Supernatural – Episode 10.01 – The Gripe Review

Supernatural’s new season is here. And so is the Gripe Review.

Back in June, when I posted the last review, I was asked if I would write more for season 10. My answer was that I'd watch the first episode and, if I didn't hate it, I would. I watched it, didn't hate it, so here it is.

That’s not to say I loved it either, or even liked it. In fact it was the first time since the early days of season 1 that I watched a season opener of the show and wasn't in anyway excited or emotionally engaged, so I guess that counts.

As off last June I am no longer a member of any official or unofficial SPN forums. I no longer post on IMDB or any other boards, neither do I participate in, or look up, any Tumblr or Twitter tags. I don't associate with any relationships or character fanclubs either. I’m done with that drama, which means if you read something in my review and correlate it with me being a fan of [insert ship/faction name here], or influenced by a certain group of people in the fandom, you're wrong.

The format of the reviews is updated too. Instead of listing gripes I'd be going by story and characters and end with what I thought worked (or didn't) It’s still a Gripe Review with all the biting criticism and unforgiving attention to detail. But the change in format is to refute the incorrect supposition that I’m just listing a bunch of nit-picks, or like to look for flaws. Nothing is farther from the truth, and if this season, the show manages to dig itself out of the pit Carver and his writers threw it in last season, then I will give it and them the credit they are due. But before that here are my thoughts on ‘Black.’

The episode overall: As I said I didn't hate the episode. That’s not much to say though, considering I went into it with the expectations of someone going down their basement to check for a leak. After sitting on it for a few days - especially after watching the explosive premiers of Arrow and Flash - I wondered if the reason so little happened in the episode was because of Supernatural’s significantly lower budget. I understand if they can't afford high speed car chases or massive stadium explosions, but that doesn't excuse the terrible dialogue, or the limited settings, or the uneventful, unoriginal storylines. Literally the entire episode was characters talking, in a few locations. Nothing, not even in the characters' claustrophobic relationship spaces, was a surprise. That, in light of the gargantuan, life changing cliffhanger we had last season, was the true disappointment for me.

Characters

Sam: Of all the characters I liked Sam the best in this episode. It’s unfortunate that he didn't do much other than talking to random, acting-challenged side characters all episode and got captured at the end like an amateur. He also had to spout some awful dialogue like, "I will save my brother, or die trying." But at least he got out of the weird "Brother? What brother?" funk Carver & co. had put him in the last two seasons. He actually showed emotions - puppy dog eyes and all - for someone other than himself, one of the things I had missed about him from the earlier seasons. His chat with Castiel was the highlight of the episode for me, as was his visit to Dean's room and the note. I see improvement for Sam and can't wait to watch more of it. I just hope they won't leave him tied to that chair too long and wait for someone (Dean, God help me,) to save him. Sam is not Princess Peach. He’s an experienced hunter and watching him taken down so easily in so many scenarios just so the writers could regurgitate a tired trope is annoying.

Castiel: I was expecting Castiel to be irredeemably trapped in the b storyline, with no connection or relevance to Sam and Dean, as it is Carver’s favorite way to handle him. I'm glad that wasn't entirely the case. Yet another reason why his phone call to Sam was such a great scene. It not only showed how much these two care for Dean, while being wounded emotionally and physically (Sam’s broken arm and Castiel’s broken everything,) it also tied Castiel's story to the main storyline, and made him a player rather than a tagalong.

Unfortunately that's where the good grace stopped. The b story came like a Tsunami and swept him away into a pointless and confusing romp comprised of driving Mrs. Hannah and waxing Nietzsche with random angel #57 over a campfire.

The problem with Castiel is that his motivations are flip-floppy. Four seasons ago he was the champion of free will. Now he kills angels who refuse to come back to Heaven because of free will. One of show’s done-to-death tropes - Castiel stabbing another angel from behind- serves to make this even more aggravating. I hope there is a story and character arc here that eventually leads to him finding his true self, otherwise I suspect no one on the writing team has any idea about the character's defining characteristics or core values and like last seasons, they write him as they want.

Dean: Dean’s depiction ruined most of the episode for me. My dislike of him began last season, even though he was my favorite character for 5 long years. I may have a long and torturous season 10 ahead of me with a douche wearing my favorite Winchester’s face.

My problem with this incarnation of Dean is that he is a wholly unlikable character. I’m not sure if this has anything to do with his transformation since, as I said, it started well before his turning into a demon. Instead of becoming a badass villain with hints of his true heart, like Soulless Sam and God Castiel had been, he is just a jackass, singing bad karaoke, insulting women, and drinking copious amounts of alcohol. How is this any different from the facade human-Dean used to wear to hide the pain inside? Dean is now a shell of what he used to be. No longer the brave, compassionate warrior wearing the mask of a drunken womanizer, but just a drunken womanizer.

There were a million ways they could have gone about this. Dean and Crowley could have joined a band of criminals, or demons, redefining the law. Dean could have burst into the screen after a mind-blowing stunt, leaving cops, or the mob, or hunters in the dust. He could have stormed into that bar, all rough edges and adrenaline spikes, grabbed the mic and blown everyone's socks off with his vocal prowess (which is completely possible with Jensen's musical talent.) Instead they opted for lame singing, lame dialogue and lame action.

I can’t wrap my head around what he needs to be saved from because the worst he has done is torture people’s ear drums, make a girl cry, and kill two demons in self defense. It's like the show is reluctant to darken him up. Just as the cop in the episode said, we don’t exactly know if he’s a hero or a psychopath because the writers haven’t made up their mind, or are too scared to thread their main character through demon territory, even if it is necessary for his story's development. He is turned into a douche instead which, as I said, begs the question why he needs saving.

Crowley and Hannah: There isn't much I could say about these two other than I’m curious about their roles on the show. Hannah might play a big part in Castiel's story, or she may die in the next episode. Crowley is safer since Mark is now a regular. I saw a parallel between Hannah’s role as Castiel’s companion, and Crowley’s as Dean’s. They seem to be forces pulling them toward their respective home bases. Hannah wants Castiel to be in charge of Heaven, while Crowley wants Dean to join him in ruling Hell. It’s interesting to see where it all leads.

Kudos: There were a few things about the episode I truly liked, and think deserve mentioning. First the phone conversation between Sam and Castiel for reasons I said earlier. It's good to see a shadow of what Team Free Will used to be like, and nice to know that two of its members still reach out toward each other in time of need. Dean's note to Sam was a nice touch too, bringing back a pang of nostalgia from the days the brothers meant so much to each other.

My biggest praise however goes to the subversion of the Dean-saves-Sam trope. When I watched Sam get captured in order to draw Dean out, I groaned. It's been ten years and the writers still cling to and repeat this stale plot point like pre-programmed writing software with a limited bank of scenarios. But then something new happened. Dean didn't rush to Sam's rescue, and for the first time since the episode started, I saw the darkness within him. Before that Demon Dean was not that different from human Dean on a bad bender. But when he ignored the call and went against what we had come to be so used to about him, and against John's conditioning of him, I truly felt the change in him, and it became interesting. I hope they keep going this way, and don’t undermine it in the next episode.

Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments. As always there are no repercussions or censorship for commenting on the contents of the article or the show, even if you tell me I'm out of my mind. A disclaimer too: this entire post is my opinion. I don’t claim to speak for the majority of the viewers (who still keep providing the show with good ratings,) or any part of the SPN fandom.


Tessa

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