S06.E01: Exile on Main Street

[Guest]

Sam is mysteriously released from Hell and seeks out his brother, trying to have a normal life. Together the brothers must join forces with their maternal grandfather, Samuel, and begin the fight anew.

 

 

[DittyDotDot]

I generally hate big time jumps forward, but it doesn't bother me too much here and I actually enjoy a good deal of this episode--well, up until Grampy Campbell and his ridiculous gang of hunters shows up anyway. The first part works so very well for me. The montage at the beginning with Seger's Beautiful Loser fits perfectly, IMO. I've never felt like Dean was especially happy or fulfilled during his time with Lisa and Ben--I mean, I think he cared about them and all--it just wasn't his life. I never thought Lisa was the love of Dean's life or anything, but I think he found a sense of solace with her and I don't think his heart was in hunting anymore (after losing Sam) so he goes through the motions with Lisa and Ben because he doesn't know what else to do. Jensen does a great job of selling it from that look of "what the hell am I doing here" in the beginning up until he says he's going to stay with Lisa and Ben because he feels a duty to protect them.

 

I also dig how the beginning of the episode harkens back to a creepier time in the show's history. It's a slow, quiet build watching Dean start to hallucinate and some of his fears come to the surface. I also generally like Lisa and found Sid amusing and interesting. Plus, I think Fredrick Lane is probably the best incarnation of Yellow Eyes and I love seeing him again, so there's also that.

 

I also like the reveal of Sam. And I have to give some kudos to Jared too, he does lots of little subtle things to show something is off with Sam starting with his unaffected way of cutting himself with a silver knife and that hug is all sorts of weird on his side. Plus, the way he just sits there watching as Dean is justifiably berating Bobby for not telling him Sam was alive. I may not know what is wrong with Sam, but I immediately saw there was something off, but it wasn't so over-the-top that I was rolling my eyes either.

 

But then, the Campbell Gang Of Ridiculousness kinda overtakes the episode and my attention starts to wane. Generally, I love Mitch Pileggi and I loved his first stint as Grandpa Campbell, but this time around it just doesn't work for me. Plus, I thought this was a road show--two guys on an endless road trip, not two guys driving to and from their clubhouse where their gang hangs out cleaning their guns. It didn't work with the Roadhouse, it still doesn't work here, IMO. Maybe if the gang was somewhat interesting I could've gotten into the idea, but they weren't, IMO--although, I thought there might be potential with Gwen and no-talky cousin whose name I can't recall.

 

So, if I just stop watching after the scene with Lisa and Dean at Bobby's house, I can generally think of this episode as pretty decent.

 

 

ETA: I thought they did a good job of flipping the script from The Pilot here. Most of the time this show goes too far to flip the storylines, but I think they did it well in this episode.

Edited November 16, 2014 by DittyDotDot

[rue721]

I generally hate big time jumps forward, but it doesn't bother me too much here and I actually enjoy a good deal of this episode--well, up until Grampy Campbell and his ridiculous gang of hunters shows up anyway. The first part works so very well for me. The montage at the beginning with Seger's Beautiful Loser fits perfectly, IMO. I've never felt like Dean was especially happy or fulfilled during his time with Lisa and Ben--I mean, I think he cared about them and all--it just wasn't his life. I never thought Lisa was the love of Dean's life or anything, but I think he found a sense of solace with her and I don't think his heart was in hunting anymore (after losing Sam) so he goes through the motions with Lisa and Ben because he doesn't know what else to do. Jensen does a great job of selling it from that look of "what the hell am I doing here" in the beginning up until he says he's going to stay with Lisa and Ben because he feels a duty to protect them.

 

I also dig how the beginning of the episode harkens back to a creepier time in the show's history. It's a slow, quiet build watching Dean start to hallucinate and some of his fears come to the surface. I also generally like Lisa and found Sid amusing and interesting. Plus, I think Fredrick Lane is probably the best incarnation of Yellow Eyes and I love seeing him again, so there's also that.

 

Completely agree, I love how eerie this episode is. It also never lets up on the spookiness, it just keeps building and building on it. First, the suburb feels unheimlich just on its own, and then Dean starts freaking out from the poison, and YED appears (who, I concur, is wonderful and I'm always happy to see him), and then Dean comes to with (dead?!) Sam in front of him, and then clearly something is "off" with Sam, too, and then there are all these OTHER dead and can't-exist people coming out of the woodwork, and then the double-dose of djinn poison and the straight up nightmare that just kept going and going and going...It was exactly how nightmares are ime, how it starts out just a little strange but then starts getting more and more impossible and frightening. This is one of my favorite episodes of the series tbh.

 

I usually love ~suburban utopia~ as a setting, I even watched Desperate Housewives religiously to get my fix of suburbia porn for a few years there, but something about this particular version of suburbia felt so "off." I can't put my finger on it, though? Maybe what was giving me the creeps was that all the rooms at Lisa's house were so cavernous. How many cars were even supposed to fit in that garage? The whole place was *incredibly* neat and clean, too -- the garage floor looked like they'd polished it yesterday, and the landscaping in the front yard was...impressive, with the huge wisteria blossoms draping elegantly over the front steps. Is the house supposed to be "TV normal" or is it supposed to be weird how gorgeous and huge yet eerily inhuman in its gigantic perfection it is? I'm prone to thinking that they made Lisa's home spooky on purpose, because the sports bar where Sid and Dean chat at the beginning is nice and cozy and homey, so clearly they were capable of doing not!spooky if they needed to. But if they did make her home spooky on purpose, how did they do it? Or maybe it wasn't spooky, maybe it was just me, unconsciously hyperventilating at the thought of all the money and work that would go into keeping and taking care of a house like that. And WITH a kid?! Better learn to love Ramen, Ben, because Lisa has to pay the mortgage and the full time landscaping and cleaning staff. Well anyway.  NO WAIT actually that also bothered me later in the episode, when Dean waves Lisa and Ben off and says to go to a movie and the Cheesecake Factory. WTF guys, where is this money coming from? Who is paying for this shit? Not to be a pain, but it really took me out of the episode -- though maybe that was the point? Maybe the whole setting was supposed to be dreamlike, and the ridiculously expensive everything was part of that? 

