Supernatural Review: Season 1 Episode 5 "Bloody Mary"

By: Ron Milbauer, Terri Hughes Burton, Eric Kripke

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet watched this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

            Why would anyone ever say 'Bloody Mary' in front of a bathroom mirror?! It doesn't matter if you believe she was a witch burnt in the Salem Trials or the firstborn daughter of King Henry the VIII out for revenge...she's going to get you (and maybe fry your eyeballs while she's at it). 

        So story goes that many years ago a woman named Mary was killed. No one really knows who she was (popular theories include Queen Mary I of England, a Mary who died in the Salem Witch trials, or a girl who was murdered by her cheating fiancé) but it doesn't matter because what we do know is that she had haunted reflections ever since. If you go into a room and say 'Bloody Mary' three times in front of the mirror, Mary will come and scratch out your eyes as revenge for her death. Lovely, eh?

Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- Supernatural has a real knack for creating horror atmosphere by contrasting the foreboding events with something cute and silly. Like a slumber party - complete with pyjamas, hairbows, and popcorn!

- Conversely...what an awful way to end a sleepover party! Those poor girls!

- And Sam still having nightmares about Jessica. You know...you'd think that a life like theirs would either be conducive to nightmares or would desensitize you to them. Either way you're in trouble. Dean looks really worried about him too. \

- Dean probably should have thought that lie through before spouting it off. If they really were med students then they would have made an appointment with the doctor and known his schedule. No wonder that fellow was suspicious! 

- Sam had the right idea, though. He just bribed the guy. The look on Dean's face...

- I can't believe that Charlie's friend had the gall to try 'Bloody Mary' in the bathroom, just to prove a point. I'm not superstitious by any stretch of the imagination...but if my father had just died with these circumstances surrounding him, I would be cautious.

- One thing Supernatural does really well is to play around with mythology. They are very tongue-in-cheek and irreverent, but they do treat the big issues with respect and a sense of humor. This show is the most bizarre mix of dark hilarity horror that I have ever seen. There's just nothing like it. Bloody Mary is a prime example of it as it changes the legend so that she only goes after people who have a terrible secret that they've hidden from everyone (hence why she went after the dad and not the daughter), but instead of weakening the story by making it feel contrived, the way things are written just keep things fresh and exciting rather than annoying.

- All of those bloody hand-prints on the back of the mirrors were a nice touch.

- The moment when you realise that your reflection is literally everywhere in this age of chrome and glass is exceptionally chilling. It's not just enough to avoid mirrors...you have to go live in a dirt cave if you want to escape Bloody Mary's pursuit.

- And now the boys have personal stakes in this whole affair because they promised Charlie that they would protect her (or, rather, Sam promised and then gave Dean the sad puppy-dog eyes until his brother agreed).

- Dean smarting off to the cops is always hilarious. I like his sense of humour...

- It really freaked me out the way that Mary took over Sam's reflection like that. The smile on 'his' face was rather creepy and the tears of blood reminded me of all of those 'weeping' statue legends that are scattered around the world.

- Awww! Dean called Sam 'Sammy'. It's always really touching and adorable whenever 'tough smart-mouth' Dean goes all uberprotective!brother on Sam.

- Mary crawling out of her mirror like that is a direct reference to The Ring, I'm pretty sure.

- Why are ghosts and goblins always portrayed with hair teased to the max and flopped over their eyes? I know that it makes them look otherworldly in a really creepy sort of way, but why? Personally I'd be more scared of a ghost that can definitely see me and follow my every move. But maybe it's just invoking Rule #123: If you can't see its eyes...RUN!

- I honestly thought that breaking all of those mirrors would fix the problem. I was wrong.

- Did we ever get an answer as to why Dean was bleeding from the eyes too? I mean - we know he's killed people (things) but wasn't Mary's requirement that you feel guilty about whoever you killed? I'm pretty sure Dean doesn't feel guilty about beheading vampires or burning ghosts...

- They killed Mary by turning the mirror back on her. This could have been a massive anti-climax (because there isn't much action involved in holding up a mirror and waiting for the ghost to dissolve), but because of the music and the acting and the angles it worked really well. The tension only tightened as the seconds ticked by and it was a real innovative and believable way to deal with this particular spook. Kudos to the writers.

- And suddenly the whole show makes sense!

             This episode was dark and innovative and a bit scary. There were funny moments (usually involving Sam rolling his eyes over Dean) and plenty of dark irony at the end when the brothers survey the room full of broken mirrors glumly. Charlie (the hot blond of the week) survived the episode and didn't hook up with either of the brothers. Bloody Mary was certainly creepier in concept than any of the episodes we've seen yet in this season and was both solidly written and executed. 5/5

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?

