Supernatural Shake

I love this treat from the Supernatural crew. Story says it was all Jensen's idea! And just so you know that's our favorite prophet, Kevin, in the body bag. Enjoy!

Too Funny NOT to Share

I'm sorry--I know people are tired of Gangham Style, but this was too funny!

My Love For Supernatural Revived: Thank You, Andrew Dabb

Credit: Diyah Pera/The CW -- © 2013 The CW Network.

Supernatural has been a show unlike any other for me. It's the only show I ever watched over and over, both during the season and on DVD. The only show that drove me to seek like-minded fans, to follow the stars on Twitter, to pay a buttload of money to go to a convention all about the show. Twice.

As relationships do, this one changed. With a new showrunner, the narrative went in directions not everyone liked. I think I would have enjoyed those directions more if we hadn't had the magic that came first. But my watching experienced diminished less than my community experience did. I wanted to look at reasons to like it, not ways to bash it.

I was hopeful when Jeremy Carver took over as showrunner this year, but disappointed by some of the choices in the relationship between the brothers. But finally, FINALLY, they have corrected it. Goodbye, Dean the Dick. Goodbye, mopey Sam! Hell-O, unexplored territory!

I've loved the last three episodes. LOVED them! Stripping away everything the boys relied on was all very well and good, but it also stripped away the chemistry of the show. I can imagine the writers sitting around the table saying, "Where haven't we gone yet that's still in keeping with the characters and world we've established?"

How about European legends? Yes, please!

They've tried, but never succeeded in having a home. Let's give them one together. Ohh, good idea!

And give Dean his own room. Hell, yeah!

We've looked at the Campbells pretty hard, what about the Winchesters? So poignant and sad, but also healing and hey! More new mythology!

Now we're on some familiar ground. Kevin has given them a goal. The trials are cool, giving us slightly new ways to look at old tropes and a natural conflict between Sam and Dean based on the realities of their personality (I'll save the world—no, I'LL save the world!)

Even better, Dean has grown up. Back in season 1, he was devastated that his brother would return to a non-hunter life once the demon was killed. In season 5, Sam's heaven being anywhere but with Dean, when Dean has lived his whole life for his brother, was a knife to the heart. Now, while Dean still sees himself as so unworthy that he's fine with sacrificing himself for his brother, he *wants* Sam to have the happy ending he envisions.

Even more better, Sam won't allow Dean to make that sacrifice. He's going to save him right along with the rest of the world. I'm sure I wasn't the only person thinking of the end of season 2 when they watched those two mini-speeches. But unlike then, when we had an entire summer to get through before we saw the aftermath of those decisions, we still have 8 episodes to go!  

Your turn! Do you agree with me about the show returning to some of the things we loved, and incorporating new stuff in great ways? Or did it lose you so completely you can never get the love back?

Supernatural Season Finale

I was trying to remember just when I started watching Supernatural. I know I saw the first DVD of the first season and went out and bought the first season for myself. And I didn’t get to finish it before the second season started, so I was recording those shows on the VCR (yes, my love of SPN predates my love of Tivo). 

That had to be 2003, I guess, and my passion knew no bounds. SPN was appointment TV. I had T-shirts and a messenger bag and kitchenware, for crying out loud. As the mythology got more twisty, my husband started enjoying the show more--and I less. I own every season on DVD but never even opened the last two. And this last season, with so much of what I loved about the show stripped away, I would even forget it was on until I saw it on the Tivo. That made me very sad. 

While I’m happy for the actors and writers to get another season, I think it’s time for me to say good-bye to the show, and maybe go back and rewatch those DVDs that made me love it years ago. 

I’m so glad to have been a part of the Supernatural Sisters and I thank all of you who visited!

So, onto the season finale...

Wow, there’s a lot of THEN going on. Nearly the entire song of “Wayward Son.”

Crowley is trapped in Dick Roman’s office. I so love Crowley. He’s so nonchalant about his blood being the key to everything. Dick offers Crowley Canada, gives him a vial of blood from a regular demon to give to Sam and Dean, telling them it’s his. Crowley goes for it and produces a contract so long it rolls onto the floor. He pulls out a magnifying glass and says, “I do so love this part, don’t you?”

Now to Sam and Dean, in search of a righteous bone. They flick on the radio long enough to hear a news team talking about stocks and Dick Roman and that he’s holed up in Sucrecorp. Meanwhile Bobby, in the body of the maid, learns the same thing.

Sam and Dean enter a mausoleum or something, reading biographies of nuns to figure out who is the most righteous while Crowley and Roman hammer out the details of the contract, whcih takes them all night. 

Okay, this jumping back and forth is making writing this hard. Dean and Sam cast the spell, but nothing happens. Then there’s a knock at the door and here comes Meg. Apparently Emo Boy (Castiel) zapped her back from the other side of the world. Dean walks out to Castiel, who’s listening to “Vincent” in the car. (I didn’t know that. My husband supplied it.) Castiel is worried about monkeys being used for cosmetic testing. And, wow, does Jensen get better looking every year or what?

