Supernatural 10.23 Review: Brother, I'm Done

So, Supernatural’s tenth season officially closed this week, in an episode titled ‘Brother’s Keeper’, and I’m not exactly sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, I love this cast and the characters on this series have some really great moments. But on the other hand, I’m not even sure how fresh they’re keeping this show after ten years on the air, when only five of which were planned. Especially with that ending, which reminded me a little too much of the way it went when the Leviathans were introduced – and let me just tell you, I was not a fan of those incredibly disappointing monsters.

Anyways, let’s go for a brief rundown of this season finale. Dean had gone AWOL as Sam and Cas desperately searched for him and the ingredients needed to strip Dean of the Mark of Cain. Turned out Rowena had to kill the one she loved as an ingredient to the spell – and, even more surprising, she amazed us all by having loved anyone to begin with. Cas garnered the help of Crowley to retrieve all three ingredients for the spell; all the while Sam tracked down Dean as he haphazardly hunted down a nest of vampires. Dean, in the end, summoned Death to help him make it so he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone, but ended up killing Death (I mean, how?) when Death required Sam’s death. Okay, that’s a lot of use of the word death in one sentence. Anyways, in the end the Mark was rid from Dean’s skin, which (dun, dun) brought forth the Darkness that came Before. Did I forget to mention the Mark of Cain was actually a plug that kept the Darkness at bay that God and his angels had rid the world of? Yup, so, if your town or city gets plunged into darkness, you know who to blame.

This wasn’t an altogether bad episode. I mean, we did get to see Dean trash a room, and Jensen Ackles use those lovely arm muscles he has to do that. What is it about a rugged man in a black t-shirt that’s so lovely? I swear, even red eyed, Dean looks fantastic. Jensen Ackles looks better now than he did in the pilot episode over ten years ago. Not to mention, Rowena. Now, I wasn’t so much of a fan of Crowley falling for her obvious manipulations (then again, I don’t usually like Crowley), but I’ve grown quite fond of the three hundred year old scarlet haired witch. And speaking of Crowley, I do have to say he has some of the greatest lines in this series, even if everyone seems to forget most of the time how many terrible things he’s done. Cas “begging” Crowley was just precious, as is the character so often in this series. For an angel, he can act in such a naïve way that’s absolutely adorable most of the time – kudos to Misha Collins for that. Oh, and, while I’ve had my ups and downs with Jared Padalecki’s character Sam, this week I couldn’t help but think poor Sammy. I mean, did you see that face he was giving Dean close to the end? It was just so sad. The man may be taller than Dean, but he looked so incredibly small in that one crushing moment.

In the end, I don’t think I’ll ever stop watching this series until it actually ends, but it has still become something of a caricature of its older self. I’m still not over Charlie’s death, but I do love that the brothers were together in the end, and that Cas at least shared scenes with half of them – though it’s preferable when they’re all together. I still am curious how it was possible to kill Death – I mean, he’s Death – so I greatly hope repercussions of that becomes apparent next season, otherwise how would that even make sense? Otherwise, I’m just looking forward to Dean without the Mark next season, and getting all three of them back together in scenes (Dean, Sam, and Cas), plus bringing Charlie back.

My rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“What about Crowley?” – Cas asks Rowena, regarding whom she loves. “Happy to kill him. Let’s not call it love.” – Rowena replies.

“Who summons anymore? Couldn’t you call?” – Crowley asks. “You’re not in my contacts list.” – Cas responds.

“Brother, I’m done.” – Dean tells Sam.

“The darkness.” – Dean says to Sam, with regards to what the Mark protects. “What the hell is that?” – Sam asks. “What does it sound like? Does it sound like a good thing?” – Dean responds.

“Fantastic. I think I just killed Death.” – Dean tells Sam how he feels.

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 9.04 Review: There's No Place Like Home

Anyone that has yet to watch last night’s episode of Supernatural, entitled ‘Slumber Party, I suggest you go do so now. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

I’m going to keep this brief because I am beyond exhausted (no really, above I first wrote hast instead of has yet, I combine words when I’m tired). This is a long week for me, so I apologize now for the brief reviews forthcoming.

Anyways, I’ve got to say I liked this episode. A nice nod to the old episodes of this series, although not quite fully there. It was nice to not have a demon or angel being the villain of the episode, something this series has grown too accustomed to depending upon. Fairytales, legends, that’s what used to make the monsters in this series so great, and it was nice to see that on tonight’s episode.

Still, I don’t know what it is, but I’m not a fan of the bunker. Maybe it’s that it makes it too easy for them to have a place where they’re safe and have all the material they need. I just think that when you’re fighting evil, it shouldn’t be that easy to research, research is supposed to be grueling work. Yes, I like that the boys kind of have a home, but it makes me feel like the world has ended, being stuck strictly in the bunker. After all, it is a bunker.

One thing I was happy to see in this episode was the reappearance of Charlie. The girl definitely needs to stop by a little more often – although not too often – she’s just geekily hilarious. Not only that, but she brings out this protective older brother side to Dean that we don’t get to see as often as we used to, and in a refreshing sort of way. So boy was I glad that Dean asked Zeke to save her over stopping the Wicked Witch. I was about to bash my TV in for killing off a character so unnecessarily (okay, no, I wouldn’t really do that, but you get my sentiment).

This week’s episode also brought the character of Dorothy to fruition. I have to save that I enjoyed her character, and would also like to see her pop up once or twice more. She’s a strong, rebellious woman type that dresses the way I expect Amelia Earhart did. She had this attitude to her that said she wouldn’t let a man tell her she couldn’t do something, and I admire the writing for giving her that.

A few other things to point in this episode were also how fascinatingly awesome Dean’s facial expressions are at times. I mean, really, the man barely has to talk; he just has to move his face around a bit. One particular moment was the face he made after Charlie said she wished hunting was more magical. The other thing to note would be how ridiculous Sam looked going from running Sam to strutting Zeke. I’d been on board the last couple episodes, everyone except the scene where he’s first possessed, but that was just plain ridiculous. Plus the terrible hair… Please Mr. Padalecki, cut your freaking hair, it’s too long.

All in all, I’ll repeat myself about how this series truly needs to end soon. Sure it has a little gem of an episode every now and again, and it has gotten better than two seasons ago, but it’s just not like it was in the old days. There’s almost too much mythology circulating, that sometimes it becomes overstuffed with information. It makes it difficult to keep track. This is why I’m happy that Buffy the Vampire Slayer knew when it was time to end, before it ran the series into the ground. I still think if the creator leaves, it’s time to end the series, but we’re already four seasons passed that, so please stop soon. I can’t watch much longer, it’s hurting my heart to watch such greatly established characters be written to burn out.

My rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Hello, Moose.” – Crowley greets Sam.

“A top secret place I call Amazon.” – Charlie sarcastically remarks about where she’s bought the Supernatural books.

“None. Nobodies. No, uh, there are no bells.” – Sam stumbles with a response, after learning who’s published the short stories of the books.

“Damnit, I just cleaned in here.” – Dean grumbles, about how the Wicked Witch has trashed the kitchen.

“Am I a zombie now? Do I need to eat brains?” – Charlie questions Dean about her resurrection.

Okay, I’m off to sleep now, hopefully get seven and a half hours, if I’m lucky. Check back in tomorrow for reviews of Nashville, Revolution, and American Horror Story: Coven.