Thus far I've been watching mostly just to give it a shot; I've enjoyed the first three episodes, but this is the one that made me think, "Okay yep, I'm in this for real." The writing has been so intentional (if you're actually paying attention) and while I first noticed it in the third episode, this one made it crystal clear. There are things I've been noticing (which I won't mention for spoiler purposes) that I kind of assumed would be ignored or swept under the rug, because that was what Supernatural generally had the habit of doing. I have been pleasantly surprised to discover that not only are they addressing those things, but highlighting and using them to further the plot and the development of the characters. I'm starting to have really high hopes for this show!
6 Reviews
Emotional, painful, wonderful
jaygeewriting4 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I loved this episode a lot. It made me cry but obviously that's what we're going for!
I remembered when this show was first announced there was a fear that it'd gloss over the kind of person John wound up being in the main show and from what we heard from stories from other characters.
I hope this episode negated any of those fears.
And that's not to say those with PTSD always grow up to be like how John was, especially because we know that John's going to get screwed around with and we don't know what cosmic twists and turns are going to happen to exacerbate his internal demons. But I like that for the first three episodes, apart from a few moments, you see this cute, puppy-dog kinda guy learning how to hunt and making his new friends and going along for this adventure -
But now we're confronted with the fact that he indeed faced horrors in the middle as a child really because he illegally signed into the war too young, and that combined with other issues stemming from the mystery of his father growing up, seemingly combined into what we saw in this episode.
Because while watching Supernatural, we never really knew what John's deal was. It was speculated that he did have PTSD, if not from the war then from seeing his wife burn alive on the ceiling, or that he was always mean, or that he was maybe soulless or possessed - anything really.
The reason why I like this show is that it is constantly reminding me that this is, indeed, a tragedy we're going to witness. No matter the twists no matter the turns, John and Mary will end up where they ended up.
It's hard to have my brain suddenly go from Supernatural's adult John, and the scorn I had for him, to seeing this and having empathy and feeling very sad for him. However, I think that's also such a great thing.
One of my favorite bits was at the end of the episode and you see the other three characters dealing with their trauma in a way that helps them: Carlos is at that group veteran therapy session, Lata and Mary are together, but John's isolated away from them, even from his own mother until she comes in, and crying. That speaks volumes (and also made me cry volumes) to me. It's a sign of what's to come. Already in the last three episodes, even in this one, John's often fighting alone. They're a group but he always finds himself isolated. And I feel like, given how many falling outs he's had in his adult life, per Sam's comments in the OG show, this is going to continue to be a trend.
And seeing him in the tub, and even seeing him freaking out in the hospital and trying to calm himself, I wanted to walk into the TV and try to give him a hug myself! It's sad when you can see the beginnings of the road a character's about to take, knowing where they're going to end up, and not being able to do anything to try and steer them in the other direction.
It's really powerful stuff and helps really start to flesh out a character that we really only knew through other characters' stories about him as a grown man.
Another thing I loved about this episode is Carlos. I mean, I love him in general, but specifically, I like how they contrasted John's eagerness for a fight, signing up for the war underaged, all that jazz - to Carlos, who didn't go into service the same way, who also experienced trauma, and in contrast to a fighter, he was a medic; he helped to heal people. I loved that contrast to them, and I liked the exchange where Carlos and John talked about that group session and John's PTSD over having seen his friend blow up in front of him. John's shutting down the possibility of going back into a group like that and talking about it, versus Carlos embracing it, again added more to the character dynamics.
And not to forget about Mary and Lata.
Mary is like, truly alone in terms of blood family. Her mother and father are separated, legally and marriage-wise, and one's on a hunt and the other is missing - and she lost another relative, a cousin, who was like a sister to her. Lata helping Mary through that, both of them really helping each other, really helped me love their friendship even more. Even that cute moment in the park when Mary goes and meets Kyle and Lata's failing terribly at acting casual! That made me laugh.
Other elements of the episode were great as well, but I loved the whole 'inner demons' message, and that yes - not all the time people will take the path towards healing but towards a kind of self-preservation of not confronting said demons.
