I was halfway through typing up this huge-ass comment, but my browser crashed and I don't quite feel like typing it all up again. XD
The abridged version, hehe: I think the current situation is a step back for both Dean AND Sam, I'm bored to all hell by the myth arc, to the point that I'm enjoying filler eps way more, I'm disappointed with the way the discared all the the possibilities for character growth and a forward momentum in BOTH their emotional development when they turned the trails into Something's Wrong With Sam again, I'm not entirely on board with MoL thing, and most of all I'm pissed as a Dean!girl. It's not just the caretaker thing, although that's a bit part of it, it's also the fact that he's not allowed to work through anything that's happened to him recently (Purgatory, the beating he took from Cas in the crypt, having to kill Benny, for fuck's sake; they only look at Dean's trauma from ~anything if it's convenient, and most of the time it doesn't seem to be) because it's all discarded in favor of turning him into Sam's nursemaid. I just think both Winchesters have grown past Dean as the caretaker and I'm so very sick of it. Regressing them to that is trite and boring to me, I can't even ~read sick or hurt Sam anymore because canon's smothering me in it AGAIN.
And honestly, I LOVED Sam in the first half of the season. I have never loved him more. It took me a while, but when they got to the flashbacks with Amelia and her father I was a sobbing mess of Sam feels. If they'd carried through with the path they set in the first half of the season, I might be enjoying SPN a lot more right now. But after the MoL ep, it seems to me like they decided to completely discard all that, and yeah. I am very, very unhappy with the show lately. :/
Ahem. You should probably be glad I didn't bother you with the long and detailed version of this rant. :P
I hate it when LJ crashes in the middle of typing up good stuff!
And thanks for sharing. I know it's probably weird discussing stuff when we are coming from opposite stand points and opinions. I actually like hearing how others are taking things (especially when it's a thoughtful discussion). I suppose it opens my eyes to how others are seeing the show (as mostly I discuss stuff with people who are thinking the same, or similar things).
And I hear ya. I mean, yeah, being a fan of hurt!Sam (and running a hurt!Sam comm) means I'm rolling in it at the moment and I can't deny it's an aspect of the show I have always enjoyed (for some reason ;D). Not just hurt! Sam of course - Dean also. I crave h/c and we don't often get it on the show. Lots of h, not so much c. So this latter half of the season is definitely appealing to a lot of what I love in the show.
That said, I am surprised they have gone back to "what's wrong with Sam" and "concerned and nursemaid Dean". Their re-hashing of old story lines and character "issues" is disappointing. But I've found S8 to be very much like that - right from the beginning. I would have thought they might have reversed the roles at least, so we had an opportunity to explore Sam in the nursemaid role (which we rarely see) and Dean taking on the trials and perhaps facing some unresolved fears etc. OR that they both had to complete the trials for the doors to be closed (and tbh, I thought it was going to come down to that - it would take a combined effort because, well, they are soul mates after all. Or something like that).
I truly wish I could find more to like in the first half of the season, but I just can't seem to get past Sam as a brother who wouldn't even try to look for Dean. I know I'm harping on about it (like many other fans), so I won't continue. I did love Dean's story though. Particularly his relationship with Benny. I found the brothers being at odds really hard to take, especially when there wasn't any really good reason for it. I thought they were both acting immaturely (as in, being jealous of their other "halves" during their time away from each other). Though I would have bought it completely if there had been a pay off, or that they had learned something when it was over. But I didn't think they did. The returned to how they were before and therefore it wasn't there to give them character growth, but purely for the sake of giving us angst.
I'm sorry you're not enjoying the second half hun. I hated not liking the first half (though there were only really about 3 episodes I struggled with) because I much prefer squeeing about an episode and enjoying what they are doing.
I am surprised about you not liking the MoL and their new home though (but that's mainly because I don't think I've come across anyone who has said they haven't liked it). Is it the fact that they have a permanent home? Or the introduction of a new myth arc? (just curious, not questioning it. I totally understand fans disliking one aspect of the show when others like it. And visa versa). For me, I like that it takes them away from the angel and demon story lines. But again - that is so personal. I don't mind the angel and demon stuff, but I'm happy when they take a break from it. And I see good potential for S9 with exploration of the MoL legacy stuff.
Ekkk..looks like I had some stuff to say. I am really sorry for blabbing - especially when it's at odds with how you are reacting to the show at the moment.
Hopefully they'll be able to finish on a note that makes everyone happy. Or most people anyway...;)
Indeed. :( And hey, blab away. ;) I still do like talking the show, I just feel less comfortable doing so on LJ after some drama.
