 Hey guys, this is my review for Supernatural Season 8. Thank you first of all to everyone who joined in on this adventure, thank you for all of your comments and for your opinions and thoughts about the episodes as we went along. It really made this season enjoyable to see your guys' reactions to, especially if the episodes had a bit of a different sort of feeling about it because, and I'll be quite honest, I got bored. I got through this because I had a session, like I had a real like commitment to it, but it did drag quite a bit and I think that is in part due to the fact that Jeremy Carver took over a season that really had maybe season 3's amount of story, so they had to make up a lot of filler episodes or seemingly filler episodes to make up for that. A lot of notes about just how wasted season 7 was was clearly evident while the show was going on, while the season was being made, while Carver definitely had some elements to make a compelling narrative, sort of at least halfway through. He had to try and make up some other things along the way, some of them worked, some of them didn't. This is also kind of the starting point for what a lot of people would say is kind of when Carver would start to kind of change the lore a little bit. I was very guilty of calling Dab out for a lot of the lore changes that he did, a lot of retconning, and there are a little bit of it in this season. It makes more sense for the most part, instead of a retcon, it's like a side tangent for the most part. There are some things that were a little bit retconned, but it was enjoyable for the most part. It's just how long it took for the season to get going. That is the biggest complaint about this season. This one was obviously following the brothers rekindling basically themselves after Dean went to purgatory and Sam kind of just gave everything up. While these two were kind of bickering with each other about who could trust one another, Sam was going through his own kind of memory flashbacks with this Amelia lady who I know that a lot of people didn't like that story. And yes, I can understand as to why it's not supernatural. It was quite literally just a love story. I'm going to sound maybe Pat perhaps a bit sappy, but I liked how they did it because it's the best one that's been done in the show. Aside from some that appeared in season one, two and maybe four, the Amelia character while not really posing much to the actual show really had some connection with Sam. Like that was a story between her and him. Yes, it wasn't supernatural, but I thought it was done all right. But at the same time, I can understand why people didn't like this story because really didn't go where it was just about the characters. Same thing for Dean. Like I think that Dean was just a giant asshole to Sam. Admittedly, he did, of course, half his reasons for being mad about Sam not really helping to get him out of purgatory. But really, the guilt should be on Sam for fucking leaving Kevin behind because that poor boy, no goodness that has happened to him throughout this entire season, this entire show. And it was felt like this poor guy just having the absolute worst time from his mother being roped into being lobotomized, who eventually being killed off screen day, having him go through a various amount of fucked up shit, the fact that Kevin Tran ever had any happiness throughout this entire show is a miracle. But there were some other side characters who were pretty well done. Benny, being one who started off pretty strong, had a cool concept, cool relationship with Dean, had some episodes that were just depressing, finding the clan that basically killed him and took away his lover to completely fall in upon itself, that his lover had been turned. And he had to then have her get killed because she was doing the exact evil shit that he wanted to not be a part of anymore. To him finding his granddaughter and then having to reveal himself to her and killing a crazy fucking hunter, which that was also a really bad move by Sam. Sam's usually the smarter one of the two of the two brothers, but he was real fucking idiot by having him tail Benny. That was also playing into this, the jealousy and the hate and the deceit between the two brothers. And that was also an overarching storyline in this season. The bickering between the brothers while some people have reasonable criticism of this, oh, it's happening again. They were at least trying to make it matter. Like, yes, it was really drawn out, but they did have reasons for bickering. Whereas in the Ander Dab era and definitely after this season, it's going to kind of be created for drama sake. This had a reason to be the way it was. And it was also kind of like the overall arc of what happens to Sam comes sacrifice, which brings in the demon trials. The demon trials once this shit got started was interesting. A bit muddled, perhaps, but it got to a point where it was an enjoyable run if there were some big things of idiocy. But it also introduced a lot of cool things like Knights of Hell. It introduced curing a demon, which found correct. Never comes back again. It also was able to give us some pretty great performances by Crowley. Mark Shepard did a fantastic performance in sacrifice. We deserve to be loved. I deserve to be loved. This season introduced a lot of things, not only with characters like when everyone hates Hitler with the Golem. That was really cool. It dipped into a lot of kind of ghosts and lore from other parts of the world, which was an interesting thing. And it even dipped into things that we had seen before, but giving a little bit of a different