Supernatural/Human pairs season eight

[karadinart]

***who i would like to see again
**interesting
*meh
never again


* Brick Holmes and his wife. (Mayan athelete who lived forever because he was eating human hearts decides to stop living because his human wife is aging and he will miss her) I had some sympathy for the human wife, but as we never meet the main character, I couldn't miss him, plus it would make sense to commit suicide if his human wife had died first ... not before she died.

Brian, Kate and Mike (college kids who become werewolves and are involved in a deadly dull love triangle) It would have been nice to see the concept go somewhere new with werewolf lore, spn is great at reimagining myth, but just ... no.

**Benny and Andrea (the reluctant vampire friend of Dean in Purgatory and his human wife) this was a great side story, it fleshed out Benny's character, cemented the bond (to the audience in real time) of his friendship with Dean, and the ending was very poignant.

**Benny and Elizabeth (Benny finds a home in the place where he was born, where is granddaughter lives, but once his nature as a vampire is revealed he has to give up everything and go on the move again)

*Charlie and Gilda (Sam and Dean's gal pal from season seven meets a (good)fairy and helps rescue her from the clutches of an evil LARPer who is using her powers for bad, alas, too short to even figure out what would become of such a relationship)

***Aaron and his Golem (Aaron is a descendant of the Judah Initiative, a group of rabbi's who fought the Nazis, and he's supposed to have taken control of a Golem, but literally smoked the manual. Not only a charming duo - Aaron is a reluctant Master and the Golem constantly scolds him, seriously, I would watch them in a spin-off show.

Portia (DogGirl) and James (Witchcop) (a familar convinced she's in an intimate realtionship with her Master with her full consent and a Master still in control as he keeps things from her, pushes her away (for her own good) he gets a powerful supernatural creature as an ally and lover, while she gets a nice shiny dogcollar, watering and feeding and some affection.

*next has spoilers for today's ep*

*Prometheus and --- (a Greek demigod cursed to die each day paired up with a human woman who ran at the first sign of his strangeness, then began to look for him when she bore him a son) Their relationship didn't change much, but :Prometheus is motivated by care of what happens to his son, as is the woman, who's actions on the boy's behalf lead her to free Zeus, and her lover's death. Well, it's Greek, they invented tragedy.

Comments

[kinkthatwinked.livejournal.com]

Pretty much agree with you on all of these. Man, Brick was a dick. Because he couldn't handle attending his wife's funeral someday, he checks out early and leaves her both elderly and all alone. You would think in all those centuries he would have grown a pair of balls.

It's a shame about Benny and his granddaughter. I felt pretty bad for him in that ep.

Aaron and the Golem were fun, weren't they?

Don't even get me started on the fucking slave fantasy of Portia and James. She even CALLED him her "master" at one point, didn't she? Didn't anyone on the writing staff think about how this kind of relationship dynamic between an interracial couple might come off?! I've been embarassed by bad eps before, but I was actually ashamed to call myself a fan of this show that night!

*taking deep, calming breaths*

On the bright side, we've been granted another season of a really great pair: Dean and Castiel!! So there's that. :)

[karadin.livejournal.com]

reaction on the Witchcop episode surprised me, in the sense people were saying, oh but it's good to have people of colour on the show (even in demeaning roles) or my personal non-fave - you have to look beyond the superficial (the big red dog collar, the Master references) the show was about Sam and Dean being racist toward witches - really? The boys racist toward witches who in the show to date, have not had a single good witch character and who's magic came from demon deals?

As another commenter said, the whole witch bar scene seemed to be from an episode of 'Charmed' and various other CW shows that I'd never watch, I hope that never gets revisted again! But I'm not surprised, considering one of the writing team wrote Route666 with the racist truck.

[kinkthatwinked.livejournal.com]

Same people that did 666, huh? I didn't know that. Actually, I could see racial prejudice being an angry ghost's motivation, as much as any of the other malevolent spirit rationales we've seen on this show. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that the episode did kinda suck. (Plus, Dean/Cassie had zero chemistry, IMO).

I don't know if there's a better way for a TV show like SPN to address the subjects of racism or interracial relations, but considering the general maturity level of the show's writers, maybe they should just leave it alone.

[karadin.livejournal.com]

I don't think it would have taken much to improve the ep - Portia could have removed her collar, which would have made a very blatant statement, or when human worn it as a belt, a very different statement than around the neck, or for fairness, the male familiar could have worn a collar. And showing her in a superior position (sexually at least) was negated when James is literally chained down, implying that this is the only way Portia could have a superior position, when his power is negated by someone else - in this case, Sam and Dean.

Instead of James pushing Portia away (showing that he's still in control) they could have faced the enemy together, and there would be less concern that the relationship is non-con.

James was very much a cipher, he could have expressed at some point that being a witch costs him something, from the way the writers drew his character he's not been selfless (like almost every heroic character in Spn, so it's difficult to care what happens to him. Portia was far more realized, but trapped in the Master/Familiar relationship.

As for Route666, it's main fault is that it blantanly places its story back in the 60's dealing with race relations, and that's something that you don't want to use simply for shock entertainment value, you also want to imply that the bad guys get their commeuppance, but it only came about after the Racist Truck had killed at least three good guys. If the Dean and Cassie relationship was supposed to indicate that things have gotten better (ie relationships between races more supportive) it didn't work because Cassie dumped Dean, and while they were still sexually attracted, had some make up sex, it was easy enough for them to part, with no implication that they'd ever hook up again.

Thing is, Ben Edlund was able to do an episode involving the Nazi's exterminating the Jews in the WW2 - he created the Judah Initiative concept, where the Rabbis fought the Nazis themselves (making them active participants, not needing an outside force to liberate them) and make a point that while they might still be around (even undead) there are still people like Aaron (and his Golem) willing to fight them. So you can take subjects that are historical, and current, and make them relevant and good entertainment, depending on the writer you choose.

I've come to think the only place Spn falls down at times is writing, becuase the acting and the production are great, maybe they should look at some guest writers next season.

[kinkthatwinked.livejournal.com]

it's good to have people of colour on the show (even in demeaning roles)

You know, I've been surprised in the past at the lengths fans will go to to defend this show, but after all these decades, I can't believe people who'd probably never consider themselves racist are still saying this regarding people of color on the screen. It's like saying black and Latina women should STILL just shut up and be happy when they get to play the maid!!

you have to look beyond the superficial (the big red dog collar, the Master references)

No, the writers should have looked directly at the "superficial," and realized they were doing a lot more than a running bestiality joke! I can't believe there was no better way to tell this Witchcop story and introduce familiars to SPN lore, without the 'black collared servant/white male master' overtones. It was just tasteless to me.

I hope the writers hear some of this backlash, and REALLY reconsider if someone suggests bringing these characters back.

[karadin.livejournal.com]

Agree, agree, agree.

It also drove me crazy that Portia was supposed to be 'a strong assertive abled character to some, simply because of the fact that a) the actress is beautiful b) she fights for her man. c) she loves her man.

I'm really hoping these are young girls, but then again, that's also frightening, that they can't see past the thin veneer of 'romance' for how uneven this relationship is, without adding magic to it. No wonder it has a Twilight reference.

[indigocat.livejournal.com]

When we first see human Portia, I immdeiately think of the Star Trek - Assignment Earth episode.