Spoliers Sweeties! Sneak Peek Supernatural 9.22 "Stairway to Heaven"

Ohhhhhh I love this sneak peek. Every single second of it. Every. Single. Second.

Let's take a good look.

Things to ponder...

DEAN IS NOT SLEEPING. This fills me full of worry. Does this mean The Mark/Blade combo is affecting his soul? As in Soulless!Sam never slept either. Or is he just so jacked up with power, he's running on adrenaline and doesn't need sleep? Or is this a demon thing? Demons I assume, like angels do not sleep. So whatever the Mark is doing to Dean, it's changing him on a pysiological level. Kind of like the trials were doing to Sam. I wonder, and I assume not, did Cain sleep? Oh man... my stomach hurts.

This takes place 2 hours after they got home from "King of the Damned". I like this timeline, it gives a real sense of urgency. The last 2 eps must happen over days.

I love getting a glimpse into the boy's bedrooms. It makes me feel good and a bit gooey to see that they have that space. Nawww.

Sammy is sleeping fully clothed on the bed. Exhausted I assume, but also, ready? Looks like he was sleeping with his hand on his gun, that's odd. It was hard to tell because Dean's hand was in shot, but it was such a quick draw, I'd say his gun was under/in his hand under the pillow as opposed to simply stashed under the pillow. Maybe what Dean said in the car about nothing getting in his way has put Sam's guard up even higher, because they are in the bunker where they should feel relatively safe. It gives me feels and not the good kind.

The whole waking Sam up and tossing his shoes on the bed thing made my inner, well my outer, Winchester brothers fangirl squee because we rarely see that kind of thing between them. That close proximity comfort...what is that, like a casual intimacy (not that kind!) that comes with being brothers. Even though it was not coming from that place I guess, more Dean being on bloodlust remote control and just wanted Sam up, but, I don't know, I just liked the whole concept of that little scene. Also, Dean being a brat and waking his bro with blaring music. I feel like he would have done that with or without the Mark!

Sam didn't even have enough time to get real bedhead. He looks pretty all single layered, snoozy and ruffled... mmmmm snoozy, bed ruffled Sam.

I love that Sam goes and grabs a coffee. Once again, it's those little things in the bunker that make me squeeful because it's homey and I like that they have this place.  :')

Dean talking about Cas being a weird, dorky little guy and making Sam laugh and smile. Bless. Dean is still in there making jokes. Dean is still in there... DEAN IS STILL IN THERE (she says with hope and fear).

Magic this powerful comes at a price.

Magic this powerful comes at a price.

Magic this powerful comes at a price.

Thank you Captain Obvious. And yes, we have no clue what that price is. Can someone pin Crowley or Castiel down and see if they know? UGH! They need to know what the terrible burden is. I NEED TO KNOW!

Hey, I wonder if Tessa knows...

If it wasn't so clear that The Blade/Mark combo is doing something to Dean, that ugly assed thing would be going with them everywhere, but I love how Sam broaches leaving it behind for Rage!Dean reasons. He doesn't TELL Dean, because that would never work, he poses it as a question, "Do you think we need the First Blade, why don't we just leave it here?" Nice way to gently open the discussion without force.

"You don't have to have it with you all the time, right?" I loved this too, clever, because what's Dean going to say... yes? Because, right now yes he does, but that would mean openly admitting that to himself, which Dean never likes to do even when he knows it's true, and worse, admitting it to Sam. Nice work there Sammy.

I hope Sam didn't believe Dean when he said he was "fan-friggin-tastic". I sure hope Sam doesn't believe that for one second.

And you know, the minute Sam's back was turned that blade went straight in Dean's duffel....

And here's the evidence...

Great clip. 

-sweetondean

SPOILERS!

This is how much I love you, readers of this blog. I am subjecting myself to spoilers because my Google Alert were full of REALLY AWESOME STUFF! So read at your own risk. Seriously—the post title should be warning enough. :)

We already knew James Marsters and Charisma Carpenter were going to guest star. Reports on the October 21st episode say they play a married couple getting a divorce, and Charisma plays a witch.

I didn't watch the sneak peek, but couldn't help clicking the headline when I learned that Jewel Staite (of Firefly!) plays a character named "Amy Pond" in this week's episode. Love the Doctor Who tribute!

Geez, my head might explode from the convergence of all my geektastic faves.

Okay, this is the story that made me stop squinching my eyes shut, covering my ears, and going "lalalalalala!" so I didn't learn anything about the season. Episode 8, titled "Season 7: Time for a Wedding," is going to be one of the light, funny, slightly meta episodes we love. And one of the boys is going to be a groom. Boy, I can't WAIT to see what they have in store for us with that!

