“Supernatural” Episode 10.16, “Paint it Black.” Starring Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, and Mark Sheppard; Written by Eugenie Ross-Leming and Brad Buckner; Directed by John Showalter.
“Supernatural” has begun its final descent towards the season ten finale. Since the show was renewed for an eleventh season we can work under some certainties regarding plot resolution, but episode 16 threw a new wrench into the cogs. It was really an inevitable alignment of circumstances, and I feel like I finally have a sense of momentum for the season as a whole. “Paint it Black” certainly answered a couple of my more existential questions, but raised my curiosity about where we’ll be when that familiar Kansas song plays.
And thus ends the spoiler-free portion of our evening.
We begin by watching a man leaving confession. All appears normal until he goes glassy eyed, grabs a churchy bit, and stabs himself in the gut. We learn via Sam and Dean that this is the second incident of blammo-suicide, and Dean decides it’s got to be a case. Sam thinks he’s reaching, using work as an excuse to avoid dealing with the Mark, but agrees to travel to Massachusetts to scope things out.
Shortly after their arrival, a woman murders her husband by stabbing him in the stomach. The boys aren’t privy, but viewers witness a fine white mist exiting her body after the event. She claims to have no memory of committing the murder, nor knowledge of her husband’s infidelities. The brothers scope out the church, Dean flirts with a nun, makes a confession, and Bob’s your uncle the day is saved.
Meanwhile in Hell, Crowley and Rowena continue their art of familial dysfunction. Crowley concedes to help Rowena get back on the good side of the Grand Coven, and delivers the grand poobah so that Rowena may “plead her case.” And by “plead her case,” I mean “torture and insult.” Sadly, Grand Witch Olivette reveals that witchin’ ain’t easy and the Coven is a husk of its former glory. Their secrets have been squandered and appropriated by some pesky muggles known as the Men of Letters.
Cue the “wah-wah” trombone.
The episode certainly had some high points. Sam’s reminder to Dean that Sister Mathias is “married to Jesus” was hilarious. Rowena’s shitty acting is growing on me – and I mean the character’s transparent manipulations, not the performance of Ruth Connell. She’s great, and I’m pretty sure we’ve established how I feel about redheads with Scottish accents. And Dean’s scene in the confessional was a wonderfully heartfelt moment, void of melodrama or cheap sympathy.
I mostly appreciate the long anticipated link that tied our two main plots together, and I’m very interested in the path Crowley will choose in the coming struggle. Truth be told, I hope it doesn’t end with Crowley’s return to Big Bad status, because I don’t think I’d buy it. The show has developed too many dimensions and shades of grey for me to accept Crowley as a straight up bad guy, and he’s been bumbly on enough occasions for me to ever see him as completely fearsome or dangerous again. Reading those lines back in my head makes me feel like I’m slighting the character, but I’m absolutely not. I realize I essentially called him a doofus, but it’s been highly entertaining evolution. I love the way he’s changed over the years, and Crowley might be my favorite character.
Even though the show had some pretty high impact moments, there was a lot of mediocrity. I am not one of those people who correctly guesses twists, not by any stretch of the imagination. But I correctly guessed, at her first appearance, that Sister Mathias’s friend Isabella was in fact our vengeful spirit. The clues were blared like a Pyramid Head siren throughout the episode, and the reveal that Isabella’s flashbacks happened centuries ago was more “doi” than “gasp.”
I’m also curious about the title chosen for the episode. I’ve always interpreted “Paint it Black” to be about a consuming depression following the death of a lover. And, I mean, that’s kind of appropriate to the plight of Isabella and her dead painter, but it’s also kind of not because she straight up murdered him. I’m very interested in hearing your thoughts on this.
Even though there have been some truly epic moments (and a couple epic episodes), season ten is not exciting me. For the most part I just feel a little deflated after each episode. I think it’s completely reasonable that a creative team might hit a lull once in a while, and I would never be so cynical or rude to say that “Supernatural” doesn’t have good stories in it anymore. But fair is fair, and it’s also reasonable to expect a fan, like me, to have a lull once in a while. Just because I’m not as rabid for a new episode every week as I have been in the past doesn’t mean it’s all played out, either. With one gleefully vehement exception, I don’t like writing bad things about the shows I watch, but I’m not going to fib in these reviews, either. Want to know a secret? Usually after I post my review, I immediately read several other reviews of the current episode, and I usually gain a new perspective and appreciate things I didn’t see the first time around. But to come back here and edit would be dishonest, and also maybe plagiarism so you know I don’t do that.
Sorry, my review kind of turned into a little confession. Ooh, neat – see what I did there? I think I’m just a little sad that I’m not enjoying it as much as I used to, but reticent to place blame on anyone but myself. Does that make me a shitty reviewer? Meh, whatever. I’ll still be there on the edge of my seat for episode 23, rocking my “Supernatural” socks (seriously) and singing “Carry on my wayward soooooohohohooon” so loud it makes my cat run to the other room.
How about you, fellow fans? As of right now, how would you rank season ten? Do you think Crowley will sell out his mother, his hunters, or C – all of the above? Do you know about the upcoming cameo that I accidentally spoiled for myself, and if so – do you think it’s awesome or grasping? I look forward to reading your thoughts, and I’ll see you next week!