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SDCC 2013 | S9 Spoilers | Some General Thoughts
I guess most of you will have seen the panels and reports from Comic Con by now, so what are your thoughts? Personally, I could not say that I am particularly happy with the information Carver & Co released about S9 so far, but that does not really come as a surprise to me.
So, Comic Con came and went, and it was surprisingly uninformative. Carver & Co did not reveal much about S9 we did not already know or concluded from the events of the season finale. I guess I should count it as a win that, rather than leaving me in a state of misery and despair, the spoilers from Comic Con only resulted in quiet resignation on my part. As expected, the spoilers divulged nothing that would get me excited for S9. The idea of suffering through a season that, once again, has its main focus on angels and demons is absolutely unappealing to me, and I really could not care less about the woes of Metatron, Castiel and Crowley. Obviously, the spoiler most relevant to my interests was the reveal that the way Sam heals from his trial-related illness involves a big secret between the brothers that Sam is not aware of and that Dean keeps from him – a secret that will, no doubt, create yet another rift between the brothers when it comes to light – and words cannot describe how tired I am of this narrative device to create conflict between the brothers. It is entirely contrived at this point in the show, and worse, it makes a mockery of past growth in the brotherly relationship. I wished I could say that I expected better, but fact is that this is exactly the kind of repetitive and unimaginative plotting I came to expect from the current creative team.
Now, Dean keeping yet another secret from Sam would be upsetting in and of itself, but it is even more disconcerting coming on the heels of the S8 finale, in which Sam broke down and openly showed Dean how much it hurts him when Dean does not trust him. Dean seemed genuinely shocked and distressed by Sam’s confession, clearly unaware of how deeply his brother is affected by his words and actions. So, the fact that his reaction to Sam’s hurt is to turn around and lie to him – no matter how good his intentions may be – is just a slap in Sam’s face. Moreover, the fact that Sam’s choice and control over his life/body are taken away from him, again, by keeping him in the dark about what is happening to him is unsettling. It is also rather frustrating that Dean once again has double standards when it comes to him and Sam. I mean, in Goodbye Stranger he emphasised to Sam how tired he is of being lied to by the people closest to him, and yet he has no problem doing the same to his brother. Not that this is news, but after eight years this kind of behaviour has just become tiresome.
Another information that left me quite frustrated was Jensen’s statement that, so far, he is under the impression that the writers did not plan out a distinct character arc for Dean; they rather try different things with the character and see what will stick. Jensen’s statement plays into my perception that, instead of carefully planning a season as a whole, Carver & Co just do whatever pops into their minds and that seems cool at any given moment, regardless of continuity or consistency. Well, at least that is how S8 came off to me. With that in mind, I do not have any confidence that the writers have any well thought-out plans in store for Sam’s long-term character arc or the mythology either. All in all, my motivation to watch S9 is at an all-time low at the moment, and I am not sure that will change in the next three months. Maybe I will just have to accept that my time with the show has come to an end, even though I am still emotionally invested in the characters. I guess I will have to wait and see.
So, Comic Con came and went, and it was surprisingly uninformative. Carver & Co did not reveal much about S9 we did not already know or concluded from the events of the season finale. I guess I should count it as a win that, rather than leaving me in a state of misery and despair, the spoilers from Comic Con only resulted in quiet resignation on my part. As expected, the spoilers divulged nothing that would get me excited for S9. The idea of suffering through a season that, once again, has its main focus on angels and demons is absolutely unappealing to me, and I really could not care less about the woes of Metatron, Castiel and Crowley. Obviously, the spoiler most relevant to my interests was the reveal that the way Sam heals from his trial-related illness involves a big secret between the brothers that Sam is not aware of and that Dean keeps from him – a secret that will, no doubt, create yet another rift between the brothers when it comes to light – and words cannot describe how tired I am of this narrative device to create conflict between the brothers. It is entirely contrived at this point in the show, and worse, it makes a mockery of past growth in the brotherly relationship. I wished I could say that I expected better, but fact is that this is exactly the kind of repetitive and unimaginative plotting I came to expect from the current creative team.
