Supernatural got pretty serious this week, giving fans a bunch of answers and opening up more questions. But there's bound to be some dispute as to whether we got the answers we were wanted, and whether those answers actually justify this season that goes beyond show creator Eric Kripke's vision.
What we learned on Friday is the big reveal about Sam: He has no soul! That explains a lot of Sam's rude behavior, and from a story standpoint, works for me. We also finally learned the reason for Samuel Campbell's rude behavior. He's working for Crowley, the newly appointed King of Hell. And in the third gigantic reveal, we learned exactly who pulled Sam out of the Gutter. I'll let TV.com user "viidu," who wrote a review of the episode, say it: "Finally, we know the name of the all-mighty that pull [sic] Sam from the cage. This guy is ....... wait for it ...... Crowley! I'm speechless! How lame is this!! Now he is not only king of hell, but also capable, just [about] of everything."
I see your point, viidu. And I wouldn't argue that. Crowley has been a see-saw type of character: sometimes we hate him, sometimes we like him. His only concern is for himself, and sometimes his motivation crosses paths with the Winchesters'. When this happens, we ignore the fact that he's a demon with weird fetishes and like him. But when he's just a self-centered prick, he's just a self-centered prick. And that's what we're left with now. There's still a lot of this story to unfold, and I hope it ends with Sam opening Crowley up like a stuffed turkey.
Now that we have a better idea of what Season 6 is all about—the brothers are now hunting alpha monsters to bring to Crowley so he can find Purgatory—are you okay with this? Or were you expecting more? I, for one, want them to get on with the monster-hunting already. I'm not sure it was necessary to use seven episodes to get to where we are now, but I'm still looking forward to seeing how the rest of this season goes.
Super-Note-urals:
... The actor who played the Alpha vampire did a fantastic job! Here's hoping he isn't staked too soon.
... Where and when will this civil war in Heaven come into play with what's going on on Earth?
... I can't take Christian Campbell (Corin Nemec) too seriously. All I see is Parker Lewis. Sorry.
Questions:
... Are you satisfied with where Season 6 is going?
... What do you think of Crowley?
Season 6 Episode Rankings:
(We'll keep track of the quality of Supernatural's Season 6 episodes right here, splitting them up into three tiers.)
This week's episode, "Family Matters": A necessary episode, as it gave us an idea of what's going on this season. But not in the upper echelon of what we've seen so far.
Classic, Rocking!
"You Can't Handle the Truth" - Where Dean gets the truth, and beats the tar out of Sam. Ep. 6
"Weekend at Bobby's" - We hang out with Bobby for a few days and see the crap he puts up with. Ep. 4
"Live Free or Twihard" - Vampires! And Sam is acting really weird. Ep. 5
Funky, but just Okay
"Family Matters" - Grandpa's secrets are revealed and Sam has no soul. Ep. 7
"The Third Man" - The return of Castiel and a civil war in Heaven. Ep. 3
"Two and a Half Men" - Where Sam and Dean find a shapeshifter baby. Ep. 2
Disappointing as Disco
"Exile on Main St." - The season premiere. Ep. 1
Follow TV.com writer Tim Surette on Twitter: @TimAtTVDotCom
SMH because I don't know exactly what it is but I am rapidly losing interest in this show. It could be that it is like a soap, it could be that Dean or Sam or Dad or whoever has to always go to hell and come back, Sam has some weird problem etc but I am just not as interested as I once was. Hatts8 hit it on the head, the funny eps are the best and I agree with AndreilLazu 100% who the HELL are the Campbells?!? I mean they come out of nowhere with bad-ass bravado like they just stopped the apocalypse a couple times over! Where is Castiel and when are we going to hear more about the civil war in heaven. I am so frustrated with this show and Smallville, I want them to be better but they just aren't.moreless
no. tim, that's all i have to say about the travesty that is season 6. no.
come to think of it supernatural (and community) are the only source of genuinely funny parodys that hollywood is producing now so they had better keep it coming :)
I like supernatural best when it does humor, a parody. the actors as fun to watch on screen as they are to watch in interviews. I loved all the wacko eps in seasons 4 and 5, like sam and dean go to a suprn.. convention, meet the ghost hunters, get stuck in tv land, these are the things that make supernatural stand out. as for the big plot arcs, personally i just don't care about them at all. half the time i find them offensive, but I keep watching the show for the humor and brotherly banter and occasionally touching moments...
