Thinman Review

I was thoroughly convinced Thinman was a ghost all the way up until Ed revealed the truth. The last time they had a human monster was all the way back in season 4 (I think). So you can imagine my surprise when it turned out to just be a guy in a mask. To be honest, the guy was sick. Killing someone because they didn't go out with you or because they criticized you? He needs to grow up and realize that not everything in life is going to go his way. Just because someone doesn't do what you want doesn't mean you should kill them. That guy deserves to rot in jail cell for 20 years to life. Not to mention the fact that it was a cop who was helping him. How did he even earn a badge with an attitude like that?

Ed and Harry were definitely acting as a metaphor for Sam and Dean in this episode. Ed/Dean lied to Harry/Sam about something important in order to keep their relationship at its current state. Dean didn't want to hunt without Sam, while Ed didn't want to do Ghostfacers without Harry. Except for the time between seasons 3 and 4, Sam has done perfectly fine without Dean on multiple occasions. Each time Sam leaves Dean, though, Dean does crazy stuff to try to get Sam back. On one hand, we don't have a show without the brothers, but on the other hand, they need to learn to live and hunt without each other.

I think they're running out of motel sets to use. They already used the same exterior shot in both Dog Dean Afternoon and another episode this season. In this episode, the interior of the motel looked strangely familiar. I may just be remembering it from the trailers (which have been going around for a few weeks), but I think I've seen the inside of that motel recently. Since I haven't stayed in any motels in the past few months, I can only imagine it was on another episode of Supernatural.

The Purge Review

I didn't think for one moment that this was a witch. The reason is that in the opening sequence, there was clearly someone in the car. If it had been a witch using a hex bag, they simply would have planted it there beforehand. There's no reason to get into the car while the victim is still alive, unless you're a monster.

Nine seasons in, and they're still adding to the mythology. First it was Cain and the first blade, now it's the Pishtacos. It's the mark of a good when the writers continue to expand the universe, never believing that it's good enough. Some shows get dormant after a while and stop expanding, those shows generally die off. Supernatural is still going strong.

The brothers themselves finally addressed their codependency issue. Sam blamed it all on Dean, saying that Dean was afraid to live alone, while Sam would gladly let him die. I have a hard time believing that after the events of seasons 3 and 4, but there's been a lot of character development since then. I still think that Sam would at least try to save Dean if he was dying/dead. He might not go as far as to sell his own soul, but he wouldn't give up without a fight.

We've now had two episodes in a row using the "good monster with bad family" plot line. Sam and Dean initially suspect the good monster, before eventually realizing that it's their family member. I don't think the writers are going to be using the plotline again for the next episode. That one looks like a ghost story set in the bunker, at least judging by the trailer. Although, I suppose that doesn't mean there are two ghosts, one good and one bad. Also, Crowley and Cas both feature, so who knows. Either way, I hope they don't overuse this concept anymore this season.

The motel the brothers were staying at looked suspiciously like the one from Dog Dean Afternoon. I'm not sure if the interior was the same (although it was definitely familiar), but I'm confident the exterior shot was the same. I'm guessing the production team has only so many sets that they can use for the interior of motel rooms. However, there are thousands of motels scatter across the United States and Canada. There are probably a couple hundred just within a 200 mile radius of Vancouver. So far, we're 185 episodes in and not all of those have featured motels. I doubt they've used up all the motels within driving range and they definitely haven't used up all the ones within road trip range. The only acceptable explanation would be if both episodes took place in the same town, but they don't.

Sharp Teeth Review

Dean sure has some pretty serious guilt issues. He seems to think everything is his fault. First he blamed himself for Kevin's death, now he's blaming himself for Garth becoming a werewolf. I think he just doesn't want to blame his friends and family for anything, so he simply puts all the blame on himself. Some day, he has to learn that not everything bad is his fault.

We got to see more of the Winchester codependency issue today. Sam and Dean were apart for only one episode this time. They've spent years apart from each, put only when they thought the other was dead. Anytime they know the other is alive, they end up hunting together. Mind you, they're a force to be reckoned with when hunting together, but they need somebody else in their lives. What really needs to happen is for one of them to get a serious girlfriend and choose her over hunting. Either that, or the girlfriend is a hunter and she hunts with one of them and the other eventually learns to do his own thing.