twist like the Dijin and werewolves and whatnot. There were also some introductions like the mental letters. We finally got to see the home. We got to see where the brothers would basically set up shop for the rest of this show. This was a huge moment. And while I thought that the guy who played their grandfather was a terrible fucking actor, I did like what that episode introduced, if only being terribly represented by a really bad actor. On the same token, there were some filler episodes in throughout this one. We had some funny ones like Southern Comfort, our Hunter Eye, Heroky. I know I'm saying that wrong, but the fucking Looney Tunes episode, that one was funny. LARP and the real girl, we had Charlie come back for a couple of episodes. She was really good. It's good to be clean. But they also had some pretty shit ones, particularly the Bitten one for me very much so freaks and geeks. And remember the Titans? Both of these episodes are really fucking bad. There are some other episodes in this one that have different opinions by some people. I know I am one of the few who thought that man's best friend with benefits. Yes, terrible fucking title, but an interesting concept. Yes, was it done well in certain cases and does it kind of seem a bit, you know? But I like the idea of a cop using witch powers and having this, basically his lover be also his companion thing. It was really high fantasy shit, like some fucked up high fantasy shit that, you know, I could see that in like Martin S kind of, George R.R. Martin S kind of storytelling. Did it fit into supernatural? Maybe not. But I think it was just so different that I was like, oh, you know what? I'm actually not opposed to this. Yes, but I can understand people who don't like it. Yeah, I get why. But then there was also some other stuff that was about the show that like going back to the kind of the retcon stuff, the entire idea of there being coyotes for demons to get out of hell. And then also how there's just been this backdoor to purgatory. This whole fucking time, Crowley and Castiel and the Archangels spent all of season six trying to figure out how the fuck to get in there. Yet apparently it's been the door that they have to go through to get out. So Crowley, by definition, would have possibly gone through this at one point. The more you more you thought about it, the more and more that whole kind of retcon just really fucking broke shit. And I understood why people did not like that. I like the episode itself. But yes, the retcon was pretty stupid. You knew somehow, right? Took a chance. Some big notes, though, there was not a single seven out of seven for me in this. There was not a single perfect episode for me. There was a few good ones. I really, really like Pac-Man fever. Really, really like Goodbye Stranger. My favorite episode of this entire season, it was the one that made me care about watching Supernatural again. Also had Blood Brother, very, very good. I know a lot of people really, really like sacrifice and I did too. I liked one part of it. But there was another part that I thought was like, OK, this is this is a tad stupid. I know I'm probably in the benign minority on that one. It's not a bad episode. It's just not a perfect one. I thought it was going to be. I totally went in thinking it would be. But that's kind of the feeling I have had throughout this season. The whole time I was going through six and seven, I was like, it's going to get better. They haven't seen season eight and forever, but at least it's better, right? Tendingly speaking by the numbers it was, but it was only better than one of those two I mentioned. Out of the score for season eight of 23 episodes, it was a score of 161, all told all of my reviews. This season got a 96. There are count the one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, fours, mid episodes, that's how many there are. And that leads into the percentage being 61%, which is better than season seven. Better than season seven, but it's not better than season six. And I have to say, yeah, there's a few better episodes in season six than there was in season seven. Like I actually gave sevens in season six. I gave a seven in season seven. But in the end, my overall rating, my actual four, my out of seven, I'm going to give season eight of supernatural a four out of seven. It's OK. That's basically the best thing I can say. It's not terrible, but it wasn't great. It wasn't shit, but it wasn't gold. It was very much middle of the road. And that is how I felt throughout this whole season. It's still one of the better ones post season five. But that's a big pool of to talk about. They had some cool ideas, but it was too drawn out. They had some great episodes, but they weren't the gold. They had a lot of mid. And the ideas that they introduced, while really cool, the time kind of have a little bit of errors and some inconsistencies and what you think about it. Overall, though, season eight is commendable for being what it is better than seven. That's what it all boils down to. But those are my thoughts about this season. I am very interested to see what you guys have to say. And so let's see what you guys have to say. Season eight was a mixed season. There was bad mixed with the good. Charlie and Benny were the best add-ons in the season. The Goodbye Stranger is by far the best episode of season eight. Yep, very much agree with you here. Like I said, it's it's mid mixed. It's just kind of this season really got the let's make Kevin miserable arc from Sam completely abandoning him to Dean, working with him, working him like a slave, treating him worse even