#meg masters

Being unable to sleep last night I started instead of counting sheep, listing my favourite characters in Supernatural in comparison to my favourite actors from the show that I look up to for various reasons e.g. charity work / inspirational etc. I was surprised how many crossed over onto both lists and decided to create myself a memory board for each. I then went on to listing all my favourite female characters as I hear so often how female stars get under appreciated in the show but felt that I couldn’t really identify with that, I was forced to stop at 20 of my favourites but had plenty more I could have added, Charlie will forever be my ultimate fave! Not to be left out in the interests of fairness I did the same for the men. I am surprised how quick I had another 20, just goes to show this show has many amazing well rounded characters. This is not everyone by a long shot but I just wanted to make a note of everyone that has had a massive impact on me as they have helped me through dark days, thank you one and all. Also just saying currently ’re-watching the show all the way through for the third time and am I the only one who would have loved to have seen Becky and Garth get together? They would have been so much fun to watch!

Supernatural may be over (at least for now) but my favourite characters live on forever, you have all brightened my life so much and for that I thank you

SPN S1 Review

I honestly have no idea if this post is about to be hella long or moderate, but I feel like a lot of my feelings got aired out when I was reviewing each individual episode, so I’m just gonna dump the rest of my thoughts that I’ve jotted down while watching this season here. This is basically gonna be me saying, “Wow, this was interesting,” or, “This is similar to/different from later seasons because…” These are all coming from notes on my computer, so they’re half-baked. Nothing too fancy or analytical, but I’ll be doing one of these for every season.

Random thoughts:

• I don’t like the monster-of-the-week, episodic format that much, and a lot of those episodes this season felt average in quality for me. However, when you don’t have much else to focus on besides an arbitrary goal of the boys finding John to kill something they know nothing about, it isn’t so bad. Filler episodes suck more later because they’re often completely disconnected from the main story, which isn’t the case for most filler episodes in this season. Plus, the main stories later have more involved goals for the season than this one did, which made the filler episodes later more annoying. For example, if Sam and Dean want to hunt a Tulpa at a haunted house because John is off doing something somewhere, that’s fine. Kill the time. But if Sam and Dean really need to figure out a way to kill God, like, now before Chuck decimates every fleck of existence he’s ever created, maybe don’t waste my time with an episode about a wood nymph, you know? If the stakes are higher, then the quality episodes shouldn’t appear with less frequency. All I’m saying.
• The tone, acting, and writing of these characters is so different. Like, when you know a show intimately, these kinds of differences between one season and the next are natural to you. It’s not like I wasn’t aware that the boys looking for their father feels a lot fucking different than the boys having a kid, but when you actually let yourself be aware of how much the show has changed, it’s kind of crazy. Like, if I just think about it offhand, I’m like, “Yeah, this is Supernatural.” But if I break the fourth wall a bit in my mind, it’s like, “Damn, I really did watch these characters and their actors mature for fifteen years, didn’t I?” Crazy.
  
• There are so many episodes that end with the Impala driving down the road. Like, an aerial shot of it. And if the very last scene isn’t that, then it’s probably the scene right before the last scene. Until the last few episodes, that is.
  
• I don’t know why I’ve written this down, but it’s easier to remember episode titles in season one because you can match it to the creature without having to remember the plot. Like, “Oh, the Wendigo episode.” I’ve also said in this same note that the folklore plots died out later on in the series, which is true.
  
• A quote from my notes: “The show really does feel better with Cas, huh?” Look, I’m not gonna say that the S1 finale didn’t slap, because it did. However, I will say that Cas can brighten any episode up, so, had he been in the series from the beginning, the season finale may not have been the only S1 episode to slap. Not that there weren’t other episodes that were good, but you know. Also, this isn’t to say that Cas should’ve been around the whole time because him coming into Dean’s life when he did was exactly perfect.
  
