Jump the Shark, Rapture

[feliciakw]

Watched "Jump the Shark" the other night, and it makes me wonder. It makes me wonder when they started plotting out that Adam would be Michael's vessel. And what makes me wonder if they were in fact planning it this far out is this:

When the end credits started running, Geo turns to me and asks, "What was the purpose of that episode?"

To which I replied, " . . . "

After puzzling a moment, I said, "Well, they introduced Adam. Other than that . . . to show that Sam has become more and more like John?"

And to give Dean angst, of course. But I didn't say that.

So it makes me wonder if they introduced Adam, knowing what they were going to do with the character later, or if they decided Adam was a convenient out of the corner they'd written themselves into. I'm somewhat inclined to give them credit and say that they at least had a notion of what they were going to do.

Truly, though, there's a lot that I like about the ep, and much of it has to do with Dean. *nods*

The same question could be asked about "The Rapture." Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed this look at what Castiel's vessel is like. And I kinda wish we could have had more of Claire!Castiel. And there were good bits throughout. But it seems that the whole upshot of the ep was Castiel being re-oriented to his primary duties, and Dean discovering about Sam and the demon blood.

So I guess if that's the jumping off point ("We need to do A and B. What's the most interesting way we can do that?"), then the ep served its purpose. And of course we have the ending with Sam in the panic room.

Which brings us to the final stretch of the season.

Comments

[girlyghoul70.livejournal.com]

The introduction of Adam? In my mind it went something like this:
Writer A- Hey! I got an idea! What if we introduce a third Winchester sibling! John was no monk and it might shake up the dynamic between Sam and Dean even more!
Writer B- The fans will hate that! Introducing a younger, cuter relative is always a sign the show has jumped the shark... remember Cousin Oliver?!?
Writer A- Ok, how about we introduce this character but then kill him off immediately!
Writer C- No, no! He's already dead! Eaten by a GHOUL! So the brother they thought they had come to know and love- died before they ever even knew of him!
Writer B- That's perfect! Oh the angst! We're so clever!!

That's how I imagine it. I don't think they would have had him be so devoured and then cremated if they had planned at that time to use him again. Once they got started withh the whole vessels thing, I think they meant for Dean to be Michael. But then when they had a whole new Season to look towards they changed that angle. They needed a Michael Vessel and had shot themselves in the foot with that whole bloodline thing. The resurrection of Adam I think was looking backwards to cover their tracks rather moreso than the creation of Adam was looking forward to "Hey, we might need a spare Michael Vessel".

The Rapture- MA HA HA!! The first glimpse into Jimmy Novak's hamburger fetish! MA HA HA!! I really do love this glimpse into the life of Cas's meatsuit although it's ultimately sad that a family loses a husband and father. I love the touch of breaking down the wardrobe of Cas. Jimmy doesn't wear his trench coat and jacket as much. And Cas's constantly askew tie and beard scruff is because Jimmy's life was starting to unravel just before Cas took over. I love that detail.

And I know it's wrong... but Sammy going all feral for demon blood and having it smeared all over his lips... Ummm... let's just say I could watch that over and over again. But it does make Dean sooooo sad.... So sad and angsty.... and pretty... hmmm I could watch that over and over again too!

This is such a pretty show! Heck, even Baby Ghoul Chow(Adam) is a pretty pretty thing (well not when he's in the coffin post ghoul chowing...) Too bad when they did resurrect his character the Real!Adam turned out to be a whiny annoying brat. But then, I've just jumped a season (if not a shark) to talk about that.

[leelust.livejournal.com]

Imo, but i'm sure (as any fan can be sure of thing of course) that they didn't plan anything about Michael back then especially about vessels and sudden change of plans. The purpose of the ep was (among things you've mentioned) to show once again that you can't escape hunting life if it tainted you (for example Adam's family was tainted through John).

[gatorpez.livejournal.com]

I don't think the Adam-as-Michael idea came up until mid-way into Season 5. I think Jake Abel said something at one of the cons that he was surprised to be called back.

The show compared Dean to Michael way back in Season 2's Houses of the Holy, but there's no way they thought of the Dean being Michael's true vessel or him being Michael's sword back then.

"It'd be an interesting question to ask, though I'm not sure we'd ge a straight answer from them at this stage in the game."

I don't think we'd ever get a truthful answer from Kripke or anyone else. After some of what Kripke said at Comic Con (not spoilers), I don't think I want to read or hear anything he says again. I think I've been watching a different show than him.