Supernatural's fourth season was a high point for the series and it was going to be tough to top that, no matter how great Season 5 turned out to be. Luckily, the fifth year had its own share of great moments, and while some elements of the apocalyptic storyline did not always live up to expectations, the majority of the season did. The fifth season didn't drop in quality as much as it leveled off at the high point Season 4 left things.
One of the main challenges for the show in its fifth year was to present the Apocalypse as a global crisis, while working with the budget constraints of being on the CW network. That meant a lot of the action needed to be heard about, but not seen. While "The End" cranked things up a notch, showing a post-apocalyptic version of the future, the big showdown between Michael and Lucifer in "Swan Song" was scaled down, even more so than expected.
What worked best about the storyline was Lucifer himself, thanks to a superb performance by Mark Pellegrino, who could also be seen on Lost this season playing a different kind of supernatural character with brother issues. Pellegrino was excellent as Lucifer who was first presented in an almost sympathetic light, but soon enough revealed himself to be a jealous fallen angel raging a violent war against God. The Horsemen were also a strong element this year, specifically the creepy Death, and the clever twist that Famine caused people to hunger for whatever their biggest weakness was. "Abandon All Hope" was another big episode that brought home the deadly serious nature of the battle while tragically killing off Ellen and Jo Harvelle, two characters who will be missed a great deal.
Supernatural, the underrated gem on The CW, kicked it up a notch in Season 4, going from being a pretty good show to being a pretty great show. The show was ambitious with their introduction of angels into the storyline and it paid off, for the most part.
From the moment the season began, with Dean clawing his way out of his grave in the season opener, "Lazarus Rising," the angels vs. demons storyline took center stage. Central to this was the addition of Misha Collins to the cast as Castiel, the angel who pulled Dean out of hell on God's orders. I thoroughly enjoyed his introduction to the show and I also loved how Collins played Castiel from the start as if he were confused by a lot of what he saw of human behavior, and with Dean specifically. Watching Dean and Castiel interact was one of the highlights of the season. There were some down moments in the angel storyline, specifically how disappointing the once promising character of Julie McNiven's Anna turned out to be in "Heaven and Hell," but by and large, this direction for the show was a great success.
The core of Supernatural has always been the relationship between Dean and Sam, and this season was no exception. During the year the show took some big chances by creating serious conflict between the brothers, conflict that brewed for the majority of the season. After years of solidifying the bond between the two Winchesters, the slow-building distance between them was well executed, and while it might be painful for the audience to watch them fight, it makes for great drama.
Jared Padalecki rose to the occasion with Sam's journey into darkness, turning in some of his best performances to date. Especially well played was how conflicted Sam was between what he thinks he must do verses what his brother believes should happen. I also loved his reaction to seeing Dean for the first time in "Lazarus Rising." That moment is one of my favorite scenes of the series so far. Jensen Ackles, meanwhile, was given a piece of the mythology pie this season, becoming a "chosen" character in the battle of good vs. evil, something only Sam had experienced prior to this. Ackles takes every opportunity that is given to him to deepen the character of Dean. While Sam's path leads him to increasingly dark places, Dean's is a journey of faith, somewhat unexpected for his character, but done believably mainly through his relationship with Castiel.
Season three of Supernatural will be remembered, along with most other shows on television this year, as the season that had to deal with the writers' strike. While it would be easy to say the strike was the cause of some of the less successful elements of the season, most of the parts that don't work were in place before the strike occurred. However, it is true that the post-strike episodes have the task of wrapping up the season's story arc quickly, definitely with less time than originally intended.
As soon as season two ended with Dean making a deal with a crossroads demon to save Sam, season three's main conflict was laid out. I like having an arc that runs through the season like this, something that will definitely need to be resolved in the current year, not drawn out for multiple seasons. However, putting a measurable time limit of one year on it means that viewers know the deal will not be resolved until the finale. Having a death sentence on Dean's head that can't, or won't, be fully addressed until the last episode causes some of the middle episodes to feel like they are treading water, waiting for the main storyline to resume. It also means that anytime the brothers are not working on how to save Dean, it seems like they should be. Sometimes excuses are given for why they are doing something else, and sometimes not.
This deal of Dean's gives the show a chance for some character development, and in fact there is a lot of growth, mainly near the end of the season, naturally. In the beginning Dean is pretty flippant, intent on ignoring the deadline and just having fun with what time is left to him. Thankfully, things turn more weighty as we get closer to the finale and although Dean is famous in Supernatural circles for not being a fan of touchy-feely moments, there are actually a good number of earnest conversations between Sam and himself. This is a very good thing since Dean and Sam's relationship is the soul of the show. Jensen Ackles usually plays Dean with a tough, bravado filled exterior, and it is always good to see him go deeper, like when Dean confesses that he actually does need help and that he is afraid to die. These are things Sam already knows, but it is good to hear Dean admit it. It is also interesting for Dean to admit how far he went to save Sam, and to try to convince Sam that they need to stop being martyrs for each other.
The questions surrounding the character of Sam, on the other hand, have to do more with whether what was returned to Dean was really the Sam that he knew before. There are some hints that Sam might not be quite the same, and it is good to see Jared Padalecki have a chance to explore a darker side to Sam, like in the violence of "Fresh Blood" or the questionable morality of Sam's ideas in "Jus in Bello" and "Time Is on My Side."
