Supernatural 1:6-8

1:6 SKIN

Directed by Robert Duncan McNeill. Original Airdate: October 18, 2005.

Watched and Reviewed on May 25, 2011.

Synopsis: A demonic shape-shifter adopts the likeness of Sam's college buddy to commit a gruesome murder. When the brothers investigate, the being "borrows" Dean's form to continue its killing spree.

This is a dark episode in both subject matter (to a certain extent) and aesthetic. The Winchester brothers hunt down a shapeshifting serial killer, and things become really complicated when said killer assumes Dean's identity. As much as I like the set-up and the idea behind this one, it's the most underwhelming episode thus far. With shows like this, there are some episodes that really stand out and there are others that seem like filler, which is the case when you have multiple writers and directors working on various episodes. Well, SKIN is an episode that feels like filler more than anything. Not that it's bad, but there's nothing great about it either. However, I loved the especially dark and grim look of the cinematography in spots, especially towards the end of the episode when the story moves to a haunting location. Great soundtrack in this one ("Inna Gada Da Vida" by Iron Butterfly and "Hey Man, Nice Shot" by Filter just to name a couple) and a nice DEMONS homage as well.

Score: 6.5

1:7 HOOK MAN

Directed by David Jackson. Original Airdate: October 25, 2011.

Watched and Reviewed on May 25, 2011.

Synopsis: In a quiet Iowa college town, a minister prays to protect his parishioners' children. But another minister - a two-centuries-old madman with a hook for a hand - wants them terrified, slashed and dead.

The Slasher episode! I can't tell you how overjoyed I was as this episode started and I realized it was going the slasher route. Unfortunately, though, like the previous episode, I found it to be really underwhelming. While the killer was somewhat interesting in both appearance and mythology, there was nothing about the story that grabbed me and kept my attention, and it just seemed like a missed opportunity overall. As far as the kills, they're about as good as you can get for a show on network television. In other words, no dismemberment or disembowelment, but not completely bloodless. One thing worthy of note is that the episode at least looked great. Like SKIN, this one was dark and atmospheric. Otherwise, I can't think of much else to say. Not bad, but pretty disappointing.

Score: 6

1:8 BUGS

Directed by Kim Manners. Original Airdate: November 8, 2005.

Watched and Reviewed on May 25, 2011.

Synopsis: After a construction worker is killed by insects burrowing into his brain, the brothers investigate a town's history and find that a new housing development is being built on sacred Indian land - with a curse attached.

Residents of an Oklahoma neighborhood are being killed by what appear to be normal insects, so the dynamic duo of Sam and Dean go out of their way to investigate the circumstances surrounding the strange deaths. I could be overly critical and talk about the fake-looking CGI bugs, but I sort of expected that anyway since the special effects up to this point have mostly been unimpressive. My biggest problem here is that BUGS felt like nothing more than a filler episode, which is fine and comes with the Monster of the Week territory, but it doesn't make for anything memorable. Oh, and the ending is REALLY stupid. I'm gonna make a prediction and say that this will go down as the worst episode of the season for me. Fans of the Nature Run Amok genre will undoubtedly dig this one, though.

Score: 6