Well, I'm bummed that you deleted your post. I would have liked to read it.
I totally agree that the episode is trying to establish a new status quo...trying to hit a reset button in a way. And I think the reason people (including myself) liked those first ten minutes was because there was a real poignancy to them. First of all, I'm a flashback sucker so I liked the montage of Dean's new life compared to scenes of his old one (Salt can be used for cooking! Who knew!) I also felt that you could tell that in spite of appearances, Dean was still working very hard to make this new life work, to leave the past behind. That's why it was so chilling when he started seeing creepy things in broad daylight -- not only were the signs spooky in themselves, but you had the sense that Dean's old life was catching up with him. You felt for the guy, the way you'd feel for anyone who's trying to make a fresh start in his life but can't.
So yeah, that was all good but then it just went off the rails as soon as Sam and all those Campbells showed up. And to make a djinn the catalyst for Sam and Dean's reunion...I don't know, I just thought that was so lazy. I know they want to get back to the MoTW structure but recycling a monster from four years ago hardly seemed like a clever or thoughtful way to do it. And I'm not even going to touch on why the Campbells all seemed like such assholes, or how cruel it was for both Sam and Bobby to keep Dean in the dark about Sam, or how we're supposed to embrace Lisa's character and place in Dean's life while also accepting that Lisa would never have been part of Dean's plans if Sam hadn't died, thereby negating all the fabricated insta-drama about how Lisa is Dean's ultimate happily-ever-after fantasy...naw, I'm not gonna touch on any of that.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-09-25 07:05 pm (UTC)I totally agree that the episode is trying to establish a new status quo...trying to hit a reset button in a way. And I think the reason people (including myself) liked those first ten minutes was because there was a real poignancy to them. First of all, I'm a flashback sucker so I liked the montage of Dean's new life compared to scenes of his old one (Salt can be used for cooking! Who knew!) I also felt that you could tell that in spite of appearances, Dean was still working very hard to make this new life work, to leave the past behind. That's why it was so chilling when he started seeing creepy things in broad daylight -- not only were the signs spooky in themselves, but you had the sense that Dean's old life was catching up with him. You felt for the guy, the way you'd feel for anyone who's trying to make a fresh start in his life but can't.
So yeah, that was all good but then it just went off the rails as soon as Sam and all those Campbells showed up. And to make a djinn the catalyst for Sam and Dean's reunion...I don't know, I just thought that was so lazy. I know they want to get back to the MoTW structure but recycling a monster from four years ago hardly seemed like a clever or thoughtful way to do it. And I'm not even going to touch on why the Campbells all seemed like such assholes, or how cruel it was for both Sam and Bobby to keep Dean in the dark about Sam, or how we're supposed to embrace Lisa's character and place in Dean's life while also accepting that Lisa would never have been part of Dean's plans if Sam hadn't died, thereby negating all the fabricated insta-drama about how Lisa is Dean's ultimate happily-ever-after fantasy...naw, I'm not gonna touch on any of that.