#i'm tired of people complaining about revisited themes

[ltleflrt]

When I see people complain about Supernatural retreading older themes, I wonder how many times they’ve rewatched the show.  Probably more than once.  They might even have binged big chunks of it at once before they started watching live.  (Hello *waves* that was me, binged s1-6, and started livewatching in 7.)  So a lot of earlier plots and themes are still fresh in their mind.

But here’s the thing.  It’s not fresh in everyone’s minds.  Supernatural was not designed to be a Netflix Original Binge-fest.  It’s started during an era of TV where rewatching was difficult, because you had to rely on reruns or shell out wads of cash for the DVDs.  It’s still part of standard television programming, with weekly episodes airing over the course of months.  People who wait for it on Netflix still have to wait a year between binging seasons, and they may just watch the new season without rewatching the whole show, because that’s a huge time sync for a lot of folks who just want to relax on the couch after the kinds are asleep and watch a couple episodes at a time before they go to bed themselves.  A lot of the general audience, like my mother for example, may have been watching the show live since day 1 and have never gone back and rewatched a single episode. 

Revisting themes multiple times, especially in the last season, may seem heavy handed and repetitive to us obsessive nerds, but they’re gentle reminders to the vast majority of Supernatural’s audience.  Heck, even with how often I’ve rewatched this show, sometimes a callback will strike me with an oh yeah that happened moment. 

The writer’s aren’t stupid for revisiting themes.  They’re aware that frothing at the mouth fans like us aren’t the only people they’re writing for. 

[nimata-beroya]

MY THOUGHTS ON TBB 2×05 "Entombed"

Oh, how much fun I had watching this one! I loved the full-on Indiana Jones-y vibe it had! Just perfect! And even better with Hunter's tired dad™ mood 😂😂😂 I swear he and Din and competing for the Space Dad who heaves more sighs Award, and they're head-to-head.

And I like Phee here, more than I did in the premiere. She's growing on me.

But before I share more of my thoughts about Entombed, this review will begin with a rant about the fandom. I'll hide it below the cut, so anyone wanting to skip it, can do that.

I know what so many in the fandom are saying. That this was a filler episode, even more so than last week's. And I ask, what if it was??!! What's wrong with that? I don't know exactly when and why people starting disliking filler episodes. When a filler episode became such a bad thing?

Let me tell you something: filler scenes/chapters/episodes are an important part of storytelling. They allow managing the pace, the intensity, and impact of the story. The overall plot needs room to breathe, to let the subtle things told to sink in. If a story is intense 95% of the time, it loses its impact.

Fans seem to forget what's coming. We've seen the trailers. Next week, we'll probably see Gungi, which means revisiting order 66 (again), probably horrible massacres in Kashyyyk and/or slave trade, or something equally bad, so it's NOT going to be a lighthearted episode. And the next week after that, it's the 2 mid-season episodes, which means Rex, Coruscant, Palpatine, and I'm pretty sure the first run-in of the batch with Cross after Kamino. Yeah, that's going to be so much fun /sarcasm/.

I'm pretty sure that the same people that complains about fillers are who complain about rushed plots and underdeveloped characters, etc. All they want is that they tell the season's complete full-arc story in just one episode. You can't have both ways. It's impossible.

Either you have a rushed story from beginning to end, told only with the essential and ignoring great character development, and having only shallow connections, or a story that can slow down, so its characters can grow and make deeper connections with others.

Besides, those who say the episode didn't bring anything to the overall plot should pay more attention. The foreshadowing at the end of "Faster" and how the batch got to know more Phee in this episode are related.

I know, I know! Some of you might be having this meme in your heads right now

But hear me out.

Millegi warned Tech, Wrecker, and Omega about Cid, which seems to foreshadow that she will betray them in the near future. Maybe she will, maybe she won't, but if she does or dies or get arrested or get out of the picture for whatever reason, maybe Phee could become another, more fair source of jobs for the boys (like she offered to them go 50-50 in the treasure hunt). Perhaps she's the one who ends up betraying them and not Cid; or maybe Phee joins the rebellion along with them. I don't know. There are so many possible routes to go with her that's impossible to know which one will be at the end. But whatever that is, there's a reason for the boys to have worked with her directly in this episode that we don't know. We aren't supposed to know yet!

Or you know what? Maybe it was just that; a time to have fun. I think one of the themes for season 1 was survival. They did that, they escaped the Empire and are having a life on their own.

A theme for season 2 could be learning to have a life, not just survive, and sure this episode seems to show them to do something just for fun, to explore the galaxy and learn about things they've never seen before.

So for the love of everything you hold dear, have a little patience and enjoy the show. And If you don't enjoy it, stop watching! Nobody is holding you at gunpoint, so you watch it. So, just stop.

Well, with that out of my chest, let's get into the episode.

I love Wrecker and Omega continue with their amazing dynamic. I love them so much 🥰

Tech and Hunter less than impressed with Phee's embellished story is hilarious

Cute of Omega being excited to go treasure hunting. It seems she has taken the liking of it.

I like that mom and dad Hunter and Echo seems to be more in the same page right now, but Echo, my dear, it's just a tad hypocritical of you having doubts about accepting this job when it was you who kinda pushed it last time. I guess you learned your lesson 🤣

I didn't catch it in the first time I watched the episode, but (as Alex from Star Wars Explained in YT says) Omega is copying Phee (like she did with Hunter last season), and Hunter is jealous about it!! Omg!! That's so funny 😂 and so true.

Like I said before, I love the callbacks to Indiana Jones throughout the episode.

Ha! Even Tech is curious about the treasure now 🤣

I knew that creature was going to appear on ths episode

Oh no! They got separated 🫤

Hunter walking on those stone slabs made me so nervous, I was expecting something like that to happen. A booby trap was guaranteed

🤣🤣omg! Hunter is so so tired, so done

Don do it, Phre! Don't take it out! Don't! *Sighs* i knew it

What the hell!? It's the Mech?!! I didn't see that coming

Oh dank farrik!! It's what destroyed the planet before!

Dammit Phee don't fall down!!!

Phew! Thanks Hunter

Oh the poor droid! Nooooo!!! 😭😭😭

Hey! There's a continuity error there!! The window was broken, then it wasn't 🙈 Omega breaks it twice

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!! Hurry up!!! No the marauder!! Noooooooooooo!

Oh thank goodness!!!

The scene with mech falling reminded me to the one in season 1 in Bracca and the ion engine

Hunter's dad instinct at its peak there too

Tech roasting Phee the professional... The best!

Well, a fun episode to soften us, so the blows in the next 2 weeks hurt twice as much.