 

Probably it really was supposed to be kind of OTT, because Sid also seemed kind of inhuman and overbearing in the same kind of unsettling way as the house and the rest of the neighborhood did, imo, and he *definitely* seemed to me like he was meant to come off that way. I mean I liked him fine and felt horrible when his family was being slaughtered, but I definitely felt like he was supposed to be somewhat of a cartoon and also just...unheimlich again. That scene when they were in the sports bar? He was being perfectly nice and definitely nothing was *wrong* with him, but come on. They were sitting in this comfortable, relaxed place, but who can let their hair down around Sid? I felt a wave of empathetic relief when Dean got the check, for sure.

 

To a certain extent, I felt that way about Dean's whole life with Lisa and Ben, like he was a stranger in a strange land and really struggling to fit in despite genuinely trying his best to, and I think that was the tone the show was more or less aiming for. "Beautiful Loser" seemed like a really weird, kind of terrible choice to me for the opening song, though, and makes me wonder if we're supposed to be contemptuous of that life and *not* think he was genuinely trying to fit into it? To me, the vibe of Lisa's house(s) and Sid, etc, seemed intimidating and unappealing and somewhat unsettling in its strangeness, but I didn't get a feeling of contempt at all. I never felt that Dean didn't *want* it, just that he wasn't comfortable and it could never feel like home to him. But maybe we were meant to think he didn't want it, either?

 

Maybe the reason I thought it felt like he wanted it and was genuinely trying was because I didn't feel that Dean was going through the motions with Ben and Lisa. I think they really were the family that Dean would/could/should have had, if his life had gone differently.

I also felt for him when he started panicking pretty soon after. I believed that he genuinely wanted to be able to fit into their life and feel at home with it, and it was tearing him up that he was unwittingly fucking that up at every turn.

Though I will say that Lisa's POV didn't really seem flashed out or coherent to me -- they tried to give a nod to the insanity of her just opening up her home to Dean pretty much randomly by saying that "when the man who saves the world..." but I didn't quite buy it. Not that it made zero sense, I just needed more basis, I couldn't really get a bead on her at all, she seemed to be written pretty much as just a prop for Dean. Which I understand to a point, because he's the lead and she's his love interest, but I think the story would have worked better if they'd fleshed her out more and made her and Ben real characters. The actors and the chemistry worked, and what was there was pretty much OK, but I felt like everything would have had more oomph if they'd felt more like full-fledged people who I, as a viewer, could at least care about enough to empathize more with Dean as he's having ~feelings~ about them (about staying with them, leaving them, them dying, etc).

[DittyDotDot]

To a certain extent, I felt that way about Dean's whole life with Lisa and Ben, like he was a stranger in a strange land and really struggling to fit in despite genuinely trying his best to, and I think that was the tone the show was more or less aiming for. "Beautiful Loser" seemed like a really weird, kind of terrible choice to me for the opening song, though, and makes me wonder if we're supposed to be contemptuous of that life and *not* think he was genuinely trying to fit into it? To me, the vibe of Lisa's house(s) and Sid, etc, seemed intimidating and unappealing and somewhat unsettling in its strangeness, but I didn't get a feeling of contempt at all. I never felt that Dean didn't *want* it, just that he wasn't comfortable and it could never feel like home to him. But maybe we were meant to think he didn't want it, either?

 

I've always said that I think Dean liked the idea of Lisa and Ben more than the reality of them. I definitely think he cared about them and wanted to make it work, but it just didn't do it for him in the end and weirdly that's why I thought Beautiful Loser fit so well.  I think of the beginning of S6 as time for Dean to rediscover what hunting was about and choose to be a hunter rather than it being forced upon him. Dean sort of comes alive for the first time in the episode when he gets a whiff of a case and I can see how he really has missed the hunt.  Or that's what I think the show was trying to do with these first few episodes anyway.

 

I totally agree about the grandness of Lisa's house being weird. And, it wasn't only this house, but the house they moved to seemed way bigger and nicer than a yoga teacher and construction worker should've been able to afford. But then again, I thought that back when we met her in S3. I remember thinking she must have family money or something because no way a yoga teacher and single mom should be able to afford that house they lived in. I think they just wanted Lisa's world to be so very opposite of what Dean would know--so, like you said, Dean would be like a stranger in a strange land--but it is rather glaring, isn't it?

[rue721]

I've always said that I think Dean liked the idea of Lisa and Ben more than the reality of them. I definitely think he cared about them and wanted to make it work, but it just didn't do it for him in the end and weirdly that's why I thought Beautiful Loser fit so well.  I think of the beginning of S6 as time for Dean to rediscover what hunting was about and choose to be a hunter rather than it being forced upon him. Dean sort of comes alive for the first time in the episode when he gets a whiff of a case and I can see how he really has missed the hunt.  Or that's what I think the show was trying to do with these first few episodes anyway.

