All Episodes Talk: Saving People, Hunting Things

[Scout Finch]

16 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

And she stole all his winning scratch tickets. LOL.

"Son of a BITCH!" ~Jared tries to hide laughter~

[Scout Finch]

Never mind. Bobby just explained it to Dean!

Edited January 25, 2022 by Scout Finch

[gonzosgirrl]

3 hours ago, Scout Finch said:

Never mind. Bobby just explained it to Dean!

Huh?

[Scout Finch]

50 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Huh?

I had just started the 1st episode of S4 and had forgotten how Dean comes to in a grave and I was wondering why he wasn't given a hunter's funeral. It's not like the writers had to worry about anything that might somehow further strain credibility about bringing a dead man back! A little later in the episode Dean asked Bobby that question so my post was now moot.

[Scout Finch]

Watching "After School Special" and wondering when Sam's major growth spurt occurred because in high school Dean still towered over him, as does most everyone else. The actors who played them did so well, especially the uncanny imitation of Dean!

Edited January 25, 2022 by Scout Finch

[Myrelle]

13 minutes ago, Scout Finch said:

Watching "After School Special" and wondering when Sam's major growth spurt occurred because in high school Dean still towered over him. Had forgotten how uncannily the teenage Dean imitates him!

Growth spurts can happen any time.

My son played baseball all through high school with a kid who was always the smallest on the team even until graduation. 

He recently ran into him(both in their late twenties now) and he's over 6 ft tall!

And I found teen Dean in this episode to be the weakest actor that they ever came up with to fill the role of a YoungerDean.  He lacked all of the nuance that Jensen constantly put into the character in order to soften the writing of Dean, IMO.

The kid in Bad Boys and the episode with Hansel and Gretel was the best YoungDean, IMO.

Edited January 25, 2022 by Myrelle

[Scout Finch]

@Myrelle I remember there is another young Dean in future episodes who is amazing. He's a captive somewhere (jail in Heaven?) and trying to save a girl his age.

The episode before the one I just watched has one of my all-time favorite SN quotes: "Kneel before Todd!" The big, depressed teddy bear is another bonus!

Edited January 25, 2022 by Scout Finch

[Myrelle]

Yes, that's the Hansel and Gretel episode. 

Can't recall the name of it.

[Aithne]

ASS really drove home, if there was any remaining doubt after Yellow Fever's trivialization of his Hell experience as "being a dick", what Dabb and Loflin thought about Dean as a character. (Down to the parallel of Sam's  bully being a wonderful caregiver at home but a despised and despicable brute in public.) Such a bummer that that guy ended up being showrunner for a quarter of the series. 

[ILoveReading]

I remember watching Something Wicked.  I thought Ridge Canipe did a pretty good job playing young Dean.   But I always thought the kid playing Michael would have been perfect choice as young Dean.   I wish Sam and Dean could have met up with Michael and Asher in the last season and let us see what they are up too.

@Myrelle  I agree.  I was never fond of that actors protrayal of Dean.  It was also some of the worst writing.  Dean, IMO, would never tell a teacher they wouldn't be there long.   That is such a red flag.   That I'm a hero speech was so OOC.  I could see Jensen making it work, somewhat because he would have played it more low key and defensive as if he was trying to convince himself.   Not straight up like the other guy did.  Dean didn't think that way about himself.

Edited January 25, 2022 by ILoveReading

[ahrtee]

Jensen and Ridge Canipe (he's 27 now!)

Edited January 25, 2022 by ahrtee

[gonzosgirrl]

6 hours ago, ILoveReading said:

I agree.  I was never fond of that actors protrayal of Dean.  It was also some of the worst writing.  Dean, IMO, would never tell a teacher they wouldn't be there long.   That is such a red flag.   That I'm a hero speech was so OOC.  I could see Jensen making it work, somewhat because he would have played it more low key and defensive as if he was trying to convince himself.   Not straight up like the other guy did.  Dean didn't think that way about himself.

It's a shame, really, because the actor, Brock Kelly, was at Vegas con when I went and was so personable, charming and cute! He talked about how nervous he was and knew he blew it, prep-wise. I was really quite impressed with him. 

