I found a livestream for the SPN premiere ...

[eisht]

... and I flippin' enjoyed it ...It's 3.15 here so I won't say much but ...

*unpopular opinion and spoilers under the cut*



I don't think Sam's break from hunting was out of character at all. He was in shock and lost the only thing anchoring him to the hunting life - Dean - and he did what he's done before - he gave up. He gave up the life when he ran away to Flagstaff, he gave up the life when he ran away to Stanford. He gave up Stanford by running away with Dean. If he hadn't had Ruby in S6 he would have let himself die, and as for learning - look how the Ruby thing worked out :(  This time he didn't look for dangerous solutions and he didn't take revenge (remember Bobby's plea about that) He took the only familiar thing to him (Baby) and ran away again.

Sam deals with stress differently from Dean and he was completely and utterly broken at the end of S7.  Yes Dean was butt hurt about it, yes that's understandable but I actually stand totally with Sam and surprisingly, with the writers on this. No doubt we will find out more of Sam's story - but really, remember S7 reactions before Sam's soullessness was discovered. It is WAY too early to judge the full details of either of the boys' year out.

In other news .... There simply had to be some aspect of baby's upkeep that Dean would comment on :) Kevin has turned badass, Benny is a great mystery, Dean's reaction to his burger was fab, and I'm really not sure about Amelia - not enough there to see.
Oh and it's 3.30 and I have work in the morning so ...off I go.

Edit on 4th Oct: So with a change in  livestream early on I missed this part and rewatching it now, I want to hug Sammy - I know this is crap quality screencaps - but it's about how I was feeling - did anyone else find themselves making this comparison and breaking their heart a bit more? ..

Comments

[gidgetgal9.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you. I chatted with a friend after the show and we both pretty much said what you said and commented that we hoped that fandom didn't hate Sam over what really wasn't that horrible of a thing. I'll just add that on top of Kevin's maturity, I loved Sam standing up for his decisions and self. He was supportive of Dean but not pushy about it and just laid his cards on the table and if Dean didn't like it - rather than fight about it - he let it go. I liked it - and to be honest Dean's reaction makes sense too.

Hope you got some sleep before work!

[anniespinkhouse.livejournal.com]

Phew I was beginning to think it was just me!I managed a couple of hours sleep and then rewatched this morning and I have to say, if anything, I'm more with Sam now even if I totally understand Dean's reaction. I'm actually very optimistic about this season now.

[fedaykin-here.livejournal.com]

Yah!!! You got to see it live like we did!! I totally had the tv on an hour early so I wouldn't forget! With the new schedule, I keep forgetting that Supernatural comes on Wednesdays and not Fridays anymore! I was nervous that I was going to miss it. But I'm so happy that you got to see it cause now we can gush together....lol.

The Sam thing.... :-( I don't know.... I just can't believe that Sam would not look for Dean in that one year. Probably b/c it kinda breaks my heart....lol.

And I'm really excited for the juicy Dean backstory. Finally we get to see him be a badass hunter. And Benny is just a very interesting character, down to the clothes he wears and the accent he has. Love how they call each other "Brother". Sam will get so jealous when he hears that term. :-P

Love how Kevin became a badass and kept outsmarting the bad guys by using his brains! Awesome! And I'm right there with you about Amelia. I'm not to worry since we all know who's Sam's true love is...... Dean! :-)

[anniespinkhouse.livejournal.com]

I totally love the guys who livestream for us poor folks who have to wait for the dvds otherwise. It was a bit touch and go before i found one working but it's good to squee with the rest of the fandom :)
Oh, it totally broke my heart that Sam didn't look but for me it was an indication of both how broken and alone he was and of what he had learned from his time with Ruby and Sam Campbell. I imagine deep down Sam thinks that Sam plus hunting without Dean is not necessarily a good thing!

[onehotmama199.livejournal.com]

I completely agree. Sam did what he had to do in order to survive. I really don't understand all those up in arms, believing Sam to be behaving "out of character". Oh we'll, to each his own, I guess, but I think the writers nailed it.

And on a completely superficial note, holy shitballs, Jared Padalecki is looking amazing! I mean, his face! Or was it just me?

[anniespinkhouse.livejournal.com]

Oh God, both of them were smokin' this ep. Is it my imagination or did the costume department actually put them in jeans that fit properly for once? (no, no, I wasn't looking at their ass, no, not me)And yes, Sam's face and puppy eyes (I did look there too!) - just edible.

[kink-me-quick.livejournal.com]

I woke up at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep, so I downloaded the ep & watched it. I'm knackered now, so I don't have a lot to comment on, other than the fact that at this point early in the morning, it could be me who wrote that! :D

Hope you're not too tired for work! *hugs*

Edit: oh, and where did you find the stream? Might be handy to have for future! LOL

[anniespinkhouse.livejournal.com]

Caffeine is underrated. I recovered. Hope you did too! usually I get the stream from @WilliamJTV on twitter but the stream got closed down so I used one on TVPC - I generally look for links on twitter and tumblr about an hour before the ep. It's never great quality but I like to be able to flail with the rest of the fandom.

[grean.livejournal.com]

I loved this ep. BAMF Dean in purgatory, mmmmm. I liked Benny and am intrigued by this new person in Dean's life, he lets so few people in. I was glad to see that he was looking for Cas.
I was put off at first by Sam and Dean's reunion but thought that all things given they handled it as well as could be expected. Dean didn't bitch he reacted and said his piece and then seemed to let it go. I think Sam without his brother just gave into the seeming futility of fighting the neverending wave of evil. That the writers have set us up with an answer for the brothers, a way to rid their world of Demon kind is awesome.
I didn't like Sam's girl one bit, ugh. Who acts like that, my cat was hit by a car, I was there when it happened , it was a horrible accident, no fault of the drivers. He just darted into the road spooked by a dog. To make Sam out to be a bad person becasue he couldn't avoid it, yuck. She will have a tough road making me look at her differently now.
Crowley, always happy to have him annoying Sam and Dean. Looking forward to the new season.

[anniespinkhouse.livejournal.com]

I'm gonna wait a little on Amelia, SPN writers have a habit of putting a deceptive spin on short snippets of the boy's lives - and her flashback was very short. I am kinda hoping it was her awkward way of hooking Sam - get him to take the dog, he has to stick around and see her - 'cos Hell! If I was her I'd be tempted to be unprofessional if Sam turned up like that in my surgery ;)
I was definitely drawn in by this ep. though. Do we really have to wait another week? lol

[novakev.livejournal.com]

I completely agree! Especially Sam's history of running away, it's what he does. And as for looking for Dean, where would he start if he had any fight still in him.(Sidenote: Jared is too pretty for words!)

I liked Dean's storyline in Purgatory (of what I saw - missed a lot because of changing livestream too), and I liked Benny, looking forward to his part in this season. I thought Dean was kinda cold to Sam, even his hug was fraught with angstiness. I loved when Sam bought Dean the hamburger!

Amelia must have been really written for us to hate her, or just written badly. She was just so offputting.

I have to wait until Sunday to actually see it on my big screen, so any opinion I have now may be modified but most likely confirmed.