All Episodes Talk: Saving People, Hunting Things

[tessathereaper]

On 6/29/2022 at 9:12 PM, Myrelle said:

Trying to think of the most compelling ones from S1...

Maybe the first three, Bloody Mary, Skin, Asylum, Scarecrow, and Faith, The Benders,  Shadow(even though I'm not crazy about it, It does advance the story), Something Wicked, and then the last three.

That's 14 though. That's kind of a lot but I think he'd get a good idea what the show is like, on the whole, from those-at least up S4 when they brought the angels in.

The episode that made me admit to myself I was sticking with this show and it was because of Jensen Ackles was Skin.  I liked the show from the first(esp Dean), joined fandom immediately but I don't at first I told myself "oh it's just a fun guilty pleasure" but Skin was where I admitted to myself "nope it's about time I admit I'm really loving this guy(Jensen) as an actor, Dean Winchester is taking over my mind, and I'm here for however he's on the show".  LOL  I didn't expect it to last 15 years though.

[Aeryn13]

I started watching as God intended...with Dark Angel's "Pollo Loco". 😁  Started SPN with the Pilot and I think it works pretty well as an introduction. You get a good feel for the "vibe" of the show here.

[gonzosgirrl]

16 minutes ago, Aeryn13 said:

I started watching as God intended...with Dark Angel's "Pollo Loco". 😁 

Ben was a great character, but having seen Dark Angel after discovering SPN, I always thought of Alec as Dean Winchester in training. 😁 You can see so many of Dean's 'smart alec' traits in Alec.

[tessathereaper]

On 7/13/2022 at 3:59 PM, gonzosgirrl said:

Ben was a great character, but having seen Dark Angel after discovering SPN, I always thought of Alec as Dean Winchester in training. 😁 You can see so many of Dean's 'smart alec' traits in Alec.

Funny when I watched it, I was impressed by how NOT Dean Alec was, esp given on the surface in the writing they could seem sort of similar, but they really didn't have the same type of vibe at all, IMO.

[gonzosgirrl]

38 minutes ago, tessathereaper said:

Funny when I watched it, I was impressed by how NOT Dean Alec was, esp given on the surface in the writing they could seem sort of similar, but they really didn't have the same type of vibe at all, IMO.

I totally saw him in the humorous/cocky side of both characters, and in the bravado in the face of being hurt (emotionally). I don't see this as any kind of negative - Jensen is genius at infusing his characters with this quality when the script calls for it, and IMO it did, many times, on both shows.

[tessathereaper]

3 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

I totally saw him in the humorous/cocky side of both characters, and in the bravado in the face of being hurt (emotionally). I don't see this as any kind of negative - Jensen is genius at infusing his characters with this quality when the script calls for it, and IMO it did, many times, on both shows.

But he played it differently, it wasn't the same for Alec as it was for Dean. On the surface, as I said, on the page, it would have been easy for them to be very similar but they in fact felt like very different people.  They'd never be mistaken for each other.

[gonzosgirrl]

27 minutes ago, tessathereaper said:

But he played it differently, it wasn't the same for Alec as it was for Dean. On the surface, as I said, on the page, it would have been easy for them to be very similar but they in fact felt like very different people.  They'd never be mistaken for each other.

I never thought they would be mistaken for each other. It's not a diss, lol.

[patty1h]

Help please... can someone remind me of the episode I'm describing?   I have vague memory of this scene - the brothers are on a case and two witch sisters want to get a spell book back and meet Dean in the guise of escorts(?).   They all end up in a parking lot, when Sam joins in and they both end up laid across the hood of a car under the witches control.   Something happens (Cas? Rowena?) and the witches are handled. 

Pretty sure this is the episode where Rowena and Sam have a very deep conversation while sitting in a car - Rowena says a lot of personal things.  Thank for any help!

[ahrtee]

I think it's 13.12, Various & Sundry Villains.  From SupernaturalWiki:

Synopsis

Unbeknownst to Sam and Dean, Rowena is back. She protected herself with a resurrection spell that allowed her to survive Lucifer 'killing' her. She has teamed up with two young witch sisters to get the Black Grimoire from the Winchesters. While on a beer run, the girls cast a love spell on Dean. He comes back to the bunker, proclaiming he has fallen in love and is bringing the Black Grimoire to his love as a gift. Sam tries to stop him by taking the keys to the Impala. Dean knocks him out and leaves on foot with the Grimoire in hand. Sam catches up with him as he is giving the book to the girls. As Sam and Dean are fighting again, Rowena shows up and breaks the love spell.

Sam, Dean, and Rowena start to look for the sisters. Rowena explains that she put a tracking spell on the Grimoire and that is how she was able to locate it initially. She explains that she needs the Grimoire for a spell to protect her from Lucifer, should he find her again. She leaves out that she's the one who put the girls up to getting the book from Sam and Dean in the first place.

