The Winchester Family Business

Welcome to Summer Hellatus 2013! Just like we have the last few summers, we've got some great “Supernatural” related activities/articles planned to help us get through this longer than ever Hellatus. As part of our tradition, we kick off the 2013 Hellatus  with a season eight audience participation game - rank the “Supernatural” episodes in five minutes. 

You don’t have to go through demonic trials to do this activity.  The rules are simple. Below is a list of all the “Supernatural” season eight episodes. It’s your job to rank them from best to worst in your opinion in five minutes. There’s no second guessing – the idea is to capture your gut reaction.  So make your list and then share your answers, for we’re all about sharing here. 

You don’t have to have your list typed in five minutes, just your order jotted down.  Share your rationale for choosing this order if you wish, but honestly, we’re not judging here.  Unless “Man’s Best Friend With Benefits” comes in at your number one.  Then we’ll know there’s something serious wrong with you (I’m joking!).  

Be sure to check out page two, which are my rankings. This was tougher this year.  I came in at 4 minutes and 58 seconds.  However, I am an expert with plenty of “Supernatural” encyclopedic knowledge, so if that timer on your smart phone or computer goes a little bit over five minutes, don’t worry, none of us will know.  Fine, the cat will know, but just remind him or her who does the feeding.  No taking time to rearrange after the five minutes are up. That would be cheating and you need to set an example for Fluffy.  

One question is, why do this?  Because, the differences from everyone's responses is staggering.  The results are usually quite fascinating!  So don't think your choices matter, because they do.  

Okay, ready?  Without further delay here are the season eight episodes. Good luck!

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Holy mother of Chuck!!  Now that’s how you end a season.  Leave the fans screaming their fool heads off for about four and a half months.  Mr. Carver, you’re pure evil.  sweetondean in her review actually stole my line, so I’ll just say that I hope Jeremy Carver loves fruit.  Cause he’s about to get a litany of fruit baskets.  

“Sacrifice” was given the task that every season finale must accept, carry the story forward until next season while reconciling it with the events of this season.  This is never an easy mission, which is why the season finale is always reserved for the showrunner.  The question is, how did Jeremy Carver do?  After pouring through the episode a few times, a phenomenal job I must say.     

Of course there’s unanswered questions lingering.  Every season leaves them.  However, this script cleanly brought together the main themes for the season and gave us a most satisfying push forward.  It also had all the emotional beats and story twists that keep fans buzzing for years.  Considering I went into this episode with a ton of questions and skepticisms, I can say all is forgiven.  I’m officially stoked.  

Us reviewers love to use the phrase “flawless” a lot, but we never really give context or definition.  For me, it’s being able to be engrossed in a story for an entire hour.  I never stop at any point to question why this bit doesn’t fit right with the mythology, why this action seems out of character, or just ask in general what the hell is happening.  I have to be laughing, crying, biting my nails, loving the dialogue and being left a wreck by the end of it.  That’s my flawless.  Jeremy Carver hit that mark with “Sacrifice.”  It’s so damn good to see yet another classic “Supernatural” episode tied to his name.  

When looking at the finer details of this script, it’s very complex in story and execution. “Sacrifice” is an ambitious piece of work, but unlike prior complex episodes earlier this season (you know which ones I’m talking about), it all blended seamlessly and moved from scene to scene at a engrossing pace.  There were also plenty of overlapping character interactions and story parallels that boosted the urgency of the events ten fold.  I’ll attempt in a review that’s not the size of a novel to capture these nuances (that’s a very tough task), but when looking at them closely, I can’t help but be in awe of all that we were given in just a mere 42 minutes.  

For all the latest Supernatural info and article links, follow The Winchester Family Business on Twitter at @WinFamBusiness

Oh Sam and Dean, how you can rip my heart out and in the same moment fill me with hope. I felt like I’d been waiting 4 seasons for that conversation. Through all the mistrust, the walking away, the fights, the angry words, I never once doubted that a powerful love was always there, but I still longed to hear them tell each other just how much they mean to each other…because they both needed to hear it…as did we.

For all the latest Supernatural info and article links, follow The Winchester Family Business on Twitter at @WinFamBusiness

I know I haven't been here for many months, and all I'm going to say about that is that I had two back surgeries to have a spinal deformity corrected, and I'm healing, with maddening sloth.  I also wanted to say that I have been thoroughly enjoying season eight of "Supernatural" way more than six and seven. I love the addition of the Men of Letters batcave as a home for the brothers and that they found their way back to each other after a rocky start. I was NOT a big fan of Amelia, and while I found Benny a fascinating character, I didn't like the brother-like bond he shared with Dean. Sam and Dean belong together like, to coin a phrase Forrest Gump used, peas and carrots. 

