This review contains spoilers.
8.2 What's Up, Tiger Mommy?
With many Supernatural fans coming into its eighth season with more apprehension than usual thanks to a slightly weaker seventh run and a new showrunner at the helm, the show has a lot more than usual to prove. Sadly, this second episode didn’t really do that, and I can’t help feeling that the series is as unsure about where it’s heading as we are. The purgatory flashbacks are actually the most compelling part of the season so far, making me wish they’d focused on this instead of flitting right back to present day but, we’re left with a relatively clean slate when it comes to the tangled mythology.
Sam, Dean and Kevin are on a mission to find the ‘word of God’ tablet this week, finally heading to a supernatural auction with Kevin’s mother in tow. This is Lauren Tom’s (Amy Wong from Futurama) guest appearance as Mrs. Tran, and the character goes through the mill during the episode. Her introduction as the titular ‘Tiger Mom’ was fairly amusing, but later just highlighted Supernatural’s inherent sexism. Their disbelief at her wanting to accompany them, and then at her actual competency, were entirely down to her being female, and this crinkle is wearing a little thin at this late point in the series. Feminist rant over - let’s continue.
I said last week how much I enjoyed having Kevin along with the Winchesters, but my prediction for him to be heading off after a short time was correct. It would have been nice to see him accompany them on weekly cases, but maybe having the year’s mythology literally walk out of the door will leave room for some nice, simple, standalone episodes. They’re something the show used to do so well, with episodic instalments seamlessly woven through the heavier, driven, episodes, and it’s something most Supernatural fans would probably be happy to rekindle. They can look for Kevin on the side, but I’m craving a little time out.
This second episode felt a lot like treading water and, interesting characters and guest stars aside, nothing was really achieved. The boys still don’t have the tablet and, without Kevin, they wouldn’t be able to read it anyway. The loss of his girlfriend, as well as his year-long abandonment, has really hit Kevin where it hurts, and he’s not taking any chances this time. In a lot of ways, his innocent grief reminds me of Sam back in the early days, and contrasts with the cavalier attitude with which the brothers now kill or maim. With his mother now pretty much comatose after being possessed by Crowley, he takes off with a few harsh words for Dean.
With Sam usually the most psychologically messed-up half of the gang, it’s actually a nice change for Dean to be going slightly off the rails. We find out more about his time in purgatory this week, and get our first glimpse at a war-torn Castiel hiding out from Leviathan. We heard from Dean last week that everyone’s favourite angel was dead, but that’s so far unproven. I suspect his fate had something to do with a more ruthless-than-ever Dean, teased by the episode’s final scene. But, with fans wanting nothing more than a stable Dean/Cas partnership, I’m not sure how long our patience can be tested by keeping them apart.
It’s become increasingly clear over the last couple of years that the writers don’t know what to do with Castiel, and this is their chance to redeem the character assassination of last season. We don’t see any more of Sam’s back-story this week, but I suspect he and Dean will visit the girlfriend (and the dog) before long, and we can get a glimpse of Sam leading the ever-coveted domestic life. With Kevin gone and Crowley still on the hunt, who knows what the next few episodes will hold, but I’m hoping for some entertainingly bizarre demon curses or small-town paranormal crises.
Read Caroline's review of the previous episode, We Need To Talk About Kevin, here.
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