Season 2 In Review: Scary Monsters and Not-Nice Spirits

Season Recap:

    Trying to recover from the loss of their father, Sam and Dean Winchester take it to the road as they continue the mission of "the family business" and take on supernatural cases across the map. All the while, they are also still hunting down the yellow-eyed demon who killed their mother and has gifted Sam with psychic abilities. Along their way the brothers gain more allies, like Bobby Singer and Ellen Harvelle, who help them when they get stuck on a case. As they get closer and closer, Sam and Dean figure out that they need the Colt to get rid of the demon before he succeeds in his plans to open the gates of hell. But before that, an unforeseen death occurs, prompting a life-threatening decision from someone, as Sam gets whisked away by the yellow-eyed demon to be featured in a ultimate showdown between him and all the kids the demon gifted.

What Worked:

     The main plot that drives this season would be Sam and Dean hunting down Azazel as Sam develops more of his psychic powers. But in between the exposition and the climax, other episodes of this season involve tropes such as the "monster-of-the-week" where subplot is used to develop the arch. Technically, fourteen out of the twenty-two episodes in this season are strictly monster-of-the-week episodes. This means that whole episode is about Sam and Dean showing up in a random U.S. town, dressing up, going out and solving a "strange" case. For this season, it started with vampires and ended with djinn. The trope works for this season because during this time of year in Television a lot of shows, such as Bones (they actually aired on the same date), used the same trope to develop their plots and it garnered a lot of ratings. This strategy of repetition is rather a simple one as all they have to do is fill-in-the-blanks on a writing board and they have an episode. But what makes it so intricate is the challenge of making each episode different from the last while using the same formula. Season 2 is successful at this by expanding the mythology of the Supernatural world with the introduction of unusual lore. Take for instance the djinn (or genie) (2X20). It's a ghastly monster, only fought against twice in the series, yet talked about numerous times. It is found in much of Middle Eastern lore. This type of oddball myth keeps audience wanting more. People love wandering into the unknown, which is exactly what Supernatural capitalizes on.

     One question this season raises is "What constitutes a monster?" This question isn't necessarily answered in the season, which works and has worked up until the current season, mainly because of the fact that both Sam and Dean share qualities of what it is to be a "monster" and what it takes to make the decision whether to "kill" or "save" one. This season openly showcases the "monster within" trope as Sam and Dean meet other humans and monsters who are either the same or drastically different, in surprising ways, which causes a rift in their world and opens up opportunities to develop more of the Supernatural canon and meta. An example of this happens in the beginning of the season with 2X3 "Blood Lust" (this title is suggestive of the movie which is about a crazed hunter). In this episode Sam and Dean are involved with a case that centers around vampires, but it is not that vampires they end up hunting. While at a bar, they meet another hunter, Gordon Walker, who seems friendly at first but ends up being a bloodthirsty psychopathic murderer. What causes this change is the fact that the vampires they were after ended up being a moderately calm and friendly clan. They claimed that they fed off of the animals on the farms. Gordon knew of this but was hunting them merely for sport.

    From the beginning, Sam showed his disdain of excessive killing when Dean saws a vampire in half which prompts Gordon to buy him drinks afterwards. In Sam's absence Gordon has a talk with Dean which is when he says, "You know why I love this life? It's all black and white. There's no maybe. You find the bad thing- kill it. Most people spend their lives in shades of grey, "Is this right? Is that wrong?' Not us," to which Dean makes a remark about Sam's deviant views, and Gordon responds with, "You and me. We were born to do this. It's in our blood." This "black-and-white" perspective proves to be a challenge for the brothers as they see more of "humanity" in the vampires than they do "monsters" which Gordon fights saying, "You're a killer," suggesting that that's all there is to this life, but it doesn't make you a bad person because of what you're killing. This theme works for the season as it helps center the main plot arch, which is curing same of his psychic abilities and killing Azazel, and helps shape Sam and Dean to be more dynamic as they are posed with this existential crisis, making them more "realistic" to the audience and more "dramatic" to draw in viewership. The debate of what is a "monster" is a never-ending one and very real in our eyes as we are exposed to 24-hour news that shows the horrors that are happening the world around us. For this year, 2006, the theme was perhaps used to help distract people from what was going on in the world so that they could subconsciously face their fear of monsters in the show. Living a fantasy, per se.

