SUPERNATURAL: Abandon All Hope

Okay guys, this was a major moment in the SUPERNATURAL-verse and there seem to be a lot of mixed feelings and strong reactions from the little of the online feedback that I’ve seen. One thing is for sure – we fans won’t ever forget the episode where we said goodbye to Ellen and Jo, who, if they had to go, got a pretty amazing send-off. They kicked major ass and were far and away the big heroes of the episode. Jo saved Dean’s life and lost her own as a result. Ellen sacrificed herself to stay behind go out in a blaze of glory with her dying daughter and allow Sam and Dean to continue the hunt for Lucifer. We’ll come back to all this in a few.

Since Becky conveniently gave Sam a hot tip on the Colt at the end of last week’s episode, we begin this week with the Three Musketeers tracking down Crowley to go about getting the gun back. Cas finds Crowley closing a deal under a bridge with a big-shot banker. I guess even the government handouts weren’t enough for some and they had to deal with the big guy downstairs to get the job done (would anyone be surprised?). Cas reports that the deal is “going down” as he speaks to Dean – I love when Cas uses colloquial terms in an attempt to blend with Sam and Dean – it always fails but always makes me laugh. He follows Crowley to his palatial mansion that’s handily covered in angel-repelling graffiti, so Dean, Jo and Sam join the party since they can get past the gates while Crowley relaxes inside. I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve come home from a long day at work, poured myself a stiff drink and sat back with a little Aaron Neville and some nice uplifting Nazi propaganda films. It’s the only way to cap off a day, really.

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SUPERNATURAL: The Real Ghostbusters

Howdy, partners! Well, “Changing Channels” had the esteem of being my favourite episode of the season for one glorious week, but alas, it is no more. Last night was an awesome blend of true hilarity and genuine scariness, while also seeming like a really nice mix of early SUPERNATURAL and the more recent seasons. On the one hand there was the old-school ghost story that kind of felt like seasons 1-3, along with a healthy dose of the ultra-meta self-awareness that they’ve been exploring since last season. From the second the Winchesters entered the First Annual Supernatural Convention I was hooked. I mean, you had a lineup of Impalas outside, loads of pseudo-Sam and Deans mulling around and whisper-talking to each other, and then the Scarecrow popped by with a beverage and some lame jokes. My heart leapt when I saw the angelic soul who had the forethought to honour the fallen hero Ash, complete with mullet wig and sleeveless flannel shirt. There’s a special place in heaven for people like that.

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SUPERNATURAL: Changing Channels

I’m really starting to run out of ways to say that SUPERNATURAL is awesome. Thursday’s episode was not only another fantastic hour but I agree with many others who called it the best episode of the season so far (in a season made of win). I would probably go so far as to rank it in the top five episodes ever. We got stellar comedy as well as some pretty significant movement on the mythology front too. In her post about the episode, Kath compared it to Buffy’s “Once More, With Feeling” in terms of tone which I thought was so apt. It really did have that outrageous comedic aspect combined with very dark, heavy mythology progression. I think Joss would approve. To mark the occasion, this review/recap is long, so get comfy before you continue.

We begin with an announcement that “Supernatural has been taped before a live studio audience”. And then, Supernatural the Sitcom comes on, complete with lame jokes, silly plots and cheery set decoration. But the best….the best was by far the opening credit sequence. It was pitch-perfect, from the font of the credits and the original song, to the shots of the Winchester brothers living their zany, hilarious, hunter lifestyle. Best shot ever? I say it’s a tie between the two-person bike, and Sam freaking out at the site of a person with a sheet thrown over them hiding in a closet. The whole sequence is the very definition of the phrase “instant classic”. Please take a moment to bask in the genius:

We flash back to two days earlier, in normal world (well, normal SUPERNATURAL world), which started innocently enough with a man decapitated either by a bear or The Incredible Hulk in his own bedroom. Wait…what? The Incredible Hulk, you say? Why, this sounds suspiciously like the Trickster, our old friend from Mystery Spot (Dean dies over and over and over again) and Tall Tales (alien abduction and probing, anyone?). Not to mention that Sam uncovers a stash of candy wrappers in the room, and the Trickster is a known sweet tooth.