 

I think the show is a bit at odds within itself w/r/t the issue of whether Dean wanted to go back to hunting and leave family life behind or whether he felt forced into it again because it was too late for him to change/he'd already been "ruined" for family life. Dean seemed to me like he was pretty often saying and/or implying the latter

and still is imo, even now in S10 when he basically tells people, such as Cole, that he's doomed to be a hunter or that it's too late for him to make another choice

, but the show seemed also to be pushing the former idea with choices like "Beautiful Loser" as the opening song or that weird tonal mismatch when in one scene, Lisa

basically kicked him out as he getting upset at how he couldn't seem to stop living like he'd been raised to/like John/paranoid, but then the next scene of Dean was him taking the tarp off his car, and the music and direction in that scene were triumphant and happy.

Ultimately, I think it's going to be just individual interpretation, because I think the show pushed both ideas and so each of them are a valid read imo.

 

Personally, I thought that he was *afraid* of his old (hunting) life seeping into his new (family) life and eating away at it until it was ruined/gone/in shreds, that that was his nightmare. When he gets poisoned and his "worst nightmares" start coming true, and he starts seeing those claw marks everywhere, pulling his gun on a little dog, freaking out Sid in public and pushing away Lisa, etc, I think part of the "nightmare" was that there were sings of a monster stalking the neighborhood, and part of the "nightmare" was his reaction to it -- because even though the monster itself wasn't ruining anything directly yet (and never even appeared) he was already sort of blowing up his life just by freaking out. It's as his fears are creeping up and coming into his life that he rushes to his old weapons/jacket/journal/etc -- I felt like that was him sort of falling back through the looking glass and getting shoved back into his old life for a second by the poison (and poison-induced-monster). I felt like he wasn't "shoved back" in a good/nostalgic way, though, but rather in a flashback-y way. Like, his *fear* was that he'd have to start hunting again and all he could see was hunting and his old life.

 

When he started seeing the (imaginary) signs of a monster to track, it seemed to me like it felt very *familiar* to him and so he fell right into his old patterns and knew just what to do. But even though imo that would probably be comfortable in a sense, because it was FINALLY a return to normalcy (for him) after being in the exhausting/alienating position of trying to "pass" as the "Lisa and Ben Life" version of normal for a long time (the whole year, I assume), and a relief in that I would think it would feel like the other shoe had FINALLY dropped and at least now he was about to find out *what* bad thing was going to destroy his new life and didn't have to wait there dreading it anymore, I don't think that it seemed like it felt *good* or invigorating to him per se.

 

Then when YED showed up very soon after, the first thing YED says is that Dean was stupid for thinking that he could ever keep "all this" (i.e., the life with Ben and Lisa) and that he "can't outrun his past." Which also makes me think that getting thrown back into the hunting life or that (hunting) life seeping into his life with Lisa and Ben felt like the big threat to him, that that's his fear. Later on, when Dean gets that double dose of poison from the djinns, he also starts imagining that what had thrown him into the hunting life the first time (YED's attack on Mary and Sam) is going to happen again to his new family (and presumably throw him into the hunting life the second time).

 

I think that Dean generally felt like he'd put Ben and Lisa at risk just by being around them, but that he genuinely wanted to stay with them, so he was going to tell himself that he could hold onto them still and didn't have to leave just yet, and that it might even be for the best, or that at least that he'll be able to pay them back for being around them, because he'd work hard to protect them. I think that he saw staying with them as a selfish desire on his part, which was also why he wanted Sam to really tell him why he should come out hunting again or why Sam needed him. Sam didn't really have  good answer, though, so I think Dean felt like he could say no to Sam in good conscience and look out for himself (by doing what he wanted to do and not hunt anymore). I think that's also why he tried to give away Baby to Sam, to push the hunting life away from himself again. With the djinn and all that, I think this was a pretty heavy callback to WIWSNB and this time, Dean wanted to make the decision to stay in the "dream" life.

 

Not to be sappy about it. I really feel for him. He can either have the life he wants but doesn't fit into (with Ben and Lisa), or he can have the life he fits into but doesn't want (hunting). He tries to chose the former but ultimately has to choose the latter, imo.

 

I totally agree about the grandness of Lisa's house being weird. And, it wasn't only this house, but the house they moved to seemed way bigger and nicer than a yoga teacher and construction worker should've been able to afford. But then again, I thought that back when we met her in S3. I remember thinking she must have family money or something because no way a yoga teacher and single mom should be able to afford that house they lived in. I think they just wanted Lisa's world to be so very opposite of what Dean would know--so, like you said, Dean would be like a stranger in a strange land--but it is rather glaring, isn't it?

 

Yeah, I thought her house and that ridiculous party were also weird in S3, but that whole episode was kind of terrible and weird. "Ladies man" child!Ben?! Wtf was that? So I just figured that the house and party were "TV normal," as in, meant to be read by viewers as normal, but is the TV version of normal and so of course is way nicer than actual real-life normal would be. I also figured that the show had to make her her lifestyle a bit OTT lavish to keep people from thinking things like, "poor Lisa, does she get child support? If this is Dean's kid, how is that going to work?!" (Or maybe we're just meant to handwave that Ben's father is rich? But then why would there be all this, "who's Ben's father, is it Dean?!" stuff? Whatever, not worth worrying about probably).

 

But then they went back to Lisa a few seasons later and she was still living in this ridiculous house, only in S6 something about it seemed oddly creepy, whereas in S3 it didn't seem creepy at all, imo, just weird for the character. (S6 spoiler)

Then she moved to that new house and it was EVEN CREEPIER. When they did the first establishing shot for it, I was just like WTF who lives THERE?! It looked like this shut-up old mansion, looming there all dark and unwelcoming. And then the scene starts and it's *Lisa* inside unpacking. So at that point I was like, OK, this is for sure on purpose, right?

