EPISODE: "The Things They Carried"
THE PLOT: Sam (Jared Padelecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) take on a new case, one that pimps a variation on an old enemy; a parasite that infects folks and makes them kill aka The Khan Worm!
WARNING! SPOILERS BELOW!
Best buds in the making? I think so!
THE DEALIO: And SUPERNATURAL is back after a small break and thankfully it returned with oomph and a splat! Although The Mark of Cain Cane through line was addressed briefly here, it was set aside for a kickass “monster of the week” episode! Remember “And Then There Were None” from Season 6? In that episode, a parasite (created by Eve the Mother of all Monsters) was discovered by the Winchesters and dubbed The Khan Worm by them (named after the killer worms in Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Khan of course). Well the worm is back baby and it be thirsty for blood!
“The Things They Carried” had a retro Supernatural feel to it being that the episode was more axed on horror (like the early seasons) than fantasy (like the later seasons). This roll in the mud sported a slew of creepy scenes, nifty creature effects and also let her rip when it came to the red grub. The prologue which had a girl tied by her feet, hanging from a ceiling, getting her throat slit, to then bleed in a bucket set the tone for the episode off the bat – this one was gonna be messy! And as a big bonus (for this a-hole anyways), the case was connected to badass Cole (superbly played by Travis Aaron Wade); hence we got him in the mix as well!
Like many of you, I warmed up to Cole in the past episodes that he showed up in (Black, Reichenbach and Girls, Girls, Girls) and to be honest I thought we had as seen the last of him. So I was pleasantly surprised to see the lad pop in here to do the monster-mash doo! And now I get the impression that he’s gonna come back to the show again and maybe, and I say MAYBE graduate to series regular. I sure hope so! Any dude that throws down with Deanmon and lives to tell the tale is all good in my book! Yup the Cole character (a former United States Marine with extensive combat/martial arts training) fits in the world of Supernatural ideally and Travis Aaron Wade’s (who reminds me of Jeremy Renner in terms of vibe and look) chemistry with Jensen Ackles is palpable (whatever that word means).
Sam will take care of shit, old school!
On his end Jared Padelecki had some meaty moments playing “action man” but personally it was the ending that really got to me. Sam’s complete distraught over NOT being able to save that one life touched me, all due to Padelecki’s stirring performance. Padelecki’s Sam has been in the background a lot this season (from my perspective anyways), mostly there to serve Dean’s plight. It was swell to see him get solid moments all for himself. Any peeves? A couple. Some of the dialogue with the wife character was a tad off and how Dean went about handling Cole and his worm problem had me scratching my head as to WHY he made the decisions he made (like not tying Cole to a chair off the bat). It was almost like Dean was itching for a fight with Cole, or the writers pulled a dumb move to serve the plot in the name of making the scene itself more physical/exciting. I opt for the latter. No huge harm done, just needed to be salted and staked!
In closing, I had a big smile on my face as the end credits rolled for this episode. It was engaging, nasty, well paced and having Cole back was a treat! I definitely want to see more of him! See ya next week Hunters! Supernatural has returned to kick ass and chew bubble-gum… you know the rest!
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE EPISODE? COMMENT BELOW!