Supernatural - 3x11 "Mystery Spot" Rewatch
Added 2024-04-26 09:39:06 +0000 UTC
Comments
When the strike happened, they didn't know whether the show was gonna get canceled or renewed. And the already written episode count then was 12 episodes. Mystery Spot was originally filmed after 3.12 Jus In Bello but the airing order was swapped since Jus in Bello was considered to be a better episode to lead into the expected hiatus because of the WGA strike. And if they were canceled, they felt Jus In Bello would close the series with a bang. So then, apparently most shows were auto-renewed since no pilots were being made. Supernatural also was renewed and when they came back, the strike gave the writers and actors a much-needed break, reenergizing them for the final episodes and subsequent season, but the tail end of S3 got truncated. Ghostfacers was the first episode (of four balance episodes) written after the WGA strike when they came back into the writers' room. And the quality suffered, I think, because they didn't get the full thought treatment process that the previous episodes had. On top of that, when the time came to resume writing for the season, by this time they already knew that the saving Dean plotline could not get the full treatment it deserved - after all, they only had 4 episodes left to give proper momentum and cohesion to the story. They lost 6 episodes to the strike. So they only focussed on the last 2 ones (i.e. giving a bit of justice to Bela's arc - a clear parallel to Dean's storyline, and the eventual Dean's going-to-hell plot arc) to at least bring a cohesive end to S3. Instead, they concentrated hard and more on bringing some of the S3 truncated arcs into the S4 plots, so that the saving Dean's arc gelled cohesively with what we've seen later on in S4, i.e. Sam's demon blood arc/revenge for Dean arc. Originally Sam managed to save Dean with Ruby's help but as a consequence of this partnership, Sam turned dark side - we’ve seen this in the earlier part of S3, and then it culminates into S4. Due to the writers' strike, the best result that came out of these concerted cohesion endeavors was that S4 became one of the most outstanding tv stories that I've seen, in my opinion.
rose mnor
2024-05-21 10:06:58 +0000 UTCI remember not liking this episode very much the first time I watched it. I was not liking seeing Dean die again and again. I do like the episode now, but I don't rank it as high as others. The same with Changing Channels. That one took me a few re-watches to be able to enjoy it.
Michele
2024-04-28 01:33:32 +0000 UTCI love when Sam gives Dean such a big bear hug when he’s back
AdoptDontShopPets
2024-04-27 17:53:35 +0000 UTCShelley - watching the reaction now and you've just mentioned that you don't remember what Sam and Ruby were up to in S4 E10. I actually had that in my last comment from the episode prior, but I will copy and paste in this one too. For the sake of space, I'll just add some of the comment and not the whole thing. "I'm just finishing the reaction and want to add that Sam was talked into drinking demon blood because Ruby positioned it as a means to get revenge on Lilith for taking Dean to hell. Ruby dangled the "saving Dean" carrot and when that didn't happen, killing Lilith was (to quote Ruby in S4 E10) "the next best thing". How it changed him after the fact is because of the demon blood corrupting him. I have always believed his powers were neutral, but influences could help sway and determine what they would be used for. The problem is that the show never really clarified how that worked or what came first, the chicken or the egg. Partially due to changing directions so many times in the first 3-4 seasons. Being one who has had several addicts in my family (and even losing my sister to an overdose) the way Jared portrayed someone with an addiction was incredible and very much true to what I have have experienced personally. It's what solidified my Sam-leaning tendencies while also validating that I am very much Dean-like, besides being the responsible older sibling in my family. His reactions were very much like my own in many situations. But I do agree that the tendency to become an addict is very much apparent in your genetics, so I can understand what you are seeing in the foreshadowing. It's an interesting pattern to discover, on top of Sam needing to cling to Ruby as he used to cling to Dean (interpret that as you will - I didn't write the show so don't get mad at me lol) plus being in the throws of an addiction, which is what kept him coming back while the other parts took root and corrupted him."
Vel
2024-04-27 03:20:31 +0000 UTCY’all know I love this show. And yet it still cracks me up how we all come up with such in depth motivations for things that are total ret cons (like at this point Kripke had no idea Trickster would be Gabriel or that there would be a Chuck who they would later decide would be god. Those weren’t decided until season 5, and I bet the writers room sounded much like these conversations about how to make the story fit.)
AdoptDontShopPets
2024-04-27 01:59:46 +0000 UTCYes, the finale shows a break in the cycle of bringing back a dead brother. I still would have much preferred showing them breaking the cycle by BOTH living their own fulfilling lives.
AdoptDontShopPets
2024-04-27 01:51:49 +0000 UTCThough both brothers pulled each other back into the cycle so was it really broken. Sam came back into Dean life in season 6 and Dean guilt tripped Sam in 8.
Christopher simeon
2024-04-26 17:33:02 +0000 UTCCarry on wasn't the first time dean dies and Sam just moves on, Sam did that at the beginning of season 8 when dean was in purgatory too, Sam has been willing to leave the hunting life behind him and live a normal life twice before the finale, third time is a charm I guess, even dean accepted sam's death at the end of season 5 and moved on, so technicallly they have both broken the cycle before
Hasnaa
2024-04-26 16:21:10 +0000 UTCIt is a great episode but I wanted to give some thoughts about Gabriel's role. All archangels know Sam and Dean's story up until 5x22 because Chuck told them how it is supposed to end. Gab says this in changing channels. Gab knows Dean will be brought back to life by angels so he doesn't care about killing him over and over. But the first seal can be broken by any righteous man so trying to stop Dean from going to hell won't stop them from breaking another righteous man. He is focusing on the final seal that starts the apocalypse. Only Sam is powerful enough to kill Lilith. Sam being revenge driven by Dean's death and killing a innocent person to kill Lilith. Specifically draining a gallon from them. He makes Sam repeatedly see Dean die so Sam gets used to the idea because that will happen no matter what. Maybe doing so will lessen his drive for revenge. Then I think he purposely reveals himself and lets Sam live a life for 6 months without Dean to see his progress. You say Sam knew it wasn't Bobby when he walked in but I don't think he knew until Bobby suggested he kill him. Why else would he be scared he was wrong. I think Sam just always carried the stick with him because he could meet the trickster any time. Seeing Sam revenge fulled and willing to kill an innocent person really did break gab heart like he said because he knows that Sam will be ready to break the final seal eventually after Dean dies. At that point he resigns himself to what will happen and that is why we see him in 5x6 accepting things can not be changed and trying to get them to just start the apocalypse already. In his mind he tried and failed to stop Sam so he believed destiny is destiny until Dean changes his mind again.
Christopher simeon
2024-04-26 11:21:44 +0000 UTC