than the demons did. Yes, like not taking him to the to the bunker. Castiel even got a few licks in and it only got worse from here. Seriously, why do the writers hate this man so much? And I usually don't play replies, but I like what Patrick said here. I'm convinced the writers or the producers had some sort of grudges against the Kevin's actor. Like maybe he hit their children or slept with their spouses. That's the only way I can justify the torture they put him through in just this season, but not just this season, but the whole series. Absolutely. Kevin Tran never got a fucking break in this entire goddamn show. Now that we've got a big one here from Patrick, this is a hard season to rank. Like most fans, I love the second half of the season. But after watching your reviews, I really started to realize that maybe we've been blind, we've blinded ourselves to his flaws, plot holes and bad acting due to how much we hated the first half. Yeah, that can happen. That's like that can really happen with shows. It's only upon reflection that you rewatches. Why it's I'm very curious of how I will see season 11 when I rewatch it again, because it will be like the first time I've seen it since that I watched that show. Eight nine greatly suffered due to half of their season feuds. Regardless of whose side you were on, both brothers look bad at the end. Also, just feels so tense and bitter, and there's no fun in any episode. And the plot feels like it slows down to focus more on the fight than it speeds up near the end to wrap up everything. I think that's why most fans are forgiving of Henry, Chrissy and the Prometheus episodes, Prometheus episodes. But also, despite the flaws of the second half, nothing was as rage inducing as the first half. But sadly, the second half felt too fast paced for the main story. The trial trials themselves are barely a quarter of the episode, which is probably why fans aren't as upset as they were with nothing in the end. Cass suffers the most from this fast pace, making him look like a complete impulsive idiot. Thankfully, next season, he redeems himself and there's a good rivalry between him and Metatron. Sadly, the writers would make him act like a complete fucking idiot again, keeping unnecessary secrets again in season 14. Honestly, I think that Cass was an idiot for a majority of the show. And like they reused up that character. And I think we're going to see it definitely in the latter seasons. On closer examination, Sam suffered from this, too. Them bringing the demon blood back completely out of the blue, with same with Sam being overcome by his past mistakes. In the second episode of the season, we met this woman whose life was ruined when Lucifer got out and braids Sam for it. Now, why wasn't something like that put in the season? Now, yes, Dean does bring this stuff up in two different episodes. One under the cursed coin. Yep. And another is a bad joke, but there's a huge gap in between. And it would make sense that the brothers were still fighting in the second half. Their hell Dean makes up for this attitude as the season starts. Not only did he cut ties with Benny, but he sent him to his death for Sam. We've had episodes where Dean confirmed his love and trust in Sam. When the trial started, Dean said he wants Sam to have a normal life. He was only mad because it seemed like Sam didn't care about him. Had Sam looked or lied about Dean, it would Dean wouldn't have given a damn. Amelia, especially since Sam dumped her before he got back. Part of me part of me thinks that it would make more sense that the final trial was to sacrifice the one you love. Oh, actually. Oh, and Dean would have been pleading for Sam to kill him. But Sam refuses to give his best chant, give up his best chance of a normal life because Dean is more important to him. That what they went with worked. But I give but I credit that more to Jared and Jansen's acting and the writing. Jared, maybe Jansen, but yeah, that could have been something because it does seem like it's just very quickly resolved. As for the feud itself, weird Dean storyline was good till you added Sam in. And Sam's storyline was awful till you added Dean in. Very good point. Yes, Dean was a jerk and so overcome by rage and he ever questioned how Sam and Amelia broke up. But despite this, Dean showed us clearly that he was remorseful and regretted his actions. Yes, as the season went on, he definitely became more remorseful. This was more like a character kind of thing for Dean in this season. Unlike Sam, who showed no signs of remorse at all. As for Amelia, there's a line. There's this line that drove me crazy that Sam never had a normal life till her. But what about all those years at Stanford? Sam had more time away from hunting in his adult life than Dean. So even though it is it is deserved him going back, it didn't feel original and how exactly is Amelia better than Jess? I feel that Amelia was possibly the second chance. And yeah, but you're you're right. They he had a normal life before that. Sorry. Ah, crap. Sorry. That's my speaker. Also, if Sam went back to Crowley, back to her, Crowley would have killed her, given them decent events. So him leaving her with isn't as impactful as Dean leaving Benny. Now, yeah, I didn't like Amelia or I feel any of the chemistry in the relationship. And I think people only care about her due to the outrage over Dean's treatment. Not had he not acted out the way he did, when no one would have cared about her or Sam's storyline. Again, easiest fix would have been one scene of Sam and grief over Dean. But there's no visual scene of that in the season. And