Supernatural Season 15 Episode 10 Review

 

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‘The Heroes’ Journey’ may be the most metatextual episode in an inherently metatextual season of one of the most clever, metatextual shows ever. Now that God has forsaken the boys, they have lost their plot armor and the benefits of being the protagonists. It is mostly the little things like Baby needing new spark plugs and Sam catching a cold, but its all things that do not happen here. Now, one could assume they happen offscreen, but the hilarity of this episode made it worthwhile.

I loved it. Although I can see why some would not. This episode is heavy on jokes and light on plot. This makes it both a perfect way to release some tension and lull viewers into a false sense of security. Sam and Dean do not solve their problem this episode, although I cannot imagine it lasting much longer. This light attitude does make this a strange companion to the prior nine episodes this season, though

I had not noticed how dour this season (and the back part of last season) has been until the scene this episode where Dean has an anesthetic-induced dream where he tap dances with Garth. The only moment even approaching that amount of levity was Dean and Lee Webb singing Good Ol’ Boys in ‘Last Call’ and that episode turned dark quick. Because of that, this episode does feel somewhat out of place. But, I mean, how can you be super serious when DJ Qualls is around? The man just radiates this goofy joy.

Speaking of Garth, he retired and settled down years ago, although he has been called back into action a couple times. Here we see he has three kids, Gertie, Sam, and Castiel. The last one is especially great because he has never spoken to Castiel (onscreen) and Dean, understandably, thought the kid would be Dean’s namesake after learning his twin was named Sam. Also, Garth is a werewolf dentist because he radiates Hermey-but-good energy and they have nowhere else to go.

Garth even manages to save the day at the end because Sam and Dean do not how to not rely on their protagonist luck. The boys got captured by the head of Monster Fight Club and Garth showed up just in the nick of time to rescue them and blow up the monsters. All in a day’s work for everyone’s favorite werewolf dentist. If this is the last we see of Garth, Bess, and the pups it will have been a good exit. Hopefully, we get one more look at them being a happy family, even if only in a brief montage.

Best Quotes:

Gertie, referring to Sam: "Mommy, the giant's crying."

Garth: "Oh, no no no. I want to be the guest star. Being the hero sucks. I mean sure, you'll probably win eventually, but until you do, your life blows. Your parents get gunned down in an alleyway, your home planet gets blown up, you interview this good looking rich guy and it doesn't go well so he shows up at the hardware store where you work and man, it starts to get, you know…"
Bess: "It's, um, we love Fifty Shades."
Garth: "Yeah, we do."

Wonder Woman 1984 Review

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Wonder Woman 1984 is perhaps the riskiest superhero film since Iron Man. Not because it stars an actor no one cares about anymore as a superhero no one cares about. Nor because it sets out to establish a template for an interconnected metaseries of movies. By choosing to swing for the fences in nearly aspect and refusing to play safe, WW84 reaches heights few of its contemporaries even dream possible. It also hits lows many of them avoid.

Spoilers for Wonder Woman 1984 follow. You've been warned.

Comic Reviews 12.28.2020

Hey y’all. We’re back with a light one to finish off the year. Of course, the final issues of 2020 will be reviewed next week but that will be in 2021. Anyway, I did read one comic not reviewed here, Excalibur #16. It was a fun issue that I enjoyed quite a lot but when I sat down to write about it, I did not have anything to say. Because of that, you get a pseudo-Featured Review that acts as the first part of my unofficial two-day Wonder Woman 1984 “extravaganza”, which will conclude with the second part, a review of Wonder Woman 1984. Look forward to it tomorrow! Let’s jump into the reviews!

I just wanted to share this cool motion blur effect

Spoilers for: Wonder Woman #769

Supernatural Season 15 Episode 9 Review

 

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For the first time this season, the gang comes face to face with Chuck. It does not turn out how I expected, although for a little while the episode did have me convinced the conflict with Chuck would end here and the final episodes would revolve around everyone coming to grips with what it means to live in a universe without God. That would have been an audacious move. While Supernatural has made bold storytelling choices in the past, this would have been the boldest and the show did not go in that direction. Regrettable but understandable.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales Review

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In the summer of 2011, Peter Parker sacrificed himself to save those he loved. In his stead came another Spider-Man. Said Spider-Man’s debut issue, Ultimate Comics Fallout #4, ends with him demasking and wondering aloud if his costume is in poor taste. Could he live up to Peter’s standard? Was he worthy of the gifts he had been given?

