Supernatural Station

In a new interview at TVGuide.com, Eric Kripke has revealed Supernatural season 4 plot hints unusually early in the post-season hiatus. Considering the widespread alarm caused by what happened in the season 3 finale, it is no wonder. Fans needed the reassurance. In the spoilery interview, Kripke talks about the return of certain cast members and a season 3 guest star. You can read the full interview here.

No Rest for the Wicked

Supernatural Season 3, episode #16.
Airdate: Thursday May 15, 2008.
Written by Eric Kripke.
Directed By Kim Manners.

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.

  There is just over one day left before Dean goes to hell and the Winchesters are at Bobby's trying to find a way out of Dean's deal. Bobby uses a tuning device to find Lilith, the demon who holds Dean's contract. But they have no way to kill the demon, so Sam secretly goes to Bobby's barn and summons Ruby. But Ruby refuses to give Sam her demon-killer knife. Instead, she tries to persuade him to use his dormant demonic powers. Dean interrupts them and deliberately starts a fight with Ruby. Dean uses the fight to snag Ruby's knife and trap her in a “devil’s trap”. Then the brothers leave and head to New Harmony, Indiana to go after Lilith with their newly acquired demon-killer weapon. They are followed by Bobby, who refused to be left behind in this fight.

  On the road, Dean discovers that he can see the true face of demons when a demon-possessed cop pulls the impala over. With only 5 hours left, Dean's closeness to hell has given him this ability and he uses it to locate demons protecting Lilith in New Harmony. Ruby shows up and the three of them sneak into the house where Lilith is, then separate to find her. Sam finds the child but she is no longer possessed by Lilith and time has run out for Dean. Fleeing a hellhound, all three lock themselves in a room that Dean protects with goofa dust. Ruby persuades Sam to give her the knife and he is about to when Dean looks at her and declares that she is not Ruby. Sam tries to stab her but her powers are too great and she pins him to the wall. Lilith-Ruby opens the door and lets in the hellhounds to attack Dean. Then she turns on Sam and tries to fry him with with her demonic power, but strangely it does not work on Sam and she backs away from him in fright. Sam advances and tries to kill her but she flees Ruby's body. He goes over to his brother and breaks down crying as he stoops to hold Dean's torn and lifeless body in his arms. Dean Winchester is dead. In Dean's unblinking eyes we see a horrific scene of him in hell, impaled by hooks and chains and screaming for help.
  The end.

• Praises: Supernatural's season 3 finale is an episode that fans have eagerly anticipated and dreaded. Dean's fate is going to be decided one way or another and the tension is high. The episode started off intense and kept the pace throughout, with a few splatterings of comic relief to break the tension. Then, when it ended, I was left reeling. I don't usually bring up the ending of a episode right away, but this one was so devastating that it colored my perception of the whole episode. It was such an unhappy outcome that had I been in a movie theater, there would have been dead silence from the audience after this show was over. But I guess that is the point. Kripke obviously wanted to shock us and he certainly achieved that.

  Jared, Jensen, Jim Beaver, and even Katie Cassidy's performance kept my attention riveted to the screen throughout this episode. The little girl who played Lilith is a very talented young actor. And the actors playing her parents and grandparent did a fine job of making me believe in that cute child's evilness. Dean was all seriousness and focused on preventing his brother from repeating the Winchester sacrificial cycle. It was Bobby who was the delightfully snarky one in this episode. I laughed out loud when he called Dean “hell's bitch”. I can see where Dean inherited his smart mouth. He didn't get it from his Dad, so he must have picked it up from Bobby growing up. Then the final scene happened…and all that went before was erased. Dean is dead and his soul is trapped in a Hellraisers' movie set.

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Time Is On My Side

Supernatural Season 3, episode #15.
Airdate: Thursday May 8, 2008.
Written by Sera Gamble.
Directed By Charles Beeson.

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.

  Dean has only 15 days left and no way out of the contract. The brothers attempt to force a captured demon to tell them who holds Dean's contract, fails. After Sam exorcises the demon, he mentions a case in Erie, Pennsylvania where a man was killed by something that took out his liver. Dean is puzzled by Sam's turnabout, but agrees to go on the hunt. In Erie, they learn that the killer is an old nemesis of their Dad's, Doc Benton, a 19th century physician, obsessed with immortality, who steals body parts to replace his own. About to close in on the doctor, the hunt is interrupted when Bobby calls and tells Dean that he knows where Bella is. Dean wants to drop everything and go. Sam refuses and admits that he wants to learn Doc Benton's secret. Sam thinks his immortality formula is a way out of the deal. An argument ensues. Dean goes off to find Bella and the colt. Sam stays behind to find the doc.

  In Erie, Pennsylanvia, Sam finds Doc Benton's backwoods cabin, steals the doc's journal, rescues a woman, and is confronted by Doc Benton. In Canaan, Vermont, Dean befriends Rufus, a former hunter and recluse, learns from him about Bella's past, then confronts Bella in her hotel room. In Erie, Sam fights off the doc and runs over him with his rented jeep. In Canaan, Dean searches Bella's belongings but doesn't find the colt, threatens to kill her, then changes his mind and exits. A phone call later and Sam tells Dean of his success in finding the doc's journal and Dean tells Sam of his failure to find the colt. This conversation is abruptly cut off when Sam is chloroformed and kidnapped by Doc Benton.

