Supernatural Review Blog

Written by Andrew Dabb and Daniel Loflin
Directed by Guy Bee

The hunt is on for the weapons needed to take down Dick Roman and the Leviathans, and the Brothers Winchester follow the fetch quest to one of the few remaining Alphas, once Crowley makes it clear that he’s not getting involved until the Winchesters prove they can get the job done by collecting the rest of the pieces of the puzzle. Which, of course, is easier said than done.

I’ve not a clue where they intend to find a bone from a human as light and good as the Leviathans are evil and dark, since there are precious few of those in the “Supernatural” world, but getting blood from the Alpha vampire seems like it ought to be fun. As in, almost impossible and nearly suicidal. It involves taking the Alpha’s favorite human snack food donor and holding her ransom, so to speak, which doesn’t work out too well, since she’s basically enthralled to the hilt.

Sam and Dean get lucky, though, because the Leviathans are greedy. They’ve done a nice job of lacing the human food supply with enough mind-numbing high-fructose corn syrup that the lambs are ready for the slow and steady slaughter. The Leviathans just don’t want to have any competition. Sam and Dean may not have much of a chance convincing the Alpha to donate some blood, but they can always count on the Leviathans to tip their hand. It’s a bit of a sloppy way to give the boys a win, but it works.

(Speaking of the Leviathans and their plans, I think the writers went a bit over the top with their decision to insert some social commentary into the season arc. I didn’t mind it so much when it was just the one episode with the turducken and the mild references after the fact, but why don’t they just say that Roman took control of Monsanto and get it over with? We get it; HFCS is terribly bad for you. I don’t know too many people who missed the message at this point!)

Meanwhile, Bobby is very quickly losing control, which does not bode well for restoration in the finale. When the idea of Bobby’s return as a ghost was first hinted, I was worried that it would force the brothers to take out their father figure personally, rather than lose him to the enemy. Tying him to the flask makes it very easy to write that into the story, and Bobby’s rage-induced downward spiral is making it almost a foregone conclusion. I’d rather they just let Bobby die, if this is the only thing they could think to do with him.

At this point, my main concern is that there’s so much left to do, if the season finale is meant to deliver the end to the threat of the Leviathans. Sam and Dean need to find the aforementioned bone, then get Crowley to supply some blood. And then they need to unleash the anti-Leviathan weapon. It’s possible they intend to hold the Leviathan resolution until the eighth season, but since it never quite worked out as much as the early portion of the season promised, I’d rather they just brought it to a close.

Crowley’s apparent “alliance” with Dick Roman could be key. Could Dick give the King of Hell an offer he can’t refuse? Perhaps access to all the souls from the humans eaten by the Leviathans? I can’t think of anything else that Crowley would want. On the other hand, Crowley is great at hedging his bets. If the Winchesters get everything they need but Crowley’s blood, then Crowley is in the perfect position to help the boys restore the balance. If not, then Crowley would have to accept what the Leviathans choose to offer him anyway.

I still say that the writers would be best served to deal with the Leviathans and have Crowley take the reins as the Big Bad for the eighth season. Mark Sheppard is too damn good at the role to be left on the sidelines, and all the hints to that effect, given Meg’s comments in previous episodes, would finally be addressed. Besides, that would probably get Castiel back in the saddle as well, and that’s never a bad thing.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10

Written by Ben Edlund
Directed by Ben Edlund

Fans of “Supernatural” got a boost before this episode with the announcement of an impending eighth season. Not that this turn of events is particularly shocking at this point, but who ever thought that the show fans had to fight to keep on the air in the early days would make it eight seasons?

With the previous episode kicking off the final portion of the Leviathan arc (assuming that they are, in fact, dispatched this season), it’s only fitting that all of the major players return to the game. The retrieval of the item that Dick Roman needed to complete his plans is in the hands of the Winchesters, and it turns out to be the answer to the question of how to kill their enemy. And, like so many season ending arcs of previous seasons, one fetch quest turns into another. Beating the Leviathans amounts to finding and using a Very Special Weapon.

