spn 6.1 under cut

[fannishliss]

okay-- I kind of liked it!

My favorite premiere has been s4, when Dean tears himself out of an open grave... they'll never top that!  but this was pretty cool.

I really like the whole djinn premise.  I love the whole idea of referring back to WIAWSNB. We know from way back in s2 that Dean has had this dream of a life outside of Hunting... but that he is really torn about leaving the life and possibly not saving someone.  (I have also always thought that Carmen, the El Sol girl, looks a LOT like Lisa.  To me, WIAWSNB was Dean's dream of Lisa before we as viewers ever met her. )

I think some viewers are suspicious of the Campbells. i'm like, WELL YEAH.  They are super creepy!!  What is up with that Hunter girl, and her two creepy silent cousins?  they're messed up. 

I feel sorry for Sam. Something is definitely off with him.  His rejection of the Impala was deftly handled by Jared. That little chin gesture of " i know I should want the car but like I really don't?"  I love how Dean was like "she should be Hunting" and Sam was like, "but no, my nifty Charger KICKS ASS. And I can play all the Jason Manns I want!"

I liked Lisa's reaction to Dean's little walking away speech...  except I thought she would be angrier.  I do not think that she would be willing to sit it out at Bobby's for more than a day or two.  She and Ben have a life, right? It was fun that she got to sit in Bobby's house and call Dean an idiot.

Episodes like this make me want more minutes.  There is totally a missing scene at the end of this where Dean shows up at Bobby's and only like 48 hours have passed, and he confesses to Lisa that he's not going anywhere.

I super love that Dean's sawed off and holy water are right under the bed. It's good and right that Lisa has Dean openly with his modes of protection all over the house.  I was a little less psyched about him calling in the tip and then pretending it was a poker game (I think Lisa could totally smell his bs) -- but I base my marriage on full disclosure.  :P  

I think it's pretty heartbreaking that Sam has basically walked away from Dean.   Jared is playing it so beautifully too. Please, guys, give it a chance.  Sam,intellectually,knows he's missing something... he says as much -- it's just better with you, Dean ---- but he doesn't yet know what it means. 

I am very very suspicious about why the CCC (creepy Campbell clan) needed to kidnap the djinn. TRUST NO ONE!!!  Oh yeah, how long has it been, folks????  :D


In short, I am optimistic and pleased. Hey, it was no Lazarus Rising, but it did the job. 

Oh and I really liked the montage between Dean's old life and current one.

Within the forty-two minute limitation, I think the ep ROCKED.  It met most of my expectations and then some. 

Who is Corin Nemec?

Oh, the thrill of adding my s6 tag!!!  :)

 

Comments

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

yeah, I'm with you there!

[maraceles.livejournal.com]

I really liked the episode. As a pilot for the post-S5 show, I'm very hopeful after seeing it. *g*

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

Me too. I know that the vibe between the brothers was so off.... but I have faith because the Show really does know that it's that brotherlove that makes the show special. Sam is going to wake up now that he's back in touch with Dean, and Dean will learn to balance his new life with the Hunt. it's gonna be a great ride this season I think.

[andreth47.livejournal.com]

The Campbells are wrong. There is definitely something creepy going on with them and Sam. Did Grandpa get out of Hell? Did he have something to do with Sam's rescue? It's all very Stockholm Syndrome-y.

AWESOME!! I love mysteries. :DD

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

when they shoved that djinn in the bag, I was like RED FLAG.

I think it was a great ep. I'm looking forward to next week!

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

I know! Is Mitch gonna be a regular?

I TOTALLY DON'T TRUST HIM. AND SAMMY SHOULDN'T EITHER!!!

[autumn2525.livejournal.com]

Drive by Corin Nemec glee!! Parker Lewis! Jonas Quinn!

And! I met him at Dragon*con this year and he's very cool! (He also talked about his role on SPN.. \o/)

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's awesome. I used to totally love Parker Lewis. I was trying to remember that name!! (I don't watch stargate)

He's certainly the cool Merc so far. I like it!

[jensenrick.livejournal.com]

Word to all that!

