Laura Akers" />
Psycho Drive-In logo
Search
  • PDI Press
    Featured
    • BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

      Laura Akers
      January 17, 2022
      Fiction, PDI Press, PDI Press Writers
    Recent
    • BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

      John E. Meredith
      January 17, 2022
    • Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Seven)

      John E. Meredith
      January 16, 2022
    • Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Six)

      John E. Meredith
      January 15, 2022
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    Featured
    • Skinamarink (2023) - Take Two

      Laura Akers
      January 30, 2023
      Movies, Reviews
    Recent
    • Skinamarink (2023) – Take Two

      John E. Meredith
      January 30, 2023
    • Skinamarink (2023)

      Nate Zoebl
      January 24, 2023
    • Christmas Picks: Black Christmas (1974)

      Paul Brian McCoy
      December 24, 2022
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
    Featured
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      Laura Akers
      July 13, 2018
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      The Final Girl
      July 13, 2018
    • David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

      Dan Lee
      March 7, 2017
    • Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

      Andre Lamar
      September 29, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

      Jason Sacks
      July 28, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

      Dave Hearn, Paul Brian McCoy
      July 27, 2016
    • Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

      Gary Richardson, Laura Akers
      April 16, 2016
  • News
    Featured
    • Breaking Down The Upcoming DC Studios Slate

      Laura Akers
      February 1, 2023
      News, Shot for Shot
    Recent
    • Breaking Down The Upcoming DC Studios Slate

      Paul Brian McCoy
      February 1, 2023
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      psychodr
      July 30, 2019
    • X-Men: Dark Phoenix arrives on Digital 9/3 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD 9/17

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 16, 2019
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Breaking
  • Skinamarink (2023) - Take Two
  • Skinamarink (2023)
  • Christmas Picks: Black Christmas (1974)
  • Christmas Picks: Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)
  • Christmas Picks: Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
  • Christmas Picks: Violent Night (2022)
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Home
Reviews

Supernatural 10.03 “Soul Survivor” & 10.04 “Paper Moon”

Laura Akers
November 4, 2014
Reviews, TV

One of the pleasures of Supernatural is that it is largely unpredictable. Allegiances are constantly shifting, and this week’s sworn allies are next week’s deadly enemies. Of course, this too could become largely boring—if no one is ever to be trusted, then that’s as great a tell on such a series as never having characters going back on their word would be. And like any fixed game, we’d lose interest.

The reason, largely, that this does not happen with Supernatural is because it’s not the shifting alliances that surprise us so much as why they alter and just how much the entire story-landscape changes when they do.

Most of the time.

ritual1

Because there is one constant that does begin to grate after a while no matter what the explanation, and that’s the handling of the relationship between Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki). From the beginning, it’s been clearly established that bond between the two is fraught. At first this was largely because of Sam’s decision to try to have a normal life and Dean’s own to follow his father into battle. As the years have worn on, it’s been for a variety of reasons: their differing attitudes about women, the work they do, and even their willingness to martyr themselves or others for greater good. But despite the reason, certain things have (almost) always been true: when it comes down to a choice between siblings and the rest of humanity, we will always be the ones thrown under the bus to save the currently endangered brother. Not that they are actually grateful for that sacrifice.

Which we see for the umpteenth time in “Soul Survivor” and “Paper Moon.”

Most of “Soul Survivor” is taken up with Sam’s attempt to purge his recently captured brother of the demon who seems to have taken up residence in the Cain-branded Dean. The only way he knows how to do this is through a ritual they’ve performed repeatedly and which has worked with fairly garden-variety demons, but which has a tendency to fail in the more extreme cases of infestation. Castiel (Misha Collins), Crowley (Mark Sheppard), Dean, and even Sam himself express doubts about the ability of the usual charm to work on Dean, especially since, unlike other situations, there’s no specific demon inhabiting him. The possession is somehow tied to the Mark of Cain, but the Mark of Cain is far more than this.

redlight

So when the demon suddenly, and at the eleventh hour (after Sam admits that he thinks he may be killing his brother rather than saving him), seems to leave Dean—again, without the usual special effects we’ve come to associate with such an outcome, we are given more than a little reason to wonder if Dean has really been released, or if the thing inhabiting him is playing a longer game.

But in the meantime, the exorcism sets up a scene we’ve seen over and over: the boys in conflict. Dean doesn’t want the ritual to work—he claims to like the amoral life that’s he’s been enjoying, and alternately curses and tries to manipulate his brother into giving up, primarily by pointing out that whatever his own supposed sins, Sam is far from guiltless, having lured a man not only to his death but eternal damnation in order to save Dean.

Supernatural103-02

We’ve been here a good half dozen times—so much so that it’s almost pointless whether it’s Sam trying to save Dean or vice versa anymore. The rationales are always the same as is the writers’ ability to come up with an explanation for why the impossible is suddenly not, and both brothers are able to walk away (though rarely unscathed). And while the stakes in this case were as serious as they usually are, this time the confrontation and resolution were substantially less fulfilling than we are used to. Writers Brad Buckner & Eugenie Ross-Leming don’t give the brothers anything new to bring to this old table, and Ackles, who also directs “Soul Survivor,” seems no more inspired than his character would be if he were leading this effort: the staging of the face-off is unimaginative and more an act of brute-force than artistry. Only the pursuit through the halls really gets our blood pumping.

