LJ Meme | The Road So Far, Part II

[galathea]

Back in 2010, when the Kripke era came to an end, I participated in the 'The Road So Far' meme, which asked to list all your likes and dislikes of the past five seasons. Now that Sera Gamble takes her leave as a showrunner, I thought it would be nice to update said meme, so I have a comprehensive overview of all seasons.

So here we go, my favourites and least favourites of S6 and S7!



* * * * * * * *
SEASON 6
* * * * * * * *
1. FAVOURITE ...

• Monster Of The Week: The Fairies (Clap Your Hands If You Believe)


• Guest Star: Steven Williams as Rufus Turner | Julian Richings as Death


• Female Love[/Flirt] Interest: Lisa Braeden


• Character Death: Crowley's 'death' in Caged Heat | I love that, with hindsight, it was all just a deception. His return in Mommy Dearest was certainly one of the biggest surprise moments of the season for me.


• Brotherly Moment: And once more with feeling: (1) THE HUG! (Like A Virgin) (2) Dean worriedly hovering over a collapsed Sam (Mannequin) (3) Sam thanking Dean for resouling him and reassuring Dean that he will always have his back (Mannequin) (4) Sam telling Dean that he doesn't want to live in a world where they are not even brothers (The French Mistake) (5) Sam and Dean geeking out over Colt's journal (Frontierland) (6) Dean holding vigil at Sam’s cot (The Man Who Knew Too Much) (7) Sam accepting his hell memories because he can't leave Dean alone in the world. (The Man Who Knew Too Much)


• Cover-Your-Eyes Moment: The dentist going postal on his patient with a drill (You Can't Handle The Truth)


• Tear-Jerk Moment: Funnily enough, it is really a minor scene that got to me the most, namely Sam and Dean watching the orphaned brothers Ryan and Joe in the backseat of the Impala and being reminded of themselves at that age (Mommy Dearest)


• Impala Moment: The Impala versus a horde of demons (The Man Who Knew Too Much)


• Dean Angst Scene: Dean asking (soulless) Sam why he let him get turned by a vampire (You Can't Handle The Truth) | The tears in Dean's eyes when he tells Sam that he believes him always slay me. His relief is so palpable.


• Sam Angst Scene: It's a toss between Sam learning about the year he spent soulless from Castiel (Like A Virgin) and Sam breaking down when the wall cracks (Mannequin 3)


• Soulless Sam Moment: Soulless Sam biting his own arm in order to draw enough blood to paint a devil's trap at the ceiling of his cell (Caged Heat) | Runner Up: Soulless Sam tricking Castiel into showing up by retelling the plot of 'Raiders' (Caged Heat)


• Song: 'Space Oddity' by David Bowie (Clap Your Hands If You Believe) | Absolutely brilliant song choice for the scene where Dean fights 'tinkerbell'.


• Episode For Creepiness: Mannequin 3


• Episode For Laughs: I have to say that I love all the humorous episodes in S6 and that's pretty much unprecedented in my history with the show. If I am forced to choose, I would probably go with Frontierland, simply because of the abundance of marvellous brotherly moments.


• Episode Overall: LIKE A VIRGIN ♥ | It’s not that I think the episode is stellar in terms of writing, but the overwhelming happiness I felt at having Sam back makes this episode stand out to me | Runner-up: And Then There Were None


• Character Overall (at the end of the season): Still Sam and Dean. That's never going to change.


• Unsolved Mystery (at the end of the season): Who killed H.P. Lovecraft? And, in light of the S7 cliffhanger, how did he manage to open a door to purgatory?

2. LEAST FAVOURITE ...

• Episode: The Man Who Would Be King | Runner-up: Caged Heat


• Character: There are no characters in S6 that I dislike enough to put them on this list.


• Female Love[/Flirt] Interest: Nobody, really. Although I loathe the whole Meg/Castiel debacle.

3. One thing you wish had happened differently [if any]: I just wished the storyline between Dean and Lisa & Ben had developed differently. I would have preferred for them to stay together and try to make their relationship work. But, ultimately, I would have settled for a less troubling resolution to their relationship. For example, I would have been content, had their relationship ended after Mannequin 3.

4. One character you would bring back to life [if any]: RIP Rufus! ♥


* * * * * * * *
SEASON 7
* * * * * * * *
1. FAVOURITE ...

• Monster Of The Week: The leviathan doppelgangers of Sam and Dean (Slash Fiction)


• Guest Star: Kim Rhodes as Sheriff Mills | Kevin McNally as Frank | Felicia Day as Charlie


• Female Love[/Flirt] Interest: There are not many romantic storylines in S7, but I really like Dean’s connection to Melanie (The Mentalists)


• Character Death: Bobby’s death in Death’s Door | I know, it’s an odd choice, because I hate the fact that Bobby died in the first place, but the episode is just so beautiful and moving.


