Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

Malleus Maleficarum - A Review

February 2nd, 2008 | Posted in Reviews | 7 comments

Malleus Maleficarum

Scene from 3.09 Malleus MaleficarumSupernatural Season 3, episode #9.
Airdate: Thursday Jan 31, 2008.
Written by Ben Edlund.
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.

  • Praises: Like season two, episode #9 of season three is an episode focused heavily on Supernatural’s mythology. Sam changing personality, Dean’s impending demise and descent to hell, and the demon war were all touched upon. Plus new twists were thrown into the mythology to keep us fans guessing. The story was fast paced and at some points, heart pounding. I found myself drawn into it several times. Two things really stood out for me. One was that Sam felt strongly enough to forcibly stop his brother from shooting Ruby, a demon, yet was willing to kill humans because they practiced witchcraft…not a good sign about where Sam’s changing persona is going. The second was the badass witchcraft demon. She was the most powerful demon we’ve seen in season three so far. And she hid her viciously evil persona under a sweet, innocent facade called Tammy. Much like Meg did in season one. The pretty, petite actress did a great job of convincing me that she was an evil bitch demon. Tammy is an adversary I would like to see the Winchesters come up against again, but alas, Dean filleted her. Other notable aspects of the show was Sam’s frantic anxiety when Dean began coughing up blood…it was almost palpable, and, the demon stopping the bullet in mid air was an awesome special effect. I love it every time a Winchester fires the colt and effect is slo-moed to where we see the bullet actually traveling to it’s target. This time it didn’t make it all the way, but that made it even more startling.

  • Nags: Kripke…What the hell???? Where are u taking this show’s mythology? Demons were once people? No Way!!!! If your goal was to shock fans, you certainly succeeded with me. People don’t have the ability to levitate, stop bullets or bring people back to life…how in heaven’s name are they supposed to get this ability once in hell. Ruby better be lying through her teeth, playing on Dean’s fears in typical demon fashion and manipulating him in her goal to turn Sam evil. Also, this is the second time that you’ve tried to make a demon sympathetic on the show, in this case, Ruby…and I’m not buying into it! I wish you’d just stop that because it ain’t gonna work…not with most of Supernatural’s audience and certainly not with the portion of fans, like myself, who grew up Catholic. Katie Cassidy got a lot of screen time in her role as Ruby, but she failed to impress. Her only good scene was when she and Dean were shouting at each other, otherwise she was just plain bad. The mythology in this episode was a lot more interesting than the story itself. I am rating it “very good” because it mattered enough to me to get worked up.

  • My Rating: Very good episode. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

A Very Supernatural Xmas - A Review

December 22nd, 2007 | Posted in Reviews | 8 comments

A Very Supernatural Christmas

Scene from 3.08 A Very Supernatural ChristmasSupernatural Season 3, episode #8.
Airdate: Thursday Dec 13, 2007.
Written by Jeremy Carver.
Directed By J. Miller Tobin.

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

  • Praises: Who would have thunk it? Supernatural had an actual feel-good Christmas episode. Except for the killer Santa, the body parts in the basement, the skin cutting, nail pulling, and stake through the heart thing, that this. Almost every scene in this episode had something Christmassy in it. Even the show's title started off with an exploding Christmas tree ornament and colorful neon letters instead of the usual pentagram and ghostly-white letters. I really liked that this episode had childhood flashbacks, the first flashbacks we've seen since season one when we got our first glimpse of the boys stark childhood. The same talented young actor who played young Dean in season one revisited his role and gave the flashbacks an authentic feel. There were some subtle stabs at the hypocrisy of Christmas that made Supernatural's Christmas episode a lot more interesting than your average Christmas show: when Sam told Dean that Christmas began as a pagan celebration and was not the true date of Jesus' birth, and the Carrigans, who went all out in decorating their home for Christmas, but who did not believe or practise any Christianity at all. There was also the sentimental, Christmassy part where the brothers exchanged gifts and an ending family scene of the two brothers that was widened to include the impala parked right outside their window. Just like it is one of the family. Awwww.