 

And they'd moved there because they'd FLED the other house? THAT haunted mansion of all places is what they FLED to? What is happening with their old house, it's just sitting empty? Is there some poor renter living in there now who is going to be accosted by all the monsters that are trying to track Dean and Lisa down? Not to find plotholes, I mean, it's supposed to be a fun show, I'm not looking for all that much realism when it comes to dumb stuff like the rental market, but I couldn't help thinking about their old house because it was like, if Dean is thinking he's contaminating these people's lives, he should maybe STOP THE SPREAD of the contamination and not be moving them everywhere js.

 

I will say that I decided to rewatch this episode again last night, and the house didn't seem nearly as creepy to me this time. I think that it's weirdly the opening montage that puts me on edge, because I guess I see everything in the montage as "this is everything Dean has to lose!" and then I'm just waiting to see him to lose all of it. It puts me in a mindset of seeing everything afterward as "too good to be true."

 

I also go back on what I said a few days or so back (not in this thread, I don't really remember which thread tbh) about Ben being scared shitless -- this time around, I didn't think he seemed scared at all. Tbh, it's weird how not scared Lisa and Ben are, considering that Dean was getting worked up into such a lather than he was making them flee their home and hide in a junkyard in South Dakota. When I mean that I would expect them to be scared, it's not *of* Dean per se, who I think genuinely loves them, but because when someone like that (big, strong, has survived a lot) is panicking, I would have trouble not panicking, too! But YMMV :)

[DittyDotDot]

rue721, on 28 Nov 2014 - 5:42 PM, said:

I think the show is a bit at odds within itself w/r/t the issue of whether Dean wanted to go back to hunting and leave family life behind or whether he felt forced into it again because it was too late for him to change/he'd already been "ruined" for family life.

 

[...]

 

Not to be sappy about it. I really feel for him. He can either have the life he wants but doesn't fit into (with Ben and Lisa), or he can have the life he fits into but doesn't want (hunting). He tries to chose the former but ultimately has to choose the latter, imo.

 

I definitely think Dean is torn between two worlds, but I think he wants them both--or wants some of each world, anyway--and why Beautiful Loser fits well in my mind. I think he fits in both worlds, but both worlds don't really fit him. The life he'd been living with Ben and Lisa seems to be rather unfulfilling for Dean, IMO, but the people he was living it with weren't. And whereas hunting seems to engage him and fills that need to help and save people, it's also ugly and lonely. So, I think he wants to hit the road and hunt things, but also wants to keep Ben and Lisa in his life somehow. So, for me, even though Dean might think he's only cut out for hunting life and doesn't mean he doesn't want to hunt also.  Seriously, this all made more sense before I read what I wrote. ;)

Edited November 29, 2014 by DittyDotDot

[supposebly]

I adore this one. I remember being as off-balance with the reunion as Dean was. I kept comparing it with the S4 reunion scene and it was just wrong. While Sam turned out to be a bit shady right away in Lazarus Rising, the reunion was heartfelt and real. This one wasn't.

 

I keep coming back to how these two actors create so much out of so little between them to create a scene. I guess there is a reason I'm still watching. Because the writing isn't it.

 

I think they wanted to create some sort of parallel with how Sam got pulled out of his "normal life" but it just doesn't work. Parallels are all fine and dandy but these characters are so different, the reactions and outcomes and repercussions should be wildly different too.

[GirlyGeek]

This begins the season that I stopped watching closely and watched on the dvr. I also, save for a couple of episodes,didn't re watch this season (or the following seasons) so I've seen these episodes only once.

I know I'm going to be more forgiving this time around, as I have been this entire re watch. I'm a pretty easy going viewer actually, so as of writing this post ive watched up to 6x8 and I've been enjoying it all for the most part.

As for this episode, I remember when it first aired iwas all kinds of pissed off about it. Sam wasn't Sam, obviously, and once again the brothers didn't get the reunion I'd been hoping for. I didn't know what was up with Sam, of course, but he was creeping me out.

This time around, I enjoyed this ep. I was able to watch it for what it was and not having to guess the whole time what the heck was happening. Like mentioned above, everyone was off kilter, the whole SPN-verse was off, and I felt that clearly, and it worked well.

As for Dean, in my mind he was doing what he does best: acclimating to the environment he's in. Did he want to stop hunting and have an apple pie life? Maybe...? In an ideal world, sure. But to me,he's in this suburban hell and trying to fit in and it's making his skin crawl. But he wants to want it.

For anyone watching the Walking Dead right now, this was Deans version of trying to fit into

Alexandria,

but he can't quite put his weapons down and play the part.

Looking forward to this season. It's kind of like brand new info to me, since I only saw it when it aired and really didn't obsess over it or re watch.

Edited March 9, 2015 by GirlyGeek

[rue721]

This begins the season that I stopped watching closely and watched on the dvr. I also, save for a couple of episodes,didn't re watch this season (or the following seasons) so I've seen these episodes only once.

I know I'm going to be more forgiving this time around, as I have been this entire re watch. I'm a pretty easy going viewer actually, so as of writing this post ive watched up to 6x8 and I've been enjoying it all for the most part.

As for this episode, I remember when it first aired iwas all kinds of pissed off about it. Sam wasn't Sam, obviously, and once again the brothers didn't get the reunion I'd been hoping for. I didn't know what was up with Sam, of course, but he was creeping me out.

This time around, I enjoyed this ep. I was able to watch it for what it was and not having to guess the whole time what the heck was happening. Like mentioned above, everyone was off kilter, the whole SPN-verse was off, and I felt that clearly, and it worked well.

As for Dean, in my mind he was doing what he does best: acclimating to the environment he's in. Did he want to stop hunting and have an apple pie life? Maybe...? In an ideal world, sure. But to me,he's in this suburban hell and trying to fit in and it's making his skin crawl. But he wants to want it.

