Spoiler Update – September 22nd
DEAN IS PUT ON TRIAL FOR HIS PAST SINS — Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) investigate a string of gruesome murders and discover the Egyptian god Osiris (guest star Faran Tahir) is behind the deaths. The vengeful god is putting people on trial for their past mistakes and killing them if found guilty. Osiris hones in on Dean’s guilt and decides he’s the next to stand trial. Sam steps in as Dean’s lawyer, but both brothers are unprepared when Osiris calls an unexpected witness – Jo (guest star Alona Tal). Robert Singer directed the episode written by Adam Glass (#704).
Laura Prudom of AOL.TV released an article on her perception of the Season 7 premier and Sera Gamble and Bob Singer Q&A that took place yesterday. Her preview of the episode itself was the best one I’ve seen yet.
Her spoilers are listed below:
– Castiel’s transformation is the driving force of the first episode, and Collins is given an excellent range of emotions to play. From infuriating arrogance to heartrending emotion, the episode showcases some of Collins’ finest work to date, and will answer many of the questions that have been posed to the actor and the producers over the summer in regards to Castiel’s arc this season. “I think he totally bought into what he was doing at the end of last year,” Robert Singer conceded. “Eric [Kripke] used to like to say, ‘Every villain is a hero of his own story.’ [Castiel] totally believed in what he was doing and believed that it was the right thing — there was a certain amount of hubris and ego there that was probably misplaced, but I don’t think he counted on what happened to him and I think there’s just sort of that life lesson there of power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
– We’ll start to see a focus on those issues in episode four (which Singer directed), in which Dean is put on trial by the Egyptian god of the afterlife, Osiris. “[He] weighs your heavy heart against a feather and if your heart is heavier than the feather, then he does you in,” Singer revealed. “It’s all about carrying guilt and that sort of thing, not just ‘do I feel bad?’ but ‘do I feel guilty?’ That’s kind of the big turning point episode for his arc this year … kind of a kick off for a real kind of good run for Jensen. He’s in a different place, I think, than he’s been in previous seasons.” The episode will also see the return of Jo [Alona Tal], who is called as a witness to testify in Dean’s case. “She’s great in the episode,” Singer enthused. “We put some flashbacks in the episode, back to episodes she was in years ago, and she has matured and grown incredibly as an actress. I was just blown away by what she did.”
– Sam, meanwhile, still has that pesky mental wall to deal with, and now that it’s come crashing down, expect him to face some issues that Dean and Bobby can’t help him with. “It comes out pretty quickly that he is dealing with this awful wall-breaking, hallucinatory situation, which escalates really, really dramatically in the next episode, which Ben Edlund wrote,” Gamble teased. “It becomes something that Dean is trying to deal with and Bobby is trying to deal with and it was an interesting thing to throw at him.”
– More time-travel: (Although the boys won’t be flying Angel Air this time around.) “We’re breaking an episode right now that’s pretty cool, where one of the guys ends up stuck in 1944, which is very different then getting stuck in the wild west … it’s a darker time period,” Gamble hinted. “It turns out that a case that they were trying to solve back than is the same as a case that Sam and Dean are trying to solve now. All of the tropes at that time period are really fun; in its own way, it’s as iconic and fun as the western.”-
– New allies: As previewed at Comic-Con, we’ll be introduced to Frank, an old acquaintance of Bobby’s who is “a bit off the grid” and “a really difficult guy to deal with.” We’ll also meet Garth, who is “very quirky” according to Gamble. “Dean is stuck in an emergency situation and can’t be with Bobby and can’t be with Sam and needs a hunter and Bobby sends him this guy named Garth, who’s going to be played by DJ Qualls,” she revealed.
-The devil you know: As the previews have indicated, Crowley is back — and the demon is harder to kill than a cockroach. Expect to see more of him, according to Gamble. “Crowley is sort of the ultimate, self-interested character; he always finds a way to bend whatever’s happening to his own best uses,” she said. “I mean, there’s a reason he’s lived this long; there’s a reason he always finds the parachute under his seat. So, as things evolve this season, we’ll see him try and adapt. He’s always fun — we keep throwing stuff at him.”
-More Meg: Singer predicted that Meg (Rachel Miner) would “rear her lovely and evil head again” sometime soon, but didn’t specify any precise plans.
-Title card: Fans always relish the title card change at the start of a new season, and this year’s card is certainly … messier than before. “It’s just monstery and disgusting and connects to purgatory, and also, there’s sort of like a B-movie vibe of grossness coming at you from your screen that we really have wholeheartedly embraced in the writer’s room,” Gamble laughed.
On the premiere itself, she commented.
“I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t too fond of season six on the whole; episodes often felt tonally uneven in terms of direction or editing, or badly paced in terms of writing, with some storylines rushed through too fast (hello and goodbye, Eve!) or character potential squandered because of indecisive plotting (hello and goodbye, Campbells!).
That being said, even though episode 701 is more dialogue-heavy than action-heavy, I found it well-paced and well-edited, with amusing musical cues and a compelling narrative. Scenes didn’t drag or cut off too abruptly; there was a well-tempered balance of drama and humor; all the actors were delivering strong, nuanced performances, and the episode contained a couple of surprising twists that I don’t think the audience will see coming.
As a fan of Castiel’s character and the new dynamic he brought to the show in season four, I was admittedly pensive about the premiere given the way last season ended, but without giving anything away, I found myself generally satisfied with the direction he took, although a lot hinges on what happens in the next episode. Being active on Twitter, I’m also well aware of the concerns some Dean fans have in regards to his arc, but I will say that the producers seem aware of those worries, as well as those relating to Castiel, and I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt in handling the characters respectfully, because they seem to have a much clearer direction for the season as a whole in mind than they demonstrated at the beginning of last year.
There was a point early last season where I wondered if ‘Supernatural’ could ever recapture that giddy sense of anticipation I felt in earlier years, where waiting a week for answers seemed impossible, but I can honestly say that I’m genuinely looking forward to episode 702. I’m hoping it addresses a few of the questions posed by the cliffhanger ending of 701, but on the whole, I’m feeling a lot more optimistic than I was feeling after last season’s premiere, and that’s a very good sign.â€
To read the entire article click here.
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SpoilerTV has released future episode titles and air dates.
Episode 7.09: How to Win Friends and Influence People (11/18/2011)
Episode 7.10: Not Fade Away (12/02/2011)
Episode 7.11: Adventures In Babysitting (01/06/2012)
Episode 7.12: Amazon.com (01/13/2012) *Working Title
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