Now, Dean keeping yet another secret from Sam would be upsetting in and of itself, but it is even more disconcerting coming on the heels of the S8 finale, in which Sam broke down and openly showed Dean how much it hurts him when Dean does not trust him. Dean seemed genuinely shocked and distressed by Sam’s confession, clearly unaware of how deeply his brother is affected by his words and actions. So, the fact that his reaction to Sam’s hurt is to turn around and lie to him – no matter how good his intentions may be – is just a slap in Sam’s face. Moreover, the fact that Sam’s choice and control over his life/body are taken away from him, again, by keeping him in the dark about what is happening to him is unsettling. It is also rather frustrating that Dean once again has double standards when it comes to him and Sam. I mean, in Goodbye Stranger he emphasised to Sam how tired he is of being lied to by the people closest to him, and yet he has no problem doing the same to his brother. Not that this is news, but after eight years this kind of behaviour has just become tiresome.
Another information that left me quite frustrated was Jensen’s statement that, so far, he is under the impression that the writers did not plan out a distinct character arc for Dean; they rather try different things with the character and see what will stick. Jensen’s statement plays into my perception that, instead of carefully planning a season as a whole, Carver & Co just do whatever pops into their minds and that seems cool at any given moment, regardless of continuity or consistency. Well, at least that is how S8 came off to me. With that in mind, I do not have any confidence that the writers have any well thought-out plans in store for Sam’s long-term character arc or the mythology either. All in all, my motivation to watch S9 is at an all-time low at the moment, and I am not sure that will change in the next three months. Maybe I will just have to accept that my time with the show has come to an end, even though I am still emotionally invested in the characters. I guess I will have to wait and see.
no subject
I liked the exploration of monsters and the idea of Purgatory. It made sense to go there; after all we'd already been dealing with Hell and Heaven. I feel that there's still room to explore with the monsters, esp. the Alphas (I was ready for the Leviathan to move on, however). It's too bad S8 turned into whatever it was.
That's one thing about the current creative team, they always think the things they do are cool and exciting and they don't care if they're walking all over past canon/characerisation with it.
:'(
I want to believe that they're genuinely trying to do their best, but some of the stuff they pulled last season was just so outrageously bad and destructive - Taxi Driver comes to mind - that it seems incomprehensible that they had no clue what they were doing.
That will forever be The Episode that was a complete and utter waste of something that could've been amazing. I think it may come down to a show runner who has a clear vision AND will demand better. I read some interviews with Kripke for Revolution at SCDD and he's still the same opinionated guy who acknowledges his mistakes and doesn't hesitate to rally for what he wants (he was yelling about the Revolution characters looking too clean "It's not a Noxzema commercial! More dirt!" and that reminded me of him freaking about about Sam and Dean holding umbrellas in "Bugs"). I don't get the sense that Carver has a clear vision. At this point, I'm just hoping for a S9 story with a cohesive beginning, middle, and end and not something that resembles the first draft of a choose-your-own-adventure book.
no subject
Aww, man, I loved the leviathans. I think the last time I found a villain on the show as entertaining as the leviathans was when Zachariah was still gracing the screen with his presence. I never found either particularly creepy or menacing, but enormous fun! :)
I don't get the sense that Carver has a clear vision.
Yeah, I don't think that either. And that is especially damaging for a show that is as arc-oriented as SPN is. And I agree about Kripke. I always admired about him that he had no problems to openly admit when he went into a wrong direction or when he pushed for something that proved to be stupid in hindsight. Carver seems to lack that kind of critical reflection. At the end of S8, he still made the same statements about the development of the brothers' story as he did at the beginning of the season. He seemed to have no awareness about how deeply he failed the characters and the mythology.