Supernatural - Season 4 Review

The marathon continues! I have now finished Season 4 and due to popular demand (and because I have way too much to say) I will be doing the 4, 5 and 6 season reviews separately instead of as a group. Lets take a ride shall we?

What really hit home in Season 4 were the parallels to 2 of my very favorite shows: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff, Angel. (Duh. Positive I'm not the first here). Not that the similarities hadn't occurred to me before. Good versus Evil. Monster of the week with a Big Bad waiting in the wings. But it's more this season. Some of it is the 38 minutes of hilarity followed by 2 minutes of emotional hell. Joss was always so good at that. It always makes for the most memorable pieces of television. Who doesn't want to float on the clouds and then crash violently to earth? Maybe it's also Dean's coming back from the dead. Having to make those impossible decisions. You or the world? Your loved ones or some random stranger? Can you do the job you set out to do? Is it worth giving up everything? Who do you trust? Do you even trust yourself? Why you? How far are you willing to go? And these parallels might upset people who will make accusations of copy catting but it really just makes me love this show even more. Buffy and Angel are over (on the screen anyways) but that doesn't make this kind of story telling any less mesmerizing. These themes will always be alive and well in our culture and I am just thankful that I have happened upon so many great tellings of them. We all need heroes. Especially the messy kind.

"Lazarus Rising" - 4x1: Another Buffy moment for me. Dean digging his way out of his grave. He seemed to adapt a little faster though. Dove right into the junk food and porn. That's the Dean we know and love. The hug he and Sam shared nearly knocked me out of my chair. I felt it in my soul. Also, nice to finally meet Castiel and Genevieve Cortese (who we know becomes Genevieve Padalecki) as the new Ruby. I'd known about both of them prior to watching but it was nice to get some context.

"Are You There God? It's Me, Dean Winchester" - 4x2: This episode reminded me of a Buffy episode as well. "Conversations With Dead People" from Season 7. Each of the characters dealing with their own personal demons through a fight with a monster. I also love Dean's crisis of faith now that he personally knows an angel. "I thought angels were supposed to be guardians. Fluffy wings. Halos. You know, Michael Landon, not dicks."

"In the Beginning" - 4x3: Loved the Back To The Future parallels! Loved learning more about their family history. Hunting really is in their blood.

"Metamorphosis" - 4x4: "I've seen big weird, little weird, weird with crazy on top." One of my fave Dean quotes only because it's so applicable to the crap I have witnessed within the fandoms I live in. Scary people are scary! I was so moved by Sam's efforts to help this guy. Because maybe if this guy was a monster and could live a normal life, so could the monster Sam believes he is.

"Monster Movie" - 4x5: Loved that the brothers Winchester seemed back to themselves after so much stress regarding Dean's return and Sam's "activities." Loved the black & white take. Dean said the word hymen like 10 times. Fantastic. See also the Kiss of the Week.

"Yellow Fever" - 4x6: OMG The Scream. I nearly choked from laughing so hard. And then his rant; "And you… you're gassy. You eat half a burrito and you get toxic!" Seriously fraking hilarious. I delighted in seeing this side of Dean. Oh, and the song "Eye of the Tiger" has been forever altered in my mind. Thank you Jensen Ackles for this shining moment!

"It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester" - 4x7: Living where I do, it was nice to hear some accurate Halloween lore. That stuff is always so interesting to me. Loved Dean standing up to the angels. That Uriel is such a dick.

"Wishful Thinking" - 4x8: I seriously thought this episode was going to kill me. That entire business with the Teddy Bear was too much. I am still cracking up over it: "How do we even know that's gonna work? I mean I don't want some giant, flaming, pissed-off teddy on our hands." And then Dean is honest with Sam about Hell for the first time. And though he won't share specifics, I'm upset just thinking about it.

"I Know What You Did Last Summer" - 4x9: Sam comes clean (mostly) about what Dean missed while in Hell. I could not have been more broken hearted about his trying to get Dean back. And while half of me loves when they scream at each other (the raw emotion is enough to swallow anyone whole) the other half of me hates it so much. I also want to thank Sam for "too much information." I've said it before, Supernatural doesn't do a whole lot of love or sex but when they do it they do it so right. Holy Hotness Batman. Please tell me I'm not the only one who watched this more than a few times. No wonder the actors got married. They almost had to after that public display. WOW.

"Heaven and Hell" - 4x10: I have 2 things from this episode I want to comment about. Remember when I said 6 seconds ago that this show knows how to do sex? Um... Yeah. Boy do they. I cannot believe they showed this on The CW. Seriously. YOU GUYS! He removed her pants and separated her legs and crawled between them. My jaw was on the frickin floor, drool just pouring out. Mostly thanks to one of the hottest backs I have ever seen in my life (thanks again Sandi!) Lord. Have. Mercy.

The other thing about this episode that I need to bring up (which reminds me of a certain Angel Season 5 basement:
Dean: They... they sliced and carved and tore me in ways that you... Until there was nothing left. And then suddenly, I would be whole again. Like magic. So they can start all over. And Alastair, at the end of every day... every one, he would come over and he would make me an offer... to take me off the rack if I put souls on... If I started to torture. And every day I told him to stick it where the sun shines. For thirty years I told him. But then I couldn't do it any more, Sammy... I couldn't. And I got off that rack, God help me, I got right off and I started ripping them apart. I lost count of how many souls. The... the things that I did to them...
Sam: Dean.... Dean, look, you held up for thirty years. That's longer than anyone would have
Dean: How I feel. This... inside me... I wish I couldn't feel anything, Sammy. I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing.
****
I can't even write about it without my body shaking with sobs and feeling like my guts are being tied in knots. I cannot handle Dean's tears (they are just as bad if not worse than Stefan Salvatore's tears). It's too much. The guilt and the shame. To carry that with you. Every. Day. It's too much.

