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spn_darkside
The Supernatural Season 13 premiere, Lost and Found, written by Andrew Dabb picked up where the season 12 finale left off. There were no time skips as there have been in some previous seasons, which I for one prefer. I’m not going to do a lot of summarizing here. I assume if you are reading this that you’ve watched the episode. I’m just going to hit on some points to start discussion.
Jack - I like him more than I thought I would. Alexander Calvert doesn’t overplay the innocent boy-man. His portrayal feels natural and unaffected. Jack’s story is again one of nature vs. nurture. It’s a theme that has played through the series since its inception.
Sam and Dean - The boys (how long will we keep calling them boys though?) reactions to Jack and the loss of Crowley, Cas, and Mary were totally in character. Sam is, of course, optimistic that Jack can be influenced to remain good and be an ally while Dean favors nature over nurture. I have a feeling that this is going to hit close to home at some point.
As to their losses, Sam quietly grieves while Dean lashes out. The scene of Dean praying to Chuck reminded me of his call to John in Home and all the subsequent times he’s prayed to Cas or any angel that would listen. In contrast, Sam relies on himself.
Angels - So many dicks with wings in this episode. I’m pleased. There was just one angel, Lily, who seemed sympathetic to Castiel. The rest were more season 4, and that’s what I prefer. They are not allies of Sam and Dean. That feels natural.
Sheriff Christine Barker - I couldn’t help wondering if she was supposed to be Jody’s replacement when the spin-off starts. She was okay. Nothing extraordinary.
Clark Barker - Loved him. At first, I thought I wouldn’t when he was playing with the food sign and boasting about not having to worry about his job because his mom was having sex with the owner, but he wasn’t a bad guy. He befriended Jack under the funniest circumstances. I was reminded of Vinny Barbarino.
Miriam - Wow, this actress (Carlina Britch) had chops. She was great in the fast food scenes and with Dean in the parking lot. She had convincingly constructed a mouthy fires-seeking airhead with a mean streak. I didn’t catch on till I saw her short skirt and stiletto shoes; then doh! The only real differences with angel Miriam is that she isn’t an airhead and she’s not looking for drugs. She’s looking for Jack. It was good to see her go.
Mary and Lucifer - Dean was wrong. Mary isn’t dead. Not sure why he thought she would be. Lucifer didn’t kill Sam when Sam trapped him in the cage, so why would he kill Mary for trapping him in this AU? I hope that the writers move beyond Lucifer torturing Mary fairly quickly. That was Sam’s story, and I don’t need to see it again, although it does serve the purpose of showing Mary what Sam went through because of her decision to make a deal with Azazel.
Overall, it was a good set up for the rest of the season. The writing was tighter than we’ve often seen in the past few seasons. I hope that the rest of the writers aspire to this level. The writing was tight, the characters were in character, and there was humor but if felt natural instead of being ham-fisted.
Speaking of which, the deplorable duo are the writers of 13.02. Break out the bourbon. We’re going to need it.
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Date: 2017-10-15 03:27 pm (UTC)Several scenes felt - bleak - and I thought: They're men now. (Yes, I'm behind the curve.) Not sure whether it's an accumulation of 13 years, or just me, but there's a world-weariness hovering just offstage.
Wonder whether the writers feel that? and will upgrade their formulae to allow Sam and Dean more adult patterns and interactions. As Jensen pointed out at a recent con, he is now older than JDM was when he was on the show.
Not that it wasn't a good episode. Maybe just the advent of autumn. Time ticking away.
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Date: 2017-10-15 05:30 pm (UTC)I liked the ep too. It was well paced and focused.
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Date: 2017-10-16 10:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-10-16 07:19 pm (UTC)I felt like their relationship was much more mature last season too. I hope that continues this season.
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Date: 2017-10-16 07:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-10-15 03:57 pm (UTC)UGHH? Seriously? They're up at bat so soon : (
I liked the episode, I thought Dobb did a good job. And you're right Clark was oddly likeable after a rough start. I'm glad he was going to live. His mom, didn't really resonate the way Jodie or Donna did, not sure if we'll see her again anyway.
I didn't really like how black and white Dean was viewing Jack. Dean had come so far in previous seasons, seeing more grey, that to just automatically view Jack as something to gank seemed a step backwards. But I guess they've got to make a show.
I agree that I liked the angels better in season 4, sort of aloof, imperious dicks, but these guys seemed kind of cruel/mean, rather than businesslike. If they could get the tone right, I think this could be a good move. I LOVED Urial, but he consistently looked down his nose at mankind, it wasn't personal with him, it was like exterminating roaches. I'd have to rewatch again to see if I am seeing more meanness in them than there actually was.
