So it's the first week of a long summer without any new Supernatural episodes. Thursday night feels...odd. But while I was reading a recent Entertainment Weekly special section on LOST and its upcoming series finale, when they mentioned the lingering questions everyone has about the show it made me start thinking about the same thing for Supernatural. So here are some of my lingering questions:
1. Of course, the first one is what Natalie explored on Wednesday: Who is Sam now? I'm not sure I have a theory yet. I was just so surprised to see him at the end of the episode.
2. Doesn't Crowley still have Bobby's soul? If Crowley's around next season, will he still be on the boys' side or start making trouble for them like demons do?
3. What will Castiel do in heaven if he goes back there? Will we see him? If so, how often? I hate to say it, but I'm not sure the show with just the boys will be as satisfying anymore. I like what these great secondary characters like Castiel, Bobby and Crowley bring to the show and bring out in the brothers.
4. Does the entire road to the apocalypse just start over? Someone said (Was it Zachariah?) that this apocalypse wasn't the first one, that the earth had been wiped clean before. Does that mean we could go back to the type of monster-of-the-week episodes we had in Season 1? I'm not sure we could do that without it maybe feeling like a letdown after the past couple of seasons, but I could totally be wrong.
5. Will we see Papa Winchester again?
6. Do we ever get a definitive answer about whether Chuck is God? I'm not sure I like the whole portrayal of God as a figure who sits back and just gets his amusement from moving humans, demons and angels around like cheese pieces. Plus, I really wanted Chuck to just be the goofball Prophet Chuck.
5. Are the spoilers right? Or are they just messing with us? The text is hidden on the rest of this item so those avoiding spoilers can continue to do so. I saw a spoiler that says next season starts several years in the future, with Dean living that apple pie life but perhaps being dissatisfied with it. If Sam is really Sam, is he living that kind of life too? What could they possibly be doing? Is Dean a car mechanic? Working at Bobby's junkyard? Is Sam an attorney? Do they have kids? Wives? And just how far into the first episode of the season is something light-flickeringly weird going to happen to launch them back into the hunting life? How will they feel about that? Resigned? Restored? Useful again?
What are your theories and thoughts about the above questions. What are your lingering questions about the series?
Showing posts with label John Winchester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Winchester. Show all posts
Friday, May 21, 2010
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Road So Far (in 1,000 words or less)
I'm posting this for Tanya, whose computer just didn't want to play nice with her.
Okay, so this post owes its inspiration to stuff like this (warning, MAJOR spoilers for the movie Serenity, and major funny if you've already seen it). But still, here we are floating in the still dead waters of summer hiatus, so I thought we could all use the recap (and, possibly, the laugh).
Sam and Dean Winchester (this far) in 1,000 words or less:
Interior, somewhat creepy nursery, enter Mommy Winchester.
Mom: WTF?
Baby Sam: Waaahhhh!
Late arrival Daddy Winchester: DEAN! Take care of your brother.
Flash to present day.
Sam: I hear a noise.
Dean: I came for a beer, LOVE the Smurfs, BTW. Come help me solve our father's disappearance.
Sam: Dude.
Conversation, Exposition, Woman in White with Creepy Kids, cut back to Jessica on the ceiling, and Grown Up Sam having a full-circle WTF moment?
Sam: Consider me back in the game til we find Dad and this yellow-eyed bastard.
Many episodes later, find Daddy Winchester. And fabled Colt. YAY!
All three Winchester men run off road. BOO!
Cut to hospital with Dean and Reaper and Daddy Winchester making deal with Yellow-Eyed Demon.
Daddy W's final words (more or less): DEAN! Take care of your brother.
Even if that means "take care of" in the mafia sense.
Dean (internal monologue): WTF?
Moving right along in season 2.
Dean: Do not mock me, airplanes crash.
Sam: And apparently clowns KILL. Hey, should we check out that roadhouse?
Dean: Uh, Sam? Could use a little help here with the pint-sized blonde.
Pint-sized blonde (aka Jo Harvelle): Take me with you! I want to hunt!
Dean: Even as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight. You're a candle in the-
Sam: WTF?
Dean: Never mind. Have you met my new buddy Gordon?
Sam: Nice to m-
Gordon (with much menace and foreshadowing): Evil things must DIE!
Dean (considerably later): Sam, are you drunk? (followed by, even later than that) He full on Obi-waned me!
Sam: Something is wrong with that boy. He is like-like me. Curse you, yellow-eyed demon and your nefarious yet still vague evil plans!
Yellow Eyed Demon: Call me Azazel. And as for my 'plan,' it's simple. You and my other "special" children are in a contest. Good luck with that.
Jake: Aw HELL no. I like ya Sam, but not enough to die for you. Take this!
Sam: Gurghk.
Dean: Yo, crossroads demon! Get me out of this. I'll trade anything to get my bro back.
Crossroads demon: Anything? You're on, foolish Winchester.
Sam: So let me get this straight, you traded your life-your SOUL-to save me?
Dean: Yep. No need to thank me.
Sam: Thank you? Are you deluded you arrogant SOB? We have to end this deal.
Dean: No can do. I try anything funny, you die.
Mysterious blonde chick with mysterious knife: Hey! I can help! Name's Ruby by the way.
Other mysterious chick with quasi-British accent: And I'm Bela. I shall be here to demonstrate what happens to naughty boys and girls when they ransom their souls to Lilith. I am also here to entertain Tanya.
Dean and Sam: Who the hell is Tanya? Strike that. The better question is Who the hell is Lilith?
Dean (in quiet aside to Ruby): Dude, can you really get me out of this?
Ruby: Um, no. Not really. Plus, you'll become a demon after.
Dean: Well, THAT sucks. I need pie.
Sam: You're in denial, bro.
Dean: I deny that accusation.
Sam: So what you-- hold up. What's that you say? We just got a phone call about Bobby being in a coma?
Bobby: Thanks boys for saving me from the mystical coma. Except, you let Bela steal the Colt, ya ijits!!!
Dean: Bela must die!
Sam: 'K
Dean: So if we're so hot on the heels of Bela (mmmm, Bela...) what are we doing in this random mystery sp-- Gurghk.
Sam: DEAN!
Dean: Don't you just love Asia? Let's go get break-- Gurghk.
Sam: DEAN!
Dean: What do you mean I died yesterday? That's cr-- Gurghk.
Sam: DEAN!
Also Sam: Whoa, I'm onto you Trickster.
Trickster (smugly): And it only took 80% of the episode for you to figure it out...
Audience: So what happens for rest of episode?
Dean: Gurghk.
Sam: My name is Sam Winchester! You killed my brother! Prepare to die!
Trickster: Dude. This co-dependence? Not healthy.
Bela: Dean, Sam? Aaaaa! Hell-hounds.
Ruby (wearily): I told you this was going to get bad.
Dean: Gurghk.
Collective audience: WTF?
Dean: Dude! I'm back-from hell! How the hell did that happen? (if you'll pardon the pun)
Winged man: Allow me to introduce myself. I am Castiel. An angel. Your butt belongs to us, now.
Uriel: That is so, monkey.
Dean and Sam: We don't like you.
Uriel: We don't care.
Random Chick: Lilith is up to her old dirty tricks! Only now, she isn't just gunning for Sam and terrorizing grandfathers. She's breaking all sixty-six seals in an attempt to free Lucifer. Also, I am not random! I am an angel!
Dean: So, come here often?
Ruby: Sam, quick, while everyone else is distracted by subplot, drink some more demon blood.
Dean: Dude! WTF?
Sam: You are not the boss of me.
Entire viewing audience: Argh! We hate when our boys are on the outs.
Dean: Then don't look, it's about to get worse. Sam, if you walk out of here right now-
Sam: Who do you think you are, DAD?
Dean: Castiel? A little help here?
Cass: I really shouldn't, but okay. Who can resist Jensen Ackles?
Mmm, Jensen Ackles. Sorry.
Sam: I've stopped Lilith!
Ruby: And freed our dark lord-bwahahahahahahaha.
Sam: ...Oops.
Dean: FWIW, I still love you. Now haul ass away from the impending evil and maybe we'll figure out how to save our asses by next September's premiere.
Okay, so this post owes its inspiration to stuff like this (warning, MAJOR spoilers for the movie Serenity, and major funny if you've already seen it). But still, here we are floating in the still dead waters of summer hiatus, so I thought we could all use the recap (and, possibly, the laugh).
Sam and Dean Winchester (this far) in 1,000 words or less:
Interior, somewhat creepy nursery, enter Mommy Winchester.
Mom: WTF?
Baby Sam: Waaahhhh!
Late arrival Daddy Winchester: DEAN! Take care of your brother.
Flash to present day.
Sam: I hear a noise.
Dean: I came for a beer, LOVE the Smurfs, BTW. Come help me solve our father's disappearance.
Sam: Dude.
Conversation, Exposition, Woman in White with Creepy Kids, cut back to Jessica on the ceiling, and Grown Up Sam having a full-circle WTF moment?
Sam: Consider me back in the game til we find Dad and this yellow-eyed bastard.
Many episodes later, find Daddy Winchester. And fabled Colt. YAY!
All three Winchester men run off road. BOO!
Cut to hospital with Dean and Reaper and Daddy Winchester making deal with Yellow-Eyed Demon.
Daddy W's final words (more or less): DEAN! Take care of your brother.
Even if that means "take care of" in the mafia sense.
Dean (internal monologue): WTF?
Moving right along in season 2.
Dean: Do not mock me, airplanes crash.
Sam: And apparently clowns KILL. Hey, should we check out that roadhouse?
Dean: Uh, Sam? Could use a little help here with the pint-sized blonde.
Pint-sized blonde (aka Jo Harvelle): Take me with you! I want to hunt!
Dean: Even as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight. You're a candle in the-
Sam: WTF?
Dean: Never mind. Have you met my new buddy Gordon?
Sam: Nice to m-
Gordon (with much menace and foreshadowing): Evil things must DIE!
Dean (considerably later): Sam, are you drunk? (followed by, even later than that) He full on Obi-waned me!
Sam: Something is wrong with that boy. He is like-like me. Curse you, yellow-eyed demon and your nefarious yet still vague evil plans!
Yellow Eyed Demon: Call me Azazel. And as for my 'plan,' it's simple. You and my other "special" children are in a contest. Good luck with that.
Jake: Aw HELL no. I like ya Sam, but not enough to die for you. Take this!
Sam: Gurghk.
Dean: Yo, crossroads demon! Get me out of this. I'll trade anything to get my bro back.
Crossroads demon: Anything? You're on, foolish Winchester.
Sam: So let me get this straight, you traded your life-your SOUL-to save me?
Dean: Yep. No need to thank me.
Sam: Thank you? Are you deluded you arrogant SOB? We have to end this deal.
Dean: No can do. I try anything funny, you die.
Mysterious blonde chick with mysterious knife: Hey! I can help! Name's Ruby by the way.
Other mysterious chick with quasi-British accent: And I'm Bela. I shall be here to demonstrate what happens to naughty boys and girls when they ransom their souls to Lilith. I am also here to entertain Tanya.
Dean and Sam: Who the hell is Tanya? Strike that. The better question is Who the hell is Lilith?
Dean (in quiet aside to Ruby): Dude, can you really get me out of this?
Ruby: Um, no. Not really. Plus, you'll become a demon after.
Dean: Well, THAT sucks. I need pie.
Sam: You're in denial, bro.
Dean: I deny that accusation.
Sam: So what you-- hold up. What's that you say? We just got a phone call about Bobby being in a coma?
Bobby: Thanks boys for saving me from the mystical coma. Except, you let Bela steal the Colt, ya ijits!!!
Dean: Bela must die!
Sam: 'K
Dean: So if we're so hot on the heels of Bela (mmmm, Bela...) what are we doing in this random mystery sp-- Gurghk.
Sam: DEAN!
Dean: Don't you just love Asia? Let's go get break-- Gurghk.
Sam: DEAN!
Dean: What do you mean I died yesterday? That's cr-- Gurghk.
Sam: DEAN!
Also Sam: Whoa, I'm onto you Trickster.
Trickster (smugly): And it only took 80% of the episode for you to figure it out...
Audience: So what happens for rest of episode?
Dean: Gurghk.
Sam: My name is Sam Winchester! You killed my brother! Prepare to die!
Trickster: Dude. This co-dependence? Not healthy.
Bela: Dean, Sam? Aaaaa! Hell-hounds.
Ruby (wearily): I told you this was going to get bad.
Dean: Gurghk.
Collective audience: WTF?
Dean: Dude! I'm back-from hell! How the hell did that happen? (if you'll pardon the pun)
Winged man: Allow me to introduce myself. I am Castiel. An angel. Your butt belongs to us, now.
Uriel: That is so, monkey.
Dean and Sam: We don't like you.
Uriel: We don't care.
Random Chick: Lilith is up to her old dirty tricks! Only now, she isn't just gunning for Sam and terrorizing grandfathers. She's breaking all sixty-six seals in an attempt to free Lucifer. Also, I am not random! I am an angel!
Dean: So, come here often?
Ruby: Sam, quick, while everyone else is distracted by subplot, drink some more demon blood.
Dean: Dude! WTF?
Sam: You are not the boss of me.
Entire viewing audience: Argh! We hate when our boys are on the outs.
Dean: Then don't look, it's about to get worse. Sam, if you walk out of here right now-
Sam: Who do you think you are, DAD?
Dean: Castiel? A little help here?
Cass: I really shouldn't, but okay. Who can resist Jensen Ackles?
Mmm, Jensen Ackles. Sorry.
Sam: I've stopped Lilith!
Ruby: And freed our dark lord-bwahahahahahahaha.
Sam: ...Oops.
Dean: FWIW, I still love you. Now haul ass away from the impending evil and maybe we'll figure out how to save our asses by next September's premiere.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Supernatural: Rising Son
In my previous review of Supernatural: Origin, the graphic novel that tells John’s story of becoming a hunter after Mary’s death, I talked about liking the story, but not the art. This follow up, Rising Son, is just the opposite.As for the tale…Chapter 1 begins Christmas Eve of 1990. John’s lost his job and been evicted from their hotel. If that’s not bad enough, the letter he mailed to Mary’s cousin, Eddie, comes back “return to sender.” Ever since his wife died, Mary’s friends, family and co-workers have been disappearing. But Eddie’s always stayed on John’s grid until now. Concerned, John and the boys hit the road and take a detour down Old Route 25 where John arrives in sex city. The small town is populated by stunning women who are all too happy to give him their undivided attention. Eddie’s there and warns John to get out, but he’s nearly seduced by a succubus. When he fights back the Succubi turn into his dead wife and poor John ends up slaughtering a bar full of Mary’s. Eddie is murdered before John can rescue him. The Winchesters takes off, while a mysterious woman follows John’s trail looking for Sammy.
Chapter 2 hits on stuff we learned from John Winchester’s Journal. John decides maybe it’s best to settle down for awhile, give the boys some normalcy. Sam makes friends right away and gets a lot of attention from his pretty teacher, Ms. Lyle. Dean, on the other hand, is lonely and miserable. When Ms. Lyle turns her attention to John they start to look like a real family. Then Ms. Lyle ends up taking Sammy to a science fair, but a suspicious Dean warns his dad there’s something wrong with her. He’s right. John’s been sleeping with a demon and she’s actually brought Sammy to the crossroads to take him into another dimension. John battles her and a transformer made from railroad parts. This rail-robot seems very out of place in a SPN story, but it’s kicking John’s bootay.
Chapter 3 has Dean exorcising the demons and the boys running to Bobby’s. Bobby tells John to visit Silas, a blind seer, who may be able to tell him why Sammy is special. John’s visit rouses Silas from a coma he’s been in since the date of Mary’s death. He confirms that Sam is special, but doesn’t say why, only that John and Dean need to be prepared. Taking his advice to heart, John takes Dean on a deer hunt to sharpen his skills, but the twelve year old is scared and unsure. In the end, Sammy sneaks away from Bobby’s and makes the kill. When John asks how Sammy got there he said some guy in a black car dropped him off. Shaken, John leaves Sammy with Silas so he can, hopefully, learn more about what makes him different. While they have their private confab, he and Dean go out for burgers and John explains to his eldest son how much he needs him and trusts him. On their way back to Sammy, they see the mysterious black car. That doesn’t bode well. Sure enough, Silas is dead. The words KILL HIM are painted in blood on his kitchen wall.
Chapter 4 reveals that the driver of the black car is an albino hunter named Anderson, who not only believes Sam killed Silas, but that he’s evil and “destined to raise an army of darkness against the world.” In the end, Dean ends up shooting Anderson and Sam tells his dad “you need to kill me.” The chapter ends with John taking Sam up on a hill to watch the sun come up, for just a minute we’re led to believe he’s considering shooting his son, but, of course, he doesn’t.
In Chapter 5, John brutally hunts down Anderson’s cohorts and then holes up in Daleville, Mississippi with the boys. He plans to stand and fight anyone else who comes for Sam. It doesn’t take long before they’re surrounded, but this time it’s not hunters. It’s demons. The Winchesters manage to escape with a poorly executed plan and they learn Ms. Lyle is really called Lilith. John then dumps a very pissed off Dean and still clueless Sam at his friend’s house. The boys are stuck with Pam, while dear old dad goes off to find Lilith. If only John had realized his friend, is actually a demon. (sigh)
In Chapter 6 we find more sexuality and stupidity. Pam lets Ms. Lyle into the house. Looking like porn star, she’s there to reclaim Sam. Dean tells his little brother to run while he fights off Lilith, who kisses Dean after he calls her a bitch.(Ew, ew, ew!) Fortunately, John shows up in the nick of time. Dean sets fire to Lilith and Dad chops off her head. Black smoke whirls away and the Winchesters are safe.
The story ends with a grown up Dean showing up at Stanford to find his little brother.
Okay, while I thoroughly enjoyed Diego Olmos’s artwork, I found myself annoyed with the story. Sure, it was cool to see how Dean came to be the hunter he is, and I loved the introduction to Bobby (whose cartoonization had the strongest resemblance to the actor), but the majority of the time I had this thought in my head: John Winchester is too stupid to live. Perhaps his brain was fogged by all the sexual undertones in the story, but I wanted to smack him for all his stupid mistakes. Granted, he’s a newbie, but I didn’t think it was in character for him to repeatedly be an idjit. That said, the best part of this graphic novel came in the last four pages where Kripke himself made his comic debut by co-writing The Beast with Two Backs, a hilarious GhostFacers bonus story that pokes fun at Sam and Dean.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Ding, Dong, The Witch(es) is/are Dead
Lucifer Rising. We couldn't get a more ominous title for a season finale. So it was no surprise that I sat down to watch tonight's Supernatural finale with no little amount of concern about what was going to happen to the Winchester boys and between them.
The recap started with clips set to a song that I will forever equate to Supernatural now -- "Carry On, My Wayward Son" by Kansas. If you listen to the lyrics, it makes you wonder if there really will "be peace when you are done" for the boys.
We launch into the episode with a flashback to 1972, at St. Mary's Convent in Ilchester, Maryland. A demon (who turns out to be our old pal the Yellow-Eyed Demon, aka Azazel) possesses a priest, who then proceeds to tell the stunned nuns in the sanctuary that his daddy (i.e. Lucifer) was an angel and that the door to his cage is at the convent. (You know where we're going to end up at the end of the episode.) After his revelation, he proceeds to kill them. We don't see the carnage, but we can imagine it as we hear the screams through the closed doors. And we know that this horrific act is setting in motion the events that eventually sweep up the Winchester brothers.
Next up we see Sam and Ruby. Sam is lamenting what is probably the final break with Dean. He says he can feel the changes inside of him, that there's no going back. And that Dean is better off without him.
While Sam and Ruby go do their thing, we see an emotionally wrung-out Dean still at Bobby's house, refusing to call or go after Sam. He's tired of trying to save his brother when all he does is fail. Bobby, in a fit of anger, shoves a bunch of files off a table and turns on Dean and delivers the following: "You stupid, stupid son of a bitch. Well, boo hoo, I'm so sorry your feelings are hurt, Princess. Are you under the impression that family is supposed to make you feel good? Make you an apple pie maybe? They're supposed to make you miserable. That's why they're family!" Go, Bobby! We've seen emo Sam and even some emo Dean, but something we don't have to suffer is emo Bobby. :)
But wait! Bobby isn't finished. He tells Dean that he sounds like his daddy, that John was a coward because he pushed Sam away instead of reaching out to him. Challenging Dean to change his mind about Sam, he says, "You're a better man than your daddy ever was." Dean turns around and finds he's not in Kansas -- oops, sorry -- not in Bobby's house anymore. Instead, he's in a lavishly furnished room with a large table in the middle and large paintings on the walls. Castiel appears and says, "It's almost time" in that criptic way that tries Dean's patience.
Back to the Sam and Ruby show -- we see Lilith's "chef" stealing a baby from a hospital, but the fearsome twosome stop her and says they want to know where Lilith is.
The next thing to show up in Dean's fancy prison is a huge plate of cheeseburgers and a bunch of chilled bottles of beer. Seriously, I don't think angels are going to give someone beer. Just my humble opinion. And then Zachariah shows up along with Cas. Dean says, "Well, how about this, the sweet life of Zach and Cas" in a shoutout to tween favorite The Suite Life of Zack and Cody on the Disney Channel, which I'm pretty sure Dean would never watch. Perhaps stretching a little on the pop culture references here. Perhaps that's why Zachariah looks so confused. And in more pop culture references, Zachariah tries to tempt Dean with Ginger from the second season of Gilligan's Island. "We'll even throw in Mary Ann for free." I have to say that other than Castiel, I really don't like how the angels are being portrayed as dicks who tempt people with vices like fast food, beer and "sluts". It sounds like something the demons would do! Angels can be portrayed as fierce warriors, as beings to be feared, without making them complete asses.
