The Positively Positive

The second to last episode of this season of Supernatural has become my new favorite. The Apocalypse is nearly upon Sam and Dean and the rest of the ‘good guy’ team and it’s game time. They have to get the final two Horsemen’s rings so that they can set the trap for Lucifer. Sam’s plan is to say yes so that he can try and fight back enough to make Lucifer jump in it (killing himself in the process). Meanwhile Cas has turned up alive, but is stripped of his angel powers and fearful that he is no longer useful to them. Oh and Bobby has sold his soul to a demon.

Sounds like a pretty normal day in the world of the Winchesters.

But there is some good news as well. Crowley is holding up his end of his and Bobby’s deal, not only giving them Death’s location (and his scythe!) but also giving Bobby his legs back. They manage to get Pestilence’s ring and miraculously Death actually surrenders his. Everything is set up for the battle of the century (and maybe the millennia) and now we’ll just have to wait until next week to see what happens.

Highlights….

Pestilence counting down to the second when the poor lady was going to die. So fiendish, but I just love the way Matt Frewer played that whole scene. I’ve loved that guy ever since he was in Max Headroom.

Cas calling Dean. So happy he’s alive. Yay!

The whole phone call between Dean and Cas. Everything from how Cas (as always) matter-of-factly delivered his unusual news (being found on a fishing boat, waking up in a hospital after the docs thought he was brain dead), to finding out that he was basically human now that his batteries have been tapped out. I’ve heard Misha say that he made a deliberate choice to play Cas differently due to him not being human (like purposely not blinking, for instance), and I noticed that in this scene in particular (despite being laid up in a hospital bed), Cas was much more animated than normal. Very interesting to watch what he’s doing with that character.

Cas telling Dean that he owed him an apology and that he’s not the “burnt and broken shell of a man” he thought he was…..okay so maybe Cas still has some things to learn about being truly human.

The name of the hospital being ‘Serenity Valley’. They must have gotten that from Firefly and if so, I wonder if they did it as a little nod to the fact that Mark Sheppard (who plays Crowley) also played Badger in that show.

Dean saying that the depressing hospital was probably like ‘Dollywood’ to Pestilence. LOL. Yep, that’s probably true.

Pestilence completely losing his cool when one of his minions suggests that they follow orders not to mess with the vessels. Whoa.

Sam and Dean (literally) falling down ill just by coming near Pestilence. Gotta say, I didn’t realize that would happen. Yikes.

Pestilence giving the boys not only scarlet fever and meningitis but also…..syphilis? Okay that’s just not nice. (A very rude joke about Dean probably already getting syphilis comes to mind, but I’m not gonna say it, as that would be mean).

Cas busting in the door to save the day, only to fall down too, but then fighting back and cutting off Pestilence’s ring. I adored his little “maybe just a speck” line. Go Cas!

Cas saying “I don’t understand your definition of good news” when Bobby told them that Chicago was about to be destroyed.

The way Sam just had to ask “Did you kiss him?” and Dean yelling at him to get him back to the important part of the conversation. It was such a great ‘little brother/big brother’ moment.

Bobby telling them he didn’t kiss Crowley….and Crowley showing them a pic!! LOL!!

“Why’d you take a picture?”
“Why do you have to use tongue?”
*Sam and Dean’s heads swivel from Crowley and back to Bobby with matching looks of shocked curiosity* (OMG!! I was dying!)

Getting a peek into the Impala’s trunk again. Man, it’s been a while since we’ve seen her rear end……um wait, that didn’t come out right. I mean we haven’t seen the stash of weapons back there in a while.

Crowley’s “and……scene” at the end of Sam’s sad speech about how he’s the least of everyone else but the best chance they have. I love it when the writers poke fun at themselves and there’s no doubt they were doing it there, considering how many times they’ve written scenes where the boys have a heart to heart while leaning against the Impala. Genius.

The scene introducing us to Death. I have loved that song (‘Oh Death’ by Jen Titus) ever since it appeared in the preview at the beginning of this season and I’m so glad they actually used it in the show. I loved that it was all in slow motion, I loved that it was a nice long cut of the song and I loved that we never really got to see Death’s face. Such a perfect scene and very eerie.

Poor Cas feeling useless without his angel powers and getting a pep talk (of sorts) from Bobby.

Sam asking Dean if he remembers when they used to hunt wendigos and how simple things were back then. I have been thinking the same thing myself recently. Maybe they were giving us a foreshadowing of next year. Something tells me that after all this Apocalypse stuff they might just go back to some good ol’ fashioned hunts next season. I think that would be awesome. It’s been a long time since the boys just were out there “saving people, hunting things – the family business”.

Crowley giving Dean Death’s scythe. Holy crap!

Crowley telling Bobby about his little secret clause in their contract and making Bobby walk again!! DOUBLE HOLY CRAP!!! I so did not see that coming!! Yay Bobby! That was so awesome and the way they did it was perfect. I always expected Bobby to somehow walk again but I was afraid of how it would happen, that it would be too unrealistic (yes I know that sounds weird when talking about this show but y’all know what I mean).

