The ninth season for Supernatural has arrived on DVD and finds Sam and Dean strapping in for one hell of a great ride with an ending that will leave you stunned. While some television series are showing signs of staleness by the ninth season, Supernatural is firing on all cylinders with Sam and Dean facing another round of fighting demons, brotherly love, and other supernatural aspects that have kept the series a blast to watch since the pilot of season one.
Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) are the brother-duo who fight against everything supernatural. They often impersonate FBI agents to gain access to supernatural crime scenes and solve the cases. When not pretending to be FBI agents or slaying demons, the brothers spend their time working through their many family issues, drinking, and trading quippy one-liners.
While trying to stay as spoiler-free as possible, this season finds Dean receiving the “Mark of Cain” and teaming up with the demon Crowley (self-proclaimed ‘King of Hell’, played by Mark Sheppard) to defeat the Abbadon (a really bad-ass demon). The brothers also try to take down the bookish angel Metatron, who has taken over heaven and thrown all of the angels out. Although he looks like a bookworm Metatron is not to be taken lightly, and has grand plans to replace God.
The season opens with Sam dying and Dean is desperate to save him. When a downed angel who says he is Ezekiel comes in contact with them, Dean allows him to enter into his unconscious brother to “heal” him. Of course, this plan goes array and it puts a strain on the brotherly relationship.
This season also finds the brothers using the Men of Letters’ bunker as a base rather than the numerous sleazy hotels they frequent (they still frequent sleazy hotels but not as much). Highlights of the season include a fun “Wizard of Oz” episode that takes place entirely in the bunker, with geek-goddess Felicia Day reprising her role as Charlie.
As with past seasons, Castiel (Misha Collins) has a major part in this season as he is one of the fallen angels, and has lost his grace. This makes for some funny moments as he is now human and can feel hunger and pain – totally new sensations to him. He gets a job at a Gas ‘n’ Go (think 7-11) and tries out his emotional range by falling for a co-worker (she only needs a baby sitter).
As with past seasons, the greatest strength of Supernatural is its ability to make fun of itself and poke fun at things in society. There is a great episode that has a laugh at the expense of reality ghost shows. There is also a rather gross episode where the brothers get jobs at a spa and find out that one owners is sucking the fat from the clients. Another funny episode finds Dean casting a spell that allows him to communicate with animals in order to solve a murder whose only witness is a dog.
The one episode that seemed a failure for the season was the perplexing “Bloodlines,” which seemed a bit out of place in the season. Instead of the usual small town mystery, the plot is urbanized to Chicago and it play out like gangfare with different monster families pitted against one another.
All in all, a great season that I loved from start to finished. The end of the season will make you clamor for more. It is a true, undiluted shocker. If fans thought Dean climbing out of hell a few seasons ago was the worst that could be thrown at these two…think again. This was a show stopper.