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.

Nashville 2.10 Review: Following Your Heart

For all those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of Nashville, entitled ‘Tomorrow Never Comes’, now is your last chance to do so before venturing ahead into spoiler territory. This not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

This week’s episode, in my opinion, was very good. The beautiful friendship between Avery and Juliette is so strange in the way that it came about, but it is something that I love so dearly about this series. The very fact that it’s so obvious that they love each other is such a tender thing, particularly after the rough time Juliette’s been having with the always gorgeous Charlie Wentworth. That moment near the end between Juliette and Avery, where she seems to go over to confess something to him (her feelings of love for him, perhaps?), was so sad to watch when it was broken up by Scarlett’s pants-less entrance into the scene. Now, I know Avery thinks he’s in love with Scarlett - who’s being a bit of a whiny brat at the moment - but I really feel like he could have something far more genuine with Juliette, and I really look forward to watching how this all progresses. Although, I can’t fathom that Scarlett wasn’t able to pick up on the tone between Juliette and Avery when the latter had tears in his eyes, but you never know.

In other news, Raina is going ahead with the buyout of her contract and Highway 65, by gambling basically everything on the record she wants to put out. This is definitely something that could revitalize the series and send it down different avenues for more seasons to be built on. I’m just a little worried that they may be setting Raina up to fail, and the queen of country will be dethroned. But, I do look forward to seeing Raina try and grow other artists under her company, and am excited to see what other talent she hopes to sign.

Elsewhere, Will’s hatred of himself and his desire for a man of the same sex came to a head this week. He both slept with the man he has tried so hard to deny feelings for, and seems to have come to the decision that death would be better. I’m thinking that Will will be killed by that train, because it was so close I can’t see how he would make it out alive, unless he had second thoughts in his final moments. This is definitely a subject that is worth telling, and I find myself hoping Will didn’t go through with it, because his character has actually grown on me. With this marking two possible deaths of the winter finale, I’m intrigued to learn what was this series takes this.

All in all, this was a good episode. This definitely appears to be treading soap opera territory, but it’s alright because I am quite enjoying this series. They’ve definitely bumped up their characters progressions, and added a lot of heart to the story, making this season a step up from last. They seem to be getting their act together, writing wise, and making it possible for all of these characters to interact in natural ways. I am really curious to know if Peggy is dead for certain, although I find it a little odd that she would be killed off so soon after their wedding. This character seemed to have a bit more direction to go in, but I guess that’s what death brings. Basically, I feel that this is a rather beautiful series, with masterfully acted characters.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10

Best Lines:

“I’m the face of this festival, and I practically just snuck in through a basement window.” - Juliette gripes.

“We’ll talk about this later, as in never.” - Deacon says to Gunnar.

“I will literally come over there and rip your face off.” - Juliette tells Avery what she’ll do if he responds incorrectly.

Okay, so here’s this one. I’m off to go see Thor: The Dark World. Check back later for reviews of American Horror Story: Coven, Once Upon A Time in Wonderland, The Vampire Diaries, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Crazy Ones.

Nashville 2.10 Review: Following Your Heart

For all those that have yet to watch last night’s episode of Nashville, entitled ‘Tomorrow Never Comes’, now is your last chance to do so before venturing ahead into spoiler territory. This not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

This week’s episode, in my opinion, was very good. The beautiful friendship between Avery and Juliette is so strange in the way that it came about, but it is something that I love so dearly about this series. The very fact that it’s so obvious that they love each other is such a tender thing, particularly after the rough time Juliette’s been having with the always gorgeous Charlie Wentworth. That moment near the end between Juliette and Avery, where she seems to go over to confess something to him (her feelings of love for him, perhaps?), was so sad to watch when it was broken up by Scarlett’s pants-less entrance into the scene. Now, I know Avery thinks he’s in love with Scarlett - who’s being a bit of a whiny brat at the moment - but I really feel like he could have something far more genuine with Juliette, and I really look forward to watching how this all progresses. Although, I can’t fathom that Scarlett wasn’t able to pick up on the tone between Juliette and Avery when the latter had tears in his eyes, but you never know.

In other news, Raina is going ahead with the buyout of her contract and Highway 65, by gambling basically everything on the record she wants to put out. This is definitely something that could revitalize the series and send it down different avenues for more seasons to be built on. I’m just a little worried that they may be setting Raina up to fail, and the queen of country will be dethroned. But, I do look forward to seeing Raina try and grow other artists under her company, and am excited to see what other talent she hopes to sign.

Elsewhere, Will’s hatred of himself and his desire for a man of the same sex came to a head this week. He both slept with the man he has tried so hard to deny feelings for, and seems to have come to the decision that death would be better. I’m thinking that Will will be killed by that train, because it was so close I can’t see how he would make it out alive, unless he had second thoughts in his final moments. This is definitely a subject that is worth telling, and I find myself hoping Will didn’t go through with it, because his character has actually grown on me. With this marking two possible deaths of the winter finale, I’m intrigued to learn what was this series takes this.

