SUPERNATURAL 6x02 REVIEW...w/Spoilers
Oct. 1st, 2010 11:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rabid1stBefore we delve into tonight's review, I would like you all to recall that, in the past, I've had cause to rail against writers who refuse to accept the realities of life as we now know it.
RTD and his ilk with their, "Oh, life is so sad. Let's work against all logic and make our hero a whiny sod about it all." The West Wing doing their "People sometimes die senselessly" storyline on the first anniversary of September 11th. Really? Do we need you to reflect THAT particular point? And all of the folks who announce boldly that "Happy endings just aren't realistic." PSHAW! You know what else isn't very realistic? Having your hero jump onto the wings of a jet in mid-flight. Or having the TARDIS tow Earth home. Real people are ten times as creative as the sheltered, clueless types writing some of this stuff. Real people work things out.
Which brings me to tonight's SPN episode...and a word or two of praise for the new head writer...
...I had predicted that Lisa would be asking Dean to leave once she fully understood what a nut case he was and how much danger he was likely to attract to her son. It wasn't very realistic, I admit. But I thought it was the device the show would use to return to Sam and Dean without Dean being too much of a dirt bag to Lisa. However, it was weak for anyone in a REAL RELATIONSHIP to bail because they think their loved ones would be better off without them...that's not how people work. RTD take note. PEOPLE who really care about other people don't just go, "This guy will make you happier. I'll leave only to mope about until a new love interest turns up for me, then I'll get dysfunctional over THAT person, too." NO, people (well, at least people we ADMIRE...like our heroes) try to do their best for their loved ones and work things out before they bail. And they seldom are allowed to be so self-sacrificing by anyone who truly cares for them. At least Rose did run after Ten to show that SHE wasn't completely dysfunctional.
So, Dean and Lisa, much to my surprise, are doing something real. They are trying to make things work out for both of them. That is actual real life there. And beyond that, it is a real life that many people are currently facing in this country. Many women and not a few men are forced to live alone while the person they love is fighting a way, serving overseas. How out of touch would it be for some television show to preach to those people about ending a relationship because you must fight for good and truth?
And yet...RTD would do that...Ron Moore would do that...Joss Whedon would do that...in a heartbeat. All of them have had previously respectable characters turn their backs on their values and their relationships so the show could go on in some fashion. SPN didn't do that. And my respect for the whole writing team went up a smidgen more.
Also on the list of things I liked about this episode, was the continued Deliverance vibe I'm getting from the Campbell family. Dean's paranoia and the way that they shot that scene? Priceless. I didn't want him to give up the baby, myself. I know that the Dean girls and the Sam girls will be bickering endlessly about which brother is more dysfunctional in that scene. And even when the canon tells them clearly who was RIGHT about the Campbell family, they will all continue to point fingers. If there is one thing this brotherly love series does is it creates amazing amounts of online bitterness.
I love the Sam/Dean tension, however. Because, like all of the best Supernatural, it isn't about who is right and who is wrong. This show really does give you sympathy for the wicked. So many people were upset about that phenomenal finale last season, simply because it didn't give us a clear winner in the good vs. evil sweepstakes. This show is, to its credit, about more than winning. It is literally what so many other shows aspire to be...the hero's journey. There's a road and an epic rock song and a car and everything.
And OMG! BLACK BETTY! Out from under the tarp at long last. I squealed. <<---If I may fangirl for a minute! Yes, if they ever get into an argument with the car...which they have, actually, now that I think back...I will side with the Impala every time.
Also, of note, Sam and Dean and a baby. I think ovaries were exploding on both sides of the family divide on that one. I did think that the writers should have remembered that Dean was handed baby Sam at the tender age of four...so probably he knows something about changing a kid. Maybe they DID remember that...since Dean was the one doing the honors...and only had Dean forget. He would, I think, given how young he was at the time.
