The Raven's Writing Desk : August 2014

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Pretty Please?

The Top Ten SPN Episodes On My Bucket List
Translation: The ten I really want to see happen before the show finally draws to a close.

Honourable Mention: Fan Fiction

Because they're already doing the musical episode.

10: Unholy Trinity

Just for a charity event...even if Jared doesn't fit in the TARDIS. I agree that SuperWhoLock wouldn't really work as a full-length episode, but why not for charity? I can guarantee that it would make a BUNDLE of money! In fact, I would be perfectly happy if there was a SuperWhoLock crossover where they all just sat around and played poker for fifteen-twenty minutes. Batman: The Animated Series had an episode like that. Almost Got 'im was a full-length episode of the show where a whole bunch of villains literally just sat around a table playing poker and recounting short vignettes of how they almost got the Batman. Why couldn't we have something similar for SuperWhoLock for Children in Need or something? Not only would everyone watch and donate to see their favorite characters together (and it would bring in people from each fandom that weren't in the others) but such an episode is a great little character piece because you can focus on the people and relationships without having to worry about fitting in a plot and having it work. It's literally a character study. Please could we try this one?

9: Night Of The Undead - feat. Robert Pattinson

Sorry, Twihards, but you might want to look away for this one because I am not a fan any more than Mr. Pattinson is. So it would be wonderful, it really would, to have a vamp episode featuring him as a half-mad vampire hunter with a vendetta. He wouldn't even have to play a made-up character. He could play himself. If this show can behead Paris Hilton and say that Snooki is a demon, anything is possible. Just...how awesome would that be? We know he can act, thanks to Harry Potter, and I'm sure if they asked him he'd be MORE than happy to go up to Vancouver and film it. We could have a good, old-fashioned hunt with plenty of scares and vamps and decapitations and none of the grey areas that Sam and Dean are always encountering and complaining about. It would be a monster hunt a la Season 1...except with the added bonus of a Robert Pattinson cameo. (Though, they would probably kill him off...) Pretty please?

8: A Midsummer's Nightmare

We just need more Dean vs. fairies. Especially now that we know not all of them are malevolent troublemakers, thanks to Gilda. Maybe this episode could bring Charlie back from Oz (because that's part of the fae realm) and she accidentally brings some of the Magic Folk with her? Not only would it give us the best female character ever back to whip Sam and Dean into shape, but it would help expand that part of the show's mythology a bit more. Besides...Dean vs. Tinkerbelle is always hilarious. Pretty please with a cherry on top?

7: Highway To Hellmouth - feat. Sarah Michelle Gellar

No I don't want a crossover with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I don't even want a parody of it. Not only is that show over (for airing, that is) but the mythologies of the two are pretty much incompatible, especially where vampires are concerned. The only thing that connects is that the vamps on SPN often wear out-of-date leather ensembles and that you have to drink their blood to be turned. And that last is pretty much par for the course when it comes to vamps in general. No. What I want is for Sarah Michelle Gellar to play a hunter. A blond, tough hunter who kicks butt and has a specialty for taking out vamps. Because everyone will instantly make the connection to Buffy, but it'll be more of a reference just for fans. Besides. We know she can pull it off. And they already had Spike and Cordy on the show, to name just a few cameos, so why not Sarah? I think she'd fit right in and it would be a nice touch. Can this happen, please?

6: Livin' On A Prayer

I would really love to see SPN expand a bit on the whole 'guardian angel' idea. We have so many instances where they're hinted at and seeing as how we've had Reapers, Archangels, Warrior Seraphs, and even Cupids I think we could fit them in somewhere, couldn't we? Mary always did say that angels would be watching over and I refuse to think that it was just a coincidence joke about Zachariah. We all know what the universe says about coincidences...but in all seriousness, it would be interesting. And it would give us something to do with the angels aside from civil war after increasingly-boring civil war. Could we have this, please?

