I guess you can count me in as the only person in the Supernatural world who is sick to the teeth of the angels.
I'm not anti-religion by any means. You can have any religion you want, I don't care. Just have it waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off over there and don't involve me in it. And yet, Supernatural is shoving it so hard down my throat it's kicking off my gag reflex, and believe me, gagging I am.
They really, really need to drop the angels, let the apocalypse come, give half their budget and somebody's first-born to get Jeffrey Dean Morgan back on the show, and let John rip both his kids a new one and get them back on the path of the family business. Cause, as much as I dislike Dean, he's got the right idea; "Remember when our job was helping people, getting them back to their families?"
Oh, yes. I remember that. I remember that quite fondly, in fact. Shockingly, you and I both agree on it, and I'd love for you to get back to that, too.
A Brief List Of Things I'm Tired Of
- The Canonization of Dean Winchester. Okay, okay, I get it. Dean's the "good guy." Everybody (but me) loves Dean. But seriously, enough already. So he tortured a few souls in hell with Alastair. WAY OVERCOMPENSATING HERE. I yearn for the Dean who could kick ass, get some ass, and not BE an ass. In fact? I'm tired of Dean, period. I've had enough of Han Solo, I want Luke Skywalker, now.
- The Vilification of Sam Winchester. Again, I get it. Sam's the "bad guy" although why that is, is still a little fuzzy. Sam's different, he's always been different, and really, I'd love to SEE why Sam made the decision to drink demon blood (is it to jack himself up so he can kill Lilith? Does it just make him feel all warm and fuzzy inside?) I yearn for the Sam we saw in and around Jus In Bello, who could make decisions that weren't always popular, didn't sugar-coat it, and had a Dean who balanced him out.
- The Angelic Intervention. Seriously? Angels? Who's bright damn idea was that? They were doing so well with the demons, and going up the demonic ladder. Were they running out of mytharc complications?
- The Lack of Bobby Singer. This one oughta speak for itself. I've got Harper's Island DVR'd, I just haven't had time to watch them. But please, Jim, COME HOME TO SUPERNATURAL. WE MISS YOU!!!!
- Tell, Not Show. This dovetails into exactly what I was complaining about earlier about Sam. Please, please, please, start showing things. I don't want to be in Dean's point of view. I want to see the decisions Sam makes if you expect me to start actually buying him as the bad guy. If you want me to believe that Sam has no qualms drinking demon blood, show me. I want to see the conversations Sam and Ruby have, not just a one-sided phone call here and there, not just Sam saying, "Okay, let's do it," but show me how she convinced Sam, how she played on his anger and desire for revenge, whatever. If you want me to believe that Sam thinks Dean is really spineless and weak, show me. Show me, from Sam's point of view, the places where Dean has faltered, has made the wrong decisions, show me the factors in his decision. Don't just... stick him under the influence of a Siren and expect me to believe the outlandish **** coming out of his mouth.
From the beginning, Eric Kripke has compared Sam to Luke Skywalker, and Dean to Han Solo. In the beginning, that comparison made obvious sense. Now, it still kind of does.
Right now, we're about at the point where Han Solo should be getting frozen in carbonite (that'd be Dean going to hell) and Chewie and Leia are chasing down Slave I as it leaves Cloud City while Luke battles Darth Vader and gets his hand lopped off.
I'm a Warsie. Obviously. and Empire Strikes Back is my least favorite of the trilogy. That's not saying I dislike it, hell no. I'd take ESB over anything, any day of the week. But it's not my favorite, and I'll tell you why. It's the middle movie. Middle movies are generally weak (see also: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Matrix Reloaded) because they're connecting two points; the beginning and the end. One long story broken up into three parts, and the middle is rarely the best part because they don't introduce any huge new elements, and if they do, it gets seriously bogged down in the integration.
Look at it like this:
The first season, and the first couple episodes of the second, are Star Wars: A New Hope. Ellen's is Mos Eisley (the wretched hive of scum and villany); John is Obi-Wan Kenobi (complete with a dramatic sacrificial death), the Impala is the Millennium Falcon, Dean is obviously Han Solo, and Sam is obviously Luke Skywalker. Meg is Darth Vader, the demons are Storm Troopers, and Azazel is the Emperor.
Then about... mid-season 2 to now, we're into Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back territory. Obi-Wan has sacrificed himself, and we meet Yoda (Bobby) who serves as mentor. The demons have out guys on the run (just like the Empire had the Rebels on the run) and I'd peg the opening of the Devil's Gate as Hoth. Meg and Azazel are gone, and I'd say that by the time Lilith and Alastair show up, they've taken the place of the Emperor and Darth Vader, respectively. Via the Crossroads Demon, Dean Solo dips himself in carbonite as part of the trap, and Sam Skywalker can only watch, crippled, as Dean is dragged off in Boba Fett's hellhound bus.
Now the angels have come, and there's no real place for them in Return of the Jedi. Jabba the Hutt has Han in carbonite hanging on the wall of his palace, and Luke must venture in to save him; I don't think the angels are supposed to be the Hutts, seeing as they're the ones who rescued Dean instead of Sam Skywalker. The angels, in a way, are usurping Sam's position in the story, they're becoming the center of the story, them and Dean, and we're missing out on Sam.
Just like in Empire Strikes Back, the story becomes about Han and Luke, not just Han facilitating Luke's journey. (That's the one thing I did like about ESB, because I've always adored Han Solo. When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to be Han Solo.) However, George Lucas had more time and budget to tell his story, without the constraints of television. I'm not sure that Supernatural is balancing their stories. Sam Skywalker has gone completely over to the Dark Side in one great big cloud of "what the hell is going on?" and the spotlight is on Dean Solo and how he's going to save the world.
Huh?
I'm all for Dean Solo stepping up and becoming a part of the story, just like he was always destined to, but not at the cost of Sam Skywalker. In ESB, Han and Luke were balanced, it all connected; Han was in danger because Vader knew Luke wouldn't be able to resist saving his friend, therefore making an irresistible trap for Skywalker. In Supernatural, it's all disjointed now. At first, it made sense. Luke-Sam has a distinct mission; help the Rebellion against the Empire-help Dean track down John and kill demons. Han-Dean had a distinct purpose; facilitate Luke's involvement and then get pulled in himself to become an integral cog in the Rebellion. While there's been a flip-flopping of particulars (for example, Dean is the one who has to go to Sam, rather than Sam going to Dean, but he does faciliate Sam's re-entry into hunting) the general adherence to both the general Star Wars timeline and the broader Hero's Quest mythology has remained, until now.
This season has been about the divergence; Sam has gone off to Dagobah to train with Demon-Ruby-faux-Yoda, and Dean has gone off to Cloud City with Castieleia. I'm assuming that Sam's demonic blood fixation is going to be Luke's lopped-off hand. Which means, the end of the divergence is in sight.
I'm ready for Return of the Jedi, where Luke rescues Han, matures enough to control his powers, and starts working with his friend-brother again to kick some serious Imperial ass.
C'mon, Eric. Don't let me down.
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