While the comic book version of Miles Morales long ago answered those questions with a resounding ‘yes’, they have continued to be the focus of the character as he moves into other media. This was even more true in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, his Oscar-winning introduction to the population at large. That film sees Miles wrestle with the legacies of six spider people. It too concludes Miles is worthy. In fact, anyone can be worthy if they do what is right.

When Miles appeared in Marvel’s Spider-Man just a month prior to Spider-Verse’s release, he felt underdeveloped. Relegated to a D-plot culminating in a post-credits scene and a few phone calls in the DLC campaign, Miles was hardly a factor. He featured in several playable sequences that showed his natural heroicism, but they do little narratively for that game and many players—although not this one—did not enjoy them.

Fast forward to summer 2020 and the announcement of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Anybody that cared about Miles or the 2018 game was excited. It quickly came out that the game would be a shorter game, about half the length of its 20ish-hour predecessor. While this information angered some, I am here to tell you Miles Morales is a better game than its precursor largely because it is shorter.

Supernatural Season 15 Episode 8 Review

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‘Our Father, Who Aren’t In Heaven’ is about tying loose ends, returning character, and setting the stage for the big events coming up in the fall finale next episode. It ends with Dean and Castiel (begrudgingly) on a quest together and Sam and Eileen in walking straight into a trap.

News Roundup 12.23.2020

 

Hey y’all. We have got some fun news today. A quick blog note: I planned to have a couple posts yesterday, but my internet had a long outage. You might get some extra posts (mostly Supernatural reviews) the next few days. Of course, this week’s big post will be the Miles Morales review and next week will have a Wonder Woman 1984 review. Look forward to those while you check out the important news of the past week.

As always, feel free to give your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter. And if you like what you read here, consider throwing a couple bucks my way on Patreon or Ko-fi to help cover costs and improve the site.

Comic Reviews 12.21.2020

Hey y’all. We’ve got some really good comics to take a look at this week. Before that, I realized I forgot to review S.W.O.R.D. #1 last week. It was incredible. Al Ewing’s sensibilities match up with Hickman’s perfectly and it feels like a natural extension of the ongoing mutant story. Valero Schitti and Marte Gracia make it one of, if not the best-looking X-Men comic on shelves. I mean, just look at this:

S.W.O.R.D.  is shaping up to be a really fun series with cool characters and high concept sci-fi. I’m all the way in. I also read Power Rangers #2, which is a significantly better comic than its sister series but not enough is happening currently and I didn’t have anything to say about it. Looks unbelievably good though. Anyway, let’s get to the main reviews.

As always, feel free to give your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter. And if you like what you read here, consider throwing a couple bucks my way on Patreon or Ko-fi to help cover costs and improve the site.

Spoilers for: X-Force #15, New Mutants #14

The Mandalorian Season Finale Is Everything Wrong With Star Wars

 As always, feel free to give your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter. And if you like what you read here, consider throwing a couple bucks my way on Patreon or Ko-fi to help cover costs and improve the site.

The Mandalorian is simply fanservice with an astronomically high budget. Starring a guy that looks like Boba Fett if you squint and a puppet that looks like Yoda if he used Neutrogena and set in locations that look like Original Trilogy settings (Mostly deserts), this show exhibits every bad inclination Star Wars has had for the past three years. It has no original ideas and nothing to say. It is simply top tier nostalgia bait.

Supernatural Season 15 Episode 7 Review

As always, feel free to give your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter. And if you like what you read here, consider throwing a couple bucks my way on Patreon or Ko-fi to help cover costs and improve the site.

‘Last Call’ is, on its own merits, a good enough episode of television. While the A-plot is the same story that has been told several times in prior seasons about a hunter that becomes a villain. In this case, said hunter is played by Christian Kane who turns in a top-notch performance. In particular, his chemistry with Jensen Ackles makes their long friendship instantly believable. It also makes the late reveal much more affecting.

