Supernatural

So I've been a bit lazy lately, for which I'm sorry, there has been a slump. A reason for that is that I’ve been watching what seems like a thousand episodes of Supernatural lately. There is no top ten list this week, but there is a long rambling post about my love for Supernatural.

I know it isn’t actually 1000, because there are only about 200 episodes in total. Probably less than 200. Anyway. I used to watch Supernatural when it started. I really liked it, still do, especially the first two to three seasons. It was really good, it’s like a probable Buffy. Because that’s what you need really, serious, probable Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Anyway. I watched season one through four and was sort of progressively more annoyed. Because up to season four it was sort of vaguely probable and cool. Two brothers hunting urban legends and that, one brother sacrifices himself for the other, all kinds of weird stuff. Anyway season four, angels. Yeah that’s a bit weird, isn’t it? It’s like they had no idea what to do next, so they just made it bigger and more intense. We’ve run out of urban legends and myths, you know what’s full of new weird stuff? Heaven, let’s go for that. There’s god and angels, and fallen angels and all kinds of crap. Woo. Yeah, anyway.

I think I actually watched season five too, it’s the one where Sam falls into the pit? Yeah. So I watched that. And then I gave up I think. I got annoyed with season six, for reasons unknown. Might be because there was a lot of whimpering and wining. Anyway, I just stopped. I think because they, the producers, or whoever else makes these decisions, said there would only be five season, and that would be okay. Then there was more and I just, in protest I think, stopped watching.

Then, and I don’t know why, I started watching again. I started with season 6, because I hadn’t seen the whole thing, so I just thought it’d be a good place to start. I don’t know why I started watching it again, possibly because it was on Netflix. Probably why. That seems like a valid reason to watch a TV-show. This is how I live my life: “Ooh, it’s on Netflix, let’s watch five-hundred episodes of that.” Yeah. So I’ve seen all of season six, all of season seven, working my way through season eight, don’t know what to do with my life when I’m done with it. Yeah. I’ll have to illegally find season nine. I’m not entirely sure where I was going with this post, so I’ll just list things that annoy me about Supernatural. Things I like, things I’ve learned, stuff like that. I’ll devote some time to Sam’s head.

One thing I’ve learned from Supernatural is that my fear of clowns is completely justified. Clowns are terrifying, they kill you, they laugh in a very creepy way. Clowns have creepy faces and being scared of them is natural and essential to your survival. There is a really, fucking terrifying episode in season two, I think, where we are first introduced to Sam’s fear of clowns and I had to cover my face every now and again. I sort of hoped that it would be enough with that one episode, there is a limit to how much terror you can get from clowns, you would think, or how many urban legends or myths are based around clowns. Then in season seven there is an episode based in a children’s restaurant. Where they can get tickets and win prizes. Awesome. It’s named after a clown, and I wasn’t emotionally ready for that, because the episode started with Sam running from clowns and I pretty much panicked. Yeah. The rest of the episode was pretty much me alternating between covering the screen or my eyes. I don’t know why I am scared of clowns. Well I do, they are completely terrifying, I just don’t know the origins of this fear. I don’t know where it comes from, I just find them horrifying, according to Supernatural they are dangerous so it’s okay, and somehow scarier, even though rationally I know most clowns aren’t actually killing people.

Something I’ve been focusing quite a lot on when watching the show is how annoying I find Sam’s hair, and his sideburns. The sideburns is because they are absolutely the worst sideburns of all time, because it looks like he really wants sideburns, but he doesn’t have what it takes. 

I would argue they are worse than Wolverine’s sideburns. I’m also annoyed with his hair. This seems to be a big debate in the fandom, which makes me happy, we all have the right priorities. I was sort of thinking that maybe the show can only afford one haircut a year and only Jensen is allowed to cut his hair. Or they’ve made a hair helmet for Jensen so his hair always looks the same. His hair has not changed for nine years. After some googling it turns out Jensen lets his hair grow out between seasons and cuts it when he comes back, which lends credence to my they-can-only-afford-one-haircut theory. Castiel’s, or Misha’s hair, is not bad either, it changes a little, but it’s sort of normal. Anyway. This is giving me quite a lot of thought. I don’t focus on the pain and the hurt and all that carry-on, Sam’s hair.

So, things I like about Supernatural: Cas. I like him, sounds a bit fangirl-y, but I like him. I like the bizarre relationship he has with Dean, how he doesn’t see how weird he is. I like him trying to cope with humanity. I like Misha as an actor, I think he is good. He basically made the whole episode when the characters are transferred to the set of Supernatural. I also like that Misha basically has one outfit. He wore the suit and trench coat for a long time before he was allowed anything else, and they quickly popped him back into it. I love Crowley. In that I know he is absolutely evil and horrible, but the dude is awesome. Mark Sheppard is amazing.

 I love Bobby. In a similar vein I really like Garth, who is a genius. Also, Felicia Day. Wow! I also like that the show is quite funny. Not in a comedy way, but it’s still funny, jokes and that. I am eloquent as all hell. I really liked the angel Balthasar. I like practicality and pragmatism, I think that’s why I like him. Also he’s an arrogant asshole, which helps. I like that they use the same Kansas song over and over again, it makes me so happy.

Now to something that bugs me about the show, which is more serious. The show is sort of weirdly misogynistic. There are obviously things in the show that makes it easy to excuse those things, but it really bugs me. There are very few strong women on the show who last for a very long time. They are killed off, whether they are hunters, or just regular people, Mary, Jess, Jo, Ellen, Gwen, Annie. They die, or they’re evil. Some women last for a while, but are only ambivalently moral, at best, like Ruby or Meg. The characters also quite often use derogatory terms, like bitch. They shamed Bela, there are things that are really not good. It’s not just me that have thought about this obviously. This is a thing discussed often on the internets. And it does piss me off.

Another point is that there are generally few important non-white characters. Rufus is the only example I can think of right at this moment, and Kevin. Also Uriel and Raphael now that I’ve turned my brain on. Still, few, far between and they’re either evil, or die. I know that the cast is small and it’s hard to shove more people in for long stretches, but some variation would be nice.

On another, but sort of related note, I really like Dean and Jo’s relationship. They have this flirty, sweet relationship, with some mutual crushes, but they seem very clear on where they stand with each other and Jo is unwilling to bang Dean just because she might die. I like that they gave her a certain amount of dignity, and she was her own character, she wasn’t just this girl for the boys to protect/fight/bang. I’m sounding more critical than I would like. I really liked Jo, I think she was cool. I like people like Lisa and Amelia, they gave Sam and Dean a lifeline and they sort of saved them when neither of them had anyone else. It’s sad that Lisa had to go, even though it’s very understandable for how the story progressed. I just, really? Let the ladies do stuff. That’s a proper call for feminism: let the ladies do stuff. Maybe a better one would be don’t kill them all? I don’t know.

There is something else that sort of bugs me. The show has lasted for a long time, and it seems like they’ve run out of normal episode plots. So they sort of one-up the show for every episode, or at least season. It’s one sign it’s lasted too long.

Something that always impressed me is the commitment of the guest stars. Even if they haven’t been involved in the show for a long time, like the girl who plays Jess, who came back in season 5, three years after her last appearance, or the actress who played Sarah Blake, who was in one episode in season one and one in season eight, commitment dude. That is impressive.

It’s very annoying to become more aware. It makes you realize that things you love are problematic. The good thing is you realize you’re allowed to like them because you know they’re problematic and you can like them despite that. Anyway, closing in on the last episode of season eight, so much fun. Oh Supernatural, you weird, bizarre show.