Supernatural Season 8 Ongoing discussion(spoilers as it airs)

[Mahaloth]

Yeah, it's kind of come to this. We don't get enough discussion going to really warrant a thread every week, so I thought I'd make a season thread for Supernatural this year.

Two episodes have aired at this point and I have to say, I have liked both of them pretty much.

Looks like Dean abandoned Castiel in Purgatory, so that is setting up some tension for later in the season.

In episode two, though, I did not like how easy it was to beat Crowley in the auction. Kevin's Mom puts up her soul and defeats him? Yeesh.

[Mahaloth]

By the way, I like that they made Kevin Tran's mother an American instead of going with the stereotypical accented Asian-mom trope. Sure they called her a Tiger-Mom, but she kind of was. And what a cool character she turned out to be.

[vivalostwages]

Balls! As Bobby would say. I keep thinking it's on Fridays so I missed it last night.

[jackdavinci]

My cable provider is still fighting with the CW so I have to watch online and haven't caught the second episode yet. But last week I got the impression that Dean either sold out Castiel or killed him as part of the process of getting out of Purgatory.

[blindboyard]

As of now what happened to Castiel is still unclear, although Dean certaqinly feels guilty about whatever it was.

[Lor213]

The way things ended in the second episode does make me wonder what happened to Cass. A friend and I were talking and she was thinking maybe he was part of the way out of purgatory. She was also saying she has a feeling that if they get the tablet and figure out how to close the gates of Hell, this will be the last season. So far Dean seems extra violent and I have to say I miss Bobby loads more than I thought I would.

[TheMerchandise]

Kevin's mom was great. I hope she makes another appearance this season.

[enalzi]

One theory io9 has is we might be seeing more Pagan gods this season. Which I think would be great. It makes sense, seeing as the only reason for the cold open was for that guy to get Thor's hammer.

[pachabel]

This story line is supposed to get them through season 10. Both Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki have agreed to continue for another two seasons (provided they get renewals, of course).

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by pachabel

This story line is supposed to get them through season 10. Both Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki have agreed to continue for another two seasons (provided they get renewals, of course).

Cool, where did you read that?

Tonight was "Heartache", episode 3 of the 8th season.

It was..........well, OK. A standalone with nothing all that remarkable, aside from a last minute peek of Sam's girlfriend. Who may be evil.

[pachabel]

Jensen Ackles & Jared Padalecki confirmed season 9 & 10 at the SPN Convention in New Jersey

[vivalostwages]

Originally Posted by Mahaloth

Cool, where did you read that?

Tonight was "Heartache", episode 3 of the 8th season.

It was..........well, OK. A standalone with nothing all that remarkable, aside from a last minute peek of Sam's girlfriend. Who may be evil.

I liked it. Hey... Alan Ackles was listed in the opening credits. Pops, no doubt?

[vivalostwages]

Originally Posted by pachabel

Jensen Ackles & Jared Padalecki confirmed season 9 & 10 at the SPN Convention in New Jersey

[Lor213]

Originally Posted by vivalostwages

I liked it. Hey... Alan Ackles was listed in the opening credits. Pops, no doubt?

Yep it's his dad, he played Detective Pike in that episode.

[Lor213]

This week's episode wasn't one of my favorites. It reminded me of the Ghostfacers episodes and I wasn't a fan of those at all. I saw loads of people posting on twitter about how amazing it was and heartbreaking but I wonder are they just saying that stuff to get retweeted.

[Mahaloth]

So we got another found footage kind of episode, similar to Ghostfacers, but not a comedy.

I thought it worked pretty well, but I always feel episodes take up valuable space. We don't get Sam and Dean much and nothing happens with the core story. Still, it wasn't bad.

[vivalostwages]

Not enough Sam and Dean for my tastes, but still okay overall as a standalone, somewhat reminiscent of season 2's "Heart."

[vivalostwages]

Did anyone see the Halloween ep?

Vampirates!

Is there a new ep tonight?

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by vivalostwages

Is there a new ep tonight?

Yes, with Garth.

[vivalostwages]

I'm starting to like Garth a bit more even though it creeps me out to look at DJ Qualls.

[Fair Rarity]

Everywhere else I read, everyone hated this episode, but I really enjoyed it. I was a little disappointed with S8, but this showed me it hadn't gotten too far off track to be fixable.

[Drunky Smurf]

I liked this weeks episode. I think it's cool that Garth is stepping into Bobbys' role. Someone needs to be the head office for all the hunters scattered around. He's also really "manned up" since Sam and Dean had been gone for a year.

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by Fair Rarity

Everywhere else I read, everyone hated this episode, but I really enjoyed it. I was a little disappointed with S8, but this showed me it hadn't gotten too far off track to be fixable.

I was disappointed with seasons 6 and 7, but feel 8 has been a step back to quality.

[Mahaloth]

November 28 2012:

Best episode of the season, so far.