“Paper Moon” works better, if only because it complements and, in part, critiques “Soul Survivor.” Brit Sheridan  returns as werewolf Kate, one of the few monsters that Sam and Dean have allowed to walk free. When we last saw her, she made it clear she had no interest in pack companionship, but the boys soon learn that she has turned her dying sister in order to save that younger sibling’s life after a terrible car accident. However, unlike her sister who has successfully struggled and resisted the temptation to feed on humans, Tasha (Emily Tennant) revels in her strength and evil and has turned pack members of her own. In the end, the two sisters, mirroring Sam and Dean in “Soul Survivor,” argue their different ethical standpoints, and Kate eventually makes the decision that Sam and Dean cannot, killing her sister rather than risk allowing her to continue killing and infecting innocent humans.

katecar

But again, it’s not like we haven’t seen this before. The last nine seasons have given us plenty of examples of others who have been willing to kill the ones they love most in order to keep the rest of us safe. And like with Sam and Dean, it’s always a case of “there’s no other way.” Except that the boys, through sheer stubbornness, resist this message, fail to make the called-for sacrifice, and somehow everything turns out all right in the end.

Is this all just a little too convenient?

On most shows, I would say yes. But given a conversation on last year’s episode, “The Purge,” I’m inclined to think that this is an intentional criticism of the pair’s ethics. That episode has Dean trying to make up with Sam (again, the two being in a constant cycle of break-up-and-make-up) by trying to justify the lengths he’s gone to in the then-recent past to save Sam by framing it in terms of love. Sam rightly calls bullshit, especially on Dean’s point that this is what they do for each other, by pointing out times when he has refused to what Dean has—Sam did leave his brother “dead” in Purgatory—and by calling Dean’s motivation what it is: selfishness.

werewolf

Dean has lived his life from a young age trying to carry out his father’s crusade. It’s been clear from the beginning that despite the fact that Sam’s own existence was uprooted, Dean is glad to have his brother at his side, regardless of the cost to either of them or anyone else. Dean will literally move Heaven, Earth, and Hell in order to avoid the loneliness that has plagued him in all those years on the road. He does not possess the strength that Kate does to do the right thing when it’s called for. “Paper Moon” reminds us of this ongoing thread by providing a strong parallel but never going overboard in making its point. And because it follows “Soul Survivor” so closely, it also highlights that Sam is not really much better, last season’s protestations to the contrary.

Especially since it has not been firmly established that Sam’s demonic ritual gambit has actually been successful. If Dean does not have the control over the Mark of Cain that “Soul Survivor” suggests, or does but is up to no good, Kate’s moral fortitude will only become more stark as the season wears on. I think, given the show’s track record, that this is precisely what is about to unfold.

(Visited 238 times, 1 visits today)

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Brit SheridanEmily TennantJared PadaleckiJensen AcklesLaura AkersMark SheppardMisha CollinsSupernatural

The Flash 1.04 “Going Rogue”
Ghost In The Shell: ARISE: Border 1

About The Author

monsterid
Laura Akers
Voice of the People / Firebrand

Laura Akers is a teacher by calling and a geek academic by nature. Her often too-lengthy writing and her own personal musings tend to revolve around issues of gender, sexuality, identity, politics, religion (and all the other things you’re not supposed to bring up in polite conversation) in TV/film/webseries and other narratives. You can keep up with her ramblings on these subjects by following @laurajakers

Daily Top Ten

  • Boardwalk Empire 3.10: "A Man, A Plan"Boardwalk Empire 3.10: “A Man, A Plan” by Jamil Scalese
  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Mandy (2018)Mandy (2018) by Nate Zoebl
  • Uzumaki (2000)Uzumaki (2000) by Matthew Fantaci
  • If It Ain't Funk He Don't Feel It: Howard the Duck (1986)If It Ain’t Funk He Don’t Feel It:… by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Boardwalk Empire 2.02 "Ourselves Alone"Boardwalk Empire 2.02 “Ourselves Alone” by Jamil Scalese
  • John Dies at the End (2012)John Dies at the End (2012) by Paul Brian McCoy
  • The Blacklist 1.04 "The Stewmaker"The Blacklist 1.04 “The Stewmaker” by Natalie Amato
  • Sex, Lies, and TRUE DETECTIVESex, Lies, and TRUE DETECTIVE by Allison Mattern
  • Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines Blu-ray ReviewWrong Turn 5: Bloodlines Blu-ray Review by Paul Brian McCoy
400x400 GI Joe Funko Banner