"Family Remains" = 4x11: A devastating story. The most devastating of it all though was Dean. Again. "I enjoyed it Sam. They took me off the rack, and I tortured souls, and I liked it. All those years, all that pain, finally getting to deal some out yourself, I didn't care who they put in front of me. Because that… that pain I felt, it just slipped away. No matter how many people I save, I can't change that. I can't fill this hole, not ever."

"Criss Angel Is A Douchebag" - 4x12: The title of this episode is a giant win. I also liked that they said the word "douche" about 90 times.

"After School Special" - 4x13: Those shorts! That sweat band! "Take a lap!" "Walk it off!" *DEAD* Funny Gym Teacher Dean aside; poor Sam. He wanted so badly to be normal but he was just always different. Even as a grown up hunter, still such a little boy. Poor Sammy.

"Sex and Violence" - 4x14: "Strippers, Sammy. Strippers! We are on an actual case involving strippers. Finally!" Loved seeing Jim Parrack who plays Hoyt Fortenberry on True Blood. Hate what he did to my boys. That fight. Ouch. As Scarlett O'Hara's Mammy once said: "It makes my blood run cold, the things they say to one another."

"Death Takes a Holiday" - 4x15: "Floored by the Lord.com bloggers" LMFAO!! I hated that the boys could not get past their fight, hard as they tried. And I was sad for Pamela. She only ever wanted to help.

"On the Head of a Pin" - 4x16: I tweeted this as I was watching but I must reiterate: I need new pants every time Dean uses his angry voice. Good God. And Uriel always brings Angry Dean. Glad he finally got his. My poor Dean though. To have to relive that Hell. To learn what he did. Torture is such a gray area. It shouldn't be, but it is. And not just because I'm torn between thinking he's hot doing it (that Alastair fucker is creepy and deserved all of it) and hating that he has to do it at all. I hate that it has changed him. But he's not the only one who has changed. It's been the underlying theme of the entire season. Dean is not the same old Dean (because of Hell and all) and Sam is not same old Sam either because (SURPRISE!) he's been drinking demon blood. Oh Sam.

"It's a Terrible Life" - 4x17: I have witnessed a lot of scary ass shit watching this show but nothing is scarier than Corporate Dean. Parted hair? Shirt and tie? Talk radio? SALAD?? *shudder* And Corporate Dean thinking Corporate Sam is hitting on him? BAHAHAHAHA!!! The lesson from all of this? Dean can't be done. He has to do what he does. He has no choice. It's Buffy all over again. And it's heart crushing.

"The Monster at the End of This Book" - 4x18: I have only this to share. Absolutely brilliant!
Dean: There's Sam girls and Dean girls. And what's a slash fan?
Sam: As in... Sam slash Dean. Together.
Dean: Like... together together?
Sam: Yeah.
Dean: They do know we're brothers, right?
Sam: It doesn't seem to matter.
Dean: Ah, come on. That's... that's just sick.

"Jump the Shark" - 4x19: I am so glad they only had a brother for like 5 minutes. That would have been so annoying. This is the book of Sam and Dean. Not Sam, Dean and Adam. Blech.

"The Rapture" - 4x20: Sam is cranky. that's what happens to addicts who don't get what they want. Damn it Sam. Really enjoyed getting more Castiel/Jimmy back story. Though considering what happened to Jimmy, makes me kinda glad I don't pray that much.

"When The Levee Breaks" - 4x21: I'm incapable of describing the sob fest I had watching this episode. From start to finish. What is it with brothers on The CW locking each other up? And while I always know it's for the best, it doesn't make it any easier. Sammy may as well have stuck a spork in my heart. That's how it felt watching him go through his withdrawals. I wanted to hug him and run away from him at the same time. And then their fight. I know a dozen of you will say I have cheered on their screaming matches in the past. And I have. Because it shows the depth of their devotion. But this. This was so bad. What Dean called Sam. The tears in both of their eyes. You guys I was SOBBING.

"When The Levee Breaks" - 4x22: THAT FUCKING BITCH!! I wanted so bad for her to be good. I really really wanted it. Even when I knew that wasn't the case. And I KNEW it! She said it herself when they first got it on: "Because it's wrong and it's bad and we shouldn't." Dean was right. What good could EVER come from drinking the blood of a Demon? But I also knew Dean would NEVER give up on him. No matter what he had done. Sam's "I'm Sorry" was a killer. Of course he was sorry. Poor Sam. And now both of them have played their part in bringing on the apocalypse. An apocalypse only they can stop. *SOB* Those angels seem like total dicks if you ask me.

Before I end the sequel to War and Peace ( DAMN THIS POST IS LONG! RIGHT?) I have to give a shout out to Bobby Singer. I absolutely love this character. ADORE this character. I was crazy about Jim Beaver on Deadwood and am so glad to see him have such an irreplaceable role on Supernatural. He has been more than a father figure to the boys. They owe him a seriously nice fruit basket.

Lucifer is having a coming out party. What comes next?? So excited for Season 5! If you have made it this far in my novel (SO SORRY!) please leave comments! Love sharing the #SPN love with you all!

*credit for all screencaps goes to http://caps.oxoniensis.org/spncaps.html