All in all, this was a good episode. This definitely appears to be treading soap opera territory, but it’s alright because I am quite enjoying this series. They’ve definitely bumped up their characters progressions, and added a lot of heart to the story, making this season a step up from last. They seem to be getting their act together, writing wise, and making it possible for all of these characters to interact in natural ways. I am really curious to know if Peggy is dead for certain, although I find it a little odd that she would be killed off so soon after their wedding. This character seemed to have a bit more direction to go in, but I guess that’s what death brings. Basically, I feel that this is a rather beautiful series, with masterfully acted characters.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10

Best Lines:

“I’m the face of this festival, and I practically just snuck in through a basement window.” - Juliette gripes.

“We’ll talk about this later, as in never.” - Deacon says to Gunnar.

“I will literally come over there and rip your face off.” - Juliette tells Avery what she’ll do if he responds incorrectly.

Okay, so here’s this one. I’m off to go see Thor: The Dark World. Check back later for reviews of American Horror Story: Coven, Once Upon A Time in Wonderland, The Vampire Diaries, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Crazy Ones.

Supernatural 9.09 Review: Angel Bloodshed

For all those that have yet to watch tonight’s episode of Supernatural, entitled ‘Holy Terror’, this is where I suggest you go do that before proceeding ahead. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Well colour me angry. There were absolutely NO good reasons for killing Kevin Tran in this week’s episode. Does it honestly always just have to be about the brothers? And Cas, of course, but that’s besides the point.

I’m really angry with the writers. Just when I think this season is going spectacularly well – particularly the last three episodes – they go and kill off Kevin and make me hate them for it. What possibly good reasons could there have been for killing off Kevin at this point? Honestly, they’ve just lost me again because that was just plain stupid. This was senseless; Kevin had so many more interesting possible plot developments, and the fact that I didn’t even feel like they were leading up to this when he said he always ended up screwed. This didn’t feel like his last episode at all. Not like every single one of Bobby’s did, or their dad’s, or Jo and Ellen’s. So I’m really disappointed in them for the way this was written. I’m adamant that Kevin will be back at some point merely because of the crappy way he was apparently “sent off”.

Now that that’s out of the way, I have to say I did not like how Dean and Sam completely left Cas to go figure things out for himself, despite the reasons behind it. Also, Gadriel – who is not actually Zeke (which was a much better name) – was such a major whiner this episode, and a lot of the times in the previous episodes as well. I’m definitely disappointed in the direction they’ve chosen to go with him, particularly how strong the rest of this season (not counting tonight’s episode) has been. And also, who the hell is Gadriel? For one such as myself that is not so celestially inclined, I’m kind of sick of how much angel garbage they’ve managed to thrown in this season. So he let the snake into the Garden, so what? Should he have been blamed for that? No. That’s not the kind of God of this series that I’d like to see written in. And one more thing, I really don’t want to see Metatron’s face ever again. I kind of hate him.

So apparently angels that have lost their Grace can take another angel’s? That seems a little too easy for Cas, I was kind of hoping he’d stay human for this one season, but I suppose it is nice to have him back as an angel. It would definitely be interesting if this Grace would not sustain his angel powers forever and he would revert back to human until he could get his own Grace back, but I doubt they’ll go that way. I do have one question regarding the angels though. Where do they go when they die? Also, I’m glad that female angel that worked for Bartholomew got killed because she was a terrible actress, but I kind of wish Theo could have stuck around for a bit because he was surprisingly good.

All in all, this was a bad episode. This episode just reverted this season back to episode two or three, when it wasn’t so great. They just lost all their great progress in forty-five minutes of television. Do they not realize what they’ve just done? Ruined this season. Kevin is dead, and Sam’s body is off doing whatever. Also, there’s that whole plot hole where Gadriel said he over heard them and switched the tablet for a fake, when they’d already read the tablet by that scene they were depicting. Honestly, such sloppy writing to this episode, and absolutely no heart.

My rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Hey! Cas is back in town.” – Cas exclaims. “Seriously did you- did he just say that?” – Dean questions.

“She was hot.” – Dean recalls. “So hot.” – Cas agrees.

“And no more stupid angels! (Pause) Maybe some funny ones.” – Metatron contemplates his new Heaven.

“I don’t know how humans do it.” – Gadriel ponders.

“Everyone always needs a spell, and it’s always a.s.a.p.” – Kevin mutters begrudgingly to himself.

“Now?” – Kevin asks. “Yesterday, Cinderella.” – Dean retorts.

“And I always end up screwed.” – Kevin complains numbly. “Oh, come on, always? Not always.” – Dean remarks.

“Kevin? Kevin.” – Dean exasperates as he pains for his fallen friend.

All right, folks, that’s all for tonight. I’m off to watch Christmas With the Kranks and wrap some Christmas presents. Check in tomorrow for my reviews of Nashville and American Horror Story: Coven. I’m off to drink some delicious eggnog now.

