Debbie:
It’s time to take stock of Supernatural‘s season seven so far. It’s no secret that this hasn’t been my favorite season of Supernatural. I never thought there could be a season that I was somewhat dissatisfied with, but here it is. However, going back through the episode reviews Keith and I did, I realize that I enjoyed almost all of the episodes on some level, save for the Jewel Staite (love her, hated the episode) one. I want to really dig into the details of what has made this season great and what has been less than stellar, but first, what’s your overall feeling of season seven so far?
Brett:
So far, I’d say my overall feeling on Supernatural is OK. I hesitate to refer to the show as my favorite, as I have many times in the past, but it does still keep me coming back. The issue this season for me really comes down to two bits that got things off on the wrong foot. First, leviathans. Frankly, they just don’t measure up. Over the years, there has been a building of the big bads. It actually gets back to one of the things I’ve always loved about the show. They finish things. And as they finish, something bigger and better is right around the corner. So far, I’m not seeing anything bigger or better about the leviathans. The whole thing feels like it’s more worthy of season two or three in the scale of foes. Not season seven. Perhaps I’ll be surprised at some point when the rabbit comes out of the hat and the leviathans do pay off in some amazing way. For now though, color me less than impressed.
The other thing is the whole deal with Dean killing Amy, and the havoc it brought. I just never bought that Dean should be having that big an issue over it. It doesn’t really read given what we’ve learned of him over the past six years. Perhaps more problematic for me though is that it was a tired story that had already been told plenty of times. You can go all the way back to “Croatoan” in season two where they have the argument over should they or shouldn’t they kill a person/monster. And it’s come up again since then. They really didn’t need to go back to that well.
Looking at that, it looks a little gloomy. But all is not lost. I started to come around about the time of “The Mentalists.” Some of the angsty/mopey Dean was gone and it looked like Amybacle might finally be put to rest. It also led to a pretty strong run of episodes where there was some fun to be had. Bringing back Becky was a great idea. That reminds me of another of my highlights for the season so far. The casting has been outstanding. Marsters and Carpenter in “Shut Up Dr. Phil,” Nicholas Lea as Eliot Ness (!), Emilie Ullerup in “Defending Your Life,” DJ Qualls in “Time For A Wedding,” and Meghan Ory in “Adventures In Babysitting” were all great additions.
Debbie:
In theory, I completely agree with you about the leviathans. I’m not placing a ton of importance on it, though, because for me, this show really isn’t about the monsters; it’s about the characters and how the events in the episodes effect them, for better or for worse. So even if the leviathans turn out to be fairly lame, as long as Dean and Sam react in a way that is up to snuff, it’s fine by me.
I think the Dean/Amy issue speaks to a larger problem I see with the season, and that’s the whole going retro thing. I agree with you about “The Mentalists”; it was one of my favorite episodes this season, and partly because it really did bring us back to the good old days, when the two brothers were fighting the good fight. However, you can’t go retro if you bring back tired stories without incorporating all of the new experiences the boys have had since then. That’s one thing this show has always done so well — the characters have grown in such an organic way based on their experiences. They can’t go retro and lose all of the growth; even though we’ll enjoy the episodes on one level, it will leave those of us who value the characters feeling empty. However, going retro has given us some wonderful moments, like seeing Jo again, for example.
To speak to the guest cast this season, it has been outstanding, and I need to see Marsters’ Don Stark again. I can see him working as a recurring character like Chuck or The Trickster.
Now here’s a can of worms to be opened — how do you feel about the way they handled Bobby’s death?
Brett:
I always assumed Bobby would die at some point, but I thought the events that led up to it would be much more epic. Something that would come at the climax of the big battle of the season. In that regard, this was a bit of a let-down. But I’m not overly worried about it, because if we have learned one thing over the last six and a half years, nobody is ever really gone on Supernatural. And I do kind of like the idea of ghost Bobby.
Debbie:
I felt let down by the way he died at first too, but I get what they’re trying to do with it. They juxtaposed it beautifully with the episode “Adventures in Babysitting,” the hunter getting out of the life for his daughter. Everyone dies if they stay in the hunting life, and everyone who is associated with Sam and Dean die, so Bobby had no chance. And the fragility of that life was driven home by that one little bullet getting Bobby in what should have been a routine escape. I get it, but I still don’t want him dead … but he was ghost-drinking Dean’s beer, I’m sure of it!
One other thing that I wasn’t too keen on at first was the way they seemingly dropped Sam’s scrambled Hell wall brain, but I’ve come to respect how they handled it. I love the way Sam will squeeze his scar now and then, to remind himself of what’s real, and that’s really the only little nod we need. Sam’s chosen an optimistic path of gratitude, which we needed to juxtapose with Dean’s “I am the victim of this crappy life” attitude. I’m hoping that Eliot Ness finally talked some sense into Dean and he can start to see the shiny side of the coin as well.