For anyone watching the Walking Dead right now, this was Deans version of trying to fit into

Alexandria,

but he can't quite put his weapons down and play the part.

Looking forward to this season. It's kind of like brand new info to me, since I only saw it when it aired and really didn't obsess over it or re watch.

 

WHOA Alexandria, VA? That's where I'm from. So bizarre. It's not especially suburban, he shouldn't worry. He should probably cover that nice car with a tarp while it's parked outside, though. :P You know how the boys are always stealing cars whenever Baby isn't running for some reason? It would be kind of hilarious if someone stole her. Not a demon or a monster or anything, just some jackass.

 

Hey, that makes me want to set a crack!fic here. There's plenty of bad juju around, this used to have one of the largest slave markets in the country (and the central square "downtown" is still called Market Square). The first casualty of the Civil War was here in Alexandria, too. It's on the Potomac and when you look across the river, it's DC, but this was the Confederacy and it's where Robert E. Lee is from (and George Washington, too!). Not that this show uses history like that really. But I think it would be interesting. OH and it's Virginia, so they could walk into wherever they wanted, a bar, wherever, with concealed firearms and it wouldn't even be a crime! It would be hilarious to think of Sam and Dean in the Impala, snarled in the traffic on 395. Or trying to drive around here during/after a snow, with everyone inching along. Or OMG stuck here during the summer, those layers would NOT fly in 90 degrees with 100% humidity!

 

Just looked at the Alexandria Safe Zone tour on the Walking Dead Wiki and ugh that's not anything like how Alexandria looks. No fun. Why choose a place that has a pretty singular look to it if you're just going to make it look like a newly built suburban subdivision in Georgia or wherever? Anyway, enough babble. Just found that amusing :)

[rue721]

ETA:

 

Oh! Just realized, my profile pic is actually of Alexandria! The left side of that duplex was my best friends' house when I was growing up. I lived across the street and that's roughly the view from our old living room window. Where I lived looked really ugly in pictures so I used a shot of their place instead. :P

Edited March 9, 2015 by rue721

[pixelcat]

I really like how they did the ONE YEAR AGO... NOW part of this episode, making it seem that Dean was dreaming (complete with washed out color and Sam's voice echoing) and he wakes up to the alarm.

On 11/16/2014 at 9:20 AM, DittyDotDot said:

I generally hate big time jumps forward, but it doesn't bother me too much here and I actually enjoy a good deal of this episode--well, up until Grampy Campbell and his ridiculous gang of hunters shows up anyway. The first part works so very well for me. The montage at the beginning with Seger's Beautiful Loser fits perfectly, IMO. I've never felt like Dean was especially happy or fulfilled during his time with Lisa and Ben--I mean, I think he cared about them and all--it just wasn't his life. I never thought Lisa was the love of Dean's life or anything, but I think he found a sense of solace with her and I don't think his heart was in hunting anymore (after losing Sam) so he goes through the motions with Lisa and Ben because he doesn't know what else to do. Jensen does a great job of selling it from that look of "what the hell am I doing here" in the beginning up until he says he's going to stay with Lisa and Ben because he feels a duty to protect them.

Agree with everything you said here!  I always got the impression he wanted to stay more for Ben than for Lisa though.  Perhaps as a substitute for Sam, someone he can take care of, look out for, and show the ropes to.

Also didn't realize until I read somewhere else that the waitress in the bar giving Dean her number was actually the djinn, and her touch on his arm after dropping off the receipt is what poisoned him.  Before today I never thought about HOW Dean ended up poisoned, just figured it happened "along the way" somewhere.  Guess I picked the right week to quit sniffing glue!

[auntvi]

Watching this morning it occurred to me for the first time: could Sam or granddad have sent the djinn after Dean intentionally? They were both so calm when they saw him - of course neither of them were "normal". But I wonder if they decided they needed Dean hunting with them and used a monster to pull him back in.

[Diane]

That's a really good thought, I have wondered that myself.  That would be a great con question.

[Hanahope]

So I know something is wrong with Sam.  That was not the reunion I expected, Sam is definitely not himself.  He's not 'angry'.  Even though the Lucifer story appears over, I think Sam would have been significantly affected. 

And really out of character to not let Dean know he was back for a year.  He knew Dean wanted him more than Lisa. Had he let Dean know immediately, Dean would not have gotten that attached to Lisa and Ben , nor would they have been in any real danger.  It's Sams fault Dean initially chose Lisa and Ben over hunting.

And although he 'worked' without Dean for six months during Mystery Spot and four months after Dean went to hell, he never met family before?  Something is up with this new found 'family' if that's who they really are.

so yeah, you have to wonder if something is up and now they 'need'Dean back to hunting for some reason.  Obviously Grandad and family have a secret, but what does Sam know?

[bettername2come]

The beginning of season 6 is going to be really hard to comment on without giving away spoilers, but I'm on a streak, dammit!

The opening makes me sad. The washed out colors and echoing Sam voice just added a little something to it. I like domestic Dean. I want one. I like Dean with Lisa. I'm ninety percent sure this is a wish fulfillment thing, like if I can't have him, someone should. I like Dean still keeping those precautions - just because he ain't hunting doesn't mean he ought to be stupid. "Possums kill." I like his friendship with the neighbor. Lisa has a leather jacket and Dean doesn't. That is just wrong. Azazel! Fredric Lehne always seems to have so much fun onscreen. Dean sees Sam and thinks he's in heaven. That's fine. I'm not crying or anything. The knife cuts look faker and faker the more I see of them. "My God, you have delicate features for a hunter." 

