Supernatural Station

Malleus Maleficarum

Supernatural Season 3, episode #9.
Airdate: Thursday Jan 31, 2008.
Written by Ben Edlund.
Directed By Robert Singer.

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• Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary.

  The Winchesters are investigating an apparent case of death by witchcraft when Ruby shows up. She tells them to get out of town because a badass demon was in the area and they were in danger. Dean reviles her and tries to shoot her but Sam deflects his aim. Back in their motel room, Dean suddenly gets sick and starts coughing up blood. After searching frantically for a source of the spell, Sam grabs the colt and goes after the witches coven by himself. He finds a demon in their midst and attempts to shoot her, but she stops his bullet in mid air then pins him against a wall, demon-style.

  In the meantime, Ruby saves Dean life by force feeding him a witches potion. When he recovers, he follows Sam and tries to kill the demon but, like Sam, he is easily stopped and pinned against a wall. Next Ruby shows up, but she too is quickly disarmed and set upon by this powerful demon. When the last surviving member of the coven uses a spell against the demon, this distracts her long enough for Dean to grab Ruby’s knife and stab the demon to death.

  Later when Dean is by himself, Ruby appears and tells him that she was once a human who sold her soul to practice witchcraft. She became a demon after centuries in hell and that he too faces the same fate. She tells him that she is a different kind of demon because she remembers being human and that she needs his help to turn Sam into a killer who can continue to fight the demon war when he is on his own.

• 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 Christmas

Supernatural Season 3, episode #8.
Airdate: Thursday Dec 13, 2007.
Written by Jeremy Carver.
Directed By J. Miller Tobin.

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• Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary

  It's an unusually warm Christmas season in Michigan and men are being kidnapped, stuffed in a sack and dragged up their chimney by a man in a red suit. While the Winchesters are looking into the case, Dean tells Sam that they ought to celebrate Christmas this year, but Sam is reluctant. He recalls another Christmas from his childhood when he learned from Dean that monsters are real, Santa is not, and his dad was away so much because it was his job to kill monsters. In the present, the investigation leads the brothers to the home of Madge Carrigan, a seemingly innocuous homemaker and her husband Ed. The Winchesters are captured by these two pagan gods disguised as ordinary people and are almost made into a sacrificial meal. When the brothers escape, they use pine stakes made from Madge’s own Christmas tree to kill the gods. Later, Sam recalls how Dean stole presents so that he could have a Christmas in 1991 and that his gift to Dean was the bull amulet that Dean still wears today. In a surprise turnabout on Christmas day, Sam puts up decorations and makes egg nog. The brothers exchange newspaper wrapped gifts and spend Christmas watching the game while snow falls on the impala parked just outside their motel room window.

• 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

Supernatural Season 3, episode #7.
Airdate: Thursday Nov 15, 2007.
Written by Sera Gamble.
Directed by Kim Manners.

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• Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary

  The Winchesters are interrupted in the middle of a hunt when Gordon and his partner, Kubrick, set upon them armed with handguns. With Dean running directly into the line of fire, the brothers flee in a spray of bullets. They meet up at the motel where Sam expresses his frustration with Dean’s suicidal behavior and tells him he needs to stop it and “just be his brother again.” While searching for Sam, Gordon stumbles upon the vampire that had been Winchesters’ target and is captured. In a devastating irony for Gordon who has hunted and killed many vampires, he is turned into one himself. But this does not stop Gordon’s insane desire to kill Sam. He captures a woman and turns her into a vampire to lure the Winchesters into a trap. Separating the brothers, he attacks Sam and when about to kill him, Dean crashes in just in time to stop him. When Gordon attacks Dean, it is Sam who launches himself at him then proceeds to slice off his head with barbed wire in an excruciatingly slow manner. Later while working on the impala, Dean tells Sam that he should know how to fix the car himself…for the future…and shows him what to do it, just like a big brother.

• 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

Supernatural Season 3, episode #6.
Airdate: Thursday, Nov 8, 2007.
Written by Laurence Andries.
Directed by Cliff Bole.

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• Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary.

  The brothers are on the east coast investigating a death by drowning that occurred on dry land. While interviewing the aunt of the victim, they learn that there is another person on the case who has identified a ghost ship was the cause. That person turned out to be their nemesis, Bella, still mercenary and still making trouble for the Winchesters. After getting impala towed and ratting on the boys to the cops, she recruits them to help steal the remains of a hand that belonged to the ghost ship's killer ghost. Dean steals the hand from a museum display case only to have Bella steal the hand from him and sell it for profit. But when Bella sees the ghost ship death omen herself, she apologetically turns to the Winchesters for help. Sam saves her by summoning the spirit of the person who is the true target of ghost's rage, it's own brother. In lieu of a thank you, Bella hands the Winchesters a wad of cash for their help.

