SPN 6x01 Exile on Main Street
"Where you are I won't be,
you're gonna be the death of me."
-Soul Survivor, Rolling Stones
Fangirl reaction/meta thoughts:
I always have to watch the premiere twice before I can comment because I'm too filled with energy the first time through to properly assess. YMMV.
So things are not the same at all, huh?
The opening montage was awesome. The song was perfect and the lighting in Lisa's house, especially the kitchen, reminded me so much of Buffy Summer's house when Joyce was alive. Probably coincidental, but I notice stupid stuff like that. It made Jensen very pretty. SIGH. Dean's socked, then bare feet. So vulnerable! (In the weeks to come, I'm sure I'm gonna do a lot of comparing between SPN s6 and BtVS s6. You've been warned!)
A lot of hand waving with canon and mythology happened. The Djinns, now with 100% more anonymity and powers! Didn't we already do the "you killed my monster daddy, now I'm gonna kill you" plot with Jump the Shark? Speaking of JtS, anyone curious about what happened to Adam? Dean? Sam? Bueller? The Campbell Triplets were interesting. I'm reserving opinion until that plays out more. However, I will confess to knowing Grandpa was returning, but was really worried about how ridic the reasoning for his return was gonna be. I'm still worried. Dean saw the "cage" in the back of the van when he went and talked to the quiet one outside, I wonder how long it will take him to figure out what they're using it for.
I liked Lisa. I liked her speech at Bobby's. I didn't like Dean sitting on the stairs next to her as if he were sitting next to his sister. If this is the life he wants to keep, he could at least treat it as if he was a part of it a little more. Start with hand holding! She doesn't have cooties, I promise. I didn't like Ben's lack of verbal interaction either. (Wincon spoiler alert! The stars on Ben's ceiling? We have over a 1000 of them to use in the prom decorations this year! LOL.)
I get that Sam and Bobby wanted Dean out of the life. But I don't like their handling of him. I don't think I'm supposed to though. Who likes to have their decisions made for them like that? No one! Certainly not Dean. He's gonna be pissed for a long time about that. Hunters? Not so good with the interpersonal relationships, especially amongst each other. I think what we're gonna see though is that Dean does really want a family. The minute he realizes it will probably immediately be followed by Lisa being offed. His paranoid hallucination of Lisa on the ceiling was a little heavy handed though. YED's dead, baby. YED's dead.
I think Sam turning down the Impala was a little too quick and poorly played. It was the last opportunity in the script for them to have a real "moment" in the ep and after we got how important the Impala is to them in "Swan Song" it felt way too underplayed. I'm guessing Sam thinks that as long as Dean has the Impala, he has a way back into the life and back to Sam, but still, too brief.
When Sam asks Dean to come with him because he's the heart? I think that this was an effort to show how much their rolls are now reversed, but Sam being so inarticulate killed it. This is the same guy that always talked to the vics with his puppy eyes because Dean was so bad at it? What happened to that kid with the bangs and the ducked head? He's gone and I don't understand the doppelganger standing in his place. I want to, though. I hope Jared's acting can pull it off.
Overall show execution critiquing:
I'm hoping this is an episode that is purposely vague and intentionally leaving viewers go "wtf?" and not a poor execution of an idea. With this show, it could be either one without more information. If it's the former, I think that (and for a show famous for anvils I can't believe I'm saying this) it might have been too subtle. I also think that Jared doesn't act as well when he's not sure of the long term motivations of Sam and that was very evident to me in the ep.
Also, it took me watching this ep to realize I'm tired of Dean POV. The only moment of this that wasn't of his POV was the Campbell's sneaky kidnapping the Djinn. And so of course we're all feeling as confused and hurt as Dean was. But I'm tired of being in touch with Dean's feelings and not understanding what everyone else's are. I'm not a Sam girl over Dean or anything, but I think it really would have been more interesting to have the premiere be a day in the new life of Sam. Obviously they're building some of the bigger arc this year based on what happened to Sam and what he's been up to with the Campbells, so a slow reveal will be the way they go with that, but it coulda still been done without revealing too much. If this whole season is about the role reversal between Sam and Dean, wouldn't be interesting to start off with the more neutral POV the show itself started out with?
I enjoyed it after a second viewing much more than I did the first time, because I think I was able to switch to the proper gear to understand it. I think that many of the haters weren't expecting the shift and it pissed them off. mj's meta about noir being the flavor of season 6 explains a lot of what I'm feeling. But I'm looking forward to more.
