SPN 7:02

[oselle]

Has anyone else noticed that they seem to be trying more of a serialized approach? As in, the end of each episode flows into the beginning of the next? That's not unusual between the premiere and the second episode, but they seem to be carrying it through to episode three. I like that. I've always felt that SPN would work better as a serial rather than as a series of standalones with a storyarc playing in the background and only coming to the fore during sweeps or before midseason hiatus. This latter approach worked pretty well during the first two seasons, but especially starting with season four, I really felt like they needed to start dumping the one-shots and focus on a serial story the way other shows do.

I'm not going to get my hopes up, though. I refuse to get attached to a contiguous story only to find myself back in the land of MoTWs, and the consequences of one episode being rendered immaterial or totally forgotten by the next one.

That said, it was strangely refreshing to see Sam and Dean needing medical attention, instead of just walking off injuries that would put The Incredible Hulk in intensive care. I still remember the episode in Season 4, when they not only hurled themselves through a stained-glass window, but also walked away from a three or four-story drop onto concrete with nothing more than a dislocated shoulder and few lacerations. "Drop and roll" will only take you so far.

Guy Bee, the director of this episode, is either in love with Jensen or just has the proper professional respect for the artistry of his face. The golden glow of light on Jensen during the Dean-and-Bobby scene in the kitchen was almost hilarious. I think Ben Edlund is in love with Jensen too, or maybe just with Dean. Either way, Edlund is one of the last writers on this show who gives Dean some good scenes. I am not happy at all about Castiel's dissolution, but the way Dean reverently wrapped up Castiel's trenchcoat...only Edlund would have written that. It was like Ennis with Jack's shirt at the end of Brokeback Mountain. I'm sure I'm not the only person who made the comparison.

I don't have much else to say. I like Mark Pellegrino, but as I mentioned last week, the "still in hell" concept is one that (in fandom at least) dates back to Season 4, so it doesn't feel new or fresh.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to seeing Dean in the hospital next week -- although I think this is the episode Jensen directed, so there probably won't be that much of him in it. And yes, I've seen the pictures of Dean's fantastically whumpy thigh-high cast. There is nothing wrong with that at all.