Month: October 2023

Supernatural Gets Creepy (and Poignant) with Season 3’s Bedtime Stories

Supernatural Gets Creepy (and Poignant) with Season 3’s Bedtime Stories

spnfans

Season 3 was a memorable season of Supernatural for many reasons. I was well and truly down the rabbit hole of being head over heels in love with the show, and the fandom was busy trying to get enough people to watch it that we could keep it on the air. It was constantly touch and go, and yet I was continually struck by how amazing the show was – why didn’t everyone else see it??

It was extra scary by the middle of the season because there was a writers’ strike, and while the fandom overwhelmingly supported the strike and our beloved writers, that made it even less certain the Show would survive. Looking back, the strike changed the trajectory of the season, but of course we didn’t know that at the time.

‘Bedtime Stories’ was in the Show’s early seasons tradition, creepy and scary but at the same time able to rip your heart out with unexpected emotionality. The episode was written by Cathryn Humphris, who I was so sad to lose early on, and directed by Mike Rohl, who directed quite a few episodes and includes some gorgeous shots in this one.

The ‘THEN’ reminds us of the history of the Colt, Dean’s deal to save Sam and his insistence that he’s not scared, and just how worried Dean is about whether what he brought back is “100% pure Sam” – the story line that was so intriguing and didn’t really go anywhere…

And NOW…

Three guys bicker like brothers (which it turns out they are) next to a billboard advertising new home construction with the tempting “ONCE UPON A TIME… All homes were built this well.”

One announces that he’s the “brick guy” and the other is the “wood guy” while the third warns that if a good gust of wind comes up the whole place is gonna blow over. (Sound familiar?)

As they argue, we see that something is watching them, the feeling of the scene ominous.

There’s a growl and one brother asks the others, did you hear that?

For some unknown reason he goes off to investigate on his own, dramatic music playing, but finds nothing. (Of course, because this is a horror show, the first time someone checks it’s gonna be nothing, so that we’re falsely reassured…).  One of the brothers goes to warm up their truck and suddenly something attacks brother no. 1 and drags him away as he screams. Brother no. 2 runs and hides while something attacks brother no. 3, blood spraying all over the truck and splattering on the dirt. Brother no. 2 hunkers down, terrified, breathing hard.

He finally dares to look around the cinder blocks and sees his dead brother lying on the ground. He hears another growl and then footsteps, and then he’s screaming too.

‘SUPERNATURAL’

A giant toad sitting in the middle of the road almost gets run over by the Impala as it roars by, spraying water from a puddle in the road.

Sam and Dean are not exactly getting along at this point in the series. In fact, they are having a quintessential brothers spat. Dean is determined that his going to hell to save Sam will stick, because otherwise Sam won’t survive. Sam is determined to save his brother. Both are hard headed and just as invested in their codependent relationship at this point. I am not complaining about this – it’s one of the things I love so much about this show.

Sam: I don’t understand, Dean – why not??

Dean: Because I said so!!

Sam: But we’ve got the Colt now.

Dean is resolute, warning his brother with a terse “Sam…”

Sam wants to summon the crossroads demon to try to get Dean out of his deal by holding her at gunpoint and forcing her.  Dean insists that they’re not summoning anything, that they don’t even know if it will work. Sam retorts that they can just shoot her anyway and the deal will go away, but Dean insists they don’t know if that’s even true.

Dean: You’re pitching me a bunch of ifs and maybes and that’s not good enough because if we screw with this deal, you die!

Sam: And if we don’t screw with it, you die!!

Talk about quintessential Supernatural. Dean will save Sam no matter what, and Sam will save Dean no matter what. And good luck trying to talk either of them out of it!

Sam finally demands, why, because you said so?

Dean: YES, because I said so!

Sam: Yeah well you’re not Dad.

Dean: (yelling) No but I am the oldest, and I’m doing what’s best. And you’re gonna let this go, you understand me?

If that isn’t the face of determination, I don’t know what is.

Sam finally subsides. He sits silent and sullen, staring out the window.

Dean tries to draw him back in, bring the conversation back to something normal (for them).

Read more →

Soldier Boy Returns (Sort of) in Gen V – And Inspires A Million Priceless Gifs!

Soldier Boy Returns (Sort of) in Gen V – And Inspires A Million Priceless Gifs!

spnfans

With two more episodes to go in its first season, Episode 6 of Gen V is a standout for more reasons than one.

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR EPISODES ONE THROUGH SIX OF GEN V!

We pick up in the sixth episode (“Jumanji”) with a repentant Cate restoring all her friends’ memories. They’re shocked, pissed, betrayed, everything you’d expect. Emma immediately heads out to find Sam, but not without a parting shot.

Emma: Also? You’re a cunt.

Cate insists she thought she was doing the right thing. Andre is especially furious, wondering if Cate’s manipulations were what made Luke kill himself and afraid to even consider that what she did was okay because then he’d just forgive her. His feelings for her make her betrayal a personal one.

They all feel (understandably) mind raped. Marie is the voice of reason though, saying it’s God U who is fucking them over, not Cate – that Cate was fucked over just like the rest of them.

The strain on Cate from restoring their memories and the trauma of realizing how she’s betrayed them makes her collapse, her heart rate slowing dangerously. Marie manages to save her (since apparently none of the others learned CPR at superhero school).  Marie slowly learning to use her formerly horrifically destructive powers for good is a nice little story arc running beneath the surface, though it will certainly not go smoothly. This is The Boys universe, after all.

At times this show reminds me of Buffy (which I loved) as it uses metaphor to tell stories about real life issues, in this case one of the challenges of growing up. We all have to learn how to harness our destructive impulses, how to recognize our own power but not mis-use it. We all have missteps we feel guilty about along the way, that can keep us afraid of speaking up or calling out injustice when we see it. That’s been part of Marie’s journey all along.

She does manage to save Cate, who wakes up and then abruptly bursts through the wall of the house they’re hiding at.

They follow, but when they all go through the break in the wall, what’s outside is…the woods. Well, not THE woods, but actual woods. Suddenly everything has gone surreal, and I love it, not knowing what’s actually happening and what isn’t.

They see a hysterical woman, sobbing and calling for Caleb and realize that’s Cate’s little brother who disappeared – we see young Cate distraught, telling her mother she didn’t mean it, not understanding what’s happening. Her mother looks at Cate not with love or concern but with terror, telling the cop she doesn’t feel safe with her daughter.  Bits and pieces of the landscape start to come apart in some truly eerie special effects…

They’re in Cate’s head, they realize.

The Boys universe excels at finding ways to get into its characters’ heads (often literally) so we can truly understand their back stories in a way that makes them very real and very compelling. We often don’t just hear about it, we see it. It makes all the characters a lot more sympathetic, as the scenes of Cate’s past do in this episode.

*             *             *

And then I admit to gasping out loud, because even though I knew it was coming, seeing Soldier Boy striding out of the woods took my breath away.

I know it’s wrong, but I’ve missed him! Welcome back to my screen, Jensen Ackles!!

And then begins a scene that will go down in history for both The Boys and Gen V fans – and Jensen Ackles and Supernatural fans too. Holy shit, what a scene!

Soldier Boy: What are you greasy sack of fucknuts doing in here?

Yep, that’s our disgusting uncensored murder grampa kitten, being just as gross as ever. Ahhhhh, I’ve missed him!

Read more →

A Special Supernatural DC Con – #KristaCon 2023

A Special Supernatural DC Con – #KristaCon 2023

spnfans

DC Con is one of the two conventions that are local for me – that I can drive to. I set out early Friday morning down I95 to DC, or rather to Crystal City, where this con is usually held. On the way, I thought a lot about my good friend and co-author of ‘Fangasm’ and several of my other books on fandom and Supernatural, Kathy Larsen. We fell in love with the show together way back when it began, and fell into fan studies as a result, both of us changing the trajectory of our professional careers to focus on what fandom is all about and why it’s so often wonderful. I needed tissues as I drove, the route familiar because of all the days I drove down to Kathy’s house just outside of DC – to work on research, to go to a convention, to just hang out and watch episodes of Supernatural and squee together. I miss those days. I miss my friend.

So I was already emotional before I even got there. Another fandom friend had experienced a great loss shortly before the con, a tragic accident that took her husband’s life. I was looking forward to hugging her and hoping that she’d find solace at the con and being with her fandom family. I remember when my dad passed away seven years ago – I got the news just as I arrived at a Supernatural convention in San Francisco, and while I was in shock for some of it, there was no better or more supportive place to be. I felt cared for, and loved, and consoled, by both my fellow fans and by the actors, who went out of their way to comfort me. I didn’t even tell them, but somehow they knew. It’s the best part of fandom – especially the SPNFamily – the outpouring of love and support when you need it. I’ve felt it myself, and I hope I’ve helped give it to others who’ve needed it.

