Supernatural News

Supernatural was written up in the New York Times. I found the article condescending, but still, NYT!

The ratings are holding steady.

According to EW, Supernatural is almost a sure thing to be renewed.

Supernatural has been nominated as best TV series in the Saturn Awards. No noms for the actors, though :(

And the season finale will be 2 hours! Finally!

What do you know?

The French Mistake

Let me just say I'm glad I got a funny episode. It's been awhile since I had so many laugh-out-loud moments during a Supernatural episode.

I'm not sure about the name of the episode. Is it a reference to the movie The French Connection? I've never seen that, so I have no idea. Or I could have just missed something.

We open with the Then recap, which shows Ruby, Meg, some other stuff I can't remember, and Castiel talking to the boys about the civil war in Heaven. Then in the Now we see Sam and Dean at Bobby's, who has run out for some alcohol (aka Hunter's Helper). Then, poof, Balthazar strolls in and starts looking for supplies for a spell, talking about The Godfather (which I also have not seen, don't like gangster movies) and how Don Corleone is now being played by Raphael. Ol' Raphie evidently has put out a hit list for anyone who ever helped Castiel, including Balthazar and, you guessed, Sam and Dean. Next thing you know, Balthazar gives them a key which leads to the weapons of Heaven and sends them crashing through the window. When they come out on the other side, they're in an alternate universe where they are actors in a show called Supernatural. Their names? Jensen Ackles and Jarad Padalecki. :)

Dean: "Why would anyone want to watch our lives?"
Sam: "According to the interview, not that many people do."

When they are able to leave the set, they're confused about what the heck is going on.

Sam: "I'm something called a Jared Padalecki."
Dean: "So what, you're Polish now?"

That's when Dean sees what he thinks is the Impala and thinks his baby made it through. But as he walks forward, he notices several Impalas, in various states of repair or disrepair.

Dean: "I feel sick. I'm gonna be sick. I wanna go home. I feel like this whole place is bad touching me."

Then they see Castiel and head for him. You know what's coming, right? For a moment, Misha plays it well, like he's really Castiel, but then the boys realize he's just another actor. The look and tone in Dean's voice when he finds out the actor's name was hilarious.

"Misha?" Hee hee.

Misha: "I'm totally going to Tweet this one." And more funny, in the alternate universe, Misha's followers aren't minions, they're the MishAmigos! LOL!

Next, Sam and Dean find Jensen's trailer and go inside where they find a remote-controlled helicopter and a nice built-in fish tank. Dean finds a copy of Supernatural magazine and has to make fun of Sam's/Jared's expression on the cover.

Dean: "That's Blue Steel, Sam."

Even better, Sam gets on a laptop and finds a clip of when Jensen was on Days of Our Lives.

Sam: "You were on a soap opera."

Another classic look of disbelief and disgust on Dean's face. :)

As Cliff drives them to Jared's place, Dean sees the sign for Vancouver and says to Sam: "Dude, we're not even in America." When they arrive at Jared's place, it's rather swank and they see a tanning bed.

Sam: "What am I, Dracula?"
Dean: "George Hamilton Dracula."

That might have been the part that made me laugh the most.

Then Ruby/Genevieve comes in, and Dean calls her Ruby. She looks exasperated as she tells him, yeah, that never gets old. Then Dean sees Jared and Genevieve's wedding photo. I love when this show makes fun of itself and is self-aware. She, like the people on the show's set, are surprised that Jared and Jensen are talking because, evidently, they don't like each other much in this alternate world.

More hilarity ensues when Sam and Dean go back to the set, thinking they can use Balthazar's spell to get themselves back to their universe, only to be forced to try to act out a scene for the show. OMG, the horribleness of it. Dean's too-intense look, and Sam looking "anywhere but the camera." Dude, I'm laughing now just typing this.

Virgil, Raphael's angel hitman, makes it to the Jared/Jensen universe and tries to take out the boys. But his angel powers don't work here, in what Dean calls the "mojo free zone." They try to take out the angel, but the rest of the show's crew thinks they're high and beating an extra to death. In the melee, Virgil takes the key and flees. He carjacks Misha and kills him in an alley. After hearing the news from Genevieve, the guys head to the scene and talk to the homeless man who witnessed the murder.

