Supernatural – Who is collecting monsters?

This week we get back to a much more conventional Supernatural episode. A gruesome opening … an inventive monster-of-the-week … a couple funny gags … and the all important hook that makes you want to watch the next one right now. It all felt much more natural than the somewhat odd season premiere. Not that everything was old hat. The new season, with its new relationships, has more than a few peculiar new twists.

I was a little surprised that they gave away the shape-shifter in the flashbacks to kick off the show. What’s to be gained from that? I can’t imagine there are many first time viewers to the show at this point, and all it really provided for those of us that have been around was a spoiler for what the monster was going to be. Odd choice from whoever made that decision.

Despite the lack of surprise, this was a very good revisit to the shifter world. Grandma at the grocery was creepy. Bobby John shifting was both amusing and a surprise. And the unstoppable force of the alpha shifter has all kinds of potential as we move forward. So, from a monster-of-the-week angle, a solid result all around.

Alpha also gets us right back to the questions from the premiere. Samuel taking the djinn alive, and not telling the boys, was curious. And now we’ve had our first glimpse at what that’s all about. It would seem that someone (something?) is collecting monsters. And now they have their eye on the alpha shifter. It just brings up all kinds of questions.

Who is doing the collecting? Is this why Samuel was brought back? Is that actually Samuel? What are they doing with the captured monsters? The likely answer, I suppose, points to some sort of take over/destroy the world scenario. Whatever it is, I’m feeling pretty good about my Winchester vs Campbell theory after this latest revelation. The fact that all of the Campbell kids still come off as complete assholes works pretty well with that too.

And then there is Sam and Dean, which remains an uncomfortable and bizarre dynamic. That’s coming from both sides. Dean’s year of living the straight life has him all kinds of sideways. I’m more curious about Sam and his seeming lack of emotion though. The change in Sam has been well done throughout the series. And, I would argue, is one of the things that really makes the show great. Still, the cold and calculated way he has approached everything to do with Dean has me very intrigued. While the two have reunited physically, there really hasn’t been any kind of emotional reunion. It leaves me wondering if we are waiting for another shoe to drop with regards to what happened with Sam. Is this the Sam we’re going to get now, or is there a greater revelation about why he’s that way?

It all comes together to set the stage very well for the season. The boys are back together. We’ve got our big mystery. There’s a whole new level of badass for the monsters. And, as ever, Sam and Dean have some work to do on their relationship. So far, so good, on season six.

Clacked by Brett Love
on Oct 02, 2010 @ 08:17 EST5EDT