5: Days of Future Past

Okay so one thing I think would be really interesting would be a story where Sam and Dean literally take a trip back to their younger days. Not through flashback but through time travel. (Maybe blame it on Gabriel?) This would give us plenty of chances for comedy as well as tears, which are basically the bread and butter of the show. In addition it would give us an excuse to have Jeffrey Dean Morgan back. And, whether or not you like John Winchester, you have to admit that JDM is, in a word, AWESOME. It wouldn't even have to impact future timelines if they're worried about screwing up continuity because they could just pull a The Song Remains The Same move on us. Seriously, though. Make it a lesson to Sam and Dean in a reminder about what's important or something. Or maybe a warning to John? Hmmm. Either way, please make this happen?

4: Remember The Name

So they sort-of resolved the story line of Ben Braedon (Winchester?) but, of course, few of us were satisfied. Most people, even if they despised Lisa, at least liked Ben. How can you not? He was adorable! It was such a shame that he was written out the way he was because I really wanted to know how he grew up and what became of him and (most importantly) if that demon really was telling the truth whenever it said he was Dean's or if it was just messing with their heads. Demons lie on this show...but sometimes they tell the truth whenever the truth is far more terrible or unsettling. So wouldn't it be great if Ben came back as a hunter? Even though his memories were erased it could still happen...especially if he actually is a Winchester because they attract trouble. Or if he is a cop who arrests Dean or something. I don't care how it happens, I just want to see them on screen again together despite the feels. Please, writers?

3: Freaky Friday The Thirteenth

THIS is what I wanted to see whenever I went into Swap Meat. I want to see Sam and Dean get body swapped. I want to see Sam (as Dean) gleefully downing salads and protein shakes. And then I want to see Dean (as Sam) threaten to cut Sam's hair. They could just have so much fun with this and it could tie into the whole brotherly issues of how they just need to walk in each other's shoes for a while. And aside from the hilarity that could result from such a move, it would also give us a perfect opening for a Samulet resolve which is something we've been brooding over for five seasons now. Please, please, please can this happen? I know Swap Meat was a disaster...but this is different. We've already had a Groundhog Day episode; surely we can fit in a Freaky Friday one too, right?

2: The Hunter's Wife

Ever since I saw The Doctor's Wife I knew that I wanted to see SPN do their own version of that story line with Baby because if Sexy can become a person and meet The Doctor face-to-face then Dean Winchester deserves a conversation with his beloved Impala. Just think about it. That Impala has been the boys' homes for nearly thirty years and was part of their family since before they were even born. Dean has lovingly rebuilt her from scratch and kept her peak condition and she's always been there for them. Sam carefully kept her in condition and pristine (except for the iPod) while Dean was gone and clearly loves her too even while he rolls his eyes at Dean. She's a character in the show and she deserves to speak! Seriously, writers, this would be awesome. Can you please consider it?

1: The Tale Of The Three Brothers

Y'all knew this one was coming, didn't you? Look. I don't care if they spring him just to kill him and put him out of his misery. It still would be better than living through the Hell he is now. Presumably Sam would have at least tried to protect him for the years they were down there together...but Sam could only have done so much and he's out now. Adam's probably a gibbering mess if he isn't fully converted into black smoke by now. I just want to see him come back and get some resolution for his character. Either for Sam and Dean to spring him and for them to at least get to attempt to be brothers or for him to come back as a villain. Either one would work for me. And, if he dies, at least then he'll be free of Hell and at peace. Just give us some resolution, darn it! We only joke about it because the horror and pain is too much otherwise. Please, writers? You're betraying the core ideals of the show if you don't at least acknowledge it.

Supernatural Review: Season 4 Episode 13 "After School Special"

By: Andrew Dabb & Daniel Loflin

**Spoilers**

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

Now THIS is how you do flashbacks! Take note, Season 8! Also a bit of Weechesters never goes amiss, especially in the dark days of Season 4. It is nice to take a look back to whenever Sam and Dean were still young and innocent. Well. More innocent than they are now, that is.