Supernatural Review: Season 1 Episode 3 "Dead In The Water"

By: Sera Gamble & Raelle Tucker

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet watched this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

            When I first sat down to watch this episode I got really excited. Opening homage to Jaws aside, I was certain that I had sussed out the supernatural culprit to the drowning. Far from ruining the episode for me, though, I was looking forward to meeting the kelpie...or Nessie, I wasn't picky. Unfortunately, I was dead wrong as to the nature of the threat (good job I'm not a Hunter...) and so found this episode depressing and confusing once that initial excitement was debunked. They also had an odd sort of coloring and filters on.

         I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about this episode, as you can probably tell. It just had too many things that felt clichéd and dull. Especially with Lucas - the kid who saw something terrible and stopped talking, but was skilfully brought out by our hero and to the point where he connects with and communicates only with that person? Um...it's been done to death. We all know how that is going to end out, so we don't particularly care about the 'mystery'. Also, forgive me for saying this, but Lucas looked entirely too old to really pull off the 'too traumatized to speak except through drawings' Creepy Child trope. It's probably the hair...

        What the episode did do right, though, was capturing the fear of what lies beneath the surface of the water. Most of us, at some point in our lives, had some sort of horrified fascination with what may actually live down our drains and that is something that this episode capitalises on. Seriously...Steven Moffat could totally take lessons from these folks!


Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- Blonds always die first. Poor Sophie should have considered dyeing her hair...

- This week the boys are in Lake Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

- Agents Ford and Hamill...I'm pretty sure that Dean is Hans Solo and Sam Luke Skywalker and that it was Dean who chose that order. Their aliases usually contain some sort of Easter Egg reference that are always fun to spot. This week was Star Wars actors.


- "Must be hard with your sense of direction never being able to find your way to a decent pick-up line." You tell him, Andrea!

- They ruled out Nessie (mentioning both Loch Ness and Lake Champlain as examples) and so this was where I started my kelpie theory. I still say that would have been cooler than what we got...

- You would know, wouldn't you, Dean?

- I think sometimes we forget that Dean was indeed just a child (four years old) whenever Mary Winchester burnt on the nursery ceiling and he raced out of the house with his baby brother in his arms.

- Dean may claim he isn't good with kids, but that's obviously a lie. Even though he never really interacts with them, he drew Lucas out like a pro. It probably has something to do with his spending most of his younger life helping to raise Sam.

- Dean with a kid is something extremely adorable!

- I just wanted to smack the guy who got pulled into that sink. Look, buddy, whenever your drain starts to regurgitate scummy water back at you, you don't stick your arm down in there. Haven't you ever seen a horror film? Haven't you heard of leeches?!


- It was about here when the story lost me. I know that tales like this have to have a certain element of mystery to them...but it just felt like it had no focus and a lack of pacing.

- As soon as Andrea got into that bathtub I cringed, knowing that something bad was going to happen to her. And sure enough - scummy water started to fill the tub up and drag her under.

- What is up with Lucas? I highly doubt that a child traumatised into silence like that would take a stroll down to the lake where his father died simply because he heard a voice calling him to play. Was he under hypnosis because of the evil spirit? Was he stupid? Or was this just badly written?

- It was wise of them to not show us the water spirit until the very end and then only hint at it. Human imagination is always ten times more scary than a CGI monster could even dream of being.

- I also found it interesting that nothing was really resolved here. Yes Dean saved the kid (with a rather impressive dive) and the killings stopped, but only because of the sacrifice of the remorseful grandfather that appeased the vengeful spirit. It just goes to show that, in a Hunter's life, things don't always wrap up all neat and tidy.

- One part that made me smile: Dean teaching Lucas that Led Zeppelin rules and giving him a high five as a co-conspirator.

            This was definitely not Supernatural's best work. It is a creepy episode, I'll give you that...but really only good for the first-viewing-plot-mystery aspect. It certainly isn't one that I personally will be looking back on. Dead In The Water rates at a 2/4.




What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?

Supernatural Review: Season 9 Episode 17 "Mother's Little Helper"

By: Adam Glass

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet watched this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

             We all know that Dean has self-loathing and depression issues. We know that he turns to drink rather than dealing with them. But it had seemed that his year in Purgatory had helped him kick his extreme alcohol problem that had developed after his first stint in Hell. Even during all of the troubles with the Trials and Sam, he stuck pretty strictly to beer and coffee. So my heart sank when I saw that Dean had turned back to the sauce for comfort. Last season he and Sam were probably the closest they've been since Season 3 and during the course of this season, despite all of their issues, it still feels as though they were relying on each other with less inhibitions than before. And of course the writers decided to pull the rug out from under their feet with the whole Mark of Cain curse. And of course Dean isn't willing to 'burden' his little brother with just all that he is struggling with. So, despite Sam's protests, he goes back to drinking and hunting. He's going to burn himself out again.


Favourite Moments & Random Thoughts:


- Okay. So we have had MANY brutal murders on Supernatural (honestly...you'd think the show was a homicide squad drama just going by the death toll) but for some reason this one really turned my stomach. Maybe it was the way the wife just seemed so calm while doing it. There was no trance, no blinding rage, and definitely no possession. She just matter-of-factly beat her husband to death while reciting the dinner menu for that night. Ugh.

