Here we are at last, at the season wrap-up Gripe Review for season 10, and boy is there a lot to talk about, so much so that organizing this review felt like I was trying to pack an entire wardrobe inside a suitcase. Still organize it I did, and what I decided to go with was the theme of potential vs. execution.
If I were to describe this season in one phrase it would be, “great potential, lousy execution.” It would have won the award for that title among all seasons had it not been for the even greater disappointment that was Season 8.
This season started with a compelling premise: Dean as a demon. Despite my myriad of problems with the way it happened (starting with how it made no sense canonically,) I was excited to see what would come of it. There were countless ways the writers could spin this. Like how Dean would fare on the other side of the fence, having lived his entire life as a demon hunter, with a demon hunter for a brother and an angel for a best friend. How about the demon community? How would they react to a predator becoming part of their pack? Which challenges would Dean face? What alliances or enemies would he make? The possibilities were endless.
The first disappointment of the season was when, instead of exploring all those possibilities, the showrunners confined Demon Dean to a karaoke bar and made him guest star in the story of Cole. Then they wrapped up his storyline in three episodes to make room for a parade of fillers.
This first mismanagement of a compelling arc set the tone for Season 10. In a way what followed was a larger version of that initially bungle, stretched across the whole season and happening on a greater scale.
The great potential of Season 10
One of the best aspects of Season 10 was its Cain storyline. When the show followed it, such as in The Executioner's Song or The Prisoner, it was brilliant. When it fell away from it, which was 85% of the time, it meandered and failed.
There were many reasons why the legacy of Cain and its application to Dean's curse were brilliant. For starters it was a return to Biblical mythology, which had been largely absent from the main plot since season 6 (I don't consider Metatron Biblical, just to be clear.) It gave all three members of Team Free Will a role to play, with Dean as the central hero and Sam and Castiel as his knights, (check out my review for The Executioner's Song for more detail on this.) And it gave us something to look forward to, and be anxious about, which is a must for good fiction.
Imagine if the season followed through with that premise. Dean going on a killing rampage, then killing Crowley and Cas, before gunning for Sam. Of course I don't wish for Crowley and Cas to die but imagine if we actually saw it happen, then found out it was a ruse devised by Sam to save Dean. Imagine the impact such a storyline would have had. They could have even included Cain as an active player instead of Rowena, and the season would have ended with Cain's defeat and the removal of the mark from Dean. What the cliffhanger would have been is up for discussion and a matter of concern for Season 11. Season 10 however would have lived up to its hype and done its cliffhanger justice.
The Execution (as in shooting the premise in the head)
Unfortunately what I just described didn't happen. Not even something close to it happened. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, only about 15% of the season was spent on the Mark of Cain. At times I even doubted it was the main arc. After all, the plot kept fluctuating. At first it seemed they were planning to do something with Cole. Then rumors came out that Sam was going darkside because he tricked a mofo into making a crossroads deal. Then Rowena began popping up everywhere and hopping from one plot to the next with none ever reaching a full conclusion. Then there was that bit with the Stynes at the end... .
Looking back at Season 10 it feels like a project who's staff and management kept changing, and with it its vision. The Mark of Cain was always hovering somewhere in the background, but I have a strong suspicion it was mostly in the backstage corridors of fandom discussion boards and social media, and in our subconscious desire to find an anchor in what was being presented to us as a season of the show but was in fact a jumble of under cooked ideas.
Here are some of those ideas in the order they appeared:
The Cole storyline (dropped story #1) - Someone on staff must have had a plan for Cole but changed their mind. Both his character and story were handled poorly and ended in an abrupt and unsatisfying way, probably for the best because Cole was essentially Dean 2.0 without Sam, and without charm.
The hunt for rogue angels storyline (dropped story #2) - This was the first mess they tangled Cas in, most likely as a way to give him something to do while keeping him away from the brothers. There were way too many problems with this story, least of which was the fact that Cas himself had spent most of his time as a rogue angel on the show and therefore should not want to hunt or kill them. The addition of Hannah and the bizarre romance between them, tagged with WTF scenes of them looking longingly at human children, made this storyline all the more terrible.
Demon Dean (dropped story #3) - I already talked about this in the intro. The behind the scenes reason I heard of why the DD storyline was so rushed was that the showrunners insisted on having a musical for the 200th episode, which happened to be episode 5 of the current season. It forced them to wrap up the DD storyline in the first three episodes.
The Musical Episode - Read my extensive review of this Godawful episode here in case you missed it. This was by far the worst episode of the entire series. To this day I can't believe anyone on staff thought this was a good idea, except perhaps the drunk guy who pitched it to Singer/Carver at a party as a joke. Unfortunately they latched on to it and apparently forced Robbie Thompson to write its script. If the interview Thompson did is to be trusted even he wasn't on board with the idea, which might explain why his script was so cringe worthy.
Giving the spotlight to guest stars - Discussed extensively in Gripe #2 here, this was my biggest pet peeve for the first half of the season. It was as if all regular characters took a backseat to new and returning guest stars, most of whom we hardly cared about. It made the season look like a random anthology, written by different authors with different visions and no coherent connection. The fact that none of these guest stars did anything to help the overall plot, and were largely heroes of their own stories, strengthened that feeling.
Rowena - Rowena has her own paragraph in the character section. I had to include her here though to be thorough. She was that guest who showed up at every party yet no one knew who invited her or what she was supposed to do. I expected to see her play a big role in the main plot eventually, perhaps become the big bad of the season. She didn’t, at least not until the very end when it neither mattered nor made sense. All it did was to derail the season by taking it off the Cain legacy track and down a crazy tunnel that had WTF written all over it.
Charlie - (For more on my view on Charlie check out the 10x11 Gripe Review) Charlie was one of the most annoying recurring guest stars in Supernatural history, who thankfully left us this season. However, the manner she left us, and the mock fallout the writers tried to reap from it (Dean saying Sam should be on the burning pyre instead of her corpse, her death being the last straw for Dean losing his sanity,) was another blow to the season's overall quality. I will forever be in wonderment as to why a character, who at first appeared as a unique, bubbly and likable female addition to the show, was ruined so badly, then killed off so pointlessly, and ended up leaving a residue that tainted the brother's relationship by being treated as something more valuable than it.
