Supernatural Review -- 'Torn and Frayed'

Supernatural kicked start the second half of season eight successfully with Torn and Frayed. This episode was more intense than any other mid-season premiers in the past, positioning the story exactly where it should be. 

Torn and Frayed presented a few key game-changing challenges for our heroes and set the direction for the rest of the season. This episode was really both the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. Firstly, in the centre of all the madness, the best hunting family, the protectors of innocent people on Earth, the Winchester brothers have managed to stow their crap and moved on as a family decisively. This is essential in keeping the family mojo alive -- saving people, hunting things, the family business. It takes at least two to make up a family, and hunting is a two people job! Secondly, we began to scratch the surface of Naomi's secret agenda, and sadly, with Castiel being the pawn. Finally, Crowley discovered about the angel tablet through the very painful and bloody torturing of Heaven's most adorable angel, Samandiriel (aka Alfie), giving Crowley the opportunity and advantage to get in front of the game. Heaven has been compromised, and as far as the angels are concerned, not only this is the beginning of a new war, this matter is now personal.

Let's talk about brothers' relationship first. Benny and Amelia were written as support material to illustrate the emotional state of mind of Sam and Dean in the first half of this season. Sam found peace when he met Amelia, they had a life together for awhile and he quitted hunting. Sam cared about Amelia a lot, and he didn't want her to end up dead like Jess. Dean escaped Purgatory and befriended Benny the vampire who helped him escaped. Amelia changed the way Sam think about life, and Benny changed the way Dean think about monsters. While Dean didn't think it was wrong to call Benny a friend, Sam didn't think it was right. While Sam wanted a normal life, Dean thought Sam was acting irresponsibly by leaving everything behind including having no wills to locate his missing big brother.

I have not been investing in the Sam and Amelia story as much as I thought I would. The relationship had more time that it should. For the 100th time, I get it, I get why Sam did what he did. Good for him for finding a girl! But at times, the placement of their scenes were a bit out of place and slow. Having said that, perhaps it was intentionally done to remind us normal and happiness didn't belong to the Supernatural. No matter how much Sam and Amelia wanted it, no matter how hard they tried, it was never meant to work. It wasn't written to make us to believe that they belonged to each other.

Dean's friendship with a vampire has been a challenging one. I think at times, Dean felt he was obligated to help Benny because Benny was his responsibility. For Dean it wasn't so much about proving Sam wrong, but it was more the case of taking care of Benny as a friend. Dean is a big brother to Sam, but he is also a big brother to many. Dean cares about his friends in way he doesn't realise sometimes. Moreover, Dean wouldn't want any innocent people dead because of Benny. After all, it was Dean who brought Benny back from Purgatory. But Sam obviously had a big issue with Benny. I admit, I am a fan of Benny. Benny wasn't doing a 'Ruby' or 'Crowley'. It is refreshing to see someone like Benny on the show. The complicity of his character had been more well written than Amelia, Benny is more flash and blood. I think he is a very intriguing character and it challenges the tradition notion of a monster on the show. Was it wrong to befriend a vampire? At least half of the Winchester household thought it was wrong. Was it wrong for Dean to trick Sam into thinking Amelia was in danger? An apology was made, but I don't think Dean meant it. If Sam wasn't stubborn and just trust Dean on this, it wouldn't have happened. Dean was hardly wrong about choosing his friend, except Gordon. But past experience told Sam, thanks to Ruby, befriending a monster could bring upon the apocalypse. Sam only reacted the way he did based on his instinct -- what if Dean was wrong about Benny and Sam could've done something about it? It's about perspective, there is really no right or wrong here.

Supernatural continues to handle human and family relationship extremely well. The core of the show is about the brothers. Torn and Frayed reminds us a very important point -- hunting is a two people job. The brothers do their job best when they work together. They are stronger as a family. Dean didn't think he needed help, he could do the job by himself. But Castiel obviously wanted him to get all the support to get Alfie out. Good move for bringing Sam back. Both Sam and Dean had to sacrifice their relationship with Amelia and Benny respectively to keep House Winchester in order. In the end, the brothers stowed away their stubborness -- Sam chose to be with his big brother, and Dean chose his little brother over Benny. The last scene summed up the whole situation. It reminded me of the last scene in A Very Supernatural Christmas -- two brothers having a beer, watching a game. 

Let's talk about the angels. I am aware of a lot of fans are assuming Naomi is one of the villains of the story, especially after seeing what she did to Cas. That is a fair assumption. But I am not so sure I am getting that vibe just yet. Here is my theory. We still have no clue as to who she really is. She went to great lengths to cover her tracks from rescuing Alfie to killing him. All in the name of 'protecting a secret that any of them would die to protect'. She didn't want anyone to know she initiated the rescue. She also forced Cas to kill Alfie because Crowley's torture session uncovered a secret about Heaven or the angels hidden inside Alfie's 'operating system'. What is this secret, exactly? Alfie's dying words were "they are controlling us". Who? The Goa'uld? The Asgard? The Furlings?

Cas saw flashes of Naomi doing something to him. My initial thought was that she was hiding something in Cas' 'operating system'. Cas' memory was obviously intact -- he remembered what happened before, what he did, his time in Purgatory etc. Nothing is 'missing'. But if a secret was hidden in the 'operating system' of every angel, then perhaps Naomi was trying to remove it from Cas, in case he is captured by Crowley. WHAT IF Naomi is doing a 'Princess Leia' and stored something in R2D2 for Obiwon to see? What if that 'something' is like a weapon or a knowledge that protects Heaven should it be under attack? Perhaps a distress signal to God? 

It's interesting how Naomi insisted on Cas working with the Winchesters when she first appeared. Why does she care about the Winchesters? Perhaps she is taking advantage of their friendship with Cas and simply 'outsourcing' this important task to them because she is not supposed to interfere. If she was allowed to interfere, she would have come to Earth herself and got rid of Crowley long ago. Either she has an agenda of her own, or she is bounded by some rules she cannot interfere. I won't be surprised to find out she is Metetron -- who returned from wherever she was and found out the tablets was missing. If she was a loyal service for God, the first thing she would do was to recover the tablet. And because she couldn't do it herself for whatever reason, she told Cas to do it. She seems pretty powerful, she rescued Cas from Purgatory and summoned Cas whenever she wanted to. I'd be more than happy to invest in her story and I can't wait to see what she is up to! Whatever Naomi's agenda is, what will the Heaven do now? Will the angels seal the gate of hell before the demons get to them? Will Crowley attack first? But the Winchesters have Kevin, so in theory they could take advantage of the situation and seal BOTH the gate of Heaven and Hell once and for all before the apocalypse is back on the agenda again.

"Stayin alive..!"

There were some light moments in this episode. Dean and Cas continued to have this amazing 'Guy Love' chemistry. For those who watch Scrubs would know what I mean by 'Guy Love'. I think Cas did the right thing by bringing Sam back to the case. This move was very well integrated into the story. But what I really want to say about Cas is that, from the bottom of my heart, I feel really really sorry for him! The 'what if I cannot control myself and hurt people' mentality has always been floating at the back of Cas's mind. What will happen when Cas find out what Naomi did to him? As much as he wanted to be free, because of what he is, he can never be completely cut off from Heaven. As much as he wanted to do good, it seems that he will always be 'controlled' by something else. Cas is still feeling guilty about what he did before and the blood on his hand. Killing Alfie and being a pawn on Naomi's chess board will only torn his damaged soul further. To Cas, 'guilt' cuts deeper than swords. 

Torn and Frayed was a solid episode, setting the pace for the rest of the seasons. I really enjoyed it and it left me wanting for more. Last season, I enjoyed more filler episodes than the Laviathans ones, but I am fully back on board with the whole war of Heaven storyarc. I think Jeremy Carver's plan is working in an awesome fashion. Things are resolved when the moment is right. I am usually pretty reserved when it comes to new writers on the show, but having working on Supernatural for years, Jenny Klein's writing did justice to the characters, mythos and story of the show, in ways better than some of the episodes written by Andew Dabb and Daniel Loflin. (But Dabb and Loflin are stepping up and improving.) Torn and Frayed may not be the most epic episodes ever, and over-night success doesn't happen very often. But Jenny Klein put the story in a place where it should be. Sam and Dean are in the right place and the right the mindset to continue doing this family business as a team. Saving the world is a two people job. The Winchesters have Kevin, it is very likely that they will cease the opportunity and stop both angels and demons once and for all. 

