Supernatural's eighth season returns to Sky Living in the UK. It appears they'll be double-billing the episodes so I shall take a look at both each week in these reviews. So are you ready for the return of the Winchesters?
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Dean (Jensen Ackles) dies a lot. We have seen him die plenty of times before and at the end of last season, we saw it again as he got zapped into Purgatory with exploding Dick, the previous Big Bad. And we knew the series had been renewed for a new season so it was fair to say that Jensen Ackles would return. Return he did, escaping from Purgatory, but not without his usual gruff demeanour worsened by his time spent being hunted down in the big forest. Meanwhile, Sam (Jared Padalecki) has been living the domestic life complete with girlfriend and dog, but drops everything to return to his brother once he knows he is alive.
As season openers go, it's not the strongest from Supernatural, lacking a spark and forward momentum that really could kick it off with a bang. It does set up the big plot drive for the season, the Word of God that could seal all demons in hell for eternity and thus putting the brothers out of a large part of their job. Their reunion is always a good moment, but the two have been split from each other by death/disappearance so often that it doesn't have the same impact it once did when the show was under constant threat of cancellation. In recent years, this has abated so it no longer carries the same weight it once did.
That being said, it's not a bad episode; we get a few flashbacks for each of the boys from the previous year, setting up the central conflict between the brothers as they head back out on the road. We also get a nice Dean-related travelling montage to the strains of Styx's Man in the Wilderness harking back to the show's classic rock roots that seem to become increasingly rare though still great when they crop up (the brothers' rendition of Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive is one of the show's finest character moments). It's also a welcome return for prophet Kevin (Osric Chau) who proves that he's learnt a fair amount in his time on his own.
And then there's Crowley, one of the best villains on television performed with glee by Mark Sheppard. He's as much a part of the Supernatural landscape now as Castiel is or Bobby was and it's always a thrill to see his name appear for an episode. Still in position as the King of Hell following the entrapment of the Devil, Crowley dogs the brothers' steps all the way and performs some pretty horrific acts in this episode, mainly killing Kevin's girlfriend as he drives away.
We Need To Talk About Kevin provides a strong foundation for the rest of the season but sadly it is little more than that. There are a few good small moments like Dean's reunion with a burger and his reaction to finding out there had been a dog in the Impala, but it lacked a little of that spark that usually makes Supernatural so watchable.
What's Up Tiger Mommy?
Kevin is now in the company of the Brothers Winchester but keen to find out how his mother is after running away from her more than a year ago. Reluctantly Sam and Dean agree to swing by his house to check on her before running into a demon guarding party. Linda Tran (Lauren Tom) ends up going on the run too, proving to be more than a match for the brothers' lifestyle - the tattoo line was fantastic, particularly Dean's reaction to it. However, the tablet is in the hands of the god Plutus and about to go to auction in which Crowley is also a bidder.
Now this episode is more like; building on the first episode's tablet storyline, it's a reunion of the Trans and Lauren Tom is the standout in this instalment. Linda Tran is not a mum you want to mess with as she helps the Winchesters track down the tablet with her son. Encompassing everything that a parent should be - unexpected, embarrassing and fiercely protective - Tom's performance is the heart of this episode and makes the sad conclusion just that little bit more heartbreaking.
Elsewhere in the episode, I really loved the auction aspect of the show, complete with the odd bargaining chips and protective spells. It all adds to the world of Supernatural, particularly the return of other gods who have been plaguing the brothers for a while. There were also some neat icky moments, particularly the cold open in which a poor girl was butchered in a bank.
We also got to see some more flashbacks about the two brothers, including what may have happened to Castiel in a brief moment. With Dean still sniping at Sam for leaving Kevin and hunting behind, there's a fair amount of tension between the brothers which could get worse if it transpires that Dean had something to do with the angel's demise. I just hope it doesn't become the defining dynamic between the brothers; they work much better as characters when getting on with each other. That's where the comedy comes from and the entertainment.
Two solid opening episodes then for the Winchesters and co. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Castiel narrative develops, but by the looks of things, we're back to monster of the week episodes next time so we may see the main narrative arcs put hold on for a bit. But that's ok, it means we just get to see more of the Impala.