Homeless man: "The scary man stabbed the attractive crying man." LOL! Misha was a bit of a wienie in this universe. :)

Virgil, now armed with many guns, shoots "Eric Kripke" and a lot of members of the crew on his way back to the set where Raphael is supposed to pull him and the key back through the portal to the other universe. But Sam and Dean take him out and they are pulled through instead. Raphael, now a woman, is closing in on Sam and Dean when Balthazar shows up and says Sam and Dean were just decoys and the key a fake to give Raphael time to get rid of the weapons of Heaven. Then Castiel shows up, now in possession of said weapons. And I had a squee moment when they did the lightning and the shadows of outspread wings thing that they did the first time we ever met Cas. I love that effect, makes him look particularly badass. Raphael skedaddles, and Dean is predictably not happy about the whole decoys-without-his-knowledge thing Balthazar and Castiel had going. To which Castiel reminds boy the Winchester boys that he'd do it again because he'll do whatever is necessary to make sure Raphael does not win the war.

When they're left alone again...

Dean: "We're broke again."
Sam: "At least we're talking."

What did you think of the episode? While there's still a bigger story going on, I've enjoyed the past couple of episodes that felt a bit more like throwbacks to earlier seasons, the ones that made me fall in love with the show in the first place.

Favorite Season Six Quotes (So Far)

One of my concerns about the loss of Eric Kripke and some of the writers from past seasons was the potential that Sam and Dean (and everyone else) would lose their flavor. Supernatural's one-liners and exchanges have always been fantastic. (I use "again and again and again and again and again and then one more time" constantly!) I didn't dislike the last season of Gilmore Girls at all, but there was a definite change in tone, and all of the wittiness felt forced rather than greased.

So while I've sometimes thought Dean was being too much of a dick, or that soulless Sam drew too much of what we love away from the show, I've been relieved that the banter and one-liners didn't change! Here are some of my favorite lines from each episode in season 6. So far.


"Exile on Main Street"

Bobby to Ben: Just don't touch the decor, okay? Assume it's all loaded.

"Two and a Half Men"

Dean about the shapeshifter baby: What the hell are we gonna do with it? We can't actually drop it off at an orphanage. They might get upset when it turns Asian.

"The Third Man"

Castiel: Sam, Dean, my "people skills" are "rusty." Pardon me, but I have spent the last "year" as a multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent.

"Weekend at Bobby's"

Bobby: Do I sound like I'm done? Now look, I know you've got issues. God knows, I know. But I got a news flash for you: you ain't the center of the universe. Now, it may have slipped your mind, but Crowley owns my soul, and the meter is running, and I will be damned if I am gonna sit around and be damned! So how about you two sack up and help me for once?

"Live Free or Twihard"

Dean: Look at this. He's watching her sleep. How is that not rapey?

"You Can't Handle the Truth"

Bobby: Tori Spelling. I'm a huge fan. Girl's a real talent...You know what else? I get a pedicure once and a while at this nice Vietnamese joint. This one girl, Nhung Phuong, name means "velvet phoenix." Tiny thing, but the grip on her! She starts on my toes and I feel like I am gonna - ... I never told anyone that. Why am I telling you? Maybe because you're my favorite. Although Sam's a better hunter - lately, anyway. Whoa, whoa, why the hell am I telling you this?

"Family Matters"

Castiel: This is a vessel. My true form is approximately the size of your Chrysler Building.

"All Dogs Go to Heaven"

Crime scene tech: What are the feds doing here?
Sam: Oh, we're specialists. They call us in to answer the questions of mouth-breathing dick monkeys.

"Clap Your Hands if You Believe"

Sam: If you want to add glitter to that glue you're sniffing, that's fine, but don't dump your whackadoo all over us. We'd rather not step in it.

"Caged Heat"

Samuel: Is this what you boys do? Sit around watching pornos with angels?
Castiel: We're not supposed to talk about it.

ties with

Castiel: I learned that from the pizza man.

"Appointment in Samarra"

Tessa: Just so you know, when people die, they might have questions for you.
Dean: You mean like, "how did Betty White outlast me?"


"Like a Virgin"

Bobby: They're not like the Loch Ness Monster, Dean. Dragons aren't real.
Dean: Could you make a few calls?
Bobby: To who? Hogwarts?

"Unforgiven"

Sam: Mel Gibson really took a turn this past year, huh?
Dean: Or he's possessed.

"Mannequin 3: The Reckoning"

Dean: They don't even dissect anything good in there. I mean, bigger than Kermit, they use an iPad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your turn! What are some of your favorite lines from this season? Which one is your all-time season 6 favorite? (I gotta go with Bobby telling Dean the truth and much more than the truth. :) ) I have a feeling we might get some even better ones this week, though.

Mannequin 3: The Reckoning

We open with a distraught Dean trying to wake Sam after his seizure. Things don’t look good and then Sam gasps awake.

