Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Supernatural 10.5 "Fan Fiction" - 200th Episode

It is currently 3:30 in the morning and I am up blogging about the 200th episode of Supernatural because it was, simply, amazing. Speaking as a 10 year fan of the thriller show, this episode gave me all the feels. I literally laughed, cried, cheered, and shot up in surprise at the long awaited scene at the end of the episode. If you're new to the show, this episode was a great introduction to the Supernatural universe from the collection of Supernatural stamp intros over the years, to Dean verbally recapping recent events, to the musical depiction of the brothers' lives. 


Five major highlights of the 200th episode:

1. "Carry On My Wayward Son" - This classic hit by Kansas can be heard playing in the background of the montage sequence during the beginning of each Supernatural season finale episode. The song is the closest thing the show has to a theme song and is incredibly fitting for the lives of the brothers and their journey; the road so far.


Carry on my wayward son,
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

In tonight's episode, the high school theater club sang a beautiful cover of the song at the end of their play, "Supernatural" and the brothers can soon be seen driving off into a beautiful sunset in Baby, the Impala. The scene took my breath away and captured the depth of the brothers' bond and the trials and tribulations they've overcome thus far.

2. Winchester Brother Bond - To say that Sam and Dean have been through the ringer is an understatement. Both have died, sold their souls for one another, gone to Heaven, gone to Hell, gone to Purgatory, been destined for opposite sides in the war of good versus evil, and most recently been divided by Dean's time as a demon.Despite the low times, their bond always shines through and they always come back together for a "BM". (Hehehe)

3. Amulet ("Samulet")- In episode 3.8, "A Very Supernatural Christmas,'' we learn that an eight year old Sam gave Dean an amulet Uncle Bobby told him was special, after learning John had been lying to him about hunting. Dean wears the amulet for years and learns from Castiel some time later that it will burn hot in God's presence. Upon learning that God won't step in to stop the Apocalypse, Dean trashes the amulet in front of Sammie, breaking his heart, and fragmenting their relationship. At the end of this episode, Dean receives a wooden prop version of the amulet and hangs it on the rear-view mirror, signifying the brothers' renewed and beautiful relationship.

4. Adam - During the closing act of the "Supernatural" play, an unrecognizable cast member is identified as Adam, Sam and Dean's half brother who is still trapped in the cage with Lucifer. Adam has not been referenced for a few seasons and the brother's share a disturbed look. This reference to Adam felt very pointed and I can't help but feel like we will be seeing/hearing about Adam again very soon. And I imagine that he will be Pissed, with a capital P.

5. Chuck - The moment that will be on everyone's mind and a major topic of conversation for days was the appearance of Chuck! Speculation has run rampant that former prophet Chuck Shurley, the author of the Supernatural books, is actually God. As there can only be one prophet at any given time, Kevin Tran's time as a prophet seemingly implied that Chuck had died. After narrating the events of 5.22 "Swan Song," Chuck appears dressed in white musing on the difficulty of getting endings right. He then just vanishes. Chuck's reemergence tonight could mean so many wonderful things and I can't wait to see what the Supernatural writers have in store for fans with Chuck's storyline.

How did you feel about the episode? What were your thoughts and what did you enjoy seeing?


Photo Credit: http://tumblrroleplay.wikia.com/wiki/File:Mixed-Title-Card-supernatural-19939249-720-312.jpg

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Marvel Cinema Family Tree

Iron Man is credited as ushering in Phase I of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, aka the next best thing since sliced bread with bacon. Since 2008, comic book fans have squealed in pure delight at the release of The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and movie fans, if not the world, had been waiting for: The Avengers. That many awesome superheroes in one movie that had been cohesively led up to throughout Phase I was enough to leave minds exponentially blown. However, Marvel Studios was only getting started. Phase II introduced Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man. I get dizzy just thinking about these movies and how the sequels demonstrated growth in both storytelling and character development. But then Kevin Feige wanted to go and hit us with his best shot with a pop-up press conference last week where he announced the films for Phase III. Hold on to your Mjolnir…

  • Captain America: Civil War (2016)(unreleased/development)
  • Doctor Strange (2016) (unreleased/development)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017)(unreleased/development)
  • Thor: Ragnarok (2017) (unreleased/development)
  • Black Panther (2017) (unreleased/development)
  • Avengers: Infinity War, Part I (2018)(unreleased/development)
  • Captain Marvel (2018) (unreleased/development)
  • Inhumans (2018) (unreleased/development)
  • Avengers: Infinity War, Part II (2019)(unreleased/development)

One detail that has helped The Marvel Cinematic Universe grow into a true powerhouse and remain cohesive and form stellar crossover movies like Avengers is sharing one production studio in Marvel Studios/Walt Disney. However, prior to 2008, there were several films based on Marvel Comics released, but they’re like second cousins under the roof of various other production studios. Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we…

Howard the Duck (1986) [Those who stayed after GotG will appreciate this one]
Blade (1998)
X-Men (2000) [“And in this corner we introduce you to Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, for the rest of his life”]
Blade II, Spider-Man (2002)
X2, Hulk, Daredevil (2003) [Before Affleck joined DC]
The Punisher, Spider-Man 2, Blade: Trinity (2004) [Ryan Reynolds’ first taste of superhero life]
Elektra, Fantastic Four (2005) [Before Chris Evans knew he was Steve Rogers]
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Ghost Rider, Spider-Man 3, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) [Before Ryan Reynolds was DC’s Green Lantern, he was suffering an identity crisis as Deadpool]

As you can see, if all of these movies had been produced under Marvel Studios, I have no doubt that in this current moment we could be seeing movies of even greater epic proportions. Can you imagine Spidey swinging in to fight alongside The Avengers or the Fantastic Four? Or Ghost Rider versus the Hulk after World War Hulk? At this time I think there are some legal negotiations happening over the rights to certain characters and film series’. I’m all for it. And while I realize going forward it would take some reboots or long awaited sequels, all I know is that I would love for this Marvel family to be truly whole.