 - Dean should know by now that internalizing problems and refusing to talk to Sam only leads to more problems. Isn't that what actually started the Apocalypse a few seasons back...Dean and Sam not communicating?

- At least Sam is finally treating Dean like a brother again...patting his shoulder and fretting about him in that way that only Sammy can get away with.

- Also...I think Sam's clean-shaven in this episode for the first time since Season 7! He really needs a haircut...

- That kid, Billy, is a prime example of why hitch-hiking is a bad idea. Is it just me or did that driver rip out his soul? That would certainly explain his extreme lack of manners later in the diner.Shoving a knife through the waitress' hand? That's just rude!

- And we have a callback to soulless!Sam. Looking back, I'd say it speaks a lot to Sam's self-control and personality that he got along as well as he did for that year. He should have been a bloody, drooling psychopath by the end of it.

- This episode is FULL of flashbacks. It's almost as bad as early Season 8!

- "You're lying to Sam like he's your wife..." Well, Crowley, you're actually not too far off the mark there. They may not be married, but Sam and Dean are life partners as well as being brothers. This whole lying spiel never ends well. The end of that line, though, really made me laugh. "...which kind of makes me your mistress." Whenever Crowley finally does bite the dust I'm going to miss him, I think.

- That older lady in the police station makes me smile. Julia is definitely one tough nut and she could be a valuable ally for the boys, seeing as how she was a Men of Letters contact in the past. I'm so glad she lived through the episode.

- AND HENRY WINCHESTER IS BACK!!! Well...sort of. He's back in yet another flashback where he and Josie (pre-Abbadon Josie, that is) go to visit Julia back whenever she was still a nun.

- It's very interesting to be given these glimpses of what life for Hunters and Men of Letters used to be like. Back before Azazel (the YED) killed off so many of them with his Chosen Children campaign and before Abbadon massacred the Men of Letters, there was a vast support network instead of just a motley group of faithful few that still hold back the forces of darkness by the skin of their teeth. Sort of puts Season 1 into a bit more perspective, eh?

- Crowley thinks Dean butt-dialed him. Too funny!

- I'm so grateful for Crowley's appearance. He saved the episode from being an angsty downer by balancing out the despair with a bit of inappropriate humor. That's the balance Supernatural needs to make it work...and thank goodness for Crowley because it looked like this episode wasn't going to deliver.

- "I'm an ex-nun, sweetie. Complicated is my middle name." They should introduce Julia to Missouri...

- Also...did anyone else feel the urge to break out into 'How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?' at any point during the flashbacks or is it just me?

- I'm a little bit annoyed that they had Josie being in love with Henry. I mean...it sort of makes sense (her being one of the few women let into the Men of Letters and his being one of the few men to actually treat her as close to an equal as his time could let him) but still. It didn't tell us anything more about her, other than she was struck by the Winchester women curse, and it's a shame because I really wanted to know about preAbbadon!Josie as a person.

- So Abbadon infiltrated a convent and started tearing souls from the sisters to speed-manufacture demon pawns? I thought it took CENTURIES of constant torture in Hell to turn folk that weren't already depraved into a demon. Dean lasted for ten years after he started torturing others and Sam survived over a hundred with Lucifer himself manning the rack...not to mention John Winchester's resilience...so how could Abbadon corrupt demons that fast? I know she's a Knight of Hell and all that, trained by Lucifer, but surely this is retconning canon a bit? Maybe it'll be explained in a later episode...

- Dang. Sam and Dean's grandfather was awesome! He may have been more of the librarian type than Samuel Campbell was (only seeing action on this one mission before time-travelling and dying) but clearly they got some of their smarts and cool-under-pressure-ness from him. It must be a Winchester thing.

- That girl who plays Josie/Abbadon is really good. She switches between personalities effortlessly and gives me the creeps!


- Crowley and Dean get to have a bit of bonding time while Crowley gives Dean a much-needed kick in the pants. I really think he's starting to like Not-Moose.

- What on earth is a 'knuffle bunny'?!

- Did Dean just protect Crowley from another hunter? Or was he protecting the hunter (Jake) from Crowley? Or...is Jake a demon? You just can't trust anyone these days, can you? Do the Winchesters even connect with hunters aside from Garth any more?

- Crowley referred to the Blade as Dean's "Precious"

- Sammy has an exorcism app now. Good thought there, geek-boy, considering the sheer amount of times you end up being strangled before you can finish the words.

- Somehow it was poetic justice that Sam got to give back the souls that were stolen...

