Supernatural 10.02 - Reichenbach -- Up Close and Personal

HOLY. CRAP.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED????

I am fairly certain I didn't breath the entire hour. Wow. I have watched this show for years and I am still blown away when our show brings it week after week. Good gracious! I have much love and admiration for our fantastic production, writers, crew and cast. 

Talking about bringing it...mad props to the VFX crew for making Jensen look like pre-season-1-Dean in the Cole flashback!

Complete with Samulet and John's leather jacket!!! *FEELS*

I actually felt rather sorry for Cole in this episode. Of course, I was NOT a fan of the torturing Sam part but I really felt for him otherwise. He was 13 years old when his father was killed on the floor of their house by a stranger. Cole is not aware of monsters and the supernatural world apparently (which if he was tracking Dean for 11 years I wonder about that...) so he just fuels his life with revenge and the want to kill Dean. Yellow Eyed Demon/Winchester men parallels anyone??

Side-note: if Cole wants us to take him seriously as a badass Marine he might want to consider changing his cell phone ringer...rather girly, if you ask me.

I am looking forward to watching this story unfold. I am VERY curious as to WHY Dean killed his father. What was going on in 2003? Was Dean hunting alone or with John? Does Dean remember this boy and the situation? AHH! Okay, patience.

Side-side-note: I am pretty sure, being a public librarian myself, that this would be the exact look I would have if someone came in, bleeding all over the nonfiction collection and asking about demons. 

Anywho...

AGAIN Jensen Ackles stole the show with his award winning performance as Demon Dean! Hot damn. I have sworn for years his acting couldn't get any better but I am always proven wrong. HOW IS THIS MAN EVEN REAL?! Good gracious!!

In all seriousness, though, Demon Dean is a masterpiece of acting. We have watched Dean Winchester for 10 years and I have met Jensen in real life and Demon Dean's body language and mannerisms reflect neither. Demon Dean is more open in his stance and posture. He also only smiles and laughs from his face rather then his body. That is character depth right there. Also, because Jensen hasn't acted right up next to Jared for two episodes we also get to see the camera play with his height. He towers over Mark Sheppard in the standoff scene between Dean and Crowley. He is also much taller than Cole in the fight scene. I liked this dynamic. It adds power behind the acting. Good directing, guys!

I said in last week's review that the real side of Dean bleeds through the Demon Dean performance. The more I think about that analogy the more I like it. Bleeding wounds are covered up, protected and hidden as soon as possible. People who have them don't count them as a good thing! I think the same is true for the real nature of Dean. The demon side of him is aware that there is this bleeding of another nature and doesn't like it. He chooses the demon side. As the preview for next week suggests, Demon Dean "likes the disease."  But yet we, as the audience, get to see these bleedings of real Dean; i.e. letting the wife live, being concerned about Anne-Marie's feelings, not seeing his brother as a challenge but giving him a chance to run. Brilliant, BRILLIANT acting.

Demon Dean is a riddle. He is a shocking character because he looks like our favorite elder Winchester brother but he is a bully, jerk, less-than-gentlemanly, arrogant, sleazy bastard. I am ready for the fallout of this character. I have a feeling it is coming soon, maybe even next week. Can Sam save him?

Red shirt alert AND Dean Winchester made a Princess Bride reference! A PRINCESS BRIDE REFERENCE!!!! (I might never recover from the shockingly appropriate timing of that pop culture reference) Now if we can get Crowley to say something along the lines of "Tyrone, you know how much I love watching you work, but I've got my country's 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder and Guilder to frame for it; I'm simply swamped." I could die happy.

The horror of this torture scene was gut-wrenching. This was helped by two things; 1) it was filmed up close and very personal. Look how close and raw these actors are. The camera is IN. THEIR. FACE. And 2) most of the fandom is well aware of Jared's real shoulder injury (Osric was just a "hunting accident" this week instead of a demon LOL) and so the torture felt even more real and searingly painful. I found myself yelling at the TV at one point "COLE, YOU BASTARD, BE CAREFUL OF JARED'S SHOULDER!!!!" (yes, I confuse reality and fiction. I'm cool with it.)

