Supernatural Station

Lucifer Rising

Supernatural Season 4, episode #22.
Airdate: Thursday May 14, 2009.
Written by Eric Kripke.
Directed By Eric Kripke.

In deference to my overseas visitors wish not to be spoiled, episode review posts and images are no longer being displayed in the blog index. Please click on the post link or go to the “Reviews” category to read a review.

• Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary.

  The Apocalypse is nigh and Dean has been called into service by the angels. He is taken away mid-argument with Bobby to what looks like a luxurious palace to await his instructions.

  Back in middle America, Sam and Ruby are on the hunt for Lilith. They have captured her “chef” and Sam uses his mojo to torture Lilith’s location out of her. Fearing her impending death, the demon returns control to the terrified woman who it possessed, causing Sam to have second thoughts. But Ruby reminds him that he needs her demon blood to kill Lilith and there is no more time left.

  Dean learns from the angel Zachariah that his job is not to stop the Apocalypse, but to end it after it begins, that it is his brother who will begin the Apocalypse by killing Lilith, the final seal. He attempts to leave but finds that the palace has turned into a gilded prison. Dean appeals to Castiel who defies his orders and helps Dean escape. Castiel takes Dean to the prophet Chuck who tells them Sam’s location, then he transports Dean there, staying behind to hold off the archangel.

  Dean arrives at the abandoned convert before the seal is broken, but Ruby sees him and bars the doors against him so he cannot reach Sam. His muffled shouts and pounding at the door goes unheeded as Sam proceeds to kill Lilith at the alter.

  Afterwards, Ruby laughs in triumph and tells Sam that he has done exactly what he was destined for. Sam is flabbergasted as she takes pride in her role in manipulating him to make all the “right” choices to fulfill that destiny. Sam angrily tries to kill her, but has no more mojo left. Then Dean breaks through the door armed with the demon-killing knife. Sam grabs Ruby and holds her as Dean stabbed her to death.

  Then the convent floor becomes awash in a blaze of light as Lucifer’s prison door opens.
  The end.

• Praises: My first reaction to this season 4 finale was…HOLY SH*T!!! Who would have thunk it. Kripke managed to trump season 1’s and season 3’s finale cliffhangers with one that is even more suspenseful. The ending was WOW, just WOW!

  Backing up a bit, I have to say that the acting was top notch. Jared and Jensen did a fantastic job. Jim and Misha are masters of their craft. Even Cortese’s Ruby was convincing. Kripke knows best how to bring his characters out of the actors. His directing style, though not as edgy and dramatic as Kim Manners’ was, had me totally engaged throughout the episode. At times, he had me gripping my chair for several OMG moments. I even screamed aloud to tell Sam “DON’T DO IT!”.

  Kripke presented some interesting dualities in this episode and for the season as a whole…from the title “Lucifer Rising” as a counterpoint to the premiere’s title, “Lazarus Rising”; then the fact that it was one Winchester who broke the first seal and another Winchester who broke the last; the continuing contrast of an angel-Dean duo versus a demon-Sam duo; and, of course, there’s that “small thing” where the season ends as the end-of-the world begins.

  One of the high points of this episode for me was seeing Dean reenergized, trying to save his brother as well as the world. I missed my hero terribly. I had stopped enjoying this season when Dean’s armor was revealed to be badly tarnished, when he was laden down with guilt and self-loathing. But Kripke finally returned to us the man who would sacrifice himself to help others, the man who knows what’s right from what’s wrong better than even the angels!

  I also particularly enjoyed the flashbacks to previous seasons that were interspersed in the episode. The opening song “Carry on my Wayward son” brought back memories of their Daddy and the good old days when the Winchesters life was much “simpler”. Yellow-eyes was back in a scene from the past that revealed his true motive behind the spawning of the psychic kids. Even the brothers themselves seemed to revert back to their season one personalities. Kick-ass, protective Dean was back. And angsty, conscientious Sam, still needing his brother’s approval, was back (in a way), too. As they worked together to kill Ruby, it felt like the badass demon-killing duo from Season 2 had reemerged. Can Lucifer himself survive the Winchester brothers working as a team again…I think NOT!! Bring on season 5!

