Supernatural 9.10 Review: Power Struggles

Anyone that has yet to watch last night’s episode of Supernatural entitled ‘Road Trip’, please kindly step away from the screen and go and do that. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

While I was very much hoping the entire time that Kevin would magically come back to life, this was still a pretty decent episode. We happily got to see Tahmoh Penikett grace our screens again, and it seems like he may be sticking around for a bit as Gadreel. Abbadon made her rounds this week once again, and it seems that her and Crowley may be vying for constituents now that the latter is free from the Winchester’s cletches. And an angel free Sam – who better get that tattoo back on his chest now that Castiel burned it off him – is finally back after all these weeks. All in all, it was a very packed episode this week.

The way this episode opened up, with the hunter funeral for Kevin and Dean trashing the bunker research area, was very well done, although I would liked to have at least heard the crashing of the lamps and books as Dean tossed them around them, it would’ve been more visceral. Also, watching Dean pat his baby (the Impala for all you not Supernatural-ly inclined) was characterally brilliant and on key. I was a bit surprised, though, that they couldn’t just use one of the vehicles from the bunker, rather than the pimp mobile Cas was driving. There were a lot of great little details that added up to this episode.

Although I do still feel like this season is headed more in the direction of what used to make this show great, I am still a little worried by how heavily angels and demons this episode was involved. Don’t get me wrong, they have their uses, and I always enjoy seeing Cas, but sometimes there are just too many of them. I really wish that this show wouldn’t try to be too mythologically heavy. It was nice to have the little ghouls and cheerleaders shout out in Sam’s dream, though.

Basically, this wasn’t too bad of an episode. I try to think of myself as a more glass is half full kind of girl, so this episode was pretty good. I still don’t like having to see Metatron so damned much, but I understand he has his uses. And while I’m not the biggest war between the demons fan, at least when we see Crowley we know what we’re getting, whereas Abbadon is a loose canon. The way they end this episode was heartbreaking in the way that Sam told Dean to go. I know he’d basically gotten him possessed, but they’re brothers, family is supposed to stick by each other. Why didn’t Sam stop him?

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“You were stupid for the right reasons.” – Cas tells Dean.

“I see you again-“ – Dean starts. “I’m dead. Yes, I know; love you too.” – Crowley responds.

Okay, folks, that’ll be all for catch up tonight. Go back to your own business and check back in tomorrow night for reviews of Revolution, American Horror Story: Coven, and Nashville, and maybe a couple other catch up reviews.

Supernatural 9.06 Review: Humanity has a Learning Curve

For all those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of Supernatural, entitled ‘Heaven Can’t Wait’, this is your last chance to do so without spoilers before proceeding ahead. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Maybe it was because of my slight disappointment in this week’s episode of The Originals, but I really liked this episode. Despite it not being about finding monsters, and being a lot more about angels and demons, it was surprisingly good. We got to see our newly human Cas again, who seems to be adapting decently to his humanity, however guilt-ridden he may feel. That’s merely apart of being human, though, the guilt that comes along with it is a consequence of a mistake we may have committed.

Now that I think about it, this episode may have been good because it didn’t have Dean and Sam working together, with more bull shit about family coming first and Dean keeping the fact that Sam has an angel housed in his body. Dean was the one trying to help Cas and solve the riddle of what was happening to the people where Cas lived. Sam and Kevin, on the other hand, spent their time researching – yay research! – more about the spell that pushed the angels out of heaven, and learned that it couldn’t be reversed. I have to say that I really missed the research aspect of this show, it used to remind me of the good ol’ days when Buffy was still around.

Surprisingly, I think I enjoyed this episode more because Cas was in it, rather than the boys. He was sad in the beginning, and still at the end, but he really came through in a pinch. I am curious to know if Cas’s boss really believed him when he told her the sleeping bag was there because of the reason he gave. He wasn’t very convincing to me, so I don’t see how she could’ve believed him. Still, I liked seeing the interactions between them, and the fact that she called him special. He may not feel like it right now, but he is. Also, I can’t write a paragraph about Cas and not comment on the singing. That was perfect.