We know that Castiel is coming back for several episodes beginning with episode 17. I love Cas, and I missed him a lot at first, but I’m rather curious about how they’re going to incorporate him back into the storyline. His character wouldn’t fit with the retro themes, with the fact that the human race is where the power is and that it all comes back to the Winchester boys. We’ve revisited human vulnerability as well as human power this season — how will Cas fit into all that?
Brett:
My guess is that his return coincides with the return to the bigger story, and the ramping up of the stakes. It will all fall on Sam and Dean, as always, but they won’t be able to do it alone. That’s where Cas comes in. And I think he’ll be back to offer them help, having used the time away to straighten things out. Although, I would also be all for the return of Cas being the crux of the problem, leading us in a whole different direction.
Debbie:
It will be interesting to find out, that’s for sure.
I can’t end our post without mentioning one of my favorite scenes from season seven: Dean singing Air Supply. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the “Eye of the Tiger” outtake, and just how hilarious Jensen Ackles is.
Any last thoughts? Something you hope to see before the season ends?
Brett:
Well, I am curious what you think about another season. Assuming those involved are up for it, do you think the network should march on, or bring the show to a close?
Debbie:
A good question, and one that I ask myself often. At the end of season five, when Kripke left and it was in question whether or not the series would go on, I was on the fence then. It was a good ending point, the creator was leaving, the series was conceived as a five-season arc and the story had been told. But, they pulled off a season six that I enjoyed from start to finish, so I stayed on board. I’m almost thinking they need a season eight to redeem themselves, to plan out a series ender from start to finish, to orchestrate the perfect ending befitting a near-perfect series (did I overstep a bit there?). If they ended it now, it would feel rushed and I want them to do it right.
How about you, Readers — how are you feeling about Supernatural‘s season seven so far?
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Feb 02, 2012 @ 14:00 EST5EDT
In all honesty, I think the season started going downhill from the moment Cas was killed off. I still find it horrendous such a wonderful character was killed off just to bring in one of the most boring villains, ever, the Leviathan. I am so relieved Cas is returning (but if he only returns in three episodes, I will not be happy; I want him back as a regular). I wish we could return to the days of Team Free Will. I wish we could return to the days of the brothers, Cas, and Bobby fighting demons such as Crowley. I wish we could return to the days of good scripts and imagination.
Ive loved s7. It has been far better than s6 which suffered from having one of its main characters (Sam) and its central relationship between the brothers entirely absent for half the season.
I have enjoyed almost every ep. My only major disappointment was with Defending Your Life which was a huge missed opportunity IMO to showcase the boys relationship and provide some charcter growth for Dean. It did neither.
I like the Leviasthans. They are a cleverer and somehow better adapted to our world than previous bad guys. You say they aren’t bad enough for this stage in the show. I’d say 2 things; It’s too soon to judge where they fit as we don’t know their endgame, and you can’t get bigger than the Devil so it’s unrealistic to expect that.
I think that all seasons are more harshly judged while they are airing than when we look back and rewatch as a whole, because we don’t know where they are going and assume the worst. S7 will be no different.
I don’t miss Cas at all, so that has made no difference to my enjoyment.
My only criticism is a severe lack of brotherly moments this season. We are well overdue.
I really don’t like season 7, I think season 7 has brought the show as a whole down so low. It started with Cas, that is what bothers me, so he did something so incredibly dumb, instead of going to the boys for help, and then they acted like he did something so incredibly stupid, like they haven’t made deals before when they were stuck. Why take out someone who could’ve turned around and made a better choice and not released the next big bad? Why “kill” him, that makes no sense.
Dean turns stone, no emotions, he’s holding everything in. He’s human, he needs to let it go, deal with it. He lost the only guy who was his best friend, but how does Cas’ return play into this? Is he the bad guy or will his memory be wiped out and he won’t remember what he’s done?
This season seems to lose it’s focus, storyline, it’s all over the place. They need to get back to focusing on the main storyline and deal with everything.
I’m also angry with the loss of Bobby, I don’t like this “take away everything they have” thing. Especially Bobby, Bobby was their one family figure left to help them deal, to be there for them, and now he’s gone too. This is just ridiculous, I don’t know who is coming up with this stuff, but it better improve.
Otherwise..I don’t want it to pick up another season. What’s left if Bobby and Cas are dead and they end the leviathans? Season 1 all over again, anticlimactic.
This season has been hit and miss, but who knows maybe in the future, when the bigger picture is clear and we know where it all leads, it’ll seem a lot better. Past seasons have improved after repeated viewing and with the help of hindsight.
Absolutely agree with the remarks about how to go retro. Defending Your Life was a season high because it captured the “spirit” of earlier seasons but remained relevant to present day situations – like Dean’s state of mind for example. You cannot just make a carbon copy of an earlier episode and have Sam and Dean walk around like their selves from 2006. No one will buy that.