Claire - Claire’s purpose I assume was to keep Castiel busy for a part of the season and justify his presence on the show. I have a hard time believing we were supposed to care for a random teenager because she was the daughter of the man who lent his body to Castiel. After all it was near impossible to like her considering how unpleasant she was, how cliché her story was, and how little she affected the overall plot. None of her emotional scenes with Castiel worked because none of it was backed by any sensible background connection or character development. Angry Teen was all the personality the writers deigned to give her and I guess they took that as enough substance to run a three episode arc centered on her woes.
The Stynes (Dropped story #4) - These guys only did two things: 1) they created an obstacle for finding and keeping the Book of the Damned, and 2) killed Charlie. Neither required them to be hyped as such fearsome and far reaching foes, especially considering how easily and unspectacularly they were dispatched, creating yet another item on the list of subplots that were discarded on the way to Carver's subpar finale.
The finale - Looking back at the finale, it felt like Carver didn't watch his own season before he wrote it. He asked someone to hand him cliff notes for what happened and proceeded to write a script based on the one he wrote for Season 8. That is probably why he completely did away with the Cain storyline, pulled Death like a rabbit out of a hat, and made up a whole new conflict between the brothers that centered on Sam instead of Dean. Anyone who asked themselves, "But wasn't this season about saving Dean from going berserk, not justifying saving vs. killing Sam?" while watching that episode gets a nod from me. For more on the finale check out the 10x23 Gripe Review from last week.
Characters of Season 10
Rowena
Rowena was the Jar Jar Binks of Season 10. Few cared for her, yet she trudged along week after week and applied herself to every scenario possible. She was the kind of plug-everywhere-you-need character for the writers, which meant she changed her motive and personality often. One moment she'd want to start a coven by tricking young, gullible women, the next she'd be after her old coven she was exiled from. One episode she'd be all over Crowley like a mother hen, the next she'd plot to kill him. One episode she'd appear as the most powerful witch alive, in another she was easily subdued by Sam. All of this culminated in a finale where she became the biggest baddest villainess the show had known, one who could freeze the King of Hell and mind-control an angel.
Rowena's lack of consistency and character development, plus her insistent over-the-top cartoonish behavior, was the main reason the audience could not connect with her. It didn't stop the writers to use her wherever they could, which meant they had to take screen time away from someone else. That someone else happened to be Crowley, for the most part, who became a fifth wheel this season, precisely because Rowena stole all of his scenes from him.
Crowley
Crowley was the most wasted character of the season. All he did was keep Demon Dean company and babysit Rowena. The more I think about him the more he fades from my mind, perhaps because I can't find what his motive this season was, or what character growth he went through. Was he an ally, or an enemy? Did he like Rowena, or hate her? Did he want the mark on Dean or off of him? The writers spent so little time on him that nothing about his character was defined. He didn't even have an arc. All he had was a throne – whose location I’m still confused about - and scattered scenes with different characters in which he served as backup.
Here is a fun exercise and a good discussion starter: imagine the season without Crowley and try to see if anything suffers. If you manage to find something, think if you could fill that void with Rowena. See how small an effect Crowley's presence had on the show.
Castiel
It pains me to write about Castiel. I almost don't want to because I don't know what to say without sounding bitter and dismayed. I want him off this show, not in the sense those "brothers only" purists want - those who see anyone befriending the Winchesters as a threat - but like a mother who wants her talented, hardworking child out of a team that constantly benches him. Misha has a lot of chops. Castiel has a lot of charm, and a rich character profile. He also has an army of fans who constantly and diligently support and promote the show. And Carver's answer to all of that was to frame his narrative in a way that would continually (and almost malevolently) keep him out of the main storyline.
I sometimes wonder if Carver got influenced by Singer - who is rumored to dislike Castiel's involvement with the show and particularly with Dean - or by the said brother purists who kept tweeting him all season long. Or maybe he is just a lousy writer who wants to write a multi-arc script and doesn't know how to make all the arcs interesting. Whatever the reason, keeping Castiel on the sideline and having him go from one inane plot to the next, tied to throwaway characters like Hannah, Claire and Metatron was a disservice to him and to the viewers. That's not a role a character who's been on the show since season 4 should play. It's a lame excuse to keep him in the loop and fooling his fans into thinking he's still an MVP even though he is methodically and needlessly kept out of the big games.
To understand what a waste this is you just have to think about one of the two best scenes of this season, the scene where Castiel faces MoC Dean and tries to stop him. Had Carver not barred Castiel from the Winchester plot so much we would have had more scenes like that. Instead we had him running errands for Sam and Rowena, playing fake dad to Claire, fake husband to Hannah, and in the end becoming a tool for the season cliffhanger's inexplicable plot twist.
Sam
The only character whose transformation I celebrated this season was Sam. It's the only plus I’ll give Carver despite what he did with him in the end. Poor Sam, it looks like no matter what he does he ends up fighting for his life, or sanity, at the end of every season.
Last year I wished two things for Sam. One that he stops being the wounded victim all the time and takes on the role of the caregiver. And two, that he'd get the POV. My second wish wasn't fulfilled but my first was, and for the first time after a long long time (since season 6 in fact,) Sam earned my sympathy and attention.
Some fans complain that Sam had no story this season. I admit that it's true, but that’s far from discrimination in a season where Castiel and Crowley pretty much only twirled their thumbs. In fact the only person who had the semblance of a storyline this season was Dean. At least Sam had the advantage of being at his side and in the spotlight every step of the way, a privilege no other character enjoyed as they were too busy propping their respective guest-stars-turned-main-plot-drivers.