We switch to a Chemistry classroom with a creepy, full-size human body model. I keep expecting the bug eyes to follow the janitor as he’s mopping. Eek! I’m right! Uh oh, the model has escaped from his supporting chain. Ack, Sylar from Heroes has attacked the custodian. Blood streaks across his forehead. Cold breath. The lights go out. A tray of dissection instruments drops to the floor. The man cries out, “Who’s there?” Then he takes off running and comes face to face with what I can only assume is the mannequin this episode is named for. Stab, the custodian is dead.

“You got a big, fat face full of Hell.” -- Dean

Sam feels like crap. Dean tries to doctor him up with coffee, grub and some “effective” but unnamed drug. When Dean asks Sam what happened, he stays pretty mum, other than to say he’s fine. An upset Dean wants him to completely ignore the past and do what he does to cope. “You shove it down and you let it come out in spurts of violence and alcoholism.” Dean tries to convey to Sammy how his life is on the line. Dean’s got his real brother back and not that soulless dipbag. He wants to keep it that way. To distract Sam they take a job in New Jersey.

“Hey, maybe we’ll have a Snooki sighting.” -- Dean
“What’s a Snooki?” -- Sam
“That’s a good question.” – Dean

The guys get to the university Chemistry lab and Dean immediately starts manhandling the model’s internal organs. He yanks the heart out and starts cracking jokes, which I find especially funny considering he starred in My Bloody Valentine which had to do with eviscerated hearts. Dean’s lighthearted mood shifts when Lisa calls. He ignores her despite Sam’s encouragement to talk. Refocused, they find the EMF goes bonkers near the human body model. They dismiss the plastic dude, but are happy to see the lab has a video camera. Unfortunately, the tape reveals a blank spot in the footage. The boys ask around about the custodian, but come up empty.

Later that night a security guard at a garment factory is murdered by a pack of faceless mannequins. Interesting. Guess maybe it’s all mannequins. Not just the uber-creepy Body Worlds model. Our boy detectives show up and after the EMF goes wild near a cart of severed mannequin limbs Sam makes the connection, but Dean is slow to believe.

“So, what, we’ve got a bunch of killer dolls? Like Chucky? That’s just… friggin’ creepy.” -- Dean

This victim has a squeaky clean background like the last, so the boys don’t know what to do. Then Sam finds a news article about a seamstress from the factory who disappeared and is survived by her sister. Dean thinks maybe they’re dealing with a vengeful spirit.

Lisa calls again and Sam tells Dean to answer, which is exactly what I wanted to yell at the TV. Turns out it’s Ben. He says his mom won’t get out of bed, that things are bad and Dean needs to come. Sam sends him on his way, saying he can handle the case alone for 24 hours. He also says he had to handle his past and now Dean has to handle his.

Sam goes to interview the seamstress’ sister, Isabel. There he learns Rose was a shy, awkward girl who was often given a hard time. Isabel feels like she defended her sister her whole life, but it went two ways. Hmm, I wonder if Rose is defending Isabel from the grave. Flipping through a photo album, Sam discovers Isabel worked at the same factory as Rose and so did the college janitor.

Sam conducts interviews at the factory. One dude, Johnny, seems especially twitchy when asked about Rose.

Dean shows up on Lisa’s doorstep to find her dressed for a date. Seems they’ve been “parent trapped” by a meddling Ben. The green-eyed monster takes over Dean when he learns his girlfriend is getting ready to go out with Dr. Matt. She’s pissed Dean never returned her calls. He tries to placate her and prove he cares by saying he dropped everything and ran when Ben called. Speak of the not-so-little devil (growth spurt much?), he peeks his head around the corner and both “parents” bark at him to go to his room. In their heated exchange Dean asks Lisa what she wants from him. She says she’s not asking him for anything and he tells her to. She says she can’t ask for anything because she knows what she wants and he can’t give it to her. She says she’s trying to get over him, but he keeps showing up on her doorstep. She turns his question around and asks what he wants from them.

It’s these quiet moments when Jensen’s acting is so powerful and I get lost in the exquisite beauty of his face. LOL

A freaked out Johnny is talking on his cell to someone, saying he’s losing his cool because his friends are dead. And, yet, he’s stupid enough to go to the factory. Alone. At night. The deadly dummies waste no time in trying to dispatch him, but Sam arrives in the nick of time. He and Johnny take refuge in the lunch room, behind salted lines of security. Sam presses Johnny into confessing what he and his friends did to Rose. They pretended to be her secret admirer and invited her to an apartment where they had a candle lit dinner set up. When she reached out to touch her “date” she discovered it was a mannequin. Her cruel co-workers then came out of hiding to make fun of her. When she tried to get away one of the guys tried to stop her. She tugged out of his grip and tripped, falling and hitting her head on the coffee table. The cut that’s been showing up on the victims foreheads matches the lethal one she received from the blow. Sam plans to put a stop to Rose by burning her remains. He tells Johnny to stay inside the salt lines. (Wouldn’t he be safe going with Sammy though? There are no mannequins in a clearing.)

“Just because you love someone doesn’t mean you should stick around and screw up their life.” -- Dean

Ben tells Dean he considered this an emergency situation because it was Lisa’s third date with the doctor. He watches TV and knows how that number is significant. Ben wants Dean to come home. Like a kid caught between two divorcing parents he wants to know if Dean hates Lisa or him. (And I’m distracted by Jensen’s left eyebrow. Half of it seems to be gone.)

Dean explains to his surrogate son that he isn’t afraid that something would follow him home, but that his job turns him into somebody that shouldn’t sit at their dinner table and that if he stuck around Ben would turn out like him. The boy thinks he should get a vote in the matter, but Dean says it’s non-negotiable. By leaving he’s insuring that Ben can have any life he wants, Dean has only had the one option. The boy calls Dean a liar because he always talks about the importance of family, but he’s walking out on his. You can see how Ben’s words, the revelation that the boys speaks the truth, clobber poor Dean. (Sniff. Sniff.) As Dean’s driving away he flashes back on all his moments with Lisa and Ben.

“What do you call people who care for you, who love you even when you’re a dick?” -- Ben

Salt and burn. Sam calls Johnny and tells him he’s safe and should take advantage of his second chance. He wastes no time scurrying home, an apartment above McOwen’s pub, where we see Rose’s sister hanging out. Johnny tells his unseen girlfriend, Jenny, to pack up, they’re leaving tonight and she should only take the essentials. All he wants for them to do is move on with their lives. The camera shifts to the girlfriend and--WTF?—she’s a mannequin! Ew, is he into dolls? Then she turns her head and startles the hell outta him. I heart how Love Hurts plays in the background. Guess maybe it wasn’t Rose after all. I’m betting on the sister.

Sam shows up at the crime scene to find that Johnny’s been strangled by the sash from his “girlfriend’s” robe. The buxom, and I do mean BUXOM, blonde looks on from the couch. Plastic bitch! Frustrated, Sam goes to the sister’s house in search of more answers. He gets them when he learns she’s a student at the University where the custodian was killed, she’d been to the factory the same week the security guard was stabbed and she was present at the bar when Johnny was strangled. She is the common denominator. Sam wants to know what she’s wearing of Rose’s—a ring, locket, bracelet, etc. Nope, not that simple. Turns out she’s got Rose’s freakin’ kidney!

“Is that the girl with the haunted kidney?” -- Dean

Sam meets up with Dean. They’re both stumped as what to do. They can’t exactly excise Isabel’s kidney. They decide on Hoo Doo as a band-aid to the problem. Then the Metallicar goes all Christine and tries to run them down. She chases Dean all over the parking lot until he forces her to drive into a storefront. Isabel is accidentally stabbed by flying glass. She collapses to the ground and her sister’s ghost shows up to apologize. Too little, too late.

Back at Singer Auto, Dean is working to fix his baby. But he wants to know what they accomplished on their last job. They saved a couple dicks, while an innocent lady lost her life. Plus he’s got a kid who’s heartbroken and a woman who is beyond pissed at him. He doesn’t know if he and Sammy are doing any good. His brother assures him they are. Dean says he’s tired of all the bad luck. Sam tries to look on the bright side—he’s got his soul back, right?— and thanks Dean for getting him back. He then advised that they keep their heads down and keep swinging. Sure they’ll lose some, but hopefully they’ll win more. And no matter what, he has Dean’s back. Dean says he knows and you can see the great pleasure that gives him. The end.

I can not say enough how much I loved this episode. It evoked the monster-of-the-week sensibility of seasons one and two, but progressed the current storyline of dealing with past demons. And it did so with rich emotion that demonstrated the deep love these two brothers have for each other. There was great humor, definite freakiness, raw emotion and tenderness. I guess the only qualm I had was how easily Sam got over his seizure and his flashback to Hell. To be honest, I didn’t let it bother me too much because I don’t want to go down that dark road again any time soon. This episode took me exactly where I’ve wanted to go and I just hope we hang onto this path for awhile. There’s only so much wrenching drama and separation you can drag us through. I know the Great Wall of Sammy is going to come down sometime, but I pray it stays solid for awhile. The brothers are back! And I couldn’t be happier. I also like that things weren’t tidied up with Lisa and Ben. I love what they bring out in Dean. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to see him become Mr. Cleaver, but I don’t want that door permanently shut. Major kudos to Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder for penning a fantastic episode. This is only their second, their first being last year’s You Can’t Handle the Truth, with the Goddess Veritas. No question about it, I’ll be keeping an eye out for their name from now on. What did you think?