  • Nags: In terms of Christmas episodes, this was one of the best I've seen this season. In terms of Supernatural episodes, this was a good one, but not exceptional. There were a couple big letdowns that ruined my enjoyment somewhat. One, the long awaited story behind Dean's talisman necklace, was sweetly sentimental and very suited to the Christmas theme, but the fact that the talisman was only a Christmas gift and not a powerful amulet that Dean had to wear to protect himself from some big bad that was gunning for him, was just too blah. Fanfic stories written about the necklace have been a lot more interesting. The second was the flashbacks. I loved seeing the brothers as children again, but that led me to hope that Jeffrey Dean Morgan would make a cameo appearance as Papa Winchester. When he didn’t, I felt cheated. Even a tiny splice of old film with JDM in it would have satisfied me. If the flashbacks had ended with a final scene of the boys' daddy showing up on Christmas day, I would have been ecstatic. That would have been a great Christmas present for us fans who miss seeing John Winchester on the show.

  • My Rating: Very, very good episode. 4.0 out of 5 stars.

Fresh Blood - A Review

November 17th, 2007 | Posted in Reviews | 10 comments

Fresh Blood

Scene from 3.07 Fresh BloodSupernatural Season 3, episode #7.
Airdate: Thursday Nov 15, 2007.
Written by Sera Gamble.
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

  • Praises: I absolutely loved this episode. Hands down, it was the best episode of season 3 so far. It had all the elements that make Supernatural a great show. It had suspense, it was scary, there was lots of fighting, great brotherly moments, and some Dean snarkisms. There weren’t any funny moments to speak of, but since that’s been overdone in the last few episodes, it is not missed. Gordon is as badass and as scary as ever. Sterling K. Brown was superb. He makes Gordon such a dynamic, believable character that I get completely engrossed watching him. Turning Gordon into what he hated the most, a vampire, was almost too cruel. And the way Sam killed him…yikes! I never thought I’d ever see Sam kill someone slowly, but he did it. I am actually a little sad that Gordon is no more. Like Meg from season one, he was such a good villain that fans like myself will remember him fondly. This episode’s piece de resistance, though, was it’s final scene. Dean’s words about Sam inheriting the impala and Sam’s accepting the responsibility of caring for it…felt so sad, so final…so heart-wrenching. I take my hat off to the writer of this one…only on Supernatural could there be such a tender moment between two brothers with absolutely no hugs or touching at all.

  • Nags: Where was the classic rock music? Kripke, you said that you wanted classic rock to be a part of the show. This season seems to be the exception! Also, WTF was with all the vampire angst? I know there was supposed to be an analogy to Dean somewhere in there…but using such an unsympathetic character as a drug-dealing vampire…it just didn’t work. And did the boys behead the vampire or not? It wasn’t shown and I missed it, if it was said. Another problem with this episode was…yes, you guessed it…Bella. She was entirely forgettable and when her brief scenes were over, that’s exactly what I did. Though she did pretty well in the comedy-filled episodes, in this more serious, dramatic show, she seemed completely out of place. Maybe it’s that hoity-toity British accent that made her fit poorly into Supernatural’s dark, gritty vision of America. Her scenes did not flow well with the rest of this episode and felt more like they were put in after-the-fact to give her a role. [Hey, Kripke, I have a suggestion for you: how about making Bella’s accent turn out to be completely faked…and give miss silk sheets a dirt poor, white trash background…and make her real name “Stella”, while you’re at it…that would make her much more interesting and fit better.] Anyway, these are relatively small faults in otherwise great episode. I have to say that this was a nice way to end the first sequence of new episodes for season 3. I am now more eagerly looking forward to seeing more new episodes after the holiday hiatus.

  • My Rating: excellent episode. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Red Sky At Morning - A Review

November 10th, 2007 | Posted in Reviews | No comments

Red Sky At Morning

Scene from 3.06 Red Sky At MorningSupernatural Season 3, episode #6.
Airdate: Thursday, Nov 8, 2007.
Written by Laurence Andries.
Directed by Cliff Bole.

In deference to my overseas visitors who 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. Please note that the blog RSS feed will still have review excerpts.

  • Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary.

  • Praises: I was surprised at how much I liked this episode, even with the new cast member, Lauren Cohan, in it. Instead of detracting from our boys, Bella actually interacted well with the Winchesters. It helped that there were a few side-splitting comic moments in this episode. Every time I think of poor Sam being pawed and groped by a woman old enough to be his grandmother, I burst out laughing. Jared has become quite a natural at comedy. Dean's line “Don’t objectify me”, was also funny, but did seem like it was aimed more at the Jensen-obsessed fangirls than Bella. The sentimental moment at the end when Sam told Dean that he didn't want him to worry about him, but that he wanted him to be worried about himself, also resonated well. Fans like myself love those heart wrenching brotherly moments at the end of an episode. But there were so many ads before this conclusion that I thought the show was over and almost didn't wait around to see it.

