Supernatural is back for season 6, but it’s not the same as we remember. Instead, there are people back from the dead, weird creatures causing chaos, mysterious forces at work and Dean being forced to decide between happiness and hunting. Wait, on second thought, it’s exactly the same show we remember.
The season doesn’t kick off with the traditional “The Road So Far” montage set to a classic rock tune. Instead, all we get is a little recap of Sam jumping into the cage one year ago. Color me unhappy, though I do kind of like the new Supernatural title card, which is blue and seems to be glass shattering. Maybe it represents a fragile situation getting destroyed.
Season 6 starts with Dean at his lamest. It’s sweet for him to have a happy family life with Lisa and Ben, but it’s unsettling watching Dean scramble eggs, work construction, host neighborhood BBQs and rip up the phone numbers of skanky waitresses. He’s not even driving the Impala, for Pete’s sake. That’s not Dean!
Luckily he gets wind of some bad stuff and returns to hunting. He stumbles upon an old friend: Azazel. We all guessed it wasn’t real, but if you guessed that he was a hallucination brought on by djinn poisoning, you win.
The Return of Sam and Samuel
Dean gets saved from the Azazel hallucination by Sam, who is, apparently, real and not a demon. He’s been back nearly the entire year and he’s not alone. He brought some third cousins from their mom’s side of the family tree, one of whom, Christian Cmapbell, is played by Corin Nemec, aka Parker Lewis. Awesome guest castinhg. The hunter family reunion is being led by their maternal grandpa, Samuel.
Someone (or something) got Sam out of the cage and brought Samuel down from Heaven. That’s not the only strange thing brewing. For instance, the djinn who attack in this episode can pose as humans and they’re actually the children of the djinn Sam and Dean killed way back at the end of season 2. That’s some major continuity, and I’m guessing it’s just the start, so if you’re smart, you’ll read my list of Supernatural creatures to get an idea of what’s to come.
We also find out werewolves are turning on the half-moon and there are other creatures Grandpa has never even seen. So basically, something very huge and very unnatural is going on and there’s a big mystery player in the game. I have no idea who or what it could be, but I’m guessing it’s not God, because we were promised that the angel mythology stuff was done.
Dean and Happiness
Bobby also knew that Sam was back, but they both kept it a secret because they wanted to let Dean try to have a life. I understand why someone might think Dean wants a normal family life, but that’s not the Dean I know. The Dean I know lives to sacrifice his own happiness, so taking away that opportunity is actually bad for him.
This is justified when Dean takes Lisa and Ben to stay with Bobby and he essentially admits that he’s leaving them to hunt again. He claims he’s protecting them by leaving, but Lisa disagrees because this was the best year of her life and Dean is a great father for Ben. Basically, Lisa is the absolute perfect woman for Dean because she is 100 percent understanding about his responsibilities and would let him hunt and be with her.
And somehow, by the end of the episode, Dean comes to the same conclusion. He chooses Lisa and Ben over Sam because he needs to protect them. I’d like to think he’s choosing it because it’s the best option, but in reality, he’s choosing it because he knows it will make him less happy than hunting with Sam, and Dean’s favorite hobby is making himself miserable.
Sorry if I’m being harsh, but it’s true. Dean does not like happiness and he will purposefully avoid getting it at all costs. Whether he needs to give up a real life to hunt or sell his soul to save his brother, Dean is happier when he’s not happy. I guess that complexity is why we love him so much.
(Image courtesy of the CW)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