What Didn't Work

    There are two things that didn't work in this season. One is a downside to the "monster-of-the-week" trope and the other is the overall appearance of women in the show (which fans have taken and made into a on-going joke). Even though the Supernatural universe is expanded upon by the boys solving cases, when they do the actual research required for the monster they are hunting their usually isn't a solid culturally accurate representation of where it came from. Most of the people used for more humanoid monsters were typically white and even if there is some type of culturally inclusion it was typically from a white person (an example would be 2X11 "Playthings" with a white women practicing hoodoo which is rooted in Congo and Native American traditions). Even with the Rakshasa, who is depicted in the show as a white male dressed as a clown who must feed on human flesh, is actually a wicked human from Hindu mythology that are birthed from a different reincarnation and were known to possess humans and desecrate holy ground. And when you look at the Djinn, which originates from Arab culture and is said to have been created by Allah, this season turns it into a Westernized being that is tattooed and poisons people. Although this season seems to be diverse in terms of quests within the story line it stays within the conformity of a typical American horror/thriller of predominately white and Westernized structure.

    The other hindrance for this season was its representation of women. Although they do appear in a lot of episodes, most of the roles of women were to either be a victims of a monster attack, a passive victim of misogyny, love interests who become targets because of it, or have the potential to be a strong female lad but are undermined but an unforeseen event. Indeed, the death toll of women compared to men is astronomical (even though some diagrams show otherwise that is because it is showing male characters who developed farther than one episode). Female college students, an elderly woman, a crazed psychic, mothers, and a female werewolf are among those who are killed in this season. Besides these "secondary" characters, there are some women who assume the passive role, such as a waitress in a bar, to be the target of a sexist comment either from Dean or another male character. Then there is Madison. Coming from 2X17 "Heart", Madison is a werewolf that Sam falls for and sleeps with. This is perhaps one of the most talked-about episodes in the series, but Madison isn't displayed as a strong female lead. Instead, they see her as a damsel in distress and she stands-by doing nothing to help herself from what she has become, but is eventually shot by Dean anyway. It seems like a lot of these episodes end with a dramatic female death. And lastly, the introduction of Ellen and Jo Harvelle seems like a great move for this season. Here we have a look at females inside the hunter society. And yet nothing happens with them until season 4. They only appear a few times in this season, and one of the bigger times is on a case (2X6 "No Exit") when Jo joins them and is kidnapped by the ghost who was hunting "petite, blonde women." Therefore, undermined. Ellen just ends up playing a protective mother role until the season finale when she helps to close the gates, but both girls are then forgotten.

Final Thoughts and Observations:

    Overall, season two if Supernatural is what sets the ball rolling for the dramatic events that are to happen to the Winchester brothers. Now that the audience has been introduced to the world in the first season, the second season is all about continuing the road trip and settling into the hunting life. What I personally enjoyed about this season is the familiarity of the "monster-of-the-week" trope, the way it was written, the cinematography, and the old partnership between Sam and Dean. This project came around the time I was doing a cinematography analysis so while I re-watched the season I paid attention to lighting, camera angles, and so direction. I would have to say in comparison to more recent seasons, this one in particular takes the cake for me in this field. The camera angles are perfect for medium long shots (2X3 "Bloodlust" scene of Gordon and Dean at the table) and close-up shots in conversations (2X22 "All Hell Breaks Loose Pt.2 conversation between Dean and the crossroads demon). I love had washed-out everything is, how the music plays at the right time for suspense like in a horror movie, or when it is absent in times of reflection. I also enjoy the way the partnership between Sam and Dean flourishes in this season. From "ganking" monsters together to having sentimental talks by the Impala. Things were much simpler in this season compared to the confusing chaos that is to come.

10X9 The Things We Left Behind

Let's have a Guilty Party

Part One: Summary

      Dragged to a juvenile detention center in Pontiac, Illinois, Claire Novak reappears in the series as a troubled teenager. In an attempt to get rid of the guilt he feels, Castiel visits Claire in order to make amends. Claire recognizes him and asks about her father which Castiel tells her of his passing. Outraged, Claire takes advantage of Castiel as he busts her out of the center and she joyrides back to her surrogate family, Randy and Dustin Tate. Sam and Dean arrive to help Castiel find her and eventually intercept her as she is about to rob a store for Randy in order to get him money to pay off a debt to a loan shark. When Claire returns to the house she is captured by the loan shark and his gang members along with the Tate family. In order to get out, Randy makes a deal. Sam, Dean, and Castiel arrive in time to save Claire, but as the gang attacks Dean he has flashbacks from the Mark. He tries to withhold himself but can't and slaughters everyone in the household.
Part Two: Review