Recalling that there is, in fact, a God in the “Supernatural” universe, and that he tends to like getting others to act out his plans rather than intervening directly, the clay tablet is one of the actual Words of God, as inscribed by Metatron himself. (The source of a truly hilarious moment between Sam and Dean, I must add.) No doubt, Dick wanted the tablet to ensure to keep it safely out of anyone else’s hands, as it has the ingredients for how to take down his new empire right there in the cuneiform text. There also has to be more that the Winchesters haven’t figured out, because the Leviathans are still intent on getting the tablet and the Prophet attached to it.

As Prophets go, Kevin provides a good bit of comedy, but the main point is that he’s not super-powerful or prepared for the task. It makes him vulnerable, and therefore someone that the good guys would want to protect. Hence the return of the angels, who have been keeping a low profile. It also means the revival of Castiel, who has been rendered a bit damaged, thanks to taking on Sam’s fight with Head Lucifer.

Much like Bobby, Castiel returns, but he is not himself. Misha Collins does a pitch-perfect job of delivering lines that are meant to be funny in a tragic way. Castiel’s fractured psyche is hard to watch. On the other hand, it does set him up to play a part in the big finish, similar to Bobby’s role. And just like Bobby, a big question will be whether or not the Brothers Winchester will be able to restore or save their old friends, once the cost of the battle is fully revealed. This is very similar to the end of the fifth season, which this season has been very reminiscent of in good and bad ways. I’m not so sure that the end result will be as favorable for them.

Meg’s presence was, as always, greatly appreciated, and served to remind the audience that Crowley has been waiting in the wings to see how everything would play out, but it won’t last forever. He was a major played in previous seasons, and should the Leviathans be defeated, one would expect him to make a move at the worst possible moment. In fact, if the writers could find a way to make Crowley the Big Bad for the eighth season, it would be a great way to bring his presence as an adversary on the show to a crescendo.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10

Written by Robbie Thompson
Directed by John MacCarthy

If someone would have told me, at the beginning of this season, that “Fringe” would be renewed before “Supernatural”, I’d have laughed myself silly. Not just at the notion of either show coming back (I was sure this was the swan song season for both epics), but at the thought that cancel-happy Fox would allow a loss-leader like “Fringe” to survive, despite its creative and critical praise, while the struggling CW would even consider letting one of its few successful shows to slip away. I still think that “Supernatural” is as sure a thing for an eighth season as it gets right now, but it’s definitely a symptom of how weird this season has been for the traditional networks.

Turning to this episode specifically, I’m not sure how they could have bounced back more from the disappointment that was “Of Gave Importance”. Not only did they finally reveal what the Leviathans’ plan really is, but they also brought in Felicia Day in one of her most adorable turns yet. Needless to say, those who love Felicia probably spent the episode with a permanent Joker-sized grin on their faces, while those less enamored were out of luck.

In recent years, Felicia Day has become the genre equivalent of Zooey Deschanel. While Deschanel has been involved in more than her fair share of genre projects, she’s typically viewed as more mainstream. Deschanel’s claim to fame, so to speak, is a well-cultivated quirkiness that has been termed by her devotees as “adorkable”. Those who love her do so because she embraces the kind of oddball behavior that we recognize in ourselves, but society tries to keep hidden.

Felicia Day is the geek analogue to Zooey. It’s not that she plays a geek on TV and capitalizes on the stereotype; it’s more than writers all but fashion characters to reflect Felicia and her very open online personality. Anyone who strays into the orbit of Felicia-World knows that she walks the walk, and she’s happy to talk about it in detail. Charlie could have been a walking cliché, but because she was written to be played by Felicia, it’s nothing less than authentic. If anything, it’s what fanboys (and a lot of fangirls) imagine it would be like to run into Felicia in the real world.

It may sound like this review is just an excuse to praise a favorite actress, but it actually pertains to the episode and the series as a whole. “Supernatural” has always struggled to find the right kind of female characters to bring onto the show, but Charlie takes most of the hurdles that such characters encounter and blows them to pieces. For one thing, she’s openly gay, so the whole problem of “potential love interest” is moot.

But the main thing is what the Brothers Winchesters affirm throughout the episode: Charlie feels like the younger sister they never had. Sam clearly enjoys the chance to let out that geeky side that usually ends up getting buried. Dean, despite his usual derision being right there on the tip of his tongue, even seems to hold back a bit. And Charlie has incredibly useful skills, which they can’t help but admire. As much as it would get tiresome with too many revisits, one can’t help but hope Charlie returns in the future.

