SPN "Sacrifice" review

So this review is going up a little later than normal, but there's a good reason for that - I flew back to PA on the day after the episode aired, and only got back to Oklahoma this evening. I was still able to watch the episode twice the night it aired, and then actually wrote this review during my third, fourth, and fifth times through (gotta do something while you're sitting in airports and on planes) I just couldn't stop rewatching, and every time I did, I noticed something else I wanted to talk about... So, just a warning - this is a long one... Enjoy.

Supernatural Season 8, Episode 23 - Sacrifice (season finale)

I think with this episode, it's appropriate to start with the ending, because it was the ending that totally blew my mind. My jaw literally dropped and I just stared at my computer screen in awe. I'm pretty sure it was one of the most incredible scenes in any Supernatural episode, ever. From the shots of the angels falling while their wings burned off, to the ones of Sam and Dean staring at the sky in horror, to Cas in that field with the streaks of light burning across the sky behind him, the entire thing was visually stunning. And when you combined that with the fact that this was a total game-changer for really the entire world, I was blown away.

It was something you might expect to see in fanfiction, not canon, but that just made it that much more of an unexpected twist. Castiel's grace being torn out - did NOT see that coming! And every single angel being cast out of heaven - nope, didn't see that coming either, not at all. And both of those things change everything.

Let's start with the angels. From what was said in the episode, it seems that they'll still have their power; they'll just be trapped on earth. And given what we know about angels, a lot of them are not very good guys (this may be the understatement of the year) Add to that the dissension in heaven for the last however many millennia, and having every angel suddenly restricted to the earthly realm seems like a really, really scary thing. Imagine thousands of angels suddenly duking it out in our world... If two archangels could destroy half the world when they fought, how much damage could happen now? The war in heaven just spilled out down to earth, and that doesn't sound good for humanity.

SPN "Clip Show" review

I really love writing these reviews - there's something about putting my thoughts about this show I love into a coherent form that makes me really happy inside. That's been true before of my other favorite shows too, actually, now that I stop to think about it... I totally used to use study hall every Friday in high school to write at least a page on my theories from the latest episode of Lost, and then later on Fringe had me staying up til all hours spitting out fanfiction tags to episodes... Writing something, anything, is how I process. And the more I love the show, the more emotionally invested I am in it, and the more I need to get those thoughts out and organized. Thus, episode reviews!

Okay, I'm done psychoanalyzing myself now. On to the actual review.

Supernatural Season 8, Episode 22 - Clip Show

First things first - from what I've seen on the web, the fandom was rather split in their reaction to the episode. There were those who loved it and were raving about how amazing it was, but there were also people who felt gypped, underwhelmed, and confused. Personal confession time - I fall into that part of the fandom that tries very hard to sit back and enjoy the ride, rather than picking things to pieces or sitting around going "But it could have been better..." So... I liked this episode. Was it as good as the last two were? Maybe not, but then again, the more times I watch it, the better I like it.

That's not to say I didn't like it the first time around. I was totally yelling at my screen at several points in the episode, got rather emotional during those last four minutes, and proceeded to totally lose it as the episode ended. But after I had a few minutes to recover, when it came time to decide whether I was going to rewatch it that night or not, I wasn't sure. I thought to myself, "Self, that felt a little disjointed. I'm not sure if I'll watch it again tonight." So I went and watched Arrow (best episode of their season right there, I think), and then, since it wasn't even 11:30pm yet, I thought, "What the heck; why not?" and gave Supernatural that second shot.

And the second time through all those emotions were still there (I even yelled at my screen again... yeah), and on top of that, it suddenly felt much more coherent to me. Why? Well, I had zero idea what was coming that first time through (no spoilers, not even the episode synopsis, remember?), so there was so much happening that it felt a little like riding The Phantom's Revenge for the first time... One crazy thing after another, one reveal on top of the next, leaving me breathless and actually a little overwhelmed. On the second viewing, I knew what to expect, and could therefore spend more time appreciating the dialogue and the way things came together. And I really liked it, even more so the second time through.

Yes, there was a lot packed into this episode. Yes, you could probably have taken out some of the filler episodes and spread out the main storyline over more of the season, but that makes it harder to attract viewers who want to jump in and out of shows, which is why it really isn't done anymore. And there's something to be said for having such a fast-paced episode like this. I think it really worked well as the setup to the finale - there's nothing like a crazy roller coaster ride of an episode to get your blood pumping before you fly off a cliff next week...

SPN "The Great Escapist" review

It's Thursday, and that means it's time for a review of last night's incredibly awesome episode of Supernatural. I'd like to preface this review by saying that if I had attempted to write this last night, I would have gotten exactly nowhere, because I was too busy being blown away by how good the episode was as a whole. I actually watched it through once, sat and stared at my screen for a minute, and started it all over again. And was still speechless after the second time through (aside from phrases like, "holy freaking..." and, "wow... just wow") Yeah. It was that good. So if at any point in this review, I sound totally incoherent and overwhelmed by the sheer awesomeness of the show, you can blame it on me not having fully recovered from having my mind blown :)

Supernatural Season 8, Episode 21 - The Great Escapist

I don't really even know where to start with this (mind still blown), so I think I'll stick with starting with the very beginning. That seems like a very good place to start...

So... from the moment Kevin woke up in the boat, I knew it wasn't real, couldn't be real. Wasn't sure yet whether it was demons or angels messing with him, but it had to be one of the above. I hadn't seen any promo clips or previews or anything, having decided to go spoiler-free for these last three episodes, and that totally paid off here, because I was left wondering rather than knowing from the get-go that Crowley had him.

It was also evident from the very first scene that this was gonna be an amazing episode. I mentioned in my review of Taxi Driver that the character of Kevin had really grown on me, and this episode solidified that. These last two eps with Kevin have been really well acted by Osric Chau, and I've (finally) reached the point where I actually care about what happens to the character. Which is good, because the episode wouldn't have been nearly as gripping if I hadn't care about a third of its plot...

And was anyone else both highly impressed and highly amused by the fake Sam and Dean? It really felt like you were watching a Sam and Dean from a mediocre piece of fanfiction - where they're close to how they should be, and yet all the little differences scream to you that this isn't the Sam and Dean you know and love. Which, of course, is exactly what the show was going for.

Plus, I love Crowley, and so I was totally psyched to see him appear. Definitely my favorite bad guy on this show (with Lucifer a close second), and probably on my list of top ten bad guys on TV. He has the best lines... This week, the ones that killed me were, "I was born to direct..." and then, "I was thinking to myself, 'Self...'" Combine awesome dialogue with Mark Sheppard's amazing acting skills, and Crowley rocked this episode. He's a freaking smart bad guy, too - melting down angel blades to make bullets, paying off an angel to have an inside man, figuring out how Cas' mind works... Naomi's wise to be scared of him.

Okay, I have now written four paragraphs with the episode paused one minute in... Time to move on, I think.