Directed by Kim Manners. Original Airdate: October 4, 2007.Watched and Reviewed on June 11, 2011.
Synopsis: Lust. Gluttony. Greed. Sloth. Wrath. Envy. Pride. When the Devil's Gate opened, hundreds of demons escaped - including the seven deadly sins, who've now taken human form.
We begin with the aftermath of all Hell breaking loose in the previous season's finale, but the scale is toned down considerably. The brothers battle demons who represent the Seven Deadly Sins; an interesting idea that wasn't explored as much as it had the potential to be because of the inherent limitations. A new character is introduced that could shake things up.
Directed by Phil Sgriccia. Original Airdate: October 11, 2007.Watched and Reviewed on June 21, 2011.
Synopsis: Dean drops in on an old girlfriend he hasn't seen in nine years. Weird: She has an eight-year-old who sure reminds Dean of Dean. Weirder: The neighborhood kids are suddenly different. Frighteningly different.
According to the person who wrote it, this episode was entirely built around an idea for a scene in which a young mother locks her daughter in a car and pushes it into a bed of water, thus drowning the kid. While I was really underwhelmed with the episode (easily one of my least favorites of the show up to this point) due to me not being a fan of the killer kid sub-genre, I totally appreciate the fact that the creative minds behind the show were so thrilled about drowning a child on national television.
Directed by Robert Singer. Original Airdate: October 18, 2007.Watched and Reviewed on June 23, 2011.
Synopsis: It's Sam's lucky day when he touches a rabbit's foot. Everything from scratching lottery tickets to fighting bad guys goes right. Then Sam loses the foot, and everything goes wrong. Maybe dead wrong.
It's well documented that I'm not a fan of the comedic episodes (with one or two exceptions), but I really liked the vibe of this one and loved how it was written. For a second it felt like I was watching a movie during the showdown scene in a certain female character's house.
3:4 SIN CITY
Directed by Charles Beeson. Original Airdate: October 25, 2007.Watched and Reviewed on June 23, 2011.
Synopsis: Vegas is for wimps. America's hottest sin city is Elizabethville, Ohio - a nowhere factory town that's sunk in booze, gambling, sex and violence, thanks to some newly arrived Hellspawn.
A certain mythology is explored in this one, as told by a demon, which made for some interesting viewing. It seems that a whole lot of seeds are being planted so far for something that could potentially be huge come finale time, but we'll see how that goes.
3:5 BEDTIME STORIES
Directed by Mike Rohl. Original Airdate: November 1, 2007.Watched and Reviewed on June 23, 2011.
Synopsis: Once upon a time: It's a couple of grim brothers (Sam and Dean) vs. the Brothers Grimm when a rash of gruesome murders patterned on fairy tales terrifies a small town.
Starts out going in a certain direction that seems interesting, but then turns into a full-blown homage to Grimm's Fairy Tales, which is totally fine with me. I love dark fairy tale adaptations, and this episode covers a lot of ground in that respect, which is both good and bad. They tried to squeeze a lot into the forty-something minute running time, resulting in an episode that was a bit too dense. It's still cool to see how all of the fairy tale references play out, though. I especially liked how they incorporated Sleeping Beauty into the story.
Directed by Cliff Bole. Original Airdate: November 8, 2007.Watched and Reviewed on June 23, 2011.
Synopsis: A watery death - without the water. Bela joins the boys in solving the mystery of a ghost ship that appears every 37 years, leaving dry land drownings in its wake.
What is it about phantom ships that look so fucking cool? This one reminded me slightly of THE FOG in terms of some of the visuals, and even story-wise to a certain extent. A female character who was introduced a couple of episodes ago shows back up. The chemistry between her and the Winchester brothers is excellent. Great special effects sequence towards the end.
3:7 FRESH BLOOD
Directed by Kim Manners. Original Airdate: November 15, 2007.Watched and Reviewed on June 24, 2011.
Synopsis: Gordon Walker escapes from prison, intent on killing Sam. A run-in with a vampire leaves Gordon one of the undead - and an even more formidable foe.
A surprisingly tense and well-written episode with some solid directing. The vampire element doesn't play as big a part in the episode as I expected, but it all ties together nicely with the bigger story at hand, which focuses on a certain recurring character coming back into the picture. Lots of gore in this one, too. The biggest shock came in the form of some homosexual undertones towards the end between two supporting characters.
Directed by J. Miller Tobin. Original Airdate: December 13, 2007.Watched and Reviewed on June 24, 2011.
Synopsis: What comes down the chimney? Santa Claus. What goes up the chimney? Screaming, clawing victims of the Anti Claus, a pagan god with an unjolly thirst for blood. Scary Christmas, Sam and Dean!
While watching this, I thought on more than one occasion: "I can't believe they just went there." This is about as up there with SANTA'S SLAY (one of my favorite holiday movies) as a network television show can get in terms of how ridiculous and over-the-top it is as a horror-related Christmas homage. It's hilarious.
Directed by Robert Singer. Original Airdate: January 31, 2008.Watched and Reviewed on June 24, 2011.
Synopsis: A women's book club is really a cover for a murderous coven... and Ruby has suspiciously accurate knowledge about how witches kill.
There's a great moment in this episode involving a well-known song suddenly playing on the radio as someone's dying. The brothers take on a coven of suburban housewife witches. Entertaining and well-written, but very forgettable.
Directed by Steve Boyum. Original Airdate: February 7, 2008.Watched and Reviewed on June 24, 2011.