Weekly Top Ten

  • House of Wax (2005)House of Wax (2005) by The Final Girl
  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Breaking Down The Upcoming DC Studios SlateBreaking Down The Upcoming DC Studios Slate by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) by Corin Totin
  • Tusk (2014)Tusk (2014) by Alex Wolfe
  • Drive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)Drive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) by Alex Wolfe
  • Adventure Time 6.20 “Jake the Brick”Adventure Time 6.20 “Jake the Brick” by Dave Hearn
  • If It Ain't Funk He Don't Feel It: Howard the Duck (1986)If It Ain’t Funk He Don’t Feel It:… by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Dungeons & D-Listers: Barbarian Queen (1985)Dungeons & D-Listers: Barbarian Queen (1985) by Alex Wolfe
400x400 UA Affiliate Banner

FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK

Latest Reviews

  • Skinamarink (2023) – Take Two

    John E. Meredith
    January 30, 2023
  • Skinamarink (2023)

    Nate Zoebl
    January 24, 2023
  • Christmas Picks: Black Christmas (1974)

    Paul Brian McCoy
    December 24, 2022

psychodrivein

Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 431: The Guns of Navarone (1961)

The Guns of Navarone demonstrates how it is possible to adapt a novel, make changes for the studio, yet still remain true to the original.
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #TheGunsOfNavarone #AlistairMacLean #GregoryPeck #DavidNiven #AnthonyQuinn #JamesDarren
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Breaking Down Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Breaking Down The Upcoming DC Studios Slate
 
Here's everything we know about the upcoming DC Studios slate straight from the mouth of James Gunn!
---
Read more of Paul's article at the link in our profile!

#DCStudios #DCU #JamesGunn #SupermanLegacy #Superman #CreatureCommandos #Waller #TheAuthority #SwampThing #Supergirl #SupergirlWomanOfTomorrow #Lanterns #GreenLantern #HalJordan #JohnStewart #BoosterGold #ParadiseLost #TheBraveAndTheBold #Batman #Robin #DamianWayne
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes Today at https://psychodrivein.com

 Anything Joes: S01E52 - Winterfest III

Greg and Jaren discuss their trip, experiences, and acquisitions at Kentuckiana's Winterfest III!
---
Watch the @anythingjoespod boys at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #Kentuckiana #Winterfest #CaptainMarvel #FawcettComics
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Skinamarink (2 Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Skinamarink (2023) - Take Two 

Much of what you get out of SKINAMARINK depends on what your own mind brings into it.
---
Read more of John's review at the link in our profile!

#Skinamarink #KyleEdwardBall #JaimeHill #LucasPaul #RossPaul #DaliRoseTetreault #JamieMcRae
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 430: Willow (2022)

Willow updated thirty-five years later shows how the original can grow, even with imperfections.
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#Willow #DisneyPlus #ErinKellyman #TonyRevolori #EllieBamber #WarwickDavis #RubyCruz #AmarChadhaPatel #DempseyBryk #JoanneWhalley
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Skinamarink (2 Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Skinamarink (2023)

Skinamarink is the latest indie horror sensation and it’s easy for Nate to root for. But did it all add up in the end? 
---
Read more of Nate's review at the link in our profile!

#Skinamarink #KyleEdwardBall #JaimeHill #LucasPaul #RossPaul #DaliRoseTetreault #JamieMcRae
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes:  S01E51 - Army Surplus 

Greg and Jaren discuss GI Joe compatible toys that AREN'T created by Hasbro, the most recent news, and get caught up on recent listener mail!
---
Listen to the boys at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes @AnythingJoesPod #GIJoe #EagleForce #ActionForce
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E50 - G.I. Joe #16 / Night Attack! 

The next stage of Cobra's plan is unveiled as the Joes try to stop Dr. Venom from unleashing his deadly virus upon the population!
---
Watch and listen to @anythingjoespod at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #MarvelComics
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 429: The Barbie Movie Teaser

Suffice to say that Barbie is probably the best known doll worldwide, recognizable on sight. 
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #Barbie #BarbieMovie #MargotRobbie #RyanGosling #GretaGerwig
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Latest Columns

  • Lost in Translation 431: The Guns of Navarone (1961)

    Scott Delahunt
    February 3, 2023
  • Breaking Down The Upcoming DC Studios Slate

    Paul Brian McCoy
    February 1, 2023
  • Anything Joes: S01E52 – Winterfest III

    Greg Engle
    February 1, 2023

TWITTER

My Tweets

Look Who's Talking

millyleu
millyleu - 12/10/2022
Anything Joes: S01E47 – G.I. Joe #15 / Red Eye To Miami!
But he is cute as a cat though 😁 DN.M6K2M.ME/y9928YW
Kilo Magno
Kilo Magno - 12/10/2022
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
How could she forget such an important thing? a.X-LAB.FUN\h9928B
Matt The Lurker
Matt The Lurker - 12/10/2022
BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie
The lady in red is so beautiful tb.ZHUZHOU.INFO/F9928AN
RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

Archives

Large_rectangle_336X280
All work on this site is Copyright © each individual writer.
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
%d bloggers like this: