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show: Supernatural

episode: Home

The Bottom Line: "Superb"

This episode starts out with there being a new family moving into the Winchester's old house, and they aren't alone. There is a flaming figure in the young girl's closet. Sam has a nightmare, Vision, of the mother screaming for help in her window, he isn't sure where, but he knows he knows something about the house he sees. Suddenly he realizes the tree in the dream was the one outside their house, they must return to Lawrence. When Dean demands to know why they have to go back home, Sam must admit to his brother that he has visions. Now here we get to see a softer side of Dean, when he expresses his own promise to never return to their childhood home. Sammy wins out, they return. He gets them invited into the house, they get to know the family, and learn that there is something in the house. The brothers are freaked that it might be the thing that killed their mom, and Jess, might be back again, and that it might be there to kill. Dean tells Sam everything he could remember for the night, not much, stuff even Sam didn't know about. The brothers really feel the weight of the case, knowing they would have to investigate what happened then, so they can save this family now. Dean goes off and calls John, gives him an emotional voice message, telling his father he really needs his help. It is almost heartbreaking to see him like that, stressed, worried, and upset all in one.

The scene with the repairman's hand in the garbage disposal was a nice change of pace, for the episode, plus that creepy little monkey toy was, well creepy.

Thanks to the interview with John's old business partner, we learn a bit more about what happened after the fire, when John started "reading strange books", and went to see a "palm reader". The brothers hear that John was a much nicer man in times past. And in the deleted scene, on DVD, we get even more info. Info that makes Dean snap at the man for not having John's back. The brothers use John's journal and track down Missouri, his trusted psychic advisor. Now talk about a great character, she is funny, sarcastic and quick to get after Dean a lot, even before he says anything, and Sammy loves every second of it. Many fans of the show would love to have her come back and do another episode or two, I know I would. They take her to the house, for a new reading. To their relief, yet dismay, she tells them that it isn't their demon, but a poltergeist. Dean vows that it won't kill another person. They convince the family to go out so that they can clear the house. Now, I'd have to say the mom was kind of stupid here, sure she knows something is going on, but she lets 3 perfect strangers have total access to her house, when they could have been there to rob her blind, but anyway... As they work their mojo, the spirit goes after them, nearly killing them. Dean must rescue his brother, again, when it tries to strangle him. Even after Missouri tells them that the house is cleared Sam has a bad feeling, he is on edge, and knows something is wrong, he knows it isn't over. The brothers stay outside the house, watching it, when the spirit attacks the family. After they rush in to save them there is a call back to the Pilot episode, when Sam tells the girl to take her little brother outside and not to look back. The same line John gave to young Dean during the fire. In an instant Sam is dragged back into the kitchen. Dean rushes back in, prepared to shot the spirit, when Sammy stops him. It isn't a poltergeist, it is Mary's spirit, she is trying to protect Sam. It is nice to see the brothers get a chance to tell their mother goodbye, and it is the first time Sam has ever been able to speak to her. And yet, this scene gives an interesting twist, when Mary tells Sam she is "Sorry", without telling us what she is sorry for. This is a secret that will not be, and has yet to be explained, as of the mid of season 3. She turns and destroys herself and the poltergeist. Now it is really over, the house is safe, the family is safe, Mary is gone. Missouri tells the boys not to be strangers and they take off. Yet the episode isn't at an end just yet. We see her get home, talking to herself, or rather the person in the next room. Suddenly John is revealed sitting there, he asks about his wife and the events, and tells her that he can't see the boys until he gets answers, he has things to discover first.

What is so great about this episode, is that we get to learn alot more about what happened to the Winchesters within a few days of the fire, how John changed. Plus, we as the viewers, get to see that John Winchester is still alive, not only that, but he really misses his boys. We learn new things and get even more questions, the most pressing one is what did Mary mean? Overall it was a great episode, the writing was good and Jared and Jensen were spot on with their acting, and expressing true emotions. I've seen this episode a number of times, and it is still as fun to watch as it was the first time I saw it.

show: Supernatural

episode: Bugs

The Bottom Line: "Good"

I was kind of left feeling kind of cold from this on the first time I saw it. This is the only episode I could skip in a marathon and not really miss seeing it, that's out of all three seasons thus far.

Now sure we get to see how Sam feels about John and how he thinks John may not even want to talk to him when they find him. Dean tells him it wasn't always John that was making life hard, and such. And we see how Sam can connect on a level with the home developer's son. With how the father treated his son, much in the same way Sam though John treated him. And the running gag in the episode about people thinking the brothers were a gay couple was funny, and the stuff involving the brothers squatting in one of the empty houses, was also good, and their banter back and forth, also good.