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SUPERNATURAL: I Believe the Children Are Our Future

First, let me apologize for missing the recap last week and I swear it had nothing to do with my irrational dislike of Paris Hilton. Long story short, I had no internet or television for FIVE DAYS because some workmen severed my line right before (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend, so I didn’t even get to watch it until earlier this week. I actually thought that P Hilt held her own well enough and made some good points about our culture’s out-of-control celebrity worship (even though you know that the real P Hilt is only who she is because of said worship – sigh, if only she listened to her lines more carefully). I especially loved Sam going all “off with her head” – highly satisfying. It was really nice to have an old-fashioned monster of the week type episode to ease us back into the S & D dynamic and take a breather from the heaviness of the big picture for a week. The big takeaway from the episode was the discussion that the brothers had at the end, where a) they discussed the fact that they each unknowingly had a hand in the Apocalypse and b) they acknowledged that they have to work together and move on from the past, and c) Dean let Sam drive the Impala! That can only mean good things people.

As for this week, another great episode title even though I had Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All” stuck in my head all night. I loved the episode – there was a fantastic mix of humour, emotion and exploration of mythology. Once again the casting department scored with an amazing young actor to play Jesse, aka the Antichrist. He was so sweet, and so understated in his role – his little lip quiver made me melt. SPN has a history of finding the creepiest children on the planet for their show, but I loved that Jesse wasn’t creepy – he’s just a kid who finds himself an unwilling yet important factor in this very scary circumstance because of things that happened to his parents before he was born (sound familiar?).

The episode veered quite a bit between creepy, scary, funny and heartbreaking. The “scratching your brains out” girl and Tooth Fairy were totally disturbing, particularly the scary biker-dude TF with the gigantic wrench. I don’t often get genuinely scared watching movies or tv, but I was cringing and hiding my eyes during the tooth extraction scene. The way they shot the shadows of the characters, plus the bone-crunching noises, oh god. So disturbing. I think I must have a thing with teeth-pulling, because another SPN scene that still haunts me is Dean getting a tooth pulled in “It’s a Very Supernatural Christmas” (still one of my faves).

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SUPERNATURAL: Free to Be You and Me

I’m right in the thick of a pretty nasty flu and my head feels like it’s full of cotton, so please forgive me if I ramble or stop making sense at any point. Last night we saw the first episode post-breakup (not a Wincest reference, chillax), and it was a doozy. There was a lot of set up for the future, but it was more than simply an exposition (i.e. boring and heavy on the info) ep; there was a lot of excitement, darkness, humour and a moment that may or may not have caused me to pump my fist in the air out of pride (I will deny the fist pumping if I’m ever questioned about it, lol).

As we know from last week’s episode, Sam and Dean have decided to part ways, since Sam isn’t able to trust himself and Dean concurs. In the opening of FtbYaM (even the acronym is unwieldy), we saw intercut scenes showing us what each of the boys is now up to, and it was done so well! Sam working at a pub, Dean working a case, Sam cleaning the bar, Dean washing the Impala, Sam chopping lemons, Dean chopping vampires (“Eat it, Twilight”). From there, the story was pretty much split between the brothers and there was zero interaction between the two, although we did get new dream team with Dean and Cas who are as good a substitute as one could hope for until S & D are reunited.

The two were searching for the archangel Raphael who was the one responsible for killing Cas. Cas claims that Raphael may have information about God, but I’m not sure that revenge wasn’t just as important to him. When they see that the vessel is now empty and essentially catatonic, Dean asks if that’ll be his fate if Michael ever gets inside him (I just realized that this is going to be one long season of trying to avoid innuendo in terms of the vessel storyline, isn’t it?). Cas reassures him that Dean won’t face the same repercussions – it’ll be much worse. Well, that’s a relief.

Cas is pretty sure he’s going to be toast once they summon Raphael back to his vessel, and he plans to spend the night sitting in quiet contemplation. Well, obviously the Dean we know and love is not having that, especially once he finds out that Cas has never made sexy times with a lady friend. They (Dean) find a whorehouse and Dean provides money and instructions for Cas before sending him on his way with Chastity (haha). Not two minutes later, Chastity is screaming and running away from Cas, who apparently decided that this would be an opportune moment to discuss her father abandoning her as a child. Smooth move Cas – hard to imagine why you’re the 4,000-year-old virgin. It was sad to see Dean’s realization that he and Sam hadn’t been having fun like that in years, and it’s true. There have been lighthearted moments, but for the past couple of seasons things have been so heavy that they haven’t really been able to just have fun together.