To me it was the right choice to take the heat off of Sam for a season. He had been the center of conflict for more than half a decade. Being in that role, and constantly getting tossed around by winds and wars, robbed him of a proper character definition. We never could see his side of things. This season we got that, and it was beautiful. To be able to peek inside his soul and see that he in fact did care for Dean and was willing to color outside the lines in order to protect him was amazing. By taking Sam off his hero/villain driver's seat and putting him in a supportive role Carver brought the best out of him and out of Jared too. Hopefully it's a path that would lead to him getting the illusive POV next season.
Dean
And finally Dean, the focus of the season, who strangely got robbed of his own spotlight the one time he got it.
My disappointment in Castiel's writing is only rivalled by my disappointment in Dean's. Dean's journey this season parallels the season's potential vs. execution theme, and personifies its failure.
For the MoC story to work Dean had to go dark, real dark, so it would make sense for Sam to want to rescue him by going to the extreme and making deals with bad people. Instead the writers wrote him as an anti-hero, painting him as a Dirty Harry type character instead of a fallen idol like they did with Sam and Castiel in the earlier seasons. The problem with that choice is that, while viewers of this generation don't like slut shamers and womanizers, and while they cringe at someone willing to let innocents die in order to get the job done, none of these are particularly devastating or destructive traits in a character. In fact, most of them are staples for anti-heroes in old shows. Check out any movies from the 50's, 60's or 70's and you'd find a dozen or so good guys with the exact traits. They smoke, curse, drink, kill, are rude to women and civilians, and see everyone around them as legitimate collateral damage. No one thinks they need saving.
As for the other thing - Dean going insane and slaughtering everyone - we saw how that turned out in the end, which is to say it didn't. I don't know if anything would have rocked the show's boat had Rowena not finished that spell and unleashed the Darkness, because at that point Dean was completely in control. He had even saved his brother by killing Death. The whole premise of the season had hence become pointless since Dean had proven that he not only wasn't losing himself to the mark, but also that he actually could use it as a source of power to get things done. All that was required was for his brother to be at his side and guide him through that power, not plotting behind his back to take it away.
The writers proved this season that they can't make Dean go dark, therefore I hope they consider making him a hero in Season 11, something like what Sam was during the trials arc but without the snot and the sickness. It's time for Dean to have a real storyline, one that makes him shine not repulse, and one that makes his brother shine next to him. Castiel too needs to be with them, as the friend who never wavers and the ally who always has their back while they have his. No more side plots. No more turning the spotlight on guest stars and pet characters. The trio needs to own their own show and Carver and his writers need to pull their act together and make Supernatural a top notch TV show once again, like it was five years ago.
It had been a pleasure writing for you this season. I hope you enjoyed these reviews and the conversations they incited. Feel free to comment below, about your opinion of this season as well as your wishes for Season 11. I’ll take a bow now, hand over the mic, and exit stage. Have a wonderful summer and see you on the other side of the hiatus.
Tessa
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As always, you hit the nail on the head. Looking forward to reading your thoughts next season.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said except about Castiel who I feel have become an unnecessary part of the show since Season 6. If he had stayed dead in Season 7, it wouldn't bother me. Actually, it would have helped make the Leviathans stand out as a serious threat.
ReplyDeleteI wish Dean had stayed a demon a lot longer than he did. Half of season or maybe perhaps the entire season. He could have been the Big Bad of Season 10 like Castiel was in Season 6. Sam and Castiel would be working together to stop him and hopefully save him from himself while Dean goes to great lengths to undermine them and maybe tempt Sam into joining his side so they can be demonic brothers. On top of that, Dean could have killed Crowley early in the season as a surprising twist, showing how formidable he is. The more I talk about this, the more I wish that was the direction Season 10 had taken.
No. I agree, Castiel wasn't an unnecessary part of the show in Season 6. He was one of the few things about Season 6 that were vital and compelling. I was just saying that after Season 6, it felt like the show had no idea what to do with him. So they put him through one random thing after another. It just felt to me that Castiel was mostly going through the motions for the past four seasons.
ReplyDeleteLove your 200th episode.
I was just saying that after Season 6, it felt like the show had no idea what to do with him.This, I agree with. Still had they made him the needs-to-be-brought-back-to-light villain of season 7 this would not have been the case.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. It would have elevated the overall season right up there with the first five seasons.
ReplyDeleteThe first is that as a fully powered angel, Cas SHOULD be able to overcome I believed this was the problem too, for a long time. Until they downgraded him in season 8 by making him human and still didn't know what to do with him. Then I saw a pattern and it involved constantly writing a story that only involved one brother, left the other one as a support character (the caregiver, the rescuer,) and no room for Castiel in the mix.After years of being on earth, interacting with humans and being friends with the Winchesters, quirky Cas just doesn't understand how the world works.One of my biggest pet peeves in the later seasons that I can't stress enough. There was a point the writers should have dropped this like an overused joke and they didn't, which caused all the inconsistencies you described. This clearly demonstrates how little time the later showrunners and new writers spent on Castiel's character development. They just chose to spin his S04-05 persona ad-nauseam.Cas has done some horrible things, that everyone just forgives. I have the exact opposite feeling about this, namely that Cas has done wrong, but has atoned above and beyond for all of it, and never gotten a straight up "We forgive you," or a pat on the back. He broke Sam's wall but paid for it by taking his insanity-by-Lucifer. He unleashed the Leviathans but his intentions were to stop Raphael from ruining Sam and Dean's hard work, and he paid for that too by dying, going insane, and fighting side by side with Winchesters.So the only way to even try to tamp down the more rabid fans is to not have Dean and Cas interact at all.