           This was a darker episode than the fare we've been enjoying lately. It furthered the lore and back-story of the characters and it brought us back to our story arc of Cain's Mark and killing Abbadon, but didn't really do much else. Dean was practically non-existent in it. We saw him deal with his fears of hurting Sammy due to the Mark in the usual Winchester method (booze and brooding) but that's about it. We know that Crowley is preparing him for something...but we're not entirely sure what. Is Crowley on the Winchester's side? Is he on Hell's side? Is he on his own side? We don't know! Overall this episode raised more questions than it answered and, while pushing the season arc forward a bit, is definitely not one that I'm going to return to watch again and again. Maybe a 3/5?



What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?

OUAT-Wonderland Review: Episode 2 "Trust Me"

By Rina Mimoun

**SPOILERS!** 

If you haven't seen the episode please do so before continuing!

Now that the characters have all been introduced, it's time for the onslaught of flashbacks to explain why these characters, why this time, and all manner of confusing plot threads to unearth!

The first thing to establish, of course, is Agrabah as a setting.... because it will feature more prominently as more of Jafar's back-story is divulged. One thing of note: it's rather less barren on this show than Disney led us to imagine. Which sort of makes sense, since why would anyone build a city among sand dunes... (what is this, Arrakis?) but whatever. It did bother me slightly, that the designers apparently had no sense when they decided to plop the castle like a crash-landed space shuttle right in the middle of the city... but anyway, moving on!

Jafar's visit to a man in the village seems random at first--until Jafar starts pointing out how successful and unreasonably wealthy this man is. Just when we begin to think, "Geez, does this guy want the whole city to maintain a certain level of poverty?" we realize that Jafar knows the reason behind the man's success: "It almost seems like you have everything a man could... wish for; is that it?"

Busted. The man ducks into the back room and summons Cyrus the genie, and makes an important third wish just as Jafar bursts into the room after him: he sends Cyrus and his bottle "As far away from Agrabah as the earth from the sun!"


So basically, that's how a genie from Agrabah ends up in Wonderland, waiting for Alice to find him and release him from his bottle.

Cut to Alice and the Knave, who are hot on the trail of Cyrus--sort of. Alice is practicing her sword skills, evidently expecting a Robin-Hood-style "swoop in and kick some butt!" rescue.
I love the banter between these two. The Knave is as cynical as Alice is romantic, and the two personalities balance each other well as they trade quips with perfect ease. A small snippet:

Alice: I've got a plan!
Knave: (confused) And a new outfit--where did that one come from?
Alice: (casually) The clothes-horse stopped by while you were sleeping.
Knave: (snark!) Of course it did. Is there any chance of a coffee-horse coming by?"

 In the end, Alice decides that the easiest way to rescue Cyrus is to retrieve the bottle and use the wishes, which will automatically transport Cyrus back into the bottle. They decide to leave the Rabbit behind—not knowing that he is a double agent and ready to leak their plan to the Red Queen.

Her Majesty, meanwhile, is dutifully engaged in the stereotypical business of being queen--which evidently consists of allowing the gentry to fill her throne room with complaints and bickering. Of course, the reason for showing this scene is not to demonstrate what a capable regent she is. No, this is merely a filler scene, which the Queen dismisses with the complaint, "Your problems bore me."

 
Now... who does that remind me of? 
.....

.....

.........


Jafar interrupts her "duties" and wants her to do the work of finding the genie's bottle (since we know he's already got Cyrus). Annnnd.... this is where the villains get campy: Jafar is allowed to be cruel and disintegrate a room full of innocent people just so the Queen doesn't have an excuse not to comply, and the Queen herself is grasping at whatever straws she can to maintain her equality with (if not dominance over) Jafar. "I have needs; I need to be sure that you can meet them."

The White Rabbit arrives, and he knows where the bottle is, because it's the location Alice told the Knave when they thought he was sleeping. Jafar plans on meeting them.

The Knave, meanwhile, is trying to keep up with Alice, and at the same time rein in her romantic abandon, which dictates that "Nothing will stop us from being together" and any obstacles can just be hacked out of the way with her sword.

Any obstacle, that is, except a huge lake that would take two days at least to walk around--and the Knave reveals what just might be his biggest fear: he can't swim. ("What do you mean, you can't swim? How have you lived your whole life and never learned to swim?" "Oh, I was busy doing other things... like BEING AFRAID OF WATER!") 

Since walking would take too long, Alice insists that they will "Take the fairy."

No, that's not a mistype. I mean a literal fairy who is in charge of carrying passengers on clouds of fairy dust across the lake.

One problem: the Knave and the Fairy have a history. And it apparently isn't pretty. The knave seems oddly nonplussed, but the fairy is "...professional and she doesn't let feelings interfere with my work--especially old feelings which I've completely gotten over!"... Or so she says.

While they're making their way across the lake, we are treated to a flashback of Alice's first meeting with Cyrus, where he gives her the wishes and cautions her about being frivolous, because--as anyone who's ever watched Once Upon A Time knows, "All magic comes with a cost." Since they spent all that time getting to know each other anyway, Alice would far rather go on adventures with the genie than merely get wishes from him.