  Sam wakes up to find himself strapped to an operating table with his eyes taped wide open. Doc Benton is about to remove one of his eyes, when he is shot multiple times by Dean. Dean then stabs him through the heart with a knife dipped in chloroform, sedating the unkillable doc. With Sam's reluctant help, Dean buries the doctor and his journal in a refrigerator turned makeshift coffin that is chained shut.

  That night, Bella sneaks into the Winchester's motel room and shoots into their twin beds, but the brothers are long gone. The phone rings and Dean is on the other end. He tells Bella he knows she made a deal with a demon and that her 10 years were up, tonight. She begs for help. He says it's too late. Bella then reveals the name of the demon holding his contract. It is Lilith, Sam's nemesis. The call ends and we hear the sound of a baying hound while a teary-faced Bella stares out the motel room window.
  The end.

• Praises: Sera Gamble has written another great Supernatural episode. She knows how to combine just the right amount of humor, brotherly angst, and suspense to make an interesting story. And she was right on the money once again, with one exception…this episode was way grosser than usual. In fact, this was the most gross-out, gory Supernatural episode that I have ever seen. I real slasher show…COOL!!! Heh..Heh. I admit it. I am one of the fans who enjoy Supernatural because of the weekly scary story, not just the brothers' relationship, though that's a nice bonus. Hell, if I only wanted a family story, I'd be watching Brothers and Sisters (blagh), not Supernatural. There were two scenes that were particularly gross: the woman's bloody arm covered in maggot (real maggots!! ugh), and Doc Benton pulling the still beating heart out of the man's chest (sticking out ribs, bloody goo 'n all). They didn't show the doc actually opening the chest cavity, but the sound of it was enough to make my skin crawl. Kudos to the special effects team for these realistic add ons. Supernatural is pushing the envelope on what can be shown on primetime TV, horror wise. Since this is an area where the show can stand out and get noticed, I am all for it. OK people, lets stoop to the level that Gossip Girl did with teenage sex, and sell the hell out of Supernatural's “blood and gore” to attract new audiences.

  Doc Benton was a Frankenstein-like character that totally surprised me when he spoke politely, with a lyrical southern accent. The incongruity of that sweet voice coming from that grotesque face was creepy. As contrast, there was Rufus, the rude, antisocial former hunter who turned out to be a fountain of information for Dean. I actually liked this character a lot. He was quite amusing. And when he told Dean, “I’m what you have to look forward to in a few years”, I could see that…if Dean came back from hell with a seriously dark tan, that is.:)

  The appearance of Bella in this episode was actually a good one. Gone was the snarky and superior biatch that we've all grown to hate. Seeing her bravado drop and her face crumble as she begged for Dean's help was kind of painful to watch, especially after the big reveal about her history. I feel like a heel for being so hard on her before (as would Dean, if he knew). I am glad Kripke left her departure from the show open-ended and didn't actually show her getting mauled by a hellhound. Lauren Cohan did a great job and I wish her all the best. I would have preferred that Kripke axed Cassidy, not her, but I'm not a typical fan, so who listens to me, anyway.

  Both Jared and Jensen's acting was suburb. I particularly liked how Jared portrayed Sam's quiet and growing desperation. That Sam is willing to go over the line to save Dean, even to the point of turning both of them into the kind of thing that they hunt is alarming. Dean, thankfully, still sees the wrong in that. Then there was that ominous scene where Dean declares Doc Benton “a monster!” and the camera focused briefly on Sam, hidden in the shadows and looking quite creepy himself. Ohoooo. Makes me wonder what are we in for in SPN's future. Now that's a sign of a great episode…it leaves you wanting to see what's going to happen next.

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Kristen at E!Online has a new interview with Eric Kripke in which he talks about the season 3 finale, Bella, season 4, and his 5-year plan for Supernatural. It includes a couple clips from #3.15 Time Is On My Side. Click the link to read more. Link: Supernatural Boss Eric Kripke Spills…

You should also check out his April interview at TVGuide.com in which he answered “burning questions” about the season 3 finale and talked about the impact that budget cuts will have on season 4.

Both interviews are spoilery, but not overly so…Kripke can be very mysterious about the show, when he wants to be.

Long-Distance Call

Supernatural Season 3, episode #14.
Airdate: Thursday May 1, 2008.
Written by Jeremy Carver.
Directed By Robert Singer.

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 brothers take on a case in Milan, Ohio where people are killing themselves after getting phone calls from deceased loved ones. Disguised as company execs, they visit the telephone company branch office to trace a century old telephone number that showed up on one victim’s caller-id. Stewey, a sloppy, porn-addicted technician, reluctantly came up with a list of people called, but was unable to find where the number came from. Their own EMF check on Thomas Edison’s “spirit” phone in a museum also came up empty. Then Dean’s cellphone rings and he hears his dad voice on the other end before the call drops off. Dean thinks the call is genuine, but Sam is skeptical. That night, “John Winchester” calls again and tells Dean about a way to get out of his demon deal.