ReplyDeleteAs for Claire, she may have a right to hate him for what he did to his father. But that's like a daughter of a fallen soldier hating the army for taking her father away. There is sympathy there, but there's also a bigger picture. If nobody fights in wars and makes sacrifices the whole nation will lose to the enemy. I would have loved if they explored that with Claire and have her go through the emotions of grief and vengeance to reach the conclusion of greater good coming before her needs. Instead they made her forgive him just 'cause, and it was lame.So the only way to even try to tamp down the more rabid fans is to not have Dean and Cas interact at all. To me it all seemed like a lot of hubbub over nothing, writers and actors acting like children who got too overwhelmed by too much attention and noise. Every fandom has drama, and it's not even about queer baiting. In Arrow there's the endless feud between Laurel fans and Felicity fans. In Sleepy Hollow people ship the main two characters and endlessly bug the writers about it. In Hannibal the creator himself retweets suggestive tweets about Will and Hannibal being a couple. It's only this fandom that can't handle the sub-group that wants a relationship. I can't help but to laugh. Really, if I met the frustrated cast and crew I'll tell them if they can't take the heat get out of the kitchen. They fail to create a believable male/female relationship on the show for over a decade, tormented us with the likes of Lisa and Amelia, and when people desperately cling to the next best thing because the only other option (which I also have no problem with) is incest, they act like they're bothered? Give me a break. You can't both have your cake and eat it. You can't take the Destiel fans' money at conventions then tell them they aren't allowed to ask the questions they want because the writers/producers/actors aren't equipped to answer them strategically because they spent a decade ignoring what was happening in their own fandom backyard and/or ridiculing the slash fans, which on a show mostly populated by dudes, it's a significant subset.
I will forever have a soft spot for the Stynes, they KILLED CHARLIE...
ReplyDeleteAs usual I agree with your article 100%, looking forward to agreeing with you again next season.
BTW just to show how far Carver has taken SPN off track..we did not win anything in the show polls.
I would have loved for Eve to have been the seasons big bad! It would have been great! Heaven and Hell had neutralised each other, so the rise of purgatory would have been great! But nope, they sacrificed that so we could have unseen angel drama.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I want to say your line about Rowena being the guest nobody invited by keeps showing up: PRICELESS.
ReplyDeleteI liked her a lot more post-Crowley time (aka, kicked out of adjacent Hell) but thinking on what you said, I am not sure I LIKED her.
And I agree, it IS a big deal with Castiel/Mischa being separated from Dean/Jensen. I looked at what they did every time the two were in a scene together this year, and I canNOT separate out the relationship (and it was a singular relationship) they had them in previous seasons. Like at the end of 9.23 (you did it all for one human, the only one you REALLY wanted to save, Dean Winchester): please, just let it go. PLEASE. It did not have to be romantic, CHRISTONASTICK. But somebody somewhere has to write/act the goddam "profound bond." I don't NEED a romance, I swear it. But I believed that Castiel bonded with the human he had been sent to "guide" into saying YES to Michael. That's what Heaven's (Michael's) plan was originally. Maybe Michael even wanted him (like Ruby) to personally "like" Dean so that there would be "honesty" in the manipulation.
Now the writers appear to have been told to keep them apart. I get it, but I don't like it much.
HOWEVER, if part of separating Castiel and Dean is giving the brothers less air-time, just write him an interesting plot. Please. He could be searching for Metatron (oh, you said you didn't consider him Biblical, is it because the Book of Enoch is non-canonical?) and/or the Demon/Tablet. Hey what happened to the Leviathan Tablet? Maybe there is a God tablet or a Death tablet or a Human tablet, any of which can cause "untold hardships" to the universe.
Glad to have been reading these reviews, Tessa. I know you are upset because you love. Again, I want to stress that I have never EVER worried about two characters like I do about Sam and Dean. Jared and Jensen have made me feel tender about the characters, I just want to hug them and make it all go away.
The writers keep saying the issue is that Castiel is too powerful. AND then we in the audience say, well, why didn't they drag Charlie's body to Castiel and bring her back to life (I agree this is a problem, one I don't have an answer for; is it that Dean is NOW honoring The Natural Law or something? He appeared upset enough with Charlie's death to break the Rules again.) or argue about how inconsistently the show does his powers.
ReplyDeleteI thought the best absolutely positively BEST solution was Crazy Cas from Season 7. Old "I follow the bees" Castiel was MY answer. He has all the power any angel has, you just have to CONVINCE him very quietly to do something. No yelling. No getting upset or frustrated. Or he'll bring back the twister game.
I think Charlie could've been saved by having her be NOT written by Robbie Thompson. He was so in love with the character it was INSANE.
ReplyDeleteIf she was a person like Jodie (or Donna another female) who had tics but was never shown as so perfect nobody even been that perfect before not even Jesus, she would've worn much better. I am ALWAYS glad to see Jodie on my screen.
Tessa, this is an excellent review! I wish Carver would read it and realize just how far off the path he has taken this once great show. The dropped plot points alone that you've pointed out should be a real wake up call to Carver.
ReplyDeleteCole was a character with so much potential and who could've been a real asset to the Winchesters. It was pure lazy writing to introduce this character who devoted the majority of his life to hunting down the man who killed his father. The audience deserved to see the backstory of why Dean was forced to killed Cole's father since it was the defining moment in Cole's life. When the confrontation scene finally happened between Cole and Dean, all we got was a vague description of the events that night Dean killed the man. We don't even know what Cole's father was or what he did to deserve being killed by a hunter.
I hated to see Charlie killed. Partially because Sam and Dean lost yet another family member. Mostly because Sam would carry the guilt of her death while facing the wrath of Dean who made it very clear that he also blames Sam. Unfortunately, Charlie became a character not to be taken seriously the second she skipped off to the Emerald City. Wizard of Oz had no place in the Supernatural universe.
I hated Rowena at first, but then came to appreciate her quick-witted one liners that she delivered with a mix of humor and sarcasm. It also gave the viewers a deeper understanding into Crowley's character. Unfortunately, Rowena has diminished Crowley's role because he used to be the sardonic, devious, and dangerous thorn in the Winchesters' side. It's time for Crowley to regain his rightful role on the show.
