Weekend Review – “Supernatural: Season Five”

I’m getting caught up with the Winchester boys once more.

Cast and Crew Information

Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester
Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester
Jim Beaver as Bobby Singer
Misha Collins as Castiel
Kurt Fuller as Zachariah
Mark Sheppard as Crowley
Mark Pellegrino as Lucifer
Richard Speight Jr. as the Trickster

Written by Andrew Dabb (4 episodes), Ben Edlund (4), Daniel Loflin (4), Jeremy Carver (4), Sera Gamble (4), Eric Kripke (3), Julie Siege (3), Nancy Weiner (2), David Reed (1), Eric ‘Giz’ Gerwitz (1), Harvey Fedor (1), Jenn Klein (1), and Rebecca Dessertine (1)
Directed by Phil Sgriccia (4 episodes), Robert Singer (4), Charles Beeson (3), James L. Conway (3), Steve Boyum (3), J. Miller Tobin (1), Jeff Woolnough (1), John F. Showalter (1), Mike Rohl (1) and Rick Bota (1)

Availability Information

This season is available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Premise

Lucifer has been freed. Heaven has a plan to take care of that little problem, but the Winchester boys aren’t terribly happy about their part in it.

High Point

The Trickster’s character arc. When last seen in season three, there were indications that there was more going on with the Trickster than the Winchesters realized, and that turns out to be the case. I personally underestimated how far that went.

Low Point

Previous seasons were an effective mix of the comedic and the heavily dramatic. Given the larger story arc in this season, there wasn’t much room for the comedic. The Trickster is always good for a laugh, and there was an unexpected amount of humour involving Castiel’s inability to assimilate, but there weren’t any complete episodes dedicated to the funny as there were in the past.

The Review

This is an original direction for the show, and the natural result of the fourth season. I give it 5 out of 6.

The effects were typically good, with a combination of full-on detail and classic “corner of the eye” kind of stuff. My only complaint is more of a pet peeve: I hate blood on the camera lens. It serves to immediately drive me out of the story and remind me I’m watching something filmed through a camera. I noticed that twice this season. I give the effects 5 out of 6.

The story over the full season was well written and nicely assembled. There are standout episodes like “Hammer of the Gods,” and some generally entertaining intermediate steps. My only complaint was that the lead-in to season six felt somewhat rushed. This could well be a result of the late news about the series renewal, but it still felt rushed on screen. I give it 4 out of 6.

The acting was strong again this season. The leads were extremely well cast for their suitability to the roles, and the guest stars are also generally strong. I give it 5 out of 6.

The production was very well done in terms of the broadcast episodes. I do have a quibble about the Blu-Ray authoring. In “The Real Ghostbusters,” there is a house ad for the Ghostfacers webshorts included in the episodes. In broadcast, it would have been an ad leading into more ads at the start of a commercial break, but in a commercial-free format it serves only to interrupt. That should have been included as a bonus feature, and not integrated within the episode. I give it 4 out of 6.

The emotional response is still strong. We don’t have as many comedic episodes this season, but that’s because the main story arc doesn’t allow them. This is a high-tension year, and I felt that tension from start to finish. I give it 6 out of 6.

Overall, this is another strong year from one of television’s strongest shows. I give it 5 out of 6.

In total, Supernatural: Season Five receives 34 out of 42.

One reply

  1. The thing that stands out in my memory about this season was a comment a few friends and I made as the last episode was approaching… I forget which one of us said it first, but we all agreed.
    ” Never in the history of fictional literature have two characters been more thoroughly screwed.”

    I mean, at least in any other story we can thing of, even the death of the protagonist would not mean such dire consequences for the entirety of the rest of creation… let alone the consequences for the protagonist themselves.

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