The parts of the episode I didn't like involved the curse that was causing the bugs to attack, and the bugs themselves. The computer generated spiders that attacked Linda were horrible, very fake looking. And as many people notice, at the end the major continuity problem with the time. It goes from being midnight to sunup in like five minutes, come on. It just seemed, to me, that the writers were told to come up with an episode as fast as humanly possible, without getting the chance to fix the rough spots first.

show: Supernatural

episode: Hook Man

The Bottom Line: "Superb"

At the beginning of the episode the writers do a great job at sticking very close to aspects of the legend. Such as the scratches on the side of the car and having the boyfriend being hung up above the car with him rubbing the top of it, to scare the girlfriend. Usually depending on who tells it, he is hung right side up with his shoes scraping the roof of the car, or like how they had him in the episode. And then they take the legend in a new direction. Because in their version he is the spirit of a crazy peachier, when in the original legend he is an escaped mental patient. I like the Supernatural twist much better than the original.

So the brothers roll into town to investigate the death of the young man, and they scam their way into free board at one of the local college houses. The scene with Sam painting the frat boy added some nice humor. They find out who the guy's girlfriend was and they track her down at the local church. Sam makes fast friends with her. Later that night her roommate is killed, and the message about being happy you didn't turn on the light is left at the scene. The brothers get into research mode and discover who the preacher was and how many people he killed. And after Sam sees the Hook Man go after her father they figure that he has to be some how connected to the church, or the something there.

Well one thing leads to another and they finally find the one small silver cross that he is linked to and they torch it, and several other things. Sam struggles with his feelings for Lori, with the death of Jess still on his mind. And in the end the brothers are told to get out of town.

Now throughout the episode Sam and Dean go back and forth making references to what kind of college life Sam had, was it all party or all work, that sort of stuff, and Sam has to admit he was more of a geek than a party guy. It was nice to see them just talking like that. The story was strong and it moved along at a good pace, but I have to say that I didn't really like the Lori character all that much, she needed some work to make her better.

show: Supernatural

episode: Skin

The Bottom Line: "Superb"

At this point the series is starting to settle into a very good pace. The focus is starting to shift more to what is going on with the hunts, the creatures, and the mythology. The brothers are starting to work together with less of the past issues being talked about all the time, and their relationship is really starting to become more defined. And even though they are still looking for John it isn't the driving force behind Sam working the jobs. In my opinion, Jensen Ackles really shines in this episode, we really get to see yet another side to his acting ability, with him playing an "evil" version of "Dean". The writers did a good job with the story and the boys did a good job bringing it to life.

It starts out with Dean being in a darkened house, a woman, visibly tortured tied to a chair and a SWAT team busting in the door. When they get into the room Dean is standing there with a knife. Suddenly the time shifts back a week and we find Sam and Dean planning where to go next, when Sam reads an email on his phone.

In this episode, Sam and Dean come to the aid of a school friend of Sam's when he is charged with the murder of his girlfriend. But his sister, whom was the one tied up at the start, is dead set on the fact that her brother was with her when the murder happened. So the brothers have to figure out how someone was in two places at once, or if they are dealing with some evil supernatural creature. Soon they discover they are dealing with a shape shifter, after another attack happens. Once the brothers cross paths with the demon the fun really starts to happen, because he decides that he wants to play a round of "being Dean Winchester". And well, it's like Dean said, "At least he picked the handsome one." great line. The gore props they use for the shifter's skins that are left all over his sewer tunnels was just right, realistic, and made the episode just that much better. And later when they show his transformation from being Dean, very well done. I mean him pulling his ear out, the teeth, the nails, and him removing his skin, amazing.

Sam knows his brother just well enough to know it isn't him when they are back at the car, but it is too little too late, and Sam is knocked out and dragged back into its lair. Where we discover that not only can the creature take on the physical appearance of the person it picks, but that it also has a psychic connection to the person, and can hear their memory, for a lack of better wording. Well, he uses this to pull up and tell Sam how his brother "really" feels about him, how he is so jealous of him and his anger about him getting a real life and him being stuck behind with John. Than "Dean" decides it is time to go see Becky, to explain why they had lied to her. When his real intentions are to torture and kill her.

After the brothers free themselves they contact the cops to save Becky, this unfortunately gets Dean put on a wanted list for her attack. And another plus to the shifter "Dean", we get to see the two of them fight, again. And Dean comes to Sam's rescue, again, just after the shifter "Dean" has kicked his butt royally. We see Dean take back his necklace, something that started a long running demand from the fans to know what the importance of it really was. This isn't to be answered until season 3's A Very Supernatural Christmas. In the end, Sam's friend is cleared, Dean and Sam talk about being freaks, and Dean tosses in his wise crack style about missing his own funeral.

There is a large portion of fans who say this was one of season 1's top episodes. It had very strong writing, well-defined mythology regarding shape-shifter lore. And it is one of those episodes you can watch over and over and not get tired of seeing. For me it is one of the best episodes of season 1.