Review: Supernatural 6.16 And Then There Were None

Some shows killed more characters than others. Supernatural is one of them. I should get used to it by now, but no, I can't get over it yet, especially when I feel a certain character still have a purpose to serve, it's very sad. 

6.16 And Then There Were None is in the same bag as Croatian, Good God Y'All and 99 Problems. I love an episode that takes place in a confined environment, making it a character driven episode. In situation like this, it often reveals things you don't know previously. Apart from getting through the 40-min episode and we see our heroes fried a worm, it's really about how things will effect characters towards the end of the situation. 6.16 is very intense, apart from the Dean and Sam stuff, I am particular impressed with the Bobby and Rufus dynamic. It's so good I am all for a Bobby-Rufus spin-off.

So I'd like to talk about the 4 deaths in this episode..

Death 1 - Gwen

I'd like to say I care, but I really don't. I just don't think her character had a purpose. She wasn't making trouble, but she wasn't helping either. Even Bella was more interesting and had more potential than Gwen, and I liked Bella. 

Death 2 - Grandpa Samuel

I like Mitch Pileggi who is a great actor. But sadly, I think Samuel could've been written and utalised better. I really like Samuel when he first appeared in In the Beginning. I was expecting Samuel to be more solid in terms of the construction of the character, but he was weak and I guess I was a little disappointed with his existence. It just didn't work for me. I guess I am like Dean -- "welcome to your next time" -- can I kill you now? Samuel was annoying and said things so un-Winchester like.. I mean the guy was a Campbell, but I was really expecting so much more from Mary's father. Sadly, I won't miss Samuel.

But by the way, how awesome it was to see Skinner and Mr X in the same scenes!!! AWESOME!

Death 3 - Rufus

WHY? Why did they kill Rufus? I like him! Bobby has no friends now. I am particular impressed with the Bobby-Rufus dynamic. It's like the older version of Dean and Sam; Chuck and Casey; Tony and Rhodey. I wish Rufus had wore a black trentcoat instead, just like Mr. X in The X-Files.

Steve Williams is such as powerhouse actor, who always gives a captivating performance. I love the scene where Bobby mentioned about Rufus' wife and wanted forgiveness, Rufus just almost flipped and told Bobby he wasn't forgiven. That was actually a very very good scene and awesome exchange of dialogue. The guilt must be killing Bobby on the inside, the last scene was very touching. How could one live with that? But I think Rufus still loved Bobby like a brother. 

Through out the entire episode, I suddenly wanted a Bobby-Rufus spin-off. I am just not ready to let go of the Bobby-Rufus dynamic.

 Ocean 4 anyone?

Death 4 - The Black Worm

Die! You ugly piece of worm! Die!

So this thing is new in town, it hasn't got a name yet. So I guess Mother is cooking up all these new kinds of monsters, so that hunters won't have a clue on how to deal with them. This is a very scary scenario for our favorite hunters! Kripke insisted from the get-go that everything must be based on an existing lore. If we are about to see all kinds of new monsters, not only it would present a new challenge to the characters, it's a whole new challenge to the writing team. The monster-possessing human arc is going to bring Supernatural to a new level of intensity.

How well it will gel with the angels and war of heaven in terms of the overall story? Will demon Meg help? Will heaven and hell work together to send Mother back to Purgatory to restore balance. Or will Death intervene since he is already kind of pissed off about not being able to do his job? Don't forget, Death wanted Dean to keep digging about souls and I hope this arc will return towards the end of the season.

By the way, how awesome was Jim Beaver in this episode? This is probably one of his best, his interpretation of a monster-possessed Bobby was just awesome (and creepy). Note this, Jim Beaver was the first actor on the show who played a monster-possessed human. Other actors may have to channel Bobby in later episodes. 'Dr Fate'* didn't do much, so he didn't count. 

*The actor who played the track driver in this episode was the brilliant Brent Stait, who also played Dr Fate in Smallville: Absolute Justice.

And Then There Were None is near perfect Supernatural classic episode with the suspense, the intensity, the darkest, the setting, the conflicts, the humor, the dynamic between the characters, the multiple deaths, the guilt, the brotherly moment when Dean and Sam were separated, the Dean speech at the cemetery... and last but not least a fantastic performance from the whole cast. The only thing missing was the Impala, the classic rock and Dean's leather jacket.

So we are on a hellatus. With only 6 episodes left, I can't wait to see what Sera and co have installed for us!

 

This one is for Rufus.