• Brotherly Moment: There are so many delightful brotherly moments in S7, it’s really hard to choose, so I apologise for going a little overboard here: (1) Dean bringing Sam breakfast in bed (Hello, Cruel World) (2) Stone Number One! (Hello, Cruel World) (3) Dean singing along to I’m All Out Of Love, much to Sam’s disbelief (Slash Fiction) (4) Dean sending Sam a message across time (Time After Time) (5) Sam begging Dean to not get himself killed (The Slice Girls) (6) Sam and Dean sharing a laugh and exchanging silly presents (Plucky Pennywhistle’s) (7) Sam and Dean getting drunk together (Party On, Garth) (8) The brothers' conversation at Sam’s hospital bed (The Born-Again Identity) (9) Sam and Dean mocking each other's unconventional methods to help Charlie (Dungeons and Dragons) (10) Sam and Dean going grocery shopping (There Will Be Blood)


• Cover-Your-Eyes Moment: The hearts in the cupcakes (Shut Up, Dr. Phil) | Not that it is a scene where I actually have to cover my eyes, but it is gross, and I love the hysterical reaction of the young woman. Interestingly enough, it also fits in with S7’s general theme of poisonous food .


• Tear-Jerk Moment: Bobby watching his last memory of Sam and Dean fade away (Death’s Door)


• Impala Moment: Sam and Dean’s indignant reaction when they see their leviathan doppelgangers driving by in an Impala (Slash Fiction)


• Dean Angst Scene: Dean admitting to Jo's ghost that he thinks he is 90% crap (Defending Your Life)


• Sam Angst Scene: Every single Sam scene in The Born-Again Identity


• Song: It’s a toss between 'Black Water' by The Doobie Brothers (Hello, Cruel World) and 'Walking On Sunshine' by Katrina & The Waves (Dungeons and Dragons)


• Episode For Creepiness: Repo Man


• Episode For Laughs: Plucky Pennywhistle’s Magical Menagerie


• Episode Overall: HELLO, CRUEL WORLD ♥ | Runner-up: Death’s Door


• Character Overall (at the end of the season): SamandDean! What? It’s totally one character!


• Unsolved Mystery (at the end of the season): I don’t think there are any true unsolved mysteries at this point.

2. LEAST FAVOURITE ...

• Episode: Time For A Wedding | Runner-up: Reading Is Fundamental


• Character: I will never loathe a character more than I loathe Becky.


• Female Love[/Flirt] Interest: I still can’t get behind Meg/Castiel (or Castiel/anyone really) at all.

3. One thing you wish had happened differently [if any]: I really wished Sam and Dean’s emotional arcs would have been brought to a satisfying conclusion. I was truly disappointed with the writers’ decision to just abruptly end Sam’s post-cage arc with an implausible miracle fix, and I really regret that they simply abandoned Dean’s depression/alcoholism storyline in the last quarter of the season without giving it a resolution.

4. One character you would bring back to life [if any]: RIP Bobby! ♥

Comments

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

You have made me realise how little I remember of the last few seasons - I haven't rewatched an episode since...the start of S6, I think!

I really should. Maybe I'm almost ready to, as well. :)

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Writing in-depth reviews really helps with the memory. :) But generally I have seen S4-S7 considerably less often than S1-S3. S4 in particular I didn't dare to rewatch since it initially aired. I am planning on marathoning S4-7 before S8 starts.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Writing in-depth reviews really helps with the memory
Yes, it really does - that was, of course, a big part of my reason for writing reviews in the first place! But that system fell apart when I stopped writing...

And now I'm barely watching anything because my brain power and attention are being funnelled elsewhere. But I think I should try to rewatch S6, at least, this summer. See if I still like it second time around.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

And now I'm barely watching anything because my brain power and attention are being funnelled elsewhere.
Well, at least writing fic/Who reviews gives you a lot of satisfaction at the moment. There will always be time to rewatch Supernatural. It's no use forcing yourself out of a misdirected sense of loyalty or something. :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's how I'm looking at it - but I'm starting to get to the point where I'm almost ready to rewatch the show and get immersed in old episodes rather than just enjoying the new when they happen. :) I do miss being absorbed in the show. But it now has to take its turn on the merry-go-round that is my attention span!

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

That's good! Maybe it took those two years of being relatively happy with the show to repair the damage S5 has done to your enthusiasm. :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Ohhhhhhhhh, I used to have an icon like that, but I got depressed by all the dead people so I took it down...

[sherrilina.livejournal.com]

Lol, I remember when you did this the first time! :p Did you add the soulless Sam question? Maybe I will do this too...agreed about a lot of answers except for the episodes, lol--you know how I feel about LaV, and ATTWN is one of my least faves of the season!

Though lol, why is the HP Lovecraft thing a mystery? Didn't Ellie herself say she killed him and the others so nobody would know how to get into purgatory? :s

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I added the soulless Sam question. It was such a big part of S6 that I wanted to include it in the questionnaire. :) LOL yeah, I know we disagree on some things in S6, but at least we both love it, unlike most of the rest of fandom. ;)

Well, I always took Ellie's evasive answer to Bobby's question as a sign that she didn't kill him. But I just rewatched the scene and now I think she most likely DID kill him. LOL It's still ambiguous though. I am still curious how Lovecraft actually opened the door to purgatory though, if even the angels didn't know how to do it and needed blood from one of Eve's children to achieve it. I have high hopes that S8 gets back to that! :D