My prediction is that Sam's girlfriend was not real and he was held in some kind of dream state while Dean was gone. Or that he did a bunch of stuff and his memory has been altered.

[Small Hen]

Definitely best of the season thus far. Cas acting weird and misunderstanding humanity will never get old. Best line of the night: "I'll interrogate the cat." Or possibly the "Dean Winchester (Hunter Heroici)" sight gag.

Sam's girlfriend being imaginary would be a nice twist. Actually, anything resembling a twist in Sam's flashbacks would be nice, because they are boring. As. Shit. Every time Sam goes into that thousand yard stare and someone runs in and smears vaseline on the lens, I want to throw something at my TV. But Dean and Cas's man talk about their manly feelings, while gazing into one another's eyes (manfully) made up for it.

Come to think of it, how does an angel commit suicide? Is Cas planning to fall off of the bed onto one of those angel knives, ala Spike on Buffy?

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by Small Hen

Sam's girlfriend being imaginary would be a nice twist. Actually, anything resembling a twist in Sam's flashbacks would be nice, because they are boring. As. Shit.

The very thought of there being no twist depresses me. There. had. better. be. a point.

[vivalostwages]

I was riveted by Mike Farrell even when he was staring silently at the screen.

Cool effects too.

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by vivalostwages

I was riveted by Mike Farrell even when he was staring silently at the screen..

It was cool he was in it, but I kind of think they wasted him. It could have been any old actor in this one. I wish Mike Farrel had a larger and more recurring role on the show.

[enalzi]

So, apparently Sam's relationship ended because his girlfriend's presumed dead husband is alive. I'm betting the angels brought him back to life to get Sam back together with Dean again.

[Small Hen]

Originally Posted by vivalostwages

I was riveted by Mike Farrell even when he was staring silently at the screen.

Oh, the guy from MASH! I didn't know who he was, I had to look him up. Yeah, he was really good.

Mahaloth:The very thought of there being no twist depresses me. There. had. better. be. a point.

After the pointlessness of the "Bobby is a ghost" arc from season seven, Sam's boring flashbacks are practically innocuous in comparison. I do hate them, but in a very indifferent manner.

[Small Hen]

No "Citizen Fang" discussion?

Season eight is really surprising me - it's shaping up to be so much better than six or seven. The Benny issue as a driving wedge between Sam and Dean is pretty interesting, because the writers are actually giving both Sam and Dean a decent argument. Compare this with last season's "you killed my monster friend Amy!" arc, in which both of the guys came off terribly, especially (to go off on a tangent here) Sam in "The Slice Girls" in which he berates Dean for not killing his 'daughter', instead of seeing the parallel and using it as a stepping stone to understanding why Dean killed Amy. I like that with the Benny arc, despite being on opposite sides of the subject, Sam and Dean can see one another's point, and even defend that point to others (Sam pushing Martin up against the wall and threatening him into staying away from Benny, Dean begging Benny to run, hide, and not to underestimate Sam).

On the other hand, Sam's pointless flashbacks are still pointless. I'm hoping the writers drop the whole thing soon, even if it's with nothing more than an "oops, that wasn't really going anywhere. Let's drop the filler and make good use of Sam from here on out."

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by Small Hen

On the other hand, Sam's pointless flashbacks are still pointless. I'm hoping the writers drop the whole thing soon, even if it's with nothing more than an "oops, that wasn't really going anywhere. Let's drop the filler and make good use of Sam from here on out."

Is it over now that he visited her and saw she is happy? I hope not, because that makes it pointless, which is what I feared.

[Small Hen]

Originally Posted by Mahaloth

Is it over now that he visited her and saw she is happy? I hope not, because that makes it pointless, which is what I feared.

I'd rather the whole thing be pointless and over than for the writers to continue to keep Sam chained to this terrible subplot for the rest of the season, even if it is going somewhere good. What's the point of a good ending when the journey is unbearable? To paraphrase a fan on another site: 'The story's trucking along, and then Sam goes into a flashback, and it's like the entire episode is getting tasered to the ground.'

[vivalostwages]

Originally Posted by Small Hen

No "Citizen Fang" discussion?

Season eight is really surprising me - it's shaping up to be so much better than six or seven. The Benny issue as a driving wedge between Sam and Dean is pretty interesting, because the writers are actually giving both Sam and Dean a decent argument. Compare this with last season's "you killed my monster friend Amy!" arc, in which both of the guys came off terribly, especially (to go off on a tangent here) Sam in "The Slice Girls" in which he berates Dean for not killing his 'daughter', instead of seeing the parallel and using it as a stepping stone to understanding why Dean killed Amy. I like that with the Benny arc, despite being on opposite sides of the subject, Sam and Dean can see one another's point, and even defend that point to others (Sam pushing Martin up against the wall and threatening him into staying away from Benny, Dean begging Benny to run, hide, and not to underestimate Sam).