Supernatural promised it would get back to the monster hunting this season but really hasn't. The show was at it's best in it's first year before they turned it into a soap. Can we really get that emotionally attached to characters who could get bumped off at any moment?
I think Gramps is working with Crowley cause the King of Hell has a soul important to Gramps. Maybe his daughter's, maybe his son-in-law's.
Oh, and to someone who asked a question about Bobby and his soul belonging to Crowley- Crowley didn't have possesion of it, he would get it in 10 yrs when the hell hounds tore him to shreds, it isn't like Bobby had no soul, he was going to die in 10 yrs and go to hell or wherever Crowley wanted it to go. Totally different from Sam whose soul is still in the cage in hell with the devil and the archangel Michael.
It makes a lot of sense to go with the purgatory angle. I mean, they have discussed hell, heaven adn purgatory is an interesting place where the bad, the really bad and the freaky intermingle. What happens there? Do creatures escape? I think that The devil didn't care too much about it because he was more concerned with his relationship with God and the Angels. Crowly is a greedy, power hungry self serving demon and it makes perfect sense that he would want to expand his territory. I wouldn't be suprised if he is also making "investments" in the civil war in heaven. How many ppl think that gramps made the deal with our Scottish Demon in order to get his daughter back?
why wasn't lucifer interested in purgatory? i know he was busy taking over the earth but purgatory would have been a weekend job for him...
We need Sam back, that way we can have our beloved Sam and Dean giving each other crap. Now Dean has to carry all of that, and without Sam it is not the same.
Really the only thing I'm sick of so far this season is the people whining about it!! I think this season has gotten substantially better than the first and second episodes. You don't have to go through every episode with a fine tooth comb, find something you don't like and then say it sucks! Just be happy we're on our sixth season and it's, even just a little for you, going pretty well.
I think the whole Campbell family was a giant not-only-jumping-but-also-dancing shark. Their very existence and their attitude was so obviously fake it made me want to throw something at the TV just to make it stop. Them being demons was also weak beyond belief. What, in the many many months of demon fighting they never got to touch holy water or have to make a salt circle? Seriously? And the whole "oh, Dean, you're a weak-ass hunter" after he was there for the Apocalypse, whereas the Campbells weren;t even heard of, was reason enough for dean to just shove a shotgun where the sun don't shine of whomever dissed him. Anyway, I'm now just watching out of sheer inertia, nothing else. I enjoy watching Crowley because I love the actor playing him, but other than that, the show's pretty much in the "whatever" category. Sad, seeing as how I loved the first five seasons.moreless
While we got off to a slow start with "Exile on Main Street", I thing SUPERNATURAL has been getting better and better. I have loved Crowley since his introduction last season, and the idea of his being King of Hell is excellent. We realized when he refused to give Bobby his soul back, as promised, what an SOB he really is, and not to be trusted. Bobby managed to outsmart him, but it took a lot of hard work, and now that Sam and Dean are beholden to him in order to get Sam's soul back, it's going to make for some fascinating episodes. Sure, the brothers are going to have to kow-tow for now, but there will be a showdown with Crowley at some point over saving Sam's soul, and it will be interesting to see how Dean and Sam handle it. In every sense of the word, SUPERNATURAL has reinvented itself this season, so I knew we were going to probably have a slow start. After last week's episode, I think we're back on track and can look forward to 15 episodes leading to a satisfying conclusion.Love, Robin, Editor, SUPERNATURAL, www.moogi.commoreless
I'm a devoted fan but this season is making me wish they ended it last season. I'm crossing my fingers that it gets better.
I am hoping that if you are tight about the WHOLE season being about doing favors for Crowley is that there is a subplot/storyline of taking down Crowley because if that is the only storyline it seems kind of lame. Hopefully they go with another option like maybe the helping Crowley find Purgatory is a half season arc and then continue with a/the more overreaching arc for the rest of the season (and on?)