This con was about that, about an outpouring of love and support — for my friend and fellow Supernatural fan Krista, who has terminal brain cancer. The con and the SNS were dedicated to her, the actors and the fans expressing their love and gratitude, and saying an emotional goodbye. I still find it hard to believe that she won’t still be sitting there in front of me at the cons, video camera rolling. I’m so grateful we all had a chance to show her how much she’s meant to so many of us.

I first met Krista in 2009 when she started going to Supernatural cons. Over the years, I often sat right behind her, my voice sometimes (unfortunately) in her con videos as I laughed too hard or sang too loud. She contributed some of  her beautiful photos to Family Don’t End With Blood. We shared some fun times over the many years – trips to the original Starbucks and the fish market in Seattle, where Krista showed she knew how to order a fish.

Fun times in Rome at the only JIB I’ve been able to go to.

Dinners out on con evenings.

 

Krista was kind enough to emcee the book release party for Family Don’t End With Blood in LA, helping make that night incredibly special.

We’ve shared a lot of fun times. And lots and lots of laughs.

So this con, for me, was about celebrating the people I’ve been on this journey with, both from the start and along the way, and feeling incredibly grateful to have them in my life. It was a reminder of how truly special fandom – and especially this fandom – can be. Forget the stupid polls of which ship is better or the purposely inflammatory posts about how the show should have ended. This is what it’s all about.

I was on my own in the vendor room for most of Friday so I didn’t make it into the theater, which was sad because a lot of awesome people were there – Gil McKinney, David Haydn-Jones, Kim Rhodes, Briana Buckmaster, DJ Qualls, Julian Richings to name a few.  Friday night I went to karaoke, which has been reinvigorated by DJ Qualls and his themed nights. This one was ‘The British Are Coming’, and DJ was dressed perfectly on a stage complete with Big Ben, the Yellow Submarine, and even the lanterns for one if by land two if by sea! Some of the fans’ cosplay was perfection too – and some of the performances!

Saturday and Sunday some lovely friends were able to sit at the vendor table for me sometimes, so I was able to catch some panels – including Misha Collins on Saturday. Like most of the actors, Misha wore his green #KristaCon shirt in honor of Krista. Rob gave him a supportive pat when he came onstage, all of them feeling emotional.

Misha to Krista: Thank you for being such a force of joy and optimism over the years.

That is so very very true.

Read more →

Catch up on Gen V – Here’s What Happened in Episode 5!

Catch up on Gen V – Here’s What Happened in Episode 5!

spnfans

A new episode of ‘The Boys’ spinoff ‘Gen V’ streams Friday – well, usually Thursday at midnight. If you’re like me, you can’t wait to find out what happens next!

Here’s our recap of last week’s Episode 5 to get everyone ready for this week’s Episode 6…

SPOILERS FOR EPISODES ONE THROUGH FIVE OF ‘GEN V’ AHEAD!

Everyone ended the fourth episode of Gen V wondering if their streaming service had glitched, so it’s merciful that in Episode 5 the show doesn’t make us wait to find out that no, that’s not what happened. Instead it’s Andre, Cate, Emma, Jordan and Marie whose memories glitched, as in none of them can remember the past few days. They wake up at a Supe named Dusty’s house (clearly his house because his pet llama is wandering around the premises), Andre and Cate in bed and Jordan and Marie in bed – and Emma (still gigantic) naked and floating in the swimming pool. Luckily it had a tarp on it which is covering her.

As a result of her saving the day, Emma finally starts trending on social media, and realizes that her mother’s stern warning about not “getting big” was bullshit – more of her evolution into finding her voice and being willing to take up space. Lots of it.

Know who realizes that? Sam. He shows up concerned about Emma, who doesn’t remember him at all.

Sam promises he’ll fix it, make her remember.

Emma: Remember what?

Sam: That you’re a hero. A real one.

Me, a passionate Emma fan: Damn right!

Vought is still after Sam, sending a whole team of armed operatives to capture him. In a truly disturbing sequence, Sam’s psychosis manifests so that he sees them all as puppets – and proceeds to rip them apart, puppet entrails flying everywhere and heads rolling, rock music playing to make the whole scene surreal.

Sam comes back to reality standing in a sea of bloody body parts.

Dr. Cardoza is freaked out after Sam’s little visit, but the Dean reminds him he can’t really walk out as he doesn’t have anywhere else to go, putting it in her own special way.

Dean Shetty: Cutting up Supes and seeing how they tick is a skill that won’t quite shine on your LinkedIn profile…

Back to trying to perfect a virus to control the “psychopaths” then, Dr. Cardoza.

Marie finds a tracker implanted in her chest and realizes the Dean is probably part of that. She manages to pull it out of herself (ewww). This episode begins to paint a chilling portrait of just how sinister the people running God U actually are – and sets us up for some big reveals about who they’ve drawn into their web of manipulation.

Marie runs to Cate to tell her about the trackers and…that was a mistake.  The episode veers back and forth with Marie and company discovering some of what’s going on and then being made to forget, which is depicted in a way that makes the viewer feel almost as unsettled and ‘off’ as Marie and friends.

For a while they’re sure it’s Rufus who’s messing with their heads, and poor Alexander Calvert almost gets taken out for good because of it, even as he protests his innocence.

But Sam knows the truth – and by the end of the episode, they all know who is really responsible for repeatedly wiping their memories. It’s Cate. Surprisingly empathic, relatable Cate. (Of course, that’s never the answer of who the real villain is in this universe…)

Cate says she’s sorry, that she only ever wanted to help and make things better. Do we believe her??

In other news, Jordan and Marie spend much of the episode dancing around each other and trying not to admit to the other that being together maybe wasn’t a mistake after all.  Jordan’s invisible Supe friend reminds them that maybe Marie is “cool with hiding the sausage and bumping donuts” and so maybe they can be either in female or male form and still be with her. I’m rooting for them!

I’m rooting for Sam and Emma too. She doesn’t remember who he is, but she goes to him anyway.

But how long can he keep hiding from Vought??

A new episode streams this Friday (Thursday at midnight) on Prime Video and let’s just say the level of excitement around Soldier Boy perhaps making an appearance is off the charts. I won’t say for sure that it’s in this week’s episode, but let me tell you, when you do see him again, the entire scene is PRICELESS! The gifs that fandom will make alone…. OMG.

gif justjensenanddean

Catch up on Gen V now so you’re ready for all the chaos. And to catch up on the whole fascinating world of The Boys, you can preorder the new book ‘Supes Ain’t Always Heroes: Inside the Complex Characters and Twisted Psychology of The Boys’ NOW at https://smartpopbooks.com/theboys/

There is, of course, a chapter all about Soldier Boy and what makes him tick, and an exclusive interview with Jensen Ackles too – plus a lot more about all your favorite characters.

Don’t miss this week’s episode of Gen V!!

And don’t miss the chance to preorder ‘Supes Ain’t Always Heroes’ – you get free original art of Soldier Boy and Kimiko with preorders!

Lynn

 

 

‘Gen V’ Brought The Ewww with Episode 4, ‘The Whole Truth’

‘Gen V’ Brought The Ewww with Episode 4, ‘The Whole Truth’

spnfans

Episode 5 of The Boys’ spinoff Gen V aired yesterday – if you haven’t caught up yet, here’s my recap of the fourth episode – which definitely lived up to its legacy of being part of ‘The Boys’ universe, in more ways than one.

The episode was written by Jessica Chou and directed by Supernatural directing alum Steve Boyum, so you’ve got the writer of The Boys Herogasm episode and the director of the one where Lucy the whale was killed in a way I haven’t gotten over yet. Clearly this was going to be an episode that leaves an impression – and it did!

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR GEN V THROUGH EPISODE 4

I’ve Got a Weak Spot for Brothers Named Sam

The saga of little brother Sammy… sorry, Sam….continues in this episode. I’m here for the bonding that goes on between Sam (Asa Germann) and Emma (Lizze Broadway), both of them feeling like outcasts and on their own, especially after she tells Sam the truth that his big brother Luke is dead by his own hand. You can’t really fault him for reacting emotionally to that news, and neither does Emma, who is remarkably calm in the face of Sam wrecking their hiding place and then confessing that he’s hearing voices. Emma seems able to do the “take me as I am” thing with Sam, and you get the feeling she may be the only one other than Luke who’s ever done that.

Sam’s terrified he’ll fuck it up though.

Sam: Everybody always leaves me.

Emma: I promise, I’m like you.

How terrifying and isolating must it be to have all this unwanted, sometimes uncontrollable power, and also know that your mind is constantly playing tricks on you? I empathize with Sam and I also find him scary as hell, and Asa Germann pulls off that combination flawlessly.