  The next day, Sam heads out to rescue a young victim and Dean goes to the house that “dad” directed him to. Sam discovers that the “spirit” caller is a “crocada”, a soul-eater that lives in filth and says “come to me” to it’s victims, and calls Dean to meet him at the phone company. Sam confronts Stewey, the phone tech, but is captured when the real “crocada”, Steve, another phone company employee, hits him from behind. He learns he never actually spoke to Dean and that Dean was sent into another trap by the “crocada”. Sam manages to free himself and kills the crocada after a struggle. Dean, in turn, fights a man he thinks is a demon, then realizes his error and stops. Both brothers return to the motel a little worse for the wear, but alive and well. The end.

• Praises: Supernatural's mytharc was front and center in this episode, plus it had a great standalone story with a new scary creature I never heard of before. There were plenty of Dean snark, a laugh out loud scene with a porn-addicted telephone guy, Dean angst, brotherly moments, good fights scenes, and a heart pounding scene where Sam grabs a little boy out of the path of speeding truck. I am always happy when television surprises me or brings me something new and interesting. This episode did that several times. The twist of the villain turning out not to be the sloppy, porn-addicted tech, Stewey, but his better groomed coworker, was surprising. I had not known that Thomas Edison, the actual inventor of the telephone, had been rumored to have an occult link or a “spirit” phone invention. The supernatural creature itself was a good one. The “crocada” is a soul-eater that calls you on the phone, pushes just the right buttons to send you over the edge, and says “come to me” over and over…wait a minute, if that were “come visit me”, that creature could be my mother.

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Ghostfacers

Supernatural Season 3, episode #13.
Airdate: Thursday April 24, 2008.
Written by Ben Edlund.
Directed By Phil Sgriccia.

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.

  This episode opens with the return of the season one duo, Harry Spengler and Ed Zeddmore, who are airing their reality show, Ghostfacers to the TV audience. On video, they introduce their cast of geeks which include, a cameraman, Spruce, Ed's adopted sister, Maggie, and the gay intern, Corbett, forming the “Ghostfacers” team, plus two grim-faced but handsome extras, Sam and Dean. The film is about the Ghostfacers' investigation of the Morton house, an abandoned house that is reputed to be haunted every leap year, on February 29th at midnight. We see the Ghostfacers set up their equipment, then get interrupted by a couple guys, Sam and Dean, who identifies themselves as police and orders the Ghostfacers off the property. But Ed recognizes them and declares that they are not cops. This leads to a heated exchange and several sections of bleeped out cursing on video.

  Then the intern, Corbett, disappears after wandering off on his own and Sam and Dean take charge of the situation. They begin a search and find clues that the previous owner, Freeman Daggett (isn't that from The X-files?), a former hospital janitor, was a disturbed and paranoid individual who took home dead bodies to play with. Two of these were now restless ghosts caught on film reenacting their demise inside the house. Then Sam also disappears and all the house exits are sealed off. Dean's frantic search reveals a hidden bomb shelter and he manages to rescue Sam in the nick of time, but too late for the intern, Corbett, who was killed by the homicidal ghost. When Corbett reappears as a ghost, Ed appeals to his lovestruck feelings and asks for his help. Corbett then attacks and destroys his own killer.

  Later, after previewing the pilot themselves, the Winchesters drive off leaving behind a self-made magnet that wipes the hard disk containing the Ghostfacers video. The end.

• Praises: I am a fan of the original Blair Witch Project, so I looked forward to seeing Supernatural's take on this pseudo-documentary, pseudo-amateur film style. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the entire episode was filmed this way. Viewers were given the impression of watching a Ghostfacers video instead of an episode of Supernatural. It is a refreshingly different style for the show and this third party viewpoint was fun to watch, though a bit dizzying a times.

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Congratulations to Jared Padalecki and Sandra McCoy on their engagement!

Jared broke the news at the Supernatural Convention in LA. He proposed to Sandy in Paris, France, and on their 4th anniversary too. Awww. Who know he was such a romantic? Here’s a youtube video of Jared talking about it to fans.

Sandy seems like a sweet girl and they make a cute couple, despite the huge height difference. If you are curious to learn more about Sandy there’s a nice interview on TV of the Absurd.com

June 9th, 2008 Update: I regret to tell of another broken engagement for another Supernatural star. Paralleling his fellow co-star Jeffery Dean Morgan, Jared Padalecki's engagement to his long-time girlfriend, Sandra McCoy, lasted only a few months before it was broken off. Jared announced the news of their breakup at the Supernatural convention in Dallas this past weekend and Sandra McCoy confirmed it on her web site.

Great news! According to E!Online, Supernatural is on the official list of CW shows being picked up for the fall 2008-09 season. That means our show has been renewed for a 4th season! Whoohoo! This is the earliest renewal announcement I have ever seen for Supernatural. It’s even in time to make a wonderful birthday gift for Jensen.

The E!Online article is here and includes a list of other CW shows being renewed, including Smallville.