On the other hand, Sam's pointless flashbacks are still pointless. I'm hoping the writers drop the whole thing soon, even if it's with nothing more than an "oops, that wasn't really going anywhere. Let's drop the filler and make good use of Sam from here on out."

I doubt that they would just drop it. I'm sure they have some reason for doing it, but I agree that it is dragging on too long.

[DianaG]

I think this season has been a fair amount of fun so far, though I agree that the Sam flashbacks are tedious as hell. Good lord, the girlfriend is boring. I'd be more entertained if they focused on his relationship with the dog.

I'm glad that they resolved the Dean/Castiel mystery fairly quickly. I know they wanted us to wonder whether Dean screwed Cas to get out, but I never did. He might have left him there if he had to, but he wouldn't have sacrificed him in that situation. To save the world, yes. To save Sam... maybe. To save himself, of course not. Dean is a guilt-riddled self-loathing mess who literally cannot conceive of a world in which every bad outcome isn't somehow all his fault, so naturally he assumed that he'd failed Cas. Meanwhile, Cas is even MORE guilty and self-loathing than Dean (with better reason, after all) and is all "Oh, you poor poor dumb kid." Perfect resolution for these characters and their relationship.

On a shallow note; Benny is hot. More Benny please.

[Cuckoorex]

Funny that the actor playing Benny was also the vampire Eli from Bloodlust, back when the boys first met Gordon Walker. Talk about typecasting!

[vivalostwages]

Anybody here?

I just watched "LARP and the real girl" on Amazon. A fun diversion with the return of Felicia Day as Charlie.

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by vivalostwages

I just watched "LARP and the real girl" on Amazon. A fun diversion with the return of Felicia Day as Charlie.

I liked it as well, though I thought last week's with Castiel was better. I am becoming more and more convinced that Sam's story about that girlfriend was/is nothing but fluffy character development.

[RikWriter]

I thought LARPand the real girl was hilarious.
"By wand, you mean a...magc wand?"
"No, agent, I mean a NON-magic wand...cause that's just what I would want in a duel, a NON-magic wand..."

[Fair Rarity]

I liked the episode, but Dean needs to stop with the self-flagellation and Sam needs to stop piling on the guilt trip.

I hope that in this 2nd half of the season, things come to light that put some of the lesser aspects of these season in a different light.

[TBG]

Too easy to peg the fairy's master, it had to be that guy, he was such a face smackable dick the whole ep, but overall a really fun ep.

[enalzi]

Originally Posted by RikWriter

I thought LARPand the real girl was hilarious.
"By wand, you mean a...magc wand?"
"No, agent, I mean a NON-magic wand...cause that's just what I would want in a duel, a NON-magic wand..."

Lots of good lines.
"Kids these days with their texting and their murder."

[TPWombat]

I also liked how the nerd instantly pegged their ID's were fake.

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by TPWombat

I also liked how the nerd instantly pegged their ID's were fake.

I did enjoy that bit.

[Cuckoorex]

I liked this episode a lot, but something overall keeps nagging at me; it's like Sam and Dean totally forgot everything that happened to them in previous seasons. I mean, Dean goes on about how Sam got a chance at happiness and abandoned the life and all that, and how he never had that option, but HELLO, what about a year with Lisa and Ben and no monster hunting? Of course Dean knows what it's like to get a taste of normal life! How easy would it have been for Sam to throw that back in Dean's face whenever he took him to task for dropping out of hunting?

That aside, I agree that this season has been much better than the majority of the last couple of seasons. I never really got into the Leviathan thing, and the Eve storyline just seemed like this huge season-ling Red Herring.

[epbrown01]

Originally Posted by Cuckoorex

I liked this episode a lot, but something overall keeps nagging at me; it's like Sam and Dean totally forgot everything that happened to them in previous seasons. I mean, Dean goes on about how Sam got a chance at happiness and abandoned the life and all that, and how he never had that option, but HELLO, what about a year with Lisa and Ben and no monster hunting? Of course Dean knows what it's like to get a taste of normal life! How easy would it have been for Sam to throw that back in Dean's face whenever he took him to task for dropping out of hunting?

My take on it was that Dean was saying he knew from experience that going for a normal life won't work, thanks to the Lisa/Ben arc. But they've been repeating this forever - Sam always wants to quit and always gets pulled back in.

[Mahaloth]

As Time Goes By


Tonight's episode was one of the best episodes in a really long time. They did a great job bringing in Henry Winchester and making everything feel real. Loved it and wish Henry would have continued on the show.

[Mahaloth]

Oh, and it is still sounding good for a season 9.

[vivalostwages]

Next week's sounds good too.

[Noelq]

I would REALLY have loved to learn more about the Men of Letters. I would have enjoyed seeing that more than the banished-to-limbo thing. It really ties the previous season's plots together.