Synopsis: With the aid of a plant called African dream root, Sam and Dean dreamwalk into Bobby's mind, hoping to discover who... or what... put their friend into a coma.
This episode's like A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET without Freddy Krueger... which, I guess, would make it BAD DREAMS? Not quite. According to the show's executive producer, this was supposed to be a full-on homage to '80s slasher movies, right down to the look and style of the episode, but they found out three days before shooting that, due to legal reasons, they wouldn't be able to use the iconic killer that they were initially cleared to feature on the show. So, for being an episode where they had to improvise and re-write the entire thing in a couple of days, it's really impressive.
3:11 MYSTERY SPOT
Directed by Kim Manners. Original Airdate: February 14, 2008.Watched and Reviewed on June 24, 2011.
Synopsis: Groundhoug Day - Supernatural style. It's Tuesday every day in a town with a tourist trap called the Mystery Spot. Only Sam is aware of the phenomenon - and only Sam will be permanently changed by it.
Pretty hilarious. The episode starts over repeatedly until Sam can figure out a way to stop it. One of the villains from last season turns up again. Disliked the final third and especially the tone of the ending. Also, not a fan of said villain.
3:12 JUS IN BELLO
Directed by Phil Sgriccia. Original Airdate: February 21, 2008.Watched and Reviewed on June 24, 2011.
Synopsis: Is it right to sacrifice one person in the hope of saving many? Sam and Dean wrestle with that hear-wrenching question when they're jailed in a small town where locals are possessed by demons.
Nice homage to ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13. A pretty middle of the road episode, though. As one recurring character says farewell against their will, a new villain is introduced that will more than likely play a role in the season finale.
3:13 GHOSTFACERS!
Directed by Phil Sgriccia. Original Airdate: April, 24, 2008.Watched and Reviewed on June 24, 2011.
Synopsis: Strap in for the scariest hour in the history of television! Ghost-hunting dweebs and reality-show wannabes Ed and Harry invade the same haunted house Sam and Dean are investigating. The results are unreal.
Ironically, two characters from my favorite episode of the first season are back in an episode that's almost unbearable to watch.
3:14 LONG-DISTANCE CALL
Directed by Robert Singer. Original Airdate: May 1, 2008.Watched and Reviewed on June 25, 2011.
Synopsis: Calls from dead loved ones lure the living to suicide. For the brothers, it's a classic exercise in demon-hunting logic. But Dean loses his scientific detachment when he receives one of the calls... from John.
A decent episode about people receiving phone calls from their dead loved ones. Not what I expected two episodes before the finale, seeing as it doesn't really build any strong momentum. A calm before the storm, I suppose.
3:15 TIME IS ON MY SIDE
Directed by Charles Beeson. Original Airdate: May 8, 2008.Watched and Reviewed on June 25, 2011.
Synopsis: In 1816, a doctor sought the secret to eternal life by harvesting vital organs from the living. Maybe he found it: the doc is still going strong in 2008.
A slashery episode with an awesome villain. Does a nice job of weaving together a Monster of the Week plot with what's been hanging over the entire season, all while leaning in an interesting direction as far as the finale goes.
3:16 NO REST FOR THE WICKED (Finale)
Directed by Kim Manners. Original Airdate: May 15, 2008.Watched and Reviewed on June 25, 2011.
Synopsis: Dean's time has run out... With Bobby at their side, the brothers battle Lilith and her demonic army in a last, desperate attempt to save Dean from eternal damnation.
The two previous finale's have been pretty big in scale in comparison to the rest of their respective season's, whereas this episode doesn't really feel any different from the other episodes leading up to it. However, it eventually gets turned up to eleven and ends with what is easily the biggest SHOCKER of the show thus far. I'm really looking forward to how the next season picks up.
Great stuff Aaron, this season was obviously affected by the writers strike, so it's not the best season in terms of the overall story arc but it does have some great episodes, the Christmas one will be a holiday favourite for ever more!
ReplyDeleteI loooove supernatural!!! I also enjoyed this season, even though it could of been a lot better with more episodes I still think they did a great job. Great review Aaron! :)
ReplyDeleteYou know Aaron, I have never watched even one episode of Supernatural. I thought it was for chicks with the two hunky leads and all. Just reading some of synopses from the eps, I think I've been dead wrong all along, no? Did this just have its last season?
ReplyDeleteOh and yeah that's right, I said "hunky leads". Perfect Death Rattle vernacular, haha.
ReplyDeleteAHND: As you probably know by my past reviews, I'm not fond of the comedic episodes or the "off"-episodes, but the Christmas special was definitely an exception. I didn't have too much of a problem with the writing on this one... of all the seasons up to this point, season 3 pissed me off the least.
ReplyDeleteJenny: Thanks! I think I remember seeing you cover a few of these episodes on your blog a while back if I'm not mistaken. If so, I'll have to go back and read them.
Geof: I had the same precautions going into it, but was pleasantly surprised by how much of a "guy" show this is, for lack of a better term. The show definitely has something for everyone.
Thanks for the comments, everybody.
Great job with the reviews. I love this show...the season 4 opener is one of my favorite episodes. And Season 4 on the whole is probably the best season overall, imo. If you're not a fan of some of the more comedic episodes, I think you'll find season 4 quite a bit better.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chad. I started season 4... the first four episodes were solid, especially the opener, like you said. I like the direction they're going with the new character. But then I hit the "Monster Movie" episode and decided I needed to take another break from the show for about a week!
ReplyDelete