• Nags: So, when Sam realized that he screwed up and opened up Lucifer’s prison, why didn’t he immediately begin sopping up Lilith’s slow moving blood. Considering what was about to happen, you’d think he’d start desperately trying to undo what he did…but he didn’t. Oh geez, does that mean he’s too far gone over to the dark side? I hope not.

  We were finally shown the yellow-eyed demon real plan and saw that it succeeded even after his death, but too many BIG questions still remain especially about Sam’s fate. Does Sam’s eyes turning demonic black mean that his soul is now so twisted that he has turned into a demon himself? Is Lucifer done with Sam? Is Sam to become Lilith’s replacement at Lucifer’s side or is he supposed to be Lucifer’s meat suit? Can Dean still save Sam or is it too late for that? Is Dean back to his normal kick-ass self or is he still immobilized by guilt? How the heck is Dean supposed to kill Lucifer, a former archangel, when only another angel can kill an angel? Is Castiel toast? Is there going to be a season 6?

  Kripke, you have succeeded yet again in torturing me for another Summer…damn you!!!

• My Rating: Excellent episode. 4 and a half out of 5 stars.

A “TV Spotlight” article in the April 10, 2009 issue of Entertainment Weekly (EW) featured Supernatural. It included interviews with Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles and Eric Kripke, and spoilers for season 4 upcoming episodes, but the main focus of the article was the fate of Supernatural after season 5 (it doesn't look promising for a season 6, guys). There was also a small featurette that highlighted 5 episodes that new viewers can see to “get hooked” on Supernatural.

If you would like to read this article, titled “Supernatural: Sexy. Scary. Over?” and written by Alynda Wheat, the online version is here. The mini-section, “Supernatural 101: How to get hooked” can be read here.

OK fans, it is time to cross our fingers again…Supernatural has been nominated for another notable award. This time it is the Saturn Award in the category, “Best Network TV Show”. This is a genre-based award given out annually by the Acadamy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, a California-based organization founded in 1972.

Our show is an underdog competing against shows on bigger networks with larger audiences. These include “Heroes”, “Lost”, “Fringe”, “Life on Mars”, and “Terminator: The Sara Connor Chronicles”. Let us hope that the voting committee will look past the others' popularity and recognize Supernatural for the quality program it is.

For a full list of nominees, visit www.saturnawards.org/nominations.html. The award show is scheduled for June 25, 2009.

Wonderful news! The CW has announced that Supernatural will be renewed for the fall 2009 season. This news was not unexpected as season four's ratings is the highest since season one. The only surprises are the unprecedented early announcement (Feb 24th) and that it occurred before sweeps.

I'm glad that The CW executives recognized that Supernatural deserved to be renewed early. Next, they should increase the budget so that the show can afford to bring back fan favorite characters (JDM!) for an episode or two.

Now that the fifth season is a go, the biggest question on every fan's mind is whether the series is will end with five seasons. Kripke has said more than once that he planned for a 5-season run for the show. The benefit of this planned conclusion is that the show's storyline can be wrapped up neatly and fans can finally learn what is Sam's true destiny and whether the brothers' ultimately survive with their relationship intact. We wouldn't be left “hanging” like on other tv shows that abruptly ended. The drawback is that this wonderfully unique and interesting program will no longer air new episodes after 2010. That's a “hard pill to swallow” for enthusiastic Supernatural fans. I anticipate a fan campaign to persuade Kripke to keep the show going will begin soon, if it hasn't already.