My final bit that I loved was at the end of the fight with the god, it mirrored kind of Dean in 15x19 but like, in the opposite kind of way. In 15x19, Dean tells Chuck, who thinks Dean's gonna kill him, "That's not who I am" and walks away. John didn't walk away and instead stabbed the god so hard with that broken spear that it killed him and then continued to attack him. It echoed back also to the Mark of Cain arc in SPN where Dean won't stop going at Abaddon, despite her already being dead. Dean had lost himself there, and I think John lost himself in his situation too. And I think he knows it, but instead of confronting it, he will continue to run from it because confronting it is too painful, too uncomfortable, and we never want to feel in pain or uncomfortable.
I loved this episode very much, I loved how heavy it was, I loved the subtext, I loved the implications and the character development.
I can't wait for next week!
I remembered when this show was first announced there was a fear that it'd gloss over the kind of person John wound up being in the main show and from what we heard from stories from other characters.
I hope this episode negated any of those fears.
And that's not to say those with PTSD always grow up to be like how John was, especially because we know that John's going to get screwed around with and we don't know what cosmic twists and turns are going to happen to exacerbate his internal demons. But I like that for the first three episodes, apart from a few moments, you see this cute, puppy-dog kinda guy learning how to hunt and making his new friends and going along for this adventure -
But now we're confronted with the fact that he indeed faced horrors in the middle as a child really because he illegally signed into the war too young, and that combined with other issues stemming from the mystery of his father growing up, seemingly combined into what we saw in this episode.
Because while watching Supernatural, we never really knew what John's deal was. It was speculated that he did have PTSD, if not from the war then from seeing his wife burn alive on the ceiling, or that he was always mean, or that he was maybe soulless or possessed - anything really.
The reason why I like this show is that it is constantly reminding me that this is, indeed, a tragedy we're going to witness. No matter the twists no matter the turns, John and Mary will end up where they ended up.
It's hard to have my brain suddenly go from Supernatural's adult John, and the scorn I had for him, to seeing this and having empathy and feeling very sad for him. However, I think that's also such a great thing.
One of my favorite bits was at the end of the episode and you see the other three characters dealing with their trauma in a way that helps them: Carlos is at that group veteran therapy session, Lata and Mary are together, but John's isolated away from them, even from his own mother until she comes in, and crying. That speaks volumes (and also made me cry volumes) to me. It's a sign of what's to come. Already in the last three episodes, even in this one, John's often fighting alone. They're a group but he always finds himself isolated. And I feel like, given how many falling outs he's had in his adult life, per Sam's comments in the OG show, this is going to continue to be a trend.
And seeing him in the tub, and even seeing him freaking out in the hospital and trying to calm himself, I wanted to walk into the TV and try to give him a hug myself! It's sad when you can see the beginnings of the road a character's about to take, knowing where they're going to end up, and not being able to do anything to try and steer them in the other direction.
It's really powerful stuff and helps really start to flesh out a character that we really only knew through other characters' stories about him as a grown man.
Another thing I loved about this episode is Carlos. I mean, I love him in general, but specifically, I like how they contrasted John's eagerness for a fight, signing up for the war underaged, all that jazz - to Carlos, who didn't go into service the same way, who also experienced trauma, and in contrast to a fighter, he was a medic; he helped to heal people. I loved that contrast to them, and I liked the exchange where Carlos and John talked about that group session and John's PTSD over having seen his friend blow up in front of him. John's shutting down the possibility of going back into a group like that and talking about it, versus Carlos embracing it, again added more to the character dynamics.
And not to forget about Mary and Lata.
Mary is like, truly alone in terms of blood family. Her mother and father are separated, legally and marriage-wise, and one's on a hunt and the other is missing - and she lost another relative, a cousin, who was like a sister to her. Lata helping Mary through that, both of them really helping each other, really helped me love their friendship even more. Even that cute moment in the park when Mary goes and meets Kyle and Lata's failing terribly at acting casual! That made me laugh.
Other elements of the episode were great as well, but I loved the whole 'inner demons' message, and that yes - not all the time people will take the path towards healing but towards a kind of self-preservation of not confronting said demons.
