Commentary on the commentary
So i think all the extras on the DVDs are fantastic, and I wish there were commentaries on every episode. The work - both creative and logistic - that goes into every episode is incredible, and I want to send all the crew cookies. I love how Cyrus and Kim are like John and Bobby to Jared and Jensen's Sam and Dean. I want to smish Kripke, have Sera as a BFF with benefits and - well Bob Singer still scares me but I do worship him.
Anyway I had a few thoughts on Kripke's reaction to the burning of the Roadhouse...
So Kripke was gleeful about being able to destroy the Roadhouse, and felt it had never worked. My first reaction was - you abstard! I loved the concept of the Roadhouse, and the look of it, but when I thoguht about it, it never really served the story.
The Roadhouse was the sort of contained public space common in episodic TV: The Bronze (Buffy), Central Perk (Friends), and those bars or dining areas that exist on every space ship or station from Voyager, to Galactica. Elsewhere in the commentary Kripke (bless him) mentioned the Peach Pit from 90210.
The purpose these spaces serve is primarily to allow characters to interact socially. They are often an alternative space to the workplace, esp where characters of different status at work to interact more equally. It is where relationships may transition from friendships to romance. They are a more public space than a home and allow antagonistic characters to interact with each other - think (early) Spike and Buffy. It also provides a place for new characters to be introduced.
So what happened at the Roadhouse? The boys popped in to get info from Ellen and Ash and say hi to Jo. None of these relationships were really developed. Whatever Jo’s relationship was going to be with them was curtailed, Ash was just a laptop with a mullet, and any role Ellen may have had as confidant or information source was really made redundant by the magnificence of Bobby. I’m not saying these characters didn’t work (and I loved them all), but I don’t think they were fully realized and they didn’t really need the Roadhouse in order to exist as they did.
The Roadhouse was supposedly a place where hunters hung out, and endlessly cleaned their guns (!) but the boys never actually interacted with any of them. Other hunters could’ve provided info on hunts, or the demon, or even some backstory on John. They could have been allies, or enemies or just a one night stand. Hell, the boys could’ve just got drunk and played some pool!
Noticeably the other two hunters the boys met this season - Gordon and Steve Wandell - they met elsewhere.
If there had been more interaction with hunters, then Gordon’s revelation that someone there had betrayed Sam would’ve carried more weight. What it actually did was give the boys a reason never to go near the place again and aside from Dean’s phone call to Ellen in BUABS, that’s the last mention of the Roadhouse and its inhabitants until the finale.
So, I think the Roadhouse could’ve worked, but I can see why it didn’t. I suspect to Kripke it was also a painful reminder of a number of storylines and characters he had in mind for S2 (remember the Hunters Blogs? The early sides of Jo?) that just didn’t play out.
So did you want to see the Roadhouse continue, or would you have been there tossing some more fuel on the fire? Enquiring minds want to know.
(plz avoid mentioning S3 spoilers in comments).