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

thanks! I know you're a Sam guy... I really loved the way Sam seemed kind of unsettled by his own reactions to Dean. it's like being around his brother is shaking him awake. Yay, it has great implications for the season in my opinion.

[jensenrick.livejournal.com]

Yes, intentionally or unintentionally, Sam has covered his heart in a sheet of ice. Fortunately the sight of Dean seems to be cracking it.

[zagzagael.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this level-headed viewpoint in a flist of wildly disappointed viewers. Me among them.

I totally agree with using the djinn as our first monster of S6 - that was really inspired....although I don't think the writers took it where it could have gone and my mind was whirling until the meh ending. WIAWSNB was one of the most flawless eps of Show ever and I was so hoping for something deeply moving again and last night's show didn't deliver for me. Sam was just so......not right. I do hope something is seriously wrong with him because that look on his face during the reunion hug actually hurt.

Jensen was brill - of course - as Dean. A conflicted Dean....but Sam...I don't know. I just don't know.

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

I think there's definitely something wrong with Sam. I guess, you know, there was a chance he'd come back from his possession unharmed... but it doesn't look like that was the case.

I definitely was not wildly disappointed... maybe because I've spent all summer thinking and writing about the ramifications of 5.22. Dean is pretty much exactly where I thought he'd be... he's been mourning Sam for a year, and now come to find out, Sam is radically changed --- unfortunately not for the better.... leaving Dean feeling disaffected by the Hunt and with his priorities elsewhere. I think it's actually a pretty solid basis for starting off a season.

I know people live for the love between the boys... I do too, but moreso, I love them as individuals. I really thought Jared did a great job portraying a rather hollowed out Sam, feeling the difference that being around Dean made in him -- that's something I can definitely go with. I heart Sam. I also heart Dean taking care of his new family. I'll be ficcing about this ep asap!!

[outlawradio.livejournal.com]

I loved Dean. Loved. And Lisa. I just don't think what they're going for is working with Sam. All the things that make Sam Sam -- that empathy, caring about people -- is gone. It doesn't make sense to me. Hopefully it will shake out.

[erinrua.livejournal.com]

I think it's gone because Sam is hella screwed up. I think what we're seeing his his version of, "Shields up." I think whatever is in that whatever he went through with Lucifer and like, dying and going to Hell's max security prison, which is so deep and dark not even demons know where it is, he can no longer process as a normal human being. He's come back so messed up that he's simply shut down, locked down, and he's possibly even a little scared of himself.

Worse yet, I think he knows he's messed up. He knows he can't function as a normal human. And his whole thing with Dean was just an echo of, "We keep each other human." Sam's humanity is pretty well cooked. Having Lucifer crawling around inside his skin - and going into the Pit - did him in. And he wants Dean to help him hang onto some semblance of it.

My take, anyhow. Guess time will tell. :)

[roguebitch.livejournal.com]

I particularly liked his deflection when Dean asked how it was for him: "Well, did YOU want to talk about when you were in Hell? No? Okay then, let's move on to the next topic."

I love that we have Sera back because she knows what to do with emotional build when it comes to the boys. I can honestly say I felt more about this episode than the entirety of S5.

Sam is only at the beginning of his journey out of PTSD, and there is going to be such a mess when he gets past the dissociation stage.

[erinrua.livejournal.com]

*hugs you* Yes. All the above, YES!

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

see, that's how it read to me too. Sam has a history of going into shutdown when something terrible happens... and yeah, he's been back on earth for a year, but it takes being around Dean to shake him awake. I fully agree with you!

[roguebitch.livejournal.com]

It reminds me of that episode of X-files where Scully is in a coma and she is envisioning herself on a boat in the middle of a lake with only a thin rope attaching her to -- what?

Sam is remote. He's had a hell of an experience, and as you said, he goes away, locks it down, when he has trauma. He needs Dean to pull his boat back to the dock.

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

That's it exactly. What a great image!

