Supernatural: Season 3

Ghostfacers
Originally uploaded by caitlinlost06

When I realized I wanted to direct, the intention was always for me to direct films not television. That being said, there is a very short list of television shows that I would love to be able to direct a few episodes of and Supernatural is firmly on that list.

I still stand that one of the greatest tragedies ever is that the WGA strike cut season three of Supernatural short. This season is a great season, but at only sixteen episodes there is a lot of threads left hanging, threads that are still playing into the show today. This is one of the best written shows on television and I want to know what the writers would have done with six more episodes.

One of the best things about season three is the episode Ghost Facers which was one of the first after the strike ended and it addressed issues in the strike – reality TV and the necessity of writers – all while pushing the greater plot of Dean’s impending death sentence and the brothers relationship further. The episode centers around Ed & Harry, terribly naive ghost hunters the brothers Winchester encountered in season one, who have now decided to create their own reality TV pilot and accidently drop in on a case the brothers are already working. The bulk of the episode is done as the completed pilot and we see the events unfold as if we were watching their show instead of Supernatural. It’s fantastic. The Ghost Facer’s themselves play into a wonderful joke in season four that I can only imagine was fun for the writers to create after this episode.

If you haven’t seen Supernatural I highly encourage you to start getting the DVD’s and seeing what you’ve missed.

Ed: We know you've had it hard during the crippling writer's strike.
Harry: Lazy fat cats!
Ed: Who needs writers when you've got guys like us?
Ghost Facers

Supernatural: Season 2

supernatural "hell breaks loose"
Originally uploaded by ..it's junah!

One of the things that I love about watching television shows on DVD is that I can be pulled into the world of the characters much longer than I can be pulled into the world of a film – 22 episodes instead of 2-3 hours. Maybe my subconscious has needed the extended escapism, but lately I’ve been watching a lot of TV on DVD – I’ve been burning through BSG and somehow managed to slowly get through another season of Supernatural.

I really think I’ve been using Supernatural as my radio. What I mean is that I plug it on in the background while I am doing something else. I’ve already seen it, so I have context and know the world and characters, and all I have to do is select “play all” and I don’t have to change a disc for quite awhile. And it totally beats just turning the TV on and having to deal with commercials.

Season two is definitely pivotal to the show. While I will be waiting to see how the series ends, I am slowly coming to the idea that while the show is about the brothers Winchester, I think the slightly more central focus of the character is Dean. Sam is incredibly important but almost everything having to do with the show comes back to Dean and how he responds to Sam, his father, the apocalypse, etc. Dean from the very first episode of the series is the one to get things rolling between the brothers.

I really don’t want this show to end after only five seasons, but if they do choose to end the show this year I sure hope it goes out with a bang. Too many series have finales that make you feel the time you’ve invested into the show wasn’t worth it, and I really don’t want Supernatural to do the same, but with the direction the show has always been headed I really don’t think I have to worry.

Sam: At least I'm not afraid of flying.
Dean: Planes crash, Sam!
Sam: And apparently clowns kill!
~Everybody Loves A Clown~

Supernatural: Season 1

Hi, my name is Megan and I am addicted to Supernatural.

I think that’s the first step.

So I use DVD’s like the radio. If I am working on the computer or doing a thousand other mindless tasks I tend to turn on a DVD instead of music. I did this with season one of Supernatural and before I realized it I was already onto season two again…it just happens. That’s part of how I watch so many movies. It’s kind of natural because I spent so many years in school where I’d be watching a movie while taking notes on it – I’m used to multi-tasking.

I am going to attempt to slow down on the Supernatural now so I don’t go through the whole series again while season five is still playing out. But no promises.

Bobby: I know it’s somethin’ big. A storm’s comin’. And you boys, your daddy—you are smack in the middle of it.

Supernatural: Season 4

Dean is in hell – until he wakes up in a pine box six feet under. He manages to climb his way out to find a leveled war zone, a hand shaped burn on his shoulder, and Sam & Bobby who both don’t know how Dean broke out of hell and got back into his meat suit. However, soon it’s revealed that Dean and Sam have been pulled into the biggest battle of their lives; Dean has been pulled out of hell by Castiel an angel because Lilith is breaking the sixty-six seals and once the sixty-six seals break Lucifer will rise.

Supernatural has always been a show that does the unexpected, but season four of Supernatural is the season that threw away all of the rules and did things that we never expected any show to go to; the Winchester brothers fight, Sam allies with a demon, angels and demons pursue the boys, and there are more twists an turns than any season before. The crazy thing about all of this is that Kripke and crew not only manage to put all of these twists into season four, but they are all completely logical and so well written that you can trace how they started slowly and subtly in the seasons prior.

The best addition to season four is most definitely Misha Collins as Castiel. Castiel is the angel that raised Dean from hell and he watches over the Winchester brothers as he attempts to guide Dean into the plan his superiors have for Dean and slowly uncovers more about humanity then he has in his thousand of other years on the planet. Castiel is deadpan, innocent, tough and cocky all at the same time; he is a hard-boiled, noir detective ripped right out of a pulp novel, only he’s commissioned by God instead of a dame. Misha Collins was the perfect addition to the show and earned his place as a cast member in season five.