All in all, this made for a pretty good episode. I guess I can still hold out some hope that this show will get better, even if it doesn’t seem like it will ever be as good as the first few seasons, before angels were ever involved. I am definitely curious to know what Crowley was doing with that syringe. Is he trying to make himself human or something? Anyways, I’m actually looking forward to this show more now, than I was a few weeks ago. It’s still a little too easy for the boys, but I hold out hope that will eventually be rectified.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“How many volumes are there?” – Dean asks. “Twenty-four. (Pause) Don’t worry, we’ve got ‘em all.” – Kevin replies. “Awesome.” – Dean remarks.

“Scarier than you’ve been in years.” – Sam taunts Crowley with comments that Abbadon is scarier.

Okay, that’s all for tonight folks. Check back in tomorrow night for reviews of Nashville, Revolution, and American Horror Story: Coven. 

Supernatural 9.02 Review: It's All About Family

For anyone that has yet to watch last night’s episode of Supernatural, titled ‘Devil May Care’, I suggest you do so now. This is not, and will likely never be, a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Maybe it’s because I went into this episode not wanting to watch it all that much, but it actually wasn’t all that bad. Sure, it’s no early season Supernatural, but I am glad that the Winchester brothers are finally back to a place where it’s about family first – and that includes the people they’ve brought in as family. Which is why I absolutely adored the speech Dean made near the end of the episode to Kevin. They’re family, and that’s all they’ve got. Sure, they’re in a field of work that’s dangerous, they’re sacrificing a bit of themselves daily, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be there for each other as much as possible. They have each other’s backs, that’s really what the message of the show has become.

That’s not to say that I don’t miss the old days of the series, where the boys would travel to a town to solve a monster problem, meeting new folks that would reflect their own lives. These episodes they travel too much in one episode, only really meet new people every so often, and have it a little too easy with the Men of Letters bunker. Sure I like that they have access to all this knowledge, but it used to be their dad’s book, and Sam’s laptop, and then researching in the town’s library or something, now it’s too easy. But I suppose it’s too much to ask to go back to the days of the series that were better.

Another thing, Abbadon is so much better than Crowley as a big evil. While I prefer monsters over the focus of angels and demons, I’m curious to know the whole situation with the Knights of Hell. Where did all the other ones go? Obviously there’s some way to kill them. Still, the Mother of All was a better foe; it was stupid of the writers to kill her off after only a few episodes, in preference of Crowley.

As always, there were some funny moments to episode. Any time Dean speaks sarcastically to a villain when he’s in peril, it’s hilarious. Kevin can also be pretty damn funny at times, like with the military lady in this one. And then there was that moment in the beginning of the episode, after Crowley says hello, and Dean just hits him. The face he gave was spectacular.

Basically, this series is no where near as good as it was in its first few seasons, even as far as the fifth season when Kripke made his farewell as showrunner, but it still has its moments. I will always love Dean, and the brotherly relationship between Sam and him. But they don’t have as much humour between each other anymore, and they don’t do the ‘Bitch’ ‘Jerk’ thing anymore. So, I’ll keep saying it, this series needs to come to an end soon, please don’t run it further into the ground.

My rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Then we all go out for ice cream and strippers.” – Dean says.

“Cause I’m Kevin fricken Solo.” – Kevin tells the military woman.

“We gonna fight, or make out? Cause I’m getting some real mixed signals here.” – Dean remarks to Abbadon.

“Hey, look, Zeke – I’m gonna call you Zeke.” – Dean tells the angel Ezekiel.

“Oh, and uh, I’m awesome, so there’s that.” – Dean informs Sam.

Okay, folks, I’m off to go shower, but check back in about an hour and a half for my review of The Originals. Stay tuned.