Supernatural Station

Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary.

Praises: This is the episode that was shuffled so it could be the season finale if the writer’s strike did not end. So, do I think it measured up? Well…almost. There were some aspects of this episode that was truly great. There was fighting, some funny moments, a few truly tense and even scary moments, and some fantastic special effects. The best moments of this episode were it’s tense moments. When the deputy director unceremoniously shot Dean, it was shocking. The special effects of the black clouds approaching, then surrounding the building was just awesome and quite scary. I even appreciated the irony of Bella doing to the Winchesters what they did to Gordon.

Dean was at his snarkish best and the result was some hysterically funny scenes. I especially loved when Dean declared that they were not killing any virgins. The way he said it just cracked me up. That idea just had to come from Anteka’s plastic!Winchester theater where plastic!virgin sacrifice is not an infrequent topic. (more…)

Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary.

Praises: Another great episode. That makes two in a row. Supernatural is stepping up its game. And finally we got what fans missed the most this season, Sam angst…loads of it. This episode was shocking, dramatic and funny all at the same time. The first death was sad, the second startling, the third outright funny, and I chuckled through all the other deaths, except the last one. When that occurred, I found myself crying right along with Sam. Jared is a versatile actor, but he really shines when doing angst. The scene of Sam mimicking Dean word for word was hysterical and so was Dean’s reaction when Sam told him he peed himself after being hit by the car. I also couldn’t help noticing Dean little dance to “Heat of the Moment” and was awed by Jensen’s natural grace (and beauty). No doubt about it, fans are going to be emulating that movement for some time to come.

After a comedic first half, the show took a dark turn both literally and figuratively. (more…)

Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary.

Praises: Now this is more like it. At last, a great episode of Supernatural with some laughs, some angst (from Dean), and some fighting. There was even a little classic rock thrown in. The only thing missing was some good scary moments. The acting was top notch, the story was even better, and the special effects pretty good. I found myself really enjoying some parts. I got a good laugh over the scene where Sam wakes up from an erotic dream about Bella and has to stay seated when she walks into the room. Jared is such a natural at physical comedy and he plays the embarrassed, awkward geek so well. Dean also elicited a laugh from me when he asked Sam if he was dreaming about Angelina Jolie and, when Sam said no, asked if it was Brad Pitt. But this episode was no comedy. It included a touching scene between Dean and a nightmare-distracted Bobby: when Dean blurted out “you’re like a father to me” and that immediately snapped Bobby out of his nightmare trance. This episode made me realize that Dean and Bobby are much closer than I thought, though neither will ever demonstrate that outwardly. When Sam turned the tables on Jeremy in Dean’s dream, that came a little too easily and too powerfully for just a first effort, and that made it scary. As Bobby brought up, this may be a sign of Sam’s demon-linked abilities resurfacing. This episode also had hidden subtleties just for us fans. The symbolism of Sam being pinned to the ground in a crucification like manner was notable. Is this a hint that Sam believes he is what Gordon thinks, the anti-christ? I hope not. This episode was a welcome reminder of why I love Supernatural so much.

Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary.

Praises: Like season two, episode #9 of season three is an episode focused heavily on Supernatural’s mythology. Sam changing personality, Dean’s impending demise and descent to hell, and the demon war were all touched upon. Plus new twists were thrown into the mythology to keep us fans guessing. The story was fast paced and at some points, heart pounding. I found myself drawn into it several times. Two things really stood out for me. One was that Sam felt strongly enough to forcibly stop his brother from shooting Ruby, a demon, yet was willing to kill humans because they practiced witchcraft…not a good sign about where Sam’s changing persona is going. The second was the badass witchcraft demon. She was the most powerful demon we’ve seen in season three so far. And she hid her viciously evil persona under a sweet, innocent facade called Tammy. Much like Meg did in season one. The pretty, petite actress did a great job of convincing me that she was an evil bitch demon. Tammy is an adversary I would like to see the Winchesters come up against again, but alas, Dean filleted her. Other notable aspects of the show was Sam’s frantic anxiety when Dean began coughing up blood…it was almost palpable, and, the demon stopping the bullet in mid air was an awesome special effect. I love it every time a Winchester fires the colt and effect is slo-moed to where we see the bullet actually traveling to it’s target. This time it didn’t make it all the way, but that made it even more startling.

Nags: Kripke…What the hell???? Where are u taking this show’s mythology? Demons were once people? No Way!!!! If your goal was to shock fans, you certainly succeeded with me. People don’t have the ability to levitate, stop bullets or bring people back to life…how in heaven’s name are they supposed to get this ability once in hell. Ruby better be lying through her teeth, playing on Dean’s fears in typical demon fashion and manipulating him in her goal to turn Sam evil. Also, this is the second time that you’ve tried to make a demon sympathetic on the show, in this case, Ruby…and I’m not buying into it! I wish you’d just stop that because it ain’t gonna work…not with most of Supernatural’s audience and certainly not with the portion of fans, like myself, who grew up Catholic. Katie Cassidy got a lot of screen time in her role as Ruby, but she failed to impress. Her only good scene was when she and Dean were shouting at each other, otherwise she was just plain bad. The mythology in this episode was a lot more interesting than the story itself. I am rating it “very good” because it mattered enough to me to get worked up.

