Supernatural #4: STILL No Chick Flick Moments

Meh, I thought the episode was kind of um...without its usual flair. But then, I enjoyed the angel storyline and the mythology that went along with it. Maybe the episode would have been better for me had there been less Campbells (I understand their grandfather--sort of--but the other cousins seemed to be too much; it'll be interesting to see where they develop and why [and I believe there was some subtle hinting at it with the capturing of the Djinn] but at the moment, I could do without more family members) and a touch of humor. I never really liked Sera Gamble's writing style and I have to say, I miss Kripke writing the premieres. *sigh* Yeah, it was supposed to be emotional and gripping but I thought it fell flat. I have to say, though, thank God for Jensen. He always does a great job with the material he gets.

Spoiler: response

I thought I'd give my two cents as a Cas fan. I would have actually preferred the third episode as more of a 'premiere' in terms of how that episode is supposed to play out but I get that we need the fallout of last season and it wouldn't be practical to show the former. I'm honestly more excited for the third episode than I was for the premiere and will be for the second episode. It just seems more epic as a storyline (trying to find Moses' staff and the Egypt angle--there's some mythology at work).

That being said, even though I'm a fan of Dean and Sam, I think the show lacks something now when Cas isn't there but it's probably because I've been watching the brothers' relationship for the past 6 years and there's only so many rehashings of the self-sacrifice, back from the dead and various similarly-themed arguments before it starts to become the same episodes over and over again*. Cas sort of introduced something different and meatier and I'd like to see his character evolve for a while--especially since he's supposed to be up there with Jensen, Jared and Jim Beaver. Bobby's getting his own episode this season, why not concentrate on Cas a little more than 3 minutes per every 4th or 5th episode? He really does seem to play a pivotal role now in the fandom and he's quite a popular character, it doesn't surprise me that some fans want more of him.

I know the show isn't about Cas and I'm not going to miss an episode just because he isn't in it, but it's just some wishful thinking on my part.

*Not to mention, we're even getting the same monsters over and over again. Does anyone else think the vampire theme is getting a little old in pop culture as it is? I know they're supernatural and everything but we're getting ANOTHER vampire (and shapeshifter, for that matter)-themed episode this year. There are hundreds of urban legends and other creatures out there that have a great opportunity for exploration, I would think.

Of course, others may argue that there have been ten times more demon episodes and I'm sure some are tired of them but we're not being constantly bombarded with demon-themed episodes on other shows, movies, books, commercials, online ads, radio shows, fan sites etc. I'm vamped out.

I'll conclude with something more positive in that I do like where some of the other episodes are going this year (leprechauns and faeries :lol and it'll be interesting to see how this season plays out now that the 5-year plan has basically concluded.

Oh and the new opening this year was cool. I like the glass effect--pretty trippy.

 

To be honest, it is more about the whole Lisa thing than it is about Cas because

Spoiler: ep2

Lisa is also going to be in episode 2 and when Sam calls Dean to ask for help on a hunt, Dean is reluctant to leave Lisa (and Ben). And I just sometimes feel like the whole Dean/Lisa thing is being forced on the viewers.

. I do not like the way Lisa was thrown back into the storyline. So, is it any wonder that I would want the first episode I watch to be one that I'm 90% sure will be Lisa-free? :lol: (though I still WILL WATCH the first two episodes). I only mentioned Cas because

Spoiler: episode 3

the boys contact him for help with the Egyptian plague thing... this is also the episode where Raph returns. I'm not sure how I feel about the Raphael thing, but the Egyptian curse thing sounds very interesting to me. But the biggest plus for the episode in my mind right now is that I haven't heard a word about Lisa being in the episode and that is why I choose this to be the first episode I watch. So it's more about it being Lisa-free than it being Cas-heavy.

I've edited my previous point to make my comments more clear. It was probably really early and before my cup of coffee when I made the first comments, so that's probably why it seemed jumbled and wasn't clear. I apologize for that. But again, my reason for wanting to watch episode 3 first is more because of the fact that its probably going to be Lisa-free than anything else.

I love both of the Winchester boys and I love Cas as well as Bobby, Ellen, Gabe, The Impala, Crowley, etc. That's the thing about this show. It's so hard to choose one favorite character because there are so many great characters.

On another note: The boys on this show are so good looking. Although its feels a little weird for me to say that about Jared considering that he's the same age as (or younger than) my little brother ( :lol: ), but those chin-up scenes (in the promo)... DAMN, boy! :drool:


As for thoughts on the premiere episode:

I haven't watched the premiere episode yet, but I've read many reviews about it from other fans, so I do have some thoughts:

I'm kind of uncomfortable with the whole Sam and Bobby keeping Dean in the dark about Sam's return from HELL for a year thing. Maybe we'll get more light shed on that later on in the season, but as of right now I just don't get it. I mean, Dean sold his soul once because he wanted Sam back so badly. So, why would Sam choose not to tell him he's back rather than letting him think he's suffering horrendous tortures in Hell. I get it if the reason is that Sam's not sure he's completely himself yet and he is keeping Dean in the dark in order to protect him... okay that would make sense... except, why tell Bobby who would most likely be more vulnerable than Dean (physically speaking of course)? I really hope this is explained a little more soon. I'm just really confuzzled about the whole thing right now to be honest. lol.