Amusingly, the voice he hears (and the hallucinations he sees) are of “Television’s Jason Ritter” and a The Deep puppet with talking gills on the “Avenue V” show, a Sesame Street/Mr. Rogers crossover that was so out of left field it made me laugh out loud.

Gen V has a lot of mental health parallels, which means my psychologist self is always fascinated, including Sam’s psychosis. He hears what are called command hallucinations as Jason Ritter calmly insists that Sam just kill Dr. Cardoza from the lab.

Read more →

Are You Ready for More Gen V? Here’s My Recap of Episodes 1 to 3 – Episode 4 Review Up Soon!

Are You Ready for More Gen V? Here’s My Recap of Episodes 1 to 3 – Episode 4 Review Up Soon!

spnfans

A new episode of Gen V drops this Friday (or, as Kripke admitted, let’s be real, probably late Thursday night) and I can’t wait!  If you haven’t been able to watch the first three episodes which were released last week, here’s a little recap of what happened in those episodes – and why I’m so excited about the next ones! (My review of Episode 4 will be up later this week before Episode 5 drops on Friday)

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR EPISODES ONE THROUGH THREE AHEAD

The show takes place at Godolkin University (God U, get it?), where the first generation of superheroes who actually know how they got that way (ie, their parents shot them up with Compound V) is arriving for the start of classes. We’re introduced to the main characters, including Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair), whose perspective largely frames these episodes. There’s also Luke, aka Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger), top ranked and stereotypically attractive, and his girlfriend Cate (Maddie Phillips), who has to wear gloves most of the time because if she touches you she can mind control you.

Andre (Chance Perdomo) is the son of a Supe and in line to be one of the Seven himself if his dad has anything to say about it, Jordan (London Thor and Derek Luh) is the bi-gender child of two highly driven parents, and Emma (Lizze Broadway) is Marie’s roommate, whose superpower is that she can make herself tiny.

Gen V takes the same cynical look at where we are as a society in terms of what we value and how we relate to each other. Social media, crafting an image, and cultivating followers and popularity is a legitimate major at God U, and the vast majority of students are all in. As soon as one of them gains some recognition, they can’t walk across campus without repeated requests for selfies, and most fellow students can’t be trusted with any personal information. Emma learns this the hard way when she’s manipulated by a classmate into talking candidly about herself, only to have that used as fodder for the girl’s viral TikTok.

The adults are corporate power-hungry manipulators too, as we’ve come to expect from Vought. The first episode introduces us to the aptly named Professor Brink Brinkerhoff (Clancy Brown), who’s about as much of a stereotype of a narcissistic full professor as you can get – I admit, as a professor myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the caricature. He’s got the power to decide who gets to be part of the Crimefighting School – similar to the coveted admission to the Business School in a few real life universities – and he’s got his favorites. He summarily rejects Marie before Golden Boy turns on his mentor and takes him out of the picture, opening up an opportunity for her to get in.  Dean Indira Shetty (Shelley Conn) is an enigmatic woman who can seem incredibly warm and nurturing, and then you get a glimpse of her face when the target of her warmth can’t see it and realize she’s as cold as ice.  Andre’s dad, who was the Supe Polaris, is just as icy in his determination to see his son become number one – and maybe one of the Seven.

One of the narratives that The Boys universe has explored in all its versions is parenting, for better or worse (usually for worse…). In the original show we eventually learned what Annie’s mother and other parents had done to their children with Compound V for mostly selfish reasons, and in the animated Diabolical, we saw the costs of that selfishness in brutal detail for the kids. Gen V continues that exploration, and not just with Andre’s father. Emma’s mom is similarly invested in her child’s “success”, essentially telling her to suck it up and do whatever it takes to find some popularity no matter what the personal cost. Jordan’s mom and dad are the “driven Asian parents” who refuse to see their child for who they are and instead want to have a successful son – whether or not they identify as a son or not.

True to every Eric Kripke show ever, that’s not all the show has to say about family though. Like Supernatural and The Boys and every other show he’s put his creative touch on, Gen V is also about the importance of family bonds – especially sibling bonds – and what that inspires. Of course, the sibling bonds on this show are fraught and sculpted by trauma, because this is the universe of The Boys after all. Marie is desperate to find her little sister, who was separated from her after she got her first period and her powers manifested as the ability to control blood – which she hadn’t harnessed at all and thus it became a weapon that accidentally killed both her parents and traumatized her younger sister. Luke is desperate to find his little brother (who’s named Sam and has floppy hair so that every Supernatural fan was instantly a million percent invested in that relationship).

Read more →