     This episode of Supernatural begins with the introduction of Clair Novak, a character that fans haven't seen in seasons. They never see her develop. They never hear news of her. Nothing. So what could possibly bring about this sudden change? Guilt. The number one theme that the writers of the show love to play upon. Castiel returns as James Novak, Claire's father although he was burnt away by an archangel as he explains, in order to make up to Claire all the pain he has caused her. This doesn't bode well with her as she calls him out on all of his "sins" of killing her father and chasing her mother away. The one thing she does do is use Castiel to bust out of the Group Home. Claire resorts to her delinquent ways as she steals his wallet and joyrides back to Randy Tate's house, a family she has runaway to and called her own, but there the audience sees that Randy is a manipulative, lying jerk who is only using Claire for criminal means. This reunion doesn't sound so pleasant right? Well, neither does the one that happens below the earth in this episode...
     Used as a parallel to Claire and Castiel meeting again, Crowley finally caves in and brings forth his mother, Rowena, from the dungeons. Just as Castiel was a "bad father" to Claire and abandoned her, Rowena was a "horrible mother" to Crowley, a.k.a Fergus. Yet, both Castiel and Rowena feel guilty and wish to form some type of connection and are failing miserably. This can be seen as sweet and almost heart-wrenching except for the fact that both parties have different motives, as seen later on in the season. This parallel reveals that guilt pervades even those who wish to do right in the world in order to make up for their sins. An excellent question that is raised in this episode is, "Why come back now?" when Sandy asks Castiel, as James, why he wants Claire back.
     This question can be asked in pretty much every season of Supernatural. Why does Sam return to the hunting life? Why didn't Dean retire from the hunting life? Why did Castiel come back? Why do people have to sacrifice so much? And so on. This question challenges the events that push forth the exposition of this show. Everything happened because a character backtracked from a decision or demanded for a return to the way things were, thus, "The Things We Left Behind." It is returning to a comfort that has been missing for a while. It's recovering a sense of humanity that has been lost. Instead of "letting go" as Dean tries to convince Castiel to do, both him and Rowena are going back to the roots thinking that if they fix the foundation then they can have a sense of relief that things will go straight again. But they really couldn't be more wrong.
     This type of guilt that forces Castiel, Rowena, and mainly the Winchester brothers to go back and fix things just causes a false sense of security. Although they will fight through the bad things and something good comes in the end, it is only temporary for what is done, is done. This is shown through episodes such as, "In the Beginning," (4X3) "The End," (5X4) and, "As Time Goes By," (8X12). Ah, the common tropes and motifs that the writers of Supernatural have used to progress. Almost seems as though were caught in a paradox doesn't it?

Part Three: Questions/Concerns/Opinions

     This episode was a random interruption to the season 10 story line, and of course Andrew Dabb wrote this (I'm telling you Linda, the spin-off is Dabb). Not one of my favorite episodes, but no doubt memorable for the fact that Claire returns. One of the loose ends I guess the writers decided to try and fix. Anyway, this episode was such a guilty party it was almost a physical feeling to me. I did think it was interesting that they used parallelism for the two different parents. It's kind of adorable to imagine Castiel as Claire's father. And the one line Rowena has, "I'll be back in a flash," just shows that she is evil as hell (HA) and already has ulterior motives. It was a good filler episode you know? It provided more to the Supernatural world to play in.

8X21 The Great Escapist

Once Upon a Time, 
     There was a man who loved stories just as much as he loved to cause the chaos that made them so interesting...

Part One: Summary

     Kevin Tran continues working on his broken half of the demon tablet until Sam and Dean arrive with the other half as they supposedly tricked Crowley into giving it up. Something seems off with the brothers as they didn't use the secret knock to enter the boat which puts Kevin on edge. In the Bunker, Sam continues to grow more sick from the Trials and Dean tries to call him off of it until they receive an unexpected email from someone containing notes they need to unlock the third Trial. The notes lead the boys to Colorado where they come across a Native American tribe that was believed to be protected by the "Scribe of God." Castiel is on the run trying to protect the angel tablet from Naomi and her men but someone else is pulling the strings behind the chase.