My final bit that I loved was at the end of the fight with the god, it mirrored kind of Dean in 15x19 but like, in the opposite kind of way. In 15x19, Dean tells Chuck, who thinks Dean's gonna kill him, "That's not who I am" and walks away. John didn't walk away and instead stabbed the god so hard with that broken spear that it killed him and then continued to attack him. It echoed back also to the Mark of Cain arc in SPN where Dean won't stop going at Abaddon, despite her already being dead. Dean had lost himself there, and I think John lost himself in his situation too. And I think he knows it, but instead of confronting it, he will continue to run from it because confronting it is too painful, too uncomfortable, and we never want to feel in pain or uncomfortable.
I loved this episode very much, I loved how heavy it was, I loved the subtext, I loved the implications and the character development.
I can't wait for next week!
Here we gooooooooo!!!!
nightgirlsworld2 November 2022
Best episode so far this season. The writing was spot on, the acting was phenomenal, and it was the perfect mix of old school and new school supernatural. Really bringing the best of both worlds. And personally I was super happy to see the over the top blood splatter from early seasons make a come back.
Every single actor shined in this episode but I have to give extra props to JoJo and Drake. They did some mighty heavy scenes about extremely difficult topics for this and nailed every single line. If this is what the show can be I want a ton more of it!
The show is really finding it's groove and carving out it's own path while still feeling enough like the mothership to let fans see how they're connected. This week's episode flowed a lot better than the first few-less clunky dialogue and pacing issues. It really feels like the writers are settling into these characters nicely and finding the sweet spot. Can't wait for next week!
Every single actor shined in this episode but I have to give extra props to JoJo and Drake. They did some mighty heavy scenes about extremely difficult topics for this and nailed every single line. If this is what the show can be I want a ton more of it!
The show is really finding it's groove and carving out it's own path while still feeling enough like the mothership to let fans see how they're connected. This week's episode flowed a lot better than the first few-less clunky dialogue and pacing issues. It really feels like the writers are settling into these characters nicely and finding the sweet spot. Can't wait for next week!
the best so far! emotional and complex
WiseYoungOwl2 November 2022
The show just keeps getting better. We start to see the darkness in John and how different kinds of PTSD effects both him, Mary, Carlos and Latika- and all the different ways that they deal with it is very telling.
Another beautifully shot well- paced episode that had tons of interesting emotional dynamics- This episode was at turns funny, scary and heartbreaking.
The way they keep mixing up the characters and giving them moments with each other shows the strength of the ensemble cast. With every episode that comes out I'm more and more excited for the next one.
Drake is a real stand out who isn't shying away from taking his character to all these difficult places. And Bianca as Millie is a heartfelt delight.
Another beautifully shot well- paced episode that had tons of interesting emotional dynamics- This episode was at turns funny, scary and heartbreaking.
The way they keep mixing up the characters and giving them moments with each other shows the strength of the ensemble cast. With every episode that comes out I'm more and more excited for the next one.
Drake is a real stand out who isn't shying away from taking his character to all these difficult places. And Bianca as Millie is a heartfelt delight.
One of the best episodes yet!
Nas-bk8 November 2022
Such an amazing episode! I watched it multiple times just because I kept feeling like I didn't appreciate it enough the first time.
Since this show was announced I've been excited but also nervous (in a good way) to see what they will do with John's past. And my gosh they keep delivering! When the pilot aired and it showed war flashbacks we had a bit of an insight about it -learning later on in a podcast how hard Jensen fought to keep those scenes in the episode because it shows the audience and we need to see also made me excited for future episodes-
The very beginning with Dean's narration already tells us we are in for an interesting ride and holy crap it is a rollercoaster of emotions.
The episode starts with us learning immediately that John's ptsd is very clearly a problem for him but that he is also trying to ignore it however we don't see just how big of a problem it is until later on.
This episode definitely foreshadows the future and i am so excited to see how they tackle that. This is obviously such a different type of John than the fans who watched SPN are familiar with, which makes this story even more heartbreaking because we already know the sad ending that's waiting for us.
Seeing John and Carlos' tackle their own versions of trauma/ptsd while working the case and in such different ways was absolutely amazing but also makes it even more obvious that the difference between John and the rest of the gang is huge. There are so many moments throughout the episode worth writing an entire essay for however the ending is what was the main reason why I actually teared up but also had to rewatch the episode.