Sam's devastation jumps off the screen every time we see him. Broken and exhausted are the words that keep jumping to mind. (Jensen's acting might be more in our face because of Demon Dean but Jared is seriously stealing my heart with Sam Winchester.) Anyone who knows me, knows that Season 3 is my favorite season of Supernatural. It is because Sam is himself the whole season and has such a desperate love and want to save his brother. THIS is Sam Winchester of Season 10 as well. His tunnel vision to find his brother, to never give up on him, to make any deal to get him back...it is so rich with love. When Sam tells Cas about Dean being a demon you can sense his wave of grief. We are living every emotion with the younger Winchester and it is a hard, beautiful ride. I hope for Sam's sake that he cures Demon Dean soon. I am starting to worry about his health.

I said the angel storyline last week feel a little flat for me but that was NOT true for this week. I see what they are doing now. They are making the angel/heaven storyline personal and human. It is Hannah wondering what the surprise in the casserole was, it is Cas laughing with a child over snot, it is Metatron going for the 8th grade insult of "You're a liar."I loved the angel story line this week. I want to see where this journey takes our angels and what effect it has on heaven.

Of course the moment that instantly turned this episode into one of the top favorite of all time was the first meeting of the brothers since Dean died in his Sam's arms over 5 months ago. Recognize Sam's face? Allow me to remind you...

I can't! I am tearing up just writing this. Damn angels and demons and ghosts and leviathans and hunters and fathers and Men of Letters and urban legends and any other myth-arc this show has or ever will come up with! This show lives and dies on Sam and Dean Winchester and the men who portray them. 

I had to watch the scene where they talked in the bar about 5 or 6 times before I actually heard the dialogue. I just watched the silent conversation. Jensen once said, "You can say a lot without saying words." and that is what happened in this scene. I dare you to watch it with the sounds off. It is all there! Everything they are saying or wanting to say or not wanting to say but saying anyways. Watch it on mute. Tell me what you think.

We end with a classic Impala scene. This is familiar yet so uncomfortable as Dean doesn't care about Baby and is handcuffed in the backseat. Sam is trying to find that humanity in his brother that he so desperately wants to know is there. Dean is determined not to show any weakness. It is a Mexican stand off and that throws us into next week with a severely amazing case of whiplash. 

I. CAN'T. WAIT. 

Supernatural 10.01 - Black -- The eyes tell the real story

OUR SHOW IS BAAACK!

Hellatus is a over and we have SEASON 10! Every time I type that I get chills. I am so proud of our show! We have truly beaten (and continue to beat) the odds. But the thing that gives me greater chills is the fact that even after 10 years our show can air an episode that makes me so concerned and worried for our two brothers. You would think we'd have seen everything by now...but that is not the case.  Also, I worried for Cas and Crowley was awesome...but we'll get to that.

THE ROAD SO FAR: 

Dean loves his brother, got the Mark of Cain, became addicted to the Mark, got stabbed in the heart by Metatron, woke up a DEMON.

Sam was dying, got possessed by an angel, kicked said angel out (rather badass), was mad at Dean, then was worried about Dean, had Dean die in his arms. Sam loves his brother.

Cas lost his grace and became human, slept with a reaper, changed his name to Steve, worked at a Gas 'n Sip, got someone else's grace, formed a cult angel following, got captured, then got free and captured Metatron...but stolen grace is fading.

Crowley was almost cured, sat in the Bunker dungeon for 4 months, shot up human blood, had a hidden agenda, wants Dean to howl at the moon with him.

SEASON 10 (yes, chills. In case you were wondering...)

In the season premiere last year "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" Sam is in a coma. We see some glimpses of his inner thoughts. He sees Dean as his fighting side and Bobby as his side that tells him he has fought well and can move on. I love the fact that Sam sees his big brother as his fighting side. Multiple times during the series Dean will look at Sam and say "Are you with me?" Dean does not give up. He fights until there is nothing left and then some. Sam has grown up with that. He has those same tendencies because he has been "studying Dean trying to be just like him."