• They do this later, too, but a handful of episodes in the early seasons will be like, “Here’s a girl. Now, one of you Winchesters, go bond with her this instant.” And it’s weird? You don’t need to bring a girl in just to make googly eyes at one of the boys? You could just give her the story she was supposed to have but minus all the flirting?
  
• So, Sam is meant to be the central character for the first five seasons, right? Yes, Dean is supposed to be his equal; yes, he went to Hell and had that whole storyline; yes, he’s Michael’s vessel, but it was always reallyabout Sam, you know? Sam was the one who had the connection to the biggest, baddest thing imaginable (at the time), that being Lucifer. Sam was the one chosen for Lucifer. Sam was the one with the psychic abilities and the one to drink demon blood and the reason Dean sold his soul. Dean is obviously a main character with his own story, but Sam was meant to be the special one, yeah? But even so, Dean is such a beautifully complex character becausehe wasn’t special. You can see that, even in S1—that his specialness came from his lack of central focus. It’s almost like the plot was saying, “Sam,” and Dean went, “I’m gonna cause problems anyway,” and that’s awesome. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I just feel like Dean is the most interesting character in the entire series, and he wasn’t even the one S1 picked out as special.
  
• Sam’s psychic abilities seemed a lot cooler when you didn’t know as much about them. Like, yes, Sam having those abilities for the purpose of housing Lucifer is cool and all, but it felt so much more mystical when it just seemed like something Sam could do for some reason. Not that that would’ve been a better payoff than what we get—it’d be stupid for the story to say, “I know a demon chose you to be the vessel of Lucifer himself, but the psychic thing you can do? Just a coincidence”—but it’s some food for thought.
  
• John is barely fucking there even though his existence permeates the entire fucking season. I thought he was so much more present than he was in this series. They treated him like they treated Cas. “We said his name a few times, that’s good right?” No. No, it isn’t.
  
• I hate the pattern the episodes have in S1. It goes: location name, bad thing happens in said location, Sam and Dean talk about said thing, they go to said location, they research and maybe flirt with some random girl, they fight, they drive away in the Impala. Like, nearly every episode is like that.
  
• Without demons in the mix that often, the tone of S1 is really different when you compare it to every other season.
  
• Dean is a lot more emotionally vulnerable in this season. I mean, he’s not sitting down with Sam to talk about his feelings all the time, but his emotions are definitely closer to the surface. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that he hasn’t had to emotionally shut down to protect Sam yet. Obviously, he represses things because of the way he was raised, and because he had to raise Sam; however, he still had John to lean on at this point. So, he hadn’t developed that habit of hiding his feelings and leaning on no one but himself yet as he did when he lost John. Because of that, he was able to be scared and tell Sam that he was afraid of losing his family and stuff like that. He becomes a way darker character in after John dies, and he more or less only leans fully on one other person for the rest of the series, albeit in a different way.
  
• John saying in 1x21 that he wants Dean to have a home after Azazel is killed is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. For one, because John is aware that he deprived Dean of a real home, and by extension, is aware that Dean is damaged because of that. But also, it’s sad because Dean has lived 26 years of his life up until now without ever having a home he felt safe and loved in.
  
• Dean running from a potential fight with Azazel in 1x22 is super interesting because he’s fighting to be a part of his family rather than simply fighting for them to be saved. Dean doesn’t want to die, isn’t willing to die. That’s something that definitely changes later. Big time.
  

Filler episode rate:

By my count, which admittedly might be wrong, there were 7 episodes that were primarily main story episodes this season and 15 monster-of-the-week/filler episodes. 

Now, in the early seasons, it isn’t as easy to separate the filler from the main story because almost every episode will deal with character conflict that’s tied to what’s going on with the main story. However, I called it a filler if the primary plot was just a random hunt. For example, I called “Scarecrow” a filler because, even though Meg was introduced after Sam and Dean have a big fight, the main plot is hunting a god.

My bottom 5 episodes in order:

These next two sections are based on my ratings of these episodes from my reviews of every episode. I’ve just ordered them, with one being my least favorite/favorite episode this season.