More than anything season four is the season where Winchester brother turns against Winchester brother. Sam secretly works with Ruby to develop his supernatural powers to take down Lilith and Dean tries everything in his power to keep protecting Sam and avoiding any plans the heavenly powers have for him, that he doesn’t see the wedge forming between he and Sam. It’s a great arch and one that no one ever expected. We’ve watched the Winchester brothers argue and fight for four years, but not until the end of season four do we actually see what can happen when the brothers try to work separately. Suffice it to say, it’s not good.

Season four ends with the biggest cliffhanger I’ve ever seen on television, one that is currently playing out this season, one that I never thought any writers would be brave enough to do. While I don’t want Supernatural to end any time soon, I can’t wait to see where the show goes.

Creator: Eric Kripke
Dean Winchester: Jensen Ackles
Sam Winchester: Jared Padalecki
Bobby: Jim Beaver
Ruby: Genevieve Cortese
Castiel: Misha Collins

Dean: I mean, I've saved some people, okay? I figured that made up for the stealing and ditching chicks But why do I deserve to get saved? I'm just a regular guy.
Sam: Apparently, you're a regular guy that's important to the man upstairs.
Dean: Well, that creeps me out. I mean, I don't like getting singled out at birthday parties... much less by... God.
Sam: Okay, well, too bad, Dean. Because I think he wants you to strap on your party hat.

Supernatural: Season 3

Supernatural saison 3
Originally uploaded by waytoblueFR

Sam & Dean finally killed the Yellow Eyed demon, but not before the Hell Gate was opened, his demons were released, and Dean had to sell his soul to bring Sam back from the dead. Now Dean and Sam have a year to figure out how to keep Dean from going to hell, a new demon leader named Lilith is hunting Sam and a demon named Ruby is trying to help Sam & Dean fight back but the brothers don’t know if they can trust her. However, as time moves on Dean’s year is running out and the Winchester brothers can’t find a way to stop Dean’s contract from coming due…

Season three of Supernatural is the season that was affected by the WGA strike making it sixteen episodes instead of the standard twenty-two. The problem with this is that six episodes in a season of Supernatural is an entire subplot or arch and I really want to know where Eric Kripke and crew would have gone if they had been able to accomplish their entire season; watching Lilith’s mystique grow, Ruby twist and Dean struggle with an impending death sentence was intriguing as hell and while Kripke managed to get all of the major points and events across six more episodes would have allowed a lot more freedom in exploring all of this drama.

The single most interesting thing about season three is of course the fact that Dean is a man with a death sentence. When he watched Sam die something in him snapped and he went to the crossroads demon and made a deal, thinking he would be granted ten years before his contract was up and giving him and Sam ample time to figure out a way out of it. However, the crossroads demon was much smarter than that and only granted Dean a year before the hell hounds would come to drag him to hell. The next year of Dean’s life is spent with Dean deciding to live it up with girls and good times until reality hits him and he finally goes to Sam & Bobby to try to find a way out of his deal. Jensen Ackles showed a lot of range to bring these extreme emotions about as Dean goes from extreme highs to lows during season three and it’s fascinating to watch. If I wasn’t already sold on the character of Dean Winchester this season would have done it for me.

This is also the season where we spend sixteen episodes thinking that Sam’s powers are gone, and his destiny with Yellow Eyes (Azazel) is no more…but brilliantly this season just lulls us into a sense of complacency. Ruby won’t stop brining up Sam’s destiny and special skills and the new demon population is more than happy to continually hunt Sam down because they are afraid of him.

Even though Sam & Dean have no idea what lies ahead of them the viewer does and watching season three is fascinating as the brother’s don’t realize how everything they do this season lays the groundwork to the coming apocalypse…

Creator: Eric Kripke
Dean: Jensen Ackles
Sam: Jared Padalecki
Bobby: Jim Beaver
Ruby: Katie Cassidy

Sam: I'm not gonna let you go to hell, Dean!
Dean: Yes, you are! Yes, you are! I'm sorry! I mean this is all my fault. I know that. But what you're doing is not gonna save me. It's only gonna kill you.
Sam: Then what am I supposed to do?
Dean: Keep fighting.

Supernatural: Season 2

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Originally uploaded by LostMyHeadache

Season 2 of Supernatural involves the Winchester brothers dealing with the stark reality of facing hunting after the death of their father, the man that pushed them into this life path. As if that tragedy weren’t enough John left Dean with instructions to beware of Sam – the yellow eyed demon has plans for Sam and all the children like him with psychic abilities. As Sam & Dean deal with Sam’s ever growing abilities they discover kids all across the nation that are developing powers like Sam and it becomes more and more important for them to get the Colt back and kill the yellow eyed demon before he can bring his master plan to fruition.

This season of the show is absolutely pivotal in the evolution of the next seasons of Supernatural, it sets up the way the Winchester’s deal with death, Sam’s slow descent into darkness, Dean’s aggravation with the world he was forced into & the coming demon war that completely overtakes the next three seasons of the show. This is a show that has taken time and much effort to logically place all of the characters and plot lines into a radically ordered sequence so tightly wound that if one even were changed the entire series would come crumbling down. I give Kripke all kinds of kudos for giving us a show this complex and entertaining.

