Supernatural - Season 1, Episode 12: "Faith"

Now that's what I'm talking about. Normally, episodes of Supernatural begin with an exposition of the big bad, and usually an introduction to the damsel in distress. Well, this time that Damsel is Dean. After battling some kind of monster, Dean is left with crippling, soon-to-be-fatal heart damage. Sam doesn't accept Dean's fate and searches all of their available resources for help. Help, it seems, is to be found at the hands of a faith healer whose power's aren't quite what they appear. I feel like I just wrote the synopsis description for the back of a DVD case... Anyway, the supernatural explanation and threat that comes from this preacher's powers stand out because of their originality and general unwillingness to fit into the usual Supernatural monster category. There's even a twist or two that, while not ground-shaking, still keep the story going, rather than simply plodding along the same formulaic path as most of the episodes thus far this season.

The episode also touches on some issues of morality that I foresaw back in the episode "Wendigo". When Sam and Dean discover that there may be a human cause behind all of the evil in the episode, they briefly debate as to whether or not they are able to kill human beings. Like Superman and Buffy before them, the Winchesters apparently signed off on the "no killing people" clause. But alas, the discussion lasts about a minute when they both agree, without further debate, that there's somehow a difference between slaughtering supernatural creatures and offing people.

Just like "Hook Man" was an example of all of the worst recurring elements of the show, "Faith," seems to be aware of the flaws of the past and simply choses to not employ them. Instead, we get legitimately sympathetic characters, ambiguous evil, and honest-to-gosh character development that doesn't seem like it was conceived out of cardboard and paste. The pilot episode may just have to nudge over a bit to make way for "Faith" as my favourite episode.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Supernatural - Season 1, Episode 11: "Scarecrow"

Generally, you get through these episodes knowing that eventually, sometime later in the series, there is going to be some kind of reunion and demon-asskickery, courtesy of Sam, Dean, and absentee father, John. In "Scarecrow," however, we get close than ever to thinking that the time has come. And, in this one special instance, we want them to wait a little longer.

The episode begins with the brutal and creepy slaying of a young couple at the hands of a scarecrow. So, when the Winchester boys gets a phone call from John prompting them to go investigate, we resent Sam for fulfilling our previous wish of focusing on fulfilling their ultimate mission of finding their father. Sure, we want resolution, but that scarecrow thing looked just freaky enough to be willing to take the detour and find out what it's all about.

So, we eventually get a compromise, with the brothers breaking off on their own, Dean toward the scarecrow thing, and Sam, fed up with taking orders, embarking toward California in order to find John and exact revenge for his dead mom and girlfriend. We're anxious to see how both of these will resolve, but, as mentioned before, we're willing to put the John thing on hold until we get this orchard-bound monster sussed out.

Once we do (and I really should know better by now), we realize that it's really just another in the line of formulaic supernatural entities that get thrown at the boys for them to defeat. A promising opening does not make for a satisfying big baddie. But, we've still got Sam, right? While Dean's off fiddling with his strawman, Sam's going to find John once and for all. But wait, no, he has a change of heart when he can't get ahold of Dean on his cell phone. So, back he treks to the Indiana town just in time to save Dean's life and uphold the status quo.

Damn you, Supernatural for constantly making me hope that you're better than you are. You keep setting up the pins, buffing them up all prettily, and then throw gutter balls so that you never have to knock 'em down. There are a few one-liners ("I hope your freaking pie is worth it!"), as well as the introduction of a potential new multi-episode baddie (I hope) in Meg, Sam's sort of travelling companion, but, once again, I find myself wondering why I'm watching this show at all.

But I am, and I will, since I still have another load of dishes to do.

Rating: 3.25 stars

Supernatural - Season 1, Episode 10: "Asylum"

Another day, another episode of Supernatural, and I'm starting to think that I've hitched my wagon to a rather mediocre star. When I first decided to start reviewing this show, I figured that I would grow to love and adore it, like another Buffy, but instead, it's something that I throw on when I'm doing the dishes or folding laundry. It holds the attention enough to be genuinely curious about where things are going to end up, but there's been no evidence yet that it'll be worth it when we get there.

In this episode, the Winchester boys head to a haunted, abandoned asylum after receiving a text message from who they believe to be their father. When they get there, they meet a cast is disposable characters who help them (meaning get in the way) to uncover the mysteries of the asylum. Amazingly, however, Sam comes under attack by the spirit of a wacky psychiatrist who has devised a kind of rage therapy, with the idea that if their anger is let out in controlled bursts, they will be able to better control their psychoses. Instead, as it turns out, the patients went loco and killed everybody. So, the doctor, despite being dead, is continuing his research, and when he gets ahold of Sam, he flicks Sam's rage switch, allowing him to vocalize all of the feelings of resentment that he's had toward Dean. In fact, it's rather a lot like in the episode "Skin" when Dean is given the liberty to voice his frustrations, if only through a shapeshifter who has adopted his body and personality. But, as these are stoic, Kansas lads, once the threat is over, they revert to not talking about it, giving the damaging behaviour permission to continue.

Dean is "on" for this episode, throwing out one-liners and cultural references like a mad man. If "this is why I always got the extra cookie" means anything to you, you know what I'm talking about.

Then, there's the required Daddy Winchester tease at the end. Just like the last episode, "Home," it's suggested that father and sons will soon be reunited. Let's hope that I'm wrong, and it's worth it when they are.

Rating: 3.0 stars

Supernatural - Season 1, Episode 9: "Home"

As an episode, "Home" is an absolute tease. Right away, there's this dangling carrot of awesomeness and resolution, but, as it turns out, the carrot is well, a carrot, and carrots, while versatile, are not that great.

Allow me to be even more vague. The episode begins with a woman, recently moved into a new house. But, this new house is actually the Winchesters' old house, so there's this pervasive insistence that we're finally going to get a clue as to what's going on, why Mommy Winchester died, and exactly what killed her. Well, guess what. We don't. Instead we get this constant back and forth teasing, wherein we are led to believe that we are going to get answers, only to have us slapped in the face

(like this)

and led to believe that it's just another freak-of-the-week affair. By the end, we are so discombobulated by this bitch-slappery of tease that answers feel like questions and we feel like we've just been dragged along through what would have been an emotional roller coaster if Supernatural was the kind of show that could elicit emotional responses.

By the end, we're left with a rushed introduction (and final departure) of the Winchesters' long-lost mom, the knowledge that something's up with Sam (which we kind of knew already), and the fact that John is keeping tabs on the boys but he has some kind of mysterious thing he needs to be sure about before he talks to them.

It's not by any means the worst episode to date, but the overall quality and lack of coherence fail to cash the cheques "Home" is writing.

Rating: 3.0 stars