I got really excited whenever the recap for this episode showed clip after clip of Sam and Dean have dropped over the years about their childhood and even a few of John. I figured it meant John was coming back as a cameo, but I wasn't disappointed whenever he didn't. Don't get me wrong, I like John as a character, but no one can deny that any episode he is in ends up being a bit of a downer. Baby Sam and Dean, though? Yeah. That's always a plus. Even if it is rather sad in a nostalgic kind of way. I love the way this show has carefully fleshed out the main characters just enough to make us fall in love with them all over again but not so much that we know everything there is to know. There's still things about Sam and Dean to figure out. It was fun to see Sam and Dean go back to the school they had attended as kids too. Episodes where they meet someone from their past are always interesting not only because they help to make the sometimes-claustrophobic world of the Winchesters to feel larger and more realistic but because it gives us that valuable Outsider POV of the boys that helps to showcase them in a new light and keep things fresh. It was great that we got to meet the teacher who first gave Sam the idea of going to college. It was wonderful that we got to see Dean be the big brother again. It was just a lovely breather in all the issues they have been having recently to remind us that yes, they are still brothers who will do anything for each other.

Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- This episode starts out feeling eerily reminiscent of Mean Girls. I know a lot of teen highschool movies have this sort of teasing scene, but it REALLY reminded me of Mean Girls. I wonder if that was intentional...

- The supernatural swirly of death, though. Not sure if I should be laughing...

- Naturally such an unusual death catches the eye of Sam and Dean, hunters extraordinaire, and they set out to investigate...starting by sending Sam in to the mental institute to interview the girl who administered the swirly. She claims she was possessed, but didn't smell any sulfur or see any black smoke. Clearly this is not a run-of-the-mill trap-and-exorcise case. (Is it bad that we have those?)

- "All right, well, what's our cover? FBI? Homeland Security? Swedish exchange students?" Funny thing...whenever Dean was asking Sam about their cover for being in the school, I thought he said 'sweetest' instead of 'Swedish'. I think I kind of like the line my way better...

- And with that we get the transition into our first flashback. We know it's a flashback because the Kansas plates are back on the Impala.

- The use of Foreigner in this episode really helps to set the scene and get us all hyped up and ready for what is to come. In fact, it even earned a place on my list of best SPN music moments.

- So apparently Sam didn't get his growth spurt until at least after freshman year of high school because here he is RADICALLY shorter than Dean. We also can assume that shortly after this Dean dropped out, since we know he didn't finish his senior year.

- Very similar answer, but delivered in very different ways.

- Young Dean calls his teacher sugar and didn't bother with any books because they're only going to be there for two weeks. Somehow I get the awful feeling that he didn't drop out because of John (or at least not totally because of him). I get the feeling that he was counselled out...maybe by a lousy guidance councillor or something. Which is a shame because Dean is every bit as smart as Sam. He's rebuilt the Impala from scratch, made an EMF detector out of a Walkman, and seems to have a near photographic memory for sigils. He could have done well.

- Sam, on the other hand, starts his first day at the new school off by standing up for the class nerd and dog-to-be-kicked, Barry rather than smart-mouthing teachers and eyeing up cheerleaders.

- "Okay, now, I want three pages of your most memorable family experience. Just a reminder though, this is going to be worth half your final grade…" I really like Mr. Wyatt. He's very much like the mentor English teacher Mr. Symes from The Outsiders who more or less takes Ponyboy under his wing for a while. See? Parallels everywhere!

- After that we segue back to grown up Sam and Dean as they investigate the school. Sam is skulking about, dressed as a janitor (I'm surprised his old costume still fit him...or did he steal a new one?) while Dean is hiding in plain sight dressed as...well...it has to be seen to be believed.