What more can a fan ask for? I am happy with the episode.  
 
In rating news, Torn and Frayed had a 0.9 rating with 2.071 million viewers. Previous episode, Citizen Fang, had 2.058 million viewers. That's a gain! The CW boss, Mark Pedowtiz, recently commented on the possibility of a renewal during the TCA Winter Press Tour. While nothing has been picked up and the network is closely watching the ratings, he indicated that "there's a good shot Supernatural will get another season and that it's in a good place, creatively." Source: TVByTheNumbers and E!Online.
 
Next week, I welcome a much lighter episode. Here is the promo for next week's LARP and the Real Girl. Charlie is back, bitches!

Jeremy Carver Previews 'Torn and Frayed'

I love seeing Jeremy Carver on my screen. There is something nerdy about him, but he is also kinda cute. 

Oh wait.. what? I am not objectifying him. My gosh, he is the boss of Supernatural now, show the man some respect! 

Here is Jeremy previewing this week's episode Torn and Frayed. This episode sounds promising in terms of the bigger picture and the brother relationship. Just give it to me now! I cannot wait!!

Supernatural Returns This Week With 'Torn and Frayed'

Supernatural is back this week with episode 8.10 Torn and Frayed! This hiatus wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. Supernatural didn't disappear at all -- there were rewatch, news, new pics, new descriptions, awards and baby news. Take a deep breath, the second half of season eight is going to be one hell of a ride! 

"Shit! I just painted this wall! Who did this?"

CASTIEL MUST SAVE A FELLOW ANGEL — Naomi (guest star Amanda Tapping) tells Castiel (Misha Collins) that Crowley (guest star Mark Sheppard) is holding an angel captive and Castiel must rescue him before Crowley finds out their secrets. Castiel turns to Dean (Jensen Ackles) for help. Meanwhile, Sam (Jared Padalecki) meets with Amelia (guest star Liane Balaban) who asks him to make a choice: stay with her or leave and never contact her again. Robert Singer directed the episode written by Jenny Klein.

"Here is my number. You can What's App me."

I think the story will go forward judging from the episode synopsis above. I am also expecting a few curve balls. Naomi remains a mysterious character to us, we don't know what her agenda is, which angel she is supposed to be (although I am getting the 'Metatron' vibe), and what her role is in the 'bigger picture'. Angels are back this season, but they are in the background. I think Naomi's greater purpose is to getting her ducks in a row to protect God's words, and put the Heaven and Earth back in order. To me, she is the angel who left. If she is Metatron, and if she is still loyal to God, her purpose really is to put the house back in order and protect it. I am going a bit beyond anything we've seen this season by asking, will we see God and Death? Will there be a show down? What if Naomi is back to put the house in order because she knows God is returning and she wouldn't want to piss him off? Just saying!

"I almost won a People's Choice Award!"

The Dean and Sam thing isn't going to go away. By looking at the episode stills, the brothers obviously will have a chat about Dean's phone trick in Citizen Fang and the 'must-resolve now' Sam and Amelia relationship, which is going in circle. But let's see where Torn and Frayed will take us. More photos can be found KSiteTV

Here is the clip for Torn and Frayed. Kevin, you do look crap! As Dean would say, get some air and watch some porn!  


 
Supernatural returns this Wednesday, January 16th on The CW at 9pm. Do not miss the return of Team Free Will.

Related posts:
Review: Citizen Fang
 

My Two Cents -- Supernatural 'Torn and Frayed' Description

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and got all the pressies that were on your wishlist. Good times! We have a few days before the arrival of 2013. I have a few features to wrap up 2012. Watch this space! 

