Thanks, Kristen. Good to know.

I have a lot of respect and compassion for writers in general. Books are hard things to write. Episodic TV is a whole other ballgame, with a lot of really immediate pressure and reaction, and its success owes a lot to an entire cast and crew.

its success owes a lot to an entire cast and crew

What are you talking about? The success of this show is *despite* everyone but Jensen and/or Jared, Edlund and/or Kripke.

As in--only the people you like did anything good, and they were locked in desperate battle with all the other, irrelevant, in fact somewhat malevelont (or at least incompetent) people, and the episodes you like are a testament to their fortitude, and the ones you hate are the detritus of their defeat.

Seven seasons is a really long time to work on the same show. I can totally see how she'd want to move on and do something new. After she took a six month vacation, that is.

You know how obsessively fannish I am with this show. I ADORE this story, and these characters, and would happily watch episodes ten years from now where they're fighting knee replacement and getting glasses.

But as someone who writes? This plot doesn't have a lot of new places to go that current viewers are going to like. Especially in terms of a Big Bad. I'll still watch it, because I am that way with this show, but I'm not expecting to be blown out of the water, the way I was in S2.

Which was meant to say, I can understand Sera loving the Winchesters completely, and not wanting to, or maybe not being able to, make a good TV show about them anymore.

Prepare rugaru morsels in a deconstructed werewolf reduction with a vampire glaze?

I can just hear Castiel explaining that he just wants to make his food. Not pacifist Cas, though.

And, seriously, I could not love Cas more, but Misha wanting to move on because his character isn't doing much new and interesting? With the most adorable child in the world waiting for him at home?

No, it's not a big conspiracy theory where Sera wants to piss in my mouth. Jesus.

Not pacifist Cas, though.

I wonder what state he's in right now--he was definitely more willing to get into the fray towards the end of th ep--does that mean he's back to being a soldier? Maybe a little bit?

And, to defend Dean when Dean can't defend himself--how long would he stick to his not-guns anyway? Part of the reason he was so agitated seemed to be because he thought it was going to come down to him, and the conflict was tearing him up. Was he torn up because he wasn't going to do it (and he felt awful about it) or because he was going to do it (and then feel awful about it)?

Both of those, I'd say, depending on which way the wind was blowing.

Obviously a rewatch within the next few days...then I will know everything.

No, it's not a big conspiracy theory where Sera wants to piss in my mouth. Jesus.

I do think she made the mistake of some exceedingly tone-deaf interviews that did not engender confidence in her handling of the show and seemed very dismissive of fan concerns about (1) the removal of a popular character and (2) the two-against-the-world season arc resulting in a claustrophobic show.

As it turned out, the use of supporting and guest characters was actually much improved from Season 6 in my opinion, and for once the underlying story about Sam's malfunction and Dean's angst over same didn't make me roll my eyes repeatedly. My main issue with the season in practice was the early promise of truly creepy new antagonists being wasted on fairly pedestrian evil corporation plots and symbolism.