  • Nags: The scary story was not all that scary and there weren't enough tense moments to get your heart racing. The deaths were bloodless and goreless but I guess that is to be expected with drownings. The shower scene was actually well done and the ghost himself was quite convincing as an angry pirate ghost. Even though Dean and Bella were paired off, I still think that Sam and Bella would make a better couple. Maybe it's because Bella seems too much like Dean in temperament, and maybe in other ways as well. I am intrigued by the hint of a family member that she may have killed…like Dean is supposed to kill Sam if he goes bad, I wonder??? Overall, this was a funny and interesting episode that was well worth watching.

  • My Rating: Great episode. 4 out of 5 stars.

Bedtime Stories - A Review

November 3rd, 2007 | Posted in Reviews | No comments

Bedtime Stories

Scene from 3.05 Bedtime StoriesSupernatural Season 3, episode #5.
Airdate: Thursday Nov 1, 2007.
Written by Cathryn Humphries.
Directed by Mike Rohl.

In deference to my overseas visitors who 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. Please note that the blog RSS feed will still have review excerpts.

  • Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary

  • Praises: Supernatural returned to it’s roots in this episode and very successfully too. I was happy to have an episode with no distracting new cast members. It was just the boys doing what they do best with some brotherly interaction and some mytharc thrown in. Sam did the talking, Dean did the fighting, and they got rid of the bad thing in the end. There were even flashbacks scenes of their Dad in the intro and Sam mentioned him in his remark to Dean that “you’re not Dad!”. It was good to be reminded that though John is gone, he’s not forgotten. A couple scenes stood out for me in this episode. When Dean walked away from Sam right after telling him that he should just let him go, was particularly poignant. My heart wrenched a little for Sam. And, when Jared shot his girlfriend…um, I mean when Sam shot the Crossroads demon. It seemed cold, but I uttered a “yeah!”. Demons lie and if there was even the slightest chance that it could get Dean out of the contract…[wow, did I get drawn into the story there, or what?]. I also liked the twist in the case where the ghostly remains turned out to be that of a coma victim.

  • Nags: As always, my biggest nag is with the “scary” creature. This time, the little girl ghost was just too adorable. She was not even a little evil looking. No way was she believable as an angry ghost capable of killing multiple people. Getting a child to appear evil is hard to do, but a little of the ghostly distortion like was done in Provenance would have helped. And why was this ghost so different that it was capable of taking over people’s minds? Was it because it’s body was still alive? Were the people that it influenced special in some way? I feel gypped because Sam didn’t give a good explanation for this one. All in all, this episode, though not especially outstanding, was comfortingly familiar (yes, you can say that about a “horror” show) and an enjoyable way to spend an hour of my time.

  • My Rating: excellent episode. 4 out of 5 stars.

Sin City - A Review

October 27th, 2007 | Posted in Reviews | No comments

Sin City

Scene from 3.04 Sin CitySupernatural Season 3, episode #4.
Airdate: Thursday, Oct 25, 2007.
Written by Robert Singer & Jeremy Carver.
Directed by Charles Beeson.

In deference to my overseas visitors who 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. Please note that the blog RSS feed will still have review excerpts.

  • Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary

  • Praises: This episode was all about the Supernatural mythology. We got to see the colt rebuilt. Sam's aborted destiny as the leader of a demonic army was reiterated yet again. And it was made perfectly clear that Sam is different. Whether Sam is different because of his anguish over Dean's impending demise and the weight of the secrets that he's carrying, or because he is turning evil, is still a question. Jared is doing an excellent job of portraying a changing Sam. Showing us his old boyish, emo self, mixed in with the more reserved man he's become, and then scaring us (and Dean) with those glimpses of the coldblooded killer that may be his future. On the lighter side, there were a couple amusing scenes that caught my attention: Sam physically dragging his brother away from the temptation of the woman in the car, and Dean putting a pile of quarters atop the “Magic Fingers” in the motel room (see 2.13-Houses of the Holy for explanation). The character Richie was also amusing, though not at all believable as a hunter. His line, “FYI Winchester, words hurt” seemed to have special meaning later when Dean expressed doubts about Sam, reminding us of yellow-eyed demon's tormenting words to him from the season 2 finale.