[Katy M]

14 hours ago, ILoveReading said:

Dean, IMO, would never tell a teacher they wouldn't be there long. 

Depending on the circumstances, he might say that.  Their transcripts went around with them, so the admins would see how often they were switching schools.  But, I don't see Dean being so disrespectful as calling the teacher sweetheart.  Yeah, he's a smartalec, but he's a polite smartalec.

 

14 hours ago, ILoveReading said:

That I'm a hero speech was so OOC.

Yep.  That was completely ridiculous.  Dean would have never bothered defending himself like that.  But, also, he would know without details (which of course he couldn't give), he would look like a weirdo loser just yelling out that he was a hero.  Dean's not stupid.

7 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

t's a shame, really, because the actor, Brock Kelly, was at Vegas con when I went and was so personable, charming and cute! He talked about how nervous he was and knew he blew it, prep-wise. I was really quite impressed with him. 

He really hadn't done much up to that point. Sounds like it was a learning experience.  We can't learn without mistakes, and recognizing them, so good for him. I still put most of the blame on the writing, though.

[Aithne]

8 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

It's a shame, really, because the actor, Brock Kelly, was at Vegas con when I went and was so personable, charming and cute! He talked about how nervous he was and knew he blew it, prep-wise. I was really quite impressed with him. 

Aw, this is good to know, thanks for sharing! It's funny because you'd think there would always be somebody who could help steer an actor in his position (new to the show, playing an established character, etc) in the right direction, but with Dabb and Loflin writing, and a one-off director, it was the perfect storm for some OOC moments if the guest actor didn't get a lot of prep in. 

Edited January 26, 2022 by Aithne

[gonzosgirrl]

3 hours ago, Aithne said:

Aw, this is good to know, thanks for sharing! It's funny because you'd think there would always be somebody who could help steer an actor in his position (new to the show, playing an established character, etc) in the right direction, but with Dabb and Loflin writing, and a one-off director, it was the perfect storm for some OOC moments if the guest actor didn't get a lot of prep in. 

Honestly, I think apart from the very early episodes (and anything Kim Masters did) there was not a lot of helpful direction on this show. Certainly in later years they seemed to just let people go unfettered.

And don't quote me on this, but if I'm remembering correctly, one of the things Brock touched on was that he didn't really seek out any insight into the character (wildly paraphrased by me from memory) and wasn't keen to take it, either.

[Pondlass1]

I think Brock was channeling Elvis rather than Dean Winchester …….in my opinion.

[roamyn]

On 1/25/2022 at 4:31 PM, Myrelle said:

And I found teen Dean in this episode to be the weakest actor that they ever came up with to fill the role of a YoungerDean.  He lacked all of the nuance that Jensen constantly put into the character in order to soften the writing of Dean, IMO.

I disagree.  I found the last actor to play pre-teen Dean, in the waste of episode in S15 to be the weakest.  Brock Kelly had the look and the smirk down, but the lines didn’t always sound like the Dean we know (and love).  I can chalk it up to teenage angst & rebellion, tho.

Speaking of which, I hated that they used a dark brown haired kid in ‘Dark Side of the Moon’, to play pre-school Dean, when he was clearly blond in the Pilot, and all the pictures they continuously show throughout the series.  How damn hard would it have been to, I don’t know, pay attention ?!

[Katy M]

1 minute ago, roamyn said:

Speaking of which, I hated that they used a dark brown haired kid in ‘Dark Side of the Moon’, to play pre-school Dean, when he was clearly blond in the Pilot, and all the pictures they continuously show throughout the series.  How damn hard would it have been to, I don’t know, pay attention ?!

I thought Jensen played pre-school Dean in Dark Side of the Moon?  I don't remember an actual young Dean in that episode.

[roamyn]

1 minute ago, Katy M said:

I thought Jensen played pre-school Dean in Dark Side of the Moon?  I don't remember an actual young Dean in that episode.

Okay, you’re right.  It was in S12s, ‘Who We Are’.  I knew it was Mary & he in the kitchen.  I got the episodes mixed up.