it's just lazy that the writers felt left it in to fill in the blanks. And you bring up a lot of good points here, Patrick. Like there is some stuff that could have been there. But I think one of the biggest reasons that this season is as mid as it is is one who knew that this season was going to happen again, especially after season seven's reception. Also, as I've said before, they never knew if the show would continue. Like that's hard to write a show with the idea that there could be a continuation, but you also have to make sure that there's an ending. And I think that's my comment here to Mahid here. This is by far the best season finale after Swan's song in the entire show. And I really don't understand how you couldn't love this masterpiece. I like the good parts of it. But like Patrick said, Castiel's change is way too quick, way too quick. Do you have a personal problem with Jeremy Carver, the writer of this episode? And also the changing channel episode of which, of course, you criticize the episode very too much. I gave it a six out of seven, man. Like I still love it, but I do admit that out of the two meta episodes, the French mistake is a better meta episode. As for Jeremy Carver, dude, he was one of the reasons why season three is my favorite season. I don't is not that he's a criticism against him. It's just like literally as other people have pointed out, this season is mid. It has a lot of empty space, especially for 23 episodes and a quarter of that maybe is actually based on the story. Yes, season seven does the same thing, but an eight does do it a tad bit better. But there are so many more episodes that could have been based in story. We got some of the worst filler episodes in a while in this one. And also we just got some really bland episodes. Like the whole season is just bland for a good portion of it. I think the only reason Supernatural didn't get canceled was because the perfect writing he had season eight, nine and 10. Bro, no one remembers nine. I certainly don't, which would literally save the show in the moment that Andrew Dab started the showrunner and the writing. Yeah, the show became worse and worse. I agree with you. However, you look at the ratings. They went up when Dab took over. So technically speaking, yes, Carver saved it from being canceled after the mess of six of seven. But he didn't bring it to the high points of which Dab actually did, which makes me fucking sick to say. And I felt like so much was wasted on the trash moment like when Jeremy Carver left the series. Yeah, no, like, well, also, I don't like car. I I've got a grudge with Carver because when he found out that season 11 wasn't going to be the last season, he left. He left halfway through. So Andrew Dab had to finish season 11. So yeah, maybe he was a bit upset that it wasn't ending on his note, but fucking Kripke stayed until the end and he knew the show was going to keep going. So like that's a point against Carver. Carver didn't act well in that in that aspect. If I would describe season eight of Supernatural in three words, it would be a mixed bag. Let's do a quick summary of what the season did right. Benny was an interesting character with charm, a character you could not you could root for. It's a shame that he was never brought back in ladder seasons. He only had that one little cameo in season 15. That was it. Yeah, that was a weird cameo, too. The entire second half of season eight, proudly becoming a great villain, the trial story arc closing the gates of hell was mostly good. The introduction of Amidon, Metatrona and Sacrifice being a very good finale. Probably my favorite favorite in the series. Now, let's summarize what the show did. The season did wrong. First half of the season is not good. It feels so subpar compared to the second half. Absolutely agree. The Amelia arc is long, boring, and the only thing it accomplishes is making Sam and Amelia look like terrible people. Combine that with Sam's pretty petty jealousy, hatred of Benny and the fact that Sam knowingly left Kevin to be tortured by Crowley and makes him aggressively unlikable for the first half. I, like I said, I don't mind the Amelia arc, but everything else you point out here is absolutely true. Sam's a pretty character. And I think that maybe they wanted Dean to be a dick to kind of take away from that. But yeah, no, he like there's the fact that he left Kevin alone. Like what the shit? Many supernatural fans would also say that Sam not wearing wanting to save Dean from trajectory is out of character. But I personally can let it slide. Same because I get it. I mean, we already saw what Sam went through in season three of Mystery Spot and the four months between season three and four when Dean died at the last time and was in hell. It's not so far fetch to believe that Sam would not try to bring Dean back anymore because he's just had enough and in general wanted to leave the whole hunting thing and family business life behind. After what he went through in season six and seven. Yeah, because he's got no one around like there's no one, but I can't let it slide with Kevin. That's just bullshit. Absolutely. That's actually a kind of a cool story that could have been done. But, you know, you would have to try and have this show where Dean's in purgatory for like half the season. Sam's with Kevin. Overall, I feel that season eight of Supernatural is six out of 10 or four points, four point five out of seven. It's definitely far better than structured season six and seven, in my opinion. But that first half, man, that's the biggest problem of season eight. I will say, though, season