Supernatural: Season 3 Review

We take a look at the third season. (e1-e16)

by Diana Steenbergen

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."