Anyway, Dean refuses Zachariah's offers by saying, "Bail on the holodeck, okay?" in a reference to Star Trek. (Hmm, wonder if that has anything to do with Star Trek being in theaters now. BTW, it's awesome! Wonder if Kripke and J.J. Abrams are friends.) When he says, "Start talking, Chuckles," I had to...well, chuckle. :) Zachariah says all the seals have fallen except one, and Lilith is the only one who can break the final seal.
On that note, we're back with Sam and Ruby. Sam is torturing the demon nurse to get the info he wants. While this is going on, Dean rethinks his earlier stance and calls Sam. While he's still angry, he does offer an apology on Sam's voice mail. The demon figures she'll save herself from being bled dry by Sam by handing consciousness back over to her host, a very scared nurse.
We flash back to 1972 again. Azazel in the priest host is talking to Lucifer, who is speaking through the body of dead nun at the front of the sanctuary. Lucifer tells Azazel that he has to go find a very special child, which we all know is Sam.
Meanwhile, back in the present, Sam is continuing down his dark road by stuffing the screaming nurse in the trunk of the car he and Ruby are using. You can see the horror at what he's doing on his face, but he is still trying to hold on to the belief that he's doing what's right for the greater good.
Dean asks Castiel to take him to see Sam, but Cas refuses. When Dean trie to leave, Cas makes all the doors out of the room disappear. Dean, never one to sit on the sidelines when there's a fight to be had, is frustrated to the nth degree.
Back on the road with Demon Girl and Special Boy (aka Ruby and Sam), the nurse's screams from the trunk are getting to Sam. He's beginning to doubt his conviction, wondering if Dean was right about everything. Predictably, Ruby gives him a pep talk to keep him going down the path she says is the right one.
When Zachariah tells Dean that he won't stop Lilith, Dean realizes that Zach doesn't want to stop the apocolypse. Zach says he never did. He likens what's coming to an Ali-Foreman fight, and says his side will win and it'll be peace on earth. Dean looks around the room at all the apocolyptic paintings of demons killing humans and realizes what's in store for humanity. Zach is unconcerned about the people caught in the middle and says, "This isn't the first planetary enema we've delivered." You know, I really don't like this guy. He's right up there with Uriel. Then Zachariah tells Dean that he still has a role to play, that he won't stop Lilith or the breaking of the final seal or the breaking of the seals. Instead, he'll stop Lucifer.
"You're our own little Russel Crowe, complete with surly attitude," Zachariah says. Again, too much of a pop culture stretch. He promises Dean will be rewarded beyond imagination after it's over to which Dean says, "Tell me something. Where's the God in all this?" Zachariah replies, "God? God has left the building." Huh? What exactly does that mean?
Lilith arrives at convent. Dean tries to punch Cas with no effect other than hurting his own hand. Dean tells Cas to "take your peace and shove it up your lily-white ass." (You know, I'm guessing the Vatican would like this show about as much as it does Angels & Demons.) Dean says he'd rather suffer than "be some Stepford bitch in paradise." He challenges Cas, telling him he knows there's a right and a wrong here. Cas says that if he does what Dean wants, they'll all be hunted down and killed. Dean replies, "If there's anything worth dying for, this is it."
The next scene is a heartbreaker. Sam sees that he has a message from Dean and plays it. Even the music has us expecting him to hear the apology Dean sent earlier. Instead, it's either an earlier message or something planted by Ruby or the angels -- Dean calling Sam a bloodsucking freak, a vampire, and that he's done trying to save him. There's no going back. It's enough to push Sam far enough that he okays Ruby's knifing of the nurse so he can drink the demon's blood. Behind Sam's back, Ruby's satisfied smile had me wanting to pitch something at the TV and making me regret ever having believed she might have been telling the truth and truly on the side of good. Bitch!
Cas returns to where Dean is stuck and has obviously made his decision to disobey his superiors again and help Dean escape. He has to get rid of Zachariah temporarily and tells Dean that they have to keep Sam from killing Lilith because she actually IS the last seal (shades of Harry Potter being a horcrux, anyone?). Next we see the cough*Phophet*cough Chuck on the phone ordering some hookers. Nice (eye roll). He turns around and is shocked to see Cas and Dean in his house, says, "This isn't supposed to happen." Cas says they're making it up as they go. The words are barely out of his mouth before the archangel shows up with the sharing shaking and intense white light again. Cas tells Dean to go and he'll hold him off as long as he can. Okay, I really, really don't want Cas to have died in this effort. I want his earlier statement about being hunted to show up in fact next season. I want to see him teamed up with the boys, and perhaps even goofy, horny Chuck.
Sam and Ruby confront Lilith, and despite a pause when he hears Dean calling his name, Sam does the deed and kills Lilith. At that moment, Ruby's true intent comes out as she reveals that Sam has opened the doorway to let out Lucifer. Hello, saw that coming with the episode title. Sam is hor-ri-fied. He's been played by Ruby, just like Dean said. He tries to kill Ruby only to find out that he's all out of power; he used it all killing Lilith. But Ruby isn't Lilith, and Sam isn't the only person who can kill her. Sam holds her while Dean shoves a knife into her and dispatches her. Go, Dean!
Even though I know what's coming, this moment made me happy. We ended the season with the brothers not facing off in a cataclysmic death match but once again on the same side, standing side by side as they watch the doorway open that will allow Lucifer to rise.
"Dean, he's coming," Sam says to end a most excellent season.
So, I'm left with these questions:
1. Why was Sam the only one who could kill Lilith and open the doorway? Is he Lucifer's son?
2. How in the world are Sam and Dean going to fight Lucifer, especially when they've probably ticked off the other side?
3. Is there any word on who will play Lucifer next season? Who could pull that off?
4. Did Cas survive?
5. Will we still see distance between Sam and Dean, or will the magnitude of what they are facing firmly plant them on the same side?
6. With Lucifer on the loose, will we have any opportunities for the fun monster-of-the-week episodes?
7. Just how much hell on earth are we going to see?
The recap started with clips set to a song that I will forever equate to Supernatural now -- "Carry On, My Wayward Son" by Kansas. If you listen to the lyrics, it makes you wonder if there really will "be peace when you are done" for the boys.
We launch into the episode with a flashback to 1972, at St. Mary's Convent in Ilchester, Maryland. A demon (who turns out to be our old pal the Yellow-Eyed Demon, aka Azazel) possesses a priest, who then proceeds to tell the stunned nuns in the sanctuary that his daddy (i.e. Lucifer) was an angel and that the door to his cage is at the convent. (You know where we're going to end up at the end of the episode.) After his revelation, he proceeds to kill them. We don't see the carnage, but we can imagine it as we hear the screams through the closed doors. And we know that this horrific act is setting in motion the events that eventually sweep up the Winchester brothers.
Next up we see Sam and Ruby. Sam is lamenting what is probably the final break with Dean. He says he can feel the changes inside of him, that there's no going back. And that Dean is better off without him.
While Sam and Ruby go do their thing, we see an emotionally wrung-out Dean still at Bobby's house, refusing to call or go after Sam. He's tired of trying to save his brother when all he does is fail. Bobby, in a fit of anger, shoves a bunch of files off a table and turns on Dean and delivers the following: "You stupid, stupid son of a bitch. Well, boo hoo, I'm so sorry your feelings are hurt, Princess. Are you under the impression that family is supposed to make you feel good? Make you an apple pie maybe? They're supposed to make you miserable. That's why they're family!" Go, Bobby! We've seen emo Sam and even some emo Dean, but something we don't have to suffer is emo Bobby. :)
But wait! Bobby isn't finished. He tells Dean that he sounds like his daddy, that John was a coward because he pushed Sam away instead of reaching out to him. Challenging Dean to change his mind about Sam, he says, "You're a better man than your daddy ever was." Dean turns around and finds he's not in Kansas -- oops, sorry -- not in Bobby's house anymore. Instead, he's in a lavishly furnished room with a large table in the middle and large paintings on the walls. Castiel appears and says, "It's almost time" in that criptic way that tries Dean's patience.
Back to the Sam and Ruby show -- we see Lilith's "chef" stealing a baby from a hospital, but the fearsome twosome stop her and says they want to know where Lilith is.
The next thing to show up in Dean's fancy prison is a huge plate of cheeseburgers and a bunch of chilled bottles of beer. Seriously, I don't think angels are going to give someone beer. Just my humble opinion. And then Zachariah shows up along with Cas. Dean says, "Well, how about this, the sweet life of Zach and Cas" in a shoutout to tween favorite The Suite Life of Zack and Cody on the Disney Channel, which I'm pretty sure Dean would never watch. Perhaps stretching a little on the pop culture references here. Perhaps that's why Zachariah looks so confused. And in more pop culture references, Zachariah tries to tempt Dean with Ginger from the second season of Gilligan's Island. "We'll even throw in Mary Ann for free." I have to say that other than Castiel, I really don't like how the angels are being portrayed as dicks who tempt people with vices like fast food, beer and "sluts". It sounds like something the demons would do! Angels can be portrayed as fierce warriors, as beings to be feared, without making them complete asses.Anyway, Dean refuses Zachariah's offers by saying, "Bail on the holodeck, okay?" in a reference to Star Trek. (Hmm, wonder if that has anything to do with Star Trek being in theaters now. BTW, it's awesome! Wonder if Kripke and J.J. Abrams are friends.) When he says, "Start talking, Chuckles," I had to...well, chuckle. :) Zachariah says all the seals have fallen except one, and Lilith is the only one who can break the final seal.On that note, we're back with Sam and Ruby. Sam is torturing the demon nurse to get the info he wants. While this is going on, Dean rethinks his earlier stance and calls Sam. While he's still angry, he does offer an apology on Sam's voice mail. The demon figures she'll save herself from being bled dry by Sam by handing consciousness back over to her host, a very scared nurse.
We flash back to 1972 again. Azazel in the priest host is talking to Lucifer, who is speaking through the body of dead nun at the front of the sanctuary. Lucifer tells Azazel that he has to go find a very special child, which we all know is Sam.
Meanwhile, back in the present, Sam is continuing down his dark road by stuffing the screaming nurse in the trunk of the car he and Ruby are using. You can see the horror at what he's doing on his face, but he is still trying to hold on to the belief that he's doing what's right for the greater good.
Dean asks Castiel to take him to see Sam, but Cas refuses. When Dean trie to leave, Cas makes all the doors out of the room disappear. Dean, never one to sit on the sidelines when there's a fight to be had, is frustrated to the nth degree.
Back on the road with Demon Girl and Special Boy (aka Ruby and Sam), the nurse's screams from the trunk are getting to Sam. He's beginning to doubt his conviction, wondering if Dean was right about everything. Predictably, Ruby gives him a pep talk to keep him going down the path she says is the right one.
When Zachariah tells Dean that he won't stop Lilith, Dean realizes that Zach doesn't want to stop the apocolypse. Zach says he never did. He likens what's coming to an Ali-Foreman fight, and says his side will win and it'll be peace on earth. Dean looks around the room at all the apocolyptic paintings of demons killing humans and realizes what's in store for humanity. Zach is unconcerned about the people caught in the middle and says, "This isn't the first planetary enema we've delivered." You know, I really don't like this guy. He's right up there with Uriel. Then Zachariah tells Dean that he still has a role to play, that he won't stop Lilith or the breaking of the final seal or the breaking of the seals. Instead, he'll stop Lucifer.