We see Mary and Lata deal with their grief in a very lovely way that makes them bond over the person they lost. We also witness Carlos start dealing with certain trauma from his past which is very similar to John's and he also does it in a very healthy way that allows him growth as a person. And then we see John and it is soul crushing. We see him throughout the episode trying very hard to stay in control but often losing himself to his trauma. But at the end of the episode when he is all alone, we see a kid who is being buried by his ptsd/trauma and his way of coping with it is truly heartbreaking. That scene where he is all alone with nobody but his mother after an entire episode of him acting tough is what made me sob my eyes out.
This episode also made it even more obvious to me that 1)this cast is absolutely INSANE with talent! And 2) Jensen/Danneel and Robbie are clearly well aware of what they're doing and how to do it. And it just makes me more excited to see what they have prepared for us!
Since this show was announced I've been excited but also nervous (in a good way) to see what they will do with John's past. And my gosh they keep delivering! When the pilot aired and it showed war flashbacks we had a bit of an insight about it -learning later on in a podcast how hard Jensen fought to keep those scenes in the episode because it shows the audience and we need to see also made me excited for future episodes-
The very beginning with Dean's narration already tells us we are in for an interesting ride and holy crap it is a rollercoaster of emotions.
The episode starts with us learning immediately that John's ptsd is very clearly a problem for him but that he is also trying to ignore it however we don't see just how big of a problem it is until later on.
This episode definitely foreshadows the future and i am so excited to see how they tackle that. This is obviously such a different type of John than the fans who watched SPN are familiar with, which makes this story even more heartbreaking because we already know the sad ending that's waiting for us.
Seeing John and Carlos' tackle their own versions of trauma/ptsd while working the case and in such different ways was absolutely amazing but also makes it even more obvious that the difference between John and the rest of the gang is huge. There are so many moments throughout the episode worth writing an entire essay for however the ending is what was the main reason why I actually teared up but also had to rewatch the episode.
We see Mary and Lata deal with their grief in a very lovely way that makes them bond over the person they lost. We also witness Carlos start dealing with certain trauma from his past which is very similar to John's and he also does it in a very healthy way that allows him growth as a person. And then we see John and it is soul crushing. We see him throughout the episode trying very hard to stay in control but often losing himself to his trauma. But at the end of the episode when he is all alone, we see a kid who is being buried by his ptsd/trauma and his way of coping with it is truly heartbreaking. That scene where he is all alone with nobody but his mother after an entire episode of him acting tough is what made me sob my eyes out.
This episode also made it even more obvious to me that 1)this cast is absolutely INSANE with talent! And 2) Jensen/Danneel and Robbie are clearly well aware of what they're doing and how to do it. And it just makes me more excited to see what they have prepared for us!
A gorgeous and complex episode examining trauma
drprofessorsong2 November 2022
This show continues to deliver complex storylines and even more complex characters and we are all enjoying the benefits.
This episode delves headfirst into the traumas being carried by each character. Without spoiling anything, the way the characters face their pasts and how they cope with what they find hear makes for a rich and emotional episode. The young cast delivers HARD with some absolutely beautiful character work that will leave you breathless. There are so many really poignant moments and they are given room to breath despite an action packed episode.
But the episode also has some really lovely light moments. Watching the core4 and their relationships with one another is a true joy. I was once again struck by the chemistry this cast has.
All if that and I haven't even talked about the monster! The spooky scenes and special effects continue to be stellar in this show. The action was compelling and I found myself genuinely worried and cursing the commercial breaks.
All in all another strong outing for this freshman show.
This episode delves headfirst into the traumas being carried by each character. Without spoiling anything, the way the characters face their pasts and how they cope with what they find hear makes for a rich and emotional episode. The young cast delivers HARD with some absolutely beautiful character work that will leave you breathless. There are so many really poignant moments and they are given room to breath despite an action packed episode.
But the episode also has some really lovely light moments. Watching the core4 and their relationships with one another is a true joy. I was once again struck by the chemistry this cast has.
All if that and I haven't even talked about the monster! The spooky scenes and special effects continue to be stellar in this show. The action was compelling and I found myself genuinely worried and cursing the commercial breaks.
All in all another strong outing for this freshman show.
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