According to Matt Mitovich of TVGuide.com, Jake Abel has been cast to play the role of 18-year old Adam Milligan in an upcoming episode of Supernatural. No big deal, right?…Wrong! This young man will be revealed as none other than…  Sam and Dean's half-brother! Yes, you read that right. There is a third Winchester brother! Apparently Adam is the product of a brief affair during one of John's hunts. …spoiler content hidden. Please click on the post link to view full article

The episode where Adam appears is scheduled for April 23 and is titled, “Jump the Shark”, which in TV slang is a turning point where a once great show goes downhill. There is speculation that this title means that the third brother won't really be a Winchester after all. However, TVGuide.com reported that John knew about Adam and even visited him occasionally, though he kept Adam's existence secret from his other sons. That sounds very much like John to me. This, plus Jake's “Winchester” hotness and the seeming cast prerequisite of a “J” first name initial (see Jensen,Jared,Jeffrey,Jim) makes the claim of him being a third brother very real.

In other spoiler news…

The violent confrontation between Sam and Dean that occured in season's 4, “Sex & Violence” is not the only fight that we will see between the brothers. Michael Ausiello of EW.com has revealed that the final episode of season 4 will have the two Winchesters going head-to-head in an all out battle that will make their previous fight look tame in comparison.

Sad news. Kim Manners, one of Supernatural's standout directors passed away on Sunday, January 25, 2009 after a battle with lung cancer.

Kim Manners was director and executive producer of Supernatural and had been with the show since it's first season. He directed some of the most memorable episodes, including my favorites, Shadow, Devil's Trap, Mystery Spot and season four's Lazarus Rising. He also had a long and impressive career behind the scenes in the television industry, directing such notable shows as the X-Files and the original Charlie's Angels. Supernatural was fortunate to have this experienced and talented man for four great seasons.

Goodbye Kim. You will be sorely missed.  *sniff*

If you are as depressed as I am that Supernatural did not win the People's Choice award, here is some news that will shock you out of your doldrums….Kristen of E!Online has revealed a Supernatural rumor/spoiler that is a stunner. I actually gasped out loud when I read the news. Spoiler content hidden. Click on post title to view full article. A third Winchester brother may appear on the series, though the actor has not been cast. Many fans are reacting negatively to this news, but I actually like the idea. It would mean quite a change for the show and that's not necessarily a bad thing. As for possible cast…Kripke, if you read this, I think that Nathan Fillion (Firefly/Dr. Horrible) would make an awesome older Winchester brother from a previous marriage of John. He has the height, rugged good looks, and humor to be an ideal Winchester. I know he's probably unavailable and the CW probably would never give Supernatural the budget to pay his salary, but a girl can still wish. Here is the article about this “spoiler”.

Read the rest of this entry »

In keeping with the holiday spirit of giving, I have compiled this list of my favorite holiday-themed fan videos to share with fellow fans. Some are funny. Others are dark. There’s even some snark. (Sorry…couldn’t resist the rhyme). I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Don’t forget to spread some holiday cheer by letting these talented vidders know how much you like their work. You can leave comments and ratings at the url links provided.

If you know of an outstanding holiday video that should be included on this list, please let me know by email or in a comment below. I will continue to update this list until the new year begins.

-*-*-*-*-  H A P P Y   H O L I D A Y S  -*-*-*-*-

Please note that these videos are mostly large files (over 15Mb) or youTube.com high quality videos. View them only if you have a high speed connection (DSL/Cable/T1/T3) of 800kb/sec. or higher download speed. FF 2+, IE 6+, Safari 2+ are minimum browser requirements.

Favorite Fan Videos for the Holidays

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A couple spoilery tidbits about Supernatural was published over the past week that may be of special interest to fans.

The first is a holiday gift/promo video of the first 3 new episodes of 2009 that was released by the editors of Supernatural. The best of the 3 was last and is a can't miss for Dean fans. Hehehe…it was inevitable that Dean's “I don't do shorts” quip (from 1×02-Wendigo) would come back to haunt him and he'd end up with his knees bared. You can read about this “gift” at TVaddict.com or just view the video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gFeQRECRqM.

The second spoiler comes from a recent interview with Misha Collins. In his interview, Misha revealed that because of the overwhelmingly positive reaction of fans to his character, Read the rest of this entry »