13.10...thoughts, hopes, etc...

[zara_zee]

Firstly, I just have to say that ...[Spoiler (click to open)]... Dean roasting a lizard over a campfire made me a very, very happy fangirl for the simple reason that I have a scene in Too long in the wasteland where Dean is roasting a lizard over a campfire and I love it when I see snippets of scenes from my stories come to life on the screen! :D

Comments

[madebyme_x]

I enjoyed it! It wasn't perfect, but I absolutely loved the sibling scenes with Claire and Alex, and I'd love to see more of that. I think Claire is growing as a person and character, and I can appreciate that development (Kathryn seems to everywhere at the moment; she played Amy in Little Women that aired here on the BBC over xmas, and Big Little Lies, and she was great in both of those).

I really would love to see more of Donna, she's just delightful and I'd like to see more of her backstory. I adored seeing how badass Jody and Donna were. Take care :)

[zara_zee]

Yep, I'm generally pretty optimistic about the Spin-off and hope to see different characters taking the lead in different episodes. :)
And I truly love the way Donna has gained so much self-confidence since finding out about the supernatural and hunting. She has truly blossomed!

[milly_gal]

I hope that it's a true ensemble cast feature, I want Jody and Donna featured but at the same time as with all new shows, new blood has to be spilled. The girls have to have their space to grow, change and develop as human beings. I still maintain that Claire is annoying to people because they knew a ways back they wanted her featured elsewhere and she can then grow and develop on that show! My favourite moments were Claire seriously kicking ass in the opening five mins, and Jody and Donna showing the girls how it's done as far as badassery with emotions is concerned, and Donna's "Aim in their general direction and squeeze, squeeze don't pull," Seriously as a hunter that is some SOLID advice for handling a shotgun. The recoil will knock your head off and break your shoulder of you don't squeeze. As you say, it had it's problems but as a general rule crossover/back door pilot eps are awkward and painful, this was less so and because we knew the characters. I'm hoping it gets picked up for a season because it would work well!

[zara_zee]

Yep, I hope it gets picked up too. There's a lot of potential. One thing I didn't mention was how much I loved that Donna had gained so much confidence since finding out about the supernatural and hunting. She has really blossomed as a character and I liked that a lot. :)
I enjoyed watching Claire kick ass too. :)

[milly_gal]

Donna is a strong confident woman who no longer needs any kind of Doug, one or two, and I think she's showing that in her simple smiles when shit hits the fan, or her sarcasm and sense of humour in the face of a potentially awful situation. I really love her.

[amberdreams]

"I still maintain that Claire is annoying to people because they knew a ways back they wanted her featured elsewhere and she can then grow and develop on that show!" ??? Dunno what you mean?

I don't want her featured anywhere - sulky teenagers are just not vaguely interesting to me, I just want to slap 'em. LOL

[sillie82]

I'll be honest, Claire annoys the crap out of me, and this episode did nothing to endear her to me (that being said, if a guy had the same attitude as Claire had, I would have been just as annoyed). I had really hoped that Jody and Donna would have been 'the leads', and that the girls came after that. With Claire as lead, I'm not sure I can keep on watching. I will try, but I really do hope they'll switch the attention around.

So yeah, best moment of the episode was Sam and Dean eating lizard, and that exchange. It lifted the entire episode for me. :')

[zara_zee]

What I'm hoping, for the Spin-off, is that it won't have 'a lead', per se -- after all, that is quite restricting for any show, but that it will be a true ensemble. The pilot may have been Claire heavy, and maybe the first one of the Spin-off will be too, but that's just to hook the teen audience, I think.

What I would like to see is different episodes featuring the different women as the POV character. They're all interesting in their own ways and all have a lot of potential. And we'll all identify with a different character and find others irritating and that's as it should be as we're all different! :)

I really hope SPN fans give the new show a chance to find its feet, if it gets picked up, because I think there is a lot of potential here. And I would hate it to fail and create the impression that an ensemble of women 'can't work' and 'doesn't get viewers'.

[amberdreams]

I think that is part of the problem, to be honest. I too really want it to succeed but I also think that Dabb and co are already set up to blame the fans if the thing isn't actually any good and doesn't kick off like we all hope. It'll be because we didn't support it, audiences generally 'aren't ready for all woman ensembles' etc etc. Anything rather than look at what they are offering and see that there were flaws in their presentation/writing/perceptions of what we actually want.

Still, let's hope we get a chance to see what they do with it and it does get picked up!

[zara_zee]

Yep. That's also a huge problem. Write lazily, don't invest thought and subtlety and complexity into the characters, and then blame the fact that they're all women. This is why I feel that I need to support the new show for long enough to give the cast the opportunity to really get into their roles and make something of this. :)

[borgmama1of5]

So it wasn't perfect but I want it to succeed so I'm going to watch it! And I don't get all the Claire hate :(

And I do think there's something to be said for people being less forgiving of certain character traits in women than in men.

And that is an excellent point!

[zara_zee]

I don't get it either. Does the character need fine tuning? Absolutely. Could Kathryn Newton bring more depth to the character? You betcha! And I hope such will happen if the spin-off gets the green light

[borgmama1of5]

One thing that does make me nervous is that mainstream projects with women leads really have to be almost perfect to be considered good enough.

You are very right and that is so very wrong! I am really bothered by how many 'fans' are saying they can't stand Claire!!!

[amberdreams]

I've never liked her character - I really can't stand that whole sulky teenager thing. I'm not sure if it's Kathryn's acting or the fact that the writers aren't doing her character justice or what, but to me she comes across as self centred, obtuse, and just downright annoying. It's not that she's a flawed hero because I've seen very little about her that comes across as heroic or sympathetic. And it's not that I don't like women leads - or even young women leads. I liked Buffy and Willow, for instance.

Maybe if they get the go ahead they will start writing her in a way that makes her more bearable. I hope so! I mean it's not that they can't do it - for instance Kaia was much more likeable from the start (but of course they bumped her off - sigh).

[jimbobjoe]

Kathryn needs to give us more character. She needs to inhabit Claire, body and soul. And maybe, as a series lead, rather than just a guest actor doing an episode here and there, she'll be able to pull it off. Here's hoping.

Huh. Thank you for this different perspective. I hadn't thought of that.
And yes, first-class acting from Jensen HAS spoiled us!!

[zara_zee]

I've got my Pollyanna hat on at the moment and I'm determined to be optimistic. Truly though, I don't find her as 'bad' as others seem to and I think she can fine-tune the character, given a proper run at it. :)