Supernatural 10.1 – Black – Written by Jeremy Carver; Directed by Robert Singer; Starring Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, and Mark Sheppard; Originally aired on CW on 10/07/2014.
In the interest of transparency, I need to share that thanks to my local CW affiliate and/or my cable carrier, I was barely able to watch this premiere. I am heartbroken and my sense of excitement has been completely deflated. I made popcorn, I’m wearing a Demon Hunter tee, and for God’s sake I’m even burning a Supernatural candle. I can assure you I will watch it again as soon as it’s available online, but still wanted to get the discussion up as soon as possible. I mean, the fandom has been waiting months for this premiere and I want to talk about it with all my fellow Hunters.
And Jesus, what a wait it was. The closing shot of season nine set in motion a Hellatus like no other. Dean’s black stare certainly ranks in the top three most agonizing cliffhangers we’ve seen, and truly I’d rank it as my top pick (Dean in Hell in season three and Sam in the Pit in season five would be my runners up, for the record). Even without spoilers or trailers we knew what we would be heading into for season ten: Sam dealing with the abomination his brother has become, Dean and Crowley living the Odd Couple life (ask and ye shall receive, eh?), and Cas dealing with his dwindling grace. It would be a shake up like we’ve never seen.
Right?
I’ll refer you back to my viewing conditions and fully allow that it influenced my opinion (my reception influenced my perception, oh God I am a laugh riot), but must confess I was a little underwhelmed. Don’t bail on me, though – read on for a brief, spoiler free recap, my picks for hits and misses, and what makes me the most giddy about season ten’s prospects.
We pick up a few months after Dean’s transition and disappearance. He’s instructed Sam to move on and has been pub crawling the Midwest with the King of Hell. Sam has ignored Dean’s instructions and been relentlessly pursuing the rare and random clues that might lead to his brother’s whereabouts. Meanwhile, Cas is becoming more and more fragile as his stolen grace dies out. On the administrative end of things, the new title splash is fabulous, and Mark Sheppard has been upgraded to series regular.
The “Ow Right in the Guts”
- Oh lordy that note! “Let me go Sammy.” It was completely void of emotion and brilliantly set up the season opening for a direct antithesis of the season nine tone. A year ago, Sam was moving forward, happy to leave a different kind of life. What a difference that year made, as now he’s hellbent on finding his brother, using and embracing all the Hunter tools at his disposal. It was a nice juxtaposition as well as good payoff for all the whining I did about the bickering Winchesters last season.
- I am so mad that my crappy experience tonight robbed me of the full power of Sam seeing his brother’s black eyes. Of all the ends Dean could meet, of all the ways the hunted could have claimed him, this is the most vulgar. And for Sam to see that smirk and stare through the lens of a security camera? Well it’s a great reveal from a storytelling point of view but pretty much just a punch in the mouth. A big ol’ ham fisted slug right in the kisser.
- Demons are usually entities that have no elements of humanity. What we see of demons on the show, though they wear the meat suits, are represented as things that have been cold and removed for so long that they have no traces of the feels left. So it’s easy to view them as “things” that don’t need emotional investment. But Dean? He’s not possessed. He’s Dean to the nth degree now, and what used to be swagger at best and defense mechanisms at worst are now straight up douchery and cruelty. Oooooooooowwwwwch.
The Boba Fett Element:
- This “Cole” person intrigues me. He has a family and a modest home, but he also has a fax machine that feeds him cryptic hit instructions. Of course his latest target is a security cam screen shot of Dean Winchester, but that photo pointedly shows us a green-eyed Dean. Show runners have already commented that this man is after Dean for non-demonic reasons, and it’s implied by the weapons he packs that Cole is completely unprepared to deal with any supernatural element. If his debut is any indication, I like him. He’s got swagger without condescension but we can all assume his blind confidence will be his downfall.
The “I’ll Give it a Couple More Episodes:”
- I really don’t want to be one of those fans that dislikes all female characters except Charlie, but man I don’t get this Hannah character. Is she a foil? Will she be a love interest? I don’t know if it’s murky writing at this point or if she is just supposed to be an automaton. The character’s range to date only exists as moony eyed for Cas or for her orders, and where she appears shit gets immediately stirred. I have yet to understand why Cas entertains her requests.
Next week’s episode is titled “Reichenbach,” so I think we all know what that means: Somebody gon’ fall, yo. Will an angel fall from Heaven? Maybe Cas’s grace evaporates for good? Or maybe a good soul will fall to the Pit? I’m excited to find out, but I’m mostly just excited for 10.5, “Fan Fiction.” For the show’s 200th episode, we’re promised something very “meta.” With music. Super pumped for that.
Again, I do plan to go back and rewatch in better quality and I anticipate a better experience all around. In the meantime, I have a favor: Could someone out there please tell me the alias Sam used? That scene was pretty well obscured by pixels and crackling audio for me.
Share your “Black” thoughts and season ten theories in the comments section below!