[Aeryn13]

6 hours ago, roamyn said:

Brock Kelly had the look and the smirk down, but the lines didn’t always sound like the Dean we know (and love).  I can chalk it up to teenage angst & rebellion, tho.

I don’t. The show made a point to establish that young Dean wasn't the trite "teenage angst and rebellion" kid, that that was im comparism Sam, so it's not an excuse for the woefully bad writing.

Now woefully bad writing for Dean is nothing new but one of Jensen's strong suits has been to soften it somewhat and play it more nuanced. That is exactly what Brock Kelly couldn't do here. He could do some mimicry well but failed at the most important parts. With a much stronger script, maybe he could have been better but alas.

[FlickChick]

6 hours ago, roamyn said:

Okay, you’re right.  It was in S12s, ‘Who We Are’.  I knew it was Mary & he in the kitchen.  I got the episodes mixed up.

No, you got it right. In "Dark Side of the Moon", a young 5/6 year old dark haired actor played young Dean in his "memory" in Heaven. Mary was in the kitchen and making a PB&J sandwich for him, cutting off the crusts. In "Who We Are", we only see grown up Dean and Mary and baby Sammy. Dean is in Mary's head, trying to break her out of her fantasy to cope with her brainwashing.

[roamyn]

2 hours ago, FlickChick said:

No, you got it right. In "Dark Side of the Moon", a young 5/6 year old dark haired actor played young Dean in his "memory" in Heaven. Mary was in the kitchen and making a PB&J sandwich for him, cutting off the crusts. In "Who We Are", we only see grown up Dean and Mary and baby Sammy. Dean is in Mary's head, trying to break her out of her fantasy to cope with her brainwashing.

LOL  now I’m getting confused.  I’ll have to rewatch ‘DSotM’.  

But my point still stands.  They couldn’t use a young actor w/blond hair?  It’s already canon that he was a blond as a child, why throw us out of the moment/scene because TPTB can’t remember their show’s canon?

[roamyn]

3 hours ago, FlickChick said:

No, you got it right. In "Dark Side of the Moon", a young 5/6 year old dark haired actor played young Dean in his "memory" in Heaven. Mary was in the kitchen and making a PB&J sandwich for him, cutting off the crusts. In "Who We Are", we only see grown up Dean and Mary and baby Sammy. Dean is in Mary's head, trying to break her out of her fantasy to cope with her brainwashing.

It’s definitely ‘Who We Are’.  Dean is trying to get Mary’s attention, and she’s stuck in her “toddler Dean” memories.

In ‘DSotM’, Dean is dressed as a toddler (I Wuv Hugs), and Mary’s convo & actions are as if he were a toddler, but it’s definitely current aged Dean.

[TheGreenKnight]

On 1/25/2022 at 2:17 PM, Scout Finch said:

Watching "After School Special" and wondering when Sam's major growth spurt occurred because in high school Dean still towered over him, as does most everyone else. The actors who played them did so well, especially the uncanny imitation of Dean!

I loved that actor for young Dean, too. I generally didn't like the appearances of their younger selves aside from that episode.

[DeeDee79]

So one of my coworkers who is so impressed by Jensen's role on The Boys said that after putting off watching Supernatural because he didn't want to dive into a series with 15 seasons he finally wants to get started. He also said mention that he's curious if it'll be a show that will immediately draw him in or if he'll have to wait for it to hit its stride.

I want to recommend an episode for him to check out where he can get the gist of the series but not be lost on what's going on like with the later seasons with all of the Heaven/Hell drama. I was thinking of recommending Nightshifter because it's a MOTW ep that showcases both brothers and the point of the show.

Can you guys give me your thoughts on what I should add to this or if you think that this is a good ep to start with?

[Nick24]

3 minutes ago, DeeDee79 said:

Can you guys give me your thoughts on what I should add to this or if you think that this is a good ep to start with?

Actually, it depends what he likes more - comedy, drama, lighter ep or darker one? 

If drama, I'd say Faith. What Is And What Should Never Be should work as well, but it's almost the end of S2.

If something lighter, then Nightshifter is a good choice, also I'd say Hollywood Babylon.

If something dark and creepy, I'd recommend The Benders.

