Category: Season 10

Pulling It All Together: Supernatural Heads for the Season Finale with Inside Man

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WB/The CW
WB/The CW

The first time we met the Supernatural writers, we were immediately impressed with how thoughtful and serious they were about the Show and making it the best it can be. More than once, as we chatted over drinks, one of the writers mentioned that Andrew Dabb would be joining us later. Each time, they added, “He’s the heart of Supernatural.” I didn’t entirely understand what they meant, though when we did get a chance to talk to Andrew later, it was clear that he has a serious emotional investment in the show and the characters. Of course, we’re used to that with fandom. We all have an emotional investment in this show and these characters!

As I watched this week’s episode, the writers’ words kept coming back to me. More than any other episode he’s written, with the possible exception of Dark Side of the Moon, “Inside Man” reminded me of why the other writers consider Dabb the heart of the show. The episode flowed so smoothly, I didn’t realize how much of an emotional impact it was carrying until we got to the end and Sam was tearing up – and so was I. Thank you, Andrew Dabb, for letting us see that, and for letting me feel it.

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Paint It Gray – Supernatural 10.16

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WB/The CW
WB/The CW

I know it was called ‘Paint it Black’, but this episode felt more gray than anything. There were some things I liked very much, and others that left me scratching my head.

I’m always jarred by the episodes that bounce back and forth between story lines, and this one gave me a bit of whiplash. Every time we returned from a commercial I didn’t know if we’d be following Crowley and Rowena or Sam and Dean. I enjoy Crowley and Rowena (and enjoyed her snarky showdown with Teryl Rothery, especially the creative hamster ending). I liked realizing that Olivette was talking about the Men of Letters before the reveal, and I liked that it ties the Crowley and Rowena storyline back into the Winchesters’ directly. (And oh how I loved Rowena’s exasperated “Perpetually the Winchesters.”) Story of my life, Ruth Connell!

I’m still fascinated by the complicated relationship between Crowley and Rowena, and Mark Sheppard and Ruth Connell continue to knock it out of the park whenever they’re onscreen together. Watching two essentially evil manipulative characters interact and trying to figure out if they give a damn about each other or are just experiencing a twisted pride at each other’s feats of badness is intriguing. We got a few more tidbits of information here – Interesting that the grand coven held it against Rowena that she had Crowley. Is that why she resented him so much? Or why she abandoned him?

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The Weight: Sam and Dean and The Things They Carried

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xxxxx 10.15 dc

‘The Things They Carried’ didn’t make me cry, which was a bit of a relief after some of the tissue-decimating episodes this season. It did, however, make me put aside the delicious slice of pie I had ready for the occasion – who can eat when there’s that level of disgusting on the screen? Jenny Klein, you’re the new queen of EWWW. You know, that version of horror that has you screaming and gagging at the same time? EWWW.

The episode felt a lot like old school SPN, which used to make me do both of those regularly, and I enjoyed the roller coaster feel of those parts. It had a compelling MotW – not the non-Kahn worm [snort] itself, but the hapless people infected with it. It was impossible not to root for poor Kit when his wife was so in love with him and he had clearly been heroic before becoming infected (much like a certain Winchester we know, also recently ‘infected’ with something awful). That parallel was nicely done and not dropped on our heads with a giant anvil, so kudos for that Jenny.

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We Will Always End Up Here – Supernatural’s ‘The Executioner’s Song’

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WB/The CW
WB/The CW

I’m so torn. Do I gush first about the writing of this episode that laid the groundwork for so many powerful scenes? Or the brilliant cinematography and direction and set dec and visual effects? Or do I marvel at the acting performances of ALL of the main players, who collectively blew me away and kept me so sucked in that I was holding my breath for most of the second half of the episode?

Not a bad dilemma to face on a Friday morning. I think I’ll gush about all of the above.

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Supernatural Tackles the Ghost in the Machine – 10.13

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WB/The CW Promo
WB/The CW Promo

Drive-by review — I liked it! I liked how old school the episode was, with the brothers working together to solve a MotW case and the entire episode spooling out with one reveal after another. We had EMF meters, rockstar aliases, ghosts, and baby roaring off down the street. It was suitably old school SPN creepy and scary and at times disgusting, which often seemed to be the case in the early seasons.

The whole ‘ghost in the machine’ thing has always been a bit terrifying, from way back in 2001 A Space Odyssey to Stephen King to that 90s classic anime. Who hasn’t looked askance at their GPS or Siri every now and then and wondered if it was messing with you? I swear, she just sounds judgmental at times. Especially on the fifteenth “recalculating…”

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