Beyond delivering a heaping pile of awesome for Felicia fans and geek-lovers everywhere, the caper in Dick Roman’s domain also forces Bobby to face his killer for the first time since he gained enough control to interact with the real world. If nothing else, the previous episode’s primer on ghosts set up the notion that feeding his rage is the last thing Bobby wants to do. This sets up an interesting problem, as Bobby struggles to control his urge to attach whenever Dick is around.

With three episodes to go in this slightly extended season, the stage has been set for the showdown with the Leviathans. The Winchesters have something that Dick needs to fulfill his master plan, and discovering its nature and purpose will likely require the return of some assets currently waiting in the wings (of a mental institution). And this episode serves as the perfect launching pad for the games to begin!

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 4/4

Final Rating: 10/10

Written by Adam Glass
Directed by Phil Sgriccia

Coming on the heels of the emotionally charged previous episode, it’s perhaps understandable that the writers would want to follow it up with something a little more light-hearted. They do eventually manage to give the episode far more heft with its final moments (even if they telegraphed the reveal to the hilt), but the core of the episode is a mixture of terror and outright hilarity.

This episode felt like it was designed as the perfect companion to a “Supernatural” drinking game. The usual rules go like this: when a character drinks, you drink. Most episodes would be enough to flirt with severe hangover potential, but this one would have led to alcohol poisoning. Was there ever a creature better designed for the Brothers Winchester to take down? On the other hand, when it requires professional alcoholics like Dean to be plastered, skills become secondary to walking in a straight line.

This is also the return of Garth, who is funny enough, but comes across as one of those guest characters that the writers fall in love with, but perhaps don’t quite endear themselves to the audience to the same degree. Garth had his moments, and of course, anyone with that kind of body type is probably going to get blinkered after a single beer. (Oh, and given how snooty the whole micro-brewery community has become, it was hilarious to see Dean’s reaction to Headspinner, both before and after taste-testing!)

It would have been easy to make the “alcohol spirit” a bit tame, but the scenario was actually pretty nasty. It may have let Garth indulge in one of the weirdest uses of a sock puppet in recent memory, but how disturbing was it to have that little girl watch a stunt double from “The Ring” tear a hole in her own mother?

But let’s face it: most of the discussion right now among fans is centered on the return of Bobby. I’m at a loss as to why this is so momentous, other than the fact that it verifies what the writers have been beating us over the head with since Bobby died. In fact, I know more “Supernatural” fans who were hoping the writers were playing it up so that the reveal that Bobby was gone would be that much more final.

That said, I can’t fault them for the way they handled it in the episode. They went as far as possible without showing Bobby, had him come back, and then set the stage for Dean to see him right at the end. And then they revealed that Bobby still couldn’t be seen. Not that this is shocking, since he’s been around all this time without being detected, but it does present a problem for Bobby to overcome, as he tries to help the Winchesters through the final leg of the season.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10

Written by Sera Gamble
Directed by Robert Singer

And now that secret that wasn’t much of a secret is fully revealed. Frankly, anyone who didn’t see this coming a mile away just wasn’t paying attention. That it happened to coincide with the return of another old favorite at the same time was icing on the cake. And since Head Lucifer is involved, that cake is probably on fire and trying to eat you.

First things first, we have the return of Castiel, who was just reformed after his unfortunate brush with self-appointed godhood into an apparent human being with super healing powers. Without a memory, he was just a kindly man named Emmanuel. Naturally, things get dicey when the demons under Crowley’s watch decide that the Brothers Winchester are back on the menu, since they haven’t done much to stop the Leviathans since the deal was struck. (And I’m sure Crowley is turning a blind eye, not being undermined as King of Hell.)

With Cas not aware of his true nature, Dean is left on his own to survive the demonic onslaught. And why is that? Because Sam has finally succumbed to the endless assault of Head Lucifer, going quite insane in the process. And so he’s been tossed into a mental institution, where he undergoes a delightful bit of torture at Lucifer’s hands. Jared Padalecki deserves an award for this episode alone.

All of the main players are put to the test, and they all make the kinds of choices we would expect at this point. Dean is angry at Castiel for putting Sam in this position, but he also trusts that Cas has been restored and does his best to convince Cas that healing Sam is the best way to atone. Having been to Hell and succumbed, he knows a little bit about redemption. Even so, his alliance with Meg promises to be interesting. (Rachel Miner makes a welcome return as Meg, though I didn’t recognize her initially.)