I am not sure yet how I feel about Grampa Campbell returning. From what I've read, I get the feeling that that they might make the Campbells evil or make them have an Initiative/Maggie Walsh like agenda (that's a Buffy reference for those who may not recognize Initiative/Maggie Walsh). I really really hope that's not where they're going with that storyline. And if that is where they're going then I get the feeling that

Spoiler: new character spoiler

this angel Balthazar that is Castiel's friend is going to end up being the Spike in the scenario and the Campbells will end up capturing him and torturing/expermenting on him, which will possibly turn into Dean/Sam vs The Campbells. Dean would probably think that them expermenting on creatures would be dangerous. I would hope that Sam too would be against them doing that, but I also have concerns that this will be another storyline for the writers to use the whole Dean vs Sam, thing. I just don't like them at odds with each other to the point where they beat each other up. It makes me sad. :lol: I mean, we've been promised over and again that the boys would reconcile and be brothers again like they used to be... but have we really seen that? I mean they were constantly at odds with each other last season off and on. Sam leaving, then coming back, Dean leaving, Sam going to find him and confronting him, etc etc. Its just painful to see the playfulness they used to have with each other disappear. I want the bitch/jerk banter back darnit all lol.

I really hope the Campbells don't turn out to be evil mainly because I adore Corin Nemec and was so excited when I heard he was gonna be on the show. I really don't want to dislike his character. :lol:

I know I get frustrated with things that happen on this show sometimes, but it's only because I love the show so much and am really passionate (I'm so sleepy I tried to spell it "pationate" :lol: ) about it and the many characters that I love and adore. I complain about some things, but I don't intend on giving up on the show. Sometime I get frustrated or annoyed about certain things and I say things I don't really mean (such as "if such and such happens I'm not gonna watch this or that"), but its just like having a fight with someone you love and yelling "I hate you!" in the heat of the moment. You don't really mean it, you're just upset/frustrated. That's all it is.

 

I definitely agree that this show is first and foremost about the Winchester Brothers, both of whom I love. :adore: I just love pretty much all of the characters that have been on this show, even some of the villians lol. Well, some of them I love to hate in the way people often do about villians lol. For the most part, the writing is really good for all characters (sometimes some things are off, but it happens on every show ocassionally).

My favorite thing about this show has always been the interactions between the brothers (as well as originally the whole mini horror movie every week feel). I can't remember though when the last time was that the boys had their whole "bitch/jerk" banter thing. I do miss that and I hope that the writers bring that back soon. Some fans may not feel that the writers will bring that interaction back which could explain why they latch on to other characters and say they only watch for them (I can only guess since I'm not one of those people who only watch for one particular character- I watch the show for the show itself). I personally am not giving up hope that the bitch/jerk playful banter stuff will someday soon return.


I also really miss the whole mini-horror movie a week feel of Season one. This is why one of my very favorite episodes from Season 5 was "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" because it did have that "mini horror movie" feel to it (loved the blood splatter on the camera bit lol). If I had to choose a least favorite episode of Season 5, I'd probably choose "99 Problems" because I wasn't crazy about the whole storyline with the "whore" or whatever they called that woman/demon in that episode. I did like the thing with the whole town stocking up on weapons to fight the Apocalypse part of the episode though.

My favorite Sam moment in Season 5 was in his interactions with Dean when Dean was thinking about saying yes to Michael. I loved Sam's faith in Dean and how that is what ultimately made Dean refuse Michael in the end. In spite of all the times that during the whole demon-blood/Ruby thing that Dean told Sam that he didn't trust him or have faith him, Sam still had faith that Dean would make the right decision. That was just a really touching moment and one of my favorite moments of the entire season I think. My favorite Dean moment in Season 5 was probably him trying to say comforting words to Bobby (regarding Karen) in "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid". Well, that and him making good on his earlier promise to stab Zachariah in the face. :lol:

I've often found myself trying to explain things on the show that some fans see as "plot-holes". For example, some fans don't understand what the purpose of having the Jesse character on the show was if he was only in one episode and supposed to be the anti-christ, yet never heard from again. My take on that whole Jesse storyline was to show that Jesse being half demon was able to override the demon instincts that he may have had and was able to do good things. I think that storyline was to parallel the whole thing in the season finale with Sam being able to control the monster (Lucifer) within him. I think that's what the purpose of Jesse was... because if this little boy can overcome the demonic blood he has, then Sam can definitely overpower Lucifer while Lucifer is possessing him. Does that make sense or am I just grasping at straws here? :lol:

I am still however, a bit confused at how Dean was able to kill the "whore" in "99 Problems" when it was said that only a true servant of God could. I mean, they had a line in there about how Dean wouldn't be able to and how even an angel (though I don't recall if it was just because he was losing some of his grace or for other reasons) couldn't. I'm not sure if that was every explained how Dean was able to. I'm also a bit confused on how Dean was able to keep his eyes open when killing Zachariah and the light didn't hurt him. I'm sure there's a reason for it, but I can't explain that one the way I can the whole Jesse thing lol. Maybe someone else can take a crack at it?