- Oh my gosh the shorts. The very red, VERY FITTING shorts! And the headband! And the socks! And the whistle! HAHAHA! Oh this is just priceless! There are numerous counts of Jared recounting how this is his favorite costume of Dean's because it's just so embarrassing. Apparently he had a hard time interacting with Jensen while filming because he really wanted to crack up and just laugh. And it's not hard to see why. Aside from the fact that Dean is a terrible P.E. teacher...THE SHORTS! It's only made funnier by the fact that, back in Season 1, he swore up one side and down the other that he didn't wear shorts. That they weren't his thing. And yet here he is in a pair of cherry red, tight shorts with striped knee socks. Excuse me while I go laugh some more...

- "Today, you will have the honor of playing one of the greatest games ever invented. A game of skill, agility, cunning. A game with one simple rule... dodge." *throws the dodgeball hard as he can...kid doesn't dodge*

- Ewww. WHY did they have to do the hand in the blender? That's one of my No Zones when it comes to this sort of thing. I'm a violinist. I treasure my hands. Just...EWWWW!

- It makes me laugh that, even at 18, Dean was already addicted to bad horror films and Magic Fingers. Guess growing up in hotels will do that to you.

- Can I just rant and rave (again) about how wonderful the casting director is? At how wonderful these young actors are? I am COMPLETELY convinced that Colin Ford and Brock Kelley are the younger versions of Sam and Dean. They look the part and they do an amazing job of mimicking all of the ticks and quirks that Jensen and Jared have incorporated into their characters over the years. Colin played Sam before, back in A Very Supernatural Christmas, but this is Brock's first time in his role. And they both hit it out of the park, as it's said.

- It's very sweet (in a very Winchestery way) that Dean, after hearing what Dirk did to Sam, threatens to rip his lungs out only to have the same threat repeated in modern days by older Dean about the ghost whenever it possesses some girl and has her kick Sam in the family jewels before stabbing him in the stomach. Yeah. He hasn't changed a bit, not really. Despite John dying, despite Hell, despite all of the other crap that has been flung at him, Dean is still an overprotective big brother at heart (What d'you think keeps getting him in trouble?) ready to rip the lungs out of whoever dares to mess with his kid. We needed a reminder of that.

- I rather think Sam needed a reminder too. Things have been so tense between him and Dean during this season.

- In the flashback you'll find it is interesting that Dean reminds Sam he could have torn Dirk apart easily enough. These aren't kids just drifting from school to school and being outcasts and picked on and everything else. They let it happen because they could very well accidentally kill someone. We know that John has been training them both for years (helped by Bobby and occasionally Pastor Jim) and so they have more knowledge about Latin and hand-to-hand combat stored away in their heads than you could believe. It's the old adage about great power and great responsibility. Sam doesn't want to use his hunter skills because he knows he could hurt someone and he doesn't want to be seen as a freak. Guess those feelings went back pretty far, huh.

- It's almost a tearjerker whenever Sam has to burn Barry's bones because they think he's the restless spirit. Salt-and-burns are pretty much par for the course when you're a hunter (they're the kind of jobs you look forward to as 'easy', actually) but usually you're not having to burn a former friend because you think they've gone all wrong.

- I find it hilarious that Dean and Sam have apparently had the same haircuts their entire lives. Sam's, though, just keeps evolving into something longer with every season. Is it in his contract not to cut it or something?

- It is also very childishly satisfying to see Sam finally lose it and beat the snot out of Dirk because he just wouldn't leave Barry alone.

- One thing I would very much like to know, though, is why on earth Sam wrote the nonfiction paper about his family hunting a werewolf. He knows that the family secret is (at the risk of invoking Winchester Logic) a secret. So what was up with that? Did he and Dean spend too much time messing around at home so he didn't have time to properly write up a fake one that sounded genuine? Sure we think that Sam always was a bit more worried about school than Dean was, but I just wonder.

- "Well... I don't want to overstep my bounds here, but... you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Look, I mean, I know what it's like. I come from a family of surgeons, and that wasn't me. So, you know, I traded in the money and prestige of being a doctor for all the glamour you see around you. But the point is... there may be three or four big choices that shape someone's whole life, and you need to be the one that makes them, not anyone else. You seem like a great kid, Sam. Just live the life you want to live." Thank you, Mr. Wyatt. Life advice to live by!

