Supernatural: Discussion Thread

[reallyhateskateonlost]

Eric Brady makes an appearance.

Link:

http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2011/02/supernatural-meta-madness-review-the-french-mistake-shatters-the-fourth-wall-and-we-like-it.html

[Cheap21]

Its about damn time! Eric should have been back AGES ago. Im all up for a brief visit

Edited to add: Where do you see that he is back? I went to the link and see no mention of that

Edited February 23, 2011 by Cheap21

[dragonflies]

It's in the middle and the way it's worded it's saying he's back for that episode of SN, not on Days itself

The jokes are mostly at Jared's and Jensen's expense. Jared's ever-present "blue steel" model face from every promo photo ever doesn't go unnoticed by Dean, and Sam digs up some old YouTube clips of Jensen's soap opera days.

.

Yes, "Days of Our Lives'" Eric Brady makes an appearance in this episode. And it's glorious.

[Skin]

Ratings

7.01- 2.1

7.02- 1.8

7.03- 1.6

[DRW50]

I haven't watched Supernatural in many years. I heard people talking about while looking at Who stuff on tumblr and then ended up looking at clips from last night, where Dean is telling someone (Castiel, apparently) he prayed to him every night and he needs him, and Castiel looks back with one of the most blatant and sad "I am madly in love with you" faces I have ever seen, and the third guy awkwardly stands around wondering how to get out of the gay.

Sometimes I feel like more and more shows revolve around angst from shippers. The only way that could have gone any further was if they'd made out.

Edited October 11, 2012 by CarlD2

[DRW50]

I'd forgotten about how hilarious this fandom is. If you see an article where, for instance, they go on and on about the new brotherly bond between Dean and vampire Benny, you will get:

- a slew of comments about how Sam is being pushed off the show

- comments in response to those comments saying the show had been all about Sam, had become terrible because Dean had been neglected, and Dean would now have the prominence he deserved.

- fear and fright that this Dean/Benny bond is a way to make people forget about Dean's "profound bond" with Castiel, and that Castiel will be pushed off the show.

A fan claims that Misha Collins said at a meet and greet that Dean and Castiel share a love and that everyone at the show knows it. This leads to:

- celebration that Dean and Castiel are now "canon"

- fervent hopes that Dean and Castiel will now be a true romantic couple

- Sam/Dean fans responding that the true love story on the show will always be Sam and Dean and everyone knows it

I'm not sure I can remember any long-running fan war over two couples who, in-jokes aside, will never actually be romantic onscreen in any way, or even declare love for each other in a way besides friendship or brotherhood.

But this has probably kept the show on for eight years, so it works.

Edited October 31, 2012 by CarlD2

[applcin]

I've watched the show since the beginning and now I feel like I'm just clocking time with it. Everything has become been there, done that. Both brothers have died and/or been to hell, purgatory, etc. They've killed off/revived/killed off/revived every supporting character that helped make the show interesting. The angle with Sam thinking about living a normal life with Amelia is just a retread of what Dean was doing with his girlfriend and her son (whose names escape me) a season or two ago, and both were/are boring. Sometimes I find Sam and Dean, particularly Dean, grating to watch, esp. now that there's no Bobby or Castiel.

[DRW50]

I sort of lost interest in the show in the first year or two, so only went back recently, and am not fully invested. The show does seem very empty. I wonder why they killed everyone off. It's all very 1985 Doctor Who on that front. But I do like the character rotation this season. Too bad their casting of guest roles isn't a little better, and the episodes seem to have a lack of energy.

I have to admit I mostly want to see what happens with Dean and Castiel. Not romantically - that's not going to happen, no matter how much the actors joke around or how much people insist it's all fated based on a line from season 4 episode 20, or something- just because I think the characters and actors have insane chemistry that you have a tough time finding. That type of actor chemistry is what I used to watch soaps for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaMvRcJG0cU&feature=my_liked_videos&list=LLNEnwk1pvnNWCT3Fn9r49Eg

Edited November 8, 2012 by CarlD2

[Skin]

The show was far better before they brought Castiel and all the other Angels, actually. Since they brought on the Christianity storylines everything has been all kinds of messed up.

[DRW50]

I remember watching at that time and while I think the show was fresher, I also couldn't connect that well with the characters. Monster of the week episodes can be hit or miss and can wear a show down if there is no change. I remember feeling more invested when their father showed up, and I thought things were going to change, but then he was killed off. I also remember thinking Dean was kind of an ass and not in a way where I could empathize with him. For whatever reason, I find that much easier now.