Part Two: Review

     Storytelling is probably the most ancient form of entertainment for humankind as it can be traced to cave paintings during the Upper Paleolithic Era so it's no wonder that the Supernatural used this episode to talk about the process of storytelling while introducing one of the most influential characters of the series: Metatron. A character that we all love to hate, Metatron is known as the "Scribe of God", a lowly angel picked by God to write His word before He disappeared, or so he claims. This episode is three away from the finale for Season 8 which seems like a strange spot to introduce a new character, but the writers use the motif of "voyeurism" in order to add on to the exposition of the resolution of the Trials.
     The episode begins when Sam and Dean (demons, as we have yet to figure out) use the wrong knock on the door to get Kevin's attention. Kevin notices it and makes a comment, but it is looked over as Sam and Dean bring the other half of the demon tablet. There is a significant difference with this pair of Sam and Dean as the "Sam" character has taken on more "patois", or slang that Dean is suppose to use and even the aura of the brothers is not as edgy or stand-offish that Kevin is accustomed to. Noticing that there is nothing else for them, Sam and Dean exit. This is where "voyeurism" comes into play. When used in the literary sense, "voyeurism" is a cinematic tactic used to give the audience a sense of "peering in" on something that they shouldn't but is used to highlight something that could be of importance to the story. This can cause a conflict in the audience as they have the feeling that they should cover their eyes, but they are too intrigued as to what is happening. When Sam and Dean exit the boat the camera pans vertically to the boys and then tracks backwards in order to show them passing through the portal that reveals the demons that were portraying Sam and Dean. That portal is the "peep hole" for the audience.
     The demons then confront Crowley, who criticizes them on their "performance" and explains to them the difference in the brothers speech and how they can improve for next time. The way that Crowley speaks of the brothers gives a more sexualized meaning to voyeurism because it's as if Crowley "spies" or pays close attention to Sam and Dean when the audience is not there to perceive it. As Crowley dismisses the demons, the audience gets a long shot from the camera with Crowley to screen-left because he is not the focus, but the computer screens displaying Kevin along with the demons monitoring them are. This is a more explicit example of voyeurism as Crowley uses this set up to keep Kevin under wraps about him being kidnapped thus he is literally watching his every move, kind of creepy right?
     The most unexpected display of voyeurism in this episode would be that through the character of Metatron. Metatron enters the episode with 13 minutes left of screen time, and is a great example of what a "voyeur" is. A "voyeur" is essentially someone who gains gratification from "peeping in" on what is incidentally revealed to them. How we meet Metatron is when Sam figures out his symbol in the notes Kevin left them. Sam then puts together old Native American mythology about Metatron which leads them to the Two Rivers tribe in Colorado. Once there, Dean goes to investigate more about the tribe at the museum while Sam suddenly grows more sick and delusional. The museum director tells Dean about the tribe's history with the "Messenger of God" and how he allowed them to live as long as they did offerings, and for him it was stories.
     At this point, the audience is a "voyeur" as they experience Sam's sickness and stumbling down the hallway where he discovers the stacked books outside Metatron's door, making the connection that Metatron is present. Flash-forward to when they break in and Metatron introduces himself, he also tells the boys that for about a millennium all he has done is hole himself up and peer in on humanity as if it were a never-ending story. Sam is infuriated by what he says and retorts with, "All the time you've been hiding here. How much suffering have you read over? Humanity's suffering! And how much of it has been at the hands of your kind?" This shows a sort of sadistic satisfaction that Metatron has gotten by watching the humans and reading the thousands of stories that the people of offered him. He is exactly what a voyeur is, and perhaps that is why the fandom hates him so much? Perhaps this sort of extreme sadism makes him the worse antagonist that the writers of Supernatural have ever created?

Part Three: Concerns/Questions

     Because season 8 doesn't appeal to me at all, it was easier for me to distance myself from the narrative. As for this episode, I didn't have any questions or concerns that come to mind. What I can talk about though is the fact that Jared and Jensen's acting is superb in this episode as they had to portray themselves as demons portraying them and then Jared had to once again revive his role as the "ill patient" from season 7 when he recovered his memories of hell, except this time he is enjoying this pain because, as he says, it is "purifying him." I've often wondered if the writers of Supernatural purposely made Sam with these suicidal tendencies to help make a deep connection with the fandom, not saying that the fandom is like that but because that topic is so sensitive and not addressed publicly for our generation even though it is important I feel that Sam is meant to be the gateway for issues such as that. I do also wonder, is that a characteristic of being a hero?