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As you already know, this past week’s episode of Supernatural was one of my all-time favorites. I thought it was well-written, exciting, well-acted and a real love letter to the fans who have been with the show since day one.
However, there are a number of fans who don’t feel the way I do and it has sparked a great deal of debate not just here but all across the fandom.
So, in the spirit of the great political debates of the past weeks, I give you a Supernatural rebuttal written by Jen M.
* * * *
Supernatural Hits the Easy Button
This episode reminded me of those Staples commercials, with the Easy button. Don’t feel like doing things the way they should be done? Too lazy to actually fix things? Slap the big red button and your problems are solved. I have a sneaking suspicion that a similar line of thinking lead to the finished product of “In the Beginning”.
I hated it. Hands down the worst episode of the series. Worse than “Bugs” with its ‘instadawn’. Worse than “Route 666” with its killer racist truck and the total lack of chemistry between Dean and Cassie. Worse even than “No Exit”, despite the abundance of Jo in that episode, and the mishandling of what could have been an amazing story.
It was aimless, plotless, and then at the end they slapped a big fat “to be continued” on it. To be continued when? Why not just label it “Oops, we didn’t feel like writing an ending for this one so we’re taking the easy way out”? So next week we get tossed an average monster of the week episode, which appears to have nothing to do with this episode we just sat through. When do we get answers? The other half of the episode? Why on earth would they do that and then just skip off to save some random person next week?
TO BE CONTINUED
This is poor planning, poor timelining, and half-hearted storytelling. There is no reason for the episode to just dangle like this. If it needs its second half to be complete, then it should be aired the week before the second half airs. Or better yet, take it back to the writers and tell them that you won’t accept an episode that isn’t strong enough to at least limp along on its own. I’m not sure this episode was capable of sitting up without assistance, much less standing.
If next week is the second half to this episode, why wasn’t it billed that way? It would make sense that the audience would want to know the resolution to the cliffhanger they gave us, so why not make it clear to us that we would get at least some of the answers in the next episode?
LET’S MAKE A DEAL
Another demon deal. Is that the only way to fix problems in the Supernatural universe? I would call it a Deus ex machina, except that the definition of that term states that it is “an improbable contrivance in a story characterized by a sudden unexpected solution to a seemingly intractable problem”. What I have a problem with here is the word “improbable”. At this point, a Winchester (or soon to be Winchester in Mary’s case), making a deal for their loved one’s life is hardly an unlikely event. Neither is it “sudden” or “unexpected”. It’s almost a guarantee. If they had revealed something about the deal at the time that “Home” aired, to explain the apology in that episode, it would have been a shocking and heartbreaking moment. With two Winchester deals already under our belts, however, it smacks of laziness to me.
Mary’s deal left a sour taste in my mouth on more than just a convenience front. Up to this point, she was a tragic figure, the cause for our heroes’ crusade. Now I can’t help but feel like her death was nothing more than what she deserved. If she had been ignorant to the machinations of demons there might be some excuse for her choice. Having been raised a hunter, and given her assumption that Azazel wanted her soul as payment for the deal, which would have been correct had she been dealing with a different demon, it seems that she had a fair idea of how these things work. She had to have known that whatever he wanted from her in ten years time would be big, and something that she likely would not want to give up when the time came. I have a very hard time finding her death a tragedy when she sacrificed her youngest son, unknowingly or not, just because she couldn’t bear to be alone.
It is nice to finally know what Mary was apologizing to Sam for in “Home”. She owed him more than just an “I’m sorry” if you ask me, since every single thing he’s gone through since the day she died has been a direct result of the deal she made. She was young, and scared, and confused, I get that. Those are reasons for what she did, but they’re not excuses. Everyone she loved wound up paying a very high price for the choice she made that night, and I can’t help but wonder how it could possibly be worth it.
WHO’S RUNNING THIS SHOW?