News Roundup 12.16.2020

 

Hey y’all. Today, we’ve got a metric ton of news, including announcement from Disney Investors Day and the Video Game Awards. Before we get to any of that, I want to take a moment to discuss the state of this blog. I pour a lot of my money into this site, whether it be maintaining the site or buying the comics, games, etc. that form the backbone of posts. Honestly, it’s at an unsustainable level. I have so many big ideas and plans for what this can be, but I can’t get there yet. Not without some help, that is.

That’s where you come in, dear reader. I am humbly asking that if you enjoy the work I do here, you consider donating some money to the cause of improving it. For this, I have set up both a Patreon and Ko-fi, depending on if you would prefer to support monthly or just once. I understand that not everyone has spare money, especially during the holiday season amidst an ongoing global pandemic. If you cannot afford to donate (or just don’t want to), no posts will be gated behind that. But if you can, please consider it.

Also, read this post. There’s so much news and I wouldn’t want you to miss any of it. We’ll start with DC news, then head to the VGAs, and finally, cover the absurd amount of Disney news

Comic Reviews 12.14.2020

 

Hey y’all. It was a pretty fun week for comics. The X-Men especially got into some shenanigans, which you can learn more about below. Not included here is Mighty Morphin’ #2, a dull comic I’m considering dropping, and DC’s Very Merry Multiverse #1. The latter was a fun anthology. I got it for the Teen Justice story which introduced Kid Quick. This short look at them is fun. I especially dig the outfit; it’s maybe the best a teen Flash has ever look. It will be exciting to see them as the new Flash next year. Anyway, on to what I did actually review!

Hopefully they all return.

Spoilers for: Marauders #16, Amazing Spider-Man #54

Rick Famuyiwa and Bill Burr Return In The Highpoint of The Mandalorian's Second Season

 

As everyone should expect by this point, ‘The Believer’ does not move the plot forward. This is much more forgivable than usual as Rick Famuyiwa—who wrote and directed the episode—attempts to interrogate Mando’s code and what rules he is and is not willing to break. While the attempt is not entirely successful, it does open the door for future stories to continue to prod Mando and his dedication to the edicts of the cult that raised him. It does feature a payoff stretching back to the initial installment of The Mandalorian, though. Also, this episode is a quasi-sequel to one of the prior season’s finest offerings, ‘The Prisoner’.

News Roundup 12.09.2020

 

Hey y’all. This past week had a deluge of news the type of which I cover on this site. From the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Avatar: The Last Airbender to the Persona 5 sequel coming west. We’ve got it all here so let’s jump right into it.

WB Movies coming to HBO Max Simultaneously

So, WB—or AT&T--saw the reactions to the Wonder Woman 1984 release schedule and thought, “Yes. We need more of this.” Because of that, they have decided to extend that treatment to every single film in 2021. This has been rightfully ridiculed, but it was inevitable one of these studios would take this step. I am just surprised it was not Disney, who have an unbelievable dearth of new content.

It is surprising they did not wait to see how Wonder Woman turns out prior to making this announcement though. Maybe there was a mass subscription following that news and they want to replicate it? This is going to be bad for theaters, likely accelerating their demise in the US. That is incredibly sad, and I hope some are able to stay around. Having said that, I likely will not be in a theater in 2021 so it is nice that I will be able to see these films.

Comic Reviews 12.07.2020

 

Hey y’all. We’ve got a small one this week. Initially, I intended to cover X-Factor #5 in these reviews as the first post-X of Swords X-book. Due to the nature of the extremely sensitive content it contained, I found myself unable to write an appropriate review. If I can find the words to express my thoughts, it may be included in next week’s reviews. Those are already looking pretty stacked though. Anyway, I did want to share a fun panel from the issue, which was written by Leah Williams with art by David Baldeon, colors by Israel Silva, and letters by VC’s Joe Caramagna.

Spoilers for: Miles Morales: Spider-Man #21

Featured Review: Chainsaw Man Volume 1

 

Story and Art By: Tatsuki Fujimoto

 

To say Chainsaw Man has been a sleeper hit from Shonen Jump would be disrespectful. Having reached over 3 million copies sold this summer, it is an undeniable success. That puts it nowhere near Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, or even Dr. Stone. But Chainsaw Man is having a bit of a moment as it draws to a close in a week’s time. Rumors of an anime adaptation become more solid every passing day and the interest in the manga has swelled as more and more praise is heaped upon the series. Because of that, I have been waiting for an empty Featured Review slot to check it out. So, how is it?