Sam was struggling to distinguish reality from devilish hallucination, but it wasn’t enough to keep him from recognizing what Marin was experiencing. (Marin was played by Kacey Rohl, daughter of oft-time “Supernatural” director Mike Rohl. Beyond being gorgeous in a mental institution, she’s perhaps best known as Sterling on “The Killing”.) For all that Sam has made some seriously questionable choices over the years, the fact that he digs deep to save the life of a stranger, while under assault by Lucifer himself, demonstrates his true heroic nature.

Perhaps as much an honorary Winchester as Bobby was (and, by all apparent accounts, is), Castiel rises to the challenge when he can’t directly oust Lucifer from Sam’s mind. Instead, he takes the vast majority on himself, and effectively takes on Sam’s burden. Since Cas was the one who caused the cracks in that wall in Sam’s mind at the end of the previous season, it only makes sense that he would share in the consequences.

Towards the end, I thought perhaps this was going to be how they explained Sam’s absence for a few episodes. (Jared wanted to take a little time off for the birth of his son.) Who wouldn’t see a restored Castiel as a suitable replacement for a little while? Instead, Castiel is stuck in the mental institution in Sam’s place. However, I don’t think this was a one-time appearance, since Meg got herself a job to stay close to her favorite angel. If nothing else, Castiel seems likely to get a much better resolution to his arc than the beginning of the season appeared to deliver.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10

Written by Robert Singer & Jenny Klein
Directed by John F. Showalter

With Dean still not sure where his mind is at, and Sam dealing with a very chatty and empowered Lucifer in his head, I suppose that it was the perfect time to revisit the Leviathans and Dick Roman’s plans for the human race. And sure enough, it’s more than just an excuse to find new and hilarious ways to toss out Dick jokes.

If there has been a weakness to this season (a notion that I think is a bit overstated), it has been the Leviathan arc. They are such a powerful adversary, akin to the demons in the first couple seasons, that it’s been hard for them to get involved without massive bloodshed as a result. It was a problem that also plagued the fifth season.

While the writers can’t very well remove the crucial item of the Leviathan’s hatred for the Winchesters, since that’s an important part of the status quo, they have gone a long way towards explaining what the Leviathans are doing with all that political status and public support. They are apparently setting up a research facility devoted to a cure for cancer.

The obvious conclusion one might draw is that the Leviathans are looking for a nice way to control their food supply. Surely the writers are aware of that fact, so there must be something more to such a program. But it does highlight the fact that this is the kind of enemy and plan that Sam and Dean really haven’t dealt with before. And the kind of allies they need to figure out the Leviathans’ plan is in short supply.

I was expecting a more direct exploration of the fallout from the end of the previous episode, but I suppose that seeing Sam breaking down physically from the inability to sleep is more than enough for right now. Sam is being fairly honest with Dean about what’s going on, but given Den’s relatively low-key reaction to it, maybe he’s not quite getting the message. Or this is a more mature and measured version of Dean, which could be more terrifying to contemplate.

Perhaps to keep things from going too dark, too fast, there was a nice bit of dark humor in this episode. Who knew that real estate brokers could go so “Devil Wears Prada” like that? It’s quite on the level of a Ben Edlund episode, but it’s still classic “Supernatural”. Who didn’t want to see what would happen if Dean strapped on the ballet shoes? And Sam can still toss out the one-liners, even when he’s fighting off Head Lucifer. (Though, did anyone else think that line about a lesson in gratitude sounded more like Lucy than Sam?)

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

Written by Ben Edlund
Directed by Thomas Wright

Just in case the enduring fandom thought that the writers couldn’t deliver some old-school “Supernatural” fare, this episode ought to disabuse them of such foolish notions. In keeping with the semi-nostalgic season arc, this installment reaches back into the history of the Brothers Winchester and their demon-hunting activities of the third season. In other words, back when they first learned about Lilith and were trying to save Dean from a sojourn in Hell.

While I was hoping they would tie this directly into a third season episode, just for fun, it really wasn’t necessary. Since the third season was shortened by the writers’ strike at the time, there’s room to insert a few cases in the spaces between episodes. Besides, this serves as a reminder that the demons are still around; Crowley has simply promised to keep them more or less out of the way while the Winchesters contend with the leviathans.

I like how this one played out, with Jeffrey being the kind of human that desperately wanted his possession back. It may have been a stray detail for some, but in the earlier seasons, it was made very clear that demons are human souls that have been corrupted by their time in the pit. That was way Dean’s return in the fourth season was so easily mined for drama. So the notion that demons would seek out humans with the “right” kind of evil tendencies makes sense as a recruitment strategy. (And the plot twist was foreshadowed by the observation that demons aren’t typically serial killers, pointing to the human factor.)

Of course, all of this is just a means to an end, getting Sam into a position where he has to shoulder the lion’s share of the case to save Dean and figure out how to deal with the demon. It’s a grand opportunity to bring back Lucy, Sam’s little sliver of Head Lucifer, and remind us that all those little hints of Sam’s ongoing struggle to maintain control were not forgotten.

It’s clear that Sam’s ongoing clenching of his fist was a way to communicate that he was still “seeing” Lucy, even if the producers couldn’t afford to have Mark Pellegrino in every single episode. Frankly, Lucy is a wine best savored, and he deftly chips away at Sam’s mental discipline in this episode. By the time Sam starts talking things through with Lucy, it almost feels natural, and just like Sam, one doesn’t realize the implications until it’s far too late.

But that’s the point: Lucy uses the pretense of assistance to worm his way past Sam’s natural defenses. Human nature dictates that we resist any threat to our desires, but react favorably when someone seems to align with our interests. Lucifer is supposed to be subtle with his deceptions, using the truth to support his lies. Lucy doesn’t even really need that; he just needs Sam to acknowledge his existence in a direct way.

With Lucy now threatening Sam’s sanity again, things can only begin to escalate. Dean is unaware of what has happened, and he’s already been on the brink for far too long. This feels like the beginning of the turn towards resolution of this season arc, and if this is any indication, it’s going to be one hell of a ride.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

Written by Andrew Dabb and Daniel Loflin
Directed by Mike Rohl

Just by the title, it’s easy to tell that this is going to be another trademark blend of the ridiculous and the creepy. The whole episode is filled with hints that the writers aren’t taking the situation all too seriously, even if it is meant to be follow directly on the heels of the previous episode. (Though the fact that they name-check the Amazons, yet do nothing to address the renewed tension between Sam and Dean, is a bit irritating.)

We all know that Sam hates clowns, and let’s face it: most of us do. Even if one is fortunate enough to avoid some image of Pennywise the Clown from “It”, easily one of the most unnerving characters to ever exist on film, clowns are just plain disturbing. And when an episode leads one to compare a clown against a rampaging killer unicorn streaming rainbows out of its ass, that’s saying something.

Having been to too many of these themed children’s arcade/restaurants over the past several years (Chuck-E-Cheese, anyone?), I have to say: the various versions of Plucky hanging around that place were perfectly designed to emphasize the creep factor. I know kids tend to ignore some things, but I’m fairly sure Sam was right to cringe as he walked through the entrance. And that’s before the land shark ripped a guy apart in the ball pit.

All the dark comedy elements were there in this episode. The absurd use of the “24” clock was inspired, and I have to mention the killer unicorn once again, because it was just that damn funny. Almost as good as the clowns that were bleeding glitter towards the end. Sam looked like a guy stuck at a “Twilight” premiere night for far too long. Never mind Dean’s obsession with the giant slinky. (And who hasn’t seen that kid who openly cheats at Skee-ball?) Sam’s “bad cop” routine was priceless, as was “Right Friggin’ Now” as a timestamp.

What really worked for me was everything that didn’t work in the previous episode. This plot, however ridiculous, didn’t require the brothers to overlook what was right in front of their faces, or call on outside help overly much. They investigated the situation, figured it all out from the clues in front of them, and tackled the problem directly. Contrast this with the previous episode, which required Dean and Sam to misinterpret or dismiss information right in front of them, and not communicate when the opportunities were clearly there.

Everything about this episode suggested the relative calm before the storm. Dean was given a chance to laugh over something, an opportunity that has been rather rare this season, and they got to ignore some of the growing tension that has emerged since Bobby’s death. The timing is right for the turn from the complication phase of the season arc to resolution, and that’s usually means a dark and tortuous road ahead.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10