Supernatural: Exile on Main St.

Posted by: Kyle Tetarenko  •  September 27, 2010 @ 8:44pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

In Supernatural's season opener, time has gone by but as Dean Winchester knows, "You can't outrun your past".

When we last saw the Winchester brothers together, Sam was possessed by Lucifer and locked in mortal combat with his half brother that was possessed by the angel Michael. The colossal battle ended with Sam taking a dive into the devil's cage while Dean is left on earth to pick up the pieces. In the year since the world almost ended, Dean has moved in his former flame Lisa and her son Ben but as we all know, happiness for the Winchesters is only temporary.

After the season five's exciting finale where characters were both dying and being resurrected while the fate of the world hung in the balance, season six gets off to a slow start. Rather than kick the season off with a bang, Supernatural takes the slow approach by planting seeds for the rest of the year. "Exile on Main St." is an incredibly slow paced episode which is more focused on reuniting Sam and Dean and attempting to squeeze in a plot with the jinn as well (the jinn are genies kinda like the matrix, but for your soul). Reuniting the Winchesters is not a surprise but it's strange how the creators thought another plot was needed when that is more than enough. Adding a monster of the week element to Dean discovering Sam was alive seems like a waste, especially considering that their grandfather Samuel Campbell (played by Mitch Pileggi) has come down from heaven as well. It would have been better suited for the plot if we had seen the Campbell family take down the jinn and then capture the last one alive while Sam and Dean had more time alone. This would have served to both demonstrate the skills of the Campbell family while giving Sam and Dean a few more moments together.

In a recent interview with ign.com, Jensen Ackles mentioned how he did not like the writing of the first episode because Dean was too domesticated and after watching the episode I would have to agree. It makes little sense as to how Dean would be a rusty demon hunter after only a year off. After a lifetime of being on the road and hunting demons around the clock, I don't buy the idea that all it would take is a year for Dean to become a soccer dad and forget who he was. Although the idea of Dean being a family man is an entertaining thought, it is obviously short lived.

Jared Padalecki puts on a strong performance as Sam in the premiere. What is striking about his performance is that even though Sam has been to the worst depths of hell and back, he seems to want to keep going rather than let it hold him back. Padalecki brought this through with his no nonsense portrayal of Sam, pushing ahead to how he is back and focusing on the jinn rather than dwell on his status of human or zombie (you never know).

Though the premiere has sown many plot threads for the rest of season six, it's too bad the episode wasn't stronger. I'm more excited for next week's episode "Two and a Half Men" which looks like it will shed more light on Samuel Campbell and reunite the Winchesters on a hunting trip.

Tags: Supernatural, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Mitch Pileggi, Samuel Campbell

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Original Comments Posted (2)

Andrew Burns says...

There must be a purpose for bringing Sam and Dean's grandfather back from the dead because there wasn't much of hint to whether other past characters were returning. Fingers crossed for Jeffery Dean Morgan.

Sep 27, 2010 10:52pm

Kyle Tetarenko says...

Hey Andrew,

Thanks for the comment! I am hoping that Jeffrey Dean Morgan will eventually make his return but what really surprises me is that it hasn't already happened. In numerous interviews he has stated that he would love to return to guest star on Supernatural, I thought if there was any time that Sam and Dean needed John Winchester it would have been when Sam was possessed by the Lucifer.

Oct 2, 2010 10:24pm

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