Cas telling Sam that he and Dean have a way of exceeding his expectations. LOL, that just struck me as hilarious.

Finding out that Sam will have to drink demon blood again in order to take in Lucifer. Jeesh! Can it get any worse???

Sam and Bobby taking out a whole warehouse full of zombies and demons, especially the way Sam kept saving more and more people. Go Sam! That’s our boy!

Crowley popping back into the Impala to repeat what he said to Dean from across the street. I’ll tell ya, there are plenty of times I can think of where I wish I had that particular talent.

Cas discovering that maybe he (and his sawed off shotgun) can be useful, after blowing away a zombie that was choking Sam.

The look on Dean’s face when he noisily dropped the scythe as he was trying to sneak up on Death. Too funny. Sometimes Jensen can look like such a little boy and that was one of those times.

The funny little affirmative raise of the eyebrows that Dean did when Death asks him if he likes the pizza.

Finding out that Death has been enslaved to Lucifer and because he wants out, offering Dean his ring to help take out the devil. Okay yeah, there’s something I didn’t see coming either. Nicely done show, you’ve managed to surprise me a few times this ep.

The sexy way that the Impala was parked in the background behind Bobby and Dean in the final scene. Um…..is it wrong that I just called a car ‘sexy’?

Bobby describing Sam as “ass-full of character defects”. LOL! That is the best description ever. I’m totally gonna steal that. I think all of us could be described as that at least some of the time.

The way the show ended when Bobby asked the ultimate question of Dean, whether he was afraid of losing…..or of losing his brother. Wow.

Overall definitely one of the best episodes of the season, with all of our favorite characters plus some new ones that were fantastic as well.

Want to know every time I add a new Supernatural review? Be sure to subscribe to The Positively Positive!

More Supernatural…..
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 1 “Sympathy For The Devil”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 2 “Good God, Y’All”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 3 “Free To Be You and Me”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 4 “The End”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 5 “Fallen Idols”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 6 “I Believe the Children Are Our Future”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 8 “Changing Channels”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 9 “The Real Ghostbusters”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 10 “Abandon All Hope”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 11 “Sam, Interrupted”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 12 “Swap Meat”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 13 “The Song Remains The Same”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 14 “My Bloody Valentine”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 16 “Dark Side of the Moon”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 17 “99 Problems”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 18 “Point of No Return”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 19 “Hammer of the Gods”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 20 “The Devil You Know”

My favorite part of this episode was hands-down the performance given by Mark A Sheppard as Crowley. He plays such a great snippety Brit and I think it works so well for that character. Especially now that Crowley has been knocked down a few notches after helping the boys try and kill Lucifer. Every demon is after him and he’s had to move from his swank digs to a run-down hole in the wall. He finds Sam and Dean to help them get to Pestilence so that they can go ahead with the plan to trap Lucifer back in his cage.

I like that the boys are getting help from a lot of interesting sources now that we’re nearing the end of the season (and getting closer and closer to the Apocalypse). Last week they got a bit of assistance from the archangel Gabriel and now they got some from a demon. Makes me wonder who else is going to come out of the woodwork.

Highlights….

Dean thinking that he looked like ‘The King of Pop’ in his mask.

Crowley asking the boys if they’d “Fancy a fag and a chat?” (a fag is a cigarette, by the way). I just love how he said it, so casual considering he’d just popped up in the back seat of the Impala and Sam had tried to kill him.

Crowley being completely inconsolable because the demons after him not only destroyed his house but also ate his tailor. LOL!

Finding out that Crowley has been tracking Sam and Dean ever since they met him. Hmm…interesting.

Crowley referring to Pestilence as ‘Sneezy’. LOL!

Finding out that Pestilence is only releasing something as simple as swine flu so that he can release his ‘vaccine’, which is really the Croatoan virus. Scary to see how close we’re getting to the possible future we saw in the episode ‘The End’.

The flies coming out of the bowl of blood. Ick.

Sam considering saying yes to Lucifer so that he can take his body back long enough to trap him. Oh man, it’s scary because it could actually work.

Dean’s countless cries of “Oh crap!” when he realized that Crowley’s ‘plan’ was to kill of the humans between them and Brady.

Knowing as soon as Brady started kicking Dean’s ass that it was all part of Crowley’s plan, even if Dean didn’t.

The extra long preview for the final two eps of Supernatural they showed during one of the commercial breaks. The new version of the song ‘Oh Death’ was perfect, so very creepy and cool. Now I think I’m going to have to download that one, too.

Crowley beating the living snot out of Brady with a crowbar. Ouch, but also, kinda awesome.

Crowley telling Sam that Dean “replied with a colorful rejoinder about my cornshoot” when he begged Dean not to come back. Absolutely hysterical to take what was probably a really disgusting retort and make it sound almost polite.

Finding out that Brady was a friend of Sam’s from college. Whoa! I totally did not see that one coming.

Crowley’s explanation for why he believes that Lucifer will destroy the demons if he gains power. I’m glad they had him explain it because I have to admit that I was wondering why he was worried about it. Very good point about the fact that Lucifer is an angel and not a demon. It does make sense that he would get rid of them, especially seeing as how he’s treated them in the past.