You know, I used to be into h/c for both of them too, but the overabundance of Sam whump on the show while disregarding Dean in favor of that has turned me off it (anyone remember "we ran out of time to dig into Dean's depression/drinking in S7"? STILL BITTER). Which is sad, but yeah. Can't change how I feel.
I was so, so much hoping for a role reversal this time. Shoving it all to Sam again like that makes absolutely zero sense to me. Why'd they even have to PICK ONE in the first place? I'd have been happy with them doing them together too. But really, Dean-in-peril like we've had with Sam for two -- now three -- seasons is something I want so hard, but don't think I'll ever get, and it's increasingly frustrating.
Plus, several of my longtime Dean-centric peeps have or are about to leave because they're unhappy with current canon, which isn't exactly enriching my experience right now.
Oh, to me it makes A LOT of sense why Sam didn't look. I had my trouble with it at first, too, but after a few eps (and probably due to writing a RBB fic with that theme, haha) I got it. And I love it. IMO Sam was so poleaxed by Dean's death that he ~couldn't do anything. Emotionally paralyzed, if you will? And I can't see how that'd be out of character, and like I said, it's part of why I love him so hart this season.
I agree with you on the tension between the boys being pointless in the end, but I actually think that's less a weakness of the first half of the season, but more one of the second half for completely dropping that. That's part of what I mean when I say the second half feels like a reset; their conflict made sense to me, and their big reunion after Sam ditched Amelia and Dean dropped Benny wasn't a happy moment for me, but utterly depressing. And then they go and settle them in the MoL headquarter and instead of it bringing those issues out due to being boxed in and isolated even more, they're suddenly shiny-happy as if nothing happened? Uhh, what?
And with that we arrive at why I don't like the MoL thing. Sam still hasn't talked to Dean about why he didn't look. Dean didn't want to abandon Benny, but did it for Sam, b/c of his ultimatum. That's like a married couple moving into a new house after a fight that almost ended their marriage, and never talking about it again? How is that healthy? It's what sours the batcave for me. Plus, I don't like the reset that made the MoL possible in the first place, and for me the ep that introduced them is the worst of the season. Rarely ever have I been so bored by that show... :/ If they dig deeper into that in S9, I might have to call my divorce lawyer and stop watching show weekly.
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Date: 2013-05-05 05:04 pm (UTC)The abridged version, hehe: I think the current situation is a step back for both Dean AND Sam, I'm bored to all hell by the myth arc, to the point that I'm enjoying filler eps way more, I'm disappointed with the way the discared all the the possibilities for character growth and a forward momentum in BOTH their emotional development when they turned the trails into Something's Wrong With Sam again, I'm not entirely on board with MoL thing, and most of all I'm pissed as a Dean!girl. It's not just the caretaker thing, although that's a bit part of it, it's also the fact that he's not allowed to work through anything that's happened to him recently (Purgatory, the beating he took from Cas in the crypt, having to kill Benny, for fuck's sake; they only look at Dean's trauma from ~anything if it's convenient, and most of the time it doesn't seem to be) because it's all discarded in favor of turning him into Sam's nursemaid. I just think both Winchesters have grown past Dean as the caretaker and I'm so very sick of it. Regressing them to that is trite and boring to me, I can't even ~read sick or hurt Sam anymore because canon's smothering me in it AGAIN.
And honestly, I LOVED Sam in the first half of the season. I have never loved him more. It took me a while, but when they got to the flashbacks with Amelia and her father I was a sobbing mess of Sam feels. If they'd carried through with the path they set in the first half of the season, I might be enjoying SPN a lot more right now. But after the MoL ep, it seems to me like they decided to completely discard all that, and yeah. I am very, very unhappy with the show lately. :/
Ahem. You should probably be glad I didn't bother you with the long and detailed version of this rant. :P
no subject
Date: 2013-05-06 01:31 pm (UTC)I hate it when LJ crashes in the middle of typing up good stuff!
And thanks for sharing. I know it's probably weird discussing stuff when we are coming from opposite stand points and opinions. I actually like hearing how others are taking things (especially when it's a thoughtful discussion). I suppose it opens my eyes to how others are seeing the show (as mostly I discuss stuff with people who are thinking the same, or similar things).
And I hear ya. I mean, yeah, being a fan of hurt!Sam (and running a hurt!Sam comm) means I'm rolling in it at the moment and I can't deny it's an aspect of the show I have always enjoyed (for some reason ;D). Not just hurt! Sam of course - Dean also. I crave h/c and we don't often get it on the show. Lots of h, not so much c. So this latter half of the season is definitely appealing to a lot of what I love in the show.
