‘Supernatural’ returns for its whopping 10th season, with Sam on the trail of the wonderful pairing of “Growley and Squirrel.”

HOWLING AT THE MOON

Note: The following review goes into detail about the episode. SPOILER ALERT!

Here we go everyone, Season 10 of Supernatural! It’s hard to believe that the simple little show about two brothers fighting the forces of evil has managed to not only last 10 seasons, but also keep up a certain level of quality without descending into absolute rubbish. The Season 9 finale delivered one of the biggest moments in the show’s history, with Dean returning from the dead as a newly minted demon. It’s been a long wait to discover how much the show would have changed in that time. So, how much have things actually changed in that time? The answer is a hell of a lot.

The biggest change is that Dean is a demon now, but he wasn’t as cold and ruthless as some may have expected. He was still downing drinks, butchering karaoke, and picking up women in bars, but the fact that he was now doing this with Crowley instead of Sam immediately made it feel completely different. He still carries the “First Blade” with him, and satisfies his bloodlust by taking out random followers of Abaddon who come seeking revenge. While a lot of Dean’s regular traits remain, there was definitely a colder edge to him right from the off.  We see this manifest more and more as the episode progresses.

Sam on the other hand was on a warpath from the start of the episode. Torturing a demon is nothing new for the series, but it didn’t seem like it was the first time Sam had committed this act while searching for Dean. Castiel would have been a huge help to him, but considering that Cas has his own problems concerning his “grace,” Sam found himself running down a lead on his own. It was hard to watch Sam struggle through his search with his arm in a sling, and the look on his face when he saw the surveillance footage of Dean’s black eyes was a real gut-punch. A major theme of this season may be Sam being alone, although he has an overzealous captor to keep him company for now.

The Castiel storyline was probably the least interesting side of things, but it was more Castiel so I really shouldn’t be complaining. Cas is slowly dying due to his own “grace” being taken away by Metatron in Season 8, and I would imagine that’ll end up being a major plotline throughout the season. His search for some rebellious angels was fine and helped show us the state that Heaven is in following last season’s events. Metatron was mentioned here, and I’m assuming he’ll have some part to play in the season. And he may even hold the key to getting Castiel’s “grace” back, but for now, I want Cas to join in on the “Demon Dean” storyline.

The new, mysterious hunter character introduced here has piqued my interest. He is absolutely armed to the teeth and has a huge vendetta against Dean. Why he wants to kill Dean is unknown at this moment, but he used the age old “kidnap one Winchester to lure the other one” routine, which ended up leading to the darkest moment of the episode, along with the most disappointing one. Firstly, the way Dean coldly refused to comply to the hunter’s demands, informing him he wouldn’t be coming to save Sam, was hard to watch. After so many years of the brothers literally giving their lives for each other, watching one of them leaving the other to die was a shock to see. If you needed to see how different Dean is under the surface, this should set you straight. Following on from that, we got a rather abrupt cliffhanger ending. I wasn’t too fond of this, but it was only a small blotch on an otherwise great episode.

THE BREAKDOWN

Overall this was a great start to Supernatural’s tenth season. The new partnership between Dean and Crowley looks like it can be a comedic goldmine, and Sam’s struggles will be the dramatic counterbalance. The new hunter could be an interesting new dynamic, if he can grow past his macho persona that is. I have a feeling that we may see him teaming up with Sam to help hunt Dean and Crowley. It wasn’t the most action packed of season premiers, but “Black” set things up nicely for the hopefully epic season ahead.

Will Dean ever give in to Crowley’s plans to rule Hell together? Let us know in the comments below.

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