When academics go to Hollywood!
We were extremely excited to see Kevin mentioned on the S10 sneak peek promo with a big question mark, and to hear Bob Singer tease that maybe he’d be back – because we love both the character and the talented actor who plays him. We sat down to chat with Osric Chau over dinner at VanCon, and invited photographer Karen Cooke to join us and snap some photos (Karen’s beautiful photos are featured in Fan Phenomena: Supernatural too).
Season 9 has had me all over the map, as you’ve seen from my weekly episode reviews here – some things I’ve loved, some things I’ve hated – so I didn’t know what to expect of the season finale. I couldn’t help remembering some finale episodes in the past, especially the ones that left me gutted and unable to think about anything else for days (weeks?) afterwards. All Hell Breaks Loose….No Rest For The Wicked….Swan Song….I still can’t watch those episodes without reaching for the tissues. Last season’s finale was also powerful, both for Sam and Dean’s moment in the church and for the gorgeous shot of falling angels that closed out the season. Would Season 9 end with a bang like these, or would the strange pacing and sometimes disconnected storylines diminish its impact?
By the time yesterday rolled around, I ended up pretty excited – and more than a little nervous. Much of what amped up my anticipation was how excited Jared, Jensen and Misha seemed to be about the finale. At DCCon, when I asked Jensen if he was happy about where Dean’s storyline ended up this season, he said something so provocative (“Oh wow. They went there”) that I ended up eagerly awaiting the finale too. Then at the Upfronts, the boys said over and over that they were shocked by the ending, in a good way. So by 9 pm, I was so anxious I couldn’t even sit still to watch the damn show!
The pressure is on for the last few episodes of Supernatural Season 9, which means every moment has to count. That’s probably an unfair expectation, but watching “King of the Damned” this week, I found myself resenting the clock ticking down WAY too quickly.
I also found myself setting my expectations rather high, which is dangerous when you’re a passionate fan, but I couldn’t help it. I may have been muttering, “you only have a few more episodes to play alot out, Show, don’t mess it up!” Maybe.
The writers of this episode haven’t always been my favorite in the past, but some of their recent episodes have made me more hopeful, so I went into this episode with some cautious optimism. Did it pan out? Yes and no.
This week’s episode wasn’t a ‘normal’ Supernatural episode, which means this won’t be a ‘normal’ episode review. Everyone knew that ‘Bloodlines’ was a backdoor pilot for a new CW show as well as an episode of Supernatural, so my expectations were different than usual. Which was a very good thing. Otherwise, I might have been jumping up and down screaming at my television WHEN THE HELL ARE WE GETTING BACK TO THE MARK OF CAIN STORYLINE??? Or I might have been repeatedly tweeting #NeedsMoreSam&Dean. I didn’t expect much progression in the main story arcs since this was essentially a standalone episode in order to introduce new characters and setting – but I have to admit, it’s difficult having a standalone this late in the season, when all I can think about is OMG we only have three more episodes!!!
Supernatural is a versatile Show. It’s one of the things I love most about it; it’s part of what makes watching the Show live every week kind of like riding a rollercoaster in the dark. You can’t see the track, so you have no idea which way it’s going to toss you next. It’s both jarring and exhilarating, but it’s rarely boring. And yes, I love rollercoasters.