"You're our own little Russel Crowe, complete with surly attitude," Zachariah says. Again, too much of a pop culture stretch. He promises Dean will be rewarded beyond imagination after it's over to which Dean says, "Tell me something. Where's the God in all this?" Zachariah replies, "God? God has left the building." Huh? What exactly does that mean?
Lilith arrives at convent. Dean tries to punch Cas with no effect other than hurting his own hand. Dean tells Cas to "take your peace and shove it up your lily-white ass." (You know, I'm guessing the Vatican would like this show about as much as it does Angels & Demons.) Dean says he'd rather suffer than "be some Stepford bitch in paradise." He challenges Cas, telling him he knows there's a right and a wrong here. Cas says that if he does what Dean wants, they'll all be hunted down and killed. Dean replies, "If there's anything worth dying for, this is it."The next scene is a heartbreaker. Sam sees that he has a message from Dean and plays it. Even the music has us expecting him to hear the apology Dean sent earlier. Instead, it's either an earlier message or something planted by Ruby or the angels -- Dean calling Sam a bloodsucking freak, a vampire, and that he's done trying to save him. There's no going back. It's enough to push Sam far enough that he okays Ruby's knifing of the nurse so he can drink the demon's blood. Behind Sam's back, Ruby's satisfied smile had me wanting to pitch something at the TV and making me regret ever having believed she might have been telling the truth and truly on the side of good. Bitch!
Cas returns to where Dean is stuck and has obviously made his decision to disobey his superiors again and help Dean escape. He has to get rid of Zachariah temporarily and tells Dean that they have to keep Sam from killing Lilith because she actually IS the last seal (shades of Harry Potter being a horcrux, anyone?). Next we see the cough*Phophet*cough Chuck on the phone ordering some hookers. Nice (eye roll). He turns around and is shocked to see Cas and Dean in his house, says, "This isn't supposed to happen." Cas says they're making it up as they go. The words are barely out of his mouth before the archangel shows up with the sharing shaking and intense white light again. Cas tells Dean to go and he'll hold him off as long as he can. Okay, I really, really don't want Cas to have died in this effort. I want his earlier statement about being hunted to show up in fact next season. I want to see him teamed up with the boys, and perhaps even goofy, horny Chuck.
Sam and Ruby confront Lilith, and despite a pause when he hears Dean calling his name, Sam does the deed and kills Lilith. At that moment, Ruby's true intent comes out as she reveals that Sam has opened the doorway to let out Lucifer. Hello, saw that coming with the episode title. Sam is hor-ri-fied. He's been played by Ruby, just like Dean said. He tries to kill Ruby only to find out that he's all out of power; he used it all killing Lilith. But Ruby isn't Lilith, and Sam isn't the only person who can kill her. Sam holds her while Dean shoves a knife into her and dispatches her. Go, Dean!Even though I know what's coming, this moment made me happy. We ended the season with the brothers not facing off in a cataclysmic death match but once again on the same side, standing side by side as they watch the doorway open that will allow Lucifer to rise.
"Dean, he's coming," Sam says to end a most excellent season.
So, I'm left with these questions:
1. Why was Sam the only one who could kill Lilith and open the doorway? Is he Lucifer's son?
2. How in the world are Sam and Dean going to fight Lucifer, especially when they've probably ticked off the other side?
3. Is there any word on who will play Lucifer next season? Who could pull that off?
4. Did Cas survive?
5. Will we still see distance between Sam and Dean, or will the magnitude of what they are facing firmly plant them on the same side?
6. With Lucifer on the loose, will we have any opportunities for the fun monster-of-the-week episodes?
7. Just how much hell on earth are we going to see?
Thursday, April 23, 2009
"Jump the Shark" episode recap
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!!!!!
Wellll, just GREAT. Tonight’s the night to do the recap and my TIVO decided the first 6 minutes weren’t IMPORTANT!!!! Actually, I think it’s the network. 6 minuters of recorded static. Still, GRRRR. Anyway, I came in when Dean pulled a gun on the kid, John’s son, under the table.
Wow, Dean is defensive. Poor Dean. What a shock to hear that John took such interest in this kid, that he taught him to drive the Impala, that he took him to a baseball game. The kid (still don’t know his name) got the normal life Sam and Dean never did.
And now Sam and Dean have to help him find his mom.
What terribly Photoshopped pictures! It looks like John still had a relationship with this boy’s mother. Is that why the kid called John for help? How much younger is this boy than our boys? If John passed through the town in 1990, he’s about 9 years younger than Sam. So John didn’t learn about him until Sam was in college. (I’m thinking about Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s own secret baby, too.)
ALWAYS with the scissors, Dean! But Sam would have never fit in that vent. (According to my brother, all that crawling around would be impossible.) And ew!!! All that blood and bits. Is this a shapeshifter?
Now it’s time to take the kid’s innocence. Sam insists the kid needs to know. He’s a bit trusting, though, taking it all in, accepting. This should have been a clue to me. Hey, there’s the journal. Haven’t seen that in awhile.
Ah, Adam. That’s his name. I should have remembered from the previews. And he’s pre-med, smart like Sam.
Sam needs to trim those 70s sideburns, do ya think? And stop pointing the gun at Adam when he should be teaching gun safety?
Dean’s touring the mausoleum, but I don’t think I know why. Is this a new body snatching or is he looking into John’s old case? Blast you, local CW! Love the mortician’s line: “Have you thought about where you’d like to spend eternity?”
And Dean’s response: “All the damn time.”
I bet.
So, graverobbers took corpses and opened them up. YUM.
So Dean goes into a bar and gives off a law and order vibe. There’s a joke.
It seems Joe the bartender worked the missing body case back in the day, and assured the locals they’d taken care of the culprit. Hm. And now the body-snatching creature wants Adam? And Sam is willing to use Adam as bait. Remember when Sam didn’t want to use the kid as bait in “Something Wicked This Way Comes?”
Sam is way hot shooting a gun, and also smiling proudly. Looks like he enjoys being the big brother for a change, having someone looking up to him the way he looked up to Dean.
Wow, Sam is telling the kid to cut off his life from friends, just like Dean told him in Season One, the first shapeshifter episode. Dean calls him on being like Dad, but Sam understands John’s attitude, now. He thinks whatever’s coming may be after revenge, but other creatures are out there who will want revenge against John and whoever John loved. Adam is meat if he’s not trained. Dean declares it’s too late for him and Sam, but Adam still has a chance to be normal. The brothers each wonder if the other is jealous of Adam’s innocence.
Here goes Dean, crawling through another tunnel. It’s gotta be a shapeshifter. Oh, YUCK, Sloppy Joe. Classic Dean.
And now, poor Dean, trapped in a crypt. I’m feeling a little breathless here. And of course he has to check out the coffin, which contains a blonde woman.
Hey, Mama’s home, and has gotten into the house that Sam thought he’d secured. Sam tries to drag the kid away from what he’s sure is not human. The kid gets the gun from Sam and his expression changes from confusion to wicked glee when he tells Sam he knows she’s not human, and plows the butt of the gun into Sam’s face, just as Dean opens another coffin to reveal the dead and mutilated body of….Adam.
Whoa. I bow to Kripke. Did NOT see that coming. (And I know I said that in my last review, but DAMN.)
And now Dean is desperate to get to Sam, who was so trusting with this kid.
What are these creatures, and what are they going to do to Sam? Hey, at least he’s not pinned to the wall.
Ah, ghouls. That’s new and unexpected.
Okay, I’m a bit jealous of the mama biting on Sam’s ear.
So Sam and Dean didn’t get the ghouls because of the fresh kills. Ghouls are usually scavengers, and they take on the forms of the last thing they ate, as well as thoughts and memories. “We are what we eat,” Mama Ghoul says.
I’m GROSSING out, the way they’re tasting Sam. Apparently John killed their daddy, who never hurt anyone alive (just ate dead bodies) but why did they wait so long to get back at him? It took 20 years to figure out revenge?
OMG, Sam is bleeding out! And what scars he’s going to have….all kinds. Dean busts out of the crypt (that has a stained glass ceiling? But is underground?) Why didn’t Dean shoot the kid in the head as soon as he was done with Mama Ghoul? That’s unlike him. Maybe if he’d aimed, and hesitated because he’d be killing his brother’s likeness, but no. He doesn’t even look at Adam, instead going straight for Sam, only to be attacked from behind. Dean comes out on top, but did go a little overboard on the beating in the head of the Adam ghoul. Ick. Why don’t they put tourniquets on Sam?
So the boys stand once again at a funeral pyre. What does Dean mean about Adam going out like a hunter? Just because the kid was killed by a ghoul doesn’t mean anything, right? Dean points out that Sam is more like John than Dean will ever be. Sam takes that as a compliment (!!) and Dean tells him to take it however he wants it. I don’t think Dean meant it as such.
Trish is here with me, and we’re puzzling over the purpose of this episode. What was the point? How did it move the story forward? Just to redeem John’s decisions to make his sons into hunters so they could defend themselves?
The dh asked why we’re surprised John had only one son we don’t know about. But in “Home,” John still wore his wedding ring. Being involved with a man like that would be weird, right?
So what do you think? Was this an important episode? Did it teach us anything new? Is it one you’ll watch over and over?
Wellll, just GREAT. Tonight’s the night to do the recap and my TIVO decided the first 6 minutes weren’t IMPORTANT!!!! Actually, I think it’s the network. 6 minuters of recorded static. Still, GRRRR. Anyway, I came in when Dean pulled a gun on the kid, John’s son, under the table.
Wow, Dean is defensive. Poor Dean. What a shock to hear that John took such interest in this kid, that he taught him to drive the Impala, that he took him to a baseball game. The kid (still don’t know his name) got the normal life Sam and Dean never did.
And now Sam and Dean have to help him find his mom.
What terribly Photoshopped pictures! It looks like John still had a relationship with this boy’s mother. Is that why the kid called John for help? How much younger is this boy than our boys? If John passed through the town in 1990, he’s about 9 years younger than Sam. So John didn’t learn about him until Sam was in college. (I’m thinking about Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s own secret baby, too.)
ALWAYS with the scissors, Dean! But Sam would have never fit in that vent. (According to my brother, all that crawling around would be impossible.) And ew!!! All that blood and bits. Is this a shapeshifter?
Now it’s time to take the kid’s innocence. Sam insists the kid needs to know. He’s a bit trusting, though, taking it all in, accepting. This should have been a clue to me. Hey, there’s the journal. Haven’t seen that in awhile.
Ah, Adam. That’s his name. I should have remembered from the previews. And he’s pre-med, smart like Sam.
Sam needs to trim those 70s sideburns, do ya think? And stop pointing the gun at Adam when he should be teaching gun safety?
Dean’s touring the mausoleum, but I don’t think I know why. Is this a new body snatching or is he looking into John’s old case? Blast you, local CW! Love the mortician’s line: “Have you thought about where you’d like to spend eternity?”