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SUPERNATURAL: Good God, Y’all

[NOTE: Before I hand this week's review of SUPERNATURAL over to Nicole, I just wanted everyone to know that I've been making good progress on Project Supernatural. I'm half way through S4 and I'll be caught up and talking S5 with you all in no time. Oh, and I got a super duper exclusive sneak peek at a scene from episode four of this season, and WOW...just WOW! -- Kath]

So….two for two, right?? This season is killer so far! I know that we all ended last night’s episode with a major case of the sads, but before I get to the final scene, we first have to go through what led up to that moment. Let’s get right into it:

Bobby…
I was surprised to see that Bobby has such a serious injury that he may not recover from anytime soon. I don’t seek out spoilers, so maybe this was already known to some people, but I had assumed that when Cas demanded that Zach fix the boys last week, he would also be fixing Bobby. And Bobby’s not just hurt; he’s seemingly paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair. Bobby, being Bobby, is not in the mood to talk unless it’s to demand that Cas heal him as soon as the angel joins them at the hospital. Since Cas no longer has the powers he once had, he can’t heal Bobby, which doesn’t go over well with the older hunter. I wanted to cry seeing big, strong, Bobby sitting in his chair, just staring out the window. They can’t leave him like this, can they? Not when the Apolcalypse is coming! Those Winchester idjits are going to need his help.

Castiel…
Cas locates the boys at the hospital via cell phone, since his protection symbols hide them from his radar as well. Speaking of protection symbols, Cas was NOT joking when he said he carved them into the boys’ ribs – holy hell! No wonder the doctors were baffled when Dean got an x-ray to see what was what – his ribs looked like something you’d find in a really, REALLY ancient tomb (and it was pretty damn cool).

Our favourite angel was only in the episode briefly, but wow. I have always liked Cas, but I LOVE where they’re going with him this season. He’s getting funnier, and more importantly, ballsier. Hence his conversation with Dean about going to find God (incidentally, according to Cas, it was the almighty who brought him back and also put the boys on the plane last week). First, he comes up with the zinger of the night when Dean jokingly tells him he thinks God is appearing on a tortilla in New Mexico. Cas pauses, considers this possibility, and says, “No, he’s not on any flatbread”. I died. If I’m not mistaken, it was taking a lot for Misha and Jensen to hold it together during that little scene too – they both looked like they were trying not to smile.

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SUPERNATURAL: Sympathy for the Devil

Welcome back everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your summer and you’re ready to get back into serious television again, because Supernatural is back people! If you read my pre-premiere post, you saw that our fearless leader GMMR noted that she can’t read my posts until she’s caught up on season four (which she will be shortly). She’s tacked the whole series over the summer and I’m sure she’ll be eager to join the discussion soon. There were also a couple of admitted SPN converts in the comments on my last post (hi Kimber and Kelly!), and Patty’s racking up recruits like a military sergeant (no idea if sergeants do actual recruiting), so I’m looking forward to some new fans joining the discussions this year.

Before we even get to the episode, I have to give a shout out to the awesome “Then” sequence at the start – in particular, the inspired use of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” as the soundtrack. Did that not get you even more psyched than you already were for the premiere?? Two seconds in and I was in my happy place; god I love this show so much. I also loved the new title card, with the white background and swirly blood-like splash of colour – very cool.

With that said, obviously, if you haven’t watched yet, there are SPOILERS ahead, so read at your own peril. Sam and Dean are back at the church, where Lucifer is rising from Hell (and I swear by the sound effects, I half expected him to bust out of there on a giant Harley). One minute they’re locked in, about to be confronted by the devil himself and the next, they’re watching Yosemite Sam on a Jet Blue-style airplane television screen. Wuuuhhh? For a split second I was afraid we were in for one of those “it was all a dream” tv clichés, and then I remembered what show I was watching – they would never do that to us (actually, they might, but you know SPN would even do that cliché in an awesome way). The plane suddenly flies over the beam emanating from the church where Lucifer is making his entrance and it looks like they may crash, however somehow they manage to land and the brothers get off the plane, wondering what the hell just happened.

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