"Come on Dean... did you really think you were gonna get to keep all of this?" - Azazel
Well, most of us bemoaned the news that this show would venture beyond its true ending, and into an unwarranted 6th season. News of what this extra season would entail didn't sound positive either - that it would focus on the brothers picking up the pieces after the apocalypse (not to mention the news that Kripke would no longer be a part of the show).
Based on this first episode alone though, ours fears are proving unjustified. Firstly, we are given the return of the Djinn (and not one Djinn, but three). 'What is an what should never be' is one of my and I think many people's favourite episodes of this show, and we have been starved of this very interesting creature since then (unless I have forgotten another Djinn episode somewhere in between - please enlighten me if so).
I feel that this episode can be seen as a complimentary piece to 'What is an what should never be', and what that episode (and its title) ultimately told us is that Dean (and Sam for that matter) can never lead a normal life; this shown by the fact that all of the people that Dean saved he finds have died in his alternate reality - although it may be unfair (as he points out), he is destined to be the hero and make sacrifices for the sake of others. And what I think last night's episode shows is that this wish to live a normal, happy life is a delusion that Dean enforces upon himself.
Whilst what Dean sees whilst in the Djinn-induced dream state is clearly his fears made visible - Lisa suffering the same fate as Mary and Jessica, and his son the same fate as Sam (plus Azazel's creepy warning that something is bound to get the boy eventually) - as any nightmare would do, I can't help but wonder if there is a wish-fulfillment element here. In WIAWSNB, what Dean dreams of is an idealised family life - his wish come true. Presumably, although the Djinns here are fighting and thus have no direct control over Dean's dreams, surely the state that the Djinn put people in is still tailored to make the victims dream of idealised scenarios, in order to make them want to stay in their dream (them being more willing delude themselves into believing that it is real if it is pleasant), so that they might remain a long-term victim for the Djinn to feed on.
I may be wrong, but I think that what Dean sees here whilst in the Djinn-induced state might be his true, subconscious desires coming to light. For any Lost fans, much in the way that in the episode 'Hearts and Minds', when Locke drugs Boone with hallucinogens, Boone's real desire comes forth - to be rid of Shannon (his sister) for good; and the death of the person being the only true definitive end to the problem they present to you. What Dean witnesses is the death of Lisa and the ruining of his child - arguably events that, if they were real, would relieve Dean of all his ties and guilt of abandonment, and allow him to become a hunter again, whilst also giving him a revenge kick off of which to feed. Dark, I know, but I think a possibility.
We know that Dean is unhappy with his family life; from the first instance of being poisoned, what does he see?: signs that a monster is in town, which would force him to resume his hunting life, even if only temporarily. This episode is about Dean's true desires, and what we (and he) discover here is that at heart he would rather lead the tortuous life of being a hunter than be a family man. Through previous seasons he has stated repeatedly that all he wants is the latter, but I think that this episode reveals (albeit ambiguously) that Dean has discovered that what he thought he desired is a fallacy.
Abstract theories aside, we are here introduced to a brand new set of hunters who will apparently work alongside the brothers, along with Samuel. It's not fair to judge them on their first appearance, but the one who resembles Gary Sinise a little seems the best one to me, and the girl seems like she will get very annoying very quickly.
It was also great to see Frederic Lehne back, however briefly.
We're led to believe that Sam and co. are up to some kind of mischief by taking the last Djinn hostage at the end, but I'm not so sure; perhaps they've resorted to dirty tactics to discover the location or weaknesses of these new types of monsters that they've "never even seen before" (if it is possible to torture information out of a Djinn).
I think that this is a strong start to a season that might prove nowhere near as dire as many of us were expecting.