I wonder if maybe the reason why they have gone retro is because they either have no new ideas, or are afraid to use them after last season’s experiment gone wrong that was Souless Sam and Domesticated Dean. Retro is really just a fallback option, easy and supposedly fool proof because we all liked it the first time right? Unfortunately the fans tend to see through that, and don’t always want the same old. Hence the dwindling ratings. Fans want something new and fresh..by all means recapture some of the old spirit, but the writers should also be looking at new horizons.
The other thing, it was a big mistake taking Cas out of the picture, not to mention the manner inwhich they did it. It just seemed very disrespectful to a character/actor that has been a huge part of Supernatural’s success since season 4. Glad that he’s back, I just hope that they do not foul it up. His dynamic with Dean is second to none, and has provided a lot of series high points..both comedic and dramatic. Those moments, and their chemistry is sorely missed.
Hopefully the latter part of this season will up the stakes with the Leviathans, Cas will play a part and I hope that they go back to providing us with a kick ass finale – unlike the previous two. Swan Song and The Man Who Knew Too Much were both dull in places and very unbalanced, and unless your name was Sam no one was really involved that much. One thing I would like to go back to is a season finale like All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2. Well this season is supposed to be a “retro” version of season 2, so who knows?
I’ve really enjoyed the season so far. I loved Death’s Door and Slash Fiction. The only episode I thought was a bit of a let down was Defending Your Life. I really liked the Girl Next Door. The only thing about the Amy storyline that bothered me was the Sam so quickly agreeing that Dean was right in the Mentalists. But I THINK that made that is part of the storyline. That Sam doesn’t really trust himself at all right now. He has actually made Dean “stone number one” and that when Dean said he trusted Sam, Sam thought that meant he could trust himself to some extent. And it completely threw him for a loop when he found out Dean was lying. I think he took off to hide what’s happening to him from Dean(I think maybe Vegas was another time) Sam trying to protect Dean from the fact and also trying to get Dean to separate from him a little (despite the fact that he does need him) because he’s not sure how much longer he can survive and wants Dean to be okay.
This is obviously just my theory. I have NO theory about what is happening with the time stuff.
I would love to see a Season 8, especially since they are going to end Season 7 on a cliffhanger.
I have like this season very much. Yes there have been episodes that I haven’t liked, but that is what it’s like for every season. There are going to be episodes you love and some you hate. I remember in Season 1, not liking the episode Bugs.
In regards to the latest bad “Leviathans”. I think they were a great choice. How are they going to get rid of all of them or do they leave some behind – and what is with Dick and that plot of land? Can’t wait to findd out.
My only regret this Season is that they killed Bobby. I don’t think they will bring him back like they did at the end of Season 5, at least not human. I would love it if they did, but I don’t think it will happen. It’s like Jared said when he was a that LA event in January, if you bring a character back from the dead to many times, you start to lose the effect. There are only 2 characters that can die and come back many times is Sam and Dean. After all without them there’s no show.
I just hate the season 7. So boring and pointless. Plus the whole Leviathans thing doesn’t make sense at all. God created them before he made the humans beings so how could them feed on us? What’s the purpose of killing everyone after all? oh,and PLEASE, bring Cas back!
I agree totaly with a lot of what’s said. It isn’t the act they killed cas and bobby but its how they did it and how it was handled. All the seasons so far the big bad has gotten badder and the stakes were raised. I was worried at the end of season 6 cause it was questionable but then bam they pulled off a great arc with a power hungry cas basicay a god. I was so pumped and thought gamble had it going good then in episode one of season 7 they ruined the perfect arc. They killed off cas in a lame way and introduced us to a big bad that just isn’t that bad and the perfect god arc was ruined. Then after he died they barely mentioned him. The hell wall arc was left behind and then bobby dies which also doesn’t seem to be to impactful. All of which these so called big bads are doing little to nothing. And the bobby death to me was like limited as they’ve sold there souls and all this other stuff to save people yet no attempt(u tell me the forgot how to summon a crossroads demon?). Just seems almost like a different show now ad the previous seasons were forgotten. My other glimmer of lost hope was when cas let crowley keep hell he said a man reason was to keep michael in the cage. I washoping maybe cas said that to set up michael contending for power or something. Just I wish they had maybe wrote cas out a few episodes and had him try and return the souls and them get lose so monsters would be running rampid(even the leviathans) andhave as dealing with losing the power,screwing up,regret and possibly ending the world. Then hae him come back and try and redeem himself.thi woulda had the boys busy with many monters,leviathans, and a questionable cas. But no we get a sloppy season and little to no hope. Sorry for long post just a huge upset fan who isworried gamble ruined the seres. Kripke please come back.