Cyrus tells her about Jafar (he seems to do that a lot with his masters... the last guy knew about the dark, evil man, too....) and also mentions that he's seen a lot of things and picked up a lot of skills from centuries of traveling from master to master. he promises to teach her swordplay and other things he knows. "There's a whole world out there, Alice; I can show it to you."

Oh dear me... we simply had to have that Disney moment, did we?

Back over the lake, the fairy takes them halfway across before exacting her revenge on the Knave and dumping him into the lake. Alice dives after him, and the two of them end up on a rocky island in the middle of the lake with no way off. More Cynic Knave ensues, and still Alice insists on maintaining her idealism in the face of having no hope--until the "island" moves and knocks them into the water again. This time, Alice figures out that it isn't an island they're on--it's a giant turtle shell. Whaddaya know, there's a way to get across the lake after all!

When they finally disembark, the fairy returns to get in one last jab, and she mentions Anastasia--ostensibly another of the Knave's former loves (why else would he be called the Knave of Hearts if he didn't have a string of them?). He seems ready enough to talk about the others--but Anastasia has him clammed up tight. Though he behaves quite stonily toward the fairy, asserting that he never really thought she was anything special, and he hasn't felt much of anything since Anastasia left--one thing I have to say for the Knave, is that he is quite possibly the bravest of the bunch, going along with Alice to find her true love after being so burned by his own, and he shows a considerable amount of "heart" (for a guy who reportedly has none) in sticking up for Alice in spite of her idealistic flights of romantic fantasy.

Another Alice/Cyrus flashback, in which they are sparring with swords, and he tries to teach her about "knowing who you're up against" and "finding your enemy's weakness and using it to your advantage." Of course when she ends up trapped by him between their two swords, the whole lesson turns into one big segue into the first kiss--Cyrus' "weakness", according to Alice.

Clever girl.

Cyrus and Alice talk about making her wishes, but Alice would rather keep him around. Cyrus is falling in love and he doesn't want to be separated from her. She promises not to, and they promise to never move on from each other. He proposes they bury the bottle.

Jafar has arrived at the location--but the bottle isn't there. Turns out this was all part of a plan by Clever Alice to draw her enemy out and discover who they're up against. What with his knowledge of magic, it's unclear whether this would help them at all, but at any rate, her trap succeeds, and she brings the Knave to the true location of the bottle--only to discover that someone has dug it up.

But who could have known?

Surprise! Apparently the White Rabbit observed the whole thing and thought little of it--until the Red Queen had need of the bottle and ordered him to go retrieve it for her. So now she has her "trump" to match Jafar's--and the playing field is a bit more to her tastes.


All in all, it's been a rather disappointing day for the Knave and Alice, and she even begins to show signs of succumbing to the Knave's perpetual negativity. He calls her on it, and cautions her, but not with much feeling. A message written on magic paper folded into a crane arrives--it's a note from Cyrus, and it gives Alice the hope she needs to keep going. Cyrus is begging her to leave Wonderland, but Alice sends her reply:

All in all, a reasonable start to the epic adventure. We see that the heroes are making progress, the villains are unaware, and there are still plenty of ambiguous plot threads! Who is Anastasia, and what happened between her and the Knave? How are they going to get Cyrus' bottle back? Will Alice at last end up having to use her wishes?

FINAL SCORE: The Heroes are getting stronger--only because the Knave is presenting as the strongest character of them all, and it's finally beginning to rub off on Alice. The Villains sort of slipped in this episode--everything was kept superficial and "floaty", with their dialogue being stereotypical: the Queen is greedy and Jafar is cruel. Visually, this episode didn't use quite so much CGI as the last one did. As far as conflict building and resolution--I felt it wasn't quite coherent in this episode as I should have liked. I'd call this a fairly-decent sequel!

Heroes—5/5
Villains—4/5
Banter—5/5
Graphics/VFX—4/5
Conflict/Resolution—3/5
OVERALL: 8/10

Next Episode

Supernatural Review: Season 6 Episode 17 "My Heart Will Go On"

By: Eric Charmelo & Nicole Snyder

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet watched this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

            Talk about taking a drop down the proverbial rabbit hole! I was so confused whenever this episode started out! Ellen and Jo are alive?! Since WHEN?!!?

             I actually started panicking and grabbed my laptop to double-check an episodes list to make sure I hadn't missed some giant development. I mean - who made the deal to bring them back? Was it Dean? Sam? Bobby? Cas?

          Wait, wait, wait...Bobby and Ellen are living together? No - THEY'RE MARRIED?! When did that happen?

          I started getting really nervous, thinking that either I and the rest of the world had missed a development or two on the show or that the writers were going to have to release a set of lost episodes explaining how on earth Ellen and Jo got out of Heaven and ended up part of the Singer family.



Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

-Decapitated by your garage door. Urgh...that's just nasty! Has Supernatural ever won an award for the sheer amount of different creative ways that they kill people off? In Mystery Spot alone Dean died at least eighteen different ways. That's gotta be some kind of record!