I admired the straight line of "like Dad" that they drew to Dean...because that was their Dad...sneaking away for weeks on end to hunt. I had it wrong way round in my head and thought that Dean might involve Ben in the hunting. But then, I saw my mistake. And again, I must praise this show, for seeing that clearly, for remembering that John left them over and over again and that's what hurt the most.
As for the mystery developing, I must say it crossed my mind during the very scary "give me the baby" scene that Sam and Dean were still fighting the Apocalypse. Some sort of hell on Earth. But I am prone to think that, so I won't put money down on that solution. I am currently willing to believe we have simply set another type of supernatural emergency off with the demonic shenanigans the last few seasons. Maybe the monsters were a bit repressed by the larger predators but now, like deer without wolves or puma in the area, they are repopulating. I don't know. But, I'm still a bit suspicious of all of these people back from Heaven, especially given Cas back next week and his dire news.
All in all a pretty good episode. Nice work from Jensen and Jared and the new regulars. The only thing I found a bit confusing was the showdown between the Campbells and the Alpha. It wasn't filmed as clearly as I would like, but it seemed to me that the Alpha had infiltrated the Campbell family. I saw the real Samuel burst in with one of the other Campbells and start firing on the one that was in the boy's camp. But, assuming that was the case, who did the real Samuel bring with him? Or did one of the boys immediately change sides? It's times like these that I wish my tivo was working, because I can't go back and watch that scene again...and it did lose me a little.
RTD and his ilk with their, "Oh, life is so sad. Let's work against all logic and make our hero a whiny sod about it all." The West Wing doing their "People sometimes die senselessly" storyline on the first anniversary of September 11th. Really? Do we need you to reflect THAT particular point? And all of the folks who announce boldly that "Happy endings just aren't realistic." PSHAW! You know what else isn't very realistic? Having your hero jump onto the wings of a jet in mid-flight. Or having the TARDIS tow Earth home. Real people are ten times as creative as the sheltered, clueless types writing some of this stuff. Real people work things out.
Which brings me to tonight's SPN episode...and a word or two of praise for the new head writer...
...I had predicted that Lisa would be asking Dean to leave once she fully understood what a nut case he was and how much danger he was likely to attract to her son. It wasn't very realistic, I admit. But I thought it was the device the show would use to return to Sam and Dean without Dean being too much of a dirt bag to Lisa. However, it was weak for anyone in a REAL RELATIONSHIP to bail because they think their loved ones would be better off without them...that's not how people work. RTD take note. PEOPLE who really care about other people don't just go, "This guy will make you happier. I'll leave only to mope about until a new love interest turns up for me, then I'll get dysfunctional over THAT person, too." NO, people (well, at least people we ADMIRE...like our heroes) try to do their best for their loved ones and work things out before they bail. And they seldom are allowed to be so self-sacrificing by anyone who truly cares for them. At least Rose did run after Ten to show that SHE wasn't completely dysfunctional.
So, Dean and Lisa, much to my surprise, are doing something real. They are trying to make things work out for both of them. That is actual real life there. And beyond that, it is a real life that many people are currently facing in this country. Many women and not a few men are forced to live alone while the person they love is fighting a way, serving overseas. How out of touch would it be for some television show to preach to those people about ending a relationship because you must fight for good and truth?
And yet...RTD would do that...Ron Moore would do that...Joss Whedon would do that...in a heartbeat. All of them have had previously respectable characters turn their backs on their values and their relationships so the show could go on in some fashion. SPN didn't do that. And my respect for the whole writing team went up a smidgen more.
Also on the list of things I liked about this episode, was the continued Deliverance vibe I'm getting from the Campbell family. Dean's paranoia and the way that they shot that scene? Priceless. I didn't want him to give up the baby, myself. I know that the Dean girls and the Sam girls will be bickering endlessly about which brother is more dysfunctional in that scene. And even when the canon tells them clearly who was RIGHT about the Campbell family, they will all continue to point fingers. If there is one thing this brotherly love series does is it creates amazing amounts of online bitterness.