Jack did good. I think it could be an interesting arc. And with him on the run it gives us elbow room to not have him in EVERY episode. I still like my boys/MOTW episodes best.
Maybe a good evolution of 'the boys' would be 'the brothers', they also used 'the Winchesters' a lot last season. 'The brothers' sort of allows for them to be older because yes, they are big ass men now : ) and that seems like a very Crowley-esq statement now, 'Hello, boys'.
Anyway, a good start. I hope Dobb is able to go in some fresh directions. I'd like to see the boys cover some new ground and not just scenes or plots that are recycled from the past over and over.
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Date: 2017-10-15 05:35 pm (UTC)I suspect that Dean will change his mind about Jack. I think that with all they'd lost to Lucifer, he wanted to kill something. It isn't out of the question that Jack is a chip off the old block. I hope Dean is wrong, but we'll see what happens when Jack meets the manipulative Lucifer.
I agree. I prefer the boys/MOTW too. If handled well, I think I'll like the story arc with Jack though.
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Date: 2017-10-15 06:33 pm (UTC)Overall, I really liked the episode. Okay, I'm a visual person, and this episode was *gorgeous*, cinematically. The early episodes each season have that Indian Summer look about them, before the leaves start to turn and Van gets cold. Early season episodes are always visually prettier than ones late in the season. Add to that I'm always expectant and anticipatory about how the storylines are going to go, ever optimistic at this point. So they got that going for them.
I did love how considered Sam is. He's putting his experience to good purpose, and reserving judgment on people until they indicate what their intentions are. Dean's always been an impulsive, opinionated reactor, and as often as not has to backtrack and admit his first impression was wrong. So I liked Sam's attitude toward Jack.
Jack himself...I'm going to have to work hard to get past his teenaged DiCaprio appearance to find any impression of who the character is. I'm looking forward to that discovery.
On a very visceral, purely personal note, I'm enjoying watching Sam react and process, and I'm a little tired of Dean's histrionics. Yes, their losses are terrible and he has bad impulse control. But as pretty as that prayer scene was, honestly, it felt over the top and out of character and a deliberate retread of the "Dad..." call in Home. Give Jensen the heavy lifting, emoting-wise. And give Sam babysitting duty.
For all of that, Jared's scenes of Sam's terror *plus* empathy-seeking in the jail cell, and Sam's own processing of grief while instructing Jack in what he should be feeling were wonderful.
I'd like to see Jensen given scenes with more nuance and less histrionics--he can handle them, I know.
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Date: 2017-10-15 07:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-10-15 11:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-10-15 07:34 pm (UTC)Sam, slow to commit until he's got a full understanding of the situation. He's self reliant, and methodical, and can actually be analytic even when scared to death. Always ready to get himself (and his brother.) out of the mess they're in, even if that means sacrifice.
Dean, so much more volatile and far less in control of himself, jumping to conclusions, but in the end willing to follow Sam's lead. He always starts by clutching at straws. He cries out for help and support that he knows won't come, because that's who he is, and at heart he was arrested emotionally at 4 years old. I guess he's just making sure that all his crutches are gone. Once he knows nobody will answer his calls for help he actually sets about solving the problem his own way, often relying on Sam for the support.
I'm glad that Crowley got a tiny mention. However, I am not a fan of angels since S4. I think they broke the mold after Zachariah, who I adored as the slimiest antagonist ever. I am done with angels. Please close the gates to heaven, throw away the key and leave them to kill each other off while I'm watching something else. Let's just see the boys... oops, sorry, couldn't help myself, solve problems without assistance or interference from the divine - or the ridiculous, for that matter.
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Date: 2017-10-15 11:30 pm (UTC)And I'm with you re: Angels. I've felt like they've been a hanger on now for several seasons past due. Maybe the return to classic douchebag angels will give them that otherworldliness they first had.
Fingers crossed
*fellow chronic 'the boys' mentioner*
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Date: 2017-10-15 11:55 pm (UTC)With regard to Dean and his character, I'm glad my thought rings true to you. It seems to me that the poor kid that he still is has been crying for help that never came since the day he carried Sam out of the fire. So much of his behaviour can be viewed through a childlike lens. No wonder he drinks! Much of the time he's behaving the way a 4 year old would, if it had acquired the experiences Dean has. Even his promiscuity is symptomatic of a need to be loved plus the fear of losing yet again. He's learning to see shades of grey, he is, but it's hard for him not to react as a kid would until he has time to think.