Bobby is better at meeting Lisa and Ben and being hospitable than I would have expected. He's less cranky without constant exposure to the Winchesters. Great scene between Bobby and Dean, nice work from both actors. God, just hearing Dean say "home" is powerful. The tattoos just appearing o the Jinn looks really cool. Dean's worst fears are in no way surprising. 

Jared does such a great job of subtly playing that something's not quite right with Sam. "You didn't hesitate because you care. That's who you are. Me, I wouldn't even think to try." This is not the Sammy we know and love! "She should be hunting, take her." He's just trying to give the Impala her best possible life!

[RulerofallIsurvey]

Dean Winchester - practically respectable.  Who knew?  ;)  I like how he did not even look twice at the waitress in skimpy shorts and immediately tore up her number.  Dean Winchester, you are a respectable man.  

I never would have picked construction for Dean though.  Why wasn't he a mechanic like John?  Or was the show really trying to drive home that that this was not a good fit for Dean?  Which, imo, is kind of ridiculous because I think the main reason Dean wasn't really happy was because he thought Sam was in the cage with Lucifer.  Lisa seemed pretty cool.  Since she's had experience with the supernatural, I think Dean could have been honest with her.  

On 7/10/2017 at 11:16 PM, bettername2come said:

I like Dean still keeping those precautions - just because he ain't hunting doesn't mean he ought to be stupid.

Yeah, unlike Mary in the pilot, right?

I can't believe Dean didn't slug Sam after Sam told him he left him alone for a year.  I think I would have.  He should have slugged Bobby too.  

Grampy Campbell sure had a lot of handy-dandy cures he never told anyone else about, didn't he?

I like Lisa.  I don't like Christopher, was it?  The one who basically said that Dean - "the guy who practically saved the world" was not a professional.  I don't like Grampy either after that "maybe not the best time for golf" line, especially considering it was Sam's idea to leave Dean out of hunting for a year, and now they want to lay the blame for that at Dean's feet?  Nah.  Kind of ironic too, since Dean did more to stop the Apocalypse than all those third cousins put together.  Where were those 'blood' relatives when all that was going down?  Dean is a much nicer person than I am, cause I would have thrown that in everyone's face.  

The Campbells drive a creepy serial killer van.   And that was before they put the djinn in.  

Sam encouraging Dean to leave Lisa and Ben, and then that line that he wouldn't even think to try, and then not taking the impala when Dean offered - can't believe Dean didn't immediately ping that there was something majorly wrong with Sam.

[bettername2come]

17 minutes ago, RulerofallIsurvey said:

On 7/10/2017 at 11:16 PM, bettername2come said:

I like Dean still keeping those precautions - just because he ain't hunting doesn't mean he ought to be stupid.

Yeah, unlike Mary in the pilot, right?

I'm now wondering if Mary did put up wards, but they didn't work because she'd made a deal to let Azazel in in ten years overruled it. But that's probably a debate for another thread.

[DittyDotDot]

25 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

I'm now wondering if Mary did put up wards, but they didn't work because she'd made a deal to let Azazel in in ten years overruled it. But that's probably a debate for another thread.

Or that Yellow Eyes was so powerful. We know that holy water and salt didn't effect him in S1. 

[RulerofallIsurvey]

On 8/5/2017 at 8:40 PM, bettername2come said:

I'm now wondering if Mary did put up wards, but they didn't work because she'd made a deal to let Azazel in in ten years overruled it. But that's probably a debate for another thread.

On 8/5/2017 at 9:05 PM, DittyDotDot said:

Or that Yellow Eyes was so powerful. We know that holy water and salt didn't effect him in S1. 

I could buy either of these explanations - or combination thereof.  I just kind of wish that we'd actually get it on the show.

[Iju]

so after a break for a week i decide to finally get into the seasons. today just felt right for me, idk. anyway - 

i couldn't help but chuckle to myself when i saw dean working his job. if he had a college degree like sam he would have had a better one with more money. who would have thought school would eventually come in handy!

so the whole montage of him doing his daily routine and flashbacking to sam, i have two things in mind. one, that is it really sad that dean finally does get the life he wants but it's not worth much since sam isn't in it. and two, i think the show is trying to point out that even the little stuff dean does in his life, he is constantly reminded of sam? that's even sadder :(

omgggg when dean checked in on ben and went to bed with lisa, i felt the most sad! he's such a good daddy and hubby ;_;

it's been said a lot and it's pretty much known by everyone but dean is such an expressive character. there must have been a dozen different faces he made in the hall searching for the woman. it's like you could almost see his thoughts.

is it just me or is dean's hairstyle changed to look more "homely" and "normal"?

mess. i'm not sure which situation is better, telling the truth to cassie or lying to lisa. both are for good reasons. actually i'm a bit surprised that in a year these two didn't give ben a brother or sister.

love that grin sam did when dean hugged him.

omg noooooo. hurting dean is the least of things the writers need to do. why are they so gung ho on making these sad situations out of him??? :( :( i know how hurt he is but i wonder if dean would leave sam alone if he had the "perfect" family life. he did it before, would he do it again?

lol scarlett johannsson, before her big break.

i've expressed this before but that scene with dean talking to granps makes me so happy. him being in that house where he lives (/used to live) and that beautiful kitchen, ahhh he fits it so well. the camera and the lighting coming from outside is everything.

"Why would I want to talk about Hell?" the same reason why dean didn't, but don't worry sam will have to tell, just like his brother did. from the way sam missed dean's honesty in character, something in his eyes said he missed something else. now both brothers have officially lost all their innocence. 

the only thing i didn't like in this episode is that the brothers came together and split up way too fast, like in S4. besides that 9/10 episode.

