I'm not sure how influential Kim would have been with the writing. As I understand it, he was based in Vancouver with the rest of the production crew. I've read that he was, like, the on-set exec producer. But I very much agree that he set the tone of the show and had a huge influence on it. I think that he's noticeably missed on the show regardless. You might be right that he helped guide the writing, and it would be really interesting to know if bringing Dean in as an actual mytharc counterpoint to Sam was his influence.
I wish you could go back and enjoy early seasons, too. It's both interesting and confusing that direction things took, the threads that got dropped, and the development that took place. Part of it could be that I primarily watch for Dean's journey and development, and while I've been disappointed in some of the dropped story lines, I've never been disappointed in the character, or Jensen's presentation of the character. (If you do decide to get rid of your DVDs, let me know. I've often thought that these are among my favorites, and I might need back-up sets. :-) )
Edlund is still really good with the weird, but yes, Monster Movie is a particular stand-out. My only gripe with that ep is that he wrote Dean as not knowing who Mina and Harker were. Really???? Dean has never seen the Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula? Really???? Pfft.
One interesting thing I remember thinking during S4, especially in OTHoaP, was, "Huh. So they're making Dean the hero of the mytharc? How's that going to play against the original premise of Sam being the hero? Hm . . . . " I guess they never truly found a completely satisfactory way of working through that particular challenge.
Mostly where it went wonky for me was turning the Apocalypse from an epic battle between Good and Evil, with angels as good guys and demons as bad guys, turning that into what amounted to little more than a family squabble. For me, it wasn't so much that Dean was mishandled, it was that the entire apocalyptic mytharc went in a different direction that what they seemed to be setting up early on, and what I would have liked to have seen.
But . . . it is what it is.
But I think I shall always have a soft spot for Dean. Regardless of his position in the story, I see things from his POV, he's the one I relate to first and most, he's the regular guy trying to hold it together in nearly impossible circumstances.
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I wish you could go back and enjoy early seasons, too. It's both interesting and confusing that direction things took, the threads that got dropped, and the development that took place. Part of it could be that I primarily watch for Dean's journey and development, and while I've been disappointed in some of the dropped story lines, I've never been disappointed in the character, or Jensen's presentation of the character. (If you do decide to get rid of your DVDs, let me know. I've often thought that these are among my favorites, and I might need back-up sets. :-) )
Edlund is still really good with the weird, but yes, Monster Movie is a particular stand-out. My only gripe with that ep is that he wrote Dean as not knowing who Mina and Harker were. Really???? Dean has never seen the Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula? Really???? Pfft.
One interesting thing I remember thinking during S4, especially in OTHoaP, was, "Huh. So they're making Dean the hero of the mytharc? How's that going to play against the original premise of Sam being the hero? Hm . . . . " I guess they never truly found a completely satisfactory way of working through that particular challenge.
Mostly where it went wonky for me was turning the Apocalypse from an epic battle between Good and Evil, with angels as good guys and demons as bad guys, turning that into what amounted to little more than a family squabble. For me, it wasn't so much that Dean was mishandled, it was that the entire apocalyptic mytharc went in a different direction that what they seemed to be setting up early on, and what I would have liked to have seen.
But . . . it is what it is.
But I think I shall always have a soft spot for Dean. Regardless of his position in the story, I see things from his POV, he's the one I relate to first and most, he's the regular guy trying to hold it together in nearly impossible circumstances.
And Jensen rocks.