SPN season six: thoughts and stuff
Upfronts were today, and the CW has released the "official" show description for Supernatural's season 6. All I can say outside of the cut is, I'm pleased. Very pleased. I will put the description under a cut, and with it, a few thoughts about why I'm pleased.
First, the description, for the few of you who might not have seen it yet:
Returning for its sixth season, this haunting series follows Sam and Dean Winchester, two brothers bound by tragedy and blood to their dangerous, other-worldly mission. This past season, Dean and Sam faced their toughest foe yet: the Devil himself. As the Apocalypse raged on around them, the brothers, aided only by a dwindling band of fellow hunters and rebel angel Castiel, sought a way to stop Lucifer and save the planet. Ultimately, they discovered a way to force Lucifer back into Hell and end the Apocalypse - but at tremendous cost: Sam's life. Season six will be a season of mystery and shadow. Heaven and Hell have been left in complete disarray since the apocalyptic events of season five. And now, monsters, angels and demons roam across a lawless and chaotic landscape. And so Dean Winchester, who has retired from hunting and sworn never to return, finds himself being pulled back into his old life - pulled back by none other than Sam Winchester, who has escaped from Hell. The two reunite to beat back the rising tide of creatures and demon-spawn, but they quickly realize that neither are who they used to be, their relationship isn't what it used to be, and that nothing is what it seems. The series stars Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester, Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester and Misha Collins as Castiel. SUPERNATURAL is from Warner Bros. Television in association with Wonderland Sound and Vision, with executive producers McG ("Nikita," "Charlie's Angels," "The O.C."), Eric Kripke ("Boogeyman"), Robert Singer ("Midnight Caller"), Sera Gamble, Ben Edlund and Phil Sgriccia.
From where I'm sitting, this concept is a 100% reset. Just as Dean went to get Sam in the pilot and pulled him back into the life because Dean needed him, because they had work to do, and because he didn't want to do it alone, so now Sam goes to get Dean and pulls him back into the life. Just as Sam once had to adjust to getting to know Dean as an adult (and free of all his authority-rebellion baggage) and Dean had to adjust to Sam being a grown man who was not the same kid Dean basically raised, now they have to adjust to this new set of circumstances, with Sam having proved himself trustworthy and redeemed himself, and Dean having grown up. This pleases me beyond all things.
For the sake of argument, let's just say that there is a time jump of some sort, a few weeks, a few months, whatever. (In which case, Sam needs a smack in the head for letting Dean drown in his grief during that time, but I digress.) Dean has gotten a job, is working regular hours, and is putting in time with Lisa and Ben, and maybe even has some local friends -- because he's keeping his promise to Sam to live a normal life. This is, in fact, EXACTLY where we found ourselves at the start of season one -- but with *Sam*, not Dean. I'm really confused by the posts by people who say Dean could never live this kind of existence, because really, Dean has never wanted much else. Each of them has *always* craved a normal life, though at different times, and for different reasons.
Sam had a small taste of normalcy at Stanford, and then it disintegrated in his face, and he had nowhere to go but back to Dean, back to his family and hunting and life on the road. All through season one, he continued to insist he would leave the road, leave Dean, go back to normal -- he didn't want it "how it used to be". But by season 2, because of John's death, and Sam's need for revenge, he was in it for good, drawn so deeply back into the life that even when Dean wanted to quit in season 2 (Croatoan), Sam continued to draw him back in. So really, the reversal has been going on ever since Dean returned from the dead the first time, and has only deepened with time.
Meanwhile, despite Dean's protests against picket fences and so forth, just think back to What Is And What Should Never Be, where Dean wallowed in having family and Sam having Jessica and mowing a lawn and having a sandwich and drinking a beer with his feet up on the coffee table. Dean wants the family life he vaguely remembers from his childhood, and he has idealized it to an an unhealthy degree, but that doesn't mean his desire for normalcy and for a rest from the road (as he's been saying for three years, essentially) isn't true to his character. This is the same Dean, essentially, who went to Lisa and Ben. This is the Dean Sam understands better than Dean seems to understand himself, at this moment.