It seems that Kripke didn’t even care enough to write this one himself. If this was the big payoff to his story so far, why didn’t he write this one? Putting myself in his shoes, it would have been hard to let something that was supposed to be pivotal to the whole series out of my hands. Or why not at least give it to Sera Gamble, who can write a solid episode, or Cathryn Humphris, who has delivered some good, deep scripts. Carver was all over the place. It reminds me of a first grader’s art project, with everything but the kitchen sink thrown in just because it’s shiny and fun to play with. There was no coherency, no cohesion, no nothing. I knew I recognized the writer’s name when it first popped up on screen, but I had to look him up to see what episodes he had written before.
It was no surprise to me to find “Sin City” as one of his credits. Once I saw the connection, I realized that a lot of the issues I had with “In the Beginning”, I had also had with Carver’s first credit in this series. The difference was that “Sin City” didn’t suffer from the same delusions of grandeur that this latest effort did. The strange, aimless wandering of the plot, and the completely disjointed feeling were a lot easier to forgive when it was an episode that, though it did have salient points, wasn’t claiming to be the episode to end all episodes. “In the Beginning” wanted so desperately to be ground breaking, to be amazing, almost, dare I say, cosmic. It had all the wrappings and trappings of an awesome episode, but inside it was hollow.
Carver is capable of more, evidenced by “A Very Supernatural Christmas”, which was an enjoyable, fairly solid episode. There were a few holes in the plot, but it was a satisfying installment. That has been one of the most consistently frustrating things about Supernatural to me. Like the old nursery rhyme, when they’re good, they are very good, but when they are bad, they’re horrid. The audience is spoiled by knowing what awesome heights they are capable of, making us even tougher critics when things go awry.
Fortunately they soar more often than they fall.
WE’RE ONLY ACTING!
One place that the fault does not lie is with the cast. Everyone in this one was excellent. Jensen Ackles was stunning, as is almost always the case. His scene with Mary, particularly the bit where he begged her not to even get out of bed on that fateful night, was heartbreakingly beautiful. Mitch Pileggi was stellar, especially when his character was possessed. The one flat note I had found in the cast earlier in the episode was with the actor playing the possessed doctor. He failed to act anything even remotely like Azazel has been presented to us over the course of the series. Pileggi, on the other hand, nailed it. Nuances of Fred Lehne’s performance were there, but not enough to make it seem like an impersonation, just a solid nod to the actor who had the longest run in the role. I was amazed by the familiar expressions that found their way across Samuel Campbell’s face, an excellent, quiet reminder of his connection to Sam and Dean. Both Amy Gumenick and Matt Cohen handled their roles very well, though I would have to argue that this young version of John Winchester seemed awfully naïve and a bit clueless. That fault most likely lies in the script, and perhaps the direction, not with the actors themselves.
It would be nice to know what lead to the decision to nearly completely exclude Sam, and by obvious extension, Jared Padalecki from this episode. Various explanations have been tossed around between fans, but I don’t think we’ve gotten an actual answer for that from anyone in the know, besides the quote from that interview with Mitch Pileggi, and that particular version of events seems exceedingly odd. Whatever the reason, I don’t think it was a good choice, and I know it was one that hit home with a lot of fans, and hurt them.
BROTHER, BROTHER, BROTHER. . .
This show has always been about two brothers, something that it seems the people in charge might need to be reminded of. I don’t like seeing either brother shoved aside, dumbed down, or made superfluous, and it needs to stop. Less Castiel, more brothers.
Hopefully it’s just an aberration, and all will be well soon.
I just…I’m at a loss. I feel like someone has torn my show to shreds and danced on the remains. This fandom attracts people who are very passionate about their show, and I’m proud to count myself among their numbers. But seeing this travesty splashed across my screen as an episode of Supernatural almost makes me heartsick.
I have one tiny, nearly guttered flame of hope left. One last wish that may still be granted. We all know that Kripke loves to tease the fans, to watch us react as he jerks our chains. Perhaps this is just a rather hard pull on our collective legs? Is he hiding the second half to this episode up his sleeve, and behind a misleading promo just to watch us squeal?
Improbable. But not impossible. And right now that’s enough for me.
I’m a Sam girl. Now I liked the episode, I liked the reveal, I like learning more about Mary and her family and I LOVED the guest actors- especially Mitch! But I was slightly miffed by the lack of Sam. Yes a lot of it was ABOUT Sam, but Sam wasn’t there to react or have any sort of character development.