5.) 1x07: Hook Man

4.) 1x03: Dead in the Water

3.) 1x02: Wendigo

2.) 1x13: Route 666

1.) 1x08: Bugs

My top 5 episodes in order:

5.) 1x14: Nightmare

4.) 1x06: Skin

3.) 1x15: The Benders

2.) 1x21: Salvation

1.) 1x22: Devil’s Trap

My top episodes for Sam:

This section and the next will just be me bringing up some good points of development for Sam and Dean throughout this season. I mean, of course they develop almost all the time, but these episodes are some of the best/most interesting. At least, in my opinion. If you want to read more about my reasons, check out my reviews. Just search for “spn s1 reviews” on my blog.

• 1x05: Bloody Mary - Sam’s psychic abilities got alluded to for the first time during this episode, but it also told us how much Sam blamed himself for Jessica’s death.
• 1x10: Asylum - Sam’s resentment for Dean is voiced, and though he’s under the influence of a ghost while he talks about Dean, some of it is supported by development in other episodes this season.
• 1x14: Nightmare - Sam bonds with Max over their shared abilities and pasts. We also get to see that Sam initially related his own trauma when growing up to Max’s, even though he acknowledged that Max had it worse at the end. It’s an interesting point of development that Sam saw his upbringing that way.
• 1x19: Provenance - Through Sarah being a part of this episode, Sam reveals that he sees himself as dangerous because the abilities he has has put the people he loves in danger in the past.
• 1x21: Salvation - Sam reveals that he’s willing to die, and by extension, risk his family to get the job of killing Azazel done.
• 1x22: Devil’s Trap - Sam has to choose between losing his family through getting his revenge or losing his chance at revenge to save his family.

My top episodes for Dean:

• 1x06: Skin - Dean’s abandonment issues are touched on for the first time.
• 1x09: Home - Dean shows fear when faced with returning home and dealing with the trauma of what he went through the night Mary died.
• 1x12: Faith - This is the first episode that we see a serious internal conflict in Dean about the worth of his life, which is interesting, because we can see in later episodes that he doesn’t want to die. However, his attitude in this episode seems to suggest that he doesn’t see his life as valuable.
• 1x18: Something Wicked - Honestly, this isn’t my favorite episode in the world, but it’s the first flashback episode of the series; in it, you’ll see the reason behind Dean’s feelings of responsibility regarding Sam.
• 1x21: Salvation - Dean insists that nobody will die to kill Azazel, showing that he wants to be a part of his family rather than just saving them.
• 1x22: Devil’s Trap - Dean shows a darker side of himself in an attempt to get John back, and his fears of being unneeded by his family are revealed as well as his fears of losing his family.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for this season’s review. I’ll rate this season in my series review that I’ll write once all this is over, but my impressions right now are that the first season of Supernaturalwas all right. It didn’t necessarily walk in a straight line, but it still felt like there was a definite destination. And, on top of that, the season ended in one of the most banger ways an SPN season has ever ended. The monster-of-the-week stuff has made most of the episodes this season ones I would probably not revisit, but S1 is definitely still special. 

We’ll see if this changes later, but for now, my rating (and average, based on my ratings in my reviews) for S1 is ★★★☆☆.

1x22: Devil’s Trap
Rating: ★★★★★

Lookhere for my explanations of these reviews.

Written by: Eric Kripke

Directed by: Kim Manners

Y’all, Alpha Dean showed upin this episode! Here I was thinking that this version of Dean didn’t show up until after John died, but I guess it just became permanent then because damn. Also, Bobby’s here, yay!

What I liked: All of it, dog. Can you believe this my first 5 out of 5 in the series? I’ll talk about Dean down below, but holy shit, Jensen? Alpha Dean wasn’t the only thing to come out in this episode; so did Jensen’s Oscar. Actually, fuck that, allthe acting in this episode was so insane? Not the least of which is because Azazel!John is like Negan on crack. I’m just going to end up talking about the characters, so I’m moving on.

