Wait, I haven't seen Usual Suspects yet, have I?

Nope! It has true horror movie creepy! Also, Linda Blair.

Ahaha: my first rational thoughts on the show (about 3-4 days into my viewing) [link]

Thanks for the link, Plei. I do think it was the whole idea of family (and family secrets) that drew me in. For one thing, the sibling dynamic fascinates me and also engenders a certain sense of longing. Growing up as an only child, I could only imagine what having a sibling would be like, and what I'm getting here is a deep, vicarious, and visceral experience that is at once very different from anything I have ever known in my own life and yet seems so right, so familiar.

As for the family secrets, that is a subject that has always fascinated me, given that my own family has their share. Little ticking time bombs that manage to come out at the worst times, or get talked around rather than about.

Let's see... I love the horror. Like Jilli, I giggle and squee at times. And I'm big on the pretty and the snark. Good snark, this show. I'm also a fan of the complex, deeply flawed character and SPN has an abundance of that. Over-abundance maybe. Tortured boys? Yum. Roots and deep connections between the characters? Check that one off the list, too. Did someone say dysfunctional family? Excellent. Count me in.

Like askye, I wasn't looking for a show. I was actually kind of burned out on tv all together. And I was watching Grey's when SPN was on. Poor me, I don't have one of those cool dvr thingies. But the flailing (and the sale price on the season 1 dvds) peaked my interest just enough to check it out. And I'm soooo glad it did.

For one thing, the sibling dynamic fascinates me and also engenders a certain sense of longing. Growing up as an only child, I could only imagine what having a sibling would be like, and what I'm getting here is a deep, vicarious, and visceral experience that is at once very different from anything I have ever known in my own life and yet seems so right, so familiar.

points at what Anne said and nods

I didn't even think about that, but yeah. Totally.

I was totally looking for a show. Missing Buffy and Angel like mad.

And I love anything that's remotely spooky or scary or paranormal. I mean, I watched the first two episodes of that haunted-type show Matthew Fox was in, and the one with the band who was dead (or something -- memfault), before they were cancelled. (I also read Stephen King. I LOVE the scary.)

And the pretty was such a bonus! But after the pilot, I was amazed -- there was meat to it! Vengeance, and unresolved family issues, and brotherly competition and loyalty and togetherness is their outsiderness, and a missing dad, and a dead girlfriend (motivation!). I think after Buffy and Angel, too, what got me was the element of choice. Outside of the very natural urge for vengeance, none of these men *have* to do this.

Yes. Oh, SHOW.

Actually the pretty didn't keep me. And the scary scared me away at first. But the character interaction? That's where the show hooked me. The pretty is very, very pretty, true, but it's the characters and their interplay that own me.

::nods::

The pretty was pretty much out of my age and interest range--I mean, WB boys. I know, I say that a lot. But I think there is, and always has been a class of Hollywood actors that were/are "WB boys" of their time. I thought that's what we had here. Which is why it's been of such interest to me to see the actors dig in and improve their craft, as well as discover and expand their characters.

I don't share Plei's fourth wall issues, in fact, I'm probably the exact opposite. Part of my meta is tech meta. How did you get there? What was going through your head during that scene? How many takes to get it right? Did you drink yourself blind after it was over?

the sibling dynamic fascinates me and also engenders a certain sense of longing. Growing up as an only child, I could only imagine what having a sibling would be like, and what I'm getting here is a deep, vicarious, and visceral experience that is at once very different from anything I have ever known in my own life and yet seems so right, so familiar.

Yes! This! A whole lot of this. Also, having raised and observed male siblings from outside their unique relationship, and having often been puzzled by their dynamic, I'm learning stuff about that. It's illuminating in a way.

I checked out the pilot when it aired, and I liked it well enough - not enough to remember when the show was on, though. I think I might have caught the second one, too.

Then I succumbed to the flist flail. No other reason. I Netflixed S1 and found back eps of S2 as needed. I think they had me at the plane ep. It really was the bits of humor and snark that drew me in. And, god, some of the faces JA made... priceless with the funny.

At first, all I wanted to do was make the boys soup, make all the bad go away, and tuck them in for sweet dreams. I mean, I didn't not see the pretty or anything... but as I went along, I developed a bit more of the humina, humina. And then somewhere along the line, I realized I was a Sam girl. Though my appreciation of Dean knows no bounds.

I'm fairly bi-bro, but still, at core, a Dean girl. Just one who'd rather wrestle naked with Sam, except for that whole doomed to tragic death part whenever THAT happens.

I swear, I have deep thoughts. Honest.

I'm not sure what got me watching SPN. I watched the first episode and shrugged at it. It just seemed kinda hokey to me and I had other shows I was watching, wasn't actively seeking a new show, so I let it pass me by. But someone, somewhere encouraged me to try it again. I did and something about it winkled its way under my skin and the next thing I knew I found myself buying the DVDs and drinking the kool-aid. It obviously wasn't the pretty that got me to watch, because, goshdang, they are pretty. And I can go humina, humina with the best, but I passed up the pretty the first time around. I think it was the characters and the interaction between them. I'm not much of a horror fan, I think that's one of the reasons I was quick to pass it up originally. It was why I passed up Buffy originally, too. Shame on me for not recognizing the similarities. But the way the brothers interact with each other and the different ways they each relate to their father is compelling. Between that and the mystery of the YED, I found myself wanting to find out what happens next. It was the arc that called to me, the same way it did in Buffy. This show gets more involved and more complex as it goes, until it starts feeling like a Gordian knot that once solved will reward you with overall rule of the universe.