six has more. I feel season six has a better structure. I feel like, yeah. And I will definitely agree that season six structure starts fucking terribly. But I still feel it's a better season overall, especially with the whole thing between Crowley and Castiel, like the man who would be king, such a good character episode in season six. When it comes to Jeremy Carver's first year as a showrunner, he did have some missteps for season eight, but I did still enjoy the season way more than season seven. Yeah, I can agree on that one. Jeremy Carver has come a long way since Time on Supernatural, one of the series, Doom Patrol. My mother and brother both love that show as do I. I have not yet seen Doom Patrol, but I've heard very good things about it. Season eight is my favorite season because it parallels the journeys of seasons one to five in an inverse way that shapes Dean, Sam and Dean as anti-heroes into the Carver era. Sam giving up hunting and not looking for Dean always made sense to me because, to me, I viewed it as a psychotic breakdown after dealing with this trauma of Lucifer's torture in the cage and losing everything that mattered to him in season seven. His romance with Amelia never bothered me like most, unlike most fans. I get other fans felt like it was the show steering into a natural sitcom opposed to a supernatural horror with brighter colors, but it was established as a contrast to Dean's time in Purgatory. Yeah, I can agree with that. Absolutely. Dean is a much better character than he was in six and seven. I love that he's running on survival instinct at the beginning of the season. Castiel dealing with being controlled by the angels made sense to me also because after everything that's happened to the species since season four finale, I really love the addition of new characters. And I felt like to this day that Benny is the most underrated character in Supernatural. I can agree that they really underutilized him throughout the season. Everyone is relying on self-preservation, especially the villains preventing their operations from being closed off from humanity. It also it honestly made the angels and demons more interesting to me since the Kripke era opposed to Sam Rock gamble's attempt on focusing on monsters being the focus of season six and seven. Yeah, I in some ways, yes, I can agree. I think that the Purgatory like trying to get to the door of Purgatory in season six is still I like it more than the demon trials thing in this one, especially with the outcome. But yeah, like some of the monster stuff in six and seven just really sucked. The monster of the week episodes are so fun. We can we can half agree on that. But I can understand how they feel so forgettable for fans. It was a huge retcon to the to introduce the metal letters as part of John Winter's heritage. But it's a big part of why I feel like the Carver era was more of a reinvention of Supernatural. Still refreshing that the boys have a place that they can actually call a roof with four walls home and that with a lot of hallways and doors of exposition as a sandbox for the writers to play in. Yeah, like all the little hidden stuff and all the books and everything. The season has a lot of vigor to make up for the backlash of season six and seven and it shows. I honestly love how it had a great setup for making Sam and Dean go in different directions that we had never seen before and that they're tests their morality and growth going forward into season nine and 11 nine to 11 from Carver's version of vision. I am very curious when we get into nine because I have I cannot remember nine except for the first episode. I cannot remember it doesn't he? Oh wait, Dean dies at the end of nine, doesn't he? Oh crap. Wow, I remember less of 10 than I thought. The season that brought the series back after two not so good seasons. This season for me does it right by bringing Supernatural back to basics and the new concepts. It presents like Percatory, the bunker and the whole thing about the tests to close the gates of hell. There are many good like the arc of Castile being brainwashed and Crowley as a villain as well as Sam being one that takes the tests. It's pretty cool. The problem of the seasons are various filler episodes that take away from the rhythm of the season and the drama of the first half of the season which is pretty boring. But it's also a welcome evolution of the last two seasons and ends with one of the best season finales of the series. And yeah, yeah, I can say that for my mom. Some good's and some bad's. That's a lot of what season eight is. All right guys, that's it. Now we're going into the top five best and the top five worst. Some of you probably know what's gonna be in the worst. Some of you probably don't know what's gonna be in the top best, at least for me. Again, thank you guys so much for having been a part of this journey. We have a few more to go. And as I said, we have a special one to come being a conversation between Jay, the Zoomster and I. We're gonna be talking about season eight, hoping that it's gonna be a good one for you guys. We haven't got to do the conversation yet as of recording this, but I'm hoping that by the time that this comes out, we have done the conversation. But I'll be keeping you guys in the loop about that. I've enjoyed the guy's videos. I think he's done great work with his videos about the supernatural. So I am very, very excited to talk with him about the show. Anyways guys, that's all for me. Hope you enjoyed the review. If you did, leave a like. And if you're interested in more, subscribe. And until then, I'll see you guys next week.