I agree with headclub... Surely Crowley didn't pull Samuel out of heaven on his own or by himself, so there's still more to find out. At least I still hope! But yeah, this episode wasn't of the rocking kind...
I've been so disappointed with this Season, and finally we seem to be getting back on track. Just wish Castiel was in it a bit more, gotta love that character :)
im hoping dean sam and cas got in to the hole to get sammy's soul back nad destroy crowley, dont get me wrong love crowley he jus lights the tv screen up but he has gone to far this time.Granpa samuel is confusing me im hope he is doing this cos crowley has told him he can bring mary back, and not jus granpa samuel is sick man. me im loving how jared padalecki is playing robo sam hehe brillant pat on back we think there is going to b a war between the naughty angels in heaven and crowley against cas n the good angels i wana see can n crowley have a massive fight :) season 6 is just getting better n better cant wait t c wat they throw at us nex :)moreless
I am finally satisfied with season 6 of Supernatural and I like Crowely and hope to learn more about his plans and his new role! Great article on the show and I definitely agree with your episode rankings!
As i think.....how crowly took out sam from cage is not becoz crowly is that powerful. its a spell which needs certain sacrifices like souls. for example lucifer resurrected death and made him do anythin he wants, but death is much more powerful than lucifer. it is also a spell which needed demon souls or sumthin.
And personally, I think that "Robo-Sam" is a nice change of pace from Emo-Sam.
For those up in arms... Obviously, Crowley didn't pull Sam out by himself. The proof is he also pulled Samuel out of heaven. So he's gotta be working with Raphael, or someone with similar mojo. Also, I have faith that Michael and Lucifer's whereabouts will play an important role in the story. I don't believe that Crowley is as powerful as he leads us to believe. So as South Park Saddam would say, "relax guys!"
I think season 6 has been exploring some interesting topics, and is doing probably the best job of all the seasons so far in showing how lies and deceit (even if it's meant to protect) doesn't help anybody. The one thing I'm not enjoying though is Dean being treated like trash by every hunter he comes across. Are they not aware of his resume or what?? He's like the Jack Bauer of hunters and they keep acting like he's a punk. I wish he'd just plug a few of them right in the face, like he did to Sam.
Loved this latest episode, and love the season so far. Not loving Tim's consistenly negative skew on nearly every review. Seems like he expects the episodes to be bad, starts at a baseline of negative 5 and forces each show to work it's way back up.moreless
I got the impression we are supposed to believe that Heaven and Hell are both targeting Purgatory as a source for more souls. After all, both are in the midst of civil wars in the absence of Lucifer and Michael. With Crowley seemingly in charge of Hell, the question is who will be in charge of Heaven. I think it would be a bit difficult for the viewers to accept a new character as the King of Heaven leaving only a few options with Castiel being the front runner. I thought the direction for this season going into the premiere was to bring the show back to monsters and less Heaven vs. Hell.
This season is epic as well as the other seasons (:
This season has been a little uneven so far but I still like where it is heading. I like Crowley, so I don't mind him being around. King of Hell is a title he gave himself, but I don't doubt the power that he has, both Lucifer and Michael are still locked in the cage, for all we know Sam's soul could still be there as well. It'll be interesting to see where the storyline will take us now that we know 1) Crowley took Sam out of hell and 2) he has Sam's soul.I think Crowley had help getting Samuel from Heaven because I don't see how a demon would be capable of doing that. I also think Samuel is working with Crowley to find Purgatory because he is looking for the souls of Dean and Sam's parents (John and Mary). Remember last year when Dean and Sam were in Heaven and they asked Ashe if he had seen their parents but he said he never did. Its possible that he wasn't able to see them because their souls are in Purgatory.I think the problem most people have with the season is the fact that the characters of Dean and Sam are sooo far removed from what they used to be and people are turned off by it. Dean is less bad ass and more intune to his feelings and emotions so he thinks more before he leaps in to action, where Sam now is more willing to dive into the action and doesn't care who he steps on to get there. It was a reversal of roles. They are still the same people but their lives over the past year have lead them in two different directions and now they have to find their way back to each other.moreless
I have not been particularly impressed wth the Answers especially with Crowley being behind everything; I agree in that it sounds forced.