In that same story, Sera Gamble says Cas will be back, though she won't give any hints as to how. She also does an interview for TVLine that addresses lots of questions about Cas, Misha (yes, two different things!), Crowley, angels, and more. Generalized spoilers in that interview.

That's all for now! I'll see you late Friday night when I recap episode 3, "The Girl Next Door"!

Supernatural 7.02 preview! I'm excited and here's why.....

Ooo ooo a preview clip and a new promo for episode 7.02! I'm super excited about this for a couple of reasons.

I'm just excited for a new episode. After the long hellatus, getting Supernatural back is like taking air into my lungs again. I know I miss it, but I just don't realise how much until I watch a new episode. It's like I suddenly can let out this breath I was holding, or draw a big breath in, usually a gasp!

This episode is directed by Guy Bee. Guy has definitely become one of my favourite Supernatural directors. He obviously knows what he's doing, he's a highly experience director and can tell a great story. His episodes are always very taught but he's also great with delivering the humour. Guy's episodes are some of the strongest of the series. But also, Guy is very friendly with us fans and consequently I think we all feel that little bit more connected to the episodes he directs. He popped by a live podcast I was attending the other day and was nice enough to tell us that episode 2 picks up where the premiere episode left off. I literally can't wait to see this happen!

I'm extremely interested in seeing how this crumbling great wall of Sam thing will play out. How is it going to be resolved? How much impact on the story arc for season 7 will it have? Will it go all season? Will he get fixed? Will he start to be able to manage his hallucinations?

More importantly, how will Dean cope with it all? He's not fine, not fine at all. How will he cope with his brother being in dire straights yet again and how will he talk Sam into believing that the world he is in now is the real world and Lucifer's world is just a lie Sam's brain is telling him? How will he cope with losing his friend Cas? How? How!??

The season opener was so freakin' awesome I am desperate to see where it goes next. The cliffhanger was a doozey and I'm literally champing at the bit to see how Dean and Bobby get out of this predicament with the Leviathan, in the guise of Cas, maniacally laughing at them and tossing them about like rag dolls. And now we find out the Leviathan are traveling through the water!? Oh this is going to be awesome! This is really creepy and I love it when Supernatural gets creepy.

But the big thing for me is 7.02 is written by Ben Edlund. Ben is a bit of a hero of mine. I think he is a truly gifted writer. He can write crazy Supernatural craic and the turn around and deliver powerful, emotional brother moments. He's an amazing creative with one of those brains that you just wish you a tiny bit of (and I don't mean in a jar, though that could be cool). I find him incredibly inspirational to listen to. He's sharp as a tack, but his thought processes are so random, his tangents so deliciously bizarre. As someone who can't get through a conversation with out digressing off into some peculiar territory, I relate to his oddly fracture method of communication. I recently listened to him on The Nerdist Writer's Panel podcast and apart from howling with laughter, I marveled at his wonderful journey to where he is now but also at how you think he has completely gone off on another point and will never come back to where he was supposed to be and yet he manages to wrap it all up and return to the point he started out on! I think the man is brilliant. He makes me want to write. In fact he makes me what to write and write. He inspires me to be better. I think I'm a little in love with him. 

Anyway! I am very excited (obviously) by this new clip and the new episode coming our way!

Man I love Supernatural.

Can Jimmy contain the souls of Purgatory?

When I first saw the 'In Cas We Fear' trailer for season 7, I assumed bloodied, stumbly Cas had just had some kind of beat down, or that maybe he'd had a tangle with Death, or, I don't know. In the quick, flashy, bright shots we saw, I just assumed that the blood and whatnot on Cas' face was exactly that, blood....then I saw this screengrab.....

(warning: my vague spoiler assumptions ahead)

 

Now this looks to me like the souls of Purgatory are burning through Castiel's vessel, Jimmy. Sorta like Lucifer burnt through Nick right? Which got me thinking...Jimmy was built to be the vessel of an Angel, not the vessel of 1 million black and twisted souls from Purgatory. Cas said to Crowley, if this Purgatory deal went wrong, he could go the way of Lucifer....he was probably talking about being all evil, but maybe he was talking about this? And then there is that spoiler we've heard drifting around in vagaries for a while now, about a certain set being raised to the ground, about cast members pilfering props from said set because they'd never be on that set again, about the boys not having their usually tools and support methods to lean on as the traverse the new dark highways of season 7. I've assumed, ever since I heard this vague spoiler, that the set in question is going to go up with a bang and I assumed it had something to do with Dean's warning to Cas that he's "full of nuke".....

