But the fandom sniping, on the other hand--I keep getting ambushed by people I thought could be relied upon for generally positive, thinky takes on the show. And I'm so very tired of it. I haven't watched the most recent two episodes (even though I've been assured by someone trustworthy that I'll love at least one of them) simply because I've finally been beaten into ... I don't know. Apathy? Fear? Something vaguely negative. Which is ridiculous, because I've refused for ages to let other people's criticism interfere with my ability to enjoy SPN, but I guess I'm just ... tired.
Back at the beginning of the year, someone asked "why is everyone leaving the fandom?" and I told them "because the people that still like the show are being driven out by the aggressive negativity of the people who think it's gone to shit"--and they then proved my point by arguing at length that the show has indeed gone to shit. At the time I was able to mostly just laugh at the exchange, but right now I'm feeling it a little too much.
Anyway. That's why I haven't been doing the "things I love" lists for the last few episodes. I've developed sort of a Pavlovian flinch toward the show and I don't know what to do to train myself back out of it.
For what it's worth, I did like 13.05 quite a lot. I thought it was a clever way to bring back Billie (and answer the lingering question of "wait, how can Death be dead?"), and a cool visual for the realm of Death and the reapers. The monster was genuinely creepy, the guest characters were convincing, and the brotherly interactions were by turns hilarious, sweet, and heartbreaking. The episode in general was beautifully shot. If I wanted to convince someone that the show was still well worth watching, "Advanced Thanatology" would make for an excellent Exhibit A.
And I can say all that and mean it, but without feeling any of the excitement that I carried through the past 3.5 seasons (which is when I rediscovered the show).
...Sorry for being such a downer.
Man, if any of you have managed to retain your enthusiasm for the show, please share. I desperately want mine back, but it seems to have been stolen from me.