Supernatural Season Five in Review

I have mixed feelings about this season. It had easily the best episodes ever from the show, and some of the worst...cough, cough, Paris Hilton...gag.
So now that it has finished for another season, and the finale has had its chance to percolate in my mind, I have decided to write a small review while traveling through each episode. So let's get to it, because there are 22 of them.

S5E1: Sympathy For the Devil..
This was one of their better episodes of the season. Granted, it had none of the power that Lazarus Rising did. The season 4 premiere, but hey, it's hard to compete with the angel twist. This episode also introduced us to Becky the superfan. As we know, Carver Edlund, a prophet, wrote every episode into a book, and she loves them. And we fans all know, that this is a jab at us. No thanks Kripke. We also met a sad, very sad Nick. Played by Mark Pellegrino. Some of you may know him from Lost as Jacob. He turned out to be Lucifer's vessel. And Lucifer got permission right at the end of the episode. And we also found out that Dean is the Arch Angel Michael's vessel. Solid effort. B+

S5E2: Good God Y'All
This one wasn't one of my faves, not until I re-watched it last night. Here we meet one of the Horsemen, War. Who drives stunning Cherry Red 60's Mustang. He made a whole town think that they were being attacked by demons, when really they were just people. We also see how Sam deals with being put back into a demon blood situation. And you can tell he's not taking it well. Ellen and Joe come back for this episode, along with good old Rufus. I gotta say, it was like slipping into your favorite blanket watching this episode, because we got equal parts classic rock, returning characters, and an awesome MOTW(monster of the week). With a decent arching storyline to go with. It was like watching a classic SN episode, but with Season 5 issues. A-

S5E3: Free to be You and Me
At the end of "Y'All" Sam decides the risk of him falling off the wagon was too great, so he and Dean decide to split for awhile. Now Dean and Castiel team up to find God's vessel. We also find out that there is such a thing as holy oil that can trap an angel. They then speak to the angel Raphael and he thinks that Lucifer, not God brought Castiel back to life. Raphael killed Castiel at the end of "Lucifer Rising." This episode is more of an expository ep, and doesn't delve into any real issue. We do see how Cas would act at a brothel though, and that was one of the funniest parts of the season. C+

S5E4: The End
If Supernatural had a greatest hits set of episodes, this would be one of them. Dean is sent five years into the future, Zachariah is trying to prove a point to get Dean to agree to being Micheal's vessel. But remember, we are all about Team Free Will here. This episode just shows how good an actor Jensen Ackles really is. He had to act with himself for more than half the episode. Here we find out just how cruel and calculating he comes when it comes to icing the Devil. Who now occupies Sam's body. Castiel is no more than a human, Chuck tells 2009 Dean to hoard toilet paper like it's gold, and 2014 Dean kills his friends with no hesitation. Whoa, that's a lot to take in. By the end of the episode, killer Dean is wiped out by Lucifer and still nice Dean has a chat with him. Lucifer tells him that he might as well say 'yes' because there is no way to get around this. Dean is then transported back to the present. He knows what he has to do, and he calls Sam. Because killer Dean hadn't spoken to Sam in five years. Go Team Free Will! A+

S5E5: Fallen Idols.
A pagan god is killing people, and Paris Hilton is the form it takes at the end of the episode. And it really is Paris Hilton. Need I say more? There is a funny House of Wax joke. F

S5E6: I Believe that Children are Our Future
Here we meet the future Anti Christ. I didn't really get the point of this episode, maybe only because we had an Apocalypse theme going on here, but that's the only reason I feel they did this one. Two bummer episodes in a row. I was starting to get worried. It was funny when the kid turned Cas into an action figure though. I kinda wanted one. C-

S5E7: The Curious Case of Dean Winchester
This episode was getting better, not quite one of my favorites, but it was starting to achieve the old SN flavor that I missed. Dean plays a poker game that uses years of your life as the currency and Dean loses fifty. The actor who played old Dean was awesome! And Sam gets Herpes at the end of the episode, setting up a great gag for the next episode. B-

S5E8: Changing Channels.
This one goes right to the top of the list with "The End." Well you have to know that the trickster episodes are my favorite anyways. But this one takes the cake. Completely wiping out "Monster Movie," as my funniest SN episode. Sam and Dean get stuck in TV land, they have to play in a Japanese game show called "Nut Cracker," you figure that one out. They go through Grey's Anatomy, CSI, Knight Rider, and a formula comedy. All with their own Herpexia commercial, points to last episode, and their own theme song opening set to a 70's vibe. You want to see these snippets, look them up on Youtube, they're all over. And totally worth the search. A+

S5E9: The Real Ghostbusters.
Now I should be very offended by this episode, because everything in it, does nothing but make fun of me. A loyal and devout fan. But I can't help but laugh at myself, and find this one to be a great laughing break from the very depressing Apocalypse storyline. I know most fans weren't happy with this one, but to them I say, "Lighten up." A nice MOTW storyline with some awesome ghosty action. A

S5E10: Abandon all Hope.
And now I know why Kripke put us on a comedy tour, because the next episode was a doozer. Another episode that could easily put itself on the greatest hits list. Spoilers if you don't want to know. We start out with Dean and Sam, and Castiel meeting up with Ellen and Joe. The plot here is to kill the Devil with the colt. Crowley, a powerful crossroads demon gave them the colt back, because he doesn't want Lucifer in power. He knows Lucifer wants everything to himself and will kill all the other demons, and Crowley kinda likes what he had now. So, the team heads to a town where omens tell where Lucifer is going to raise Death. The fourth and final and most powerful Horseman. Once in the deserted town, we meet up with an old time friend, Meg, now played by some one time Bones actress. Side note: it's amazing how many Bones actors and such end up on SN. lol. She has some nice little Hellhounds with her and she's gonna use them on the group. In short, there's a chase and Joe gets wounded. Here, I was like aw crap, I know who's gonna die now. Cause they said two huge characters were gonna bite it in this ep. I already began to cry.
Just because it's so powerful, I'm going to let you watch it for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o1xL-UotX8

S5E11: Sam, Interrupted.
This episode looked awesome. I couldn't wait for the winter break to be over to be able to watch it. But sadly, there was just something so...off with the writing...I couldn't put my finger on it. All the characters seemed wrong, and everything was rushed at the end. But we did get to deal with Sam's anger issues, and hey, Mental Asylum episodes are always fun.
So I say, C.