Oh how I wish Kripke would came back to his creation and right the ship Carver has taken so far off course. On a side note, for those who love Supernatural and want to have a good laugh then please go to YouTube and look at the Supernatural Parody created by Hillywood Productions. I accidentally came across this yesterday and can't stop watching it. It is amazing!
I agree, Juan. Cas lost purpose back in S7 and has yet to regain a purpose on the show. I couldn't agree more about "Godstiel." Instead of the boring, corporate Leviathans, Cas should have been S7's "big bad." That would have been interesting given their personal relationship w/Cas. Unfortunately, he was killed off, and we were left with Dick Roman for a "big bad."
ReplyDeleteI like Castiel and MC, but his "demise" in S7 didn't upset me. That said, I was fine w/him being brought back at the end of S7. At that time, I could have taken or left Castiel, but w/the way he has been written since S7, I would rather he be returned to Heaven to come and help out once in awhile like in S6 or just be written out completely. I do not think he can be a regular for many of the reasons Percy stated. I'm still shaking my head at Dean beating him up and Rowena controlling him! Cas is supposed to be an all-powerful angel so these kinds of things shouldn't be happening. As usual, they write to the plot instead of the character, and Cas has suffered greatly.
It honestly feels like they have no idea what to do w/him. I think that applies to most of the characters, but it is esp obvious w/Castiel.
Exactly. That's the pitfall of wanting the audience to love your character so much you push them overboard in being awesome and they stop being real. Jody, Tina, Ellen, Pamela... all real characters, because their creators didn't care to make them the apple of everyone's eye.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words.
ReplyDeleteI'm of the belief that had the writers truly defined Dean and Castiel's relationship none of this would have happened. We didn't need a definition with Sam and Dean, we knew why they cared for each other. They're brothers who, for most of their lives, only had each other. That's enough reason for me.
However, we never really got a reason for why the show kept implying Castiel cares for Dean. The plots and dialogue as you mentioned are sprinkled with it, yet it was never explored so everyone would get an idea and move on. It's no surprise some thought it was romantic because caring for someone for no reason usually translates into having a crush on them. If the show only took one episode and gave the explanation (my favorite for eg: after losing God Castiel substituted him and his approval with Dean/Dean's approval) we didn't have to deal with all the drama, and there would be no queer baiting accusations either.
But what did the show do instead? Lash out at fans, separate the two, and throwing girls at Castiel, which violates its own canon about angels not having a sexual identity in their borrowed suits. And yes, all of this takes time away from Sam and Dean, time we could be watching Castiel work with them, helping them, dealing with them instead of Claire, Hannah, April, Hael, etc.
I love Jody, but Jo was my favorite and of course she had to die.
ReplyDeleteWhat bothers me is the whole Demon Dean, using the Mark for extra power as long as his brother can guide him is a total cop out when you think about how Sam and the Demon blood and his intentions being good, but guided by the wrong people... and Dean making him feel like a horrible awful monster for it for god knows how long. Season 4 and 5 were really heavy with the biblical stuff but also had some really great, funny, monster of the week type episodes and I really miss that about Supernatural. I hope that they can get there again...
ReplyDeleteI however, disagree with you about Charlie. Felicia Day has always been my favorite guest star on Supernatural and I was so sad when she died.
I don't know why people objected to Jo; I DO think she was a viable love interest for Dean. It SEEMED to me Kripke was too rigid in "all brothers, all the time" and thus got rid of the psy-kids, the Roadhouse, Ash, Ellen, Jo, and Pamela. People who could've inhabited a fuller landscape of characters on the show. Tessa brought up LOTS of dropped ideas for the season (I read somebody's theory that Rudy in the last episode might've been originally written as Cole, because then it would've had some symmetry, but I don't think Cole could have EVER been as inept as Rudy, hope that guy had good insurance.) but I think Kripke left LOTS of good stories in the circular file.
ReplyDeleteAt last, an honest review from someone who isn't proclaiming that Supernatural S10 "is the best EVER!" Bravo!
ReplyDeleteThe PTB claim that they wanted Dean cured by the 200th episode so they could have their musical episode. Then why did the PR department promote S10 as 'the Year of the Deanmon"? I think one reason the ratings have tanked so far is that fans are reacting to the misleading promos and the general crappiness of the writing, not to mention mishandling of Dean's storylines. The respectful thing would have been to continue Demon Dean's arc in the 200th episode, perhaps cut that episode short by 5 or 10 minutes and show a vid from the cast and crew, a genuine love letter to the fans, as it were. Then DD's story arc could roll on. The Demon Dean storyline could have been a real showcase for Dean, Sam, Castiel and Crowley, and there would have been no need to introduce mediocre characters like Rowena and Claire.
I have no respect for Bob Singer and Jeremy Carver, and S10 certainly proves it. On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd give S10 a 3, and I'm being generous at that. Jensen always works magic with whatever garbage the writers give him, but even I didn't believe him when he talked about the evil he'd done. Could it be because we never got to see it? Singing bad karaoke, having sex with willing human women and killing demons (and Lester) just doesn't strike me as being very evil. I was not impressed with the Marked Dean arc, for the very reasons you mentioned. I've read better fanfiction.
I have no high hopes for S11, either. The Darkness will most likely be a tired rehash of the Leviathan storyline. Considering SPN's cheap special effects budget, I can't see that smoke critter rampaging over the countryside like Godzilla. It'll make the jump into humans, because black eyed humans are cheaper, and cheap is the way Singer and Carver roll.
Every female, EVER, they matched with Castiel was a poor choice. I did not hate Daphne, but then, we never knew Daphne, did we? April, the Rapist-Reaper (who raped both her vessel AND Castiel), died to shouts of joy, and Hannah, a woman who was boring for boring sake just bored me. (I have nothing against the actress who played Hannah, but her part made no sense; I understand they wanted to get into "vessel" business but Hannah was boring. Hey, I liked GUY Hannah better for the short time we had him.) I agree about Angels not being interested in sex, why make Castiel into a romantic being. Just dumb.
