Supernatural: Season 4

For an inexplicable reason I receive impulses to pen down reviews for pretty much everything of any cultural and entertainment value. There is something quite satisfying to simply have a say on a subject that may have something to do with literature or not. This is being really hard to resist, since I enjoy numerous TV shows and series. However the latest season of “Supernatural” made me feel like a Twilight fan and I need to resolve this bundle of emotions.

As far as I know, the upcoming fifth season will be the closing one for the series, wrapping up all arcs and it’s natural since it marks the start of the apocalypse. I personally perceive this tidbit of news with mixed feelings. On one hand it’s a killjoy to see one of the few better TV shows right now in the paranormal subgenre go, but on the other it will go with style. It shows that producers and writers have taken into account the natural progression of the story rather than stretching the concept needlessly like it happened with Charmed, a series that after eight seasons of not going anywhere in a definitive direction had to be quickly wrapped up.

But back to the actual Season 4... Perhaps there is one word that best defines the season as a whole: build-up. The drift between the Winchester brothers becomes more evident as both siblings find themselves on the opposing camps. Sam is on his way to abandoning humanity in the name of the greater good. With his character the show’s writers take a great spin of the general concept that the way to hell is paved with good intentions. Sam Winchester really just annihilates the line between what is acceptable and the forbidden taboos. Being willing to sacrifice your human soul by drinking demon blood in order to assassinate Lilith is admirable, though nauseating, seeing his struggles with morale. Dean Winchester’s situation is as grim as his brother’s. For better or for worse he has been forced into an allegiance with the angels, who in this series are unlike most stereotypes with little nobility and more strategy in their heads. As a character he has been written to be a selfless protector of his little brother and being into a position, where he has to stand up against him, especially in the wake of the apocalypse, is a slow death for Dean.

The clock is ticking, seals are being brocken and Lilith has to be stopped. The angels don't act accordingly or timely at all, which will arouse suspicions towards their agenda and whether a greater and sinister scheme is in place. Once the strategy for the whole apocalypse is revealed the viewer will get a sense that the kingdom of heaven is full of winged warriors with the greater good in mind rather than humanity’s current need of salvation. Collateral damage is acceptable and millions dead is nothing to be concerned with. This paired with the amazing acting provided by Misha Collins as Castiel and then Kurt Fuller as Zachariah, both written to grab attention as reinvented images of high stature angels and performed at the needed level. My compliments go to Christopher Heyerdahl, who makes a chilling Alastair, and Genevieve Cortese, who does a good enough job filling in the shoes of Ruby’s character.

Compliments go to the writers of the show that fisrt of all made Biblical mythology as cool as vampires on their media pedestals and interpreting all the myths and figures as well as lacing them with popular folklore from around the globe and local urban legends. I really felt that the inclusion of an actual prophet to be quite entertaining as well as his unstandard portrayal. There hasn't been a TV series with a tighter story frame that progressed from single episodes that feature more or less monster or the week and then move on to episodes chaining in with backstory and plot arcs. Ending with a very big cliff hanger and a ton load of questions but satisfyingly organic and expected, Season 4 opened the doors to the arena and Season 5 will be the final massacre.