This screengrab, well....are you picking up what I'm putting down?

Of course I could be wrong. You never know what's in store when it comes to Supernatural! But one thing is certain, all this is going to make for one explosive season opening! BRING.IT.ON.

News for the Last Week of 2010

In the order I discovered them:

TV Guide's interview with Misha. Nothing really new, but he's as funny and adorable as ever.

I'm not sure if we mentioned this before, but Richard Speight Jr. is on Twitter as @dicksp8jr. He calls us "Twicksters." How adorable is that? :) He provided a link toPepsi Max behind the scenes and Snoop Dogg's Christmas story, featuring Richard.

I think this is the same promo we saw at the end of the last episode, but just in case you didn't see it...

Check out Spoiler TV's2010 awards. Supernatural won best returning show! Jensen Ackles won best lead actor in a drama, and Misha Collins came in 3rd for best guest star.

For some info (read: spoilers) on the show's return, and a clip from episode 6.12, check outTV Overmind.

The BIG NEWS (or rumor): Dawn Ostroff is reportedly leaving The CW when her contract is up in June. First article I saw was this one from The New York Post. Official word is expected next month. What will this mean for Supernatural, reportedly an Ostroff favorite?

When I prepared this, Supernatural was LOSING to Community over at the E! Online poll. WTF?! Voting continues through tomorrow 11:00 PST.

Monday News for Thanksgiving Week

There is no other way to start this post than to say I am thankful for Supernatural. I know, total cliché. Sorry. Moving on.

First, the bad news, which I discovered as I started preparing this last Wednesday but by now those who watched the preview at the end of the last episode will have discovered: no new Supernatural next week! What, they think people don't watch TV gorged with turkey leftovers and exhausted from doorbuster shopping? Crazy.

Worse news? Hellatus begins after the December 10th episode, as mentioned in this EW interview with Sera Gamble. What she says (SPOILER ALERT) may be encouraging. Or not. And we thought Kripke was evil!

Get your holiday gift list ready: The Supernatural Season Five Official Companion is out!

Don't forget to vote in the People's Choice Awards. Supernatural made the finals for "Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show."

I saw lots of spoilers in the news (this is why I delete all my Google alerts when I'm not responsible for News Monday!):

Upcoming guest star; TV Guide Preview; Episode 10 photos (possibly a duplicate from the guest star link); Interview with Misha. Here's another, slightly older, interview with Misha. More spoiler tidbits from Sera Gamble.

And a new interview with Jensen and Jared. It's a new post, but it was conducted before the premiere, so their hints are amusing now that we know the truth about things. There's only one thing that could be considered a spoiler, about the necklace.

Here's a Misha Collins property that's way too entertaining for its description. Warning: last ten seconds not safe for anyone under, like, 18.

Anyone watch Castle a couple of weeks ago? The actor who played Jesse, the AntiChrist, was an abducted child. His mother was played by Ever Carradine, who played his mother on Supernatural, too! What guest-star spottings have you made recently?

Supernatural News for the Second-to-Last Week of Hiatus

Thanks to MJ for feeding me so many links this week! :) She's responsible for, like, three-quarters of this post!

Including this BREAKING NEWS! Okay, it broke Saturday. Ausiello at EW.com has a post quoting Dawn Ostroff as saying Kripke is warming to a sixth season. She certainly sounds in favor of it, and as some "experts" have pointed out, their slate and track record are hurting bad, so they'll want Supernatural back. "Success" at the CW is crash-and-burn anywhere else, and thank goodness for that! (The day after Ausiello posted, The TV Addict posted a short interview with Dawn Ostroff.)

Check out The People's Choice Awards, in which Supernatural won Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show!

Next, we have to post The Second Biggest News: Jared is definitely engaged to Genevieve.

More awards. And end-of-year accolades, and here and here and here.

Spoilers here. I didn't look. :)

There's a Mr. Twitter contest going on. When I compiled this, Misha Collins was at #3, Jim Beaver at #5, Rob Benedict(?) (Chuck) at #7, Chad Lindberg (Ash) at #10, and Colin Ford(?) (Young!Sam) at #11. (Note: (?) means these are not verified accounts, and I personally have seen or heard nothing that confirms they are the actual actor instead of fan imposters. Misha and Jim I'm pretty certain are accurate, but I wouldn't, like, bet my life on it or anything. :) ) ETA: I've been contacted by someone who knows Chad who says this is his actual Twitter account, and additional research bears it out. :)

I got an e-mail about a podcast Todd Stashwick did. I haven't listened yet, and it sounds like he only briefly mentions Supernatural, but if you're interested: (links to iTunes) or (links to pause.com).