ReplyDeleteI always thought Cas cared about Dean b/c he was charged w/raising him from Hell, and they developed a friendship during S4. I think Cas began to respect Dean and humans, in general. I didn't need more definition than that, but I also admit to not seeing anything more in their interactions than that of two friends. I certainly never saw a romantic spin w/them that so many Destiel fans saw.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who never saw romance btw Dean and Castiel, I can say I understand why the writers decided to just stop writing the two in scenes together. Some Destiel fans saw "Destiel" and "romance" in even the most innocent of interactions. I think the accusations of "queer baiting" and homophobia against the writers and Jensen just got to be too much. Even Jensen said it had gone too far and was just too much. I think that's why they nixed most of the Dean/Cas interaction on the show.
**applause**applause**applause**
ReplyDeleteI agree SO HARD with everything you wrote here (well, except I loved Fan Fiction and I was DEVASTATED to the level of rage-quitting the show when Charlie was offed FOR NO DAMN REASON).
But otherwise?
Rowena? BORING AND OBNOXIOUS.
Crowley? COMPLETELY USELESS
Castiel? Also completely useless
I would love all three of the above-mentioned characters to just go away. BUT - Jared and Jensen want their 'time off' and so we get these inane side-characters and a show without our two leads "LEADING". I wish the show would just end rather than devolve into this silly, ridiculous joke it is becoming. I ended up watching the finale even after Charlie, and it was during that episode that I determined I was finally done with the show (after waiting for four years for it to find itself again). And it's not just what they did to Charlie (which was pointless imo and STILL makes me SO ANGRY. LIKE HULK-LEVEL RAGE), but it plays into what you put in the first paragraph you wrote - potential vs. execution. The season started off rocky, improved some (hey there were even like two or three episodes where Sam had a clear POV!) and then it all went to hell again. I could go on and on but I think I'd end up just repeating almost all of what you said, so I'll stop. And when people ask me why I gave up on this show I will point them to this review. It captures all my feelings perfectly.
makin, I understand what you are saying and feeling here.
ReplyDeleteBut I personally have come to worry quite a bit about the two leads and their work schedule. I don't know if the show demands (as part of contractually mandated "publicity") they attend dozens of conventions a year or if it is something THEY would choose on their own, but I am fearing burn-out on their parts.
Most of the commenters today were mentioning both "good" side characters and "bad/boring" side characters. Weekend at Bobby's had Bobby, Rufus, and Jody featured prominently, with Sam and Dean as sort-of book-ends for action. It worked, IT WORKED. If "somebody or other" didn't keep killing off every single interesting side character, we could end up with a working formula for the show. I would not have minded another episode or two a season which featured Bobby and Rufus (showing a previous hunt in which they thought they had taken care of the issue, like the ghoul episode from Season 4) and a present-day revisit of the issue. I appreciate that other feel this way, but I don't: I don't NEED Sam and Dean on scene for 45 minutes. And the show HAD characters they could feature. I liked the Jody/Donna episode. Guys were in it about half the time, Jody/Donna the other half. Worked for me.
I like the show, I want it to continue, I recognize the need to give the two leads less screen time. I don't know WHY the show doesn't make some effort to accommodate the two leads human needs. Now we have a fried Jared and a Dean fulfilling multiple obligations. Again, I do worry about the actors, I don't KNOW them, but I never understood before this last few weeks how hard their work schedule is.
Agreed. So much so. And might I say much to the detriment of the show. I loved Dean and Cas/Jensen and Misha together. They have such an interesting chemistry between them both in real life and as their characters. I'm sorry to all you Destiels... out there but I for one am sick to death of "shipping" in general. Nine times out of ten if a show gives into the romance and allows a relationship then it ends up ruining it because it takes the teasing, tension, mystery and dare I say, foreplay out of the equation. I doubt that we will ever see Cas and Dean written in many more scenes than what we are seeing for now and in the future. Show has certainly learned its lesson.
ReplyDeleteI do think the idea of show giving Destiels Sam and Cas instead interesting. Afterall, it's just about representation, right? ;)
This "newbie actor" as you refer to Travis A. Wade has been around since 2002. Not so newbie afterall.
ReplyDeleteWell then, IMO, he has a very long learning curve, because I was not impressed with him at all, nor do I think he has much charisma. Forget comparing him to JA, who is innately talented, and compare him to Steven Williams (Rufus). Just like JA, Williams managed to give a softness to a hardened, snarky hunter, which is something that Wade did not do or cannot do. Wade simply comes off as trying to be Dean 2.0, and I find that more irritating than enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteDid not do, possibly due to how he was directed to play the character or the choice he may have made. Cole came across cocky with the personal military history to back it up. Can not do? That's a bit unfair considering up until a few hours ago you thought he was a "newbie" actor. Rufus and Cole were two completely different characters.
ReplyDeleteFun fact: Travis Aaron Wade was originally supposed to play Dean Winchester ten years ago, but go beaten out by Jensen Ackles ;)
ReplyDelete*claps* great stuff. excellent summary of the whole season. So much potential that was wasted and could of been spread over seasons of content crunched into a season with so much content the characters felt out of place in their own story. I am really hoping that next season gets better and I am excited to read your gripes for next seasons episodes. Thank you for all of the hard work over the year doing these great reviews.
ReplyDeleteYou pretty much nailed Season 10!!! They had so many good ideas, but most of them ether fizzled out, or were ignored completely. I thought that Demon Dean would be sticking around much longer and it would be Sam trying to catch him, and by the mid season have him cured. But I guess they wanted him to be normal Dean for the 200th episode. Even then they could have have him relapse one or two episodes after. It was advertised as "The year of the Deanmon" and we only got three episodes!
ReplyDeleteThe only reason why Crowley and Cas have such weak stories is because the actors were promoted from "Guest" to "regular" and I keep thinking that they didn't look before the leapt and had to struggle to find a way to keep the two characters in the story. Especially Crowley! I don't think they were expecting to have Mark Sheppard as a cast regular, so they had to write a story for his character, or something to keep him in the show. They failed! My hopes for next season is that they have Cas and Crowley working together on something, perhaps on hunting down Rowena, or Metatron... or even both. Just anything to keep their character's story interesting!