Castiel comes in and sniffs the righteous bone, and correctly identifies the nun it belongs to. Castiel’s been waiting to hear from the garrison, but when he went to look for them, they’re all dead. If any are alive, they’re in hiding. He suspects Leviathans. Dean and Sam are worried about Kevin. 

Meg notes the supplies on the counter and Dean and Sam say they’ve summoned Crowley, but he didn’t show up, but then he does, of course. He confronts Castiel, and asks why he’s still alive.

“I don’t know,” Castiel says.

Rain Man Castiel is going on about insects being the reason he hasn’t gone back to heaven, since insects are creating miracles every day. Crowley hands over the vial, but Sam is suspicious. Crowley admits his deal with Roman, and tells them the vial is his. The brothers don’t know if they should believe him but take the vial.

And here comes the maid/Bobby, with a newspaper with Roman’s face and what looks like a knife wrapped in paper. She touches something in the back of a truck and Bobby is cast out of her body. It’s iron. She begs him to let her go, but he sees Roman’s picture and possesses her again.

Meanwhile, Dick and his assistant are walking through the halls with their smartphones and talking about 3 rules to contract negotiations: 1) bring breath mints, 2) get it in writing 3) have a plan for when they screw you.

Poor little prophet boy Kevin is locked in a room and they bring him a pretty blonde girl who doesn’t seem to know why she’s there.

Sam and Dean are casting the spell when Cas returns with sandwiches that he made from farm products himself, including killing the pig for the ham. I’d forgotten they couldn’t eat processed foods. 

Dick opens a box with a severed arm and calls it Mr. Roman. I’m confused, and dang they’re jumping around a lot. They dress up the little blonde girl and bring food to Kevin, who says he’s a vegan. Then he tries to pick the lock of the room.

Dick Roman is holding a board meeting. “The last time we were in one room, it was inside that angel.” He talks about the slaughterhouses going online next month. Kevin overhears the plans and hurries for the exit, but of course he’s caught. In the board meeting, Dick introduces the little blonde girl to everyone. 

Outside, Dean and Sam have a feed to the Roman corporation and see that there are more than one Dick Roman. So he cloned himself?

They injected the girl with something and she spits up and collapses. They’re genetically....I don’t know. It’s science. I hate science. Something to do with breeding people to make them the best food source.

Outside Sucrecorp, Sam recognizes the maid from the hotel and knows it’s Bobby. He leaves Dean watching the feed and goes after Bobby. He warns Bobby he’s going to get the maid killed, and Bobby fights back, CHOKING Sam! He sees his own reflection in the side of a van and casts himself out of the maid, who collapses. Sam picks her up and takes her to the hospital.

Back at the cabin, Meg demands to know why they left when they were so close. Sam tells her, “Dick made more Dicks.” As Dean gives him a look, Cas wonders if they should get a cat. “Doesn’t this place feel one species short?” (He can have mine. She just peed on my new couch. Again.) 

Dean wants to know when Cas is going to help. But Cas doesn’t want to fight anymore. Dean demands that Cas clean up his mess, but Cas wants to play Twister, then disappears. Meg says, “Nice, you’ve scared off the Empire’s only hope.” Since the Leviathans were in Cas, he can see past the meat suits to the real Leviathans. 

Bobby appears and tells the boys they should have burned the flask. He’s jonesing to go back after Roman, an itch he can’t scratch out. He’s afraid of grabbing another poor bastard and getting them killed. He tells the boys when it’s their time, go. He thought he could outsmart the vengefulness.

The boys stand over a fire with Bobby’s spirit and the flask, and crap. Hard to type when I’m crying. There goes the flask--what the hell was it made of to melt so fast? And there goes Bobby, illuminating Dean’s face as he goes. Cas watches from the stairway.

After the commercial, Cas is setting up another board game when Dean asks him to be his wingman. Angel, get it? Wingman? OH YES THE IMPALA!! YES YES YES!!!! Just so you know my love for the Impala, my phone is called Metalliphone. 

Oh, there’s a conversation going on. Probably should pay attention. Cas feels cursed, that resurrection is punishment, worse every time. Dean still wants him on the team. Cas senses forgiveness in Dean’s speech. Cas agrees to do his best. 

Oh please play “Back in Black!” 

Huh, “Born to Be Wild.” Not the same. She drives like a tank, you can see it as she skids, then SLAMS THROUGH THE SUCRECORP sign. That is NO WAY TO TREAT MY CAR! Meg gets out with a bunch of Borax (I bought some of this the other day. It’s used in a lot of homemade cleaners on Pinterest.) Meanwhile Dean and Cas are sneaking in, trying to figure out which Dick is real. Meg is strutting around when someone comes up behind her and sends her flying. Apparently Crowley wants her back in hell. Now.

Sam gets to where Kevin is held and Kevin says they can’t leave until they blow up the lab because Dick’s going to kill all the skinny people (THANK YOU, Kevin. THAT I can understand.) Sam agrees to blow up the lab. 