I think this is a show which didn't ever quite adapt to running longer than it was supposed to (since it was only planned for 4-5 years). IMO Sam should have been written out. They should have figured out what to do with Castiel beyond going back and forth between powerful and powerless, crazy and sane, naive and all-knowing. I think he's too strong of a character and Misha Collins too charismatic of an actor to let go, but clearly they have had huge headaches in knowing how to keep him around.

But I will say the show is in better shape than some other shows I once enjoyed which fell apart after two or three seasons (Buffy, Angel).

Edited November 8, 2012 by CarlD2

[applcin]

I agree with all this.

I've been wanting Jeffrey Dean Morgan to return, even on an occasional basis, ever since they "killed" John Winchester off. They had his soul escape hell, then poof. Then he was being played by a younger actor when they did time travel and flashback-type stories. Then they made Bobby the brothers' surrogate father so I got used to him and then they killed him off (idjits!). I mean, yes it was an emotional story but beyond that, I think the show was better with his presence and suffers without it. And now the seasons have become like taking turns of whether the boys are getting along with each other, trusting each other or not. What's up with Dean going so postal on Sam for wanting to live a normal life when he was doing the same thing himself a while back?

I agree, it probably should have ended a while ago. I kind of feel the same way about this last season of Fringe. At first, I was glad they got this final mini-season. Now that I'm seeing what it's been about (the time jump and the Observers being in control), it's lost some of its appeal to me. It's like the time jump and having all this stuff happening offscreen caused something of a disconnect in me. I'll see it through to the end but now I wish the end had been last season.

I think I like the character of Castiel more than the whole angel arc itself. Like I wanted him there but the whole angels warring with each other story just seemed to go on too long. Likewise crazy Sam having the devil on his shoulder taunting him for so long...it just dragged. I also wasn't crazy about the Leviathans as last season's resident bad guys.

Edited November 8, 2012 by applcin

[DRW50]

I'd like to see the host body (Jimmy Novak) return for a while and see how Sam and Dean (well, Dean really - not sure Sam would care) react.

[Skin]

I still think he is the same character, so I still think he is the same person he always has been. I remember kind of liking Dean around season 3 because he seemed to be open to seeing more forms of grey and having a more open interpretation to what was "right" and what was "wrong." But they ruined that and basically made him whiter then white and he has been the same way for several seasons. The thing that I don't like about Dean is that he is annoyingly red neck. He is basically a himbo all about drinking beer, banging chicks and just being incredibly stupid. I think the brother dynamic worked very well in the earlier first four seasons but then they broke them apart and they never rectified or made their relationship better.

I think the sad thing about Sam is that he really serves no purpose. He basically just exist to be a sidekick to Dean and bring up plot based problems and issues. When he was a character who truly effected things and had a point of view I found him to be incredibly interesting and I think that is what the show is missing, a true balance between two equal characters.

I think the problem with Castiel is that he was a temporary character that was stretched out beyond his original use. He was originally only supposed to be on until 4-6 episodes and they kept him on because of fan reaction, with a great detriment to the show I think. The angel stories should have taken at most only 2 seasons in total.

I'll disagree here too. I think Buffy and Angel were perfect in their runs for the most part. Even the worse season of those shows seem better to me then the worst seasons of Supernatural. Supernatural to me just seems boring.

[DRW50]

I thought most of Buffy was a mess after high school, with too much focus on "arc" storytelling even when Whedon was incapable of making those arcs work, and when most of the actors gave up (the actors having such screen presence was what made the show pop in the first place - after season 3, the only one who cared was Allyson Hanigan). Angel, it died for me once they didn't resolve the season 2 stories very well and when Fred the Mary Sue from hell came along. Supernatural feels empty to me but I put that on the questionable decision to kill off most of the supporting cast and rehash too many Sam/Dean stories. I think the pieces are still there.

To me there's just so much you can do with Castiel if you have proper, structured writing. Misha Collins is a great actor, he has first rate chemistry with Jensen Ackles, he has great chemistry with Rachel Miner (Meg), he had a potentially interesting relationship with Sam, and there's so much about him we don't know. There's Jimmy Novak, which is more untapped stories. But his stories mostly became about screwing up and Dean having to fix it, what does he do for Dean's life, etc.

I feel like the show has moved away from a lot of this (he hasn't been with anyone since a one night stand last season, I believe). They concentrate too much on "why did Dean let Sam down/will Sam accept Dean again" and all the usual, but I think Dean has interesting routes to go if they go further into the PTSD, and his relationships with Cas and Benny (although I assume Benny and/or Cas will just betray him and then we'll get more man pain).

[DRW50]

I have never seen such blatant baiting of a fanbase, ever. Or very rarely. Come on.

This is Dean's reaction after post-Purgatory Cas has cleaned up, and asks how he looks.