And now... the episode description of Supernatural episode 8.10 Torn and Frayed: 

CASTIEL MUST SAVE A FELLOW ANGEL — Naomi (guest star Amanda Tapping) tells Castiel (Misha Collins) that Crowley (guest star Mark Sheppard) is holding an angel captive and Castiel must rescue him before Crowley finds out their secrets. Castiel turns to Dean (Jensen Ackles) for help. Meanwhile, Sam (Jared Padalecki) meets with Amelia (guest star Liane Balaban) who asks him to make a choice: stay with her or leave and never contact her again. Robert Singer directed the episode written by Jenny Klein. Source: KSite

I would have liked to see we return in the new year with Sam and Amelia ALREADY sorted out their relationship. Sam had already left Amelia and he saw her with Don in the living room. Why is the Sam and Amelie storyarc going in circle like a typical chic flick? Because it IS a chic flick! This is the only thing I am not emotionally investing in. Moreover, this storyarc gets very out of place in the midst of 'saving people, hunting things, protecting the prophet'. However, this could sort of explain Sam's behaviour and state of mind -- he is distracted, he is at a crossroad (not the demon related crossroad), and he gets grumpy more easily than before. This storyarc needs to end!

But on the very positive side, we are back with the season's mythology. We are back with Naomi, Cas, and Crowley. What could Crowley be possibly find out from this angel who's been held captive? When will Naomi meet the Winchesters? 

I cannot wait!!! January 16, please come now!

Supernatural Review - Citizen Fang

Citizen Fang-tastic! 

Can we at least have a burger and talk about our favorite boy band?

Citizen Fang was directed by Nick Copus and written by Daniel Loflin. You may know Nick's directorial work from Alphas, Nikita and The 4400, he also directs an upcoming episode of Arrow. Daniel Loflin is the other half of the Dabb and Loflin team. They have been writing Supernatural for a few seasons. Without his usual writing partner, I thought it was a good episode from Loflin.
 

Supernatural is usually on its 10th episode this time of the season, but instead we are on 9th. After watching the promo of Tom and Frayed, it got me thinking perhaps Citizen Fang wasn't written as the mid-season finale, but Tom and Frayed was. Due to Thanksgiving, we had a week off, so we are one episode short in the first half of the season. Anyhoo, Citizen Fang was a great episode but it didn't feel like mid-season finale, however, it isn't necessarily a bad thing, at least a few things were moved forward. As a viewer, this is a good thing to feel so emotional about the storyline and characters. They are not written for everyone to like, this is not a children's book. Even a children's book has villains and crap, and this is Supernatural we are talking about. It must have dramas, conflicts, the WTF moments and darkness. It is written to challenge us psychologically. We are supposed to have the WTF reactions, that's the purpose of a drama. We can all debate about whether Sam did the right thing, if Martin was a douche, or if the trust issue is ever going to go away. One thing for sure, each character in this episode think they have made the best decision under the circumstances.

Let's start with Sam. I half expected Sam to do what he did. I expected him to flip and be stubborn about Benny. "Your brother chooses a vampire over you." Oh shut up Martin! But did it really cross Sam's mind? I don't think so. I'd like to think Sam was better than this. I think it was more about 'they are monsters, we want them dead, they want us dead' -- a motif Dean once shared with Sam before. Dean was never a choir boy about monsters, Sam knew it and he was willing to give Dean a few hours to investigate the case and talk to Benny.

But what scenario was Sam expecting to see after a few hours? May be he was too arrogant. To me, it was almost as if Sam was certain that the deaths in town were caused by Benny and hoped Dean was wrong about Benny. Sam wanted Dean to see the truth with his own eyes and said "Told ya!" Sam wasn't really thinking about an alternative -- what if Dean was right about Benny who didn't kill those people? To me, Sam was going to end Benny regardless. Sam was being stubborn. There was a bit of a "why am I always the one who is wrong about things and makes bad decision?" thing going on with Sam. For once, perhaps he wanted Dean to be wrong and made a bad decision. Sam was looking for a win, so to speak.

Lumberjack Benny

Sam was pissed off about the fake text message, which was well-played by Dean. It told us and Dean about Sam's feeling for Amelia, who could be a liability and in danger. Sam was willing to drop everything, including a job, to be by her side. Hypothetically speaking, if Crowley finds out about Amelia, she is gone! Sam may want a retirement and a happy life, but it is the stuff he did before as a hunter that makes it impossible for him to start a family or close to someone, because one day shit will come back to haunt him. It is a weakness and the monsters know it. For Sam to see Amelia with Don was a good thing, because he could see that she was safe and happy, so that he could move on. But for Amelia to go to Sam, this is going to drag! I don't want this to drag. The bar scene being the last shot of the mid-season finale was a little weak. Good ending to an episode, but not as cliff-hanger for a mid-season finale. This is not Grey's Anatomy, this is Supernatural. The episode was great, don't get me wrong, but that ending wasn't strong enough to wrap the mid-season.

