by Sylvia Bond
The story this week is strong, perhaps one of the strongest I’ve seen since Season Two. Almost completely character driven, it tells the story of Dean going back to Lawrence, Kansas in 1973 to gather with the Campbells (his mother’s people) and to meet John Winchester, who has not yet, in that year, reached The Dad status.

by Sylvia Bond
This ep opens with a scene that I found to be both gratifying and annoying. Gratifying because the second the female hunter sees her own frozen breath, she is UP and AT it, getting her weapons, pouring salt, getting ready. Right away we are given not a weak female, no, but a strong one, ready to fight the good fight. But then it was annoying because, yet again, Show seems determined to believe that women sleep in skin tight and skimpy garments like this lady wears. I am a woman and I know no women who dress like this to sleep, even ones who willingly watch The Three Stooges. We wear old t-shirts and sweat pants that don’t show chocolate ice cream stains, or frumpy, comfortable nightgowns. Most nights. Okay, sure, if there’s a man in the picture, we’ll dress it up a bit, but this lady is sleeping alone. Plus, she’s a hunter, surely she knows better than to sleep in an outfit that would leave her vulnerable if she had to fight or take a trek outside. Bare legs and arms are not conducive to fighting off the MOW.

by Sylvia Bond My heart was pounding just as the Premier Episode for Season Four of Supernatural was starting, while under my breath I muttered the Geek’s Prayer, which has a whole bunch of powerful words and then ends with “And please don’t suck, amen.” I also went into this ep veritably spoiler free, for except for the title, the basic knowledge that Dean was getting out of hell, and a few early pics, I had NO idea what was going to happen. I did not know (and still don’t) what Show’s intentions were and are, and was not swayed by any quotes about direction or character development or anything. In light of that, this review is pretty pure because without the influence of interviews or video clips of the production team, the blood artists, directors, writers, Show’s Creator, everything came at me like a freight train. (In retrospect, though, I would have liked to have gotten the heads up from the Lighting Guys about how creepy everything was going to look, to the degree that it set me on edge the whole time. Kudos, boys!)

by Sylvia Bond
I have these friends who once tied me to a chair, and in a dark room with no exit, dosed me with beer and pizza and made me watch many, many episodes of Show. Even with such kindnesses as that, and even with the satisfying discussion about Sam’s hair and whether or not it looked better in Season 1 than Season 2, I was not taken in. I know, I know, it’s hard to believe now, but I resisted the fangirl pressure like a horse led to water. I didn’t argue with them about it, but I just wasn’t going there. I had serious writery things to do and didn’t want to be mucking about with this somewhat darkish show about two unemployed brothers driving an old (scary) car across the country, living off the grid while they saved people and hunted things. No, no, and NO. (The only thing I remember from my capture/torture session was Dean taking his shirt off, which is, really, not a bad image to have burned into one’s brain. But it wasn’t enough.)

by Sylvia Bond
In a writer’s world, story is all, story is everything. Costumes and makeup don’t matter, set dressing doesn’t matter, and special effects matter even less than that. Every see a true storyteller surrounded by about 30 kids (and their parents lingering in the background), sitting still for over an hour just listening to a story being told? If you have, and I’m sure you have, then you’ll know why this particular ep, with it’s low-key special effects, sepia-toned look, and quintessential brotherness will have you sitting still and paying rapt attention.

by Sylvia Bond

During the scene where Sam meets Ava, I’m digging it, although I would like to have a few choice words with Sam-I-Am about going off on his own without even leaving so much as a note for his brother Dean. At any rate, Ava tells Sam her story about dreaming things before they happen and so forth and Sam says, “This is crazy!” Of course Ava misunderstands and thinks that he thinks that she’s crazy. So she starts spouting off, and Sam says, “No, you must be one of us. One of the sidekicks. Like me.”

by Sylvia Bond
Every show has a comedy ep, the one where the writers turn everything upside-down and what’s normally serious becomes quirky and slightly hysterical, and fans talk about it endlessly, trying to pin down the Bizzaro world aspect of it, pointing interesting tidbits out to each other, and quoting dialog. This ep is Show’s version of that, and I’d say they did a bang up job.

by
Sylvia Bond
When I watch this ep, I like to watch it alone, because it makes me edgy and I tend to squirm in my seat and the last thing I need is someone else turning to me to ask, “What’s wrong with you?” What’s wrong with me is that this episode makes me uncomfortable; I’m embarrassed to be seen enjoying it so much. I shouldn’t want to see Dean so confused and frantic or in pain or see Sam go so far astray that he’s seriously scary. I mean, why should I want bad things for my own true loves? But I do, oh, I do.

by Sylvia Bond

I adore this episode beyond reason because it’s a quiet and abiding episode about fundamental issues like whether good exists alongside evil, and whether faith is still faith if you have to have it proven. Those are some rather heavy-handed reasons for such a love, but I’ve been known to be serious even as I drool over Sam and Dean. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with experiencing joy along with some religious fervor, is there?