Supernatural: S08E10 - Torn and Frayed.

Oh my bad, I completely forget this was back, sorry it's like almost a week late!


So should I start by pointing out how little sense it makes that damaging a vessel can both hurt an angel and disable its powers/tap into its secrets - and that Naomi needs the vessel as well as the angel to find out what Crowley tampered with? Just sayin'. Honestly I'd say some further exploration into Supernatural's angel lore could have been interesting if the glaring inconsistencies didn't stick out like tumours. And things which are played like big reveals such as the angel tablet should have surely been obvious from the very beginning, right? Although things do look set to be very interesting in the future, but knowing Supernatural, they probably won't be.

Dean continues his out of character eye-lash battering and Sam continues to ride a high horse only he thinks he deserves to be on. You think this rupture between the brothers would be interesting, but they've been singing this same tune for so long now it just comes across as boring. When the episode wasn't sending me to sleep, I will admit the Supernatural trademark sense of humour did shine through at moments to give a real sense of charm in places. Any way, Sam chose Dean, Dean chose Sam, so can we get on with the fucking show now and stop wasting half of every episode with these two having bitch fights, please? For the love of God.

Actionwise the episode suffers from the usual overly muted Supernatural problems. Despite storming an abandoned factory guarded by demons, where an angel is being held prisoner, it of course never gets as epic as that sounds. Largely it involves stabbing a couple of guys and crossing out a load of drawings, I remember back in the day where just one demon was a main event threat, now a whole factory of them provide no threat at all. And sure, the demon grenades are cool and all, but I'd happily at this point see the brothers take superficial damage, rather than continuing to ride the show, coming out of every conflict largely unscathed.

Really, Torn and Frayed wasn't an episode, so much, and more a mid-season climax, one long third act, if you will. Since season five Supernatural has developed a habit of biting off way more than it can chew, leading to many an anti-climax per season. Whether it be Eve, Sam's Wall, The Leviathan or whatever else, each spent a lot of time being built up and ultimately led nowhere. Torn and Frayed's only real purpose was to shed all the fat, in this case Benny and Amelia and set things up to progress a streamlined story for the rest of the season, in this case Naomi being evil. Although the episode was boring, I also understand why it was necessary and I hope this means we get a better season out of it. Here's to the future!

Pros;

• The exploration of the angel lore was interesting, it'd be even more interesting if they would start to streamline the lore into coherency, but I'll take what I can get.
• The future looks like it could be interesting, at least, if Supernatural stops wasting all its potential, that is.
• Hopefully this episode will mark Supernatural finally getting the fuck on with it.
• The humour was as funny as ever.
• The demon grenades are cool, I suppose.

Cons;

• Supernatural continuity and lore is still a confusing mess for any fan who is paying attention.
• I still hate the way Sam and Dean have been written this season.
• The episode is so muted it's just a bit boring really.
• Can a monster put up a fight, please?

Think About It!

-Locke