Tag: horror

Supernatural: No Rest for the… Taxi Driver

Only two Supernatural episodes this week.  Tuesday on TNT was dedicated to a Rizzoli and Isles pre-season premiere marathon.  And the CW is once again showing Cult on Fridays. It should feel like a vacation, but this week’s episodes were pretty heavy, significant ones.

No Rest for the Wicked (316)

This episode gets 4 starsSeason finale means “Carry On, My Wayward Son” by Kansas.  Always a nice way to start the show.  It also means “Written by Eric Kripke” and “Directed by Kim Manners.”  Oh yeah, and for season 3, we’re left with the most frustrating cliffhanger ever!

Dean and Sam prepare to take on Lilith in hopes of saving Dean from hell.
The Winchester way? Silent and stoic.

The whole season has been building up to Dean’s date with destiny, hellhounds, etc, and here it is.  Sam tells Dean at the beginning of the episode he’s not going to let Dean go to hell.  But, like so many Winchester promises, he fails.

Ruby’s comments to Sam turn out to be much more prophetic than we ever could have thought possible at the time.  She tells him his demonic psychic powers are dormant, not gone; that she can help train him to use them; and he is the only one who can stop Lilith.  Of course, she fails to mention it involves drinking demon blood, and that killing Lilith also signals the beginning of the apocalypse.  (But then, Dean hasn’t broken the fist seal to set the wheels in motion yet.)

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Supernatural: Sin … and Geeks

Sin City (304)

This episode gets 3 stars.Season 3 crept up on me.  It’s kind of a game changer.  Sam died, Dean sold his soul, the gates of hell opened and let out a slew of demons.  Three events played heavily in this episode.

Sam and Dean think they should leave after the police talk to them.
Seeing favorite scenes from old episodes is like meeting an old friend again.

Two escaped demons wreak havoc on a town in Ohio by playing to human vices and desires.  Dean worries that resurrected Sam is cold-hearted and evil.  Dean views his crossroads deal as “liberating” since you can’t worry about the future if you don’t have one.

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Supernatural: ‘Playthings’ of ‘the Titans’

Ordinarily, my 2nd Supernatural review-of-the-week would have been posted on Saturday, but last Saturday was the Ides of June. And yesterday was Sunday Seven.  So here we go on Monday.

Playthings (211)

This episode gets 4 stars“Playthings” is one of my favorite episodes from season 2.   Halfway through watching it for the first time, I remember thinking I had no idea what was causing the killings.  I like it when this show keeps me guessing.

Sam rescues Tyler, a young girl, from drowning.
Season 2’s money shot, this time with Sam (Jared Padalecki)

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Supernatural: ‘Clown… with Benefits’

When Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki provided commentary on the season 1 DVD set, they talked about how things came together that year and how season 2 would be even better.  I scoffed.  How could you improve something that was superb?  I was wrong.  Season 2 was better.

Everybody Loves a Clown (202)

This episode gets 4 starsOver the years, I’ve written about this episode many times.  I still chuckle when Sam makes his first “bitchface” ever.  Jared Padalecki still moves me when Sam expresses his grief in his final scene.  I’m still reminded of Jensen Ackles’s extreme talent when Dean is beating the hell out of the Impala.

Sam and Dean walk along a deserted road.
Just a couple of brothers, trying to avoid the law

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Supernatural: ‘Wicked/Trial’

What an terrific week of Supernatural viewing!  Four excellent episodes, including two of my all-time favorites.

Something Wicked (118)

This episode gets 5 stars.Perhaps I’m overly fond of “Something Wicked” because it’s the first Supernatural I watched.  But I don’t think so.  I’ve now seen 172 episodes, many of them several times, and “Something Wicked” always stands out for several reasons.

Dean and Sam walk towards Michael, who couldn't protect his little brother.
Dean identifies with Michael, a boy who’s trying to protect his younger brother.

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Supernatural: “Home” & “Tiger Mommy”

Home (109)

This episode gets 5 stars.Man, I wish I had Eric Kripke’s creativity.  And writing ability.  How does he combine tenderness and pathos with comedy, and then throw in a bloody horror scene?  Even now, after many years and several viewings, I still want to fast-forward through the infamous evil cymbal monkey/garbage disposal scene.

Dean tells Sam what remembers about the night their moither died.
Brotherly love:  “I remember the fire…the heat. And then I carried you out the front door.”

Compare that to the affectionate brotherly exchangeat the gas station.  Sam asks Dean what he remembers about “that night.”  When Dean replies he was the one who saved Sam, Sam is genuinely moved.  It shows us how strong their bond is.

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Supernatural Memorial Week Two-fer, Part 2

Whoa!  I almost forgot to post this.  Given that I signed up for NaBloPoMo this month, it would have been a real bitch to poop out on the first day.

Dead in the Water (103)

This episode gets 5 stars.It’s not just one of my season 1 favorites, but one of my all-time faves.  I have no idea why it got such a low rating at IMDB, and a less than “usual” one at Television Without Pity.  (TWoP’s “usual” fan grade is B.)  Sure, there were some incongruities, but the character development, spookiness of the monster of the week, and sheer drama more than  made up for it.  Plus there was that “money shot” of Dean emerging from the lake with Lucas.  (Which also happens to be one of Jensen Ackles’s favorite scenes.)

Dean rescues Lucas from the lake.
The season 1 money shot

Sam seems terribly emo at the beginning of the episode.  But if you put it in context, this was very early in the series, and Sam was still mourning Jessica.

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Supernatural Memorial Week Two-fer, Pt 1

After spending a dreary Memorial Day watching the Falling Skies marathon on TNT, I thought I might start watching & discussing it.  But nearly halfway into season 2, I’m dropping out.  It’s gotten darker (literally and figuratively), and I dislike shows of humans vs. a (theoretically) superior enemy.  It’s one of the reasons I never watched the revised Battlestar Galactica.

Castiel rides alongside Dean in a car that isn't the Impala.
Dean Winchester, reunited with his boyfriend

So let’s move on to something that really matters—Supernatural.  🙂  Combining my TNT viewing schedule with the CW’s, there are four episodes to review.  We’re covering the first two here.

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