And finally, Support Supernatural is launching its 2010 campaign. This site has a dual purpose: raising awareness of the show, and raising money for charity. In 2009 they were approached to support A Dog's Life Rescue, a pet (get it?) charity of Jared Padalecki's, and they raised around $17,000 for them. Their goal in 2010 is $30,000, and Creation Entertainment has joined in to help them. Which means you can win some really cool sh**. :) Check it out!

November 1 News

I don't know if it's the time of year, or just me, but there's a dearth of good news that doesn't involve spoilers for upcoming episodes or recaps of past ones.

I've got an interview with Misha Collins that's been all over the Internet already.

Some episode stills including next week's, which WARNING are SPOILERY.

Oh, here's something! There's an announcement that Jensen Ackles will be attending the Jus in Bello convention next year. Shortly after that announcement, Creation announced he's attending the LA (in March) and Vancouver (August) cons. Jim Beaver was added to LA, too.

Buddy TV asks when SPN became a comedy, a question that boggles my mind since the show has never not had comedic lines and episodes, starting with the pilot!

So. That's all I got.

*looks around*

*whistles a little*

*sigh*

Okay, let me troll around a little. *trolls*

Fangirl Says got to see this week's episode early. Her post is only spoilery if you didn't see the preview at the end of last week's episode. She's definitely got me intrigued!

Let's see...

Nothing on TV Addict... (unless you count stills for an upcoming episode I won't even name or describe because the very idea fills me with enough squee to make me glow, but will probably disappoint and piss off so many people...)

The CW Source hasn't done their recap yet...

Let's look up some guest stars, see what else they're doing. Gattlin Griffith, aka The AntiChrist, has three movies in post-production: The River Why, The New Daughter, and Blood Done Sign My Name. Chad Everett, "Older Dean," has Death Keeps Coming on his IMDb page, listed as in pre-production. That looks like a Western. Hal Ozsan (the ambiguously moraled male witch) has Groupie coming out apparently this week, again according to IMDb. This looks like a thriller. Heee. I love seeing this obscure stuff "up in popularity 15% this week" and knowing it may be due to Supernatural. Silly rabid fans. :)


Well, okay, I think that fills us up for this week! Oh, wait, one more thing. Let me check Ask Ausiello, see if his column has anything on the show...

OMG OMG OMG

*thud*

(Please note, if you decide to find out what at Ask Ausiello threw Natalie into a tailspin, it is a very short, very mind-blowing spoiler for episode 12. You've been warned.)

He's Coming!

Our countdown clock takes us to the very start of September 10th, and of course we have that whole day to wait, too...but we are officially well under three weeks until the season premiere! Woo hoo!

I really want to stay spoiler free. It's nearly impossible, because if casting news or a Comic-Con report comes my way, I can't stop myself. But as I've watched the first three seasons over again, I remembered how much different that initial viewing of "Born Under a Bad Sign" would have been had I not seen the promo photos beforehand. You know, the ones with Sam's black eyes?

So I didn't look at these. Pictures from the premiere. I might happen across them between now and then, but I'm going to try really hard not to click any links. :)

(Aside: One thing I'm curious about--many of the promo photos they release before an episode airs seem to have been taken during rehearsals. Jensen wears that weird T-shirt/vest combo when on film he's wearing one of his jackets instead.)

What I'm Looking Forward To With the First Few Episodes: Non-Spoiler Edition

1. Summer in Canada




When the show starts filming, it's warm enough for them to shed a few layers. First episode (ref. seasons 2 and 4, above), we often get T-shirts! (MAN, Sam looks young in that shot!)

2. "Hello, this is Jared Padalecki."

Remember the ABC Sunday Night Movie bumper?



Seeing that (and hearing the music) always brought a sense of excitement and anticipation. Now I get that from hearing Jared or Jensen tell us they're coming up next. I have the entire 42 minutes of show ahead of me, and it could bring anything--laughter, tears, heartbreak, action...and BOBBY!

3. Taking up where we left off.

Some shows jump ahead every season, most frequently, I think, so the time frame matches the real-life time frame. Season 4 did that, though it also, of course, fit the storyline and not just convenience. But like season 2 began immediately after the semi crash, season 5 should begin in the room with Sam and Dean as Lucifer approaches. I get shivers just thinking about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The CW has begun promoting the show, and it's looking good!

