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- TV Series: Supernatural
- Episode: Abandon All Hope
- Starring: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Jim Beaver, Misha Collins
- Written By: Ben Edlund
- Directed By: Phillip Sgriccia
- Network: CW
- Series:
Supernatural: Abandon All Hope Review
It’s the Beginning of the End By
Stephen Lackey
November 20, 2009
Supernatural Review
© CW/Bob Trate
Just in time for the winter break, we get a really solid story arc episode. This final episode of 2009 requires a bit of discussion that will definitely fall into spoiler territory, so read further at your own risk. There’s been all of this mystery about the location of the Colt and last week in one throwaway line, Sam and Dean suddenly knew exactly where to go to find the gun. Mark Sheppard is one of those character actors, you the ones that play the same character in nearly everything they do, that’s popping up in all sorts of genre shows. Sheppard was at his best in Battlestar Galacitcia, but playing a car salesman of a demon is a comfortable role for him too. The opening scene where Cass is following him and the both of them disappear behind columns doing that demon/angel thing is good stuff. The brothers get the gun with little trouble because it appears that some of the demons like living the way they do and they don’t trust that Satan will not just toss them around like cannon fodder.
The whole team comes together for the final battle, Sam, Dean, Bobby, Ellen, and Jo. Ellen and Joe were main characters for one of the weaker seasons of Supernatural (at its weakest, the show is still one the best shows on TV) but they were both great characters within that season. They’ve popped up again this season here and there as welcome guests too. It seemed appropriate for them to return and fight this fight with the brothers. It’s not there first time at the rodeo, as they say.
There’s bad soap opera melodrama and then there’s end of the world everybody’s gonna die suspenseful melodrama that if done right is entertaining. We fortunately get the latter in this episode. With that said, there’s a little bit of chemistry built between Dean and Joe that comes off manufactured early on which sadly makes the ending of the episode a bit too predictable. Having him hit on her and be attracted to her purely on a physical level is one thing, but the episode builds in more depth between them that just wasn’t there before. Dean in fact does make a play for her which ends up being a really funny scene. Had Jo been around more maybe something could have happened between them. Who knows? Even though the ending for Joe and Ellen may have been a bit predictable, it still came off quite powerful and disappointing. The first thought that came to my mind was “thank you producers for pulling a Whedon.”
When the group of them hit the town where Satan has set up housekeeping, we’re treated to one of the creepier scenes of the season. Everything is appropriately ominous with only Cass being able to see everything. We’ve seen in previous episodes that this war between Satan and Michael really does boil down to a family spat and that’s humorous and effective. Since it’s a family fight it makes sense that some of the soldiers on both sides of the battle are nervous about the outcome, even if their side wins. Rachel Miner returns again as Meg and as always she brings a level of fun campiness to her scenes that offer a welcome break from the suspense. She’s only in a few short scenes here but her first appearance with the hounds of Hell was a great one.
The battle of course doesn’t go as well as Sam and Dean had hoped, and the casualties are sure to have a lasting effect on the brothers. This episode was the perfect way to end the series for 2009 because when it was over I immediately wanted to see the next installment. The show was firing on all cylinders in this episode featuring all the drama, horror, a little humor, and the cliffhanger endings that make the series so much fun.
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Great episode, and I think it should be mentioned that even thought he hasn't been in many scenes, Mark Pellegrino is doing a fantastic job on this show.