Showing Vs. Telling

As writers, we're told to show a scene, an emotion, a pivotal event instead of tell the reader about it. Telling removes the reader from the experience and makes it less powerful.

But.

I remember an episode of Frasier when he came home from karaoke with some people from work and was telling his father about it. I was ROFL, no joke, at his delivery at some of the impossible events he described. At the very end of the episode, during the credits, some of the karaoke scene was shown, and I didn't find it as funny as his description.

Why am I talking about Frasier on the Supernatural blog? Because I've been a bit disappointed with some of the "showing" on Supernatural, most recently Sam's visit in hell. I understand SPN doesn't have a big budget for special effects, and I understand they wanted to show Sam scratching at that wall in his head. But I trust its excellent writers to help ME form a picture in my head. They've been doing so all year, talking about the cage and Sam being flayed alive and wow, that was scary. So showing him screaming against a bad 80s video took some of the power of that from me.

Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to have seen Castiel leading his army into hell to rescue Dean, or the battle of the psychic kids, if it was able to be done right. Those would absolutely be awesome scenes with the right budget. But until SPN gets a better budget, I'd rather the writers tell me than take the power away by showing.

What do you think? Am I just cranky?

Supernatural News

The CW has scheduled two back-to-back episodes to end the season on May 20.

Finally! There is going to be a main cast member from Supernatural at Dragon*Con this year. Yes, Mark Sheppard was there last year and he's back again this year, but we're also getting Misha Collins! Tanya and I will be there with bells (Hell's bells?) on.

Jared will be dubbing the Supernatural anime.

Recap and Thoughts on "Unforgiven"

The tension hits a high note right off the bat with that episode title. Yikes.

*Disclaimer* I had a really long work day today that made me weary from my eyelashes to my toenails. If I miss anything or seem off base, I'm counting on you to correct me in the comments! Thanks. :)

Okay, standard "Then" reminding us where Sam's been, what he's been doing, and how he got back. This is pretty much the only show where I consistently watch the previouslies.

We start with Bristol, Rhode Island, one year ago. Sam is cold-bloodedly shooting something(s) while Samuel cringes. Sam's been hurt, but blows it off. On their way out of town, a cop pulls them over and calls them agents (Roarke and Wynan?). Sheriff Dobbs is missing, and the deputy tries to take them in. Instead, Sam beats him unconscious and they head out of town. Why did Samuel stay with Sam so long when he was this sociopathic this long ago?

Present day, Sam's watching the news, trying to catch up. Though the news report is something serious (they're talking about prosecution), Sam brings up Mel Gibson. Dean thinks he's been possessed. That would explain a lot! :)

Bobby doesn't have anything on The Mother of All, and everything is too quiet. Which gives them permission to do an episode unrelated to The Mother.

Sam gets a text message with coordinates that point to Bristol. Uh-oh. Dean's a bit skeptical—"You got mysterious coordinates, from a mysterious Mr. X, leading to a mysterious town, and that doesn't throw up red flags for you?" But Sam can't ignore missing girls.

On the way into town, Sam has a flashback. The town billboard, and Samuel. Dean notices, but Sam just says, "Nothin'." NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, Sam! No lies! >:(

Dean: "Freak's got a type." Pointed comment, since we later learn that Sam slept with all of the missing women. Sam actually grins at Dean's joke about the wildness in her eyes. While Dean's in the bathroom (I can't say Poop Deck, I'm sorry), another of Sam's conquests recognizes him. Sam has to try to pretend he remembers her and her husband. She's asking about his partner when Dean returns and says he's in sex rehab. When the woman puts her hand on Sam's shoulder, he remembers the hot skanky sex in the bathroom. Sam says he thinks he and Samuel worked a case here, and Dean shows him a Polaroid with Sam and Samuel in the background. My daughter said at first she thought it was going to be a picture of Sam celebrating winning the challenge, but that wouldn't have been in character (of either Sam). Dean, yes, Sam, no. :)

Sam and Dean argue about whether to stay or go. Dean wants to go. Apparently, they've never been to the same place twice on purpose. "Dad always said, never use the same crapper twice." Sam argues that he either didn't catch it last time, or only thought he did, and the missing women are on him. He has to make it right, and Dean would do the same thing. Persuasive argument—Dean says he'll check out the women, and sends Sam to the police station.