He's done an awesome job on rearing Sam though. Sam is the true adult, and Dean knows it.
IMO, of course.
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Date: 2017-10-16 07:23 pm (UTC)Poor Dean, he really is a child in a man's body. I wonder if that has changed at all since his confrontation with Mary's past self.
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Date: 2017-10-16 07:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-10-15 08:51 pm (UTC)Also, Mary and Lucifer. Interesting that Sam believes she’s not dead. I can’t help thinking that Sam would *know* how Lucifer thinks, would know that there are far worse things than death where Lucifer’s concerned. And it looks like Lucifer’s already thinking he can leverage Mary to get Jack, as if he knows how Sam’s thinking (which of course he would...*shiver*)
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Date: 2017-10-15 09:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-10-15 11:26 pm (UTC)Here because I MISS YOU GIRLS! And Fu said it was a chewy comment, LOL!
Date: 2017-10-16 10:10 am (UTC)I thought from the opening notes of Nothing Else Matters to the closing seconds of the credits rolling, this was a f*cking excellent start to the season! I found myself slightly disappointed in Dean's shoot first ask questions never attitude towards Jack but at the same time I completely understand his stance, his feelings, his need to be able to stop this creature that is, however inadvertently, responsible for Cas and Crowley's death and Mary's exile into the Alternative doom 'verse. I know Dean, he'll come around, with Sam's help and council he'll see Jack as something/someone that needs guidance not a bullet in the brain.
Speaking of Sammy, I know that considering his rape and torture at the hands of Lucifer, he should be right there with Dean on the attitude towards Jack, but at the same time he sees himself in Lucifer's offspring. He's always been far too understanding and forgiving in these situations, but at the same time he sees everything he is/was and how he's still standing through the understanding and acceptance of his family and friends. In theory he *is* an abomination, Hunters have been wanting his head for years due to his powers and psychic abilities, and Dean, what if he'd finally done exactly what his Dad suggested and just ganked him?
He sees that Jack is borne of evil, but that doesn't mean he *is* evil, and it's all down to how he sees himself I feel. He's willing to give these creatures and people that chance to prove that nature and nurture are two very different things.
Dean's prayers to Chuck and Sam's funeral pyre speech almost broke me, I mean ugly f*cking sobbing.
I'm intrigued by Jack, intrigued by his abilities and his intelligence.
I bloody loved it.
Thoughts?
Re: Here because I MISS YOU GIRLS! And Fu said it was a chewy comment, LOL!
Date: 2017-10-16 05:00 pm (UTC)You know, way back in the Pleistocene, I thought Sam was a whiny spoiled brat and I didn't like him much, the way he kept making my baby Dean cry.
Over the seasons I've really been drawn to his intellect and curiosity, his compassion, which has only expanded since his stay in hell, and his incredible loyalty to his brother.
I started out loving Sam because I loved Dean and Dean loved Sam, so there must have been *something* about him for Dean to love. And now I love Dean in spite of his childish suspicion and rejection of people and events, because of his devotion to Sam, and because of Sam's influence on him, and his utter devotion.
Someone once said, you can't fully know someone unless you get to know them around the people who know them best.
These guys, man. These guys.
Re: Here because I MISS YOU GIRLS! And Fu said it was a chewy comment, LOL!
Date: 2017-10-16 07:31 pm (UTC)I agree, Milly, that Sam relates to Jack as he does with monsters who don't understand their powers or that they have choices. I think too that Dean will come around with Sam's help.
Re: Here because I MISS YOU GIRLS! And Fu said it was a chewy comment, LOL!
Date: 2017-10-16 07:54 pm (UTC)Now Dean just needs to grow up. I had thought maybe the encounter with Mary last season would trigger it - there were moments where it flashed and was gone. But he's caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea, being both a parent and a child who never had much real parenting.
And Jack's another child - will be interesting to see if anyone steps up to "parent" him.
Re: Here because I MISS YOU GIRLS! And Fu said it was a chewy comment, LOL!
Date: 2017-10-16 11:30 pm (UTC)WOW, that is totally me. I loved Sam because Dean loved Sam. Now over the years I love Sam for himself. And yes,
And yes, chewy good comment! : )))) And poor Sam, yes, he can totally sympathize with Jack, both born of bad blood, both with the potential to move beyond their original destinies. It will be interesting to see which way he goes.