Bergamot

Yes! I loved the music! Especially, as you say, "Ramble On", which was the perfect choice. (One of Dean's two most favorite songs, along with "Traveling Riverside Blues"!) I am so glad that it is now part of the show. I can't find now where I read it, but I saw something from the most recent con which said that Jensen went without his salary for appearing in the episode to help pay part of the fee for that song. It's not just the money, though; it's knowing how careful and picky Led Zeppelin are about who they will let use their music, and what an honor it was for them to allow it. As Dean taught Lucas in Dead in the Water, "Zeppelin rules!!" 😄 I don't know, I guess it would depend on how you define a ghost. In Supernatural, ghosts are the spirits of dead people who are trapped in this world for some reason and unable to move on. Dean died and moved on and had already made it to Heaven. He wasn't supposed to be visiting this world, but he wasn't trapped, either in the mortal realm or in the Veil, after he died. I don't really think of Dean as being a ghost in the Supernatural sense. He was able to visit alternate worlds from Heaven, and when the Akrida queen went after him and threw him through the portal, he was able to survive and make it back through. He is on a first-name basis with God and managed to get Jack to give in and help him with his mission. He is not just a ghost, he is Something Else. I think it is pretty cool!

Yes, I liked the way they did this. I was reluctant to get into the series too much, because I have assumed that it will be only one season, and I didn't want to get attached to it and then just be left hanging. But this was just right and will work either way it turns out. Yes! What it added to Dean's story was my favorite part, and is now part of my Supernatural canon. Those who were happy with what Dabb ultimately did to the show don't have to worry -- this didn't change that. But for me (and I know I'm not the only one), this healed a hurt from what happened in the end in a way I didn't even fully realize I needed! Thank you to those who made the show, especially Jensen! A couple other things I liked from the episode. I especially liked that the Queen of the Akrida turned out to be human (or at least she started out that way.) This was a nice unexpected switch. But even more, I kind of loved the motivation which the show gave her. That apparently she was a hunter who was driven insane by the loss of all her loved ones, and decided that the solution was to exterminate the rest of humanity, because if all the civilians were dead, then no hunter would ever have to die protecting anyone! So completely crazy and twisted, yet so logical! I also liked that Joan was not indoctrinated or brainwashed by the Akrida, but that the reverse happened: the Akrida were inspired by her crazy crusade and chose to follow her as their queen. This was another nice twist to the story. I also liked at the end, where Mary was telling John about how when she went through the portal, and how she saw every possible version of herself. And when John asks her if she found any of the versions appealing, she just says, "I'm going to make my own". This fits in well with the Supernatural theme of exercising your free will and refusing to be forced to submit to your destiny. And I loved Mary quoting from Dean's journal at the end, "Driver picks the music: shotgun shuts his cakehole"! It just makes me laugh to think of Dean recording that very important information in his journal! 😄 Did he like, write it down as number one on his "List of Rules for Driving in Baby", or what?

I was confused about this too, whether this was supposed to be Loki or Gabriel. In either case, I don't think this was about making a contract for souls, but about playing a typical Trickster's cruel "game" with people, just for fun. You are a singer who wants to mesmerize and enthrall people when you sing -- sure, he will make it possible for you to do this, to the point that you literally set them on fire with the power of your performance. Haha, very funny -- that will teach you! Tricksters, as Bobby tells Dean and Sam, are all about playing deadly pranks to "knock people down a peg". Since Loki was a Trickster demigod, and Gabriel took over his persona and was playing a Trickster, it still could be either one. I tend to think it was Loki, because he does get trapped at the end (the visual effect as he gets pulled into the mirror was pretty cool!) Loki was trapped by the "rules" of his game when he lost the game to Carlos; I think that if it was Gabriel, with his archangel powers, he would have just changed or broken the rules and skipped out. It's also kind of confusing though because although on Supernatural Gabriel was using Loki's face and playing his role, he and Loki were not actually the same person. On the episode of Supernatural where you see the two of them together, Loki does not really act or speak like Gabriel. Yet in this episode Loki, with all his smugness and wisecracks and scarcasm, acts and sounds exactly like Gabriel, except maybe at the end when he gets trapped. So who knows. I think the show just wanted to bring back the character played by Richard Speight, without really examining the question of Loki or Gabriel too closely. Still, I enjoyed Loki's scarcastic remarks -- I think my favorite was him telling Mary, "For someone your height, you're very loud." 😄 (Kind of a meta comment on the contrast between Mary's fierceness and how small the actress is!) I also liked the fairy tale type aspects of the story, like the singer having to chose the next person to sing to or else suffer the consequences himself, and also the Trickster being trapped in his own mirror. So even though I have to say that I had gotten really tired of the character of Gabriel on Supernatural, I enjoyed seeing the Trickster in this episode.

