(Season 1, Episodes 5-8)
I’ve now watched the first eight episodes of Supernatural, and I’m thrilled to say I’ve reached the point of no return. In my first entry of my diary of a Supernatural virgin, I mentioned that I was really liking the show, but I hadn’t reached the point where it all clicked for me. Well, now I did and I’m an official fan!
It was episode five, “Bloody Mary,” that did it for me on so many levels. For one, they raised the creep-out factor. It brought back memories of when I was a kid, being dared to say those two words in front of a mirror, there always being just that infinitesimal bit of doubt that the legend was bunk. You can bet I won’t be testing it out again anytime soon….
Another thing about “Bloody Mary” that helped me sell my soul to Supernatural is the way they connected it back to Sam’s experience with Jessica, you know, dying on his ceiling and such. Now we know that he had premonitory dreams about the event, and when the episode ends with Sam seeing her ghost on the street corner, I thought to myself, “Now this is getting good.”
In all of episodes five through eight, the connection between the brothers is growing stronger, along with the banter. It shows that the actors are not only getting more familiar with each other, but that the brothers can fall into that comfortable teasing that comes with close relationships. It adds more humor to the show, beyond Dean’s bohunk antics, which I like.
In “Skin,” we get a little glimpse as to what Dean may be feeling about Sam’s leaving, but they haven’t really followed up with that yet. In fact, they are spending a lot more time with uncovering Sam’s inner workings, but I have a feeling we’ll get to know that Dean is much deeper than he appears at some point. He’s gotta have some scars after living the hunting life and seeing all he’s seen.
The “Hook Man” was another episode where they raised the scary to a whole new level. They masterfully wove the female lead into the story, giving Sam someone to identify with and giving the viewers more insight into how Sam is dealing with the whole Jessica ordeal.
If I were writing an episode review of “Bugs,” I’d have to mention that the storyline was pretty lame (though this one did stink of The X-Files). But again, they wrote the character of Matt, the insect boy, in such a way that his interactions with Sam naturally revealed more of Sam’s inner turmoil about his relationship with the dad. I wish they were able to break the curse, though, and not just wait it out and hope they didn’t run out of insecticide.
My biggest complaint is that I am so anxious to find out what happened to their dad, and they are only throwing us the tiniest bits of clues about this. I know, I know; I need to be patient and enjoy the way the relationship between Dean and Sam is unfolding, because it really is a pleasure to watch them interact and get to know each other on a different level. And we are getting some back story in other ways.
I have to admit, I did see some screen shots of the next episode, “Home,” and Jeffrey Dean Morgan was in them, so I spoiled myself a bit by being too thorough in getting images for this post! It does make me have even more faith in this show, though, because just as I am dying for news of the dad, they are going to have an episode with him. That’s good story arc planning!
The soundtrack continues to wow me, and I loved hearing Boston at the end of “Hook Man.”
I anxiously await my little one’s bedtime tonight, so I can curl up with the next disc of Supernatural … does that make me a bad Mom?
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Dec 28, 2008 @ 14:00 EST5EDT
Debbie, I think what you’re doing is SO awesome that it’s not even funny. As a fan of SN since the very first ep (and like many others, I initially thought I would hate this “horror as done by the WB” show), it’s exceedingly intriguing to me to see how a newcomer to the show, years later, is reacting to the journey. Plus, in a way, I envy you since you will basically get to see the first 3 seasons in a few weeks, almost like the world’s greatest dark fantasy miniseries! I really and truly hope that you keep up these entries; not only are they great fun to read along with as we see you falling deeper into the fold, but it reminds me of friends that I’ve turned onto this show. More specifically, all the conversations we’ve had as they catch up. Enjoy the ride!
Stick with it. It only gets better and better as the relationships deepen and become more complex, and Season 4 so far has been killer! I can’t wait for January 15th!!!
I think in season one Kripke was laying the groundwork for the series. The background of the family as hunters and the genesis for their personalities. But it really was a lot more of the monster of the week. I think that the end of season one really starts the mythology rolling and that is when the obsession and the rabid forums come out to play. Stick with it – keep reporting your progress – it definitely keeps getting better – season four is fabulous.
And keep in mind that as much as they reveal, there are still so many secrets. Season Four has brought a completely different energy to the show, and it’s amazing that I can still be so enthralled by what comes next. Even the family dynamic has very great representation this season. It also has two of my all time favorite episodes, and I’ve loved it since the beginning. Send a copy of your post to CW to make sure they know how to market it in the event they start to lose hope. :-)
This is so wonderful – it helps me relive when I first got into the show and Bloody Mary was the one for me, too! I was just finishing college when it originally aired and was lucky enough to have turned the TV on for background noise while studying.
I am SO glad you’ve taken a chance on the show. Every little bit of promotion and excitement helps, I think, secure the fifth season and give it the popularity and genre show love it deserves.
So glad you’re enjoying Supernatural so far. Believe what you keep hearing- it only gets better from here! Season Four, like others have said, has so many callbacks to the first season and it’s great as a fan because you get to watch these old episodes and see that everything had a purpose and that Kripke really did know what he was doing!
Since you kinda already spoiled yourself, I’ll tell ya not to expect too much of JDM in ‘Home’.
Bar none, this is one of the best shows on TV for me, along with Rescue Me, House, and IASIP.
This is what a great horror show is without having soap opera-esque storylines. The creatures are sometimes quite frightening in look.
There are so many great aspects to this show; the Sam/Dean relationship, the mythology, hunters, running gags (like their fake names), Bobby!, and, of course, the classic rock.
BTW, just finished Season 3 this weekend. Can’t wait for Season 4 in a couple of months.
I can’t wait for you to get to disc 3! I started watching the show during the summer of 2006, before the DVDs had come out, so the first episode I saw was 1.12 “Faith” and I was hooked within the first 10 minutes. I didn’t see episodes 1-8 until the DVDs came out in September and my personal opinion is that the show didn’t really stand out until 1.06 “Skin” and didn’t coalesce into the show we know and love today until 1.09 “Home.”
I’ve introduced one of my grad school professors to the show through my research papers on Supernatural fanfiction. I just lent him season 1, so he’s a Supernatural virgin as well. I have to fight the urge to email him every day to find out what he thinks of it.
Love these posts and supernatural!!! :)
I started rewatching S1 along with you. You’re a little ahead of me even though I skipped Bugs – the worst episode ever. You will appriciate Faith more down the road and Meg too. The last hlf of S1 is GREAT!