That is what makes Sam so heartbreaking in this episode. Just like the end of Season 7, Sam has lost Dean and has no idea what happened to him. But this time he reacts completely different. He moves heaven and earth to find his brother. We see glimpses of him torturing a woman (who we believe to be a demon), we see him calling in favors from old friends and reading up on all the lore books in the bunker, he is monitoring weather maps and demon signs. The boy is completely exhausted and hurt (still laughing that the show called Osric a demon) but he is not giving up. 

When Sam is captured by Cole (excited about this storyline! Who is this guy?!?) he is forced to listen to his brother talk to his captor. When Dean wants proof of life, Cole holds out the phone and demands Sam to speak. Sam's eyes tell such a story of grief, worry and guilt (kudos to Jared, man). What do you say? How do you tell your brother to come home? Does he even care? 

Shew! *wipes tears* One of my top three favorite things (among the thousands of favorite things) about this series is the ability of the two lead actors to tell an entire story with their eyes. Brilliant.

Sam is fighting for his brother. We saw him do this in Season 3 and in the end not be able to save him. I really hope, for Sam's sake (and ours *meep*) that he is able to save Dean this time. 

Mr. Demon Dean is having the time of his life (or so he says) with his new best friend, Crowley. Between the karaoke, bar fights, drinking, sex and foosball...Dean seems to be enjoying his new guilt (and responsibility) free lifestyle. 

Which I might add is PRETTY. DANG. HOT. (did you see....what? I'm writing a review...fine. Moving on)

But his eyes tell a different story. The eyes that flicker when Sam is mentioned. The eyes that still register hurt when Anne-Marie calls him on his shit. There is what we can see on the surface and what is going on underneath. Demon Dean is a riddle and I am greatly looking forward to watching this riddle play out.   

Cas has a horrible cough. He should really get that looked at.

The Cas and Hannah story line I hope goes interesting places. I liked Hannah a lot last year but she kinda fell a little flat in Black. I felt like I had seen the Cas-in-a-car-with-a-female-angel-talking-about-saving-heaven storyline before.

I DO like that we see Cas easily sympathizing with humans. He has walked in our shoes and knows what it is like. I think that will play out in interesting ways. I am curious about his story.

Crowley is a riveting character, You can't help but 'Aww' as his need to have a best friend, but yet you know that he is playing a completely different hand under the table. Why does he need Dean Winchester to rule Hell with him? I seem to recall Crowley doing a fine job of it by himself back in Season 6 (never ending lines anyone?)

Crowley is feeding demons to Dean for him to kill to try and keep the Mark in check. Oh he knows so much more than he is telling...tricky bastard.

Questions:

Who the hell is Cole and what is his story? So. Damn. Curious. 

Why did Dar call Sam "one of us"? What did you do Sam???

Was Dean bluffing at the end say he wouldn't help his brother?

Summary:

That was a fanfriggintastic beginning to Season 10 (chills, again)!!! Our show has knocked it out of the park and the fans answered with the best ratings for a Supernatural season opener in 4 years!!! *high five fandom*

Can't wait to see the brother reunion next week in 10.02 "Reichenbach"

LET ME GO

As an avid Supernatural fan since 2010 and as a writer, I have always known I would eventually start writing about my favorite show. Words, thoughts, opinions and other comments I wanted to say have rolled around in my head for years but I could never figure out a way to start (I believe it is called blank page writer's block). I have told myself that there are so many good reviewers out there who's love and passion for our show just oozes off the page. Amy and Sheila are the two that spring to mind the quickest. I could get lost in their wonderful musings about Supernatural. What did I really have to add to them?

But all this changed on October 7th when I watched "Black." I refuse to let the blank page intimidate me any longer. Coming soon to wherever you are reading this blog...my first SPN review.