Uh, oh.

Dean finds Sam's FBI business card at a victim's home. He asks the roommate how their relationship was. What was the tone or nature of their conversation? Answer: "Well, loud. And...athletic?" *pause for fantasies*

Also of course, Sam gets arrested in the parking lot of the sheriff's department. He tries to get the deputy to listen to him, but has no luck, unsurprisingly. The deputy wants the bodies and Sheriff Dobbs and doesn't believe that Sam doesn't remember.

Eventually, a woman comes into the dark jail, demanding to know what happened to her husband. She knows his name and what he does, and triggers more memories. Sam and Samuel actually told the Sheriff and his wife the truth. THAT'S weird. Sam tries to convince Brenna, the sheriff's wife, that he doesn't remember anything. She believes either "that thing" got her husband, or Sam killed him. Uh, oh.

By this point, the tension I mentioned with regard to the episode title has been unrelenting. We suspect what Sam's done, and know the answers to our questions aren't going to be good ones.

The woman from the bar is drinking boxed wine (ew). She snaps at her husband, runs out of wine, and goes into the basement, apparently to get more. A bloody-looking hand reaches through and grabs her ankle, sending her tumbling down the stairs. A shadow falls over her, and she screams. I am SO glad I don't have stairs like that in my house!

Sam's back in the empty, rundown house they're squatting in. He pulls a gun when he hears a noise, but it's just Dean.

"How's it feel to be a fugitive again? Hate to say I told you so."
"You love to say I told you so."
"Actually, you're right. I love to say I told you so."

Dean relays the info he found out, that Sam slept with one of the victims, and is actually kind of impressed at how Sam got around. A report comes over the police scanner that there's another missing woman. Dean orders Sam to stay put and goes to check it out. Sam immediately leaves. Dean goes to the latest victim's house and determines that the connection between victims is definitely Sam. He leaves Sam a message that this is all a trap.

In the meantime, Sam goes to Brenna again, looking for the files from the previous case. Her home and the files themselves trigger more flashbacks. Discussion that shows again how cold Sam was—we knew it, but Sam didn't—photos and evidence revealing that the monster is an Arachne, not seen out of Crete for over 2000 years. Sam narrowed down the area, but it's too vast and difficult to search. He wants to make the Arachne come to them. Unsettled by his revelations, Sam take the evidence with him. Oddly, he doesn't get Dean's voice mail until he leaves the house, and at the same time, he sees spider webbing hanging off the porch. We see eight Sams through Spidervision. Then Dean puts his hand on Sam's shoulder and almost gets shot again. Sam's pretty jumpy, but he's also disturbingly unaware of his surroundings.

"So. We know that this is a monster with opposable thumbs and unlimited text messaging and we know that it wants to kill you specifically. Does that about cover it?"

Sam confesses to remembering and assures Dean it's nothing to do with Hell. Dean wants to turn the job over to Bobby and Rufus, but Sam's adamant. Dean tries to impress upon Sam the risk of letting these flashbacks occur, but Sam doesn't care if it's dangerous, "I've got to set things right. Because I've got a friggin' soul now, and it won't just let me walk away." Sam outright asks Dean to back him up. Dean doesn't argue anymore, just agrees, and Sam is clearly relieved.

"Okay, let's Memento this thing."

They put together what they know, and Sam's flashbacks keep occurring. He remembers setting up Dobbs as bait, because he and Samuel don't fit the demo. Of course, Dobbs gets jumped and they're too late. But it's okay, Sam enabled the GPS on Dobbs' phone. I love the consistency of detail here: Samuel has no idea what that means. :) "So, what, Roy's just some red shirt to you?" Love that, too. :) Anyway, Sam says they can track his location, Samuel says Sam is about as cold as they come. It makes me sad that Samuel never knew the real Sam. Seeing his discomfort with the cold, soulless Sam makes his betrayal of the boys back in "Caged Heat" a little more understandable. Not acceptable, but understandable.

They find the spider's lair and the cocooned missing men. Bullets have no effect on the woman when she attacks, but decapitation works. Kind of interesting that all these unusual creatures are humanoid, or have a human form. Saves on the budget, I bet. :) Sam says the spider's bites are poison, and all the victims are dead men walking. Dobbs begs Sam not to do it, but he shoots them all in the head and tells Samuel to get the gasoline.