While Dean goes into a local store to ask questions about the sisters, Sam and Rowena talk about their abuse at Lucifer's' hand. They both confide that they have seen his true face, with Sam saying that it still keeps him up at night. He tells Rowena that the feeling of helplessness will never go away. Rowena asks how he dealt with it and Sam replies that he never really has, he's just pushed it down. When Dean comes back with an address for the sisters, Rowena 'sticks' them to the parking lot by dropping a hex bag and reciting a spell. She leaves and goes to the sister's house.

At the house, the sisters have been using the Grimoire for a spell to resurrect their dead mother. It goes wrong, and she comes back as an apparently 'magic-proof' zombie. Rowena tries to take the Grimoire and the sisters set the zombie mom loose on her. In the meantime, Sam and Dean have broken free and storm the house. The sisters, who are 'freakishly strong', attack them with a knife and hammer. The fight continues until Rowena grabs Dean's gun (which had fallen during the fight) and shoots zombie mom in the head. She then casts a spell on the sisters who set upon each other with the knife and hammer until they kill each other.

In the house, Rowena is clutching the Grimoire and pleading with Sam and Dean that she needs the spell so she can feel safe from Lucifer. Sam takes the book from her and she leaves.

[patty1h]

Thanks very much, @ahrtee. 😄

[MagnusHex]

First time viewer. Currently watching season 5, and I'm caught up to Changing Channels. When I saw the episode promo on YouTube, I knew I was going to love this episode.

Then the lady said she saw The Incredible Hulk killed her husband.

I swear, I almost spit out my coffee. The Incredible Hulk. 🤣 I guess it was just that I was expecting something more than norm at first, like Bigfoot or some urban myth. But I never expected Lou Ferrigno's name-drop, not to mention "Bana or Norton".

Crap, this episode's gonna kill me with laughter.

Edited December 21, 2022 by MagnusHex

[MagnusHex]

I've been reading Zack Handlen's reviews on AV Club while watching this show since I like to listen to another person's perspective even if I end up disagreeing with them. However, Zack really hates season 5's melodrama and moodiness, which is ironic for me, because that's part of the show I've liked since season 4.

Yeah, the show does take itself too seriously sometimes, but so did Titanic with that stupid Jack and Rose drama and people loved it, because it's part of a genre called "melodrama," which generally encourages audience to "feel more and think less." It's soap opera, but it can be entertaining soap opera for certain audience demographics. And come the freck on, you're going to watch a CW show and not expect melodrama? Hello, this is the network that has produced Arrow, The Flash, and Batwoman. It's melodrama central. Also, Kansas' Wayward Son was practically the show's main theme for at least the first few seasons! And that song was practically telling both the characters and the audience to endure the suffering and tears-filled journey! If you're watching this show and hate melodrama, you're better off watching HBO classics like The Sopranos.

I'm pretty sure I'm preaching to the choir and have no need for defending this show here, but I like the high-stakes drama ever since season 4. The introduction of angels was the most interesting addition to the lore, and I'm glad we're now in Michael/Lucifer territory. The battle between heaven and hell for Dean and Sam's soul; very dramatic stuff. Perhaps even overdramatic, but that's just the way I like my drama.

And yeah, the MotW episodic stuff can be fun, but I don't generally like episodic shows because of their lack of emotional investment (in other words, I love stakes), and nothing really matters in episodic shows because of the status quo reset. The greatest thing that has ever happened in X-Files, Buffy and Supernatural because of serialized plotlines was the illusion of having a main character die. Even if they're brought back again, I had fun thinking otherwise. It's a magic trick, but the important thing is that we were entertained.

Take, for instance, the current episode I'm watching as I'm writing this, The Song Remains the Same. The title literally tells you THE SONG IS GONNA BE THE SAME. Sam and Dean WILL be born, Mary is going to get got, and John is going to raise the boys to be hunters... but in the moment of the scene when Sam and Dean try to change the future, I could almost believe it could happen, and because I know the characters well enough by now, I understand why they're okay with never being born. It's gripping drama, even if it borders on melodrama. I love Mary and the boys' conversation because the emotions we feel for the characters are real despite everything else (likewise with Sam pouring his soul out to John despite us having heard the same song and dance before). And appropriately, I think the takeaway from this episode is that, even if it's an illusion, the illusion is what makes life worth living (and makes damn entertaining television worth watching).

And so, I hope even after Mr. Kripke's departure, the show will carry on with its high-stakes drama (I even got spoiled about Dean turning into a demon, so that's fun). Looking forward to the rest of the journey with our wayward sons. 😜

Edited December 27, 2022 by MagnusHex

[FlickChick]

Happy Birthday Jensen. You've aged very well indeed. I'm glad to see that your good heart and soul are still evident.💗

[Casseiopeia]

 

[FlickChick]

@Casseiopeia Thanks so much for finding this and sharing it. What a treat!!! This man amazes me for all the things mentioned/shown in the tweet.