- The scene where Sam and Dean investigate the possibly haunted school bus is just precious.

- Not only are they professional hunters, but they're the freakin' Winchesters. John was pretty well known in the Hunter community and we KNOW that rumors of his boys have gotten around (especially with Dean's death and subsequent resurrection) and you just have to wonder how they ever became such legends whenever they're such unprofessional loons.

- Long story short, it was actually Dirk who was the angry spirit. He too had committed suicide in the years since Sam had known him and, unlike Barry, had stayed behind angry and vengeful.

- Now I have to say that Dirk's story is the weak point of this episode. It's a typical 'don't judge a book by its over' and 'bullies have issues too' tale that we hear in any old PSA or morality tale. (Maybe that's the point...this episode is called 'After School Special' after all and that name has to be something aside impossible to make a polite acronym out of.)

- It is Jared Padalecki's performance, though, that really sells the whole thing. Whenever Sam hears that it was the nickname 'Dirk the jerk' that he carelessly coined in a moment of annoyance that pushed Dirk over the edge, you can just see the guilt literally well up in his eyes. Sure maybe Dirk was annoying and awful and a bully...but he didn't deserve to be driven to that. It's a moment that could have been so corny and unbearable, but Jared makes it work.

- And of course Dirk possesses a big, heavy, quarterback to beat the crap out of Sam while Dean searches for the right thing to burn to send him into the bright hereafter. Poetic justice? Yeah. Awesome scene when the scrap of hair burns? YEAH! Funny joke from Dean? Of course.

It's always a lot of fun to get a peek back into the mysterious childhood of Sam and Dean and it's fun that the show now can say it's had its Highschool AU episode. There were a lot of great characters here. Barry and Dirk were a bit stereotypical, but worked well. Young Sam and Dean were awesome, as usual. And Mr. Wyatt was just wonderful. He's that teacher that everyone hopes to get and the scene where he asks the now adult Sam if he's happy will bring a wistful tear to the driest of eyes. After School Special is a 4/5.

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

Supernatural Review: Season 5 Episode 8 "Changing Channels"

By: Jeremy Carver

**Spoilers**

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

I am convinced that this show is on drugs. Some kind of super-happy, super-psychedelic drugs. That's the only explanation I can come up with for why we have episodes like this.

But, hey, I've never been one to sit quietly by in boring normality...so I'm loving every minute of it. This episode, though, is one of the more mad things the show has pulled off over the years. So Loki takes Sam and Dean and traps them in TVLand. Literally. Sam and Dean have to play their way through everything from a Grey's Anatomy knock-off parody to a herpes commercial. This is one of those episodes that is really, really funny but also gut-wrenchingly sad whenever you think about it for a while. Take Sam and Dean, for instance. At one point they get stuck in a show that is what Supernatural would be like if it were a sitcom. They laugh and joke around and hug each other and crack jokes about Dean's recreational hobbies...but they're just playing their assigned roles in an attempt to survive. They play football and ride a tandem bike and just basically have a 'great time' together as brothers, but it's just an act. And it kinda hurts whenever you realize that the happiest we've seen them in a long time is whenever they're forced to play a part in a show.

But the biggest tearjerker comes at the end whenever we get the revelation of just who the Trickster has been all the time. In reality he is the archangel, Gabriel, who ran from Heaven because he couldn't stand the fighting and inter-angel warring that was going on. At last we learn why he's taken such a shine to Sam and Dean. We learn why he killed Dean again and again in Mystery Spot. We learn why now he's making Sam and Dean play a role. He's tired of the war, tired of being an exile, and tired of waiting for the inevitable apocalypse. So he teaches them a lesson...albeit in his own quirky, twisted way.

Favourite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- I have never been more confused or more delighted than when this episode began with: "Supernatural is filmed before a live studio audience." and a laugh-track. I had no idea what was going on, but I didn't really care. With some episodes of this show you have to just hang on for the ride.