First, they released this two-and-a-half-minute "Up to Speed" video recapping season 4:



Next came eleven seconds of the premiere, "Sounds Like Hell." This one CAN be considered spoilery, as it is from the actual premiere, so if you're a spoiler purist, don't click play. :)



And finally, we got an actual promo. This is only 20 seconds long. It's kind of propaganda-style, with images NOT from the show interspersed with almost-too-quick-to-figure-out flashes from early episodes. Some of those are very creepy.



I'm adding a SPOILER WARNING to the comments because we might want to dissect some of this stuff in there.

In the meantime, I'm holding my breath until September 10th!

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!

Jump the Shark

Remember before season 3, when it Bela and Ruby were announced? If you're at all tapped into "the fandom," you saw the uproar it caused. People were afraid they'd be love interests, or riding around in the back of the Impala, or something.

Then there was the synopsis of "The Kids Are Alright," the episode where Dean wondered briefly if he had a son. Same uproar. People were afraid a kid would interfere with the hunting, or he'd be riding around in the back of the Impala, or something.

In the case of the son, the episode was excellent--the way it was handled fit perfectly into the structure of the show. Since Ruby and Bela were recurring characters, that was a little tougher. Many people hated them--the acting, the characterization, the way they...

...messed with the brothers.



I think that's the element that drives this outcry every single time. The fans fear any development that would interfere with the brotherly dynamic, and the central conceit of the show--two guys on a road trip to fight evil.

Which brings us to this season's uproar.

STOP READING HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS. I MEAN IT. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED. (ALSO, AVOID THE COMMENTS.)

It all started back on January 5, when Kristin of E! Online posted this teaser about Jeffrey Dean Morgan's character, John Winchester:

"Turns out, Jeffrey may be a daddy to a secret son on a certain show, and this certain show will be changed forever because of this upcoming plot twist."

In the comments trail of that post, once someone said flat out that it could mean a third Winchester brother, all hell broke loose. Furor may have continued in certain forums, but for the most part, people blew it off as "TV-reporter hype" where she planted seeds that don't connect to reality.

On January 14, in Mega Buzz by Matt Mitovich et al (of TV Guide.com), we got the following bit:

I heard a rumor that Supernatural is adding a new lead — and it's a long-lost Winchester brother?! Please say this is just a rumor! — Jessica M.

MATT: Consider the CW forewarned (literally, by yours truly) that Supernatural would be playing with hellfire if they went this route. Asked to address this near-sacrilegious buzz, series creator Eric Kripke will only say, "Stay tuned." Sources, meanwhile, tell me that whatever the truth is here, it's going to make for a very interesting story arc.

On February 9, Kristin confirmed the casting of Jake Abel as an 18-year-old, third Winchester brother for the episode airing on April 23. This was also reported on many other TV sites, apparently first by TV Guide, but this was the one I saw. There were details that made it harder to blow off, and also turned up the lamenting. It's a one-time casting, the brother won't be seen again. It's the result of an affair, and John knew about him.

I personally have never thought about, worried over, and feared a spoiler as much as I have this one.

If this is exactly as described, I think it will take a lot to make the fandom accept it. Some will probably not buy that John would have been unfaithful to Mary's memory a mere 7 years after her death, not when he was still totally obsessed 22 years later. Others, who are more pragmatic, will admit it's unrealistic that he didn't sleep with other women during those years.

Personally, I think I could handle the boys finding out they had a brother in a focused sense, but not a global one. The emotions of them meeting, etc., would be well done, I have no doubt, especially because it seems likely Adam would be in danger and Sam and Dean have to save him. But after that, what? If the stories are right, we don't have to worry about the whole "back seat of the Impala" thing. But Sam and Dean wouldn't leave him behind, unprotected and alone. Of course, he could have a good family situation, but still. I'm sure Lilith and Alistair would love to have something to use against the boys, and do they really need more conflict? The show is loaded already, and the specter of brother versus brother is more than enough, in my opinion, without making it a triangle.

This could be a "trick," like The Trickster or the djinn, with an alternate reality or something like that. When the first rumors surfaced, this was what most of us figured. We trust Kripke and Co., especially this season, because even though there have been a few standalone episodes we didn't care for, and some chemistry and acting issues in some we loved, the road they've been taking us down has been marvelous, even if we hate every step of the way.

But even the most beloved showrunners/creators can misstep. Is this one going to be Kripke's? All we can do is wait until April 23 and judge for ourselves. In the meantime, Kripke did do an interview here that doesn't really tell us anything but is pretty funny.

So what do you think is going to happen? What does this mean for the brothers and for the show going into season 5? Weigh in in the comments!