Dick is in the lab taste-testing the coffee creamer when his scientist gets beheaded. Dean and Cas confront Dick, and Dean stabs him with a weapon but nothing happens. Dick demands to know if they really thought they could trump him. Dean shows him a second weapon while Cas comes up behind him and stabs him through the neck with a third. Dick starts pulsing--he’s a bomb! No one moves, and he explodes! Black slime everywhere. 

Kevin wants to go, worried about more chompers. Crowley appears and tells them he has an army of demons outside. “Cut off the head and the body will flounder.” They’ve had one king and don’t know what to do without him. He tells Sam they’re just another animal, hard to kill, but the Winchesters love a challenge. They need to keep them from organizing. 

Dean and Cas are gone, and Crowley’s minions take Kevin. Crowley won’t tell Sam where Dean and Cas are, and he leaves Sam in the middle of the slimy lab, alone.

Dean is on the ground in the forest, and Cas orders him to wake up. He’s in Purgatory, where all monsters go to prey upon each other. Dean wants to know how to get out but Cas thinks they’ll be ripped to shreds. Creatures with red eyes appear around Dean and Cas disappears. 

The brothers are alone...and apart. 

Okay, that was a pretty awesome, if busy episode. What did you think?

Supernatural Love

Once upon a time, I fell in love with a show. And like any kind of love, I wanted to share news of it with others. So when I realized there were other romance writers who also loved this show, the idea for a group blog devoted to said show was born.

The show in question was Supernatural, of course, and what a ride the blog has been. We've talked about monster-of-the-week episodes versus big story arc episodes, whether or not we liked the females cast on the show, our favorite hilarious quotes, how many times the Winchester boys could possibly say the word "dude" (sometime I'm going to watch all the episodes and count this), and "OMG, where are they going with this storyline?!" We've laughed at "bitch/jerk", "idjits" and how the boys always seem to stay in the crappiest motels known to man. We've squeed when we met Jared, Jensen, Misha, etc. We've increased our love for classic rock songs. We've snorted at the funny outtakes and goofy videos online (seriously, I'll never be able to hear "Eye of the Tiger" again without thinking of Jensen). We've cried when beloved characters have been killed (Bobby -- wah!). We've just developed a deep and abiding love for the show, its creators, the actors, basically anyone affiliated with it in any way. We're the Supernatural tribe, and that's okay. More than okay. It's pretty dang cool.

Thank you for being part of our tribe. So I'll sign off with something I hope will make you laugh. I know it does me every time I see it.

http://youtu.be/HsyMtYoSkC0

More Than Entertainment

Most TV shows have "water cooler" moments, where people who enjoy watching chat excitedly about something that happened on the previous night's episode.

Many also have devoted fandoms, often young people, who create fanfic and fan art and fanvids and so on.

But very, very few achieve the all-ages cult following that Supernatural has achieved.

How many TV shows have worldwide conventions featuring guest stars who were on one episode? The opportunity to meet some of those actors, all of whom are tremendous personalities, gave me some of the best memories of my life.

How many TV shows are responsible for building dental clinics and refurbishing orphanages in Haiti? Misha Collins, of course, gets all the credit for turning the fandom into a force for good, but the fact that the fandom exists made Random Acts possible.

Who would have guessed that Jared Padalecki could turn a birth announcement into $80,000 for St. Jude Children's Hospital?

"Experts" are always talking about how technology and the Internet and social media are distancing us from our communities, but this blog has helped me make great friends in Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, and Georgia, and connect with fans in Brazil and Australia and Russia and South Africa. How can you put that in a negative light?

Watching a good TV show is relaxing and entertaining. Talking about it is fun. Dissecting, analyzing, debating, and speculating is fantastic, and it has made the last few years some of the best. It's stimulated my creativity and helped me write books I love, and even better, stimulated other authors' creativity so I had great books to read.

I love you all, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing all of this with me. Trish, Tanya, MJ, and Terri, no matter where our paths take us, whenever I hear Carry On, Wayward Son, I will think of you.

After, of course, I imagine Sam and/or Dean Winchester with no shirts on.

Waving Goodbye

The problem with going third after other intelligent, articulate ladies is that it feels like goodbye has already been pretty well summed up! Nonetheless, let me add my (cyber)voice to theirs in saying thank you so much to everyone who has ever visited or left comments on the blog. It's been fun--which may explain how the time has flown by so quickly! I can't believe how many seasons the show has been on (and, correspondingly, how many years have passed in my real life). I have to say, sometimes I feel a twinge of surprise that the show's still on the air and frown at some of the changes (such as the glaring absence of the Impala for most of this season!) But there are still really funny episodes (such as the recent The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo) and episodes that make me tear up (such as when we said "goodbye" to Bobby) and moments that surprise me. I will definitely keep watching! (I will also be reading Terri's Hollyweird, partly inspired by SPN, as soon as I meet my looming deadline! Have you bought your copy yet?)

Thanks for joining us here! May your apocalypses be few and your musical playlist always be kick ass.