Yes, I see what you mean. There did seem to be some sparks between them. Like in that moment at the end, when she tells him she is going to try to fix the box, and he says, "I've known you long enough to know you're not really asking", and then thanks her for taking care of him. I wonder what the reason is that they have left Deanna Campbell out of the story the way they have, and if they are ever going to bring her back into the story. It's not the first time I have wondered about the absence of the character. I remember back in Season Six of Supernatural, when Samuel tells Dean and Sam he is working for Crowley because Crowley promised him he would resurrect Mary, and I wondered why Samuel never even mentioned his dead wife.

Ha, me too! Right now I have no idea what's going on, but I agree with @Aeryn13, it's fun to have a little mystery involving Dean for the new characters to try to figure out. If I had to guess, I would say maybe it is something like in the movie Back to the Future, where Marty McFly has inadvertently changed the past, and his brother and sister fade from the photo because they no longer exist. Maybe Dean (or maybe Sam or Castiel) are no longer going to exist, and Dean is trying to fix things. I think this came to my mind because of the way John and Mary were staring so intently at the photo of Dean; I half-expected him to start fading out of the picture!

Here is the song that the episode title comes from: I don't really think the song has any relevance or meaning to the story beyond its use for the title, but the lyrics do seem very apt considering the universe of the show. "Thinking 'bout it's here and it's real Wondering how I really should feel Well you can sell your soul But don't you sell it too cheap"

Happy birthday, Dean! I still miss you so much!!

Promo for Episode 6:

Yes, djinns kind of "evolved" over the course of Supernatural. The original djinn in "What Is and What Should Never Be" was permanently covered with those intricate tattoos; he trapped his victims in a fantasy world, which was the show's connection to the traditional idea of a djinn being a magical creature who grants your wishes. Then while the victim was living in the fantasy world, he would siphon off and drink their blood for as long as they lasted. I thought this was the best version of what a djinn was; the idea of the victim being unknowingly trapped and living in their fantasy world as they were slowly dying made for one of the most powerful episodes ever of the show. I love that episode so much; it was so good! When the djinns appeared in "Exile on Main Street", they looked human except when they revealed themselves as djinn, when their tattoos would become visible and grow across their skin, and their eyes would glow blue (as the eyes of the first djinn did.) These djinns used their poison to make their victims hallucinate their worst fears, rather than tricking them into thinking that their wish had come true. The djinns in the episode "Pac-Man Fever" also looked and lived as regular human beings, not just in ruined buildings, and again they trapped their victims in their worse nightmare rather than in a world of perfect happiness. Dean calls them an "offshoot" of the species, and adds that they turn the insides of their victims to jelly. I guess this offshoot is the type of djinn that we saw in this episode.

I agree! We got some interesting insights into the characters in this one. I will need to watch it again. One thing that I like about this show is that you don't need to have watched Supernatural to watch and enjoy it -- but if you were a fan of Supernatural, the prequel sheds light on what we saw of the characters in the original series, and makes them even more interesting in retrospect. I feel like I now understand better why Mary secretly went back to hunting after Dean was born, and why it is not surprising that John raised his sons like warriors. Not that it makes the choices that they made okay, but it adds depth to their characterizations.

Photos from Episode 4 (Carlos in his sailor suit! 😊 ):

Here's another Robbie Thompson interview: https://www.cbr.com/the-winchesters-robbie-thompson-interview/

Promo for Episode 4:

Ada was quite interesting in this episode. She seems to have nerves of steel when dealing with the demon. When he tries to taunt her about having been possessed, she doesn’t really react, but there are hints of a deep rage underneath her cool exterior, and she makes sure that the demon regrets messing with her. She already knows what she is going to do with the demon from the very beginning, as she sits in the van preparing her little bonsai tree. And after they capture the demon, when she says to Carlos in her soft, calm voice, “Let’s take him someplace quiet, so we can talk with him first”, it is actually quite a chilling moment. If she isn't, I think she wishes that she could! Another thing that is interesting about Ada and the bonsai tree, is that it shows how Ada does not seem to feel any need to consult with the others or even explain what she is going to do before she does it. As with the automatic writing spell, she keeps her own counsel, and just goes ahead and carries out her plans, without reporting back to Mary first as Carlos assumes they will. It might create an interesting dynamic between her and the others. Plus, of course, it is kind of cool to see the demon so terrified of being trapped in the little tree. I’ve always thought there was something sort of magical about a bonsai tree, but it was a surprise to see that the demon found it a fate worse than being in Hell. Also I like the idea that demons can possess non-human living things (reminded me of Jesus Christ in the Bible, casting out demons from a man and putting them into a herd of pigs instead) because it opens up different story possibilities. Another unexpected moment which I liked is when Mary turns to tell the children that they have to give up the beloved object that the Bori Baba is using to keep them trapped. I expected that little Carrie would be very upset to give up Bernice and would need a lot of convincing, and was totally surprised when before Mary has said a word, Carrie rips off Bernice’s head and is like, “Sorry, Bernice, I’m going home!” (Shades of Dean and the sacrificed rabbit in “Malleus Maleficarum”: “Why does the rabbit always get screwed in the deal?” 😄) Poor Bernice! – but it was actually pretty funny. And I liked Carrie stomping on the Bori Baba’s head after John cuts it off – like Ada, she is definitely a force to be reckoned with!