I have to say that as much as I love every character on this show Dean Winchester is one of my absolute favorite characters in the history of television. He is a completely rounded, quick thinking, womanizing, funny and unique character – the character that hits first and asks questions later is something that very few writers develop much but Dean is an exception to that rule. Also, if I’m being honest he’s the old school, macho man most women do secretly have a fantasy about, so that doesn’t hurt my appreciation of Dean either.

The character season 2 really brings into the foray is Bobby, something I am incredibly thankful for. Bobby is an old family friend and veteran hunter who becomes the surrogate father to Sam & Dean after John’s death. Not only does Bobby kick demon butt, but he has some of the best placed one-liners in the show and always manages to come through with the solution the Winchester boys have never heard of.

What is most surprising about Supernatural is actually the sense of humor that runs through the show. This is a show that is populated with a sense of humor without abusing it, they know they are a horror show (as their name would imply) but they have developed a style of their own that lets them work wit and comedy into their characters without compromising the overall flow or concept of each episode and season. That is an act that should be commended.

I had never seen most of season 2 until I broke out my DVD’s and I am very glad I did. I was not fully aware how much season 2 played into the rest of the show until I finished the last episode.

Creator: Eric Kripke
Dean Winchester: Jensen Ackles
Sam Winchester: Jared Padalecki
Bobby: Jim Beaver

Dean: Croatoan?
Sam: Yeah. Roanoke... lost colony... ring a bell? Dean, did you pay any attention in history class?
Dean: Yeah. Shot heard 'round the world, how bills become laws...
Sam: That's not school; that's schoolhouse rock!

Supernatural: Season 1

Supernatural has always been a bad show for me to follow, not because the show is bad or written poorly, but because through school, retail jobs and everything else you can think of I was not able to follow the show week to week until season four. To make up for this, as it might be Supernatural’s last season I am watching the first three seasons again on DVD so I can see the episodes I missed, and put the ones I did catch in context.

Season one has a spectacular first episode that perfectly introduces us to Dean & Sam Winchester and their world. Dean & Sam are brothers whose mother was killed by a demon on the night of Sam’s 6 month birthday. Their father John quickly learned evertything he could about the supernatural world and took up the profession of hunter – he took the boys from city to city as he tracked cases and demons trying to help protect inhabitants from the demonic world that actually surrounds them. When season one starts Sam is finishing Standford, about be a law student and propose to his girlfriend after living estranged from Dean and his father for years. All of that changes when Dean shows up at Sam’s door telling him Dad’s been on a hunting trip and hasn’t checked in for a few days. Out of family loyalty Sam leaves his girlfriend Jessica and tries to track down his father with Dean only to uncover that their father is genuinely missing and returns home just in time to see Jessica murdered by the same demon that killed his mother. This even forces Sam out of the “normal” world he’d been living in and back on the road with Dean to track their father and find the demon that killed the women they love.

This is an amazing show, and one of the things I love about it is that it is not episodic, but the show runners include a recap at the beginning of every episode that is used as a opening theme almost. The recap shows you “then” and “now” and gives you the large chunks of info you need if you are just tuning in for the first time or are a long time viewer trying to keep up with a complex, and now, five year plot line.

One of the fantastic things about Supernatural is that while the first few episodes of the show seemed to be monster-of-the-week style, it became quickly apparent that Eric Kripke had a grander scheme in mind for the show and everything was actually carrying on from episode to episode and building towards a grand plot. Season five is bringing up things brought about in season one and as I watched season one I saw things that would be brought back in future seasons to have a grander meaning, one of the biggest is Sam’s abilities and the Colt – a gun that can kill anything.

Perhaps what helps sell this show over and over is the relationship between Sam & Dean and the chemistry between Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. The two characters are so well written as siblings and brothers, and the actors themselves add that extra element of genuineness that makes you really wonder if Jared & Jensen knew each other before the show even started. These characters are written as the most genuinely accurate brothers I’ve ever seen on TV; they interact like my brothers would act – teasing, playing pranks, calling names, and bending over backwards to keep each other safe no matter how annoyed they are.

Supernatural’s first season has a lot in common both in tone and execution with The X-Files and that is not a coincidence. Some of the lead people on the show worked on The X-Files in its prime. This tone didn’t stay much longer after season one as once Kripke realized he would be allowed to have more than one season he did what most show runners do and slowly evolved into a more unique style for his show.

I cannot wait to see where Supernatural goes this season and if Kripke decides he can do a sixth season, but I am really looking forward to catching up on all the DVD’s as quickly as I can.

Creator: Eric Kripke
Dean Winchester: Jensen Ackles
Sam Winchester: Jared Padalecki
Bobby: Jim Beaver
John Winchester: Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Sam: No. No, whatever you wanna say, you can say it in front of her.
Dean: Okay...um...Dad hasn't been home in a few days.
Sam: So he's working overtime on a Miller Time shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later.
Dean: Dad's on a hunting trip, and he hasn't been home in a few days.