  • Nags: This episode lacked Dean's snarkisms to give us comic relief. There were no scary moments to jolt us out of our boredom. And there were no big fight scenes where Dean gets thrown into a wall and Sam gets choked to get us charged up. The result was a monotonous and depressing episode that too wordy and worst of all, damn preachy. As for Richie, he was so obviously there to be killed that he might as well have had a red shirt on, ala “Star Trek”. And why weren't the brothers even a little suspicious of a priest who hangs out in a bar? If that isn't a sign of demon possession, then I don't know what is. So far the demons that escaped hell through the devil's gate have been a blah lot. Someone needs to remind the shows writers that demons are supposed to be terrifying creatures, not chatty existentialists. With the loss of two of the show's writers, Raelle Tucker and John Shiban, I am now more than a little worried that season 3 is going to flop.

  • My Rating: good episode. 3 out of 5 stars.

Bad Day At Black Rock - A Review

October 19th, 2007 | Posted in Reviews | No comments

Bad Day At Black Rock

Scene from 3.03 Bad Day At Black RockSupernatural Season 3, episode #3.
Airdate: Thursday, Oct 18, 2007.
Written by Ben Edlund.
Directed by Robert Singer.

In deference to my overseas visitors who 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

  • Praises: Only the third episode into Supernatural's third season and we've already got the kind of funny episode that's usually shown in the 2nd half of the season. And this episode was funny. I found myself laughing out loud several times. Jensen, as always, had great comic timing. His depiction of Dean’s childish delight in his brother's and then his own good luck was infectious. The contrast of Sam's suspicions of good luck and his fatalistic acceptance of bad luck was excellently performed by Jared. Jared really surprised me with how good his physical comedy was. The newcomer to the cast, Lauren Cohan, also made her first appearance. Her first scene was pretty good because it was unexpected. I, like the boys, was completely fooled and believed (hoped really) that Sam was going to have some “luck” with a woman for a change. But it was not meant to be. Poor Sammy, even when he has good luck, it goes completely bad when it comes to women. I'll admit that the scene where Dean confronts Bela was interesting and gave us some insights into Bela's character. However, I thought there was better chemistry between Bela and Sam in their one brief scene together. The romantic in me thinks that Bela is just the kind of woman Sam needs…a savvy, street smart female who can take care of herself…not some sweet innocent who'll just get killed or some evil, demonic bitch. Still…she did shoot Sam and rob Dean. That'll put a crimp in any potential relationship. Also back was Sam's nemesis, Gordon. In jail, but still a scary badass and still obsessed with killing Sam. He has recruited another psychotic hunter to do his dirty work so now the Winchesters have yet another opponent to worry about. Pheesh, our boys need a break!

  • Nags: Alright Kripke, enough already! I am now officially sick of seeing Ruby's oh-so-fake slo-mo fight scene from the 1st episode. Jamming her down our throats in the “then” bits is not going to get her accepted by fans any easier. In fact, it just gets our backs up. Bela's intro in this episode was definitely better than Ruby's was, but I was still disappointed. When I read about Bela's character in the pre-season, I so wanted her to steal Dean's bull amulet. Had her intro to the series brought with it the long awaited story behind Dean's mysterious amulet, it would have been an instant win. But I guess that was too much to hope for. Jensen and Lauren didn't have much onscreen chemistry. Their scenes together felt somewhat forced. Also, I'm not sure if it's supposed to be this way, but Sam seemed just too emotionally distant. At times, Jared appeared almost wooden, more like set decoration than an active participant in some scenes. That aside, I really did enjoy this light-hearted episode. It was not scary, but that's expected when the evil, supernatural thing is a rabbit's foot.

  • My Rating: Great episode. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Kids Are Alright - A Review

October 12th, 2007 | Posted in Reviews | No comments

The Kids Are Alright

Scene from 3.02 The Kids Are AlrightSupernatural Season 3, episode #2.
Airdate: Thursday, Oct 11, 2007.
Written by Sera Gamble.
Directed by Phil Sgriccia.

In deference to my overseas visitors who 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

  • Praises: I am happy to say that Supernatural was back on it's game this week. Dean was his old charming, rascally self. Sam played the geekboy to perfection, complete with his inability to come up with a decent lie quickly. Even the reappearance of Ruby wasn't all bad. But the best part of all, was seeing Dean with mini-Dean. They were absolutely adorable together. I so felt Dean’s disappointment that Ben was not his kid. But hey, the mom could be lying…a blood test works only if you have a sample to compare it to, and Dean wasn't around back then and neither was that other candidate, seems like. Also notable were the beginnings of new and fascinating twists in Sam's story arc. Somehow, I get the feeling that Sam will…[spoilery speculation hidden]. end up in the midst of a demonic power struggle to fill the gap left by the yellow-eyed demon's demise. Ruby is probably planning to use him as her stepping stone to reach the top. Overall, this episode was fun and interesting. The only scary scene was in the beginning with the powersaw and there weren't many brotherly moments to speak of, but the chemistry between Dean and Ben more than made up for the lack.

