'Supernatural' musings

[seryan]

'Route 666' is widely held to be the worst episode of 'Supernatural' done so far. Having watched both it, and 'The Benders' in a relatively short period of time, though, I think I actually prefer 'Route 666'.

Comments

[intravox]

...Really? Huh. I will concede the point about 'The Benders' being a cliched storyline but it didn't really bother me - especially given that Supernatural takes great delight in showcasing those cliche urban legends we all grew up hearing. We've got the Hook Man, Bloody Mary, haunted houses/asylums and so on. Like the writers would pass up the chance to have Sam and Dean going "WTF?" when they realize that the baddies of the week are not monsters, just really really really whacked-out people? (I admit, I snickered and rewound Dean's disgusted "Demons, I get. People are crazy.") So yeah, it's an often-reused storyline. I didn't feel that that kept it from working in this series

[seryan]

I think that where my objection comes in with 'The Benders' is the fact that everyone does this storyline - movies, comics, books, fanfic, TV shows (sci-fi and fantasy are particularly bad for it) - but not everyone has a Hook Man, or a Bloody Mary episde where they're actually a threat, as opposed to a story. It's not so much the cliche, as the endless repetition.

[intravox]

...I think we might have to agree to disagree on this one. I caught your meaning the other night, about the repetition. But the simple fact that the story has been redone many times doesn't bother me so much. It's done reasonably well in this case (okay, so that may be debatable) and fits in with the tone of the series. And ideas get recycled all the time, so I'm used to just rolling my eyes and going along with it. I think that if the episode was just pointless filler (a la, "quick! we need a plot! ah, I know! redneck cannibal hunters!") and/or used in a show where it didn't fit the atmosphere of the series, I'd be more inclined to agree with your point