Supernatural Review: Season 10 Episode 1 "Black"

By: Jeremy Carver

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

           Okay...so I think this is the first installment of a two-parter episode (it's always hard to tell with SPN because multi-episode-stories aren't always clearly defined) because actually not a lot happened. It was interesting. Not bad or anything...but I'm pretty sure it was the first part of a two-parter because there was a lot of set-up, a lot of Sam looking worn-out, a lot of Dean punching and picking up girls, a lot of Crowley being a jerk, but not a whole lot of plot.

        Also not a whole lot of Deanmon (which, by the way, really sounds like a rejected Pokemon name) being the ultra-dark-and-chill force of nature we were promised. He's a demon now. He's the Big Bad for at least this part of the season. But right now he's acting more like a rather disobedient puppy and, quite frankly, not doing anything that normal Dean didn't do. If hanging out at a bar, getting drunk, and singing bad karaoke is demonic, well, I know more than a few people who are on Crowley’s payroll. It looks from the previews like we'll get a bit more of Dean being a heartless monster next episode (something I'm really looking forward to) but from this episode about the creepiest thing he did was do the Elvis Hip Swivel and share a motel room with Crowley.

      Not that this makes the episode bad. No...I don't want to say that. It was just a lot of set-up for what I'm assuming is going to be something awesome next week with Reichenbach and it did that set-up very well. We got a taste of Dean's utter lack of caring for anyone...including Sam...and we have what I think will be the character dynamics for at least the next few episodes clearly established.


Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- So the new title card is a flaming devil's trap. Is that a call-back to Season 3? Because I definitely remember the title card for that season being the trap on Bobby's ceiling. Also The Road This Far was set to 'Heartbreaker' by Pat Benatar. Fitting.

- I'm not so sure I like all this pushing of 'who is really the monster' themes that Carver seems to be doing. Dude. Leave Sam alone for once. If he HADN'T gone looking for Dean he would have been vilified all over again like at the beginning of Season 8. And, so far, he really hasn't done anything that Dean hasn't done in the past or that the boys haven't done together.

- Deanmon. That name still bothers me. It sounds like a reject from the Pokemon franchise.

- They HAD to tear out my heart by showing us Sam moping over Dean and looking at old pictures of the two of them, didn't they? Sam's arm was in a sling because of what a demon "did to his shoulder"....but it was a prophet, not a demon. The word is that Jared Padalecki and Osric Chau were wrestling a while back and Jared dislocated/separated his shoulder. Ouch. Needless to say it works, character-wise, because Jared has lost a lot of weight and - as a result, once he gets the makeup and his acting on - Sam honestly looks like crap...exactly the way we would expect him to look if he was living off of cold cereal and coffee in his search for his brother.

- "We don't know if this guy's a hero or a psychopath." Story of the Winchesters' lives...

- Castiel snores? No, wait, it was just his phone going off. (But apparently dying from failing grace makes you exhibit asthma-cough-like symptoms.)

- Could they please, please, PLEASE not have Castiel and Hannah be in a romantic relationship? If they do, I might just cry. I think that this would be a stupid, STUPID move for two main reasons:

1. We are in DESPERATE need of an angel besides Castiel with a bit of character. Really that hasn't happened since Balthazar (Naomi, Samandriel, and Gadreel all had promise...but were killed off) and it would be wonderful to have a female character who was not only an enjoyable angel but also a formidable character in her own right. I definitely think that Hannah has some potential (she reminds me of Season 4 Cas, actually) but I fear that making her into a love interest would kill that potential as romantic characters on this show tend to be despised by fans, side-lined as a result, and quickly killed off. No. Just no.
2. CASTIEL AND HANNAH ARE SIBLINGS! ALL ANGELS ARE BROTHER AND SISTERS! NO! JUST NO! EWWW! NO! IF THEY GET TOGETHER I...I...I'M GOING TO KILL THE WRITERS DEAD! NO!

- Dean singing 'I'm Too Sexy' will forever go down in history as one of the greatest SPN moments of all time.

- I wish it had been Abaddon groupies going after Dean instead of Crowley's offerings. It made sense that they'd harbor some deep-seeded resentment against the WINCHESTER who ganked their queen and is now parading around with their king. Also...I thought Dean is already a demon. Why does he have to keep killing to keep the Mark sated so he won't become one? Are there stages of demonic-ness? Is Crowley afraid that if Dean goes totally dark-nutters that he won't be able to control him? Because, Crowley old boy, I hate to tell you but you're doing a pretty poor job of controlling Dean now.

- Cole's son in this episode was played by the kid from Plucky's that Dean bonded with over pizza that tasted like butt.

- Are we ever going to find out what pre-Mark Dean did to Cole's family?

- Castiel's 'pimp car' still cracks me up. I also have to love how now, thanks to Metatron, he's the one making the references that none of his siblings get.

- WHEN are we going to see dark!Dean come out for a howl?

So far it's been more this:

And not so much of this:

- "Moose! Took you long enough. Your brother and I were wondering if you'd hit another dog." Now that was just rude...

- Sam used that cruel phone-call to track Crowley's whereabouts. Haha. I love it when Sammy uses his brain like that!

- Daniel's speech about angels discovering Free Will was interesting. In some ways I really liked it because it echoes a lot of things I have long suspected about the affect of Free Will on angels in this universe...but on the other hand, well, fish? Seriously? That was a bit weird.

- "You lied." "Who do you think you're talking to here?!" I love that Dean apparently only went with Crowley because Crowley promised him booze and barmaids and now that Crowley is admitting he has fixing Hell in mind Dean's not interested. Crowley is discovering what I've said all along: Dean is just as hard to control as a demon as he was as a human.

- The episode ends with that hunter/vigilante/revenge-seeker named Cole beating on Sam? What the? The poor guy looks like crap already, Cole! What is this, Season Let's See How Much Sam Hurt We Can Fit In?

- I got chills whenever Dean just shrugged at the idea of Sam being killed and then promised to hunt Cole down just for the heck of it, rather than because he had hurt Dean's little brother. Yes. The Dean we all knew and loved is pretty much gone. And I'm actually excited about this.

          All in all this was a nice little episode. It's difficult to really properly analyze it until we see where it leads, but as far as season set-up goes it did its job admirably, establishing the character dynamics for at least the next couple of episodes and setting up our arc. Crowley was as wonderfully irritating as ever, Dean had hints of the darkness I'm excited to hear from his character, Castiel and Hannah were wonderful, and Sam...Sam is everything I could have hoped. Really this was HIS episode and, if this is any indicator of the rest of the season, then I'm really excited about where the story is going. Black is a 5/5.

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