[gonzosgirrl]

1 hour ago, DeeDee79 said:

So one of my coworkers who is so impressed by Jensen's role on The Boys said that after putting off watching Supernatural because he didn't want to dive into a series with 15 seasons he finally wants to get started. He also said mention that he's curious if it'll be a show that will immediately draw him in or if he'll have to wait for it to hit its stride.

I want to recommend an episode for him to check out where he can get the gist of the series but not be lost on what's going on like with the later seasons with all of the Heaven/Hell drama. I was thinking of recommending Nightshifter because it's a MOTW ep that showcases both brothers and the point of the show.

Can you guys give me your thoughts on what I should add to this or if you think that this is a good ep to start with?

Honestly I think the pilot is the best intro to the show. 

[DeeDee79]

8 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Honestly I think the pilot is the best intro to the show. 

I'm definitely going to start with the pilot to introduce him to the characters. I personally felt that after the pilot season 1 lagged until Scarecrow but I stuck with it because I loved Dean. When I convinced my boss to start watching she started to lose interest because she didn't care for the eps that followed the pilot and I suggested Faith which hooked her back into the show. I just wanted to get a few thoughts on what to suggest in case my coworker has the same reaction. 

[Myrelle]

7 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Honestly I think the pilot is the best intro to the show. 

I'd have to agree even though I'm not so sure that it would sell him on wanting to continue.

But it is kind of important to the story.

Not sure if he'd be interested in watching the end of S1 and going back to watch from the beginning, if he liked it.

That's how it happened for me. 

I watched Devil's Trap and was so sucked into it that I just had to catch up with all the rest from the beginning over the summer.

But I realize that wouldn't work or be ideal for everyone.

[DeeDee79]

2 minutes ago, Myrelle said:

I'd have to agree even though I'm not so sure that it would sell him on wanting to continue.

But it is kind of important to the story.

Not sure if he'd be interested in watching the end of S1 and going back to watch from the beginning, if he liked it.

That's how it happened for me. 

I watched Devil's Trap and was so sucked into it that I just had to catch up with all the rest from the beginning over the summer.

But I realize that wouldn't work or be ideal for everyone.

The first ep that I watched was Mystery Spot and it drew my interest because it made me think of one of my favorite X-Files eps "Monday" which had the same premise but was much darker. I was even more impressed when I realized that X-Files alum (Kim Manners and John Shiban) were involved, and it made me want to watch from the beginning.

He has mentioned that his wife watches Walker and that he thinks that it's an awful show and has stopped watching it with her. *snicker* With that and his appreciation of Soldier Boy I wondered if I should rec some Dean centric eps to hook him in after the pilot or just let him binge the 1st season and see what he thinks. 

[Nick24]

13 minutes ago, DeeDee79 said:

He has mentioned that his wife watches Walker and that he thinks that it's an awful show and has stopped watching it with her. *snicker* With that and his appreciation of Soldier Boy I wondered if I should rec some Dean centric eps to hook him in after the pilot or just let him binge the 1st season and see what he thinks. 

I've been thinking a little. If Season 1, I'd vote Faith. Interesting case. Creepy. A deeper look at the characters and their relationship after Pilot. More or less about Dean.

If Dean centric, then What Is And What Should Never Be. Great script and wonderful Jensen's acting. Well, everything about WIAWSNB is perfect.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Nick24

[Myrelle]

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.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Myrelle

[Nick24]

Also, if he is not afraid of spoiling major plot points, he could watch Devil's Trap and then IMTOD. Those two ep work perfectly together. Pretty Dean centric.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Nick24

[Myrelle]

12 minutes ago, Nick24 said:

Also, if he is not afraid of spoiling major plot points, he could watch Devil's Trap and then IMTOD. Those two ep work perfectly together. Pretty Dean centric.

I think Devil's Trap is the best episode from S1 with Faith and Something Wicked a close second and third. Skin too.

Dead in the Water, too, with The Benders and Asylum for the creep factor.