- About the time the 'theme song' started playing, though, I was in hysterics.

- We can add Dr. Sexy, M.D. (the blatantly transparent Grey's Anatomy stand in) to the list of embarrassing, chick-flick-y, soap opera crap Dean secretly watches on TV.

- It probably shouldn't be as funny as it was, but Dean getting distracted from a case by the report of the assailant possibly being The Incredible Hulk never fails to get a chuckle out of me. It's not the fact that it's the big green guy, no, it's the fact that Dean goes off on a bunny trail about which Hulk it was. And he says Sam is the geek?!

- "You think I'm crazy." "No. Uh, no, it's just...is there, uh, would there be any reason that Lou Ferrigno, the Incredible Hulk, would have a grudge against your husband?"

- So Dean says he's been wanting to ice the Trickster since Mystery Spot. Does that mean he knows about that one terrible Wednesday (Did Sam actually tell him?) or that he just is annoyed that he was killed over a thousand times?

- Then Sam gets slapped by a female doctor (presumably one of his character's past hook-ups) and Dean finds the Trickster (who is playing Dr. Sexy himself, naturally) because Loki made the move of wearing trainers instead of cowboy boots. The fact that Dean knows the show and character enough to notice that is kind of freaking me out.

- Dean going through the personality tropes and names of all the doctors like it's Christmas come early is just one of the nice touches this episode puts in. But for me the funniest moment is whenever Dean is shot in the back and Sam has to play his role as a surgeon and operate. Now they've done this sort of thing for each other before, we know they have, what with stitching wounds and putting joints back into place and digging out bullets...but it's always been motel room triage. Sam looks rather lost in the hospital operating room. So he asks for "Okay. Um. I need a penknife, some dental floss, a sewing needle, and a fifth of whiskey...STAT!" while Dean is laying on the operating table making faces.

- After that we get the game show and...oh gosh. Teehee. *giggling* Oh dear...how best to describe that?

- As soon as I heard the game was called 'Nutcracker' I flinched and said to myself "Surely they aren't going THERE!" And then they went there.

- Dean, rather queasy and desperate not to meet the same fate as his unfortunate brother, takes a wild stab at answering the next question "Would your mother and father still be alive if your brother had never been born?" thus discovering that they have to play their roles in appearance at least if they want to survive.

- The questions are just one example of the feels that lurk under the surface of this fluffy and funny episode.

- Castiel also shows up for the party (and promptly has his mouth duct-taped shut before being zapped away numerous times...after he is called a 'pretty-boy angel') and his look of amazement, shock, and rage at seeing the Trickster (who we later learn is his big brother) is simply priceless. "Ga-gabriel? NOOO! You jerk! I didn't like your pranks as a fledgling and I don't like them now! Stahp it! Let Sam and Dean go!"

- I think that summed it up properly...

- We also find that Sam and Dean have been trapped for days in this nightmare. Wow, Gabriel, overkill much? Nah. That's nothing. This is the guy responsible for all those Tuesdays, remember?

- He also threw them into a herpes medication commercial. I have a confession to make. The first time I watched this episode I thought that this was a legitimate commercial...until Sam showed up looking highly uncomfortable. He really took a beating dignity-wise this episode, didn't he?

- Did you know that it's Dean doing all the voice-overs in this episode? That includes this one: "Patients should always consult with a physician before using Herpexia. Possible side effects include headache, diarrhea, permanent erectile dysfunction, thoughts of suicide, and nausea."

- I identify with Dean's rant about procedural cop shows. There's a reason I don't watch them...and it isn't all because of the same-old same-old formula every week.

- "I hate this game. I hate that we're in a procedural cop show and you wanna know why? Because I hate procedural cop shows. There's like three hundred of them on television and they're all the freaking same. It's ooh, plane crashed here—oh shut up."

- Which show were they parodying? Was it CSI? That's one of them, right? Gosh I am so out of my depth with this parody...at first I thought they were doing a Blues Brothers joke.