I love the Sam/Dean tension, however. Because, like all of the best Supernatural, it isn't about who is right and who is wrong. This show really does give you sympathy for the wicked. So many people were upset about that phenomenal finale last season, simply because it didn't give us a clear winner in the good vs. evil sweepstakes. This show is, to its credit, about more than winning. It is literally what so many other shows aspire to be...the hero's journey. There's a road and an epic rock song and a car and everything.
And OMG! BLACK BETTY! Out from under the tarp at long last. I squealed. <<---If I may fangirl for a minute! Yes, if they ever get into an argument with the car...which they have, actually, now that I think back...I will side with the Impala every time.
Also, of note, Sam and Dean and a baby. I think ovaries were exploding on both sides of the family divide on that one. I did think that the writers should have remembered that Dean was handed baby Sam at the tender age of four...so probably he knows something about changing a kid. Maybe they DID remember that...since Dean was the one doing the honors...and only had Dean forget. He would, I think, given how young he was at the time.
I admired the straight line of "like Dad" that they drew to Dean...because that was their Dad...sneaking away for weeks on end to hunt. I had it wrong way round in my head and thought that Dean might involve Ben in the hunting. But then, I saw my mistake. And again, I must praise this show, for seeing that clearly, for remembering that John left them over and over again and that's what hurt the most.
As for the mystery developing, I must say it crossed my mind during the very scary "give me the baby" scene that Sam and Dean were still fighting the Apocalypse. Some sort of hell on Earth. But I am prone to think that, so I won't put money down on that solution. I am currently willing to believe we have simply set another type of supernatural emergency off with the demonic shenanigans the last few seasons. Maybe the monsters were a bit repressed by the larger predators but now, like deer without wolves or puma in the area, they are repopulating. I don't know. But, I'm still a bit suspicious of all of these people back from Heaven, especially given Cas back next week and his dire news.
All in all a pretty good episode. Nice work from Jensen and Jared and the new regulars. The only thing I found a bit confusing was the showdown between the Campbells and the Alpha. It wasn't filmed as clearly as I would like, but it seemed to me that the Alpha had infiltrated the Campbell family. I saw the real Samuel burst in with one of the other Campbells and start firing on the one that was in the boy's camp. But, assuming that was the case, who did the real Samuel bring with him? Or did one of the boys immediately change sides? It's times like these that I wish my tivo was working, because I can't go back and watch that scene again...and it did lose me a little.
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Date: 2010-10-03 05:27 am (UTC)Like you, I sort of went WTH when Lisa showed up there at the last hour of S5. And I can't say I love the pairing. But I also can't say that Dean has too many viable options...given his love choices are an angel and his brother...or possibly Bobby or the crossroads demon. I had a bit of a crush on Jo, don't hate me for it. :grin: But I think I only had a crush on Jo because we didn't have any other options. The show is seriously not about romance...except in a openly gay flirtatious way. They definitely do rock up the shipper heat for Dean and Castiel. And I say that as a Sam/Dean fan...though not a proud one. Cause I can't be proud of that, can I? :grin: No, if you've read my SPN stuff you will be aware that I seriously did NOT want to go there...but those danged flirtatious writers made me. Oh, how I wish I could be a Castiel/Dean fan, but alas...you just can't force these things. I wish I could be a House/Cuddy fan, too, but no! Though, I like both Cas and Cuddy just fine. As I said above I don't get the hate about pretty much well meaning characters. It never seems to me as if Sam and Dean don't or shouldn't care about one another. They are both deeply dysfunctional people, but they try to do better...and that should count for a lot.
Lisa is pretty darn cool about the whole hunter scene. Maybe her earlier experiences with kids in the neighborhood convinced her to be more open to it. I'm not a huge fan of hers. I won't weep if we lose her. But she fits in with the show, nicely. And I think her relationship with Dean works. I can understand the hardcore shippers being against any female...but...the writers are giving her sensible dialog and it seems like she does understand where Dean is coming from...which is good. Smart writing never hurt anyone...that's my stand.
Rae