Certain shows reach a point where you're going to enjoy spending an hour with them no matter where the story happens to take you that week. My list of shows like that is probably pretty short. Lost, Mad Men, Breaking Bad - that might be the whole thing. But I think Supernatural belongs on that list as well. Sometime during season 2, when the stories got a little less "Monster of the Week" and more rooted in the characters, I realized the show was pretty much immune from laying an egg. Sam and Dean Winchester were just too likable and the dynamic between them was just too interesting.
As the show dug deeper into the brothers' past and unpacked the motivations of their characters more, the scope of their surroundings began to expand. First we found out that Sam (along with a few other children) and been targeted by demons as soldiers for Hell. Then came the consequences of opening the gate to Hell and the extent of the power of the demons running the show down there. Next we were introduced to the other side of the scale, the angels, and how they might have a little interest in keeping Dean around. And finally last year, we were thrown in the middle of a full-blown apocalypse and found out that the brothers' we've grown to care so much about are at the center of the whole damn thing. The world of Supernatural kept getting bigger and bigger and awesomer and awesomer up until the oh-so-perfect finale that saw Sam literally conquer the devil inside him, Dean get to settle down and have a normal life for himself, and peace and order restored to the world. The End.
There were two things I was left wondering after the finale. First, how did Sam get out of hell? Second, how's Dean handling a life of domestic tranquility, removed from the road trips, hotel rooms and salt-loaded shotguns that made up his first 30 years of existence?
"Exile on Main Street" didn't answer that first question. All we know is that shortly after falling into hell (in Earth years), he woke up in a field not knowing how he got there or who saved him. We don't know how long he felt like he was down in the Inferno, but from what he had to say about his experience down there, it wasn't just a long weekend. Maybe it was shorter than Dean, maybe it was longer (I think Dean was down there for forty years), but either way, I'm not surprised he doesn't seem quite as traumatized as his brother did after his time in the fiery clink. Although he didn't put up the same tough-guy front as his brother, in a lot of ways Sam was the stronger one. He had is soft spots, like his addiction to demon blood and anything that had to do with Jess, but he usually was able to keep his wits about him. And really that's the only reason I have any semblance of trust for these new "family members" that Sammy's allied himself with.
One of the things I didn't like about this episode was the reemergence of Grandpa Campbell. Played by the incomprible Mitch Pileggi of X-Files fame, the only thing we've seen of Sam's namesake is that he was the original hunter in Sam and Dean's immediate family and that his body was once occupied by the Yellow-Eyed Demon. I didn't like him then and I don't really like him now (if it is actually him). Pileggi played Walter Skinner on X-Files. He acted tough but always seemed to be in a position where somebody like the Smoking Man had him by the balls and he would make a cowardly move that would cost Mulder and Scully there one big chance to reveal The Truth. He always wanted to have their back but more often than not, he couldn't help them like he'd promised.
So I guess that's part of the reason I don't trust him now. But I also didn't like how they threw all these new characters at us. I understand that the show wants to hit the ground running in it's first episode back (especially with a new showrunner), but I really needed more Sam and Dean time. I didn't want to move on to this new thing with the Djinns and the new crew of hunters because I wasn't quite ready to move past the huge business that I think the brothers still needed to deal with. And I really didn't like how these new guys were acting like big shots, especially when they said to leave it to the "professionals". Excuse me, but that's Dean Fucking Winchester you're talking to. One of the baddest hunters ever to walk the Earth. He saved the entire world for God's sake! Who the hell do you think you are giving him that kind of attitude, Guy Who's Twice Removed from Something? You don't even have a name! You have no chance!
They dove a little deeper into my second question, however, and to great effect. I absolutely loved that montage at the beginning of the episode of Dean's new life with Lisa and Ben cut with old clips of his past with Sam. The perfect amount of catchup and nostalgia. Anyway, it turns out post-apocalyptic life wasn't always so great. Understandably, Dean was wracked with grief after Sammy died, drinking too much, taking it out on Lisa and Ben. But overall, he was happy. And as Bobby put it he was "out". He didn't have to hunt anymore. And like Sam said later, on, I think that's what Dean always wanted, especially toward the end. He just couldn't take being a hunter anymore. He took it all too personally, the loses weighed on him too much. It's interesting, at the beginning of the series, Sam was the one who wanted to start a normal life and Dean was the one pulling him into the world of demons and curses and monsters. By the end, it was the opposite. The brothers had switched roles. Sam knew he wasn't ever going to find his way out, but he had hope for his brother.
Unfortunately, Dean could only stay away for so long. His old life found its way back to him. But Sam came back too. Dean was pissed that Sam had been back from hell for a year and hadn't told him, but I see where Sammy was coming from. He was happy that Dean finally got to settle down. Ever since he was left on his own to take care of his little brother for weeks at a time, all Dean ever really wanted was a normal family and he finally had one. Sam didn't want to take that away. And it turns out Dean didn't want to give it up either. After helping out with the Campbell's little Djinn project, he let his brother hit the road in his new tricked out ride, leaving Dean and the Impala in a nice suburban house living a nice suburban lifestyle. But like Dean said, that car is meant to hunt. I get the feeling it'll be back on the road with Dean at the wheel soon enough.
What does this all mean for the guys going forward? And more importantly, when are we going to see Cas again? The latter question I don't have an answer for, but I think the key to the former has something to do with the strange behavior the Campbell's have been observing, starting with the Djinn and on down through the daytime attacks by nocturnals and half-moon werewolves. The quest to find out what's causing this craziness will probably become the main arc of this season, hopefully diving more into Dean's struggle with a domestic vs. hunting lifestyle and definitely giving us some clues into who pulled Sam out of hell (I'm guessing it'll be revealed to be Cas in his triumphant season 6 debut).
Even if the scope of the show is narrowing a bit - and frankly, how can it get bigger than heaven and hell? - I think we're off to a pretty decent start here in season 6. Like I said, spending an hour with Sam and Dean is always going to be good television, and though I'm not completely thrilled with some of the new stuff they're throwing at us this year, I'm confident that Supernatural isn't going to fall of a cliff just because we're not with the epic demons vs. angels battle like last year. Who knows, maybe they'll strike a dramatic goldmine with Mitch Pileggi and these Campbells? It wouldn't surprise me.