And Dean’s response: “All the damn time.”
I bet.
So, graverobbers took corpses and opened them up. YUM.
So Dean goes into a bar and gives off a law and order vibe. There’s a joke.
It seems Joe the bartender worked the missing body case back in the day, and assured the locals they’d taken care of the culprit. Hm. And now the body-snatching creature wants Adam? And Sam is willing to use Adam as bait. Remember when Sam didn’t want to use the kid as bait in “Something Wicked This Way Comes?”
Sam is way hot shooting a gun, and also smiling proudly. Looks like he enjoys being the big brother for a change, having someone looking up to him the way he looked up to Dean.
Wow, Sam is telling the kid to cut off his life from friends, just like Dean told him in Season One, the first shapeshifter episode. Dean calls him on being like Dad, but Sam understands John’s attitude, now. He thinks whatever’s coming may be after revenge, but other creatures are out there who will want revenge against John and whoever John loved. Adam is meat if he’s not trained. Dean declares it’s too late for him and Sam, but Adam still has a chance to be normal. The brothers each wonder if the other is jealous of Adam’s innocence.
Here goes Dean, crawling through another tunnel. It’s gotta be a shapeshifter. Oh, YUCK, Sloppy Joe. Classic Dean.
And now, poor Dean, trapped in a crypt. I’m feeling a little breathless here. And of course he has to check out the coffin, which contains a blonde woman.
Hey, Mama’s home, and has gotten into the house that Sam thought he’d secured. Sam tries to drag the kid away from what he’s sure is not human. The kid gets the gun from Sam and his expression changes from confusion to wicked glee when he tells Sam he knows she’s not human, and plows the butt of the gun into Sam’s face, just as Dean opens another coffin to reveal the dead and mutilated body of….Adam.
Whoa. I bow to Kripke. Did NOT see that coming. (And I know I said that in my last review, but DAMN.)
And now Dean is desperate to get to Sam, who was so trusting with this kid.
What are these creatures, and what are they going to do to Sam? Hey, at least he’s not pinned to the wall.
Ah, ghouls. That’s new and unexpected.
Okay, I’m a bit jealous of the mama biting on Sam’s ear.
So Sam and Dean didn’t get the ghouls because of the fresh kills. Ghouls are usually scavengers, and they take on the forms of the last thing they ate, as well as thoughts and memories. “We are what we eat,” Mama Ghoul says.
I’m GROSSING out, the way they’re tasting Sam. Apparently John killed their daddy, who never hurt anyone alive (just ate dead bodies) but why did they wait so long to get back at him? It took 20 years to figure out revenge?
OMG, Sam is bleeding out! And what scars he’s going to have….all kinds. Dean busts out of the crypt (that has a stained glass ceiling? But is underground?) Why didn’t Dean shoot the kid in the head as soon as he was done with Mama Ghoul? That’s unlike him. Maybe if he’d aimed, and hesitated because he’d be killing his brother’s likeness, but no. He doesn’t even look at Adam, instead going straight for Sam, only to be attacked from behind. Dean comes out on top, but did go a little overboard on the beating in the head of the Adam ghoul. Ick. Why don’t they put tourniquets on Sam?
So the boys stand once again at a funeral pyre. What does Dean mean about Adam going out like a hunter? Just because the kid was killed by a ghoul doesn’t mean anything, right? Dean points out that Sam is more like John than Dean will ever be. Sam takes that as a compliment (!!) and Dean tells him to take it however he wants it. I don’t think Dean meant it as such.
Trish is here with me, and we’re puzzling over the purpose of this episode. What was the point? How did it move the story forward? Just to redeem John’s decisions to make his sons into hunters so they could defend themselves?
The dh asked why we’re surprised John had only one son we don’t know about. But in “Home,” John still wore his wedding ring. Being involved with a man like that would be weird, right?
So what do you think? Was this an important episode? Did it teach us anything new? Is it one you’ll watch over and over?
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Road So Far
This post contains mild spoilers of the level of short episode descriptions/titles, as well as wild speculation.
The countdown has begun. Starting next week, we have four episodes remaining. I can't believe we're this far along already, that the season is almost over. It feels like it just started.
I had a need to kind of coalesce the season, condense it into its essence. I intended to rewatch the whole season again before I wrote this, but of course it's not summer so I didn't have time. So instead of doing a one-line recap of each episode, I'll explore the season's main parts.
Dean
In many ways, this has been Dean's season. When the show was conceived, Sam was the focus, the hero, but immediately the brothers became intertwined and inseparable (in a metaphysical rather than physical sense). When a guy gets dragged from hell by an angel, though, he tends to become the center of attention.
Poor Dean has really struggled this year, and he still can't catch a break. Being selected by the angels seemed to indicate he was special, but Dean just felt like a tool for dicks...until he found out he was the first seal and therefore is destined to be the one to stop Lucifer from rising. Just a little pressure there.
In the meantime, he's struggled with finding out that his mother was not only a hunter, but the reason Sam got marked, she got killed, and they wound up on the path they did. Sam's marking has led to his use of this suspicious demon power. Dean still doesn't know the extent of Sam's secrets, and it's tearing him apart. If he can't save his brother, how can he save the world?
Sam
Sam may not have the heavy storyline this year, but it's not like it's light, either. With Dean gone, he turned to what he knew and what he had in order to keep hunting and to try to track and kill Lilith to punish her for taking his brother. He hasn't adjusted all that well to being in charge and then having that taken from him. He also sees himself as his brother's protector--maybe he truly believes Dean was damaged in hell and left something behind, but I think he's trying to justify his need to run things now, or at least to not be run by Dean, as well as trying to do for Dean what Dean has done for him for so long.
Certainly, once we got past all the hints of what he's chosen to do and found out what he was really doing (i.e., drinking demon blood to turbo-boost his demon-fed powers to better defeat his enemy), his storyline expanded.
The Angels
The whole angel thing delights me to no end, because it fits my own logic. If there is a God, he made humanity in his image, and we're inquisitive children. God also made angels, and angels are rebellious teenagers (ref. fall of Lucifer). So that makes God a parent, and any of us who have or are parents know that we're not infallible. So God's not infallible.
So why wouldn't angels make mistakes, too? They can crave something they can't have and make bad decisions and question themselves and their father. Faith doesn't have to be about God. In fact, it usually isn't, or if it is, God's mostly a filter. Faith and belief are about ourselves and each other, and in that context, the angels in Supernatural aren't that different from humans except for the PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS (but no iiiiitty bitty living space).
Essentially, the humans and the angels are fighting the same internal battles as well as the same external one, with often oppositional methods.
The Big Plan
Seasons 1 and 2 had the same Big Bad: the Yellow-Eyed Demon, later known to be Azazel. Season 3's Big Bad wasn't known for much of the (truncated) season, but when Lilith appeared, she was truly scary. So it's been interesting that she remains TBB in season 4 without showing up for 18 weeks. Of course, Alistair was a pretty good fill-in, if only for his effect on Dean.
It's still a bit fuzzy whether Azazel/YED and Lilith were after the same thing, if he worked for her, or if she just took over the plan once he was gone. Said plan is to break 66 of the 600 or so seals that exist to keep Lucifer imprisoned, which, once broken, will allow him to roam free and bring hell to earth.
The first seal was for a righteous man to spill blood in hell. Alistair explained that John was to be the righteous man, but he held strong. That's got to be devastating to Dean, but John had at least one thing, maybe two, that Dean didn't have. One is his sons. A father who would go to hell to save his son's life has a sphere of love that will give him strength. The other is experience and knowledge. I think he probably knew the scripture or lore that described the breaking of the first seal, and knew if he gave in, he was condemning his sons to the same fate he suffered. That's powerful motivation, even for 100 years.
The Future
We've got three parties that seem to know the future. The Prophet Chuck, who saw something really bad but is being prevented from telling Dean and Sam what it was. I'm latching on to the nuances in Chuck's writing of his visions. His interpretations of events aren't always what happens.
Zachariah, a powerful angel, seems to know what Chuck saw, so he has some prescience, too. How firm the future is, how unchangeable, is one of the big questions of the season, stemming from Dean's trip back to his parents' younger days. My interpretation of Zachariah's hold on Chuck is that it is fluid, and he believes the boys expectations will affect outcomes in a negative way, so he doesn't want them to expect what's coming.
And finally, high level demons like Lilith apparently can see or sense the future, too, because she claims to know she won't survive the war. Not news to Sam, who is of course bound and determined to take her out, even if he goes with her. But how much does she see? Can she only see what pertains to her? Again, fluidity seems to be a factor, because she offered to stop her quest, which would mean the war would cease and she wouldn't die, presumably.
NOW
Is it me, or is there an awful lot to happen and be answered in just four episodes? Next week we meet the third Winchester brother (and apparently never see him again, so that's why I think he's the "person close to the Winchesters" who is going to die). Then we learn about the man Castiel is possessing. Neither of those premises seems to lend itself too well to progressing the main storyarc, but then, I didn't think the meta episode would when I first heard about it, or the Prius-driving, latte-sipping Dean episode, either, and both did a great job of doing so.
The final two episodes are just starting to be talked about, and I haven't been seeking info. But they're called "When the Levee Breaks" and "Lucifer Rising," which inspires all kinds of fear. And questions:
1. Is Lucifer going to make it to earth?
2. If he does, will season 5 be about putting him back?
3. If he doesn't, what will happen in season 5? (Killer robots, supposedly.)
4. Are Sam and Dean going to take the final step that makes them mortal enemies?
5. If so, will season 5 be about them being apart?
6. If so, is Kripke insane, or just ensuring we'll hate the show by the end of season 5 so no one will try to tempt him to come back for a season 6?
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your personal viewpoint, we'll know many of these answers in five short weeks.
~~~~~~~~~
Your turn. What details did I leave out that are particularly important? Where do you think we're going? Are you excited, sad, apprehensive, or all of the above? Sound off in the comments! First-time commenters especially encouraged!
The countdown has begun. Starting next week, we have four episodes remaining. I can't believe we're this far along already, that the season is almost over. It feels like it just started.
I had a need to kind of coalesce the season, condense it into its essence. I intended to rewatch the whole season again before I wrote this, but of course it's not summer so I didn't have time. So instead of doing a one-line recap of each episode, I'll explore the season's main parts.
DeanIn many ways, this has been Dean's season. When the show was conceived, Sam was the focus, the hero, but immediately the brothers became intertwined and inseparable (in a metaphysical rather than physical sense). When a guy gets dragged from hell by an angel, though, he tends to become the center of attention.
Poor Dean has really struggled this year, and he still can't catch a break. Being selected by the angels seemed to indicate he was special, but Dean just felt like a tool for dicks...until he found out he was the first seal and therefore is destined to be the one to stop Lucifer from rising. Just a little pressure there.
In the meantime, he's struggled with finding out that his mother was not only a hunter, but the reason Sam got marked, she got killed, and they wound up on the path they did. Sam's marking has led to his use of this suspicious demon power. Dean still doesn't know the extent of Sam's secrets, and it's tearing him apart. If he can't save his brother, how can he save the world?