S5E12: Swap Meat.
This episode wasn't what I was expecting. When I read the synopsis of the episode, I thought it was going to be Sam and Dean switching bodies. And then again, when the intro played, I thought Jared who was going to be playing the teenager and so on. I thought having Jared play the teen would have been better than what they did in the episode, but I still enjoyed it. Anyways, a teenager steals Sam's body, and Sam gets put into the teen's body. It was funny and intense at the same time. Overall, not bad. B-


S5E13: The Song Remains the Same.
Originally title, "Back to the Future II," Sam and Dean go back in time to see their parents again. I like the new title much more, in fact, it was changed so soon before the air date, that our paper listed it with the original title. lol. Anna, the angel, doesn't want the Apocalypse to happen, so she goes back in time to kill Sam and Dean's parents. The Winchester family car ride scene was one of them most memorable scenes in the season and Spoiler, Anna got a kick a$$ death scene. Another Greatest Hits ep. A-

S5E14: My Bloody Valentine.
For those Jensen Ackles fans, we love the inside joke with the title. For those of you who don't get it, go IMDB Jensen Ackles. This was the most awesomely disgusting episode ever. Just think of what Famine does to you, and a picture starts to form. The opening scene alone would leave you with your jaw in your lap. I'm not sure I can discuss what actually happens, I can't believe the sensors passed it. But it made for an amazing episode. And we also found out why Dean wasn't affected by Famine. Because he's dead inside. Ouch. And Sam fell off the wagon on demon blood, but that was because he was then able to finish off Famine. Great episode. A+

S5E15: Dead Men don't Wear Plaid.
Like the Antichrist episode, this one seemed like just something to fill the week with. Really, another zombie ep? OK, don't get me wrong, I'm all for some awesome zombie action, but come on, having Bobby kill his wife twice is not only torture for him, but for us as well. Eeh, C-

S5E16: Dark Side of the Moon.
When ambushed by hunters aware of their angelic situation, Sam and Dean are shot and killed. In Heaven Castiel urges them to search for an angel named Joshua who can help them find God. Meanwhile Zachariah is searching for them in Heaven. That's about it. Plus we meet up with Pamela and Ash. C+

S5E17: 99 Problems
Cleverly the 99th episode. I was annoyed by this episode, another profit ep? But boy was I proved wrong. This was a great episode, with a profit daughter turning out to be the Whore of Babylon. Showing just how cowed we humans can be. Plus, Dean was able to kill her, which he shouldn't have been able to do. B+

S5E18: The Point of No Return.
This was the 100th episode, but felt kind of bland. With the return of Adam and Lisa being the only thing that really shocked during the episode. And the death of Zachariah, finally! But otherwise, it was a formulaic SN ep. C+

S5E19: Hammer of the Gods.
Yay! Another trickster ep! The best thing about it though was Kali's belt. That was something you'd see in an Ed Hardy catalog. lol Plus all the other gods are pissed about the Christian Apocalypse and want to do something about it. But Loki, cough, cough, Gabriel tells them not to do anything because Lucifer would wipe the floor with them. They don't listen, Lucifer kills them all and has a showdown with Gabriel and kills him. Tear, bye-bye Gabriel. Sniff, sniff. But in a porn video, lol, Gabriel tell the boys that if they can get all four Horsemen rings, they can open a door to shove Lucifer back in. Awesome. A-

S5E20: The Devil You Know.
Crowley decides to help the brothers locate Death and Pestilence. So they decide to infiltrate a mega drug business. This business just happens to be run by Death and Pestilence's handler who is planning on releasing the Croatoan virus on the whole human population, masking it as nothing other than the H1N1 vaccine. lol. They capture him, Brady, but he refuses to give anything up, and instead sends Pestilence after the brothers. B-

S5E21: Two Minutes to Midnight.
Pestilence is out and he is bad. Well, really gross anyways. Sam and Dean find him at a local nursing home and decide to go for him. But he is hard to get to, because they're human and he decides to give them Stage 4 cancer. But Castiel is there to save the day! Barely anyways. But Pestilence says it's too late and that things are in motion that can't be stopped. The "H1N1 vaccine." In a funnier moment, Bobby lends his soul to Crowley to find Death, and Death and Dean have a chat. Dean promises to use Sam to defeat the Devil and Death gives him his ring. He also decides not to blow up Chicago cause he likes their pizza. lol. Plus, Death get the coolest opening scene, EVER! Here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbV77zYDhhg

A+ for this episode.

S5E22: Swan Song.
If y'all thought that Abandon all Hope was painful, it was nothing compared to this episode. I have already reviewed it in whole, so I'll just give my grade. A+

Season 5 overall.
It's hard to judge this season. It had its best and its worst. But, like any book I read, it's the ending that really matters, and that is where I'm going to give this Season a solid A. Because it made up for all the faults of this season, easily.