Dean needs to reel Sam back in... but Dean hasn't recognized how important he is to this shelled off Sam. He feels that Sam is distant... he sees that Sam has been hunting successfully with Granpa and the others and is like, well okay then, sam's good to go with his own car and everything, and I have to focus on Lisa and my kid... Dean has already MOURNED SAM. This I think is what some people don't recognize. In my life, it's my dad that passed away, so I've been through the mourning process. You have to let go... you don't just stay in anger or denial or any of the stages forever... eventually, you let go. I loved the moment when Dean is like, Am I dead??? He has to relearn his importance to Sam all over again, after finally letting go. It's heartbreaking, but very real. I totally love this show and the more I think about and process the ep, the better I like it!!

[roguebitch.livejournal.com]

Nice icon!

The thing about poor Dean is that he really cares what his nearest and dearest think about him, so he is personalizing Sam's behavior far too much. He can't see past his own confusion and reopened emotional wounds to see that Sam is NOT RIGHT.

And yeah, he was letting go of Sam, although he obviously still has a big gaping hole inside of him, and there Sam is again. I was surprised he didn't punch Sam in the face for what he did, but I can also see him just being so weary of the emotional whipsawing his life contains that he just doesn't even bother.

Dean has classically undervalued his own importance, so seeing Sam settled and happy with the extended Campbell clan reads to him like hey, I'm not needed for anything anymore.

Ack, and all this on only one watching! My brain is whirling!

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

yeah, I'm with you on this. to use the jargon, maybe he's a little disassociated? It seems to be Sam's reaction to extreme stress, to kind of shut down and put himself into a really strict routine. he's like, i'll just hunt with Grandpa here and do whatever he says. Then when he finally sees Dean he's like, whoa, now I kind of remember why Dean is so important to me.... but from inside this shell, I can't put my finger on it. That's how Sam reads to me right now, and it seems real.

Sam is recovering from extreme trauma, and he's doing fairly well.... but there's a lot he hasn't yet been able to face about how he's doing, and Dean is bringing that to the surface. That, to me, is how the brotherlove manifested in this ep.

With these boys, they haven't punched each other yet, so they're still half asleep. They'll have a big knockdown dragout, then they'll love each other all the way again. :P

[erinrua.livejournal.com]

Yup, I think we're seeing the same thing. It may take a while, but SOMEthing big is going to boil over between those boys. After that ... it's gonna just keep getting interesting. :)

Love your icon. *g*
P.S.
At some point, I'll bet anything that Sam's car is gonna get biffed. When he's stuck back in the Impala with Dean ... yeah. Hard to be as disassociated, then. ;)

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

To me, it seemed like seeing Dean was affecting Sam. I don't like the influence the Campbells are having on him... like he's just a soldier for them to deploy. Sam was like, you care! .... it points out that at least, post possession, he's able to still see what matters to his brother, and begin to question, it should matter to him too.... it's the first step toward healing... that's been delayed because he stayed away from Dean. Or at least, that's how I see it.

I also think that Dean will value his life with Lisa even more now that he's choosing it on purpose. cross fingers!

[outlawradio.livejournal.com]

You're right in that for Sam to even acknowledge the value in Dean's caring means he thinks it's important. I think I'll feel better with a little more of a feeling that he's moving in a direction of some kind. Hopefully it won't be too long until that happens.

And yes, I think Dean will value life with Lisa more now... and then it will be cruelly ripped away! Because there is no family without pain in Showland!

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

"no family without pain"
ONOZ YOU ARE TOO RIGHT!!!!!!!

meep!

[erinrua.livejournal.com]

I has a happy brain. It is filled with deliciously creepy, suspenseful, peculiar, intrigued and enticed thoughts.

THIS MAKES ME HAPPY!!!!

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

wonderful! me too!!

[themonkeytwin.livejournal.com]

Hey, just realised I somehow missed friending you back. *iz absentminded* I like the cut of your jib too :)

Although I will say I'm not so sure about Sam being excessively messed up. I mean, sure, this is Show, but I don't know – I feel like Sam's earned his peace. Which is not to say he's not scarred and hurting and suppressing some stuff, but I saw genuine peace with himself. With who he is. That arc closed out an in-universe year ago. He's had a year to process things, and before that a year of coming to terms with who he is and what he'd done. In the finale, he earned his redemption, which is something I don't think Hell took away from him.

Dunno, just my impression. They've definitely got me interested in how it's going to all play out....