Sleepy Hollow 1.08 Review: Selling Your Soul for Vengeance

For all those that have yet to watch Monday night’s episode of Sleepy Hollow, entitled ‘Necromancer’, now would be a good time to go and do that before reading ahead. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

This week’s episode was more of what I was looking for: continuity, strong character development, and no focus on the delusional romantic chemistry between Ichabod and Abby. Now we know who the Horseman is, and while it might’ve been better if they kept Death as this eternal Horseman, it does make a lot of sense concerning who they went with. And this will certainly make things more interesting as the apocalyptic battle moves forward.

Can I just say how much I love the Captain? The pilot episode made it out to be like he might be some villain type character, but I’m quite happy that that’s not the way they’ve chosen to go. The actor does a phenomenally hilarious job in his role; I’m just completely surprised this is the first time I’ve seen this guy around. He’s fantastic!

There are a few other things that need to be commented on. First, Abby’s sister looks so much better with her hair down because it’s not completely flattened down. Every time it’s up, it makes her face look dramatically sharp. Also, how did no one think about what if the power got cut off? That was the first thing I questioned when I started the episode, so how could they not think of it. Also, it was pretty obvious Abraham was Death as soon as Ichabod left him and didn’t see for certain that he had been killed.

Overall, this is definitely the way I prefer this series going. This was a much stronger episode than in weeks before. I really loved the way all the good guys were able to come together this episode in a cohesive unit. If they keep things up this way, I will definitely get excited over a second season.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10

Best Lines:

“Seriously?” – the Captain states, regarding Brooks’ unrequited feelings for Abby.

“Nope! Apologies, it’s this way.” – Ichabod remarks, after leading Abby and Brooks in the wrong direction.

“Check your math, Adolph.” – the Captain tells the Hessian.

Okay, apologies for not posting this after the review of Almost Human, but I didn’t feel like watching this last night. Here it is, even though my Internet is currently down, so I don’t know when this will exactly be up…

Sleepy Hollow 1.07 Review: The Regulars are Coming

Anyone that has yet to watch last night’s episode of Sleepy Hollow, entitled ‘The Midnight Ride’, I ask that you do so now before reading ahead. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

This week was much of a continuation of last week’s episode, aside from not having Walter – I mean Henry Parrish – around. We got more of the Headless Horseman these last two episodes than we did in four episodes combined. At least this week it was somewhat resolved by catching the Horseman and he now appears locked up in that supernatural jail cell.

My one big problem with this series is that they appear to resolve things and move the progression of the story along unnecessarily fast. This series already has  a second season pick up, so I don’t understand the need for that. I mean, why kill the other Masons so soon after introducing them? It’s like I can’t even get attached to characters before they’re killed. It’s becoming annoyingly tedious that this series seems to wrap things up all too quickly. Getting progression earlier than necessary is just as bad as having to wait indefinitely for it. Then we just begin to expect things will resolve themselves and we’ll get instant gratification. It’s not a good way to sell a series.

Aside from that, this series had progression with the Captain finally seeing the Headless Horseman, and thus now believing in his existence. I’m happy he found out if only that it means we’ll see more of this guy, and not just more of his constant disbelief. John Cho was also back as Andy Brooks, this time apparently trying to keep Abby safe. I don’t quite understand that angle just yet; it seems a little unbelievable. He also seems to have somehow bewitched Morales as well, Abby’s ex. I’m not sure where they’re going with that either. This series isn’t really predictable, if only for the reason that it seems to be all over the place with its writing that I never really know what’s up, even in the episode sometimes.

The one great thing this series has going for it, aside from maybe the Captain, is Tom Mison and all his British glory. I mean really, the man’s voice is beautiful, he’s always written to speak so eloquently, and the garb he dresses in and long hair actually works for him – and that’s coming from someone who notoriously despises men with long hair. Aside from the decently written episodes, he’s probably what keeps me coming back each week because he really is enough. I love this guy, and think this role is perfect for him, if only the writers knew the direction they were going in with this series, and it had gotten a full twenty-two episode season. Where it is now, we only have six episodes left and I’m really not sure how this season wraps into an overall story arc. But I digress.

As it stands, this was a pretty decent episode, wrapping American history into the writing of it, with Paul Revere’s ride through the colony. It was enjoyable having a nice plug in about how this and the previous few generations have really screwed up the environment. Nice little messages that are easy to write in when a character such as Ichabod exists from one period of time to the next. His character’s breaking of the word smartphone was perfect for him, and his strong dislike of incorrect facts helped make this episode. All in all, it did pretty well this week, although this series seems to be more or less a toss up at times.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Rumours of my demise have been… pretty much true.” – Brooks says to Morales.

“I got you, you headless son of a bitch.” – Irving mutters to himself.

“For further questions, please call Ichabod Crane; the man who beheaded him in 1781.” – Irving sarcastically explains what he’d say to the governor.

“It’s apocryphal what this man is telling these children.” – Crane complains. “Let it go.” – Abby tells him.

“I’m the only one amongst you who doesn’t require medication.” – Crane yammers on, after having told the museum the true account of Paul Revere’s ride.

Alright, that’s going to be all for tonight probably. I will be watching The Blacklist tonight and taking notes, but I don’t think I’m going to be awake enough to post it afterwards. Check back in tomorrow around five or six and it should be up.