Now, on to the incredible finale episode, "Sacrifice."  

For all the latest Supernatural info and article links, follow The Winchester Family Business on Twitter at @WinFamBusiness

From emerging the monotone washout of purgatory to ancient tablets and secret bunkers to angels and their wings burning against a night sky – welcome to the wonderful world of Supernatural, where you never really see the end coming no matter how hard you look!

In the end "Sacrifice" wasn’t about closing the gates of Hell. Or Heaven. It came to down to what it always comes down to and that is love. For Sam and Dean the brotherly love between them drove Sam to want to not fail his brother, but allowed Dean to get through to him and stop him from finishing the trials. It meant Dean wasn’t willing to sacrifice his brother, instead making the point that they had gained so much knowledge and could save so many lives with that – but he wouldn’t lose Sam for anything. For Castiel it allowed him to be a tool, led by the promise of fixing his home and family. For Metatron, his love and devotion to God twisted him darkly (like Lucifer), leaving him with an obsession for revenge and a taste for blood. Even Naomi, in the end, was reaffirmed by the love of God and the understanding of the Angel’s duty to protect humans. Not that it did her any good ultimately, but A for effort I guess.

For all the speculating, guessing, bad feelings and wild assumptions this episode took a dark direction that this reviewer definitely did not see coming and ended with a final, chilling scene. Angel and their wings burning in the ether against a black night sky is an unsettling image, to say the least. "Sacrifice" was well written, clever, deliciously dark and macabre and left us poised for something completely new venturing into season nine.  

For all the latest Supernatural info and article links, follow The Winchester Family Business on Twitter at @WinFamBusiness

And they’ve done it again! It is amazing to me that after 8 seasons, ‘Supernatural’ still manages to end each season with such a bang. I am so excited about the new possibilities this finale has created. Even if I have no freaking idea what will happen next. I would also like to add how great it was to have a finale that didn’t involve a dead Winchester. That is the thing that will keep my sanity intact over this hellatus. Isn’t it sad when a possibly dying, but not dead Winchester is the good news?

I couldn’t be happier that Sam survived the trials. At least for now. We’ve all been throwing around the same question for the past few weeks; what happens to Sam if he doesn’t finish the trials? Will he die? For a while there I was under the impression that the last trial is what would make him better. The purification process would be complete and his health would return. Looking back at my wishful thinking self, it seems a little naive. In the words of Dean, “What show have you been watching?”. When has anything ever worked out like that for the Winchesters? Every decision they’ve made over the seasons has involved some level of sacrifice, so it seems obvious that something this huge would require the ultimate sacrifice. And for a while there, I really thought Sam was going to do it. Afterall, he was so close. And since beginning the trials, Sam’s body has taken a beating. He said it himself, his whole body hurt, he was starving and nauseous all at once and everything smelled like rotting meat. That is no way to live. If it were me, I would want a way out.

For all the latest Supernatural info and article links, follow The Winchester Family Business on Twitter at @WinFamBusiness

I've been covering this over at TV For The Rest of Us, but The CW put out their 2013-2014 schedule this morning and once again, Supernatural is moving to a new night.  Even though the pairing with "Arrow" was a spectacular boost for this network, they decided a new show would be better suited for that lead in.  So, get your DVRs ready for 9 pm on Tuesdays!  

What's even weirder is "Supernatural" is getting paired with the new Vampire Diaries spinoff, "The Originals." I guess that's a strong lead in, but that really puts a downer on the stellar lineup designed to attract males to the network.  Honestly, not a lot of this schedule makes sense at all.  I don't know about all of you, but my Tuesdays thanks to ABC, CBS, and now The CW have gotten extraordinarily overcrowded.  

In sadder news for Nikita fans like myself, this is the show's last season, they don't have a slot on the schedule, and they're only getting six episodes to close it out.  Kind of stinks, but I guess they were given the chance to close it out. 

Below is the schedule, and part of the press release that describes Supernatural's season nine.  No worries, it's not spoilery unless you haven't seen last night's finale.  For those that want to see the full press release and descriptions for all the shows, I have that over at TV For The Rest of Us.  You can find it here:

For all the latest Supernatural info and article links, follow The Winchester Family Business on Twitter at @WinFamBusiness

 

WARNING!!!!  If you haven't seen the Season 8 finale yet, read no further!  There will be LOTS of spoilers and discussion about the episode, and trust me, you want to see it for yourself first.  If you've watched, then come in and let's talk about what happened.

For all the latest Supernatural info and article links, follow The Winchester Family Business on Twitter at @WinFamBusiness