I’m liking the season so far, but what I really didn’t like was an episode where Sam wasn’t in the first 20 mins. and now an episode where he’s in for 40 secs. As long as this isn’t an indication of what’s to come, I can live with it, because I understand that a big part of this season is bringing Dean into the mytharc and I’m fine with that. I WANT Dean to be a part of it- but I want both brothers to have equal mytharc and character development.
I’d also love for Sam to be included one day in these family situations. Dean got to meet the family this episode, he spent time with ‘Mary’ in WIaWSNB, got to have two goodbyes from John (IMToD, AHBL2) and a phone call. Not to mention how close he is with Bobby. I really feel like other than Dean, Sam isn’t and was never close to anyone and after season 1 his daddy issues just vanished into thin air. I think it would have been cool to have him meet Mary for more than a second, considering he never really got to know her at all.
Again, I’m a Sam girl, so I’m bound to be slightly biased like everyone else. As long as the show keeps being about THE BROTHERS, as long as they’re both equally important and equally developped, instead of one or the other becoming plot points, then I’m happy.
I agree with most of what Jen says and it has more to do with the”BIG REVILE”then the lack of Sam…which i hated.We cant all like the same episode and like Jen i thought the ball was dropped…i don’t think it was worse then No Exit but it wasn’t one of the best either.
I used the word “predictable” because I guessed Mary’s family were hunters months ago. Maybe it was just the letdown of already knowing that’s where this was going, and knowing nothing was going to change with the revellation. It could have all been revealled with hidden pages in John’s journal, or Mary’s journals in his storage locker.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved some parts of it, (the acting by all involved) and not others (yet another deal).
At any rate I’m glad Cynthia has allowed someone with a different viewpoint to make themselves heard. It’s risky to do that within this fandom.
Oh wow……you have GOT to be kidding me!! Supernatural is probably the biggest obsession i’ve ever had in my life, but even I can realize when things get ridiculous and this kind of discussion is CERTAINLY getting more than a little out of proportion
What someone labels as “predictable”, I label as “consistent” in terms of the story and canon already presented. The reveals in 4.03 may have been “predictable”, but only after the fact. There were so many possible ways to go beforehand: Mary as a special kid of her generation, Mary making a deal for the health of her child(ren), John from a family of hunters, Mary as a witch, and the list go on and on from the speculation that has taken place these past two years. So I would hardly call the episode “predictable.”
[quote]They are the same six sockpuppets who have popped up on every Supernatural board with the same repetitive arguments. [/quote]
So repetative acceptance is different or better than repetative rejection?
I’m happy we got answers, but they were predictable and the method they were delivered left a lot to be desired IMO.
There are more that six sock puppets with the same opinion I think, they’re just not willing to brave the derision to express them.
While I don’t entirely agree with Miss Jen, I don’t entirely disagree either. The lack of Sam in this episode IN PARTICULAR rankles, because honestly, when is a character *not* included in his own “payoff”? Not to bring another show into it, but even Joss *involved* Dawn in her “payoff”–finding out that she was the Key–and I just can’t wrap my mind around why Sam was excluded from this!
Making Mary a hunter was not the twist I saw coming; in a way, I cynically think it was written that way to give Dean something to angst about; he and his brother became the one thing that Mary didn’t want them to become.
Having John there and seeing Mary’s father drop dead? Or at least, be lying dead on the ground when he “wakes up” or whatever? That really makes me wonder what kind of marriage they actually had, considering Mary obviously did not tell him the truth (and neither did anyone else in the Campbell family?) about how her father died; how would you feel thinking you were (possibly) responsible for the death of your father in law!?
Where was this uncle? In… Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things, I think it was, Dean tells Sam that their mother’s headstone was put up by an uncle they didn’t know/never met, and yet, there was no uncle.
I do think making Mary a hunter took away a *lot* from the mythology, because it really makes everything that Dean and Sam and John have gone through on her behalf really… pointless. She did it of her own free will, but it also essentially makes useless the whole John-going-to-Missouri-to-learn-the-truth that they brought up in Home.
I feel like this episode was… while not one of the worst, not one of the best, and definitely an attempt to reboot/rewrite the past three years’ mythology so that new viewers can catch up.
I loved it. It was fantastic. And everyone else I”ve talked to in my little fandom cliques online loved it too, even the Sam girls. But, everyone has their own tastes and some like certain episodes that others hate and vice versa. It’s all good. I myself, have never met a Supernatural episode I didn’t like, which is the ONLY one of my shows I can say that about.
If there is one thing I respect more than anything, is someone who obviously follows the show taking the time to logically present an opposing argument… even if that argument presents ideas and opinions that are VERY opposite not only to my own opinions but apparently the majority of the fandom. This is exactly what you have done Jen. A rebuttal to the overwhelming 4.03 love in an articulate manner. Do I agree with your viewpoint? Not by a longshot! “In the Beginning” was not only pivotal, but a darn-near masterpiece in presentation!!
I’m at least glad that you recognized the excellent acting contributions of Ackles & Pileggi here, as well as the great job done by the newcomers cast as John and Mary (and really, the entire cast in this one). But the travesty here is comparing “In the Beginning” to those episodes that truly belong at the bottom of the list. I agree with you on why “Bugs” and “Route 666” belong there. And “No Exit” belongs there because it pulled a major faux pas… elevating the importance of a secondary character at the expense of a primary character, which at the time was done to showcase the awesomeness of hunter-girl-potential-girlfriend Jo. But there were no shades of “No Exit” for 4.03, no elevation of a secondary character, no love interest that needed to be pushed, just excellent story-telling.
Yes, I missed Jared’s presence just like everyone else. But the lack of Sam was necessary to make this story work. Sam may have been physically absent, but Sam was present. It is the lack of Jared that has the fangirls grumbling and, in response, hating on the episode, unable to get past the fact that there was no Jared to drool over in this one. Because even though there was no Jared there, there was plenty revealed in connection to Sam.
I tend to not be a fan of time-traveling episodes because they almost always manage to mess up with the paradoxes presented between the past-present-future continuum, leaving gaping plot holes in the process. 4.03 succeeded in tying everything together beautifully and logically within the SN canon. Kripke may not have penned this most pivotal episode, but you can bet he was looking over Jeremy’s shoulder every step of the way.
To those who say they’ve read the spoilers and don’t see much Sam coming up I need to say… really? then check again… you must be reading spoilers for another show! And I am absolutely sick & tired of this fandom turning everything into Sam vs. Dean… Samgirls vs. Deangirls… with no regard to the bigger picture and the focus remaining on THE BROTHERS, which is the heart and soul of SN.
Therefore, I vehemently disagree with your viewpoint Jen. But then again, “No Exit” and “Route 666” had its fans too. And your argument loses major points in credibility by comparing 4.03 to those episodes.
Please, the whole point of this episode was to generate Dean angst. The idea that this is the episode that changes everything was crap. We are back into secret mode like season 2. We get to watch Dean and his deep man pain again. Like that has not been done to death. However, this is to be expected since the show should be renamed the Dean Show.
Yeah ITB isn’t among my favorite episodes, but its far from the worse, like Bugs and Route 666. It’s a good episode, but for ME it was ruined a bit with the lack of Sam. I just want to see Sam’s reaction to all this and now his reaction when/if Dean tells him. It’s not the same. I’m also sick of Dean being the one to reunite with his parents one way or another. Sam had like two words with Mary in Home and WIAWSNB wasn’t even real. It feels like Sam is being kicked out of the Winchester family tree, and I’ve felt that a while now.
But I have to agree that it’s WAY too early to complain too much about the season in general. We’ve seen three episodes.
“I wouldnt put your right to have them down.”
Ahhh, is THAT what you were doing, markie, all those years you called us EDGs? That was your special way of respecting our opinions?
I totally disagree except for the Mary deal thing. I mean yeah probably it was the easiest thing to do to just force Mary into making a deal and then have the demon coming for her child but still this episode HAD TO BE WRITTEN SOONER OR LATER!!! I mean all the fandom couldn’t wait to finally know why Mary knew Azazel the time he went after Sam… (so unless anyone was actually covering their eyes and really didn’t minding if Mary knew him then you all wanted to know!) this episode had to be written. Yeah, we got Dean and no Sam… yeah I’m not dancing in joy about that but this episode had to be like that! I mean could you imagine how would Azazel react if he saw Sam, one of his ‘chosen kids’ standing right there? he almost killed Dean can you imagine the risk of putting Sam there?… yeah he can exorcise demons with his mind now but does Dean know that? no! besides with all these mystery thing who knows how he would have reacted… face it NO ONE knows for sure what Sam is up to, so I say we trust Kripke who is the one actually writing the story and knows why he does things before we judge him.
Besides I really think there will be a Sam centered episode soon, with all of the secrets and escapes with Ruby we’ll need some explanations too. Don’t be to eager into jumping into conclusions if we really don’t know what’s coming ahead.
this fan needs to chill out. maybe it wasn’t the greatest episode of all but it wasn’t that bad, pal. I mean it wasn’t bad at all. Yes, no Sam was a bummer and some of the sticky parts of the plot line was a bit questionable, but have a heart.
And yes Mary was selfish to do the deal but haven’t we been through this in many episodes–Crossroad Blues as a starter? These deals are made out of human needs and feelings–that’s why even Dean apologized to Sam in season three, because these deals do leave the ones behind broken and hurt, but they are done anyways. An yes again that Mary might not have been the smartest of the bunch (she could have at least try for her parents to be a part of the deal) but she is after all a teenager. So it didn’t bug me that much.
Hey, just because we want Sam back doesn’t mean we need to cut Castiel out. Seriously, Jen lady, you need to back off. That scene between Castiel and Dean as they quietly stared at each other after Dean busting Mary smooch YED. Those expressions…priceless.
So yeah, it would not make my top five too but still, i don’t think it was that horrible. And I don’t think when a Supernatural episode sucks, it sucks terribly. I always thought the other way around, even though when a SN episode isn’t so amazing, it still has enough juice inside to be watched over and over again. That’s why I’m a fan.
So, let me get this straight, Jen didn’t like the episode because Mary’s apology to Sam just wasn’t good enough, because it was “to be continued”, and she apparently doesn’t like Castiel’s relationship with Dean? [as an aside, Misha Collins is a keeper!] Yes, the show is about the brothers and this episode was “about” Sam at it’s heart. I thought Carver’s script was very good and the acting was wonderful, Ackles and Pileggi especially.
“Or does Eric simply have a little man crush on Jensen and want his show to be All About Jensen and his perfect little Tear?”
Ah, of course, the real story rears it’s ugly head … if the Sam fans can’t think of anything of substance to say, then just lay the blame on Jensen, right? I hate to break this to you, but Jensen isn’t on the show’s writing staff. He’s handed a script and he does his job. But I guess if Eric does have a crush on Jensen, well, I can’t blame him for that. ;)
And oh yeah, I’d watch Jensen cry that perfect little tear ANY TIME when he gives me the performance that he did in this episode. I do think that these first few episodes of this season have been so well received because the focus is on Dean’s story right now and because Ackles is such a strong and compelling actor that he can carry the bulk of the emotional weight in the brother’s storyline, which I felt he did wonderfully in this episode, even without Sam being there.
Cynthia: I guess I understand you giving the Sam fan the chance for a rebuttal, but really, the only reason these fans are up in arms is because this *was* such an excellent episode — sans Sam.
I thought it was well known at this point that Jared wasn’t in this episode because he was doing reshoots for Friday the 13th. So yes, damn that Kripke for working around one of his two main actors schedule! I’m so tired of this excuse that he hates Sam.
To me, Mary’s deal was representative of who she was – desperate to have a normal life, loving and young. She’s holding the man she loves dead, in her arms, she’s been told her mother and father are both dead and the demon who did it is staring her in the face. What is she supposed to do?
There also a massive irony with her deal. Yes, it’s been done but that’s the point. Every single Winchester has made a deal to save another because it’s been about family – the core point of this show.
Other then that, I’m not commenting anymore. You’re right to have an opinion, I just wish you weren’t so angry about it.