What I didn’t like: That Azazel hurt Dean’s feelings? That Dean has to be put through so much shit? That John couldn’t have been a better father before this episode basically sentenced him to death in 2x01? That Sam was forced to lose his chance at revenge because he didn’t want to break up his family? That this episode hurt me?

There’s nothing wrong with this episode, for real. I can’t think of anything at all.

Character work: Where do I begin this essay? Honestly, and this isn’t just me being biased, most of the development was Dean’s. This episode was very much about Dean being absolutely terrified to lose his father, his family. In the beginning, when he was interrogating Meg, the rage he had literally set me back because it was so present in every gesture Dean made and every word he spoke. It’s so fascinating that Dean both ran away from the fight and ran toward it during this episode. Dean wanted to get John back before facing Azazel, but he was ready to walk into Hell to get him. And the tortured expression he has when he’s talking about the lack of remorse he feels for killing a possessed human is such a harrowing foreshadow of what he’ll feel in S4. 

I also loved the acknowledgement that Dean holds his family together because that role kind of gets passed to Sam by the later seasons, even though everyone still gathers around Dean. Maybe it’s just that Sam holds Dean together so Dean can hold everyone else together. That acknowledgement comes during an episode, too, where Sam is compared to John; this mention of Dean protecting his family shows a way in which he’s like Mary. Plus, on top of all that, his greatest fears are exposed by Azazel: that his family doesn’t need him as much as he needs them, that Dean will lose his family, despite all his efforts. The shit they did with Dean this episode is something else. Some of the best development I’ve seen come out of this show.

Favorite scene: I know this is kind of a cop out because the scene was, like, a full six minutes long, but the scene where Azazel is taunting the boys before he leaves John’s body is so good. Jeffrey’s acting is so captivating, plus the pain you see on Dean’s face coupled with the confliction on Sam’s when he’s trying to decide if he should kill John or not is next level. Also, the fearthat Dean has when he thinks he’s going to die? Y’all, Dean rarely ever looks thatscared after this point, so relishing it here is where it’s at.

Favorite moment: Weird, but when the Impala gets run off the road. It’s so impactful. I’ve seen my fair share of surprise crashes in TV shows, but after all the build up during this episode, the crash at the end was timed exactlyright. It also scared the shit out of me, even though I knew it was coming.

Iconic quote: “You know, you fight and you fight for this family, but the truth is they don’t need you. Not like you need them. Sam—he’s clearly John’s favorite. Even when they fight, it’s more concern than he’s ever shown you.” That’s pain right there.

This is up there for one of the best SPN season finales. I’m hyped to continue because I’ve got a lot of stuff I’m gonna be looking out for after this episode. I know there are amazing things in the later seasons, but the story just doesn’t poplike it does in this episode.

If you want to read my season review, check it out on my blog.

1x20: Dead Man’s Blood
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Lookhere for my explanations of these reviews.

Written by: Cathryn Humphris & John Shiban

Directed by: Tony Wharmby

Nowwe’re getting the real shit going. Actually, everything surrounding the actual plot in this episode was sort of bland unless you’re a first-time-viewer, and then I’m sure the Colt stuff sounded super cool. I mean, it iscool, but not for the third time (which it is, for me).

What I liked: I like that John wasn’t a dick the entire time. I loved that Dean stood up to him and Sam came to understand him a bit better. The vampire getting whacked by the Colt looked cool. That’s all I’m saying here, more below.

What I didn’t like: I get that the boys’ relationship with John is strained, but a couple of the scenes in this episode just felt awkward. Like, to the point that watching it was slightly uncomfortable. Also, the scenes with the vampires in their hideout were completely unnecessary and super boring.