Back at Brenna's, the monster shows up...and it's Dobbs. He's a MESS. But he loves Brenna. Sam calls her to check in, and she asks him to drop by. However she said it, he can tell she's in trouble. They go to her house and Dean sees a light on in the shed. They find her there, and she asks if it's true, what she did to Dobbs. Then Dobbs shows up to do the Bad Guy Soliloquy. With Sam and Dean enwebbed, Dobbs reveals that the Arachne wasn't feeding, she was breeding. He was already non-human when Sam shot him, so the gunshot and the fire didn't really do anything. He and the other guys, and now the women he's taken, are scattered. He killed one monster, but is responsible for several more.

Dean gets hold of broken glass and gets out. He distracts Dobbs by letting him beat him up and try to kill him, Brenna cuts Sam out, and Sam takes Dobbs' head off. But it isn't the redemption he'd sought.

As Sam and Dean pack, Dean tries to make Sam feel better. He tells Sam all that crap last year, all of it—none of it was Sam. Sam says, crystal clear, it was him. Dean tries to be nice, Sam snaps back, Dean tells him not to be a bitch. But Sam lets us down by not calling Dean a jerk. Then, mid-sentence, Sam goes into a seizure and what we see behind his eyes—awfully reminiscent of the end of season 3 when Dean goes to hell—is Sam's body burning alive, and melting. OMG.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's probably too early to say The Show is Back. Two episodes aren't quite enough. But I really think it is. Everything from the first half of the season is now tying together with everything happening now. We continue the thread of supernatural evil trying to increase its numbers, which we now know relates to The Mother of All. We have Our Sam back, along with a Dean who is less of a dick. The brotherly bond is strong, and complete with banter and the original dynamics of Dean being the bossy protector and Sam earnestly trying to redeem himself.

I was a little shocked that we got to the Hell-peeking-through-the-wall already. But I think it's genius. Sam didn't have a basis for really knowing what that wall meant. What was right in front of him was more immediate and important. Now he has that basis, and he'll be more careful. We don't have to spend the whole second half of the season dealing with the year he had no soul. The promo for next week makes it look like the flash was momentary and without lasting effect. We know the wall will come down, and we'll probably have more flashes. There's no reason to think the rest of the season won't be like all the other seasons, where we touch on the major storyline a little bit in each episode, with stand-alone situations interspersed with mythology-focused episodes. So for me, the passion is definitely back.

How about you? Back on board? What did you love or dislike about "Unforgiven"?

SPNews

Jensen Ackles is voicing Kyle Madigan in The 3rd Birthday video game, number three in the Parasite Eve PSP series. You can read an article here and watch a video here.

TV.com asks if Supernatural and Fringe will kill each other? And here’s the ratings report for their first Friday against each other, which might indicate an answer.

TV.com talked to the editor-in-chief of TV Guide about the fan favorite Supernatural cover.

Zap2it has a piece on the upcoming super-meta episode, The French Mistake (Feb. 25). Can’t wait for this one!

TV Fanatic reports that Sam Hennings has been cast as Samuel Colt in an upcoming episode that finds the Winchesters traveling back to the wild, wild west!

TV Guide is holding the 2011 Fan Favorite awards. Jared and Jensen are up for Best Actor, the show is up for Best Sci-Fi Show, Mark Sheppard (Crowley) and Mark Pelligrino (Lucifer) are up for Best Villian and Misha is nominated for Favorite Non-human Character. Place your votes before Tuesday, February 15! The winners will be announced in the April 18th issue.

"Like a Virgin"

Here it is—back at last! Most of the “Then” is from this season, so…what does that mean for the episode? Looking for monsters, looking for a soul. My husband comments that he doesn’t remember any of this, which makes me wonder if he feels the same about this season as I do.

NOW, we have a couple flying a tiny plane in a storm, and something flew by the window! The terrified girl sees it and the guy blows her off, then is snatched through the plane’s windshield while the girl screams and tries to fly her way out of trouble.

Cut to Sam in the panic room. Cass has examined an unconscious Sam, and says his soul feels like it had been skinned alive. He tells Dean that if he wanted to kill his brother, he should have killed him outright. Bobby and Dean share a drink and Dean asks for a job. Bobby’s explaining about the plane wreck, where the man’s body was found 17 miles away, toasted, and the girl is missing. Before he can go deeper, Sam appears in the doorway and hugs Dean (yay!!!) and Bobby. He doesn’t remember anything after the field in Kansas. Sam says he’s starving, and Dean tells him everything. Bobby has reservations, and I can just feel Sam starting to scratch at the wall Death put up in his soul. Bobby says when Sam realizes they’re shining him, it won’t be cute. Not sure what that means, since it’s been MONTHS since the last episode.