I'm loving season 6!!! And I LOVED this episode!!! I think that with this episode we just had a glimpse of what's to come but we're not yet seeing the whole picture!!! We got a lot of answers but not all of them!!! I always LOVED Crowley, so I'm glad he's the baddy this season! And I REALLY LOVED the actor who played the Alpha vampire!!! Really awesome!!! The Purgatory story line sounds good!
I don't want to insult anyone, but you gotta be smarter then that to make things works for someone with high intellect. And the whole Crowley + Soulless Sam + Again Crowley behind everything, which constitutes all the plots of this last season doesn't work at all. They push too hard. They are way out of their "writer" league.
Personally, I think that it's important to remember that Crowley lies pretty much all the time...The fact that someone was pulled down from Heaven does make it seem like an Angel was involved.The fact that Crowley is involved means that the episode "Weekend at Bobby's" has a much larger influence on the main plot - they had his bones dowsed in gas and could've killed him. I don't mind his character being more involved in the story, he was an interesting one last year.I'm more concerned with the fact that we have two completely separate plots: - Powerful Artifacts have been stolen from Heaven and an Angel is collecting human souls -> Civil War blah blah blah, but we haven't heard anything more about the artifacts or human souls - Alpha Monsters & the hunt for purgatory -> Crowley (possibly working with an Angel) wants Purgatory for some reason (bigger house?)Either o these seem like they could be done as good story arcs, but they don't really seem connected. It would make more sense to me to pick one of those plots and roll with it and save the other for the next season.Sam with no soul, indebted to Crowley, seems interesting, to me at least, and is definitely something we know Crowley would pull. I'm not surprised he has more power and influence in Hell than before, though I'm guessing King is a bit exaggerated.There was a year long break between Sam and Dean so there relationship was going to be different regardless. This isn't because of how long they were apart (as Dean's time in Hell was the equivalent of 50 years or something), but rather rather that Dean settled down - his family grew to include Lisa and Ben, where as Sam's grew to include the Crowley's. Dean resents Sam for not telling him when he was back and for pulling him away from his family. The fact that he beat up Sam so badly at the end of "You Can't Handle the Truth" isn't just a testament to how far apart they've grown, but more that Dean considers Ben to be his son. Sam intentionally lying and risking the kid's life, regardless of the reason, is going to take quite a while to repair. If the show is going to focus on the whole Crowley/Alpha/Purgatory angle as the main plot, then I say commit to it. It'll result in plenty of good stand alone episodes with the alphas and the overall could be done well, but no more bouncing around.moreless
i'm loving this season.
really thought they would go 'lost' on me.
stretching storylines or end up feeling that my version of it all would rule the original one. nevertheless, i can not top fringe in my fantasy... since the devil is locked up, i assumed they go a little more angel/god/heaven on us. but i'm pro purgatory. for all i'm concerned they can search for God next season. that crowley pulled them out still doesn't make sense. how can crowley pull out grandpa from heaven? right? he was one of the good guys, didn't sell his soul? as far as i can remember. so maybe they should get some angel/heaven/god action just to show that king of hell has no bizznizz in heaven.
a little concerned with all this pulling out and coming back, there's no one who's looking for dad.moreless
nonononononononononononono. I didn\'t even get how the *** the alpha vamp dissapear the room, and all the other long lost cousins of sam and dean. This is not supernatural...this is a show that\'s trying too hard and it\'s failing.OK; sam has no soul...boring. If sam has no soul, he and Dean can\'t be like before, so...boring. Do I have to stand a whole season of Dean being suspicious of Sam and Sam being a souless pain in the ass? NO thanks.
I was thinking the same thing when crowley said he was the person who pulled them out. Maybe Crowley is working with raphael. I mean the person in charge of hell and an arch angel should together probably have enough power to pull this off. But what is the deal with purgatory? Why does crowley want to go there? I dont understand. I feel like the episodes have been pretty slow lately. I mean certain scenes could have been cut or shortened to have it flow easier. But instead it seems like they dont have enough material to last the whole hour so they drag it out. Plus i agree they should have some more rock music and comedy because things have been a bit dry lately.
