Supernatural catchup

[akashiver]

I've really enjoyed the last few Supernatural episodes. "Monster" managed to elevate itself beyond its metafictional conceits to include some arc advancement; "It's a Terrible Life" manged to bring some office drone humor to what could have been a terrible episode; "Sex and Violence" managed to surprise me with its gender twist, and of course, "On the head of a pin" kept my entertained with arc-y goodness.

"Jump the Shark" announced from the get go that it was going to employ that - yes *that* hated plot device. No, not the shark. The previously unmentioned relative. Did it carry it off? Well... partly. As a device to get Sam and Dean to reexamine their relationship with their father, it worked ok. And I liked the irony that 1) Adam really was their brother 2) he did get a normal life and 3) perhaps in part because he got a normal life, he died before Sam and Dean ever got into town.

That said... it still didn't really work for me. In part, I think it didn't work because the script determinedly played what should have been a monumental plot development - OMG another Winchester! - as a standalone episode from the get-go. Ergo, no Bobby. I don't know about you, but if I was a Winchester dealing with 1) a monster I didn't recognize and 2) a whole bunch of info re: my father's past, I'd probably ask Dad's old friend / super-monster-researcher Bobby for help. And the fact that Bobby wasn't on scene pointed to the Adam thing being tidily resolved by episode end, which it was.

Also, a pet peeve. For godsake Sammy, you're the fracking antichrist. *Act like it.* Whip out that telekinetic whoopass on those ghouls. You can kill the high lords of Hell with your brain. Corpse-eaters shouldn't pose much of a threat, unless you need to appeal to your teengirl fanbase by getting tied up and mutilated again.

Also: ghouls???? Missing corpses in a non-vampire-haunted graveyard? Whadyathink it was, geniuses? Werewolves?

So to sum up: well, Supernatural did a much better job than Smallville with the long-lost brother plotline. But the Luthors would have eaten those namby-pamby ghouls alive.

Comments

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

I liked "Jump the Shark" decently well, but it didn't really stick with me, not the way "Monster" did -- with the exception of the diner scene, with Dean testing Adam and being ready to blow his head off if he sneezed wrong.

Bobby not being there might just be a function of how many eps they signed the actor for. But yeah, it felt like there could have been more done with Adam.

For godsake Sammy, you're the fracking antichrist. *Act like it.* Whip out that telekinetic whoopass on those ghouls.

. . . question -- and I should totally remember this, since I've been re-watching the season with Kyle and Ad, but my brain = sieve -- has Sam used telekinesis lately? I remember them saying his abilities went away after Azazel died (no more visions), and then Ruby came along and taught Sam to pull demons, and he can also resist them using their powers on him, but I can't recall him using telekinesis in the last year. But it's possible he has, and I've just forgotten.

[moonandserpent.livejournal.com]

I did like how Adam had died before ever meeting them, actually. It removed responsibility for his inevitable bad end without removing the horrible angst.

And the nods to the Shark-jumping "other relative" were cute:

They met in Cousin Oliver's diner, and Cousin Oliver was the irritating kid added to the Brady Bunch.

And his name was Adam, which was also the name of the "Third Summers Brother" from the X-Men.

And I don't think we've seen real telekenesis in a while, other than generic Demon sucking Powerz.

[akashiver.livejournal.com]

Sam's been drinking all that demon blood and can't even use the basic powers he had back when he was but an innocent and ignorant half-breed? What-ev-er. I cry "writer wriggle" on that. As in, the writers are wriggling out of a plot that would prevent them from putting Sam in bondage every other week.

I! WANT! TELEKINESIC! WHUPASS!