Character notes: I think John’s development this episode is what I enjoyed the most, even though Dean standing up to John was amazing for more than one reason. I know the entire fandom collectively hates John Winchester because of his abusive style of raising his children, and I’m not saying that’s wrong, but this episode did show us that he is aware of it. He knows he did wrong by his boys. How much that matters is up for debate considering he still tried to strongarm them out of helping with Azazel afterward, but I still think this episode had interesting implications for John. Sam understanding his pain and anger, as well, was a step in the right direction. We didn’t get a lot of time with John, so who knows if he really would’ve changed after Azazel was put down or because his boys needed a father, but seeing Sam bond with him through trauma was good.

Favorite scene: It’s probably obvious at this point, but Sam and John’s conversation about Mary’s death and how John raised Sam and Dean.

Favorite moment: I love, love, love the moment right after Dean calls John out on his bullshit of wanting them to stay out of the final fight. It’s toward the end while they’re waiting to trade Kate for the Colt. Both John andSam give Dean this look of surprise that’s so vindicating because neither of them expected Dean to have the bravery to say what he did, and Dean proved them wrong.

Iconic quote: “We’re stronger as a family, Dad. We just are.” This has major try-me-bitch energy coming from Dean, and I stan.

Can I keep it a buck and say that this episode was kind of crap for the 20th episode out of 22? SPN does this later, too, but for them to serve me an average episode right before the season finale in the first season is rude. The character work was good, though, and that’s what matters. At least John is finally here and we can get down to business.

1x11: Scarecrow
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Lookhere for my explanations of these reviews.

Written by: John Shiban & Patrick Sean Smith

Directed by: Kim Manners

I feel conflicted about rating this episode because, in actuality, it’s just a normal episode, but it also introduces some plot points that’ll be super important later. It’s also the first time Sam and Dean have a brother-breakup, so yay for milestones.

What I liked: I liked seeing Dean work a case on his own because I don’t feel like the fact that he’s actually really smart gets used enough in the series. The introduction of Meg was also fun, but only because I know how cool she is later. Branching off of that, the end scene with Meg did good things to allude to what’s to come. The conversation with John at the beginning of the episode was interesting, but I’ll talk about that later.

What I didn’t like: I mean, this is just another monster-of-the-week episode, so… it’s kind of boring. Even the conversations with Meg and Sam didn’t excite me all that much.

Character work: Bringing it back to John—and I know I’m gonna get shit for this—seeing him be a little saddened by not being with his boys was really cool. I feel like John is normally portrayed terribly, and rightfully so based on how he treated Sam and Dean, but when there’s moments like in this episode where we see a father that just loves his sons, it’s nice. Sam and Dean’s development this episode, honestly, wasn’t all that much for me to get excited about, even though they had a fight. This episode, more or less, just continued the character work of Sam wanting to find John right away to get revenge for Jess and Dean wanting to follow John’s orders while saying Sam should do so more often. The scene in the beginning had a nice moment for Sam because, so far, we’ve only had negative reactions from Sam concerning John; the scene in the beginning, though, showed some evidence that he just misses his father. A similar moment for Dean happens while he’s on the phone with Sam where he alludes to the fact that he wishes he could have more autonomy over his life.

Favorite scene: It’s that scene I just mentioned where the boys are on the phone, more or less apologizing to each other. Dean doesn’t let go of his pride that often, but that scene was one of those times. He also nearlyconfided in Sam, which he also doesn’t do that often. For Sam, he really read like a little brother for the first time so far; while Dean was telling Sam how proud of him he was, Sam’s face told the story of how much he looks up to his brother.

Favorite moment: I’d say Meg stirring the bowl of blood at the end. Kind of looks mesmerizing.

Iconic quote: “I hope your apple pie is freakin’ worth it!” A very classic, frequently mentioned Dean quote.

I guess I had more to say about this episode than I thought I did. It was cool to see Dean be a bit vulnerable and independent and to get those first indications that something dark was beginning behind all the odd hunting jobs Sam and Dean were doing, but it still reads mostly as a filler episode to me.

screenshots of spn women that make me