I still have the spoiler screen in place and ready to engage at a moment's notice. And yes, I'm crazy.
( Episode Reaction Here)