Supernatural: Season 5 - The Devil you Know

Supernatural: Season 5

CW

Fridays at 9 PM

Supernatural is a show that it took me almost an entire season to get into. Once I got into it though, I really enjoyed it. Dean and Sam Winchester are brothers who start out as demon hunters, and end up this season as the human hosts to Lucifer and the the angel Michael. This season is steeped in Judeo-Christian religion and belief, making it its mythology. There is God, Angels, the Devil, demons.

At the end of season 4, Sam had unwittingly uncorked the 66^th seal, allowing Lucifer to roam free on Earth. . This season Dean, Sam, Bobby, and their angel friend Castiel rebel against both angel and demon, and look for their own way to stop the Apocalypse. There were some great episodes this season, with that token Supernatural humor, including “The Real Ghostbusters” (Episode 9) and “Changing Channels” (Episode 8) being two of the funnest.

I almost forgot to mention “Fallen Idols” (Episode 5). I can not say enough good things about this episode. Sam gets to cut off Paris Hilton's head. Need I say more? But really, it was a fun episode about a pagan god taking the form of famous people and killing their fans.

They eventually get the Colt back and try to use it to kill Lucifer, but it doesn't work. They meet all four of Lucifer's Horsemen, War, Death, Pestilence, and Famine, and defeat three of the four of them (good choice there, how do you realistically defeat Death). They are killed by Hunters, angry that Sam started the Apocalypse, and we get to see a glimpse of Sam and Dean's version of heaven. A spell is cast on Sam, and a 14 year old inhabits his body. Sam and Dean stop a wraith in a mental hospital, and a ghost in a hotel. They stop a false prophet (The Whore of Babylon) from destroying a small town. They meet a human/demon hybrid child. They are kidnapped by a room full of Gods intent on stopping Lucifer's apocalypse by killing the Winchesters.

There were some casualties this season, as the hunters Ellen and Joe died while trying to stop the devil with the colt, a plan that ultimately failed. The brothers have to stop the angel Zacharias, and the other gods kill the Trickster (revealed to be the Angel Gabriel). There is an enhanced sense of hopelessness this season, brought on by first Dean losing his faith and then Castiel, when they hear from God that he won't allow them to find him, and that the apocalypse is “not his problem”.

Overall this is a strong season, which renewed my interest in the show. The character of Sam was redeemed this season after taking a decidedly darker turn last season. Sam and Dean grew together as well, realizing they are stronger together then they were apart and that they need to trust each other. Dean stopped treating Sam like the little brother (finally) and Castiel became a much more important part of the show, and a much more “human” character to boot.

The series has hit a high point, and it's hard to top a fight with the devil. It'll certainly be interesting to see where they take them in season 6.

It's also hard to see how Sam gets out of hell, but we'll see in Season 6.

Season 6 premiers on Friday, September 24^th at 9 PM

4 stars out of 5