Let's Discuss: What Is Needed To Make Supernatural Season 8 Great?

04 Mar 2013

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Created on Monday, 04 March 2013 13:24

Last Updated on Sunday, 09 June 2013 22:44

Written by {ga=nightsky}

For our latest "Let's Discuss" topic, Nightsky has written up a great analysis on her take of season 8 so far and what she hopes to see in the remaining episodes.  It raises many wonderful talking points and gives us plenty to ponder in this small break from new episodes.  What exactly would you like to see for the rest of season 8?  Do you agree or disagree? 

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To say that we have been on a roller coaster of emotions with Season 8 would be an understatement! Looking back over the list of episodes, I have to confess that I believe the majority of them were well written, had a good emotional impact, and advanced at least one of the main storylines. In fact, I found many of them to be rather exciting. Some of the new ideas that have been introduced (e.g. MoL) are inspired and have given the series a fresh plot line that can be nurtured for many years to come. Yet my overall feeling about Season 8 is a sense of longing, a sense that none of this is being pulled together in a way that makes sense.

I feel that every week has been laying the cornerstones of a story, but instead of consistently building on that foundation, the next week throws something new at us – good by itself but not emotionally or intellectually satisfying. Each week, when I tune into a new episode, I hope that maybe this week the new writing team will hit their stride and build on everything that has come before. I keep waiting for bromance moments that finally see Sam and Dean being honest with each other and truly developing and deepening their relationship.  I want to see stories that make sense of the maelstrom of clues that have been thrown at us about tablets, secret societies, Cas, Benny, and Amelia.  I want explanations and actions from Sam and Dean that make sense given the 7.5 years of character development we have embraced in our hearts.  

So, I started to think about what exactly I want to see in the remaining episodes.  What is it I hope to see each week?  What would make this season reach its potential of inspired writing and brilliant myth arcs?  What is it exactly that is lacking for me? 

Earlier in the season, an idea was floating around to list all the clues that were being thrown at us in the first 10 episodes so we could begin to put together the pieces of this puzzle into a coherent picture. I personally never got around to formally keep track of the clues and their corresponding theories (and I really don’t have the luxury of 10-15 hours to rewatch all of the episodes now!). Some of the things I need to see are so central to the story, though, that I don’t need help remembering them! So here is my wish list of answers and plot resolutions, in roughly their order of importance to me: 

1.  Sam’s “lost” months - I want to hear that Sam DID look for Dean in those "lost" months, or the REAL reason that he did not look.  I am not satisfied that he didn't look because he just wanted to take time off. If he truly believed Dean was dead, tell us how that affected Sam and what he did in that time period….or Did Sam want to look for Dean but just did not have the ability, knowledge or strength to do so (couldn't keep going is different than didn't want to keep going, in my book).  Several theories have been posed - suicide attempt, mental incapacitation from his past several years of battling Satan, etc.  I am fairly open as to exactly what happened to Sam, (my personal, craziest theory is that Sam was in secret training from the angels! Unlikely, I know!) but I want a heart-felt confession/admission about this time from Sam TO DEAN, not to some random person and Dean never hears the truth.  Some of the clues this would address: 

• Sam's lack of enthusiasm or surprise when he first saw Dean back from Purgatory. That reunion scene was just flat and made no sense given the emotional reunions we have witnessed in prior seasons.
• Sam's keen interest in the name of the tablet Kevin found in “We Need to Talk About Kevin”.  That always struck me as odd, like he already knew there would be other tablets. 
• Sam knowing the exorcism spell backwards, and knowing this would keep a demon from escaping. Was this just a foreshadowing of “smart Sam” (consistent with his mention of wanting to go back to college, and eventually becoming a MoL), or was he taught this trick?
• All of the references to suicide in "Heartache".  I even keyed into the line where Sam said he “wanted to live” in “Trial and Error” (when faced with the trials), which made me think of someone who had previously lost their lease on life but found a renewed passion for life.

2.   Amelia - I would be thrilled if there was a lot more depth to the Amelia story line than just she and Sam fell in love because they needed each other. I know it looks like the writers were contrasting a "dream life" with Sam's harsh, real life, but I wouldn't cry if Amelia really WAS a dream (or a memory implanted in Sam's mind by angels? I know, I know - she's real. This story was so, um, blah, that I’m really looking for a way to spice it up or make sense out of it!). The clues that make me wonder about the veracity of Amelia’s story : 

• All the dream-like qualities of the flashbacks.
• Dean's reference to the name Don ("Don't trust a guy named Don") when Dean shouldn’t have known anything at all about Don. 
• The fact that she was even named Amelia.  This name was too close to the name of Sam's friend, Amy. Even Castiel's vessel (Jimmy) wife's name was Amelia! Really?  The writers couldn’t think of a different name for a lead female character?
• The person standing outside the Kermit, TX house (was that Dean?). 
• All the dream sequence references in Hunteri Heroici.

3.  Bromance - I want our boys to keep talking to each other!! Honestly and sincerely! Enough talking to guest stars and not each other! Let us have a conversation of forgiveness and healing that addresses the old wounds that Dean expressed in “Southern Comfort”.  What about the hurt Sam felt in “Blood Brother?" The mature relationship that I want to see means they talk more, not less, but at least as much as they talked in seasons 1-5. 

4.  Benny - I would like Sam to acknowledge the significance of Benny’s friendship with Dean and realize that Benny has earned the right to be considered one of those reformed “monsters” that Sam has defended in past seasons.  Personally, I would like Benny to live, but I'm not sure that is in the cards. 

5.  Obvious plot lines to close:

• Naomi – the boys need to figure out who Naomi is and help break the control she has over Castiel. 
• Gates of Hell - that Sam succeeds and they close the gates of Hell.  I'm perfectly good with that!
• The music - as long as I'm making a wish list, I wouldn't mind more classic rock! It's been getting a little rare lately!

If most or all of these frustrating, season-long, taunting mysteries are addressed, I will feel there was a brilliant plan for the season all along. The writers dropped tantalizing clues for us, knowing they would pull them all together in the end. If so, the remaining 6 or 7 episodes will be a breath-taking ride towards a season of distinction!  If they are not addressed, however, I will be forced to chalk this up to loose ends or inconsistency between the writers, and I'll have to be content with a few stand-alone episodes destined to be classics, and precious few isolated moments of greatness. 

So that is what I wish for. What do you need to see?  What clues have I forgotten??  Since I think we all know our frustrations with the season by now, may I suggest we keep the suggestions hopeful and positive? What is needed to make Season 8 great?

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As a reminder, "Let's Discuss" topics are free form zones, so long elaborate discussions are most encouraged.  All opinions are welcome.  However, please follow our basic rules, with the most important one being show respect for other posters.  No attacks or dismissing opinions as invalid. 

Okay, let's discuss!

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