That said, I am surprised they have gone back to "what's wrong with Sam" and "concerned and nursemaid Dean". Their re-hashing of old story lines and character "issues" is disappointing. But I've found S8 to be very much like that - right from the beginning. I would have thought they might have reversed the roles at least, so we had an opportunity to explore Sam in the nursemaid role (which we rarely see) and Dean taking on the trials and perhaps facing some unresolved fears etc. OR that they both had to complete the trials for the doors to be closed (and tbh, I thought it was going to come down to that - it would take a combined effort because, well, they are soul mates after all. Or something like that).
I truly wish I could find more to like in the first half of the season, but I just can't seem to get past Sam as a brother who wouldn't even try to look for Dean. I know I'm harping on about it (like many other fans), so I won't continue. I did love Dean's story though. Particularly his relationship with Benny. I found the brothers being at odds really hard to take, especially when there wasn't any really good reason for it. I thought they were both acting immaturely (as in, being jealous of their other "halves" during their time away from each other). Though I would have bought it completely if there had been a pay off, or that they had learned something when it was over. But I didn't think they did. The returned to how they were before and therefore it wasn't there to give them character growth, but purely for the sake of giving us angst.
I'm sorry you're not enjoying the second half hun. I hated not liking the first half (though there were only really about 3 episodes I struggled with) because I much prefer squeeing about an episode and enjoying what they are doing.
I am surprised about you not liking the MoL and their new home though (but that's mainly because I don't think I've come across anyone who has said they haven't liked it). Is it the fact that they have a permanent home? Or the introduction of a new myth arc? (just curious, not questioning it. I totally understand fans disliking one aspect of the show when others like it. And visa versa). For me, I like that it takes them away from the angel and demon story lines. But again - that is so personal. I don't mind the angel and demon stuff, but I'm happy when they take a break from it. And I see good potential for S9 with exploration of the MoL legacy stuff.
Ekkk..looks like I had some stuff to say. I am really sorry for blabbing - especially when it's at odds with how you are reacting to the show at the moment.
Hopefully they'll be able to finish on a note that makes everyone happy. Or most people anyway...;)
no subject
Date: 2013-05-06 05:30 pm (UTC)You know, I used to be into h/c for both of them too, but the overabundance of Sam whump on the show while disregarding Dean in favor of that has turned me off it (anyone remember "we ran out of time to dig into Dean's depression/drinking in S7"? STILL BITTER). Which is sad, but yeah. Can't change how I feel.
I was so, so much hoping for a role reversal this time. Shoving it all to Sam again like that makes absolutely zero sense to me. Why'd they even have to PICK ONE in the first place? I'd have been happy with them doing them together too. But really, Dean-in-peril like we've had with Sam for two -- now three -- seasons is something I want so hard, but don't think I'll ever get, and it's increasingly frustrating.
Plus, several of my longtime Dean-centric peeps have or are about to leave because they're unhappy with current canon, which isn't exactly enriching my experience right now.
Oh, to me it makes A LOT of sense why Sam didn't look. I had my trouble with it at first, too, but after a few eps (and probably due to writing a RBB fic with that theme, haha) I got it. And I love it. IMO Sam was so poleaxed by Dean's death that he ~couldn't do anything. Emotionally paralyzed, if you will? And I can't see how that'd be out of character, and like I said, it's part of why I love him so hart this season.
I agree with you on the tension between the boys being pointless in the end, but I actually think that's less a weakness of the first half of the season, but more one of the second half for completely dropping that. That's part of what I mean when I say the second half feels like a reset; their conflict made sense to me, and their big reunion after Sam ditched Amelia and Dean dropped Benny wasn't a happy moment for me, but utterly depressing. And then they go and settle them in the MoL headquarter and instead of it bringing those issues out due to being boxed in and isolated even more, they're suddenly shiny-happy as if nothing happened? Uhh, what?
And with that we arrive at why I don't like the MoL thing. Sam still hasn't talked to Dean about why he didn't look. Dean didn't want to abandon Benny, but did it for Sam, b/c of his ultimatum. That's like a married couple moving into a new house after a fight that almost ended their marriage, and never talking about it again? How is that healthy? It's what sours the batcave for me. Plus, I don't like the reset that made the MoL possible in the first place, and for me the ep that introduced them is the worst of the season. Rarely ever have I been so bored by that show... :/ If they dig deeper into that in S9, I might have to call my divorce lawyer and stop watching show weekly.
Ahem. Sorry for ranting at you. Again. /o\