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Supernatural Season 8 Episode 3

Heartache

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Aired Tuesday 9:00 PM Oct 17, 2012 on The CW

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AIRED: Oct 17, 2012

8.0

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Supernatural "Heartache" Review: Just Tear My Heart Out and... Eat It

Jensen Ackles' third turn in the director's chair brought out the gore this week when the recipients of a star athlete's vital organs suddenly developed a taste for hearts.

By MaryAnn Sleasman, Oct 18, 2012

Episode Summary

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After a series of brutal murders where the victims had their hearts torn out, the Winchesters track down and locate the killer. However, they soon realize that he's not the only killer and the others are still at large.

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Fan Episode Reviews (8)

Heartache!

10

By ashleyleclair, Oct 23, 2012

i must say this episode is wonderful, i haven't finished Heartache but i'm half way done, watching it on this channel and it is wonderful so far! I love Sam Winchester
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Heart of Darkness

7.5

By Neksmater, Oct 23, 2012

Supernatural's first monster of the week story wasn't the best offering seeing as we got a great start this season so far from the last two installments. Directed by Jensen Ackles in his third romp behind the camera the story followed a string of murders where the hearts are ripped out of the chests of recipients of organs from a football player named Brick (a possible reference to Tennessee William's Cat on the Hot Tin Roof?). Brick is actually one of Sam's sports idols and they go to meet his mother, Eleanor, who says that Brick was merely 100% dedicated to the sport but the brothers can see that she's lying. The brothers look deeper into the murders after searching Brick's house and finding Eleanor's clothes in Brick's bedroom closet permit further investigation. In the mix is a woman named Rana, who visits Eleanor following the Winchester visit to her and she says that she has Brick's heart and that she needs to keep the sacrifices going to keep his legacy alive. The brothers find out that one of the victims they got to, an ex-cop, was mumbling in the dead Mayan language and that even the ritual of sacrifice of tearing the heart out of the chest was a Mayan tradition as well. With more digging after finding multiple old timey sports paraphernalia in Brick's basement including letters to a woman named "Betsy" the brothers find out that Brick was indeed four different athletes throughout the years: a boxer, a baseball player, a track runner, and finally a football player. It turns out that Eleanor was the Betsy from the letters and she tells the brothers that the heart is the key to getting rid of the rest of the corrupted organ donors as Brick always said. The story behind her and Brick and how them being in love changed him and how she eventually had to become his mother to maintain his cover was saddening. Apparently Brick was almost 1,000 years old and had made a deal with a Mayan high priest to stay forever young and warrior-like and offered two hearts a year as a sacrifice to the God of Harvest (CaCau I think is how it's spelled). The brothers go to the strip club where Randa works and are attacked by other organ donors. The dialogue was kind of clunky in this episode, especially when one of them throws Sam across the room and says, "I'm the guy in Phoenix you're looking for." One, how did he know Sam's search history, and even if he did how did he know that he was looking for him in Phoenix when he's in town in Boulder Colorado. The episode was from the writers' of Season One's worst episode, besides Bugs, Route 666 so it's no surprise that this episode was a little lacking. But Dean stabbing Randa in the heart and the red that spills out of her was pretty cool effects-wise anyway. Sam's flashbacks were a nice touch too even if they aren't as enticing and "What happened?" as Dean's are since Cass's fate will be revealed throughout those, but the episode was a way to get the brothers back out on the road and hunting things. The fact that Sam wants to go back to having a normal life after this year really returns him to the Season 1 self that he was completely happy away from the life that Dean now so clings to after having spent a whole year in Purgatory fighting wall to wall with beasts from every corner of Hell. Not nearly as great as Ackles' first turn behind the camera, Season 6's "Weekend at Bobby's" remains one of my overall favorite episodes to this day, as well as Season 7's one with Keely from Firefly were much better. But the quality of the episode was not Ackles' fault he did all he could with a lackluster teleplay and while I always appreciate Supernatural broadening its mythos into older civilizations and older gods the plot was badly handled from a writing perspective but hopefully this isn't a bump in the rest of Season 8 to come.moreless
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Ahhhh damn it

8.0

By angim350, Oct 20, 2012

You know last week? You know how I loved how it was really using its mythology to create some awesome episodes? Well, this week succeeded in doing one thing: the exact opposite.

The first filler of the season has arrived, as I (*sigh*) knew it was going to. Once again, the brothers have that conversation where they justify forgetting about the main season's arc for a while, not to each other but to us: the audience. One thing I will say for this episode is that this is probably the only season post 3 where this actually washes.

Just look at the history

Season 1 was reliant on filler episodes, and it worked.

Season 2's reliance on fillers also works because they don't have a clue how to track down Azazel.

Season 3's... didn't work as well. It felt like everytime the brothers were not focused on saving Dean was just ridiculous.

Seasons 4 and 5 barley worked at all. The end was nigh. The brothers are the only ones who can stop it. And they go off hunting ghosts.

Season 6 kind of worked, mainly because that season just has about ten plots going on at once.

Season 7s didn't. I mean, an army of Leviathans are unleashed upon the world. And the brothers do nothing!!!

But, I suppose this year there is no massive thing for them to be dealing with. Which probably means that we'll be getting a few of these fillers. I'm cool with this, I suppose, as long as they're good!

So. Was this episode good?

It was very well written, I'll give it that. Kudos to them for finding new things to do. I had no blooming idea what was going on 30 minutes in, and it was actually really clever! It might have been a filler episode, but at least they put a lot of effort into it! To be fair to Supernatural though, they always put a lot of effort into their fillers. Some are great, some are okay... only a small few end up being bad. In fact, my original score was 7.5, but after writing this paragraph I'm going to up it to an 8. It really was a good story.... I guess my judgement is a little bit clouded as I just love Supernatural when it sticks to an overriding arc and mythology.

That is not to say we didn't get a little bit more of the arc. This week, it focused on Sam's story. And I've read several reviews on this that agree with me: it just doesn't make any sense.

Let's look at Sammy

He was born into a life he never wanted. A life of a revenge driven father. He finally got old enough to get out, and so got out. Then, his girlfriend is horribly murdered, and he goes on a mad rampage of revenge. He finally sees the demon behind it all die, but at a cost. His father is killed and his brother sells his soul to save him. By season 3, he didn't want that normal life. Too much had happened to him, and he was obsessed with saving Dean. When he eventually failed, there is a sense that he went completely crazy, dedicating himself to killing demons so badly he becomes addicted to demon blood. This eventually leads to him unknowingly setting Lucifer free, and the horrible events of season 5. Until, finally, he sacrifices his soul to save the world, shutting himself in a box with Lucifer and his very pissed brother. He gets out, but without a soul, and goes and does some very bad things with his resurrected grandfather. When he finally gets his soul back, he is driven mad with guilt over the things he's done and cannot remember. When that memory comes back to him, he starts having visions of Lucifer, who drives him to the point of insanity. When he's cured of that, he looses Bobby and Cas, his two closest friends, and finally his brother, trapped in purgatory.

And after all that.... he's back to season 1 Sam?

Maybe I can imagine that after all that he just wants out. I could probably understand that. But that doesn't seem to be how the writers are painting it, which is what the problem is. Not once in this episode did Sam say to Dean, "Hey! I was trapped in a box with the Devil for 100 years! I think I've earned myself a retirement!" Instead, this conversation could have taken place in season 1. "Dean, we want different things. I want a normal life." No, Sam, you don't. You gave that up years ago, and no way, after everything, would you just slide back into College.

I know there is probably more to come here, and Jeremy Carver has said we wouldn't like Sam's attitude at first but it will make sense later... but I hate it when a show backtracks, or deliberately forgets important character development for its plot to make sense. Can I believe Sam has simply had enough? Yes. Can I believe that Sam just wants a normal life? No.

So, overall. A very good premise, an average episode, and a strange character development. Roll on next week.moreless
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Heartache

10

By TrueTvWatcher, Oct 19, 2012

Heartache was a perfect and heart wrenching episode of Supernatural. I really enjoyed watching because the story was awesome, the character development was great and there was some funny humor. I liked that an Ancient Mayan God was involved with what was happening and learning of the deal made. I loved seeing Sam conflicted about trying to live a normal life and it was interesting to see how Dean reacted. The ending was awesome and really hit the nail of Sam's feelings and desires on the head. I look forward to watching what happens next!!!!!!!!!moreless
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Almost Great

10

By lilliannabeth, Oct 19, 2012

This was a great episode, very interesting and fun. I just can't figure out what is going on with the Sam storyline! Did he really not look for Dean at all and now wants to quit again?!
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Jared Padalecki	Sam Winchester
Jensen Ackles	Dean Winchester

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Kyra Zagorsky	Randa Moreno	Guest Star
Patricia McCormack	Eleanor Holmes	Guest Star
Alan Ackles	Detective Pike	Guest Star
Liane Balaban	Amelia Richardson	Recurring Role

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Episode Photos

Liane Balaban and Jared Padalecki on Sup...

© 2012 The CW Television Network
Alan Ackles and Jensen Ackles on Superna...

© 2012 The CW Television Network
Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki on Sup...

© 2012 The CW Television Network
Liane Balaban on Supernatural from \"Hea...

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- Near the start after Sam pays for the produce he picked, you can clearly see the organic apple he was eating is quite severely bruised. In the next shot, he has a different apple that looks much nicer.
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QUOTES (2)
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- Dean: Wow. Guy goes to Purgatory for a year, all hell breaks loose. Check this out. Jogger in Minneapolis gets his heart ripped out.
  Sam: I'm guessing literally.
  Dean: Only way that interests me. And then, there's another article from six months ago. Same thing happens, also in Minneapolis. What's that tell us?
  Sam: Stay out of Minneapolis.
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- Sam: I mean, maybe at you're best hacking and slicing your way through all the world's crap alone, not having to explain yourself to anybody.
  Dean: Yeah, that makes sense, seeing as I have so many other brothers I can talk to this stuff about.
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NOTES (2)
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- Alan Ackles (Minneapolis Detective) is Jensen Ackles' father.
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- International Airdates:
  Canada: October 21, 2012 on SPACE
  Australia: October 26, 2012 on Eleven
  Norway: November 29, 2012 on FEM
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ALLUSIONS (2)
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- Sam: Agent Sambora.
  Referencing Richie Sambora, guitarist and vocalist with Bon Jovi.
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- Randa: I became freaking Xena: Warrior Princess.
  Referencing the TV series Xena: Warrior Princess, which started in 1995. The title character is female warrior Xena, played by Lucy Lawless. Xena is a former villain who has decided to seek redemption by fighting for good, traveling the world with her sidekick Gabrielle.
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