Television Without Pity would inevitably call it “feisty”, what with its shower of glowing sparks, but I absolutely love Season 8’s title card.
Every Supernatural title card
had used one of the basic elements or natural substances – light, water, air,
fire, blood. This card is no exception – its material is red-hot metal, being
tempered by fire (at least that’s how it looks to me). Unusually, it’s
self-referential, harking back to the fiery pentagrammatic letters of Season 2’s
title card. If my memory doesn’t fail me, Season 2 ended with, among other
things, the opening of the Hell Gate. Now,
from what I’ve gleaned from pre-Season 8 interviews, this year the guys’ major trial
will be trying to close the Hell Gate. It’s somewhat of a full circle, and the
resemblance between the two title cards shows it.
Indeed, this new opening
sequence immediately made me think of “fire and brimstone Hell”, some red-hot
place underground, Greek mythology even. Now, where has Dean been during this
lost year before Season 8? Purgatory, yeah, but it seemed worse than Hell, if
Mr. Ackles’s commentaries in the recent interviews are to be trusted.
I especially love this
intricate play of the “E” and “A” switching from Latin letters to runic/hieroglyphic
symbols, in pairs and individually. I love how the word SUPERNATURAL emerges
from a bright dot that turns into a splash of light (for some reason, I’ve got
an “X-Files” vibe off it), how it flickers on the screen, changes its size,
goes in and out of focus.
Every title card on this show
gives hints at the season’s main themes (think of Season 6: shattered glass is
a metaphor of a broken, lost soul which turned out to be a key theme of that
season). I really love the metaphor of metal being tempered. If anything,
that’s what life of hunting has taught the brothers over the last seven years.
Like metal, they’ve been tempered, hardened and strengthened. Will the new
season require even more hardening of them? Can’t tell, but can’t wait.