• 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

Supernatural Season 3, episode #5.
Airdate: Thursday Nov 1, 2007.
Written by Cathryn Humphries.
Directed by Mike Rohl.

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• Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary

  Heading to New York to investigate a suspected werewolf attack, the Winchesters have another argument about Sam wanting to break Dean’s demonic contract. Without resolving the issue, they proceed with the case and find that the attacks were done in a fairytale like way by apparently ordinary people. This turns their attention to a ghost child that can control people’s minds. But there’s no grave or bones to burn because this ghost is that of a long-term comatose patient. While Dean fights off a man who believes he’s the big bad wolf, Sam gets the girl’s father to accept that his daughter was comatose due to no accident and to let her go. After the girl dies and the ghost vanishes, Dean also tells Sam that letting go is good advise. Later, while Dean sleeps, Sam packs up and leaves taking the colt with him. He confronts the crossroads demon, but she refuses to let Dean out of his contract. Then, even though the demon said that her death wouldn’t get Dean off, Sam shoots and kills her.

• 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

Supernatural Season 3, episode #4.
Airdate: Thursday, Oct 25, 2007.
Written by Robert Singer & Jeremy Carver.
Directed by Charles Beeson.

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• Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary

  The brothers are at Bobby’s trying to restore the demon-killer colt, when demonic omens and a couple of unexplained suicides sends them to a Ohio town where the people have turned their community into a den of drinking and whoring. The brothers find that several people, though changed, are not demon possessed. But a fellow hunter is lured into a trap by a female demon and killed. Dean confronts the demon on his own and gets trapped with her in a cave-in. Attempting a rescue, Sam unknowingly recruits the assistance of the other demon in the town, the priest. When he is attacked, Bobby comes to his rescue armed with the newly restored colt. Demon Ruby had helped Bobby fully restore the gun as a demon-killer. Sam then uses the colt to kill both demons in a shockingly coldblooded manner and rescues Dean.

• 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

Supernatural Season 3, episode #3.
Airdate: Thursday, Oct 18, 2007.
Written by Ben Edlund.
Directed by Robert Singer.

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• Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary

  An unexpected call on their Dad's cell phone, sends the Winchesters to Black Rock, NY, where, unbeknownst to them, their father kept a storage container. That container has been broken into and one item, a cursed object has been taken. Confronting the thieves, the brothers inexplicably trip over themselves and end up disarmed and on the other side of their own weapons. When Sam grabs hold of a rabbit's foot, their luck immediately changed. They learn from Bobby that the rabbit's foot is cursed and when someone has it they have a run of good luck, but that luck turns fatally bad when they lose it. In a restaurant, Sam is distracted by a waitress who picks his pocket and takes the rabbit's foot. Dean goes after Bela to take it back but leaves Sam and his bad luck behind in a motel. Dean gets the rabbit's foot and his own run of good luck. Sam has to put out an A/C fire and is nearly killed by a couple hunter friends of Gordon. To remove the curse, the boys perform a cleaning ritual on the rabbit's foot, but not before another confrontation with Bela who steals Dean's winning lottery scratch-off tickets.

• 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

Supernatural 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

  Hoping to hook up, Dean drops by an old girlfriend's house, only to find himself in the middle of a child's birthday party. His ex has a little boy who is celebrating his 8th birthday, and it's been 8 years since Dean was last with his mother. After meeting Ben and seeing a lot of himself in the child, Dean starts to believe that he is the father. At the party, Dean learns that several fathers in the community have died in freak accidents and that their children are now acting strangely. Further investigation reveals that the real children are being taken and replaced with changelings. When Ben is also switched, the Winchesters find the changeling’s lair, kill the changeling mother(queen?), and free all the children. Dean takes Ben home and is disappointed to learn that he is not Ben’s father. While Dean is occupied, Sam surreptitiously looks into his mother's past only to find out that everyone who knew her is now dead. When he confronts Ruby about her knowledge of his mother, she reveals herself as a demon, then tempts Sam with the possibility of saving Dean.

• 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.

Supernatural Season 3, episode #1.
Airdate: Thursday, Oct 4, 2007.
Written by Eric Kripke
Directed by Kim Manners.

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• Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary

  A week has passed since hundreds of demons were released into the world. Dean is living it up and Sam is being tolerant of him. When Bobby recruits the boys to investigate a demonic omen, they find a entire family lying dead in front of their TV. An unprovoked attack on a shopper over a pair of shoes, leads the Winchesters to a bar run by a group of demons. When a hunter duo walks into the bar unawares, the Winchesters and Bobby come to their rescue, saving the woman but too late for her husband. This brings them up against the pack of demons, each one representing one of the 7 deadly sins. Hunkered down in a house outside of Lincoln, Nebraska, they confront the demons, sending them back to hell. That is, except for the three who were killed by the mysterious, dagger-wielding Ruby, who came to Sam’s aid when he was cornered by them.

• 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 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.