Full Spoilers for the first volume of Chainsaw Man. You’ve been warned.

Robert Rodriguez Tries to Make Boba Fett Cool in The Mandalorian

 

It finally happened. Boba Fett has returned. That works to both the betterment and detriment of ‘The Tragedy’. You see, Boba was never cool. Not on screen, anyway. This episode works very hard to make viewers think he was despite the fact they have all seen The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He is a borderline useless henchman that falls down a hole despite wearing a jetpack.

Supernatural Season 15 Episode 6 Review

Welcome to my Supernatural reviews. I am catching up on the final season and have not seen beyond the episode currently being reviewed. Please come along for the ride. I promise it’ll be fun.

The gang is back together. Sam, Dean, and Castiel are ready to fight against God and whatever plans he has for them. And Eileen is there too! ‘Golden Time’ may be the first episode in which Supernatural shows its hand. Eileen’s return likely signals one of three futures:

1. Eileen dies tragically in the final episodes of the season. Maybe it is because Chuck thinks it will force Sam in a certain direction or he just wants to torture Sam personally. Either way, this seems like the least probable path. Not only has the show already done that already, it happened under the supervision of the current showrunners. It seems unlikely they would go back to that well.

2. Sam and Eileen become a couple and Sam tragically sacrifices himself in the finale to protect her (and probably the entire world/universe), leaving Eileen alive. Given Sam’s propensity to be the hero and make grand sacrifices, this seems entirely possible. It would also bookend the show with the death of Sam’s girlfriend and his own death. I personally do not like this path, but it is entirely plausible.

3. Sam and Eileen both survive and settle down. Given the direction the show has gone in its second half—and especially in the Robert Singer/Andrew Dabb era—this seems like the most likely outcome. For years Sam has been trying to get out of the hunting game. The world always needs him though. It is all part of Chuck’s grand narrative that he cannot retire so once Chuck is beaten, there is nothing stopping Sam from doing just that.

This episode also focuses on one of the defining storylines of late period Supernatural: Sam as witch-in-training under Rowena. Notably, Rowena is gone. She sacrificed herself to close the gate to Hell. This episode finally allows Sam to process that. This manifests itself not only in his drive to revive Eileen but also his reaffirmation that the team can and will beat God. It is a promising step forward as the gang reunites as the end.

Castiel has been on vacation since leaving at the end of ‘The Rupture’. Of course, upon discovering something suspicious going on in town, Cas cannot help but take up the hunt. It is during this hunt, and through conversing with mother of a missing boy, that Cas realizing he should be helping people. During his investigation, Cas has a phone conversation where he learns Chuck is still around and playing with their fates. These two experiences combine to create the aforementioned reunion.

Now that our foursome has been established, they are going to seek Chuck’s whereabouts, likely using the theoretical connection between he and Sam via their gunshot wounds. What that means exactly or the methods by which it happens are unclear. Maybe Sam does some magic? We will just have to wait and see.

Best Quotes:

Dean: “What’s round and bad tempered? A vicious circle?”

Sam, to Eileen, a ghost: “You ever feel like you’re the butt of some cosmic joke?”

Castiel, explaining why he needed a vacation: “You could say we had a falling out with management.”

As always, feel free to give your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter at @alexraysnyder. And if you like what you read here, consider throwing a couple bucks my way on Patreon to help cover costs.

Supernatural Season 15 Episode 5 Review

 

Welcome to my Supernatural reviews. I am catching up on the final season and have not seen beyond this episode at the time of writing. Please come along for the ride. I promise it’ll be fun.

‘Proverbs 17:3’ is one of the strangest episodes Supernatural has ever produced. Everything in it feels…off. Much of that is purposeful. The first two-thirds or so is Lilith putting on a show for Same and Dean. It is designed to feel off. But it goes beyond that. Sam and Lilith especially feel wrong and that is the biggest problem this episode has.