And please recall at the end of that episode, Dean sacrificed it all because it wasn't real -- because there was a chance of getting home to Sam, and to a much grimmer, darker, less wonderful reality, but a reality that contained his dysfunctional, bitchface-prone, demon-powered, codependent, *real* brother. I think that this is pretty telling in a number of ways.
So, the thing I was most afraid of -- that there couldn't be a complete reboot that would make sense - was unfounded. This is, in essence, a parallel of the pilot, where Sam goes to get Dean, and Dean must make a choice. I have all sorts of other issues related to what Dean might choose. I hate the idea that he would have bonded with Ben and might damage a relationship with his kid (because I'm sorry, I do think Ben is his) because of a sense of obligation or duty to the family business, or to finishing up the post-apocalyptic business. I feel less conflicted about Lisa, because as I said to someone earlier today, she is a grown woman, and Dean is a known quantity; she will be fine, regardless. But I want Dean to have learned something, and for his growth to be true growth, and that would not manifest in running off with Sam.
I've read numerous codas and posts postulating that by the time Sam goes to get Dean, Dean and Lisa could have tried and failed to make a relationship work, or may not have tried at all, but either way Dean's attachment to Ben is what makes him keep his promise. I can buy that easily. I can buy him still in a relationship with Lisa, too, and feeling that he must go, but coming back every so often, for Ben. All of these work for me.
However, I will break the TV if Lisa or Ben is hurt. Full stop.
To sum up: Castiel as a regular, YAY!!! Sam and Dean, saving people, hunting things, OMG YAY!!! And a season of brothers learning to be brothers again, just exactly as they had to in season one, and navigating the changing waters of their relationship: seriously, what is there not to be excited about, there? I can't think of a thing. Plus, we still don't know how Sam "escaped" hell, and what role Castiel will play in all this. There's so much potential!
Show! Come back to me! I'm waiting! :D
First, the description, for the few of you who might not have seen it yet:
Returning for its sixth season, this haunting series follows Sam and Dean Winchester, two brothers bound by tragedy and blood to their dangerous, other-worldly mission. This past season, Dean and Sam faced their toughest foe yet: the Devil himself. As the Apocalypse raged on around them, the brothers, aided only by a dwindling band of fellow hunters and rebel angel Castiel, sought a way to stop Lucifer and save the planet. Ultimately, they discovered a way to force Lucifer back into Hell and end the Apocalypse - but at tremendous cost: Sam's life. Season six will be a season of mystery and shadow. Heaven and Hell have been left in complete disarray since the apocalyptic events of season five. And now, monsters, angels and demons roam across a lawless and chaotic landscape. And so Dean Winchester, who has retired from hunting and sworn never to return, finds himself being pulled back into his old life - pulled back by none other than Sam Winchester, who has escaped from Hell. The two reunite to beat back the rising tide of creatures and demon-spawn, but they quickly realize that neither are who they used to be, their relationship isn't what it used to be, and that nothing is what it seems. The series stars Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester, Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester and Misha Collins as Castiel. SUPERNATURAL is from Warner Bros. Television in association with Wonderland Sound and Vision, with executive producers McG ("Nikita," "Charlie's Angels," "The O.C."), Eric Kripke ("Boogeyman"), Robert Singer ("Midnight Caller"), Sera Gamble, Ben Edlund and Phil Sgriccia.
From where I'm sitting, this concept is a 100% reset. Just as Dean went to get Sam in the pilot and pulled him back into the life because Dean needed him, because they had work to do, and because he didn't want to do it alone, so now Sam goes to get Dean and pulls him back into the life. Just as Sam once had to adjust to getting to know Dean as an adult (and free of all his authority-rebellion baggage) and Dean had to adjust to Sam being a grown man who was not the same kid Dean basically raised, now they have to adjust to this new set of circumstances, with Sam having proved himself trustworthy and redeemed himself, and Dean having grown up. This pleases me beyond all things.
