Supernatural; The CW
Before we get down into the muck and eternal blackness of this review, I feel that it’s imperative that I let it be known that I’ve seen 9 seasons of the SUPERNATURAL television show. In fact, I’ve seen multiple seasons, in multiple orders, many multiple times. I know my shit. With that, comes an awareness that this shows has a tendency to fluctuate in style. The adventures of Sam and Dean Winchester tend to ride a very similar rail from season to season. Naturally, I didn’t really know what to expect with this episode. Would it be a return to the classics? Would it be more of the same? I will say that last season left me… hungry for more. Imagine my surprise when this episode ended and I found myself extremely excited for the upcoming tenth season. Yep, that’s right, Winchesters! I loved this episode. I absolutely loved it. I loved it so much that I don’t really understand what the hell happened inside of me. It’s like that moment when you realize that you’re in love with the best friend that you’ve had for the last 20 years. It’s the same person that you’ve known, but, suddenly they’re completely different and new. And sexy.
Here’s where we are at when the episode begins. It’s been six weeks since Metatron put his angel dagger into Dean’s chest and then Dean died and then he gave into the Mark of Cain and then his eyes turned black and then I cried a little. Upon Dean’s dark resurrection, It was sort of implied that Dean wasn’t possessed, but, that he had given in to some darkness that had overcome him. A darkness that had been building up within him for many previous seasons. So, he dies, gives into the Mark completely and then flies off with Crowley to ‘howl at the moon.’ Well, it’s been six weeks and they’ve spent the entire time at a bar singing terrible karaoke and having crazy sex parties. All the while, Sam is tirelessly searching for his missing brother. The thing that really sells this episode is that Dean is utterly free of restraint and completely unburdened. It’s classic Dean and you quickly realize how much you’ve missed classic Dean. Living life, partying, fighting and sexing up the local bartender. It’s pretty refreshing to watch and completely perfect. It’s also a very welcome change to our heroes. Well, to one of our heroes. Sam is still hopelessly obsessed and willing to kill as many demons as it takes to find Dean. Classic Sam vendetta road trip. Castiel is still trying to organize heaven and wrangle all the fallen angels. Everything in this episode was all very comfortable and excellent. Right up until the moment that you discover that Dean is willing to let Sam die by the hands of some rogue bounty hunter, just because ‘Sam made his own bed.’ Dang. Dean is wild and carefree, but, also lacking in empathy and compassion. He’s everything we want and he’s wrong.
I think the best compliment you can give a show, that is entering it’s tenth season, is that this felt like nothing we’ve seen before. Isn’t it great that the thing I just said also happens to be the best compliment you can give a show entering it’s tenth season? A large part of this compliment owes a huge amount of debt of gratitude to the Jensen Ackles. He’s finally letting loose in a way that he hasn’t in quite a while. I bow at the altar of Mark Sheppard’s delivery. The dynamic between them is sort of extraordinary and exciting to watch. Especially compared to the blood thirsty Sam and the grace-less, death coughing Castiel. It makes sense to pair Dean and Crowley together. It’s always made sense. They make an extremely interesting pair of uninhibited souls. As much as I would love to see them both rule Hell, I would hate to see Dean cross that line. The last time he was in Hell, it broke him. With Heaven and Hell existing with very little conflict and the complete lack of ‘big bads’ on the horizon, I really have no clue where this season is going. I will say that it felt more confident and solid than many previous seasons before it.
Final Score: 8 out of 10