Sam locking Dean in the bathroom. Those boys are getting really good at trapping each other, aren’t they?

Finding out that Brady set up Sam with Jessica just so he could kill her (under the YED’s orders), effectively destroying his life and sending him on the path he’s taken for the last four years.

Crowley coming back from taking on a bunch of demons and (oopsie) letting one of them get away…. with the idea that he and Brady are lovers against Satan. Okay, THAT is freaking brilliant. Have I mentioned how much I love this guy??

Dean’s “well good for you!” when Sam pulled the old “I told you so” after Crowley took off and left them to deal with the Hellhound on their own. Poor Dean, it can’t be fun facing down something that literally killed him a couple years ago.

Crowley coming back with his own ‘pup’ and telling it to ‘Sic’em boy!” OMG, so freaking awesome! The invisible dog fight was the best bit of action I’ve seen in a while. The fact that we couldn’t actually see the hounds made it so much better than if they’d dumped a bunch of money on special effects and CGI.

Dean trapping Brady in the alley so that Sam could take him out.

Crowley showing up at Bobby’s place and telling him that he could give them Death’s location, but there’s a technicality – Bobby would have to give up his soul. He also claimed that it would only be temporary and I know I’m probably biased because I dig Crowley so much, but I gotta say that I believe him. It wouldn’t surprise me that he would need something that powerful to work his little spell and considering that every other Winchester has either sold their soul or tried, I can’t imagine that Bobby would end up fully going down that road.

Overall an interesting episode featuring what I think had become one of my favorite demons on this series.

Want to know every time I add a new Supernatural review? Be sure to subscribe to The Positively Positive!

More Supernatural…..
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 1 “Sympathy For The Devil”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 2 “Good God, Y’All”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 3 “Free To Be You and Me”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 4 “The End”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 5 “Fallen Idols”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 6 “I Believe the Children Are Our Future”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 8 “Changing Channels”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 9 “The Real Ghostbusters”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 10 “Abandon All Hope”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 11 “Sam, Interrupted”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 12 “Swap Meat”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 13 “The Song Remains The Same”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 14 “My Bloody Valentine”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 16 “Dark Side of the Moon”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 17 “99 Problems”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 18 “Point of No Return”
Supernatural, Season 5, episode 19 “Hammer of the Gods”

Creation’s Salute to Serenity and Firefly 2009. Los Angeles, California – November 21 – 22, 2009

I’ve been to quite a few conventions put on by Creation Entertainment and I’m beginning to find them almost a bit like “home” now.

The first one I ever attended was geared mostly towards Star Trek: The Next Generation, which I was into bigtime when I was a teen. More recently, I’ve been attending the Supernatural conventions and their Serenity/Firefly “cons”. Both times I have attended the Serenity/Firefly con I did so mostly as a vendor, working at the California Browncoats booth.

Going as a Gold patron (which is how I usually attend the Supernatural cons) is of course different than being a vendor, but I still found this weekend a lot of fun. Having been so many times now, I’m beginning to recognize a lot of familiar faces in the staff and getting to know the layout of the hotel.

As for the guests, they were (as always) wonderful. On Saturday I was lucky enough to get some time off from the booth to see not only Adam Baldwin, but also the panel with Tim Minear and Jane Espenson.

I was delighted and a bit surprised (given the often gruff characters he plays on screen) to find Adam very pleasant and often quite hilarious. Afterwards I eagerly waited for Tim and and Jane. I was very excited to get some info from two such amazing writers (both worked on many of Joss Whedon’s shows). They were full of lots of great advice and came ready with suggestions for budding writers, as well as taking questions from the audience.

I always love hearing from those in front of the camera and seeing how different (or similar) an actor is from their character on screen. But I also really enjoy hearing from those behind the camera as well, the ones who create the shows that I love so much. So that panel was a fantastic treat and I hope to see more of these kinds of guests at Creation’s events in the future.

On Sunday (when I wasn’t working the booth in the dealer’s room), I was able to see Jewel Staite and Alan Tudyk.

Having never seen her on stage before, I have to say that I instantly fell in love with Jewel. She was funny and I loved all her little stories about moving into a new home, etc. I especially dug the cute way she kept referring to her husband, showing how much fun they are having together.

As for Alan, I was both excited and a little nervous about his appearance. On Saturday I made a joke that I was thinking of asking Alan whether or not he had a quota for how many times he wants to die on screen (given his propensity for doing just that). I was encouraged to go ahead and ask my question and informed that Alan would most likely be giving out prizes to anyone who asked him a question.

So I did it. Yes I was terrified (I don’t like talking in front of crowds much), but I did it….and yes, my question got a great laugh. His answer was that he didn’t have one but if he did, he was sure he had met it by now. In the end I got a cool Hawaiian shirt from him and I couldn’t have been happier.

Overall I found the entire convention a lot of fun and there’s no doubt that I would want to attend again, whether I’m behind the booth getting to talk to all the great Browncoats, or if I’m just in the audience.

Wanna hear more about my weekend at the Con and get more details on the panels, etc? Then stay tuned to my Livejournal  for a detailed entry about the entire weekend.