I disagree that the revelation that Mary made a deal with the YED to start everything was just lazy writing. Yes, it repeats something we have seen before, but to repeat something like this doesn’t automatically mean that it is boring or pointless. It is more like hearing the same combination of notes repeated in a piece of music, but just in a different key or tempo. Mary’s deal fits in with a major theme of the show. Mary made a deal to save John, John made a deal to save Dean, Dean made a deal to save Sam, and Sam tried to make a deal to save Dean. This is how these demons on Supernatural work: they tempt people not with power or riches, but with a chance to save their loved ones, which makes it all the more heartbreaking when they give into the temptation, because as we have seen it only leads to more grief and pain and loss.
We all knew that Mary had a secret, and that it tied into what the YED did to Sam as a baby. I am very relieved that the secret didn’t turn out to be that Mary or Sam were born “special” in some way. Mary was not born with demon blood or psychic powers, and neither was Sam; thank goodness that the YED said straight out that he wasn’t going to be doing any “breeding”, so that we will be spared the scene where he tells Sam that he is his real father! (I know that some still believe that Sam was born with special powers, but I don’t see the show as telling us that; for one thing, it would be quite a coincidence if not only Mary, but her good friend Liddy who lived a few miles away, and the teenager on the farm nearby, and all the others the YED was making deals with in the area, all were destined to have babies possessing super psychic powers in ten years.)
I’m glad that it is the YED’s demon blood that is responsible for giving the psychic kids their powers. It kind of ties back into the original mystery of the show, as to why this all happened to the Winchester family to begin with. And I like the idea that it was not because the family had super special powers or were descended from a fallen angel, but because of a truly human trait, because they love each other so much that they are willing, often unwisely, to risk everything for those they love, and that the demons have learned to use this against them for their own purposes.
Strangelove clearly a Dean fan through and through and thats ok , we have a brother we are more inclined towards . ayaou say you didnt want a non-existant Dean ?judging by what he has had that was hardly gong to happen.But why do you think therefore Sam fans want a non-existant Sam? what because in your eyes his less than? as I stated its equality , just treat the boys the same, focusing on their stories without the need to negate the other, it isnt necessary . I am pleased Dean now has a role in the mytharc but doesnt justify neglect of Sam. Now I do believe Sam will get the attention he deserves because he has a story too. I look forward to both boys storys unfolding but it has to be both otherwise it isnt a story about two brothers. Sam fans concerns are justified and I am sure you have had concerns and I wouldnt put your right to have them down.
Thanks for the “debate”! Gotta say..it was an amazin’ episode. Loved the twists and turns.. Mary being stuck in a loose loose situation. The like mother like sons moment with the “deal”. It rocked!
Let me first say that, thank you Cynthia and you were correct. This episode ended up being fantastic. I loved it and am surprised that Carver wrote such an awesome Dean. I will, from now on, restrain from criticizing the writer till I’ve seen his episodes.
While the Sam fans continue to moan and groan, as they have been for the past three years, no matter what Kripke does for them, how much he gives them, and has bent over backwards trying to please them, there will be some that won’t be satisfied till the show is all about Sam with Sam in it for the majority and Dean is once again relegated to being just Sam’s brother with nothing to do unless it’s about Sam and no life unless it revolves around Sam.
This type of mentality is what I’ve been reading for the past three years and I was almost going to stop watching becuase it looked like Kripke was going to give the Sam fans everything, including an almost non-existant Dean.
Well, looks like Dean is here to stay. Equal and just as important as Sam. For this I thank Kripke and as long as he keeps Dean just as important as Sam and equal in their relationship, then I will be happy. I kind of got tired of Dean, the slave brother of the almighty Sam.
If the fans that complain they don’t know Sam, still do, I suggest you watch the past three seasons thoroughly, and this time pay attention to Sam and what he is doing, not Dean and how much time he’s spending on the screen. I bet there’s a lot you could learn about Sam just by watching Sam.
If you still can’t, then I think maybe you’re not watching the show for Sam, but for Jared. If that’s the case, then there’s not much that will convince you that Sam’s had a major role in all three seasons, and if I, a Dean fan, can tell you all about Sam, while you, a Sam fan, still don’t know anything about your favorite character, the fault doesn’t lie with the writers, or Kripke, but with your own viewing.