- Sam and Dean trying to decide who's going to talk to Bobby might just be the cutest thing ever. Did Sam seriously lose a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors to Dean?!

- It's also hilarious that Bobby knows they have been having eye-gossip about him and proceeds to chew them out about it. They deserved it. If not for this than for something else that Bobby neglected to scold them for.

- "Accidents don't just happen accidentally...you know what I mean!" Oh Dean.

- That attorney is a self-centered, snot-nosed, blood-pressure-spiking jerk. I'm surprised they didn't crack more lawyer jokes, to be honest!

- I wonder if Dean's extreme lack of subtlety whilst talking to the lawyer was a side-effect of the clear alternate universe this week's episode is taking place in? It's also interesting how he and Sam are actually staying in a fairly nice and clean motel room this time. Another side-effect?

- Strangled by your copy machine? Okay...that's it! I am NEVER going near one of those things ever again! By the time I'm done with this show, Supernatural is going to leave me as a paranoid, jittery mess. I'm already scared of tacos, coffee creamer, and lifts. Now I'm going to be giving careful looks to the copy machines too!

- Okay. I'm totally feeling Bobby/Ellen now! They're like the perfect couple - rough and tough around the edges but devoted to the core. It's a shame we never got to see this explored in the real timeline.

- They're also about the closest thing to a real, proper mother and father Sam and Dean ever had. (John tried, but it's obvious he was out of his depth and dealing with too much crap of his own during the critical parts of his sons' growing years. And then he died.)

- I. P. Freely?!

- I love that moment when you realise that the RMS Titanic making its maiden voyage safely was the divergence point of the alternate reality. I kicked myself...saying that I should have guessed based on the episode title.

- Why did an angel go back in time and un-sink the Titanic?

- You know...I think after Gabriel, Balthazar is my favourite angel. He just has such style!

- Dean didn't know what a Chevy Impala is. I think I'm going to cry...

- You know, I'm pretty sure that they just brought Ellen and Jo back to life so that there could be some personal stakes in this all for the boys. But even if that is the case I have to admit that the emotional aspect of it all still worked.

- The brothers tempting Fate to One Way Or Another by Blondie...priceless!

- I love the design of Atropos. She's got the no-nonsense librarian vibe going and of course the inner Greek Myth Addict in me screamed with delight whenever I realized just who the boys were going to be dealing with this week. About the time the second gold thread showed up I figured it out and I was ever so excited. I love it when Supernatural delves into world mythology and puts their unique, tongue-in-cheek spin on it.


- The dressing-down she gave Castiel and Balthazar was quite something. Those angels deserved it for messing with history like that all for the sake of a few more souls to use against Raphael.

- It's nice to see the writers exploring just what repercussions the Winchesters averting the Apocalypse created for the rest of the universe. It was quite interesting to hear Atropos ranting about how God had given her a job that was now twice as hard and confusing now that Sam and Dean sort of burnt the schedule and rule book. Thank you, show, for not just dropping and retconning resolved plot conflicts like that! If Supernatural is good at one thing it is continuity.

- Confession time: I physically cringed whenever Sam and Dean woke up to the tones of the famous titular song. Hmmm. That's one thing I wouldn't mind being Butterfly Effect-ed out of history!

          Overall My Heart Will Go On was a solid episode with an interesting premise and real heart. There were some genuine laughs, a few tear-jerkers, and plenty of dark humor (like when the lawyer was taken out by the bus...I don't blame Dean for snickering). It ranks at a 4/5.



What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently

Supernatural Review: Season 9 Episode 16 "Blade Runners"

By: Brad Buckner & Eugenie Ross-Leming

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet watched this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

         Ever since Dean took on the Mark of Cain, I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm still not entirely sure I buy their whole version of the Cain & Abel story (I think they took rewriting history to fit with the Winchester dynamic a bit too far, to be honest) but I know that it's Supernatural so whatever the Mark means in this crazy alternate universe, it can't be good. All I can hope is that it doesn't mess Dean up too much (Oh who am I trying to kid?) and that he doesn't ruin his relationship with Sam any further. Can we just resolve the brotherly conflict already? I thought we did this last season...the angels-stuck-on-earth plot is drama enough, folks!

Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- Is it just me or is Dean a bit worried for Crowley? Yeah he's impatient with the demon not answering the phone and all that...but we all know that whenever Dean gets worried he gets snappish. (I don't blame him...Crowley has grown on me too.) It's also hilarious that Crowley has been drunk-dialling Dean Winchester. I would have thought that 'Moose' would have had that 'honor'. Guess he likes 'Squirrel' more than he lets on.

- And of course Crowley is holed up with on a bender...and indulging his addiction to blood. Isn't it a bit ironic that Sam Winchester got a demon addicted to human blood? Writing symmetry or character payback?