SamSam may not have the heavy storyline this year, but it's not like it's light, either. With Dean gone, he turned to what he knew and what he had in order to keep hunting and to try to track and kill Lilith to punish her for taking his brother. He hasn't adjusted all that well to being in charge and then having that taken from him. He also sees himself as his brother's protector--maybe he truly believes Dean was damaged in hell and left something behind, but I think he's trying to justify his need to run things now, or at least to not be run by Dean, as well as trying to do for Dean what Dean has done for him for so long.
Certainly, once we got past all the hints of what he's chosen to do and found out what he was really doing (i.e., drinking demon blood to turbo-boost his demon-fed powers to better defeat his enemy), his storyline expanded.
The Angels
The whole angel thing delights me to no end, because it fits my own logic. If there is a God, he made humanity in his image, and we're inquisitive children. God also made angels, and angels are rebellious teenagers (ref. fall of Lucifer). So that makes God a parent, and any of us who have or are parents know that we're not infallible. So God's not infallible.
So why wouldn't angels make mistakes, too? They can crave something they can't have and make bad decisions and question themselves and their father. Faith doesn't have to be about God. In fact, it usually isn't, or if it is, God's mostly a filter. Faith and belief are about ourselves and each other, and in that context, the angels in Supernatural aren't that different from humans except for the PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS (but no iiiiitty bitty living space).
Essentially, the humans and the angels are fighting the same internal battles as well as the same external one, with often oppositional methods.
The Big Plan
Seasons 1 and 2 had the same Big Bad: the Yellow-Eyed Demon, later known to be Azazel. Season 3's Big Bad wasn't known for much of the (truncated) season, but when Lilith appeared, she was truly scary. So it's been interesting that she remains TBB in season 4 without showing up for 18 weeks. Of course, Alistair was a pretty good fill-in, if only for his effect on Dean.
It's still a bit fuzzy whether Azazel/YED and Lilith were after the same thing, if he worked for her, or if she just took over the plan once he was gone. Said plan is to break 66 of the 600 or so seals that exist to keep Lucifer imprisoned, which, once broken, will allow him to roam free and bring hell to earth.The first seal was for a righteous man to spill blood in hell. Alistair explained that John was to be the righteous man, but he held strong. That's got to be devastating to Dean, but John had at least one thing, maybe two, that Dean didn't have. One is his sons. A father who would go to hell to save his son's life has a sphere of love that will give him strength. The other is experience and knowledge. I think he probably knew the scripture or lore that described the breaking of the first seal, and knew if he gave in, he was condemning his sons to the same fate he suffered. That's powerful motivation, even for 100 years.
The Future
We've got three parties that seem to know the future. The Prophet Chuck, who saw something really bad but is being prevented from telling Dean and Sam what it was. I'm latching on to the nuances in Chuck's writing of his visions. His interpretations of events aren't always what happens.
Zachariah, a powerful angel, seems to know what Chuck saw, so he has some prescience, too. How firm the future is, how unchangeable, is one of the big questions of the season, stemming from Dean's trip back to his parents' younger days. My interpretation of Zachariah's hold on Chuck is that it is fluid, and he believes the boys expectations will affect outcomes in a negative way, so he doesn't want them to expect what's coming.
And finally, high level demons like Lilith apparently can see or sense the future, too, because she claims to know she won't survive the war. Not news to Sam, who is of course bound and determined to take her out, even if he goes with her. But how much does she see? Can she only see what pertains to her? Again, fluidity seems to be a factor, because she offered to stop her quest, which would mean the war would cease and she wouldn't die, presumably.
NOW
Is it me, or is there an awful lot to happen and be answered in just four episodes? Next week we meet the third Winchester brother (and apparently never see him again, so that's why I think he's the "person close to the Winchesters" who is going to die). Then we learn about the man Castiel is possessing. Neither of those premises seems to lend itself too well to progressing the main storyarc, but then, I didn't think the meta episode would when I first heard about it, or the Prius-driving, latte-sipping Dean episode, either, and both did a great job of doing so.
The final two episodes are just starting to be talked about, and I haven't been seeking info. But they're called "When the Levee Breaks" and "Lucifer Rising," which inspires all kinds of fear. And questions:
1. Is Lucifer going to make it to earth?
2. If he does, will season 5 be about putting him back?
3. If he doesn't, what will happen in season 5? (Killer robots, supposedly.)
4. Are Sam and Dean going to take the final step that makes them mortal enemies?
5. If so, will season 5 be about them being apart?
6. If so, is Kripke insane, or just ensuring we'll hate the show by the end of season 5 so no one will try to tempt him to come back for a season 6?
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your personal viewpoint, we'll know many of these answers in five short weeks.
~~~~~~~~~
Your turn. What details did I leave out that are particularly important? Where do you think we're going? Are you excited, sad, apprehensive, or all of the above? Sound off in the comments! First-time commenters especially encouraged!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
The week ahead
We've got another fun week ahead on the Supernatural Sisters blog. So swing by each day and bring a friend (or two or three or...).
Monday -- I (Trish) will explore how Supernatural is portraying angels. Castiel, I like. Uriel, not so much.
Tuesday -- Natalie will give us a fabulous round-up of the Salute to Supernatural conference in Cherry Hill, NJ. Wow, I'm jealous that she's going.
Wednesday -- MJ will give us a review of The Watchmen, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan (aka Papa Winchester). I know she's been waiting for this movie for a long time. Hmm, I wonder how many times she's watched the trailer. :)
Thursday -- Terri will be talking about the music used on Supernatural. Oh, fun! I know I'm not alone in that I wished they'd put together a Supernatural soundtrack. I wonder if the members of Kansas wondered why sales of "Carry On, My Wayward Son" suddenly spiked a few years back.
Friday -- It's episode re-cap day with Tanya, this time for the new episode "Death Takes a Holiday." I'm sure it'll be full of her signature wit and interesting observations.
Monday -- I (Trish) will explore how Supernatural is portraying angels. Castiel, I like. Uriel, not so much.
Tuesday -- Natalie will give us a fabulous round-up of the Salute to Supernatural conference in Cherry Hill, NJ. Wow, I'm jealous that she's going.
Wednesday -- MJ will give us a review of The Watchmen, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan (aka Papa Winchester). I know she's been waiting for this movie for a long time. Hmm, I wonder how many times she's watched the trailer. :)
Thursday -- Terri will be talking about the music used on Supernatural. Oh, fun! I know I'm not alone in that I wished they'd put together a Supernatural soundtrack. I wonder if the members of Kansas wondered why sales of "Carry On, My Wayward Son" suddenly spiked a few years back.
Friday -- It's episode re-cap day with Tanya, this time for the new episode "Death Takes a Holiday." I'm sure it'll be full of her signature wit and interesting observations.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Adjunct Interests
I know, stupid title. But...
One night a couple of weeks ago, I kept waking up with memories of odd dreams. I dreamed of this blogging and of my fellow SPN Sisters, and of some woman who wanted to blog here but I had to figure out how because we weren't going to make her a permanent member.
At one point--I think it was at 4:48 a.m. when I carried the door-scratching cat down to the bathroom--I thought, "Adjunct interests. I've got to blog about that!"
And guess what? When I went to log it on the schedule, I found I'd somehow skipped a week, and had no topic for today! How fortuitous!
I just love when things fall into place like that.
Okay. Adjunct interests. Like I said, weird title, but I felt I had to be true to the dream inspiration.
When fans are passionate about something like a TV show, they create a demand for more. Smart powers-that-be seek to fulfill that demand through tie-in products and events. Supernatural is no different.
Some official products include:
Supernatural Magazine
Each month, either in your mailbox or on the newsstand, you can find this big, glossy magazine full of interviews, articles, analysis, and reminders of past episodes. Lots of insider information. Lots of typos, too, but we won't mention that.
Tie-in novels
When you can't get enough of Sam and Dean's adventures, you can turn to these novels that describe some of the "episodes" that never make it to screen.
Official Season Companions
These are kind of like extended versions of the magazine. They break down each episode in a full season, talking about the legends that inspired the story, and interviewing all of the players--big and small--who build the Supernatural world. The Season 3 companion goes on sale next week.
John's Journal
This book is modeled after John Winchester's "real" journal (real in the context of the show) and has exorcisms, notes about jobs and monsters and the boys' childhoods. Talk about diving into the meaty details...
We've already talked about some of the other stuff spawned by Supernatural:
With a bit of investment, you can travel around the country to see our favorite stars and guest stars speak on stage, and get personal autographs and photos with them. Some conventions are specific to the show, some are more genre-oriented, with several fandoms intermingling, and some are gigantic fests, like Comic-Con.
There are two sets of comic book prequels so far: "Origins" and "Rising Son." Ask your local comic book store to order them, or find them online.
And, as discussed in yesterday's review, you can find fan-centric essays combined in such volumes as In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural.
Then, of course, there's actual merchandise. Some official, like mugs and calendars you can obtain via The WB, or posters, patches, and T-shirts offered by places like Creation Entertainment. Some unofficial, like you'll find at Zazzle and Café Press. There's some pretty clever stuff out there, and you can find everything from bumper stickers to thongs.
Sometimes, this demand for more leads fans to broader interests. My favorite, most personal example is Jason Manns. I don't spend a lot of time surfing for new stuff on the show and its people. But a while back, a friend linked me to a video that shows Jensen Ackles singing "Crazy Love" at a friend's wedding. The video was posted on the accompaniest's MySpace. Wondering how I knew the song, I went to iTunes to see who had also recorded it (turns out it's like, eleventy-hundred people) and saw that Jason Manns had an album. I listened, loved, and bought, and he quickly became my favorite singer/musician.
I'm not the only one. His popularity has grown since that video got passed around, and he's been asked to do concerts at Supernatural conventions (including the one I'm going to next week!). Steve Carlson is another singer/musician who has gained the same benefit of being friends with Jensen Ackles.
Trivia note: In the episode "Lazarus Rising," when Dean gets into the Impala and there's an iPod hooked up, the music playing is one of Jason's songs.
Another ripple in the pool of entertainment comes from the "six degrees" phenomenon. Casual watchers of any particular show might have a vague feeling that some guest star looks familiar, but passionate fans will recognize them right away:
"Hey, the son was Michael in 'Something Wicked,' season one! And his dad was in 'A Very Supernatural Christmas'!" (The Mentalist, 1.12)
"I'm so watching Leverage. The computer guru thief is played by Jake! You know, the guy who knifed Sam in the back!"
"I don't care if Kristin at E! Online can't recommend Harper's Island. Can you believe it's got Jim Beaver (Bobby) and Katie Cassidy (Ruby season 3) and Gina Holden (That Haley Girl, "Wendigo") and Chris Gauthier (Ronald Reznick, "we're not working for the Mandroid!") and Amber Borycki (Sophie Carlton, "Dead in the Water") and Julia Anderson (hooker at bar in "Sin City") and Ben Cotton (some Businessman in "The Magnificent Seven" I don't know) and Anna Mae Routledge ("we're walking, we're walking, and we're not touching that" in "Long-Distance Call") and Sean Rogerson (maybe fileted by a hooker from God in "Houses of the Holy," and can you believe I just looked all that up?"