In conclusion, bring it, Sera!
you're gonna be the death of me."
-Soul Survivor, Rolling Stones
Fangirl reaction/meta thoughts:
I always have to watch the premiere twice before I can comment because I'm too filled with energy the first time through to properly assess. YMMV.
So things are not the same at all, huh?
The opening montage was awesome. The song was perfect and the lighting in Lisa's house, especially the kitchen, reminded me so much of Buffy Summer's house when Joyce was alive. Probably coincidental, but I notice stupid stuff like that. It made Jensen very pretty. SIGH. Dean's socked, then bare feet. So vulnerable! (In the weeks to come, I'm sure I'm gonna do a lot of comparing between SPN s6 and BtVS s6. You've been warned!)
A lot of hand waving with canon and mythology happened. The Djinns, now with 100% more anonymity and powers! Didn't we already do the "you killed my monster daddy, now I'm gonna kill you" plot with Jump the Shark? Speaking of JtS, anyone curious about what happened to Adam? Dean? Sam? Bueller? The Campbell Triplets were interesting. I'm reserving opinion until that plays out more. However, I will confess to knowing Grandpa was returning, but was really worried about how ridic the reasoning for his return was gonna be. I'm still worried. Dean saw the "cage" in the back of the van when he went and talked to the quiet one outside, I wonder how long it will take him to figure out what they're using it for.
I liked Lisa. I liked her speech at Bobby's. I didn't like Dean sitting on the stairs next to her as if he were sitting next to his sister. If this is the life he wants to keep, he could at least treat it as if he was a part of it a little more. Start with hand holding! She doesn't have cooties, I promise. I didn't like Ben's lack of verbal interaction either. (Wincon spoiler alert! The stars on Ben's ceiling? We have over a 1000 of them to use in the prom decorations this year! LOL.)
I get that Sam and Bobby wanted Dean out of the life. But I don't like their handling of him. I don't think I'm supposed to though. Who likes to have their decisions made for them like that? No one! Certainly not Dean. He's gonna be pissed for a long time about that. Hunters? Not so good with the interpersonal relationships, especially amongst each other. I think what we're gonna see though is that Dean does really want a family. The minute he realizes it will probably immediately be followed by Lisa being offed. His paranoid hallucination of Lisa on the ceiling was a little heavy handed though. YED's dead, baby. YED's dead.
I think Sam turning down the Impala was a little too quick and poorly played. It was the last opportunity in the script for them to have a real "moment" in the ep and after we got how important the Impala is to them in "Swan Song" it felt way too underplayed. I'm guessing Sam thinks that as long as Dean has the Impala, he has a way back into the life and back to Sam, but still, too brief.
When Sam asks Dean to come with him because he's the heart? I think that this was an effort to show how much their rolls are now reversed, but Sam being so inarticulate killed it. This is the same guy that always talked to the vics with his puppy eyes because Dean was so bad at it? What happened to that kid with the bangs and the ducked head? He's gone and I don't understand the doppelganger standing in his place. I want to, though. I hope Jared's acting can pull it off.
Overall show execution critiquing:
I'm hoping this is an episode that is purposely vague and intentionally leaving viewers go "wtf?" and not a poor execution of an idea. With this show, it could be either one without more information. If it's the former, I think that (and for a show famous for anvils I can't believe I'm saying this) it might have been too subtle. I also think that Jared doesn't act as well when he's not sure of the long term motivations of Sam and that was very evident to me in the ep.
Also, it took me watching this ep to realize I'm tired of Dean POV. The only moment of this that wasn't of his POV was the Campbell's sneaky kidnapping the Djinn. And so of course we're all feeling as confused and hurt as Dean was. But I'm tired of being in touch with Dean's feelings and not understanding what everyone else's are. I'm not a Sam girl over Dean or anything, but I think it really would have been more interesting to have the premiere be a day in the new life of Sam. Obviously they're building some of the bigger arc this year based on what happened to Sam and what he's been up to with the Campbells, so a slow reveal will be the way they go with that, but it coulda still been done without revealing too much. If this whole season is about the role reversal between Sam and Dean, wouldn't be interesting to start off with the more neutral POV the show itself started out with?
I enjoyed it after a second viewing much more than I did the first time, because I think I was able to switch to the proper gear to understand it. I think that many of the haters weren't expecting the shift and it pissed them off. mj's meta about noir being the flavor of season 6 explains a lot of what I'm feeling. But I'm looking forward to more.
In conclusion, bring it, Sera!