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(NOTE: By official, I mean that I asked Kryptonsite if I could review it. He said yes, but reminded me that there isn't a site. So the reviews go up on this board, and he (being kind and a lovely chap) will link to them via the official Kryptonsite Twitter account.)
The apocalypse has begun.
Some would say it had already, and they'd have a point. But for me, this was the first real episode where the gloves came off. The deaths of Jo and Ellen (more on those later) are the first real casualties for the boys. It's an extension of what happened to Bobby, as Season Five seems to be pushing us along the track where every safe house and point of harbour for the boys is slowly chiseled away.
It veers back, in a fashion, to what the show started as. Two guys against the world of demons.
Naturally, it grew into more than that. Effectively, now we have two guys (one who has been tasked with becoming a vessel for good, the other evil) having to deal with Angels and Demons - stuck in the middle of a war between Heaven and Hell that has parallels to their situation.
Up to now, Sam and Dean were winning. Or at least outracing their demons (inner and outer.)
They managed to halt War in his tracks. Then they defeated Gabriel's test, sparing his life in such a way that he may become an ally to them yet. Throw in their discovery that Bela had given The Colt to someone else, and it saw them inching towards finding a solution to Lucifer.
Namely sending 'that bad man back to Hell.'
As you've read the opening, you know it didn't turn out that way. The episode was set up to accomplish two things:
1) To show how difficult Lucifer is going to be to kill, and:
2) Put across the human spirit.
While I think Sam and Dean are pretty heroic, it's been heavily suggested that they were destined for this. Elle and Jo aren't. People have already said that their deaths were contrived, but I see it that their deaths exist to let us know that humans are something worth fighting for. These two hunters have nothing to do with a prophecy, or destiny, and will probably be quickly forgotten by most people on the show... but in their last moments, they gave Sam and Dean a chance to get to Lucifer and try taking it out.
That they didn't is a failure in one sense, but in another it's very telling.
Now they know it won't kill Lucifer (he's an Angel, not a demon), or (likely) his Horsemen. So it sends Sam and Dean back to the drawing board. Instead of it taking five years to discover The Colt won't work (ala 504 - The End), they now know it won't work much earlier. So new plans will be forged, meaning Dean and Sam are likely going to join Castiel in pushing up the search for the only one with a real answer for them.
Chances are He's playing at the amusements in New Jersey.
This was a terrific, terrific episode of TV. Supernatural has what, in terms of TV size, is a small budget, but they do so much with it. The Apocalypse this season isn't spreading worldwide and epic in a Roland Emmerich style, and is all the better for it. Instead of high-octane heroics, we're getting small stories with a large focus. The psychological side of the show is still tinted squarely at Sam and Dean, allowing us to see how events affect them. It makes for a far more interesting show.
Special props must also go to Alona Tal and Samantha Ferris. These two were brought on in S2 and given a decent slice of screen time, but (for various reasons) didn't return until 502. Both of them managed to make a good impression in this episode, their long absence between seasons being addressed through classy writing. The show manages to make their deaths poignant, in character, and a crowning moment of awesome. Both of them go out showing that humans are something worth fighting for, which is a great send off for two fine actresses.
We also see Mark Pellegrino making his scenes simmer, especially the ones with Misha Collins. Collins is a brilliant actor (with insanely good comic-timing), and throwing these two together to discuss religious implications, and loyalty, helps put across the divide between Lucifer (who sees himself as more that human) and Castiel (seeing himself, increasingly, as empathetic to humans.)
It's a great episode of a great show. One of the best on TV.
5/5
The apocalypse has begun.
Some would say it had already, and they'd have a point. But for me, this was the first real episode where the gloves came off. The deaths of Jo and Ellen (more on those later) are the first real casualties for the boys. It's an extension of what happened to Bobby, as Season Five seems to be pushing us along the track where every safe house and point of harbour for the boys is slowly chiseled away.
It veers back, in a fashion, to what the show started as. Two guys against the world of demons.
Naturally, it grew into more than that. Effectively, now we have two guys (one who has been tasked with becoming a vessel for good, the other evil) having to deal with Angels and Demons - stuck in the middle of a war between Heaven and Hell that has parallels to their situation.
Up to now, Sam and Dean were winning. Or at least outracing their demons (inner and outer.)
They managed to halt War in his tracks. Then they defeated Gabriel's test, sparing his life in such a way that he may become an ally to them yet. Throw in their discovery that Bela had given The Colt to someone else, and it saw them inching towards finding a solution to Lucifer.
Namely sending 'that bad man back to Hell.'
As you've read the opening, you know it didn't turn out that way. The episode was set up to accomplish two things:
1) To show how difficult Lucifer is going to be to kill, and:
2) Put across the human spirit.
While I think Sam and Dean are pretty heroic, it's been heavily suggested that they were destined for this. Elle and Jo aren't. People have already said that their deaths were contrived, but I see it that their deaths exist to let us know that humans are something worth fighting for. These two hunters have nothing to do with a prophecy, or destiny, and will probably be quickly forgotten by most people on the show... but in their last moments, they gave Sam and Dean a chance to get to Lucifer and try taking it out.
That they didn't is a failure in one sense, but in another it's very telling.
Now they know it won't kill Lucifer (he's an Angel, not a demon), or (likely) his Horsemen. So it sends Sam and Dean back to the drawing board. Instead of it taking five years to discover The Colt won't work (ala 504 - The End), they now know it won't work much earlier. So new plans will be forged, meaning Dean and Sam are likely going to join Castiel in pushing up the search for the only one with a real answer for them.
Chances are He's playing at the amusements in New Jersey.
This was a terrific, terrific episode of TV. Supernatural has what, in terms of TV size, is a small budget, but they do so much with it. The Apocalypse this season isn't spreading worldwide and epic in a Roland Emmerich style, and is all the better for it. Instead of high-octane heroics, we're getting small stories with a large focus. The psychological side of the show is still tinted squarely at Sam and Dean, allowing us to see how events affect them. It makes for a far more interesting show.
Special props must also go to Alona Tal and Samantha Ferris. These two were brought on in S2 and given a decent slice of screen time, but (for various reasons) didn't return until 502. Both of them managed to make a good impression in this episode, their long absence between seasons being addressed through classy writing. The show manages to make their deaths poignant, in character, and a crowning moment of awesome. Both of them go out showing that humans are something worth fighting for, which is a great send off for two fine actresses.
We also see Mark Pellegrino making his scenes simmer, especially the ones with Misha Collins. Collins is a brilliant actor (with insanely good comic-timing), and throwing these two together to discuss religious implications, and loyalty, helps put across the divide between Lucifer (who sees himself as more that human) and Castiel (seeing himself, increasingly, as empathetic to humans.)
It's a great episode of a great show. One of the best on TV.
5/5
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