Some upstart TV shows get a bigger percentage of their following than they know from people like us, who love a show so much we'll follow its stars and guest stars and even extras just to see what they're doing now.
It works for movies, too, as we've attested to before. How many of us would have seen Friday the 13th last week without the draw of Jared Padalecki, or even known about Ten Inch Hero (starring Jensen Ackles, now available for rent at Blockbuster and to preorder for purchase here)?
Because of my love of Supernatural, I wound up here!
So what "adjunct interests" have you developed due to your love of the show?
One night a couple of weeks ago, I kept waking up with memories of odd dreams. I dreamed of this blogging and of my fellow SPN Sisters, and of some woman who wanted to blog here but I had to figure out how because we weren't going to make her a permanent member.
At one point--I think it was at 4:48 a.m. when I carried the door-scratching cat down to the bathroom--I thought, "Adjunct interests. I've got to blog about that!"
And guess what? When I went to log it on the schedule, I found I'd somehow skipped a week, and had no topic for today! How fortuitous!
I just love when things fall into place like that.
Okay. Adjunct interests. Like I said, weird title, but I felt I had to be true to the dream inspiration.
When fans are passionate about something like a TV show, they create a demand for more. Smart powers-that-be seek to fulfill that demand through tie-in products and events. Supernatural is no different.
Some official products include:
Supernatural MagazineEach month, either in your mailbox or on the newsstand, you can find this big, glossy magazine full of interviews, articles, analysis, and reminders of past episodes. Lots of insider information. Lots of typos, too, but we won't mention that.
Tie-in novelsWhen you can't get enough of Sam and Dean's adventures, you can turn to these novels that describe some of the "episodes" that never make it to screen.
Official Season Companions
These are kind of like extended versions of the magazine. They break down each episode in a full season, talking about the legends that inspired the story, and interviewing all of the players--big and small--who build the Supernatural world. The Season 3 companion goes on sale next week.
John's Journal
This book is modeled after John Winchester's "real" journal (real in the context of the show) and has exorcisms, notes about jobs and monsters and the boys' childhoods. Talk about diving into the meaty details...
We've already talked about some of the other stuff spawned by Supernatural:
With a bit of investment, you can travel around the country to see our favorite stars and guest stars speak on stage, and get personal autographs and photos with them. Some conventions are specific to the show, some are more genre-oriented, with several fandoms intermingling, and some are gigantic fests, like Comic-Con.
There are two sets of comic book prequels so far: "Origins" and "Rising Son." Ask your local comic book store to order them, or find them online.
And, as discussed in yesterday's review, you can find fan-centric essays combined in such volumes as In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural.
Then, of course, there's actual merchandise. Some official, like mugs and calendars you can obtain via The WB, or posters, patches, and T-shirts offered by places like Creation Entertainment. Some unofficial, like you'll find at Zazzle and Café Press. There's some pretty clever stuff out there, and you can find everything from bumper stickers to thongs.
Sometimes, this demand for more leads fans to broader interests. My favorite, most personal example is Jason Manns. I don't spend a lot of time surfing for new stuff on the show and its people. But a while back, a friend linked me to a video that shows Jensen Ackles singing "Crazy Love" at a friend's wedding. The video was posted on the accompaniest's MySpace. Wondering how I knew the song, I went to iTunes to see who had also recorded it (turns out it's like, eleventy-hundred people) and saw that Jason Manns had an album. I listened, loved, and bought, and he quickly became my favorite singer/musician.
I'm not the only one. His popularity has grown since that video got passed around, and he's been asked to do concerts at Supernatural conventions (including the one I'm going to next week!). Steve Carlson is another singer/musician who has gained the same benefit of being friends with Jensen Ackles.
Trivia note: In the episode "Lazarus Rising," when Dean gets into the Impala and there's an iPod hooked up, the music playing is one of Jason's songs.
Another ripple in the pool of entertainment comes from the "six degrees" phenomenon. Casual watchers of any particular show might have a vague feeling that some guest star looks familiar, but passionate fans will recognize them right away:
"Hey, the son was Michael in 'Something Wicked,' season one! And his dad was in 'A Very Supernatural Christmas'!" (The Mentalist, 1.12)
"I'm so watching Leverage. The computer guru thief is played by Jake! You know, the guy who knifed Sam in the back!"
"I don't care if Kristin at E! Online can't recommend Harper's Island. Can you believe it's got Jim Beaver (Bobby) and Katie Cassidy (Ruby season 3) and Gina Holden (That Haley Girl, "Wendigo") and Chris Gauthier (Ronald Reznick, "we're not working for the Mandroid!") and Amber Borycki (Sophie Carlton, "Dead in the Water") and Julia Anderson (hooker at bar in "Sin City") and Ben Cotton (some Businessman in "The Magnificent Seven" I don't know) and Anna Mae Routledge ("we're walking, we're walking, and we're not touching that" in "Long-Distance Call") and Sean Rogerson (maybe fileted by a hooker from God in "Houses of the Holy," and can you believe I just looked all that up?"
Some upstart TV shows get a bigger percentage of their following than they know from people like us, who love a show so much we'll follow its stars and guest stars and even extras just to see what they're doing now.
It works for movies, too, as we've attested to before. How many of us would have seen Friday the 13th last week without the draw of Jared Padalecki, or even known about Ten Inch Hero (starring Jensen Ackles, now available for rent at Blockbuster and to preorder for purchase here)?
Because of my love of Supernatural, I wound up here!
So what "adjunct interests" have you developed due to your love of the show?
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Winchester Family Relationships
I think it goes without saying that the Winchesters are not your normal family, but that doesn't mean that they don't experience the normal ups and downs all families experiences. There are disagreements, some nasty fights, some misunderstandings, and at the core of it all, love for each other.
Sam and Dean have had very different relationships with their father, something with which most of us can identify. For those of us with close relationships with our fathers, or even those who don’t but wish they did, Dean’s unquestioning loyalty to John is understandable. But for viewers who may have had strained relationships with their dads and not seen eye to eye, it’s easy to identify with Sam. He feels John never understood him, and Sam resents how the hunting took over every aspect of his life as he grew up. That’s why he’s so resistant to being pulled back into that life in the Pilot, at least until Jessica is killed by the same demon who killed his mother and set his family on the hunting path.
The brothers seem to switch viewpoints after their dad’s death, and the reasons are also easily understandable. Dean grows angry with his dad because he sacrificed his soul so Dean could live, and John weighs Dean down with an even heavier and more horrible responsibility — the knowledge that he might have to kill Sam if he turns evil. Sam, on the other hand, feels guilty that he fought so often with his dad, his only living parent. That during their last conversation, he tried to pick a fight with John. That guilt (which we all agree Sam is really good at taking on himself) leads to the need to hunt more because there is one less hunter to fight the fight. Part of him also wants to honor his father’s memory, to finish what John started. The switch is shown in “Hunted” (2-10).
Dean: “Screw the job.”
Sam: “You can’t run from this.”
While Sam and Dean also often argue over their views of their dad and how to deal with particular hunts, they are undoubtedly devoted to each other. Each would willingly die for the other. Dean is Mr. Keep Everyone at Arm’s Length, but his family is everything to him. After his father’s death, Sam is his only family. He’s been watching after Sammy his entire life, and he’s not going to stop now. We see the depth of that devotion over and over, as in “Born Under a Bad Sign” (2-14) when Sam asks Dean to kill him. Dean says, “I can’t. I’d rather die.” Sam was possessed by a demon at the time, but Dean didn’t know that. Even thinking Sam was starting to give in to evil, he couldn’t kill his little brother.
This not being able to let go of Sam is pushed to the extreme when Sam dies at the hand of Jake in “All Hell Breaks Loose, Parts 1 and 2” (2-21 and 2-22). In ironic contrast to what he condemns Evan for in “Crossroads Blues” (1-8), and the action for which he’s angry at his dad, Dean makes a deal with the Crossroads Demon to bring Sammy back to life in exchange for his own soul. Even when the demon only gives Dean one year to live versus the customary ten, Dean makes the deal. And he makes no apology for it when Bobby figures out what he’s done and confronts him about it.
Dean: “I couldn’t let him die, Bobby. I couldn’t. He’s my brother.”
Bobby: “How’s your brother going to feel when he knows you’re going to hell? How’d you feel when you knew your dad went for you?”
Sam shows that same unwillingness to let go of Dean in “In My Time of Dying” (2-1). When he and Bobby are looking at the demolished Impala, this exchange shows that Sam is not about to give up on Dean.
Sam: “Oh man, Dean is gonna be pissed.”
Bobby: “Look, Sam...This just ain’t worth a tow. I say we empty the trunk and sell the rest for scrap.”
Sam: “No. Dean’d kill me if I did that. When he gets better he’s gonna want to fix this.”
Bobby: “There’s nothing to fix. The frame’s a pretzel, the engine’s ruined. There’s barely any parts worth salvaging.”
Sam: “Listen to me, Bobby. If there’s just one working part, that’s enough. We’re not just gonna give up on...” (voice trails off)
Bobby: “Okay. You got it.”
When he finds out about the deal Dean made with the Crossroads Demon to save him, Sam makes it his mission to find a way to save Dean. Even when Dean is seemingly accepting his fate by living a hedonistic lifestyle of women, beer and loaded cheeseburgers, Sam is searching every nook and cranny of the lore to find a way to get Dean out of his deal. And when he can't save him, what does he do? He tries to make the same deal with a demon to bring back Dean as Dean made for him. Sigh. These Winchester men just don't learn, do they?
The type of dedication Sam and Dean show each other is powerful, the Supernatural world's equivalent to what many of us would do for a loved one -- anything possible to save them from certain harm or death.
So, what's your favorite Supernatural moment that shows this intense family dedication?
Sam and Dean have had very different relationships with their father, something with which most of us can identify. For those of us with close relationships with our fathers, or even those who don’t but wish they did, Dean’s unquestioning loyalty to John is understandable. But for viewers who may have had strained relationships with their dads and not seen eye to eye, it’s easy to identify with Sam. He feels John never understood him, and Sam resents how the hunting took over every aspect of his life as he grew up. That’s why he’s so resistant to being pulled back into that life in the Pilot, at least until Jessica is killed by the same demon who killed his mother and set his family on the hunting path.The brothers seem to switch viewpoints after their dad’s death, and the reasons are also easily understandable. Dean grows angry with his dad because he sacrificed his soul so Dean could live, and John weighs Dean down with an even heavier and more horrible responsibility — the knowledge that he might have to kill Sam if he turns evil. Sam, on the other hand, feels guilty that he fought so often with his dad, his only living parent. That during their last conversation, he tried to pick a fight with John. That guilt (which we all agree Sam is really good at taking on himself) leads to the need to hunt more because there is one less hunter to fight the fight. Part of him also wants to honor his father’s memory, to finish what John started. The switch is shown in “Hunted” (2-10).Dean: “Screw the job.”
Sam: “You can’t run from this.”