Bobby and Dean are going to the plane wreckage when Sam comes out and says he wants to go with. Bobby bows out, hardly able to look at Sam since Sam nearly killed Bobby a few weeks out.

Sam makes calls and finds out about missing girls besides the girl from the plane. Once he relays that, he asks why Dean didn’t even try to go live a life. Dean’s exactly the same as when he left. Dean grimaces at that and reveals he was with Lisa and Ben a year but it didn’t work out.

Once at the sister of the plane girl’s house, we get puppy dog Sam again and they get into Penny’s room. Dean flashes a proud smile.

Back in the motel room, we get the best scene of the season, with a tone similar to season 1. LOVED the conversation, the snark. Dean has lifted Penny’s diary and has a theory about the connected girls—they’re all virgins. Sam’s horrified because one girl is 22, and wonders why anyone wants virgins.

Cut to some girls in uniforms walking. One is separated, and leaves swirl around her as she falls and screams. In her hospital room, she tells Sam and Dean that her attacker looked like a giant bat. She shows them the scratches. She passed out and it was gone. Her gold promise ring was gone, too. Dean asks if she should be wearing that ring, and it turns out she’s not a virgin after all.

Back in the room, Sam googles “fire, claws, flying, stealing virgins and gold” and it all takes him to World of Warcraft fansites. Dragons—not possible. Dean isn’t as shocked and wants a second opinion from Bobby, who tells them dragons aren’t real. Dean asks him to make a few calls and he asks, “To who? Hogwarts?” before he asks how “Memento” is doing. I love all the references but they flew too fast.

Sam is looking through John’s journal and remembers something about hunting a skinwalker. Dean denies it because he doesn’t want Sam scratching, and Bobby calls with a lead.

The next scene is a group of girls being held captive in a cage by a guy who uses his hand to weld it shut. Ooh, dragon dude. Kinda wish he was hot like those shifters in romance novels.

Dean goes to the professor Bobby refers him to, a lovely blonde who wants Bobby kicked in the jewels for something that is “his story to tell.” She doesn’t flinch when Dean talks about dragons. Instead, she tells him he needs a blade formed with dragon’s blood. There are only 5 or 6 worldwide, but she has one in the basement. Except is bound to stone, and just like Excalibur needs a brave knight to free it.

The music as Dean steps up to the sword is hilarious, but Dean fails as the professor tries not to laugh. My husband said Sam may be able to do it because he’s pure of heart.

Meanwhile, Sam calls Bobby wanting help looking for the dragon’s lair. No caves around, so maybe there’s something else that’s “cold, dark and wet.” Sam comes up with sewers. Sam asks Bobby what’s wrong, but Bobby has a hard time, so he tells Sam it’s nothing to do with him, and hangs up on him. Sam prays for Castiel, who appears. Oh, man, I get the feeling he’s going to spill some beans. Oops, there he goes, telling Sam he was walking around with no soul, and he starts asking questions. Oh, damn.

Back at the professor’s, Dean straps explosives to the rock over the professor’s objections. And the blade is broken! Oops. Sam asks what to do with it, give it a booster? Dean admits he didn’t want to have to get so close. They map out their plan, and Sam huffs out a sigh. You can tell he wants to talk to Dean about what Cass told him, but now’s not the time.

They shine their flashlights around in a sewer, again harking back to earlier seasons. They see an altar with lit candles and are examining it when they hear someone calling for help. They find the trapped girls but when Sam pulls on the grate, he’s thrown backward. The dragon man shows up and laughs at Dean’s sword until it burns him. He asks where Dean got it and Dean says, “Comci Con.”

The sword falls through the grate. Sam distracts the dragon while Dean tries to get it, but the dragon is joined by another. Sam kills the newcomer, but the older dragon disappears in a blast of air.

Is it me or are there a crap-ton of commercials?

Dean is sitting in the garage, reveling in the gold they found in the lair when Sam walks in, apologizing. Dean is making excuses for Sam’s behavior, but Sam wants to make amends. He wants to know what he did, no matter how dangerous it is. Bobby interrupts, telling them they need to see something—the book they found in the lair, written on human skin, that describes a place from the back of your worst nightmares, Monsterland. Or, you know, Purgatory. The book talks about opening a door to bring something through, something called, “Mother of All.”

Meanwhile, on a road somewhere, the older dragon dude meets up with someone else who has more kidnapped girls. They take one through the forest out on a rock cropping and fling her down into a fiery pit. She returns, beautiful and possessed, and ready to get started.

May I just say, “WOOT” and why did it take us so long to get here???

How did you like it?