Supernatural 2:11-13

2:11 PLAYTHINGS

Directed by Charles Beeson. Original Airdate: January 18, 2007.

Watched and Reviewed on June 4, 2011.

Synopsis: Remember your imaginary childhood friend? Bet your buddy wasn't anything like an angelic little girl's invisible playmate: a hoodoo demon with an unearthly aptitude for murder.

This is a surprisingly creepy little episode. It reminded me of A TALE OF TWO SISTERS. I was a little reluctant to namedrop that film at first since the whole imaginary friend thing is presented as a twist, but A) most horror fans should be able to pick up on it very early on in the episode anyway, and B) the synopsis blows it!

This one sort of revolved around the guilt that Sam has been feeling in regards to not being up to par on a few of the previous cases, which may or may not have resulted in tragic events that could have been prevented, but it's mostly just him letting everything get to his head. That's been a recurring theme in the season between both brothers: it's apparent that the job is taking a toll on their mental states. Anyway, enough about that. Even though I found this episode to be mostly predictable, I enjoyed it and was really impressed with the atmosphere throughout.

Score: 7

2:12 NIGHTSHIFTER

Directed by Phil Sgriccia. Original Airdate: January 25, 2007.

Watched and Reviewed on June 4, 2011.

Synopsis: Sam, Dean, a shape-shifter and hostages are locked in a bank, surrounded by a SWAT team. It all begins when the brothers, on the trail of a 'shifter, run into a portly paranoiac who's seen T2 once too often.

The brothers attempt to intercept a shape-shifting bank robber, but end up being held hostage by a conspiracy-theory nut who believes that a "Mandroid" with lazer-eyes is amongst them; it turns out to be the least of their worries when they find themselves surrounded on all sides by a SWAT team and a federal agent who's been hunting them down.

Once again, another solid episode, but I don't have a whole lot to say about it. To "pull back the curtain" a little, I'm currently writing my fourth review today and I'm a little burnt out, but at the same time I can't stop watching the show. What I can say is that it's interesting to see how much deeper of a hole that the brothers are constantly finding themselves in, and it seems that as the season progresses, it's inevitable that they'll wind up at a point of no return. At this point, they're full-fledged outlaws. I think Dean pretty much summed it up at the end of this episode: "We are so screwed." As far as the federal agent (or he may have just been a plain old detective - I'm not sure), they developed the shit out of him here, so it's a safe bet that he'll be back at some point.

Score: 7

2:13 HOUSES OF THE HOLY

Directed by Kim Manners. Original Airdate: February 1, 2007.

Watched and Reviewed on June 6, 2011.

Synopsis: The Winchesters have seen ghouls, demons, ghosts and vampires... but angels? "There's no such thing," Dean declares. But a new case involving "chosen" people who smite evildoers may prove him wrong.

There's a fine line when a film or television show feels the need to incorporate some sort of religious commentary, regardless of the stance being pro or anti-religious. That being said, HOUSE OF THE HOLY is the religious episode, and it features a commentary in a way that's mostly fair... well, until the end of the episode. But, even at that point, when it would seem that the show were leaning in a direction that would suggest propaganda, one could still argue that what they were going for was more of an approach on religious phenomena as something paranormal. In the end, I felt that it was just a little heavy-handed, but not enough for the non-religious part of me to get upset about it. I thought the episode handled the touchy subject well and it was a solid episode to boot.

Score: 7.5