- Becky
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Being a fan of a genre themed American network show not wholly familiar with UK audiences can be really tough. You have no idea whether the next season of your new favourite show will be renewed (nor do you have the power to help make that happen - Fringe was torture around renewal season) or even make it across the pond (unless of course it's a biggie like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or more recently, Game of Thrones).
Supernatural is one such show, beginning its first season by airing over here on ITV2 as part of its new programming schedule to try and capture the teen audience. It never picked up the biggest audience though and ITV2 has now turned its tastes to such giddy heights as Celebrity Juice. Make of that what you will. Now, thankfully, Sky Living has stepped in and for the first time in the show's run, I will actually be able to watch this season, the eighth on television on a channel I can actually access and will be reviewing it for this very site. I wouldn't recommend jumping straight in if you've never seen it before because the show's history is rich and complex. Yet it is not a show to be missed and, as all seasons up to 7 are now available on DVD, here are few paragraphs as to why Supernatural is one to sit down to.
For those of you who may have missed it, Supernatural follows the Winchester brothers, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles), who are hunters, though not of the game variety, travelling across America fighting demons, ghosts and various other supernatural creatures. The series begins when Sam and Dean were very young children and their mother is killed by a demon; subsequently, their father John (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) trains them up to be hunters. Cut to a fair few years later, Sam is in college and has turned his back on his family with a lovely girlfriend and an interview for Stanford. That is until Dean comes back into his life to tell him that John has gone missing on a 'hunting trip' so Sam joins him to track their father down. However, they don't find him and return to find Sam's girlfriend killed by the same demon who killed their mother. Sam and Dean reunited, they set off to find John and hunt things along the way.
From there, the show only goes from strength to strength, particularly for the first five seasons, building a vast mythology that takes in angels, demons and everything in between. Initially, Supernatural was based around ghosts and urban legends which made for an interesting, low-fi X-Files take on American folk stories. Early episodes saw the Winchesters take on a wendigo, a Bloody Mary (not the drink) and the classic staple of campside horror stories, the hook man. The first season's format as such tends to get a little repetitive; the boys take on ghost after ghost with the odd creature thrown in whilst attempting to track down the elusive John Winchester. However, it lays in good foundations for future seasons and it was known early on that creator Eric Kripke had a five season plan (the show will begin airing the ninth season in the autumn). As such, there is always a constant progression, a wonderful array of returning characters and some very interesting episodes along the way.
At its heart though are the two brothers, Sam and Dean; Sam's the strait-laced, by the book nerdy type who researches and enjoys it, eats healthily and is generally a bit whiney. Dean, in contrast, drinks hard, plays hard, eats nothing that could be classed as good for him and enjoys a healthy amount of classic rock. He also owns possibly the sexiest car to grace the small screen with his black Chevy Impala, nicknamed the Metallicar by fans of the show. The soundtrack in particular made it stand out from the usual shiny, indie band fare peddled by other shows on the CW (Buffy was also not wholly immune from this) in favour of Creedence Clearwater Revival and Kansas.
The show's strength is the central relationship between the two brothers and the various people we meet along the way, including surrogate father and grouchy badass Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver). I'm aware that Sam has a large fanbase, but I don't understand these people as Dean is clearly the one to watch. Not only is Dean a classic rogue figure, he also has the most interesting character arc across the series, often finding himself in the position of being the only person who can save the world. Whereas in Buffy the Vampire Slayer for example, there was always a support group waiting, Dean very often finds himself isolated and does not cope with it well. It leads to heavy drinking, a reckless attitude and more quips than you can shake a stick at. Jensen Ackles is often the standout in most episodes and to re-watch the series, the changes Dean goes through are believable and sometimes heartbreaking.
And, as with all the best dramas, Supernatural is also capable of some hysterically funny episodes particularly when it messes with convention in order to highlight the absurdity of some of the scrapes the brother gets into. It has also some well-written metafictional moments which not only takes pot shots at the show itself, but also at the expense of its fans, especially those advocating 'Wincest' (yes, that's actually a thing). Not all of the episodes like this work, but it's always good to see a show that will take risks and mess with its usual formula.
The last couple of seasons may have taken a bit of a downturn when the plots became a little messier, bad guys were a lot less than threatening and the boys spend too much time apart. However, when Supernatural gets it right, it is still one of the best shows around at the moment and well worth checking out if you're a fan of things that go bump in the night.
Supernatural starts on Sky Living on Wednesday 3rd July.
- Becky
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