 

P.S. i really am all up in my feelings more than i thought about this suburban family thing with the bros than i thought. sam would be such a great uncle :'((

Edited April 17, 2018 by Iju

[DeeDee79]

19 minutes ago, Iju said:

i couldn't help but chuckle to myself when i saw dean working his job. if he had a college degree like sam he would have had a better one with more money. who would have thought school would eventually come in handy!

Wasn't Dean a construction worker in this episode?

[gonzosgirrl]

43 minutes ago, Iju said:

i couldn't help but chuckle to myself when i saw dean working his job. if he had a college degree like sam he would have had a better one with more money. who would have thought school would eventually come in handy!

Again with non-white collar jobs being less than? Just FYI, my best friend is a construction worker and he makes some pretty good money. More than me as a matter of fact, and he loves his job.

Did Sam actually get a degree? Seems to me he left before finishing.

[DeeDee79]

4 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Again with non-white collar jobs being less than? Just FYI, my best friend is a construction worker and he makes some pretty good money. More than me as a matter of fact, and he loves his job.

Did Sam actually get a degree? Seems to me he left before finishing.

I thought that Dean worked construction but I didn't remember. I totally agree with you; my dad was a construction worker and made really good money. So good that he was able to retire when he turned 60 which ain't too shabby IMO.

Edited April 17, 2018 by DeeDee79

[Iju]

5 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Again with non-white collar jobs being less than? Just FYI, my best friend is a construction worker and he makes some pretty good money. More than me as a matter of fact, and he loves his job.

Did Sam actually get a degree? Seems to me he left before finishing.

i'm sorry but you are taking this to a whole nother level???? i never said that it was a bad job, i never implied that it wasn't good money, i just said he could have gotten more money if he had a degree.

and i always assumed sam graduated and was applying for the second half of being a lawyer (i forget what it's called).

[gonzosgirrl]

8 minutes ago, DeeDee79 said:

I thought that Dean worked construction but I didn't remember. I totally agree with you; my dad was a construction worker and made really good money. So good that he was able to retire before he turned 60 which ain't too shabby IMO.

Yep, and as more and more young people gravitate toward the so-called white collar jobs, the skilled trades suffer, but those who do choose to work in them can almost write their own ticket. My Class A auto-mechanic friend earns $35/hr flat rate (meaning he can often book 60-70+ hrs a week while actually working 35-40). Not too shabby, indeed.

4 minutes ago, Iju said:

i'm sorry but you are taking this to a whole nother level???? i never said that it was a bad job, i never implied that it wasn't good money, i just said he could have gotten more money if he had a degree.

and i always assumed sam graduated and was applying for the second half of being a lawyer (i forget what it's called).

Actually you also said, 'better', but I'll take you at your word that you didn't mean it to be insulting. But I know plenty of people with degrees who don't earn as much as a skilled trades worker. Maybe not as much as a full-fledged lawyer working at a firm, but probably more than your average public defender ;)

Opinions vary as to how long Sam was in school, but in-show at least, I don't think he graduated.

Edited April 17, 2018 by gonzosgirrl

[DeeDee79]

3 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Yep, and as more and more young people gravitate toward the so-called white collar jobs, the skilled trades suffer, but those who do choose to work in them can almost write their own ticket. My Class A auto-mechanic friend earns $35/hr flat rate (meaning he can often book 60-70+ hrs a week while actually working 35-40). Not too shabby, indeed.

The funny thing is having a degree doesn't even guarantee more money. My mom was a college grad and my dad never went to college. He made more money in his profession than my mom did in hers. Then again she was a teacher and their salary isn't always the greatest :(

[catrox14]

16 hours ago, Iju said:

i couldn't help but chuckle to myself when i saw dean working his job. if he had a college degree like sam he would have had a better one with more money. who would have thought school would eventually come in handy!

Sam doesn't actually have a college degree. He never graduated. Not that I know of.

There are many jobs that don't require a college degree and pay a lot more than someone with a college degree.

16 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Did Sam actually get a degree? Seems to me he left before finishing.

You're correct. One typically applies to law school in their junior year but maybe in Sam's case he did it in his senior year. Either way, he did not graduate. He doesn't have his degree. If Sam had a LAW degree, he might make more money but he didn't and doesn't.

[Iju]

12 hours ago, catrox14 said:

There are many jobs that don't require a college degree and pay a lot more than someone with a college degree.

i just thought it would be better to have a degree at hand rather than not.

[trudysmom]

School's finally out for summer-YAY!  So I'm home enjoying reruns on TBS and Season 6 starts with Dean and Lisa.  And all I can focus on is how pretty he is.  I mean every time he's on screen I keep thinking holy crap.  Fast forward to now, and not as pretty, but time has been kind to him.  I usually hate that men can age so well and seemingly effortlessly (not being a man I wouldn't know, except that my hubs puts little to no effort into aging well) and women work so hard at not looking their/our age.  At least I do.  Also, classic rock was such a huge a part of the show then, it adds so much.  I miss that.  Le sigh, thank Chuck for reruns and Netflix.

[The Companion]

On 11/27/2014 at 5:54 AM, rue721 said:

Though I will say that Lisa's POV didn't really seem flashed out or coherent to me -- they tried to give a nod to the insanity of her just opening up her home to Dean pretty much randomly by saying that "when the man who saves the world..." but I didn't quite buy it. Not that it made zero sense, I just needed more basis, I couldn't really get a bead on her at all, she seemed to be written pretty much as just a prop for Dean. Which I understand to a point, because he's the lead and she's his love interest, but I think the story would have worked better if they'd fleshed her out more and made her and Ben real characters. The actors and the chemistry worked, and what was there was pretty much OK, but I felt like everything would have had more oomph if they'd felt more like full-fledged people who I, as a viewer, could at least care about enough to empathize more with Dean as he's having ~feelings~ about them (about staying with them, leaving them, them dying, etc).