  • Nags: This episode was, perhaps, a little too cute for Supernatural. Other than that, I don't have too many bad things to say about it. I wish there had been a scene with Sam meeting Ben and noticing his remarkable resemblance to Dean. The not-at-all-scary kids didn't do anything evil other than act brattish, stare balefully and sap their mom's strength…but all kids do that, good or bad. :-) Even in their changeling form, the children just looked pathetic, not scary. In the scene where the mom tries to drown her changeling child, I actually felt more sympathy for the kid, than that murderer mom. I did think that the changeling mother(queen?) looked an awful lot like the alien creature that feeds on salt in a “Star Trek” episode from the original series (I don’t remember the episode name). As for the new recurring character Ruby, she definitely improved as an evil demon. Still, she's no Meg…(or is she?).

  • My Rating: Great episode. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Magnificent Seven - A Review

October 6th, 2007 | Posted in Reviews | 2 comments

Scene from 3.01 The Magnificent 7Supernatural Season 3, episode #1.
Airdate: Thursday, Oct 4, 2007.
Written by Eric Kripke
Directed by Kim Manners.

In deference to my overseas visitors who 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

  • Praises: I will admit to being pathetically eager for this season opener. I learned to stay away from spoilers after last seasons' gave me false hopes that all 3 Winchesters would survive (I still miss John, damn it!), so apart from the appearance of Katie Cassidy, this episode was almost completely new for me. I liked the idea of the 7 deadly sins and the actor who played “pride” was a riot. It was amusing how Sam and “pride” recognized each other right away. In comparison, Dean and “lust” were lackluster. There were several funny one-liners in this episode, and not just uttered by Dean, either. Bobby got a laugh from me with his “fat, drunk and stupid” line and Sam had several good quips as well. There was also plenty of the ground level camera angles and dramatic lighting that is now synonymous with the show. I particularly liked the upside down angles from the scene where Bobby practically stepped over Dean to greet the other hunters. That hunter-duo was a fascinating couple. We were given just enough of their story to like them and to feel the pain of their loss. The new regular Ruby, made a couple brief and mysterious appearances. I had problems with this character as you will see in the nags section, but I have to admit that my interest was peaked when she was recognized by one of the demons that hasn’t been topside since the middle ages. Oh yeah, I also liked the new "Supernatural" logo as well.

  • Nags: This episode delivered the standard Supernatural fare, but it was missing something…that extra umph to take it a step above good. Maybe my expectations were too high and I couldn't help but be a little disappointed with the reality. With the exception of “pride”, the demons representing the 7 deadly sins were neither scary nor very interesting. Lust wasn't sexy. Gluttony wasn't portly enough. Envy was just boring. And the others were practically invisible. I have no idea which one was sloth, greed, or [what is that 7th sin?]. After the brief glimpses of Ruby, my first judgement is…disappointing! How am I supposed to take her seriously as demon hunter when she fights with her long, blonde hair loose and flowing around her face? She must be real talented to be able to do battle with her vision obscured like that. In any real fight, that hair would be an easy weapon for her opponent to use against her. (Has Kripke never seen a cat fight?) But the biggest WTF moment was when I saw “Katie Cassidy” listed as a star of the show, with her name coming right after Jensen Ackles in the credits. Not even Jeffrey Dean Morgan had that billing. This means she’s not just coming in as a recurring role, but as a main member of the cast. This change in the dynamics of the show is going to be hard to accept. I doubt if many fans will like it.

  • My Rating: Good episode. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Crossroads Blues, A Plug

June 19th, 2007 | Posted in Reviews | No comments

Crossroads Blues - A Must-See Episode of Supernatural

One of my favorite episodes of the season, Crossroad Blues, will be re-aired this Sunday June 24th, 2007 at 9:00pm EDT on the CW. If you have never watched Supernatural or just wasn’t interested in it, this is the episode that could make you change your mind. It is that good.

Crossroads Blues get’s its name from a song by the Grandfather of Rock-and-Roll himself, Robert Johnson. It’s premise is that Robert Johnson did indeed sell his soul to become the greatest blues guitarist of all time, as has often been speculated. The actor who plays Johnson even looks like the musician. This episode has a lot going for it. It has a great story, the best music, good acting, and some of the scariest scenes you’ll ever see on network television. I encourange anyone who like scary or suspenseful films to give this episode a view. You will not be disappointed.

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