SPN 6:01: Exile on Main Street

[oselle]

The only reason I'm even bothering to post a review is because I'm still high off the four beers and five cigs I had while watching that episode.

Without further ado:

1. It was smart to keep Lisa and Ben's presence to a minimum, and to not hammer us over the head with Dean's domesticity. Truth be told, Dean seems to be an awkward fit with suburban life which is exactly what he should be. Despite Lisa's assertion that this was "the best year of her life" we can at least tell it was and continues to be tough going for them. I'm discomfited by Dean telling Sam that he basically pushed Dean into that life...i.e., that he wouldn't have chosen it for himself. It makes Lisa and Ben look like the consolation prize and I don't like that. That's why I'll continue to insist that Dean's "settling down" should only have come at the END of the series so that we'd never have to deal with the consequences of it. Now we've got this big mess with the very likable Lisa and her twelve-year-old son...and this guy who -- by his own admission -- is only with them because he made a deathbed promise to his brother.

2. The promos were pushing a "TRUST NO ONE" tagline and I don't know if that means we're supposed to be wary of Sam and all those Campbells. Are they not who they claim to be?

3. Speaking of all those Campbells...too many Campbells. Based on what I heard from ComicCon, I thought the various and sundry Campbell relatives would be rolled out over the season...HAHAHAHA I should know better than to expect anything approaching subtlety. No, instead we get FOUR of them in the premiere, including Gramps, who apparently has been "brought down" from heaven (?) to chaperone Sam and OH MY GOD doesn't anyone besides me remember that all of Mary's relatives were supposed to be dead? And OH MY GOD are we honestly supposed to believe that these Campbells who, apparently, are to hunting what the Kennedys are to politics, WOULD NOT HAVE LOOKED OUT FOR MARY CAMPBELL'S SONS AFTER SHE DIED? That for the past THIRTY YEARS they have been unaware of the existence of Sam and Dean Campbell-Winchester? Please. I DEFY you to fucking fanwank that shit.

4. BOY, Sera Gamble is sure in love with that Mayflower business, isn't she? I'm seeing a Very Special Thanksgiving episode in full period costume.

5. Speaking of Sera Gamble...bringing back the djinns from Raelle Tucker's great "What Is And Never Should Be" final episode does not make Sera Gamble into Raelle Tucker. Frankly, bringing back the djinns made no sense at all and was one of the klutziest plot bridges I ever saw. So what, they've been hanging around for four fucking years waiting to get revenge on Dean?

6. I'm giving Sam a temporary pass on his behavior because I don't know if Sam is really Sam or if Sam was so fucked up by hell that he's all dead inside or what. But there's simply no excuse for Bobby at all. Oh right, Dean's having such a wonderful life in suburbia that HE WOULDN'T WANT TO KNOW HIS BROTHER WAS ALIVE. Mmmhmm.

7. How did Dean even manage to find a manufacturing job in this economy?

8. Jensen clearly put on weight and should not be wearing his shirt tucked into his jeans. Hey, someone had to say it.

9. If Sam Adams Oktoberfest Ale is in the supermarket it shouldn't be ninety fuckin degrees out.

10. Whatever.

Comments

[janissa11.livejournal.com]

8. Jensen clearly put on weight and should not be wearing his shirt tucked into his jeans. Hey, someone had to say it.

Yo. Dean went soft. Didn't you hear? A few too many baked potatoes with the steaks you know he's been grilling couple of times a week. (On sale, from Sam's.)

And a few too few actual-factual hunts, because God knows -- hah -- you can't rest on your Apocalypse-ending laurels. EVERYONE knows you forget everything you know after one year.

[oxer12.livejournal.com]

I just posted my review! I HATED this episode. Hate. Between the extreme OOC'ishness of Sam (and to a lesser extent, Dean), the stupid Campbell storyline (so don't care), and the general "bzuhh?" of it all...just, no.

I'm really kind of angry right now, which is not a reaction I expected to have.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Yeah, he's gone soft, that's why he's sleeping with a gun and holy water under his bed (that's what that was, right?)

[oselle.livejournal.com]

It was actually about what I expected. Though I did NOT expect the entire Campbell family reunion in the premiere. And while Mitch Pileggi was so great in "In The Beginning," I'm already OVER any notion of him as a recurring character. Do Not Want.

[oxer12.livejournal.com]

I'm really sad and angry at the same time. Honestly, I did not expect to get so damn emotional over this, but I feel betrayed. If this is what Sera Gamble is going to do with this show, I honestly don't know if I can watch. It's hard to see characters you love so much being eviscerated to where they're unrecognizable. :(

[lsketch42.livejournal.com]

1: "It makes Lisa and Ben look like the consolation prize and I don't like that." YES.

2: "The promos were pushing a "TRUST NO ONE" tagline and I don't know if that means we're supposed to be wary of Sam and all those Campbells. Are they not who they claim to be?"
I think it was more to hint at Mitch Pileggi being in the episode by ripping off the X-Files tagline. Ah C-dub...so clever.

3: "Speaking of all those Campbells...too many Campbells." It felt very Buffy-ish (with all those other random slayers that appeared out of nowhere) and just...yeah, NO.

6: "I'm giving Sam a temporary pass on his behavior because I don't know if Sam is really Sam or if Sam was so fucked up by hell that he's all dead inside or what." Just cling to the hope that Lucifer!Sam will bust out in one of these episodes and save the season.

10. At least I enjoyed the first 10 minutes.

[arabia764.livejournal.com]

1 and 3 - oh yes, I so agree with you. Way too many new characters I don't care about. And where was the epic reunion and ....

Too many things to complain about. But for me Jensen with a little extra weight is not one of them. I'd take him any day.

[salty-catfish.livejournal.com]

Yes, to all of that. Did not like that ep.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I wrote more about this on my lj, but I felt like this ep was really trying to establish a new status quo without dealing with a lot of the stuff it set out. Tbh, it seems like a lot of people agree that the first 10 minutes was the best. Dean the awkward fit in suburbia was a lot more interesting as a hunter than the pack of hunters who showed up!

[morganslady.livejournal.com]

OK I'll be the voice crying in the wilderness- cause I'm an easy SPNslut.. I'll give Sera a pass on this episode cause it's the first one and she's still trying to find her feet.
I haven't re watched it so I'm writing this out of memory--
1. I like Lisa and Ben, I don't need to see them all the time,but I'm glad Dean has them..
2. I think there is something hinky with the Campbells,I just haven't figured it out yet..
3.Yeah where did they all come from,unless because Samuel was dead,the rest didn't know about Sam and Dean until Grandpa came back..
4.
5. Djinns might not have been able to get near Dean and Sam because of Castiel's protection.. So now they can,and their touch can be used for either euphoric or horrific experiences(I'm not an expert on djinns:).
6.Sam has to be a little different,who wouldn't be, I see him at sometime telling Dean his hell experience but not right away.
7.Yeah Dean needs to share his job hunting skills(my friend has been out of work over a year).
8.I also noticed the tucked in shirt,and thought WTF??
9.It can be hot in Oct,it's the end of Sept and it was 87 here yesterday.
10. Why do they always have their jackets on indoors???

Now please don't shout at me all at once. I'm really not into debates,just stating my thoughts:)

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I think it was more to hint at Mitch Pileggi being in the episode by ripping off the X-Files tagline

Yeah, that thought occurred to me too. And I also thought, oh how clever -- NOT.

At least I enjoyed the first 10 minutes.

I did too. In fact I was sitting there being surprised by how much I was getting into the juxtaposition between Dean's old life and his new one and how in spite of the outward appearance of normalcy you could tell that Dean was still very much trying to adapt to this new life. In fact I pretty much dug everything up until Sam showed up.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I don't really care if Jensen puts on a few pounds or not but I love to rag on actors who put on weight considering how actresses aren't allowed to do so. It just evens the playing field a little in my head.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

There were elements of it I liked but the general takeaway was pretty bleh.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

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.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

'll give Sera a pass on this episode cause it's the first one and she's still trying to find her feet.

I'm sorry, but I can't agree. This may have been her first episode as official showrunner, and I'll admit she got handed a big pile of shit to shovel from Eric "Swan Song" Kripke, but this is Sera Gamble's umpteenth episode, not her first. She's spent the last five years of her life working on this show. She's not a rookie, she's a veteran and she should have found her feet a long time ago.

Djinns might not have been able to get near Dean and Sam because of Castiel's protection

The djinn incident happened way before Castiel came into the picture. If you'd compare the show to real time, the djinn episode was around May 2007. Dean died in May 2008. They had a whole year to track him down.

I also noticed the tucked in shirt,and thought WTF??

It's especially noticeable because Dean's never tucked his shirts in! Either they're trying to say: this is how suburban dads dress, or they were trying to make a point that Dean can tuck his shirts in now because he doesn't always have a pistol concealed in the back of his belt or maybe it was just a bad wardrobe decision, I don't know. But it was weird. And not at all flattering!

Why do they always have their jackets on indoors???

Because Jensen's fat? LOL, I kid, I kid!

[dnalia.livejournal.com]

After that episode, I'd rather watch Dean, Lisa, and Ben do their own thing with Castiel and Crowley occasionally dropping by for tea and snarking at each other. Sam and the rest of the Campbell clan can just fuck off.

What bothered me was the entire episode seemed to be centered around showing how wonderful Sam is by being apparently totally unaffected by hell and how awesome this bunch of assholes, that unfortunately happen to be Dean's relatives, are and how pathetic Dean is now that he left the "life". Gah.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I hear some of the SPN true believers saying that we just have to hold on and wait because something's clearly "off" about both Sam and the Campbells and if we're just patient with the show we'll all be blown away by some shocking plot twist. Sadly, I've heard that song before from the true believers, and at one time I believed it myself, but I've spent too many seasons waiting for shocking plot twists that just never came. What we saw last night should be taken at face value -- Sam is awesome, the Campbells are awesome, and Dean needs to get his mojo back and grow a pair so he can be as awesome as they are. Which I presume is what the rest of the season will be about. I'd challenge the show to prove me wrong, but I know it won't.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize so many people had already read it, so I may put it back up as an edit to the new post. So if you're interested, feel free to read it now.

The early stuff in the ep was interested--I think you really hit it that things were really interesting when we had this guy trying to get used to his new life that had things he liked but ways that he wasn't never going to completely fit in. But then to get hit with all these PEOPLE that would have been annoying even in a regular MOTW and a fairly lame MOTW...that was the other thing. The MOTW didn't seem important enough to make Sam suddenly decide to chuck out his whole plan to lie to Dean. I honestly felt like he might as well have just said that he was showing up now because the hiatus was over.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

The MOTW didn't seem important enough to make Sam suddenly decide to chuck out his whole plan to lie to Dean.

Exactly. Especially when we're supposed to believe that Sam is a totally kickass hunter who's now teamed up with the legendary bluebloods of the hunting world -- you'd think a powerhouse combo like that would have been able to take out three lousy djinns without Dean ever even knowing it. I would have been a lot more on board with Sam watching over Dean-and-family in secret...and then only revealing his existence to Dean over something really big, not really bzuh?

[ghyste.livejournal.com]

I'm seeing a Very Special Thanksgiving episode in full period costume.


To be honest, I think that's the least of our worries :)

[salty-catfish.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly! That was so weird. They should have been able to protect him and give him the antidote without Sam having to reveal himself. I would have liked to see a slower build-up to the reunion. This way it was like "OK, I tricked you into this life, it was nice to see you could deal, but now I'm bored with my close-mouthed cousins, so please just forget your commitments, I know you want to."

[salty-catfish.livejournal.com]

You think? I didn't feel they were seriously going for laughs with the lifestyle-bashing but rather wanted to show how much the Campbells suck. It was so unfunny. Maybe wishful thinking on my part.
What audience would even buy into the premise that Dean had to prove anything to anyone? Not the longtime-viewers, I believe.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I dunno man, seeing the J's trying to portray Sam and Dean's 17th-century Puritan ancestors...I just rendered myself speechless.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I never know what the show is going for. Are we supposed to think the Campbells are awesome or think they suck? Are we supposed to laugh along with them because Dean's "wife" reads InStyle or interpret their mockery as childish envy? I just don't know. And that's a big part of the problem.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

please just forget your commitments, I know you want to

This also made no sense. Earlier, San told Dean that he'd kept his existence a secret because he knew Dean would have "run" (from Lisa and Ben) if he knew Sam were alive. We get the impression that Sam didn't want this for Dean. But then by the end of the episode, Sam seems confounded that Dean chooses Lisa and Ben over him. Shouldn't he be relieved? Isn't that what he wanted Dean to do? What? WHAT?