Let me throw a few questions out there. What could possibly happen to Amelia and Sam from now on? Let's see -- Amelia is going to have an affair with Sam behind Don's back? Sam is going to drop everything and leaves Dean and hunting, again? Amelia is going to be Lisa 2.0 and tries to accept and live with the fact that Sam is a hunter? Don is going become angry and finds out about Sam being a hunter and then hire a witch to kill him? Amelia is going to be possessed by demon and then die? There is literally nothing interesting that could happen to the Amelia and Sam storyarc. I understand that this is part of Sam's character development, but either Crowley is going to find out about Amelia and uses her as an asset (which will be much more interesting), or Sam has to join Home and Away. Oh wait.. how about Don IS possessed by a demon under Crowley's authority?  

I shook that hand! I shook that big rough hand of his.

Let's talk about Dean and Sam. Dean had a point about Benny being the only one who had never let him down so far.  It was a fact, not a gut feeling. For Sam to say, "it must feel great to finally find someone you can trust after all these years" was immature. Sam was clearly pissed off. Perhaps he was pissed off because Dean trusted a vampire more than he trusted his little brother. But can you blame Dean? Like I said, Sam wished his brother to be wrong, just once! It's a sibling thing. Dean was surprisingly calmer than I expected. This was a job -- if Benny did the killing, Dean would have no reason not to end him. But perhaps Dean always knew he was right about Benny. Dean is hardly wrong, may be that one time when Dean was all buddy buddy with Gordan in his first appearance, they had a few drinks and traded stories in the bar. 

Dean was caution about Benny. He opted for the talking rather than all guns blazing, furious about the killing. And I think most importantly, he went with facts and not let his emotion clouds his judgement. But Sam did let his emotion and anger cloud his judgement for a little bit. He didn't even want to consider the fact Dean presented to him. He didn't even want to listen to Dean. So what's going to happen to the brother relationship? If you have seen the promo for the next episode, you'd know. Cas is going to tell them to get their shits together! There is no better way to saying it. Sam needs to stop being a baby. 

Let's talk about the 'almost-ok' Martin. I hate him. There was nothing adorable about him. He was a Gordan. Martin tried to get back into the game, fine! And I get that it was a hunter instinct to be suspicious about monsters. In the tradition of Supernatural, monsters are all bad. But this season, Benny was introduced as a complex character, challenging us to consider the possibility of the existence of monster with a good heart. I think that's why I like Benny, because we haven't seen anyone like him before on the show. This makes me Team Benny! Of course, I hate Martin for acting stupid and a douche for threatening Elizabeth. What was he thinking? But it wasn't about Martin, it was about Benny. It revealed who he really was. We saw his point of view. I am glad Benny is still alive and Martin isn't! Elizabeth had one hell of a job to clean up the blood and the body. Wish Cas was here to help.

Overall, I really like this episode because I secretly was hoping Dean was right about Benny. Benny is a great addition to the show. I really like this episode because Sam really pissed me off. That's right. Sam's stubbornness made half the episode, I don't agree with his action and his thinking, but I like the drama and conflict that he brings to the episode. But seriously, the Sam and Amelia storyarc has to end right friggin now! I don't want to have 1D's One Thing playing in my head whenever I see Amelia and Sam together. 

There is the hand again!

Supernatural episode 8.10 Torn and Frayed airs on Wednesday January 16th, 2013. Really, it's not that long of a wait. Yeah, REALLY!


Here is an update on the episode titles:

8.01 We Need to Talk About Kevin
8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy?
8.03 Heartache
8.04 Bitten
8.05 Blood Brother
8.06 Southern Comfort
8.07 A Little Slice of Kevin
8.08 Hunteri Heroici 
8.09 Citizen Fang 
8.10 Torn and Frayed (16 Jan)
8.11 LARP and the Real Girl
8:12 As Time Goes By
8.13 Everybody Hates
8.14 Trial And Error
8.15 Man's Best Friend With Benefits
8.16 Remember The Titans