I hope to see Cole again in season 11, he became a favourite and was a little bit underused. I would love to see him be somewhat like Charlie and help the brothers out, give him a little bit more character development, and a sad back story so the brothers can have him become a part of the group. BTW, side note here, but did anyone else notice that Cole's son was also the kid Dean talked with in the Plucky Pennywise episode back in season 7?
Anyway, not much more that I can add that hasn't already been said :)
He said he auditioned. He was never chosen for the part.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I looked up Wade's bio when he first appeared on the show, and I still consider him a newbie actor with a record of one to three bit parts per year since he started.
ReplyDeleteOf course Rufus and Cole are different characters, but actors bring a lot of themselves to a role. Rufus appeared 5 times in SPN, and Cole has appeared four. If Cole made no more appearances on the show, I would guess he would be an easily forgotten character; whereas, Rufus will be one of those who is remembered, even without joining the con circuit to build a career or making cons their career).
I am not saying Wade is a bad actor. He will probably have a career in small bit parts or even a support role at some point. But there are actors who can take a bit role and still be remembered because their talent shows through. One such case for me was Karin Konoval, who played Ruth in Bad Boys and Mrs. Curry in Family Remains (the lady who gave Dean the picture of the daughter). After Family Remains, I was glad to see her used again in Bad Boys; because, although she had very few lines in Family Remains, I thought she was exceedingly good.
I have no doubt, though, that we will suffer through some more of Cole showing up Dean in S11 as the writers build him up to be a hunter while they use Cole to give the Js their time off.
Wow how generous of you. A career in small bit parts or maybe a support role. If I were Travis I would just hang it up right now.
ReplyDeleteBravo, my friend! Excellent article!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with everything you said here - and that's why I would rather the show end, then for Jared and Jensen to burn themselves out by doing too much, or for the show to feature them less and less while replacing them with far less interesting side-characters (since they keep killing off the ones most fans know and love). (they aren't obligated to do conventions, but I sense they don't want to
ReplyDeletesay "no" to the fans...though maybe they should for their own health
and happiness).
Agreed, Weekend at Bobby's was a wonderful episode, and I've enjoyed most of the episodes that had Jody or Donna in them. But the reason I fell in love with the show was because of the brothers - so for me, I'd rather the guys be in more than half an episode any given week, and I'd rather they share the screen for at least some of that time. This whole season has just made me so grouchy on so many levels and I am finding it hard to think rationally or calmly after how everything fell apart so disastrously in the end. It was the straw that broke this camel's back.
What I wish the show would do (or the CW, or Warner Bros, or whoever decides these things) is go to 13-16 episodes a season, cut out all the stupid filler, and write better, tighter arcs. I'd gladly give up some episodes if it meant more of the Winchester's onscreen together, and more possible story cohesiveness (plus it would give the J's much needed time off). This 23-episode stuff doesn't do this show any favors, and only points out the glaringly obvious when nearly 1/4 of the episodes in a season are silly, filler episodes, or when 1/2 of the "starring" cast have inane and pointless "plots" that lead them nowhere to do nothing. Especially when the show has to give the two main leads x-hours of time off (or whatever contractual agreement they have).
But, nothing will be changing so I may as well stop wishing. It's just frustrating for me to watch a show I love sink deeper and deeper and become more unrecognizable as the thing I fell in love with in the first place. I'm disenchanted and heart-broken over it.
Why the attitude? You like the actor and I can take or leave him. Tastes vary. Keep in mind that Mark Shepperd has made quite a nice career out of support roles, as has Jim Beavers. There are a lot of actors that have that I enjoy very much. Wade will never be one of them to me, but you certainly can follow his career if you like him.
ReplyDeleteMaybe in the interests of full disclosure you should say upfront that you're a Wincester who wants Dean to do nothing but sit beside hurt!Sam's hospital bed and mop his sweat up? And by the way, Sam has done some awful things to, and you've just forgiven them.
ReplyDeleteWrong, but nice try to make me look bad without having to come up with any counter arguments. Bye, Felicia!
ReplyDeleteI think Demon Dean should have at least gone to the 200th episode. Made it a bottle episode in the bunker with only Sam and Dean, basically how the cure episode was, minus the Crowley/Cas diversions.
ReplyDeleteGod Castiel would not have been a sustainable villain for an entire season, maybe they could have gone a 2/3 more episodes of him going around being cruel god, but a whole season? Nope. He was too powerful, he was "God" he literally could just snap his fingers and kill Bobby and the Winchesters at any moment.
ReplyDeleteIt's canon that angels can be affected by magic/spells, the banishing sigil is blood magic, and Alastair was able to recite an invocation to eject Cas from his vessel, etc... So a powerful witch like Rowena being able to put the whammy on Cas makes sense.
ReplyDeleteMEG
Would it kill you to watch a movie, read a book?
CASTIEL
A movie, no. But a book with the proper spells -- yeah, it could, theoretically, kill me.
"while Cas, with his grace restored couldn't even find Charlie (who did NOT have Enochian sigils on her ribs and who couldn't have gotten that far while Cas was removing Rowena from the room) let alone resurrect her?"
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure the reason he couldn't go after her, was because he doesn't have a car anymore. Pretty sure Metatron stole his pimpmobile, since we haven't seen it since Metatron escaped, so it's not like he could have chased her down or anything.
"How can Cas, with his grace restored, be weaker than Rowena's magic? "
Angels are susceptible to spells, it's been the shows canon for a while now.
And Jody's character evolution into the world of hunting felt organic. I wasn't against the idea of Charlie becoming a hunter, but Thompson didn't let her earn it. With Jody, each appearance allowed her to delve deeper into the hunting world, with Charlie Thompson relegating it to off screen.
