Supernatural – Hope(s) for Season 8, Please!
I have been struggling for a while to write this article.
Largely because a.) I was not a huge fan of Season 7; and b.) I know that what I want can never happen.
I enjoy both styles of story arcs, for different reasons. I enjoy the ongoing mythology story lines, because they give me a common theme for an entire season. I enjoy the monster-of-the-week style because there isn’t too much to remember the following week.
What I do miss is the Winchesters’ relationship being the story arc. Even though all the past seasons have included monsters, angels, a continuing theme of the apocalypse and a showdown between good and evil, the ever-present battles between Sam and Dean were always there, and that was what I (and many, many others, I think) hung on. The difference in Season 7 was that there was little if any conflict between the brothers as they fought together to save Sam’s sanity, suffer through the loss of Castiel and Bobby, and of course, defeat the leviathans.
With Dean’s increasing anger at never being given a break and Sam sort of coming into his own again after Castiel saves his sanity, it seems that a return to the lighter-hearted days of old when the boys (who are, admittedly, clearly no longer boys but men) could share some laughs and see some of the good in life.
We have our jokes, and Dean’s usual one-liners, of course. We also have Sam’s increasing ability to deliver a good one-liner of his own to shut Dean down. But they still seem disconnected, even after the fight dean fought to bring Sam back from the brink of insanity.
Now, i know there has been increasing disparity between the Winchesters. It started when Sam started lying to dean about Ruby, way back in Season 4. But even them, there wasn’t the hopelessness that I feel now, in their relationship.
But amid all that is this sadness underneath, a loss of innocence – if it can even be called that, in the world they live in. There is a missing vein of hope that someday they can rest, someday the world will not need to be saved, and that someday they can live normal lives. I mean, they always KNEW they couldn’t ever have those things, but the lighter sides of them kept that hope alive, regardless of what they came up against. That hope is gone, and that makes me sad.
I am really hoping that the writers will try to get some of that back, somehow. Not all of it, but can we at least go back to hoping it’ll all be ok, one day?
I firmly believe that’s where we’re getting back to. I enjoyed Season 7, not gonna lie, but more so when I watched them all over again back to back, rather than waiting a week (or longer, hellatus) for each episode. I felt it to be less disjointed that way. But hopefully there will be that hope, that fight back in them, especially having been apart for a while and Sam having a taste of “real life”. Whichever way it goes…purdy boys make me happy… 😉
Maybe I should watch them all again back to back. I feel that way about every other season, but not this one…contributing to my feeling like it lacks cohesiveness, perhaps?
I hope that’s where they go. I miss them.
I have weird feeilngs about some of the spoilers that are coming out. I will wait and see.
You know me, I avoid them liken the plague lol
Fortunately, I remembered in the nic of time. I was about to say – the spoiler about XXXX and something in my brain went off like an alarm
THANK YOU!!! lol I’ll do spoilers for all my other shows, but I just can do it for Supernatural. I leave all the previews and reviews to you! 🙂
Don’t you totally contradict yourself? You note that in S7 “The difference in Season 7 was that there was little if any conflict between the brothers” but then you complain that they were disconnected?
And I think the point of the show if how people find a point to life, when things are dark, and hard. Its never going to be a happy ever after type of show in the way you want.
I’m pretty sure I said that I knew ot was never going to happen. I just want them to have the hope that it could back.
I enjoyed season 7 and got a big kick out of Dick and the Leviathan, but two things. 1) Because they had killed off everyone else (see point 2) the only way they could cut down on the boys’ long hours was to write them apart. Dean in the 40s, Sam in the present, Dean with Garth, Sam with Becky, Dean looking for Cas, Sam in a psych ward, etc. So though the theme was about stripping the boys of everything except each other, it didn’t feel to me there was much of a payoff to that, because we rarely saw them relying on each other, or much of their relationship.
2) It’s no surprise Sera chose Film Noir as the theme for s6 and Butch and Sundance for s7. She gets off on nihilism, death, despair. I call her Serial Killer Sera because man does she like to kill people. Drama is her strong suit, and she excels at it. But because she was showrunner and put more of her stamp on the whole show rather than just her own episodes, there was less hope and less humor overall.
So I totally agree with you–I too am missing the brothers’ relationship and I too need them to lighten up a little. Seeing as Carver has written A Very Supernatural Christmas, Mystery Spot and Changing Channels, I think we’re going to get a mix of drama and comedy overall that better suits my tastes. In that sense I’m optimistic, though like Charkinzie (and a lot of other people) some spoilers have me concerned. But it’s easy to imagine the worst with spoilers (I normally avoid them like the plague as well, but I was accidentally spoiled several times around Comic Con) so best to just wait and see and not form preconceived notions.
I fervently agree with you on all points. Thank you for bringing it to such a clear and concise point in your article – there were many factors that made Supernatural the hit series it is now, but the main thing was the Winchesters’ relationship and that is being lost. I know that they were on the same page and very much like seasons 1-3 in s7, but it was missing the drama that made it the focal point. The reason, I believe, that you feel (rightly) that the situation was not as hopeless in s4 as it is now with their relationship is that in s4 they were struggling but the writers knew that the struggle to remain together was what made the show important to people. They focused on it. Now it’s like “Oh, everyone knows they love each other and that they’re brothers, so now we can forget about it for a while and focus on other fresh, new areas.” However, I hope that these new writers realize that the bond between Sam and Dean – not just the awareness of it but having it shoved in our faces over and over every week, crammed down our throats in beautiful bromantic gluttony – is what makes a lot (I’m going to take a guess here and say, most) of the viewers love the show with the passion they do. I’m hoping for some serious bonding time this season – they still haven’t patched up the relationship’s wounds from s6 sufficiently in my opinion. They are “on the same page” now, but I feel a threatening lack of earnestness in their relationship that indicates that all is not well with our boys. I mean, when was the last time the boys sat on the Impala and bared their souls? It’s been too long.
wish they bring back all the old characters died and killed
I miss seeing Sam and Dean smile and enjoy each other’s company…that is what made seasons 1-3 so good…the relationship! I hope they bring it back.
I agree in the aspect that last season lacked alot of brotherly moments. But you say that you dont believe it could change, I am the type of guy who loves reading spoilers. In the spoilers they promised that everything will be much more personal and dat while Dean is in Purgatory he will change an understand that this is his life. Hopefully he wont be so depressed any longer. Granted their hope for leaving the hunting life is gone but that doesnt mean, the brotherly bonds and jokes are gone too. Jeremy Carver has written some of the most brothely centered episodes. I have hope that brotherly moments will return. Cool article which mentioned some important problems faced in season 7.