If she had at least brought up that he saved her son and a bunch of other kids maybe, but my only explanation is that I have fanwanked that she was cupided. She is a gorgeous woman and she seems pretty awesome. Yet she is always available when Dean shows up. She feels like an idealistic version of gf/wife with no real substance. I don't dislike her. I just don't feel like I know her. It is a nice change to have females on the show again. 😆 I mean, I am not sure any women served as anything more than extras in the last two episodes. 

On 8/17/2016 at 12:37 PM, pixelcat said:

Also didn't realize until I read somewhere else that the waitress in the bar giving Dean her number was actually the djinn, and her touch on his arm after dropping off the receipt is what poisoned him.  Before today I never thought about HOW Dean ended up poisoned, just figured it happened "along the way" somewhere.  Guess I picked the right week to quit sniffing glue!

Thank you for filling that in for me. I have face blindness and probably would never have put it together.

On 4/17/2018 at 4:58 PM, gonzosgirrl said:

Yep, and as more and more young people gravitate toward the so-called white collar jobs, the skilled trades suffer, but those who do choose to work in them can almost write their own ticket. My Class A auto-mechanic friend earns $35/hr flat rate (meaning he can often book 60-70+ hrs a week while actually working 35-40). Not too shabby, indeed.

Actually you also said, 'better', but I'll take you at your word that you didn't mean it to be insulting. But I know plenty of people with degrees who don't earn as much as a skilled trades worker. Maybe not as much as a full-fledged lawyer working at a firm, but probably more than your average public defender 😉

Opinions vary as to how long Sam was in school, but in-show at least, I don't think he graduated.

When you throw in student loans, a lot of attorneys aren't bringing home huge paychecks.  But either way, I suspect: 1. A degree wouldn't have helped him much without employment history (which I guess he could have faked) and 2. He has no interest working in a cubicle. He didn't seem too happy in an office. My husband is like that. He hates school and being in the office. He has a great job that he loves. There are many paths out there. 

I will withhold judgment on the Campbells but it is pretty clear something is going on with Sam. I am a little bummed to be playing: what is up with Sam? again because it feels like we just did it but that may be a symptom of binge watching the show.

[trudysmom]

I really couldn't tell you much that goes on in this episode, I'm so blinded by the beauty that is Dean.   He just looks so damn good in this episode. 

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, The Companion said:

If she had at least brought up that he saved her son and a bunch of other kids maybe, but my only explanation is that I have fanwanked that she was cupided. She is a gorgeous woman and she seems pretty awesome. Yet she is always available when Dean shows up. She feels like an idealistic version of gf/wife with no real substance. I don't dislike her. I just don't feel like I know her. It is a nice change to have females on the show again. 😆 I mean, I am not sure any women served as anything more than extras in the last two episodes. 

She said she was sild before she became a mom.  I figure she took a hard look at her life and decided that she mostly wanted to concentrate on raising her son.  I'm not saying she hasn't dated at all in the last 10 years.  But, she probably hasn't been doing a ton of it and is careful because of Ben. Which doesn't really explain just letting Dean move in, but whatever.  They did have that bendy weekend.

[The Companion]

1 minute ago, Katy M said:

She said she was sild before she became a mom.  I figure she took a hard look at her life and decided that she mostly wanted to concentrate on raising her son.  I'm not saying she hasn't dated at all in the last 10 years.  But, she probably hasn't been doing a ton of it and is careful because of Ben. Which doesn't really explain just letting Dean move in, but whatever.  They did have that bendy weekend.

Maybe Dean is just THAT good. 

[MagnusHex]

Finally, I'm back for the sixth season, watching it for the first time... without Kripke. Ah well.

I quite enjoyed the return to be honest, but largely because of my adjusted expectations for a CW-quality show. Sam's return was lazily done, but it was inevitable for a show like this, so I just accept it. And while I agree that I don't know Lisa and Ben well enough to care about them staying with Dean, on any other better written show, they could have been developed further to make me care, especially when Supernatural had a bad track record of flimsy female characters lacking depth (and when they do, they were killed off). So Lisa and Ben being the new Ellen and Jo could have been cool, perhaps with Lisa learning how to hunt (and therefore, defend her family) from Dean. But alas, that's not the kind of show this is. This is a show where we want to see Sam and Dean kick demon (and sometimes angel) ass and call it a day. And that's not necessarily a bad thing either, because I'd know what to expect and, like I said, adjust my expectations appropriately.

Still, with the changing of the guard and the departure of the Kripke, I'm hoping Sera Gamble could bring aboard something fresh Eric didn't. Even knowing the later seasons' reputation, I'm still holding my breath that I could be genuinely surprised, or at least entertained.

Plus, f-ing Skinner Mitch Pileggi is back. I liked the angle of bringing back the Mary Campbell side of the family and even having a whole bunch of new hunters (if this was made in 2023, they would be "the new generation"). It felt like a fresh idea for the series the way the angels' introduction felt fresh. But unfortunately, the Campbells were implied to be suspicious at the end of the episode instead of remaining undeniable allies. Sigh. Having seen the season only for the first time, I'm guessing they're probably demon-possessed, working for angels, or have some kind of "for the greater good" well-intentioned extremism. Ah well. I kinda want Skinner to be the brothers' ally for a while tbh. lol Still haven't gotten over my love of The X-Files, even after I've abandoned its 11th season...

The Djinn's kinda lackluster this episode, which is a shame, given that I just skimmed through clips of Wishmaster a few days ago. It's probably not a fair comparison, but still, I feel that they could've done something more with the Djinn's return. Ah well.

3/5 for the episode.