by Jenn Kim – I don’t know about you, but I’m frickin’ excited about this season’s Supernatural. Usually a show loses steam by the time it enter its 5th season, but Super ended last season with its highest ratings ever. And with reason. I mean, will we ever tire of the complexities and nuances of the Winchester boys’ relationship? Will we ever grow weary of the man-tears and the heart-wrenching angst? Will we ever cease to marvel at Jared Padalecki’s physical burgeoning, or Jensens Ackles’ weathered beauty? No, no, of course not. Never, ever, ever. Which is why, despite knowing that Paris Effin’ Hilton is going to be guest-starring at some point this season (hopefully I’ll let that go with time), we remain pumped and excited for what promises to be another awesomely tormented season of brooding hotness.

By Sylvia Bond – The Glory of Love is Both Beautiful And Hellish – I only watch this ep when I’m in the mood for something dark, because watching this episode is yet another example of things that are hard but deliciously angsty at the same time. And it’s not just that Sam dies, there is that, and it’s not just that Dean sells his soul, because he does that, or that both of those things are Hard to Watch. But also it’s the idea that this episode itself marks the crossroads in the boys’ lives where they make first of the decisions that take them down the road less travelled, where they begin their journey away from the relatively breezy land of saving people, hunting things and towards the Slough of Despond, like in Pilgrim’s Progress. Or maybe a more apt comparison would be to Dante’s Inferno, because Sam and Dean are about to travel down into the various circles of hell from which no man returns unscathed.

“The Small Rain Down Can Rain” by Sylvia Bond – All True Fans know this episode as the One Where Sam Dies. No lie, he dies. In retrospect, we all know that he lives, but at the time, oh man. Watching Sam die at the end of this ep was like watching the semi run into the Impala at the end of Season 1. It went beyond impactful, proving that there are some episodes that, like the movie Schindler’s List, you only need to see once. Yeah, the episode was that good, and I’m of the staunch opinion that most TV out there is, in comparison and in the sage words of Wednesday Addams, puerile and lacking the Aristotelian Unities. Show, I’m glad to say, is not and does not.

by Sylvia Bond – Sometimes, You Get What You Need (But It Doesn’t Stop Me Asking For More): I can’t help but be greedy, even though Season 4 (S4) knocked it out of the park all the way around. But once we got going, I and the ladies at the “Scenes on the Cutting Room Floor” panel at KazCon figured we’d keep going and let it all hang out about our desires and wants and gotta haves for S4 where we felt that Show missed some great opportunities for serious dramatic development. Or maybe we just want what we want and aren’t afraid to speak up about what we’d like more of.

I’ve always had a problem with books like these, pop culture books that pop up just when a show’s popularity has reached its zenith so as to cash in on that popularity before the opportunity has passed by. In particular, since this book is about the TV show Supernatural, I have to ask where was this book two years ago, when Show could really have used the extra exposure?