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 9.09 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.

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.

Supernatural 9.01 Review: There's a Lot of Work To Do

All those that have yet to watch the ninth season premiere of Supernatural, entitled ‘I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here’, feel free to leave now. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

A brief recap of where we left off last season. Sam didn’t go through with the last trial to close the gates to hell, but he still ended up losing consciousness. Dean pledged that they both look out for each other, for real this time. Castiel thought he was going through trials to close Heaven, but in actuality it was a spell to clip the angels’ wings. Angels fell from Heaven. That’s about all.

Not a bad opening to the season, gets us caught up on where things ended last season, while teasing us with new things to come this season. There’s just one thing I’m confused about. By completing the three trials, Sam would have died, but the gates of hell would be closed. But Dean stops Sam before he can finish the third trial. Now, where I get confused is, why would that still lead him down the path towards death, if he never finished the trials? He should be weak, certainly, but not close to death, otherwise how could he have finished the trials in the first place.

This series has grown far too consumed with the traipsing’s of angels and demons. I didn’t use to mind the demons so much, but the fact that this series is so heavily buried in mythology, that’s almost all there is. I miss the monsters, the different foes that needed to be discovered and fought. The good old days of Supernatural where it actually was about the supernaturals. Now it’s just all about two groups of supernatural beings, and that’s really getting on my last nerve. I love Sam and Dean, though they’re not the brothers they used to be, but it’s getting to the point where I’m about ready to call it quits. Honestly, if this season doesn’t get really good, back to Kripke territory, that’s it for me. This is my last season, I can’t do a tenth. They’re running these people, these characters I’ve grown to love, into the ground. And please Sammie, cut your damned hair.

One thing I did like about this episode was the dreamlike overtone they covered Sam’s dreams with. It gave a kind of foggy overlook to it that I enjoyed. Made it easy to understand it was a dream. Especially since the first scene in the car I was rather confused with. I thought maybe Dean was in Sam’s head, or one of them was dreaming, seems logical for it to be Sam after watching it. I don’t think that was great use of Bobby Singer. I love the character and all, but it’s time to let him go. At least being dead, he can’t continually be run into the ground like this series.

While I loved Tahmoh Penikett in Dollhouse, he always seems to have that same tone to his voice. He looks great all rugged and downtrodden, but as soon as that “angelic” voice emitted from his mouth, I had to try and step back and remember ‘oh, yeah, he’s supposed to be an angel’. Not particularly great, though I was looking forward to him. I do think Jared Padalecki did an almost spot on imitation of the man. But seriously, cut your hair.

Again, while Grace Phipps was great in The Nine Lives of Chloe King, as a super peppy, wealthy teenager, I haven’t liked her in her roles in this series, or The Vampire Diaries, she isn’t much of a convincing actress. I’ve genuinely tried to like her, but she needs to work on her skills because she’s not all that great.

Overall, like I said, not a bad episode. But then, not good compared to the great episodes this series has created. Please bring me back to the days of the first three seasons, with Skinwalkers, Wendigos, hex bags, and other such fascinating items. That’s all I ask, for great, original writing, that’s not heavy with the mythology. Oh, and for Sam to cut his hair. Have I mentioned that already?

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“I have no idea what you just said, but continue.” – Dream Dean tells Sam.

“I would fly, but I have no wings.” – Fallen Angel Cas, sounding like a crazy person, or, with a different tone, like someone sarcastic.

“Well that just got damn uncomfortable.” – Dream Bobby, popping up in the front seat between Sam and Dream Dean.

“Let a few Japanese tourists take some pictures. Nobody got handsy.” – Dean explains the time away to freshly awoken from a coma Sam.

I’m off to watch Revolution now, so stay tuned for that. Then I’m going to try to muster through American Horror Story: Coven, but don’t expect a review for that tonight, that’ll be out tomorrow. I have to work in ten hours.