- Crowley is also crying over soppy black-and-white films now. Is that a side-effect of the blood or just him being his usual unpredictable self? (It was Casablanca...so maybe we can forgive him.)

- Snooki is a crossroads demon?! I don't think I've laughed this hard since Nostalgia Critic named Kim Kardashian as the secret wife of the Devil...

- Crowley reading Little Women...as if this episode couldn't get any funnier!

- And Crowley bumped Lola off. I really should have seen that coming whenever she reported to that middle man demon instead of Abbadon herself (that was suspicious because we all know Abbadon doesn't trust anyone to gather intelligence for her) but it still surprised me when he whipped out the angel blade and did her in just like that. But did he actually show...remorse?

- One thing I should really like to know is if the First Blade really would work on Crowley. They've done the whole Angel Blades work on demons retcon (not to mention the one where the blades turned from Archangel Specialty Weapons to just something every warrior angel carries) but it was just specifically stated not ten episodes ago that the First Blade was made for the Knights of Hell. Would it work on a regular demon? And why are Sam and Dean so determined to gank Crowley anyway? He's been helpful and we know he's turning more human with every injection he gives himself, so why throw away such a valuable asset? He's the King of Hell and is currently more on their side than anyone else's (except his own)...he could be very useful!

- (Crowley to Dean) "You don't know what it's like to be human!" Oops...

- Crowley is stealing candy now? Figures. 

- That professor hitting on Dean made me snicker, as did Sam's reactions. It's good to have making fun of his brother's admirers again. I've missed him doing that.

- I was sure that the professor was possessed, though, what with the way she was smirking and posturing. Surprisingly, I was wrong. I love the way this show keeps me guessing.

- Crowley's epic dressing-down of the Winchesters was much-needed. Sometimes I think we all forget that (in the Supernatural universe) the demons that the boys fight were once human souls that have been twisted and corrupted by the tortures of Hell. Yes maybe some of them were wicked people in real life, but we know that many of them weren't evil...simply lost. And considering how a wish and a kiss with a stranger is enough to earn you a one-way trip downstairs, I think the conclusion can be drawn that there are a lot of decent-enough folk rotting away in Crowley's Hell. But once they become demons, the boys simply slash their way through the ranks - killing and torturing parasite and host alike. Granted demons are evil and have to be stopped, but now they have a method to cure them. And they used it on Crowley, changing him and putting him back at the start of the path back to humanity. They got him addicted to the blood in the first place and they 'tainted' him by making him feel again. At the very least they owe him a bit of kinder treatment, though not trust.

- "...we're legacies." I just love this new Men of Letters stuff that has been added to the lore. The library and research fits Sam like a glove while the warding and weapons are right up Dean's alley. It adds a whole new level to their characters, as well as helping to fill in the depressingly death-filled Winchester-Campbell family tree.

- Magnus has vampires as guard dogs. I don't know whether to laugh or be terrified.

- Much as I don't care for the rest of the arc, that First Blade is awesome looking! It looked cool in the flashbacks and it looks even better here. I'm a little nervous about what using it is going to do to Dean, though.

- "I have to say, it has gotten lonely over the years." "When you were saying that, did any of it sound creepy as it should have?" Dean...seriously. Is that how you respond to the news that a madman is going to put you in his museum? A madman who reminds me of Henry van Statten from Doctor Who?

- I should have known that Magnus was going to double-cross them. He just gave off creepy vibes.

- Is it just me or is Crowley actually quite fond of Sam? He's always trying to get the youngest Winchester to strike up a friendly little partnership with him (his latest comment included matching tattoos) and looks genuinely offended when Sam keeps rebuffing him.

- Aw, c'mon! Magnus...if you have to torture him, at least please don't cut up Sam's face!? The poor guy's already lucky that he doesn't have scars beyond belief from all the things that have gone for the cheek, let's not add to the collection.

- Poor Dean! Here we go again with one of the brothers thinking that they're a freak!

- Abbadon is so dead...she messed with Dean's car, his baby...

           This was an okay episode. It felt like one of those one-step-forward-two-steps-back type of stories and did little to further the overall arc, even if it was a fun little romp with the Crowley intervention and bromance. Hopefully this will all play into the overarching story at hand in some way that I can't see at the moment, but for now it just felt like quest-for-filler. The writing was fun as always, I'm worried about Dean and glad to see Sam sort of getting over their issues, and the episode was at least enjoyable to watch. 3/5 seems an appropriate rating.




What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently

A.G.R.A.

           Mary Watson nee Morstan is a TERRIBLE person! She's complex, human, and makes mistakes. She was in an awful situation, caught between a rock and hard place, and had the audacity to make a choice that we viewers, sitting comfortably in front of our screens being entertained, would never have the guts to even think of! I just can't get over how reprehensible it is that she tried to leave an old life behind and start afresh by falling in love and getting married. My blood pressure is actually rising in ire as I think about the way she pushed Sherlock and John back together. Oh! How DARE she?!

            Are we actually supposed to like this complex and human character? Are we supposed to RELATE to her?! The very nerve of Moffat to ever suppose that actually developing a female character would be a good thing! But we know better...we'll show him!  Let's count down the Top Ten Reasons To HATE Mary Watson...

10: She is in love with John Watson...

          Ah yes, the woman to break up Johnlock and crush poor Sherlock's heart forever! We must shun her and send death threats to the actress at all costs. What? You say that's reprehensible? No, poor dear, you just don't understand. Sherlock is completely and totally in love with John and Mary has come between them before John could realise that he feels the same about Sherlock. She is a threat to their happiness and so must be despised and hated. If only John had seen the light before he ever agreed to marry such a horrible person...


9: She is a woman of action...

            It is unforgivable the way that Mary is a capable, collected woman of action who backs up her husband and his best friend in tight situations rather than sitting at home looking pretty and nagging John about the hours he is away with Sherlock. I mean How. Dare. She? It's bad enough that she helped John through his period of mourning and anger and convinced him to give Sherlock a second chance...but now she has to actively work alongside them rather than pulling John away? Dreadful!

8: She accepts John's need to run with Sherlock and endorses it...

             She would be so much easier to hate if she wasn't trying to fool us all by encouraging John to take Sherlock on cases. But we know that she's really up to something nefarious with those smiles and encouragements. She's probably setting Sherlock up with false hope that she can dash once John is hers or else manipulating his emotions like a condescending harpy. It doesn't matter that we don't have concrete proof yet; she doesn't deceive us!

7: She is most likely going to die...

          Really we don't have to worry about Mary. She's slated to die, courtesy of ACD, and doubtlessly that loss and grief will push Sherlock and John together. Now if only she would get a move on it so that John can give in to his real feelings concerning his best friend...

6: She understands Sherlock Holmes...

            Curse her for encroaching on John's territory and daring to attempt a connection with the man her husband is best friends with! She has no right to be so understanding and forgiving of a sociopathic genius who fears that he is going to lose John forever should he get married! It is just sickening the way she tries to be understanding of Sherlock's faults. I can't stand that teasing smile that she gets on her face whenever she is trying to draw him out of his grumpy shell.











5: She has a past that is both curious and may help us delve more into John's character...

           How dare she be anything other than a one-dimensional 'John's attempts to prove his straightness' cardboard cut-out without personality (aside from nagging possessiveness) or individuality? Isn't it awful the way she uses her hard-won knowledge to help protect John? Isn't it terrible the way she works with Sherlock and gives him information that could expose her all for the sake of getting to John on time? Isn't it terrible the way she is right behind Sherlock and shovelling away burning beams to pull both boys from the fire? Isn't it the worst yet that she has a past that puts her on the same level of experience and badassery as Sherlock and John? Oh no...this means that she can contribute to cases if they need her! Why isn't she just trying to keep John away from that no-good Sherlock Holmes the way she's supposed to?!


4: She is a complex person...

       Oh yes, Mary Morstan, we saw that word 'Liar' in your deduction cloud. Never mind about all of the other words like 'bakes', 'guardian', or 'disillusioned'...we know that you're only defined by one thing. You are a liar and a liar you shall forever be defined as. Forgive and forget? Pfft! That's only for characters who don't make true mistakes...


3: She shoots Sherlock...

          Never mind that Mary did indeed shoot Sherlock in the least lethal place that she could, given the circumstances...I can't believe she would commit such a heinous crime! Why would she do it? Why?! Why would she shoot Sherlock in the presence of the master blackmailer who needed to know that Sherlock was not in any way connected to Mary's case because if he was it would compromise his own work? Why would she shoot the detective in a manner that was cleverly non-lethal and yet not obviously make him into a pressure point that could be used against her? How dare she prove to the villain that she does indeed mean business and preserve the interests of the detective opposite her? What a wicked thing to do!


2: She pushes Sherlock and John back together...

         Yes how wicked of her to encourage further contact with the man who is both competition for John's time and who has the skills to potentially expose her secret simply because it will make John happier in the long run. I just can't get over how she refuses to judge Sherlock and decides that she likes him because she knows that her husband-to-be needs this friendship. How selfish! How utterly awful!

1: She jumps to help Sherlock when he collapses...BEFORE EVEN JOHN DOES!

      How dare she reach out to help the man who is her husband's best friend whenever he stumbles and starts to fall? How could she? Isn't it sickening the way she leaps to his rescue before John has even noticed that he's starting to fall? Isn't it disgusting how she does this without prompting and without making sure John is watching her noble deed first? She has been disgraced and is in danger of losing both her new future and the men that she has come to love...so what does she do? She lashes back by stopping the man who exposed her from crashing to the ground and potentially injuring himself further. Yes. This one is definitely unforgivable. After what she did she has NO right to show any form of remorse, fear, or sympathy. She should have just let him flop to the floor!