Crowley isn't the king of hell, that's what he has been telling.. there have not been any proof of such.The thing that pulled out both sam and samuel is something bigger that is controlling crowley, as it has been from start.,first of, he does not strike me as a boss type or has proven the powers he claim to have.To have the power to rip out someone from heaven and from lucifers cage seems (is! really) out of crowleys league.Who/what the thing is behind this i think is to be seen :)
Makes me wonder, too, if Crowley is lying or maybe has a partner who helped him get Sam's soul out if the cage??? Ruby had said before that no demon could pull somebody out of hell. I just hope that Sam gets his soul back before the end of the season so that we can have the brother's relationship back the way it was. I miss the classic rock, too. I am sure there are more surprises in store and I am looking forward to how this season unfolds.
WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! then what the hell is gonna happen about Heaven's weapons and Balthazar? if this season is going to be about alphas and purgatory, the last few episodes would have been a stupid waste.
ALL the way back in season 2 Dean told Sam what John had said to him right before he died.....If you cant save Sam your going to have to kill him....Well Dean didnt save Sam nor did he kill him owing to Sam taking a header into the cage of his own free will. My thoughts at the moment are that Sam's soul IS being held by Crowley because there is a key member of the Winchester clan in hell - MARY. She sold her soul to yellow eyes to save John so off her soul went to hell while her spirit haunted their old home (and don't forget at the end of the episode HOME Mary apologised to both of them and they didnt know why). John's not in hell anymore and Papa Campbell didnt like him anyway so its the only logical conclusion that would have Samuel working for Crowey. If Samuel finds what Crowley wants then Mary's soul is freed. And what bigger leverage can Crowley have to ensure Samuel does as he's told? Holding Sam's soul.moreless
I think Crowley is lying. If he isn't, well, consider me disappointed. It would really work with his established character if he was taking credit for it instead of actually doing it.
Oh, and I forgot to mention: I like the new snarc-tastic Castiel! :D
"Yes, because obviously your problems are more important"... *snicker*
And his usual deadpan-delivery of "My true form is closer to the size of your Chrysler building". Yep - because size DOES matter!
relationship of brothers is weak now, and story needs to develop, but possibly they might get it back ,and go to the roots, vamps, demons and all, since it was getting a bit heavy towards the end of previous seasons with gods and what not. i still see potential and also am still a die hard fan
loved this show... past tense because now dean is a wuss who gets his ass kicked every second, sam doesn't converse anymore, and they're back to demons. The last season had death as a character and the main fear now is Crowley, you can't be serious. I mean what happened to the comedy and the bothers doing good for people. I'm sick of their whining about their problems.
I've been saying Sam is soulless since the first episode of this season, pretty much.
But I do see several problems with Crowley pulling him from "The Cage", except I'm thinking a "mere" physical vessel ranks lower than a soul, i.e. maybe he COULD get Sam out BECAUSE it's "just" his body, but he CAN'T get Sam's soul out because the cage is designed to hold the incorporeal essence of Lucifer.
Also, when Lucifer was imprisoned there were a bunch of seals holding the cage closed, which is what Lillith needed help with - I don't recall anyone saying they slapped umpteen seals on it this time around.
Last, but not least, I buy Crowley's instant "power up" within limits - lots of settings operate with positions carrying powers in and of themselves, the being at the top of the foodchain siphoning off the powers of his underlings etc.moreless
You know Crowley could be lying, lets face it , Sam doesn't know for sure, he woke up in a field, like Dean in season 4, and how does Samuel know?, did he ask Crowley, not sure how that works but what the hey, and if he didn't ask Crowley directly how does he know it was him, just an idea, what do you think, and by the way is this going to be the last season, anyone know?
Ya know, if Crowley is so friggen powerful, why does he need humans to find purgitory for him??? Since having a human sell their soul seems to be the "magic pill" of the series, why not just torture someone into selling their soul to him for the location of purgitory?
This is seriously just dumb, it reminds me of when the writers forgot/ignored powers in season 2 of Heroes just to have more dramatic effect and to draw things out longer.