 IMTOD and What Is and What Should Never Be are tied for me as best from S2. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things is great too. One of the most underrated eps, IMO

Edited June 30, 2022 by Myrelle

[DeeDee79]

Thanks @gonzosgirrl, @Myrelle and @Nick24 for your thoughts. You've given me some good suggestions to recommend, My default is always Nightshifter and Faith but I just wanted a few opinions on strong season 1 eps to watch out for to keep him going. 

[Myrelle]

Last thing from me-I had a friend stay with me once and she told me to pick one that I thought would make her want to watch more. Can't remember where we were in the series at that time, but I picked WIAWSNB and she went home a fan for life, if that helps. 

[Nick24]

18 minutes ago, Myrelle said:

I think Devil's Trap is the best episode from S1 with Faith and Something Wicked a close second and third. Skin too.

Dead in the Water, too, with The Benders and Asylum for the creep factor.

They are all my favorites from S1. Something Wicked is very underrated too IMO. 

18 minutes ago, Myrelle said:

IMTOD and What Is and What Should Never Be are tied for me as best from S2. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things is great too. One of the most underrated eps, IMO

On the bolded part. You know why, right? Raelle Tucker!!! She was so great at Dean's characterization imo. Her episodes felt like a book. I wish she had more episodes and more seasons. She was one of those few writers who had been interested in giving us a deeper look into Dean's psyche and it felt like she had seen Dean as a person with his own feelings/emotions, not just Sam's brother or just a hunter. Also Raelle Tucker let Dean think about himself too. I love her so much!

IA. IMTOD, WIAWSNB and CSPWDT are the best in S2.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Nick24

[Myrelle]

8 minutes ago, DeeDee79 said:

Thanks @gonzosgirrl, @Myrelle and @Nick24 for your thoughts. You've given me some good suggestions to recommend, My default is always Nightshifter and Faith but I just wanted a few opinions on strong season 1 eps to watch out for to keep him going. 

Nightshifter is a great go to also, DeeDee.

[DeeDee79]

9 minutes ago, Myrelle said:

Nightshifter is a great go to also, DeeDee.

My favorite SPN ep and I always rec it heavily to new viewers. Thanks for giving me validation 😊

[gonzosgirrl]

12 hours ago, Myrelle said:

Last thing from me-I had a friend stay with me once and she told me to pick one that I thought would make her want to watch more. Can't remember where we were in the series at that time, but I picked WIAWSNB and she went home a fan for life, if that helps. 

The only problem with this us, if you don't know why it breaks Dean's heart that Sam doesn't like him, or what it means to not have saved all these people,  etc it wouldn't have the same impact. I'd skip Wendigo (tho you muss the iconic tag line of the series) and Hookman, Bloody Mary. But Dead in the Water and Skin are great stories I think. Faith, Scarecrow also great. I think if you watch those and aren't eager for more, you're not going to be. 

Nightshifter is also a top 5 for me, but I would stick with S1. It's a great example of how great it can be, but I would need the history to know why. 

Edited June 30, 2022 by gonzosgirrl
typing on my phone too early in the morning

[ahrtee]

2 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

The only problem with this us, if you don't know why it breaks Dean's heart tgat Sam doesn't like him, or what it means to not have saved all thise people,  etc it wouldn't have the same impact. I'd skip Wendigo (tho you muss the iconic tag line of the series) and Hookman, Bloody Mary. But Dead in the Water and Skin are great stories I think. Faith, Scarecrow also great. I think if you watch those and aren't eager for more, you're not going to be. 

Nightshifter is also a top 5 for me, but I would stick with S1. It's a great example of how great it can be, but I would need the history to know why. 

The first ep I watched was Yellow Fever, and it almost put me off the show entirely.  But the friend who recommended it kept pushing, and so I went online and read the background summary of the show so at least I knew who was who and what was going on.  Then I rented season 1 from the library (it was so long ago!) and started watching but wasn't really paying too much attention till Faith.  That's the one that hooked me for good.  

[Nick24]

45 minutes ago, ahrtee said:

The first ep I watched was Yellow Fever, and it almost put me off the show entirely.  But the friend who recommended it kept pushing, and so I went online and read the background summary of the show so at least I knew who was who and what was going on.  Then I rented season 1 from the library (it was so long ago!) and started watching but wasn't really paying too much attention till Faith.  That's the one that hooked me for good.  