My Rating: Very good episode. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary

Praises: Who would have thunk it? Supernatural had an actual feel-good Christmas episode. Except for the killer Santa, the body parts in the basement, the skin cutting, nail pulling, and stake through the heart thing, that this. Almost every scene in this episode had something Christmassy in it. Even the show's title started off with an exploding Christmas tree ornament and colorful neon letters instead of the usual pentagram and ghostly-white letters. I really liked that this episode had childhood flashbacks, the first flashbacks we've seen since season one when we got our first glimpse of the boys stark childhood. The same talented young actor who played young Dean in season one revisited his role and gave the flashbacks an authentic feel. There were some subtle stabs at the hypocrisy of Christmas that made Supernatural's Christmas episode a lot more interesting than your average Christmas show: when Sam told Dean that Christmas began as a pagan celebration and was not the true date of Jesus' birth, and the Carrigans, who went all out in decorating their home for Christmas, but who did not believe or practise any Christianity at all. There was also the sentimental, Christmassy part where the brothers exchanged gifts and an ending family scene of the two brothers that was widened to include the impala parked right outside their window. Just like it is one of the family. Awwww.

Nags: In terms of Christmas episodes, this was one of the best I've seen this season. In terms of Supernatural episodes, this was a good one, but not exceptional. There were a couple big letdowns that ruined my enjoyment somewhat. One, the long awaited story behind Dean's talisman necklace, was sweetly sentimental and very suited to the Christmas theme, but the fact that the talisman was only a Christmas gift and not a powerful amulet that Dean had to wear to protect himself from some big bad that was gunning for him, was just too blah. Fanfic stories written about the necklace have been a lot more interesting. The second was the flashbacks. I loved seeing the brothers as children again, but that led me to hope that Jeffrey Dean Morgan would make a cameo appearance as Papa Winchester. When he didn’t, I felt cheated. Even a tiny splice of old film with JDM in it would have satisfied me. If the flashbacks had ended with a final scene of the boys' daddy showing up on Christmas day, I would have been ecstatic. That would have been a great Christmas present for us fans who miss seeing John Winchester on the show.

My Rating: Very, very good episode. 4.0 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary

Praises: I absolutely loved this episode. Hands down, it was the best episode of season 3 so far. It had all the elements that make Supernatural a great show. It had suspense, it was scary, there was lots of fighting, great brotherly moments, and some Dean snarkisms. There weren’t any funny moments to speak of, but since that’s been overdone in the last few episodes, it is not missed. Gordon is as badass and as scary as ever. Sterling K. Brown was superb. He makes Gordon such a dynamic, believable character that I get completely engrossed watching him. Turning Gordon into what he hated the most, a vampire, was almost too cruel. And the way Sam killed him…yikes! I never thought I’d ever see Sam kill someone slowly, but he did it. I am actually a little sad that Gordon is no more. Like Meg from season one, he was such a good villain that fans like myself will remember him fondly. This episode’s piece de resistance, though, was it’s final scene. Dean’s words about Sam inheriting the impala and Sam’s accepting the responsibility of caring for it…felt so sad, so final…so heart-wrenching. I take my hat off to the writer of this one…only on Supernatural could there be such a tender moment between two brothers with absolutely no hugs or touching at all.

Nags: Where was the classic rock music? Kripke, you said that you wanted classic rock to be a part of the show. This season seems to be the exception! Also, WTF was with all the vampire angst? I know there was supposed to be an analogy to Dean somewhere in there…but using such an unsympathetic character as a drug-dealing vampire…it just didn’t work. And did the boys behead the vampire or not? It wasn’t shown and I missed it, if it was said. Another problem with this episode was…yes, you guessed it…Bella. She was entirely forgettable and when her brief scenes were over, that’s exactly what I did. Though she did pretty well in the comedy-filled episodes, in this more serious, dramatic show, she seemed completely out of place. Maybe it’s that hoity-toity British accent that made her fit poorly into Supernatural’s dark, gritty vision of America. Her scenes did not flow well with the rest of this episode and felt more like they were put in after-the-fact to give her a role. [Hey, Kripke, I have a suggestion for you: how about making Bella’s accent turn out to be completely faked…and give miss silk sheets a dirt poor, white trash background…and make her real name “Stella”, while you’re at it…that would make her much more interesting and fit better.] Anyway, these are relatively small faults in otherwise great episode. I have to say that this was a nice way to end the first sequence of new episodes for season 3. I am now more eagerly looking forward to seeing more new episodes after the holiday hiatus.

My Rating: excellent episode. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary.

Praises: I was surprised at how much I liked this episode, even with the new cast member, Lauren Cohan, in it. Instead of detracting from our boys, Bella actually interacted well with the Winchesters. It helped that there were a few side-splitting comic moments in this episode. Every time I think of poor Sam being pawed and groped by a woman old enough to be his grandmother, I burst out laughing. Jared has become quite a natural at comedy. Dean's line “Don’t objectify me”, was also funny, but did seem like it was aimed more at the Jensen-obsessed fangirls than Bella. The sentimental moment at the end when Sam told Dean that he didn't want him to worry about him, but that he wanted him to be worried about himself, also resonated well. Fans like myself love those heart wrenching brotherly moments at the end of an episode. But there were so many ads before this conclusion that I thought the show was over and almost didn't wait around to see it.

Nags: The scary story was not all that scary and there weren't enough tense moments to get your heart racing. The deaths were bloodless and goreless but I guess that is to be expected with drownings. The shower scene was actually well done and the ghost himself was quite convincing as an angry pirate ghost. Even though Dean and Bella were paired off, I still think that Sam and Bella would make a better couple. Maybe it's because Bella seems too much like Dean in temperament, and maybe in other ways as well. I am intrigued by the hint of a family member that she may have killed…like Dean is supposed to kill Sam if he goes bad, I wonder??? Overall, this was a funny and interesting episode that was well worth watching.

My Rating: Great episode. 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary

Praises: Supernatural returned to it’s roots in this episode and very successfully too. I was happy to have an episode with no distracting new cast members. It was just the boys doing what they do best with some brotherly interaction and some mytharc thrown in. Sam did the talking, Dean did the fighting, and they got rid of the bad thing in the end. There were even flashbacks scenes of their Dad in the intro and Sam mentioned him in his remark to Dean that “you’re not Dad!”. It was good to be reminded that though John is gone, he’s not forgotten. A couple scenes stood out for me in this episode. When Dean walked away from Sam right after telling him that he should just let him go, was particularly poignant. My heart wrenched a little for Sam. And, when Jared shot his girlfriend…um, I mean when Sam shot the Crossroads demon. It seemed cold, but I uttered a “yeah!”. Demons lie and if there was even the slightest chance that it could get Dean out of the contract…[wow, did I get drawn into the story there, or what?]. I also liked the twist in the case where the ghostly remains turned out to be that of a coma victim.

Nags: As always, my biggest nag is with the “scary” creature. This time, the little girl ghost was just too adorable. She was not even a little evil looking. No way was she believable as an angry ghost capable of killing multiple people. Getting a child to appear evil is hard to do, but a little of the ghostly distortion like was done in Provenance would have helped. And why was this ghost so different that it was capable of taking over people’s minds? Was it because it’s body was still alive? Were the people that it influenced special in some way? I feel gypped because Sam didn’t give a good explanation for this one. All in all, this episode, though not especially outstanding, was comfortingly familiar (yes, you can say that about a “horror” show) and an enjoyable way to spend an hour of my time.

My Rating: excellent episode. 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary

Praises: This episode was all about the Supernatural mythology. We got to see the colt rebuilt. Sam's aborted destiny as the leader of a demonic army was reiterated yet again. And it was made perfectly clear that Sam is different. Whether Sam is different because of his anguish over Dean's impending demise and the weight of the secrets that he's carrying, or because he is turning evil, is still a question. Jared is doing an excellent job of portraying a changing Sam. Showing us his old boyish, emo self, mixed in with the more reserved man he's become, and then scaring us (and Dean) with those glimpses of the coldblooded killer that may be his future. On the lighter side, there were a couple amusing scenes that caught my attention: Sam physically dragging his brother away from the temptation of the woman in the car, and Dean putting a pile of quarters atop the “Magic Fingers” in the motel room (see 2.13-Houses of the Holy for explanation). The character Richie was also amusing, though not at all believable as a hunter. His line, “FYI Winchester, words hurt” seemed to have special meaning later when Dean expressed doubts about Sam, reminding us of yellow-eyed demon's tormenting words to him from the season 2 finale.

Nags: This episode lacked Dean's snarkisms to give us comic relief. There were no scary moments to jolt us out of our boredom. And there were no big fight scenes where Dean gets thrown into a wall and Sam gets choked to get us charged up. The result was a monotonous and depressing episode that too wordy and worst of all, damn preachy. As for Richie, he was so obviously there to be killed that he might as well have had a red shirt on, ala “Star Trek”. And why weren't the brothers even a little suspicious of a priest who hangs out in a bar? If that isn't a sign of demon possession, then I don't know what is. So far the demons that escaped hell through the devil's gate have been a blah lot. Someone needs to remind the shows writers that demons are supposed to be terrifying creatures, not chatty existentialists. With the loss of two of the show's writers, Raelle Tucker and John Shiban, I am now more than a little worried that season 3 is going to flop.

My Rating: good episode. 3 out of 5 stars.