[supposebly]

I quit watching regularly at the end of season 10. It's on Amazon Prime, so I watched the seasons after that during the last few months. 

With my expectations lowered considerably, I kind of liked season 11 and 15. The rest is mostly awful.

What I really didn't like:

What the hell were they doing with the Michael possession? We have mean and scary battle-hardened Michael in leather coat and boots on the alternate earth and a dandy who struts around impeccably dressed in a beret. All he needed was a scene where he was getting a manicure. They seemed very different characters.

Too. Much. Lucifer!!! I also never liked Mark Pellegrino but at least in season 5 he was scary.

Jack's storylines were mostly boring and repetitive.

I had to watch season 4 to get the taste of what they did or didn't do with Castiel over the years out of my brain. He used to be such an interesting character.

The writing for Mary was mostly bad. She had very little to do with the character from "The Beginning" and that made no sense to me. It also seemed they were very lazy about writing around actor availability. I liked that they explored her being a person that had very little to do with the almost saint like mother figure Dean had created in his head. But they overdid it with the kept-hunting-stuff and Dean seemed to regress to his mid-20s self. I did like the part when he walked in her head.

Billie as Death never made sense. She shows up, says some vaguely threatening things and disappears with very little to no follow-up and seemingly contradictory messages. Lather, rinse, repeat. What the hell was the point of her?

I did feel season 15 ramped things up again a bit and it worked mostly ok for me. I liked what they did with God at the end although I thought it might have been more interesting to include Amara more. However, in my head canon, Chuck only became God in Fan Fiction.

I hated how Rowena got killed over and over. That felt quite misogynist to me.

I have no strong opinions about the end. It was fine, not great but, as I said, my expectations were quite low overall.

If I had to rank the post Gamble seasons:

1. 11  Actually worked quite well for me. Mostly consistent with working up to Amara growing up.

2. 15 Not great but not annoying, confusing, or infuriating and just slightly boring. I loved Adam/Michael coming back. Although Adam forgave them way too easily. 

3. 12/13/14 I find them all equally bad and I can barely remember which is which. They're mostly just boring, badly written, and lazily plotted. A lot of it feels like fanservice.

4. 8/9/10 Just infuriatingly terrible with the occasional decent episode in between. I started hating the writing for both Winchesters during that time.

So, the completist in me finished the show with some distance. I didn't pay too much attention and that worked ok. But, overall, the show I fell in love with ended at the end of season 7. Everything after that seems like a lazier, cheaper, boring, nonsensical and often pointless copy.

[Scout Finch]

I've always wondered why they don't have big-ass scars on their arms and palms after cutting them countless times for blood. Or how quickly the blood flow seems to stop and never requires a tourniquet. Not to mention the high probability of using unsterile knives... 

Although to be honest, I'm usually covering my eyes when they do that because I can't handle watching things with sharp knives and scalpels!

[catrox14]

My working theory has been every time they have those kinds of wounds they are healed upon their latest resurrection and/or healing by a supernaueal being. And Demon Dean could heal himself, canonically in S10.

[rhofmovalley]

I just purchased Season One through Prime Video and plan to buy all the seasons over the next year or so. Holy cow but is Season One awful! The amateurish storylines, the production, the fake looking "special effects", the cheezy fake scenery when Dean and Sam are supposed to be driving in the car...it amazes me the show was renewed based on Season One. 

[FlickChick]

I think the answer lies in the chemistry between the two leads. IMO, the season starts out with, as you put it, amateurish storylines, or as we like to call them, MOTW (Monsters of the Week). But, as the season continued, we got a good look into what these two boys had their whole lives and how they are handling it all now. Also, running through the MOTW, is the story of trying to find their father and then finally reuniting with him. And I'll say one thing about the ending, not knowing if the series would be renewed, they gave it one hell of an action packed finale. 

[MAK]

On 4/12/2023 at 3:38 AM, rhofmovalley said:

The amateurish storylines, the production, the fake looking "special effects", the cheezy fake scenery when Dean and Sam are supposed to be driving in the car...it amazes me the show was renewed based on Season One. 

You might be comparing it to shows made more recently.

This was a low-budget show made in 2004-2005, almost 20 years ago. Special and visual effects have changed a lot since then.

[rhofmovalley]

18 hours ago, FlickChick said:

I think the answer lies in the chemistry between the two leads.

I agree 100%. I did notice that despite the cheezy storylines and fake looking "monsters", the acting by Jensen and Jared is spot on and quite good. And as you mentioned, the chemistry.

Of course it doesn't hurt that they're nice to look at!

[Pondlass1]

If you watch on Prime they cut scenes and you don’t always get the great music. Tun up the volume and remember…..