ReplyDeleteBecause the Carver/Singer/et all have no say in how the show is promoted. Plenty of the writers have gone on record as saying they hate the promos, as they think they spoil too much. There's really no answer to why the ratings took a drop, moving mid season probably didn't help. But it the drop off came off one of the strongest episodes of the season, "The Executioner's Song" so that doesn't make much sense. Also, don't think not having The Flash as a lead in anymore was a factor either, considering iZombie's ratings haven't benefited from it.
ReplyDeleteHow they made Demon Dean act actually made sense, though. Because this was 100% Dean, he didn't have his humanity stripped away from centuries of torture. So Dean with everything cranked up to 11, without the guilt made absolute perfect sense.
ReplyDeleteThe car I can maybe buy. You will have to remind me which spells, other than Metatron's, which was powered by the Angel Tablet the literal Word of God, worked against the angels. I've obviously forgotten something.
ReplyDeleteMetatron's spell was powered by the angel tablet, it was hidden on it, but not powered by. That's not how spells work.
ReplyDeleteAngel warding is a form of spell work, the banishing sigil is blood magic, Alastair spoke an invocation that would have ejected Castiel from Jimmy's body. And then Castiel straight up says that certain spells can in fact kill him.
I agree, that in terms of overall narrative, the season on the whole was a disjointed mess. I feel part of this was the pandering to the various sections of the fandom (the guest star episodes, the ghost wi fi story that felt really out of place and like a deliberate season 1 callback instead of something that fit.
ReplyDeleteI think the Lucifer hallucination from season 7 could sum it up best: you're really holding it together Sam. The way someone pinned under a bus holds it together.
The bus in this comparison being the fandom expectations.
Some points of yours I do disagree with and feel you're being too hard on the show with.
1. How Dean became a demon isn't exactly a retcon, as Knights of Hell and Cain in particular are established as being above average demons (Rubys knife didn't affect Abbadon and assumedly wouldn't Dean, She could breathe a portion of her essence into someone to access their memory, essentially a partial possession, which we hadn't seen before or since, Cain became a demon the same way as Dean, Deans vessel healed almost instantly from a knife wound).
2. Dean being set off by a friend of theirs dying is nothing new, its a well worn trope of the series. It being Charlie doesn't make it out of character.
3. The Hannah situation was more an endearment towards humanity like early season Cas and given there relationship from the previous season, his role by her side seemed to stem from showing her a more diplomatic, live and let live approach to the wayward angels, which had mixed results definitely.
Crowleys role seemed to be one part midlife crisis, the other wanting to be let into the Winchester family because of his lingering humanity. It wasn't done especially well in terms of some of the writing, but mark shepherd got some good scenes through the season regardless (how straight he plays his conversation with a hamster is a testament to his skills as an actor, not everyone could've made a scene like that work).
Cole I liked. Cole, unlike Dean, learns the monster that killed his parent was actually someone who probably saved his life from his fathers real killer, which creates an interesting dynamic between them. Something i've noticed with Coles appearances, whether its the creature that killed his father or when the kahn worm alternative was created, is his appearances harken some mystery to the creatures presented, which is much needed. The brothers (and audience) shouldn't have all the answers, mystery made some of the series earlier seasons much more interesting.
Rowena, grew on me. It feels like she was given more leeway with her performance over time and has settled into the role nicely. Another regular villain will certainly be a breath of fresh air.
Finally, a few points to end on. The Mark story was definitely played out, in part due to an attempt at a status quo that became stagnant at times. But despite the seasons lows (which I'll concede are its lowest) it also reached unprecedented highs in my opinion (which I'm fully aware diverge quite abit from yours).
As well, I cannot recall if you've mentioned this, but its been stated the preponderance of the villains to wear suits, which I can't fully agree with, between Abbadon, Metatron, Gadreel and Cain. Even the leviathans had Edgar. The marks effect on Dean is something where, while I initially did a spit take at the karaoke, Demon Dean having more control and essentially being an exaggeration of alot of Deans human tendencies definitely subverted expectations well, while the true Deanmon would be the human part of Dean giving into the mark over time, concluding with murdering an innocent teen for having the wrong family and letting a fellow hunter die because of extreme apathy.
Definitely hoping the next season has some more coherence and has more Myth arc (this season could've used a spare one) and less case of the week.
Yeah . . . that's what someone told me too. I thought he was supposed to be a demon though. If he was going to remain "100% Dean" then why did they bother saying he was a demon?
ReplyDeleteMy problem is w/how weak Cas seemed in general. I didn't care for it at all.
ReplyDeleteWell he was a demon, just a special case.
ReplyDeletei love how there are arguments about how "spells really work" on this forum lol
ReplyDeleteCould we add on the Men of Letters as a dropped story? Of course it's not from this season but it's been a few and they've done next to nothing g to flesh that story out. A whole research side to the supernatural yet they still had to rely on Charlie in the eps she showed up in for information? And I always thought it'd be a nice entry point to get some Sam POV since he's been the academic from the start. Plus it would've been nice in getting him connected to something of the Winchester side of his family. Like I said, I know it's an old gripe but MOL was such an intriguing convergence was never given its due. They're living in their house, using their stuff but we know so little about the extent of what they were truly were. And it would've been kinda cool to see that side of the community resurrected. I still don't get why the Winchesters don't utilize the hunter community as a whole more. Then again, whenever we see them work with other hunters those hunters end up DEAD.
ReplyDeleteWell, his "special demon case" was especially boring, IMO. Haha! I couldn't get invested in the DD or the MOC arc b/c the writers refused to do anything w/either arc. Both were pointless, wastes of time IMO.
ReplyDeleteThe Men of Letters have been fairly fleshed out, we know the basic history and the show drops new bits of info every now and then. I don't know what else could be fleshed out about it. The only reason they needed Charlie was for computer issues, other than that they've constantly used the Bunker for research.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen how the comments in all of the Supernatural spoilertv episode polls have declined too? it has mirrored the ratings and the quality haha.
ReplyDelete