One problem I noticed with this whole Ragnarok thing is that Odin is already dead. They said in the episode that the werewolf guy is supposed to kill Odin, but Lucifer already did that. Way back in season 5, Lucifer killed a bunch of pagan gods at some hotel where they were having a conference. Apparently this church didn't get that message, and decided to go through with the apocalypse anyway. Either that, or they found out and decided to create their own version of Ragnarok.

I still find it hard to believe that all these cops don't recognize the brothers. I know they're presumed dead, but with all the cops they talk to in each episode, surely one of them must remember them from their previous media attention. They have a known MO of impersonating cops, which coupled with the Impala, is a dead giveaway. I think this is one of the issues that the writer just ignore for the sake of helping the plot along. If the Winchesters were recognized by every cop, it'd seriously screw with the way they operate. The writers would have to come up with some new ploy for the brothers to get information, so rather than do that, they just ignore the issue.

First Born Review

Day 1 of Winchester separation saw both brothers making bad decisions. Dean decided to take the mark of Cain, which could have unforeseen consequences down the road. Sam was so pushed by guilt that he pushed Cas to continue extracting grace from him when it nearly killed him. We know from the trailer that next week they'll be back together. I really think they need more time apart to learn to make decision that account for their own well being without being pushed into it by the other.

I'm predicting this mark is going to have some sort of effect on Dean. My guess is that it's going to make him more of a cold-hearted killer than before. The brothers have always been violent, but this will probably magnify that effect. In fact, it may even make him more violent towards people he wouldn't otherwise be violent towards, like Sam and Cas.

This story certainly has some implications for the mythology of the show. Sam and Dean are supposed to be direct descendants of Cain and Able. Cain said that Able was being tempted by Lucifer and that he made a deal with Lucifer to kill Able and send him to heaven. Cain would then serve Lucifer in Able's place. This has a certain parallel to how Sam was tempted to become Lucifer's vessel. The only question is whether the story will conclude in the same way, with Dean killing Sam in order to save him.

We learned in this episode that a bit of grace is left behind whenever an angel leaves its vessel. It'd be interesting to see if that grace had any potential side effects. Perhaps it makes it easier for the vessel to be found again. It might also establish some sort of bond between angel and vessel. Castiel said there wasn't enough grace left for them to use a spell to summon Gadriel. I wonder it there's just the teeniest bit of Lucifer's grace left in Sam. It wouldn't be very much, just enough to skew the effects of the spell.

Road Trip Review

So we learned some interesting tidbits about possession in this episode. Apparently, both an angel and a demon can possess the same person simultaneously. I'm still not sure I like this new CGI thing where angels are visible as they possess someone. They look sorta like white smoke, which is a bit too much like a demon for me. Also, what happened to being the size of the Chrysler building with four faces? Humans aren't supposed to be able to perceive their true form, and here we are perceiving them.

I love hearing about Sam and Dean's secret codes and tricks. This week, we learned that "poughkeepsie" means "drop everything and run". There have other codes, as well. Saying they've got something stuck to their shoe means they're being followed. Also, in the event of separation, they go to the first motel in the phone book and ask for Jim Rockford.

Demons have infiltrated the NSA. Kinda makes you wonder what else they've infiltrated. Probably everything. CIA, FBI, UN, KBG, SS, MI5, Congress, big business, they probably make it a point to infiltrate everything they can. They probably have just enough spies to monitor everything going on, while having a low enough number to avoid arousing suspicion.

We see more of the Winchester codependency problem here. Sam claims he was ready to die, but Dean just wouldn't live without him. The brothers have a dangerous history of doing whatever it takes to keep each other alive. Previously, it meant making demons deals, but now it's gotten into allowing unknown angels to possess each other. I'm not sure there will ever be a day when they simply allow one another to die. It's not healthy.

I still want to know if Michael and Lucifer were freed from the cage. We know that at least two angels were freed from heavenly jail, but does that include the cage? There's been some speculation as to whether we'll see the 2014 endverse this season. I'd love to see the return of the archangels, just as long as the writers added something new into the mix. I want either a new bit of mythology about them or a new plan for them to achieve, since their previous apocalyptic plans were ruined.