Oh, Yellow Fever wasn't the best choice for the first time ;)

My first ep was Dead In The Water. Actually, that was my mom who started watching SPN last year and suggested me too. She watched S1-5 while they were airing, but then dropped in S6 IIRC. First, I did not want to watch this show at all. I was thinking ''I don't wanna watch horror shows anymore, we have enough horror in real life''. But she made me watch 1.03 and I got interested, so I continued. I really enjoyed Phantom Traveler, Skin, Asylum and Scarecrow and those episodes were already making me like Dean and feel for him. But Faith turned me into a die-hard SPN/Dean/JA fan.

Funny thing, I came back to the Pilot and Wendigo only after finishing S5.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Nick24

[ahrtee]

1 minute ago, Nick24 said:

Oh, Yellow Fever wasn't the best choice for the first time ;)

Well, this was back in prehistoric times and I was watching live.  No streaming or any way to get back episodes without renting a DVD (and the library always had a wait list). 😊 

[Nick24]

2 minutes ago, ahrtee said:

Well, this was back in prehistoric times and I was watching live.  No streaming or any way to get back episodes without renting a DVD (and the library always had a wait list). 😊 

Oh, I wasn't judging. I mean, that apparently you didn't get lucky with that.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Nick24

[ahrtee]

4 minutes ago, Nick24 said:

Oh, I wasn't judging. I mean, that apparently you didn't get lucky with that.

Well, my friend had been raving about Dean Winchester so I decided to watch the next episode (I trusted her judgment in characters).  The first scenes I remember seeing were the ones in the factory, with Dean first being afraid of holding the gun, and then screaming at the cat.  I remember thinking "interesting choice for a character in a horror show--one who's afraid of everything--but it might work for comic relief."  I think I turned it off after the cat.

[Nick24]

17 minutes ago, ahrtee said:

Well, this was back in prehistoric times and I was watching live.  No streaming or any way to get back episodes without renting a DVD (and the library always had a wait list). 😊 

OMG, that was so long ago, I cannot even remember those times. Actually, that wasn't that bad IMO. There was some kind of competition 😄 Now everything seems to be too easy. Well, that's not bad either. IDK. I just realized, that things had changed so much. 

[Nick24]

12 minutes ago, ahrtee said:

Well, my friend had been raving about Dean Winchester so I decided to watch the next episode (I trusted her judgment in characters).  The first scenes I remember seeing were the ones in the factory, with Dean first being afraid of holding the gun, and then screaming at the cat.  I remember thinking "interesting choice for a character in a horror show--one who's afraid of everything--but it might work for comic relief."  I think I turned it off after the cat.

Imagine now what it would be like if this were the real Dean's character....😁

[ahrtee]

2 minutes ago, Nick24 said:

Imagine now what it would be like if this were the real Dean's character....😁

Well, I wouldn't have watched the next 10 years....😀

Even then, I thought Sam came across as kind of callous and condescending, and I wouldn't have wanted to watch him as the hero of the show and Dean as comic.  

Edited June 30, 2022 by ahrtee

[Nick24]

8 minutes ago, ahrtee said:

Well, I wouldn't have watched the next 10 years....😀

Even then, I thought Sam came across as kind of callous and condescending, and I wouldn't have wanted to watch him as the hero of the show and Dean as comic.  

Neither would I. Of course, in my case not years but months 😄

Yeah, Sam was off too in this ep. I mean, Dean had come back from HELL! And his brother is so indifferent to the fact, that Dean is going to die again in just few hours. The same with Bobby. But knowing who co-wrote it, not a surprise anymore.

[FlickChick]

I started with the Pilot (in real time), but wasn't impressed with the next several episodes until Home and Faith. That's when it became obvious to me that Dean's character was evolving and Jensen really knew how to play the character. Skin was good, but not for a newbie. So like others, I recommend Pilot, Faith and if the person would like to sample humor/brotherly teasing - Hell House (plus there's that great scene of Dean driving, singing and listening to BOC) Honestly, if this person likes Jensen in The Boys, this should be an easy sell. 😉