While Sam and Dean also often argue over their views of their dad and how to deal with particular hunts, they are undoubtedly devoted to each other. Each would willingly die for the other. Dean is Mr. Keep Everyone at Arm’s Length, but his family is everything to him. After his father’s death, Sam is his only family. He’s been watching after Sammy his entire life, and he’s not going to stop now. We see the depth of that devotion over and over, as in “Born Under a Bad Sign” (2-14) when Sam asks Dean to kill him. Dean says, “I can’t. I’d rather die.” Sam was possessed by a demon at the time, but Dean didn’t know that. Even thinking Sam was starting to give in to evil, he couldn’t kill his little brother.
This not being able to let go of Sam is pushed to the extreme when Sam dies at the hand of Jake in “All Hell Breaks Loose, Parts 1 and 2” (2-21 and 2-22). In ironic contrast to what he condemns Evan for in “Crossroads Blues” (1-8), and the action for which he’s angry at his dad, Dean makes a deal with the Crossroads Demon to bring Sammy back to life in exchange for his own soul. Even when the demon only gives Dean one year to live versus the customary ten, Dean makes the deal. And he makes no apology for it when Bobby figures out what he’s done and confronts him about it.
Dean: “I couldn’t let him die, Bobby. I couldn’t. He’s my brother.”
Bobby: “How’s your brother going to feel when he knows you’re going to hell? How’d you feel when you knew your dad went for you?”
Sam shows that same unwillingness to let go of Dean in “In My Time of Dying” (2-1). When he and Bobby are looking at the demolished Impala, this exchange shows that Sam is not about to give up on Dean.
Sam: “Oh man, Dean is gonna be pissed.”
Bobby: “Look, Sam...This just ain’t worth a tow. I say we empty the trunk and sell the rest for scrap.”
Sam: “No. Dean’d kill me if I did that. When he gets better he’s gonna want to fix this.”
Bobby: “There’s nothing to fix. The frame’s a pretzel, the engine’s ruined. There’s barely any parts worth salvaging.”
Sam: “Listen to me, Bobby. If there’s just one working part, that’s enough. We’re not just gonna give up on...” (voice trails off)
Bobby: “Okay. You got it.”
When he finds out about the deal Dean made with the Crossroads Demon to save him, Sam makes it his mission to find a way to save Dean. Even when Dean is seemingly accepting his fate by living a hedonistic lifestyle of women, beer and loaded cheeseburgers, Sam is searching every nook and cranny of the lore to find a way to get Dean out of his deal. And when he can't save him, what does he do? He tries to make the same deal with a demon to bring back Dean as Dean made for him. Sigh. These Winchester men just don't learn, do they?The type of dedication Sam and Dean show each other is powerful, the Supernatural world's equivalent to what many of us would do for a loved one -- anything possible to save them from certain harm or death.
So, what's your favorite Supernatural moment that shows this intense family dedication?
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Supernatural Origin - John's Story
Here at Supernatural Sisters we’ve put a lot of thought and discussion into John Winchester. What would make a dad take his kids on the road like that? How could he abandon them time and again? Did he really do the best he could? While we can only speculate what drove this man, haunted by his wife’s horrific death, there really haven’t been any clear answers. Until now.In Supernatural Origins, the graphic novel prequel to the TV show we all know and love, we learn exactly what happened to John after Mary burst into flames. Yes, Terri, but it’s just a comic, you say. How tied to the show could it really be? Well, it was written by Supernatural’s co-executive producer Peter Johnson, with heavy input by Kripke himself. Who better to know the missing lore?
But before I reveal the insight Origin offers, let me just say this: I’m not any kind of comic book
aficionado. I read Joss Whedon’s Fray and thoroughly enjoyed it and I do own every issue of Buffy Season 8, but that’s about it. I read Origin to extend my fan experience, however I have to say I was not a fan of the artwork. The Buffy 8 artists are amazing. I love their colorful and crisp work. In comparison, I found the artwork in Origin to be blocky, muddy and too heavily shadowed, the exception being two back-up covers I loved. Too bad the entire comic wasn’t drawn in that style. Instead, John Winchester comes off looking like Paul Bunyon. That complaint aside, I did like the little nuggets offered about his characterIn the story we learn John didn’t have a funeral for Mary because he couldn’t think about shaking the hands of family and friends while he buried a secret deep in his gut and he couldn’t stand alongside a priest while he spoke of Heaven and
peace on Earth. John knows what he saw! It was anything, but peaceful. Where does that leave him now? Poor Sammy can’t stop crying. It’s “like he’s got something TERRIBLE inside” and Dean stopped talking altogether. Torn up and wanting to understand what happened to his beloved wife, John leaves his boys with their mom’s best friend, Julie, while he does some investigating. When things dead end, John goes to a bar, clearly looking for trouble. He finds it, along with a psychic named Missouri. She gives him a reading and sees that someone nearby is in the same kind of danger Mary was. They rush to the house and find bloody words written on the wall: We’re Coming for the Children. John freaks and bolts for home. Julie’s dead, but the boys are safe in their beds. Missouri tells John he needs to leave NOW and take the boys with him and she hands him a ginormous tooth that belonged to the thing that killed his wife.John ends up on Fletcher Gable’s doorstep where the eccentric advises John to write everything down in a blank book, starting with the fact that the tooth came from a Black shuck aka overgrown hellhound. That night, as John’s getting ready to hunt down the shuck, Mary’s very pissed off brother knocks down the hotel door. He thinks John’s going loco and Jacob plans to take his nephews. John, figuring there’s only one way to convince Jacob of the truth, drags him to the cemetery where his brother-in-law is promptly killed by the hellhound. Just as John himself is about to become kibble, a stranger shoots the dog.
It seems John has a mysterious mentor. Together they head to Harvelle’s where they join up with another hunter to find a Heeler. It’s there John ends up making his first kill…in front of Dean. That spurs John to leave the boys with relatives for a couple weeks while he hits the road again. On his journey John battles the uber-creepy Doc Benton (remember him?), has a celestial reunion with Mary--thanks to an I-See-Dead-People priest--saves his mentor’s life and ends up at The Fore Inn (The Inferno) a creepy motel where John’s mentor plays riddle-me-this and reveals that the hellhound is actually his, they had nothing to do with Mary’s death, but John really shouldn’t be so foolish and trusting.
“We need you out there, John. You and your boys. Hunting. Training. Becoming who you were meant to be. Drowning yourself on a barstool back in Kansas does yourself no good—and it certainly doesn’t work for us. Mary’s death lit your match. We just needed to give your fury a little focus.”
Throughout the story John is constantly told it takes “sacrifice” to move forward and his boys are part of the sacrifice he has to make. The end comes with John reclaiming his boys and hitting the road. “We got work to do.” But one question remains—WHO wanted them out there?
Who do you think is responsible for turning the Winchesters into hunters?
P.S. - Watch for a future review of Rising Son, the next installment in the comic series.
Monday, January 26, 2009
John Winchester: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN SEASON 4!!!!!
When I told my husband I was writing a post about John Winchester, he asked, “Can’t you just write that in your sleep?” Yes, I love Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and may be more forgiving on John Winchester because of it. But as I wrote on, I found little to love about John.
Now we know John was a normal guy who loved his wife Mary above all, and whose life was turned upside down by forces he didn’t understand when she died. We get most of our clues from the boys’ relationship with him-Dean’s immediate obedience and Sam’s rebellion.
We presume he drank to dull the pain. Sam talks about it on more than one occasion. At first, in the pilot when he tells Jessica that his dad is hanging out with Jack, Jim and Jose, I thought he might be covering up, but he’s mentioned it again. (Of course, I can’t think of any off hand, and no time to go through the DVDs, drat it.)
We know he searched everywhere for answers of why his wife died PINNED TO THE CEILING. We know he took his sons and left Lawrence in search of those answers. I’m not sure why he kept the boys with him. At first, I argued that he did it to keep them safe, but then he left them defenseless in motel rooms time and again. Why didn’t he leave them with family? So I started to wonder how long he knew about Sam. He told the Yellow-Eyed Demon in In My Time of Dying that he knew about it for awhile. How long is awhile? Did he keep Sam with him to protect him or to keep an eye on him?
Another question…did he keep the boys with him because Mary’s family and friends were being killed? Again, if this was the case, why did he leave the boys alone again and again?
He did teach the boys how to fight when they were old enough. I wonder how he felt about that. He believed it was necessary, but he had to know what he was doing would scar them forever. He had to know that asking Sam to shoot him when he was possessed by the YED would tear up his son. In trying to protect his sons, he lost the chance to love them the way he wanted.
What did John think would happen once the YED was dead? Surely he didn’t think his sons would return to a normal life, knowing what they knew. He might have hoped it, but he couldn’t have believed it.
Even his last act, giving up his revenge on the demon, had heartbreaking consequences. Dean, who already had the self-esteem of a beaten dog, blamed himself for his father’s sacrifice (which made his bartering his soul for Sam’s life less believable for me.)
Wow, as I wrote this, I came up with more questions than answers. What are your feelings about John?
When I told my husband I was writing a post about John Winchester, he asked, “Can’t you just write that in your sleep?” Yes, I love Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and may be more forgiving on John Winchester because of it. But as I wrote on, I found little to love about John.
Now we know John was a normal guy who loved his wife Mary above all, and whose life was turned upside down by forces he didn’t understand when she died. We get most of our clues from the boys’ relationship with him-Dean’s immediate obedience and Sam’s rebellion.
We presume he drank to dull the pain. Sam talks about it on more than one occasion. At first, in the pilot when he tells Jessica that his dad is hanging out with Jack, Jim and Jose, I thought he might be covering up, but he’s mentioned it again. (Of course, I can’t think of any off hand, and no time to go through the DVDs, drat it.)
We know he searched everywhere for answers of why his wife died PINNED TO THE CEILING. We know he took his sons and left Lawrence in search of those answers. I’m not sure why he kept the boys with him. At first, I argued that he did it to keep them safe, but then he left them defenseless in motel rooms time and again. Why didn’t he leave them with family? So I started to wonder how long he knew about Sam. He told the Yellow-Eyed Demon in In My Time of Dying that he knew about it for awhile. How long is awhile? Did he keep Sam with him to protect him or to keep an eye on him?
Another question…did he keep the boys with him because Mary’s family and friends were being killed? Again, if this was the case, why did he leave the boys alone again and again?
He did teach the boys how to fight when they were old enough. I wonder how he felt about that. He believed it was necessary, but he had to know what he was doing would scar them forever. He had to know that asking Sam to shoot him when he was possessed by the YED would tear up his son. In trying to protect his sons, he lost the chance to love them the way he wanted.
What did John think would happen once the YED was dead? Surely he didn’t think his sons would return to a normal life, knowing what they knew. He might have hoped it, but he couldn’t have believed it.
Even his last act, giving up his revenge on the demon, had heartbreaking consequences. Dean, who already had the self-esteem of a beaten dog, blamed himself for his father’s sacrifice (which made his bartering his soul for Sam’s life less believable for me.)
Wow, as I wrote this, I came up with more questions than answers. What are your feelings about John?
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