9.20 episode review/reaction

[ash48]

(changed my cut tag....lost my sense of humour...)

I ain't got nothing guys. Reviewing this would be like me reviewing an episode of Charmed or The Vampire Diaries or The Young and The Restless (not that I've watched those, but I imagine they're a bit like this. Maybe?)

I have no idea if that was good or bad because it's just not my kind of thing. For those who like romancey drama with supernatural beings as the back drop then this might have been awesome. But, that's not me. Too many beautiful, unrealistic (and rather boring) characters for my liking.

I knew this episode was a pilot so I'm not at all surprised or even disappointed after watching it (only it means we've ended up with 22 episodes instead of 23. BOO!).

What I DON'T GET is did they actually think that would appeal to the Supernatural audience? I haven't checked many reactions but I have a feeling there might be some pissed off fans because that pilot could have been done separately to this show. It didn't even have the same feel so there's no reason why they couldn't have launched that as a "new" show - without any connections to SPN.

It makes me even more worried that Carver really has no understanding of the SPN audience (and probably explains why the first half of S8 was such soap opera). We are NOT that audience (ack! are we? I don't mean to speak on behalf of the spn fandom...)

Ok. So there was a smidgeon of Sam and Dean stuff. And did any one else just kinda melt a little when they appeared on the screen? It was almost like a relief to see them. I was instantly engaged and eager to know what was going on with them. Every "Sammy" warmed by heart just a wee bit. Even their weariness and heart aching experience was a welcome sight (and even though this season has been a trial, after watching I might actually be grateful for it). And I did like Dean's one liner when he chopped off the vamps head. :)

And I was grasping onto anything. Dean telling that guy (I know, I can't even remember names) that monsters don't exist was cruel and gave us a glimpse of MoC!Dean and Sam even managed to (almost) draw a tear with his declaration that once you're in you can never get out. Was it just me or did Sam actually seem really tired and weary? Whenever the boys encounter newbies entering the "business" there's always a level of sadness and deep knowing. Usually Dean has it too, but he's clearly not bothered (more evidence of him disconnecting and drawing away from humanity). I liked seeing it come from Sam though (we actually got some Sam moments! yay :D)

But we can't really read too much into what the boys were up to because they didn't do anything. Didn't have any part of the action or even the story. As I said - no idea why they had to create this as a spin off. I would have been happier to see this as a Castiel and Crowley spin off, or a Charlie and Dorothy, a Jody and Annie/Alex one or even a Garth and his new werewolf family one. I thought that was what spin offs were? A character from one show creating another show? Man, even a ghost!Kevin and Mama Tran spin off would have more exciting.

So yeah. Very unlikely I'll be following that. I feel particularly cheated and annoyed that a show like that would be connected to Supernatural. Sure, make a show like that - there will be people who will love it. Just don't try and tell me it's a spin off of Supernatural.

Comments

[hugemind.livejournal.com]

*another one whose flist view lost this post*

I've seen this ep get a lot of flak on my flist. The promos etc. using the word 'spin-off' were definitely misleading. They really should've stated that this is a pilot for a new show that doesn't have SPN characters as the main characters so that people would've known what they are in for. I don't know who to blame for inserting this into SPN but they could've just as well shown this as its own entity.

Objectively, the ep was well enough made and did its job of introducing us to its world and characters (even if it took me a second viewing to get it all straight) and what kind of stories we might be expecting from it. I don't hate it for hijacking SPN for an episode, or for it doing so this late into the season (because in S6-8, ep 20 hasn't been a straight-up mytharc ep either, there's been a Cas ep and two Charlie eps), or for destroying canon (because we've had stuff like werewolves turning outside the full moon before). I'd rather rewatch this than "Bitten" because that had even less of the boys than this and this has Freddy Krueger claws and no teenage love triangles. And because I knew this ep was the pilot ep, I had less of a whiplash than with last week's MotW ep. But I'm not sure if I'd watch this new show because the mafia-style family setup reminds me too much of boring mob movies. I might check out an ep or two, though, if the show is green-lit.

However, I do think that with some small changes this could've looked more like an SPN ep (show the boys' reaction to Ennis shooting the bad guy, have a final scene with boys in the car talking about the monster families of Metatron or something, add even just one or two mytharc-related lines for the boys, make the boys look less stupid etc.), but I guess they decided that this ep is about the new show and not about the boys except when they take off in the end. Outsider!POV of the boys is always great to see, because there are not many opportunities to do that, and I would've liked to see a bit more of it here.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I don't know who to blame for inserting this into SPN but they could've just as well shown this as its own entity.

My thoughts exactly.

even if it took me a second viewing to get it all straight

Oh wow, you watched it twice!

Outsider!POV of the boys is always great to see, because there are not many opportunities to do that, and I would've liked to see a bit more of it here.

Definitely. I knew we weren't going to get much of the boys but I was hoping we'd get to see some great outsider POV. We saw some, but it made them look out of touch and a bit dense (and old!). I'd like Ennis to see just how damaged they both were. Sam started to give some hints but it would have been great to actually see that (though maybe it would have put him off and then that wouldn't work).

I would have absolutely no issues with this new show at all if it wasn't aired as an SPN show when it really wasn't. I even think they might be missing out of viewers by doing what they did. Those who hate SPN wouldn't have tried it out - and it might just be something they like.