Okay, I've seen the preview trailer for episode 2:

Spoiler: my thoughts

baby shapeshifters? Is that really what the episode is about or is the promo just edited to make it look that way? If the babies are shapeshifters then I guess it makes sense that other shapeshifters are taking them. I can't remember if the name of this episode is "Two Men and a Baby" or "Two and a Half Men" lol. I think it's one of the two, but I forget which one. Darn my swiss cheese memory! LOL!

Geni,

Spoiler: various episodes

about the rehashing of creatures thing. I don't think it's that they're rehashing creatures for the sake of rehashing them. I think they're trying to show that the creatures aren't acting as they usually do. And we'll find out why later in the season I suppose. I still would have liked the first episode to have a creature in it we've never seen before, but we got The Campbell clan instead. :lol: But I still love this show. The Egyptian curses thing for episode 3 sounds really really interesting though. And I have to admit, I'm excited for the Twihard ep. I think it's gonna be hilarious. And the faeries/Leprechauns sounds cool too.

 

Hmm, that's a really good point. It's possible that everything feels off because it's supposed to. There was that spoiler that said

Spoiler: spoiler

that nothing is what it seems. So maybe what's going on here isn't really real. Maybe the Djinn in episode one is a clue to that. Maybe Djinns are responsible for everything. Maybe one got a hold of Sam and/or Dean and is making them think this is the way things are... that Grandpa is alive and that they have all these cousins that they never knew about, etc. We'll have to wait and see.

Yeah, they really aren't interacting as they did in earlier years. I guess they have their reasons, but I really do miss their earlier interactions. I hope that at some point this season they get some of that back because it was always my favorite thing about the show and I really miss it.

 

I don't remember him saying that, but that's another good point. If he did say that, then that's another thing that makes me think that these Campbells aren't really the Campbells... that they're some kind of creatures pretending to be the Campbells in order to lure the brothers into some kind of trap or something. Kind of sort of like the whole thing in "Jump The Shark" with Adam and his mother having already been dead and ghouls pretending to be them. Could the Campbells be ghouls too?

 

You're probably right that he said that. I just have a swiss cheese memory sometimes. Some things stick in my head, but other things fall through the holes. :lol: The boys were so little when Mary died, so it's possible that if she ever mentioned her parents to Dean, he didn't remember on account of being so little when she passed... and Samuel acted like he didn't really care for John (at least when Mary and John first started dating), so I have to question whether or not John would have even mentioned Mary's parents to the boys as they were growing up. I also wonder about John's family. We know absolutely nothing of other Winchesters.

 

I think Samuel mentioned that they were brought back to life just like Sam was, and they didn't know who was responsible either (except Samuel was back from Heaven instead of Hell). My bet's either on Crowley or Balthazar, but it seems too easy somehow. :lol:

Spoiler: response

Oh yes, I'd forgotten that the monsters are supposed to be acting weird. I can deal with them being brought back for that purpose...I guess. :lol:

Also, I can't remember if it was mentioned here or if it was wishful thinking on my sis' part (or her recounting actual spoilers) but it seems like Samuel is collecting monsters for some purpose. Didn't they take the lady Djinn alive? Hopefully that's delved into at some point.

I know! That totally bummed me out. I can sort of understand why they didn't use AC/DC this year during the recap because the boys weren't really back and hunting and things weren't supposed to be the same so the use of a rock song as an anthem of sorts toward the show to kick off the season might not have seemed appropriate. Maybe we'll get something when the Impala is brought back into the picture or at least during another recap at some point.

Sera Gamble wouldn't let us go without some classic rock, right? RIGHT? :shifty: :lol:

 

Yeah, but why bring THEM back as opposed to Dean and Sam's parents? Why bring back people who are obviously shady? Is it possible that Samuel lied about that?

 

I don't know if this is really a spoiler, I think everyone pretty much figured this anyway, but I'll still put it in spoiler bar

Spoiler: character

According to Kristin at E, Gramps is not to be trusted. Someone asked if he really came back from Heaven like he said and she answered that he was not to be trusted and referred to him in a way that sounded like he wasn't actually brought back to life. In other words, he may not actually be Samuel Campbell. I don't know if the cousins are real and just being controlled somehow by whatever "Samuel" is or if they're some kind of creature as well.

Oh and did anyone see little Sammy (Colin Ford) in last night's ep of Hawaii 5-0?

 

The hunter (I can't remember his name) who forced Sam to drink the demon blood (threatening the girl that worked in the bar) in I think "Free To Be You And Me" was on Bones last night. It's funny that I can see some random person guesting on a show and go "oh, he was in one episode of Supernatural!"). Boy am I obsessed with this show! :lol: