Called It

[oselle]

I just started laughing because I glanced over at my LJ Profile and saw the little "Sera Gamble is not going anywhere with this" tagline. I put that up way back at the beginning of the season, when all I seemed to be hearing was "I can't wait to see where Sera goes with this!" and I felt like yelling, "OMG WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE SERA IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITH THIS!" hence the tagline. Now that almost all of her aimless storylines have been eliminated with ruthless efficiency and a total lack of fanfare, and we're suddenly getting episodes about characters and stories that the audience might actually care about, I just have to remind everyone that I totally called it and the whole world would be better off if everyone just listened to me. You're welcome.

Comments

[ghyste.livejournal.com]

OMG, she totally had all this planned and you just hate her because she’s a woman!

[ava-jamison.livejournal.com]

LOL! This episode was AMAZING! I just watched the whole thing again. *dreamy sigh* SO MANY GREAT MOMENTS!

[oselle.livejournal.com]

OMG you're totally right! I'm just jelus!

In all honesty, I'm think I'm holding back some of my contempt because she's a woman -- which I shouldn't. There are so few women showrunners in television and she somehow managed to become one of them (in a geekcentric genre, nonetheless) and she blew it. She didn't just blow it, she lived up to every imaginable cliche about women -- a trite domestic subplot, an obvious shift in focus to her crush, completely scatterbrained planning and rumors of bad budgeting on top of it. I haven't heard any tales of her running around the set in hysterical tears, but she did everything short of that until the boys had to step in and fix things. Infuriating.

Oh, and PLEASE tell me there are actually people out there who believe this was exactly how Sera planned the season and people are just hating on her because she's a woman.

[ghyste.livejournal.com]

Oh, and PLEASE tell me there are actually people out there who believe this was exactly how Sera planned the season and people are just hating on her because she's a woman.

I haven’t been looking, but you know they have to be out there.

It’s not fair, but it’s so much more damaging when a female showrunner messes up because there are so few of them. It’s like every time a film fronted by a woman tanks at the box office we see reports that HW won’t risk money on them again, but you never get the same reaction when it happens to one fronted by a man

[mangokulfi.livejournal.com]

Yeah they're out there. Hilariously, they're the same people who are calling Edlund out on his bias and demanding his head on a platter.

That's not to say that Edlund doesn't have his biases but since they're perfectly in line with mine, I totally fine with it. *G*

[oselle.livejournal.com]

It’s not fair, but it’s so much more damaging when a female showrunner messes up because there are so few of them.

It's not fair at all and that's why this is such a double-fail. For the show and for women in that business. SPN is a small, under-the-radar show, but I still think there will be people who will think that she failed because she was a woman...not because merit-wise, she just never should have gotten the job in the first place. Admittedly, Kripke left a big mess in his wake...but she was the worst possible person to try and clean it up. Instead of sizing up that mess and responding to it with a thoughtful, lean and focused plan for the season, she ran riot with a mess of brand-new storylines and characters that she couldn't wrangle, that no one cared about, and that apparently even managed to horrify Kripke enough to get his ass back to work, even though he could hardly have been described as a control freak when it came to his show.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

That's not to say that Edlund doesn't have his biases but since they're perfectly in line with mine, I totally fine with it.

Precoisely!

And seriously, do you think the Cas-focus story (and Dean/Cas subtext*) of last night's ep was just "Edlund's bias" and not the result of a skilled writer/producer being really clued into what the audience wants to see?

*I want to clarify that when I say "Dean/Cas subtext" I'm not at all suggesting that Edlund was writing thinly veiled slash to pander to the shippers. I'm saying that Edlund was smart enough to recognize and explore the intensity between those two characters, something that has heretofore been almost entirely ignored. I also love that Edlund started off making it about Castiel's relationship to both brothers (and Bobby), but by the end of the episode, he'd clearly given that up and homed the story in on Castiel and Dean. He's a sneaky one, that Edlund.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I long ago gave up recording the episodes but I really do wish I had this one to watch over!

[mangokulfi.livejournal.com]

Oh I totally agree that Edlund wrote a great script that capitalized on backstory, the actors' chemistry and what the majority of audience wants to see.

I also think that beyond that, within the story itself, it made sense that Cas would focus in on Dean as the events unfolded because Dean was the one who was clearly most loyal to him. Dean was the one he had hurt the most and therefore the one whose understanding he would most likely seek out. Bobby and Sam have already written Cas off, but Dean being Dean, is the only one who might still give Cas the absolution he craves. Besides he loves Dean very, very much. *G*

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Dean was the one who was clearly most loyal to him.

Not to mention that Dean's opinion is clearly the one that matters most to Cas. All the way through Season 5, Cas's entire evolution from loyal servant to fallen angel hinged upon what he saw in Dean. Dean was his north star, his standard. Remember how enraged Cas was when he thought Dean was going to give himself up to Michael? That was because he believed in Dean. And of course because he loved him so very, very much.

[mangokulfi.livejournal.com]

Yes exactly. You actually raise a really interesting point about the parallels between when Cas lost faith in Dean and essentially gave up on him, compared to Dean who continues to hold on to some tiny shred of hope that he can talk Cas down. And judging by the promo, Dean still hasn't completely given up next episode. OH DEAN. *smish*

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Considering how long Dean kept faith in Sam -- long after he had any reason to -- it makes perfect sense that Dean would not lose faith in Castiel. Dean is not one to throw people away. Or angels. Especially not when HE LOVES THEM SO VERY, VERY MUCH.

I think I have CAPSLOCK DIARRHEA.

[twirlycurls.livejournal.com]

I'm even more concerned now that I've been reading things about how this season was intended to progress. Apparently "Sam's lost soul" was supposed to be the big plot to string out for the ENTIRE SEASON and "Cas the betrayer" was going to be the plot for S7 if the show was renewed. So, what's left for next season? I'm praying they bring in a new showrunner or it's probably going to be "Cas the betrayer part two, plus some stuff about Sam's stupid soul."

This season has felt so labored, as if every episode produced was born from acts of sheer will.

[aubergineautumn.livejournal.com]

YES. Each episode felt random to me, like a return to season 2- but 2 was able to do that because it fit the plotline, this season felt awkward, like Jared and Jensen filmed their episodes separately & then special effects glued them together. We didn't see much of Sam.

[muffaletta.livejournal.com]

"Apparently "Sam's lost soul" was supposed to be the big plot to string out for the ENTIRE SEASON and "Cas the betrayer" was going to be the plot for S7 if the show was renewed"


Seriously? I'd heard about the Sam part (like most fans weren't OD'd on that after only half a season) but the Cas part is news.

So glad all of that was derailed. The way this season was headed, I'm sure Sera would have made Cas into evil incarnate, Sam as the lone savior of the universe, with Dean tagging along as his pom pom waving caretaker. Cripes.

[muffaletta.livejournal.com]

"Admittedly, Kripke left a big mess in his wake...but she was the worst possible person to try and clean it up. Instead of sizing up that mess and responding to it with a thoughtful, lean and focused plan for the season, she ran riot with a mess of brand-new storylines and characters that she couldn't wrangle, that no one cared about, and that apparently even managed to horrify Kripke enough to get his ass back to work"

It's downright embarassing, isn't it?

I remember when Sera started out the season, I fully expected her to do exactly what you said. As it became more and more obvious that she was skewing the season to fit her own personal character bias- to the detriment of both the other characters/storylines- I was flabbergasted. Heck, even Kripke hadn't been that bad and he'd given us a five year ode to his avatar. And, imo, what made it worse was watching how hard she tried to minimize Dean: slapped some kind of domestic storyline together for him that went nowhere, refused to give Dean any other storyline aside from revolving around Sam, wanted make us believe that Dean would have gone from being a remarkable hunter to a "soft" Deansel, even tried messing with his core persona. Thank god for Jensen's talent and determination in trying to hold onto "Dean", despite all of that.

Thinking about all that wasted potential is just so sad-it really could have been such a great season.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I remember when Sera started out the season, I fully expected her to do exactly what you said.

I knew she'd never be able to put together a tight season (frankly, "tight seasons" have never been a hallmark of SPN)...but I did think she would try to stay true to the promise that she would "get back to basics" or whatever she called it. I started to get suspicious when I heard about all the different shit she was so excited about. Sam-and-Dean role reversal. Lisa and Ben. Campbells on the Mayflower. Origin of monsters. What's wrong with Sam. None of those ideas sounded interesting to begin with, and even if they had been I knew she'd never been able to keep them all in the air.

slapped some kind of domestic storyline together for him that went nowhere

After that dreadful Romantic Montage a few episodes ago, I saw so many people claiming that was the last we'd see of Lisa and Ben and I knew it wouldn't be. I also knew we'd eventually wind up with "Lisa and Ben in peril" and sure enough, that's what we're getting next week...in an episode that, not surprisingly, Sera wrote. Bleh.

Thank god for Jensen's talent and determination in trying to hold onto "Dean", despite all of that.

I agree, and I wonder if Jensen was being even more vocal about this in private to the right people, because something sure lit a fire under Kripke's ass.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

I'm praying they bring in a new showrunner

I'm thinking the old showrunner will be the new showrunner and I'm hoping that Kripke's little vacation has given him some inspiration. Hell, if Edlund keeps cranking out the Dean/Cas, he can be the showrunner.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

The whole season felt random, like they were just flailing around trying to find a plot that worked.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

"Labored" is a good way to put it. They probably knew that "Sam's lost soul" wouldn't be enough to carry an entire season so they packed in all that other stuff and it was all so klutzy and awkward. I'm assuming that "Cas the betrayer" is not going to be resolved in the last two episodes of this season so that will have to be carried over to S7 but I sure hope they have more than that in their bag of tricks.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

God, I'm laughing now thinking about all that aimlessness in the beginning of the season. Campbell's on the Mayflower! Totally interesting I swear!

I feel kind of bad for Sam, actually, because it seems like yet again he's been given this storyline that was supposed to show how special and interesting he is and it never sticks. Because he hunted with the Campbells for a year and I feel like he's forgotten about all of them and never had a connection to him. Even when he was asking if Castiel took me out of hell without his soul on purpose it didn't seem like a big deal because it wouldn't be a personal betrayal.

All the real emotional connection was Dean reacting to Castiel's lies and Castiel reacting to Dean's reaction. The only thing interesting about the whole Purgatory thing is how it connected to Castiel and just how badly he'd gotten lost without Dean.

[coronasunrise.livejournal.com]

Do we know that Sera has been replaced? She could have just found her legs. Since season 3 seemed to go nowhere until the last set of episodes. Or this could have been her plan all along.

[jenneany.livejournal.com]

I went into this season with an optimistic hope that it could be good, so I had almost no preconcieved bias about Sera Gamble. And I was dissapointed in every way. Every point you've made here is spot-on...talk about having no clue. It all just makes me so sad.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

You simply can't use Season 3 as an example of anything because they were completely discombobulated by that writer's strike that knocked six episodes out of the season. By the time they came back on the air, they had no choice but to ramp things up because they had to send Dean to hell by the end of the season and they only had a few episodes left to do it.

As for Sera this year...do you honestly think that blowing nearly three-quarters of the season on apparently pointless story arcs was part of some intentional strategy? Do you really think that she planned all along to rapidly and very unceremoniously wipe out the characters and storylines that she introduced? And as for finding her legs...I've heard this argument before and I just don't buy it. She's been on this show for six years -- she's had plenty of time to find her legs.

As far as I know, Sera Gamble has not been officially replaced, but a tangible shift occurred some time around "The French Mistake." After that, Sera's characters and plots started dropping like flies. "And Then There Were None" marked a clear break between the first part of the season and the remainder. At the Paley event a few weeks ago, Kripke more or less dominated the panel while the titular showrunner had little to contribute, and I'm fairly certain that Kripke is back on board as much more than some sort of consulting producer. Sera may indeed keep her showrunner status but I think she's going to have some serious supervision from here on out.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

All the real emotional connection was Dean reacting to Castiel's lies and Castiel reacting to Dean's reaction.

It seems to be a continual weakness with SPN that the things they want to matter somehow don't, while the subplots are the ones that rise to the surface. Like I said in my original post, I know some important things were revealed in this episode, but all I could focus on was what was happening between Castiel and Dean.

just how badly he'd gotten lost without Dean.

The leaf-raking scene was a riot because the anguish on Castiel's face was so overwhelming. Dean is his lodestar, and Cas is just adrift without him. Oh, Cas!!