I don’t know, neither Mary or John are exactly humorless. We have already seen some tentative light teasing going on between the two of them as they get to know each other. And Mary interacts with Carlos and Latika as you might with a couple of siblings. They bicker and squabble and give each other a hard time. Mary rolled her eyes at Carlos’s excitement at visiting a commune, but she actually joined in with his and Latika’s impromptu performance of “Aquarius”. I thought that was a fun moment, and John as the newbie was kind of on the outside of it, but he was grinning and enjoying it too. Carlos does seem to be the one who helps the others to lighten up. Often with siblings, different individuals take on a specific role in the family – the responsible one, the smart one, the funny one – and being the one who reminds the others that, to use Dean's phrase, “You know, we are allowed to have fun” seems to be an important role that Carlos plays in this “family”. I would like to see if there is more to Carlos than what we see on the surface though. In this episode, I was thinking about how pleased he was to hear that they had to go to the commune. Maybe he was thinking that it was a chance to have some fun and wear cool clothes, but I was wondering if there was more to it. Fifty years ago, it would have been even more difficult for someone like Carlos to be accepted for who he is, and I’m sure that he would have often been a target of derision and hatred. Maybe in a commune of hippies who supported peace and love and doing your own thing, he felt like he could just be himself and still fit in. .

Here's a promo for next week's episode:

Yes, this is a good description of Mary. "No nonsense" is another good way to describe the character. (Of course, few people have the ability to enjoy the little pleasures of life as much as Dean did!) But maybe Mary is more uptight right now because she is worried about Samuel and feeling the burden of responsibility on her shoulders. Also it is easy to believe that she can't wait to leave behind her life as a hunter; she will get the job done, but she is not excited to be doing it.

Interesting! Yes, we definitely see things differently! Although when I think about who Mary is from Samantha’s portrayal of her, I do not include the Mary of “What Is and What Should Never Be” or the Mary of “Dark Side of the Moon” as showing us the “real Mary”. I feel like both of those were creations pulled together from the idea of Mary inside Dean’s head, based on idealized memories of his mother from his 4 year old self. So when I look at Samantha’s Mary, there is that brief scene at the beginning of the pilot before she dies on the ceiling, which doesn’t really show us much of anything as far as characterization, and then we have the Mary who was brought back by Amara. And honestly I do not see a softness or gentleness in Samantha’s Mary, at all. Basically I found her to be cold and unlikeable, and when she called herself “closed off and hard” in a conversation with Dean, I totally agreed with her. I would agree that she had a tough exterior, but I never saw any sign that there were hidden depths beneath the surface with her. She was all surface. Amy’s Mary was definitely sweet and likeable, and when we first met her she seemed much more like a normal teenager than any of the younger hunters I can think of, such as Jo Harvelle or the Campbell cousins – or Dean and Sam, for that matter. She could fight, but I wouldn’t say she had a tough exterior, and she seemed very open and emotional. I’m not sure that I can see the continuity between her Mary and Samantha’s Mary; they almost seem like different characters to me. Meg’s Mary does seem tough to me, and I can see her as someone who was trained as a hunter to kill monsters from childhood. She seems to me like someone who is used to protecting herself, both physically and emotionally, from the hardships and darkness that come from being a hunter. There may be vulnerabilities beneath that shell that we haven’t seen yet. Whether the actress can carry it off remains to be seen. Of course Jensen was able to create in Dean a character that was both amazingly badass but also incredibly vulnerable, and somehow was able to show this in every episode, but Jensen is extraordinary and what he did with Dean would be hard to replicate.

As for looks, it’s true that Samantha and Amy are both blonde women with regular, attractive features, but beyond that I never thought there was a striking resemblance between the two actresses. Anyway that is not as important to me if the actor can capture the essence of the character that they are portraying. I’ve always thought that Dylan Everett, in spite of the fact that he didn’t resemble Jensen physically (and yes, his eyebrows are very different!), absolutely nailed it when he played young Dean in the “Bad Boys” and “About A Boy” episodes. I felt like he understood the character and I totally bought him as Dean. I haven’t seen enough of Meg as Mary yet after only 2 episodes to really make up my mind yet, but so far I feel like her portrayal is closer to Samantha Smith’s Mary than Amy Gumenick was. I have nothing whatsoever against Amy; I loved the actress and to be honest I always wished that they had brought her back as Mary when she was resurrected by Amara, rather than using Samantha. But of the three actresses, I feel as if Amy is the outlier, while Meg is more what I would expect from seeing Samantha's Mary. Amy’s Mary was very sweet and girlish, with a gentleness to her that was very appealing, but maybe doesn’t fit with all we know of the character. So far I am not having a problem with either the way Mary is being written or the way that Meg is playing her (which of course are two different things.)

From the article linked in the Media topic: Drake says: I like the sound of this! I was hoping that the show would touch on how John's time in the military affected him.