- Props to the cast and crew of Supernatural for making this all look so effortless. Doing a successful parody is about ten times HARDER than coming up with an original idea. In songs you have to match the tempo, rhythm, and rhyme scheme. But when it comes to films there are things like lighting, costumes, angles, shots, dialogue, inflections, character ticks, and all of the logistical mimicry nightmares you could think up. This kind of stuff may look easy, but it really isn't. It's a testament to how good this show is that they manage to pull it off numerous times throughout the course of their run.

- Of course it helps that they also have Jared and Jensen on board who have a great time with these parodies and just really throw their all into it without ever mugging at the camera or seeming obnoxious.

[GIFSET] 5x08 Changing Channels. A great and terrible thing happened...

- I knew whenever Sam and Dean staked the Trickster that it wasn't over. For starters last time they tried that it didn't work and secondly...since when did things start going right for them? I have to say, though, that I was NOT expecting the Nightrider parody. Especially not with Sam and Baby really getting some close and personal bonding time. That was...that was hilarious. I'm not sure which Dean was more horrified of, the desecration of his car or the humiliation of his little brother. Mr. Loki definitely hit below the belt with that one. (And, considering the game show he put them through, that is saying something.)

- They figure out that Loki may not be all he says he is and prepare accordingly. I crack up whenever Dean is screaming 'uncle' at him and SamKitt asks if he should honk.

- One question, though, just one. How exactly do they manage to lure angels directly into the exact circle of holy fire every time? I understand with the devil's traps, because the demon doesn't have to be right in the middle to get caught, but seriously? They have such lousy luck the rest of the time I'm really surprised that this works for them every time. Huh. Maybe it's because they pulled the holy oil (presumably a gift from Cas) out of Sam's trunk this time.

- The episode does an about heel turn emotions-wise, though, once Sam and Dean have the Trickster trapped. He actually looks a bit nonplussed and proud of them for figuring it out. He also looks annoyed, though.

- "This isn't about a war. It's about two brothers that loved each other and betrayed each other. You'd think you'd be able to relate."

- Sometimes I wonder just how much of the Apocalypse back-story really did mirror the Winchesters and how much was just both sides telling the story to manipulate them. We'll probably never know, but it plays interestingly into the themes of free will vs. destiny that the show has going.

- Castiel just looks so betrayed whenever he comes back from wherever he was zapped to and confronts his older brother. You kind of get the impression that Gabriel was the archangel who would head down to the lower ranks of angels just to visit. He certainly seems to be the least stuffy out of all the top dog angels. Probably he was rather well known in lower circles (he was the one to visit Mary in Nazareth, after all...if nothing else that would give him fame) and even well liked. Perhaps he even knew Castiel whenever he was young. And then he just disappeared while Heaven fought on, only now to greet Cas with a weary, "Hey, bro."

- One of the most not-tear-inducing-but-certainly-long-term-depressing scenes EVER is whenever Sam, Dean, and Cas all turn their backs on Gabriel and walk away...leaving him alone in a ring of holy fire. He's actually crying a bit and it gives us a look into what lies underneath the sweets and smirks and pranks. It's dark inside indeed.

Changing Channels is a prime example of just how good this show is at both parody and drama. Much like Mystery Spot it passes out both laughs and tears in droves...though I have to say that this is funnier than Mystery Spot. Or, at least, it spends more time on the comedy and less time on the feels. In order to get some of the stuff you have to sit and think about it for a while. Or make sure you watch the version of the game show with subtitles so you can understand what the questions are saying. It's a lot more subtle. I find it interesting that they chose to take a one-off novelty character from Season 2 and integrate him into the show as such a key player and big mythological figure. Was that planned? Did they inform Richard from the beginning that he was playing Gabriel masquerading as Loki? Or did they just sort of make it up as they went along? Either way it works beautifully and gives us a fascinating and multi-faceted character who fast became a fan favorite...despite the fact that he only has been in five episodes thus far. Changing Channels is a 5/5.

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