For the sake of argument, let's just say that there is a time jump of some sort, a few weeks, a few months, whatever. (In which case, Sam needs a smack in the head for letting Dean drown in his grief during that time, but I digress.) Dean has gotten a job, is working regular hours, and is putting in time with Lisa and Ben, and maybe even has some local friends -- because he's keeping his promise to Sam to live a normal life. This is, in fact, EXACTLY where we found ourselves at the start of season one -- but with *Sam*, not Dean. I'm really confused by the posts by people who say Dean could never live this kind of existence, because really, Dean has never wanted much else. Each of them has *always* craved a normal life, though at different times, and for different reasons.
Sam had a small taste of normalcy at Stanford, and then it disintegrated in his face, and he had nowhere to go but back to Dean, back to his family and hunting and life on the road. All through season one, he continued to insist he would leave the road, leave Dean, go back to normal -- he didn't want it "how it used to be". But by season 2, because of John's death, and Sam's need for revenge, he was in it for good, drawn so deeply back into the life that even when Dean wanted to quit in season 2 (Croatoan), Sam continued to draw him back in. So really, the reversal has been going on ever since Dean returned from the dead the first time, and has only deepened with time.
Meanwhile, despite Dean's protests against picket fences and so forth, just think back to What Is And What Should Never Be, where Dean wallowed in having family and Sam having Jessica and mowing a lawn and having a sandwich and drinking a beer with his feet up on the coffee table. Dean wants the family life he vaguely remembers from his childhood, and he has idealized it to an an unhealthy degree, but that doesn't mean his desire for normalcy and for a rest from the road (as he's been saying for three years, essentially) isn't true to his character. This is the same Dean, essentially, who went to Lisa and Ben. This is the Dean Sam understands better than Dean seems to understand himself, at this moment.
And please recall at the end of that episode, Dean sacrificed it all because it wasn't real -- because there was a chance of getting home to Sam, and to a much grimmer, darker, less wonderful reality, but a reality that contained his dysfunctional, bitchface-prone, demon-powered, codependent, *real* brother. I think that this is pretty telling in a number of ways.
So, the thing I was most afraid of -- that there couldn't be a complete reboot that would make sense - was unfounded. This is, in essence, a parallel of the pilot, where Sam goes to get Dean, and Dean must make a choice. I have all sorts of other issues related to what Dean might choose. I hate the idea that he would have bonded with Ben and might damage a relationship with his kid (because I'm sorry, I do think Ben is his) because of a sense of obligation or duty to the family business, or to finishing up the post-apocalyptic business. I feel less conflicted about Lisa, because as I said to someone earlier today, she is a grown woman, and Dean is a known quantity; she will be fine, regardless. But I want Dean to have learned something, and for his growth to be true growth, and that would not manifest in running off with Sam.
I've read numerous codas and posts postulating that by the time Sam goes to get Dean, Dean and Lisa could have tried and failed to make a relationship work, or may not have tried at all, but either way Dean's attachment to Ben is what makes him keep his promise. I can buy that easily. I can buy him still in a relationship with Lisa, too, and feeling that he must go, but coming back every so often, for Ben. All of these work for me.
However, I will break the TV if Lisa or Ben is hurt. Full stop.
To sum up: Castiel as a regular, YAY!!! Sam and Dean, saving people, hunting things, OMG YAY!!! And a season of brothers learning to be brothers again, just exactly as they had to in season one, and navigating the changing waters of their relationship: seriously, what is there not to be excited about, there? I can't think of a thing. Plus, we still don't know how Sam "escaped" hell, and what role Castiel will play in all this. There's so much potential!
Show! Come back to me! I'm waiting! :D