Supernatural Season Four - Bluray Review
The CW Network Brings Back Monster Chasing Brothers for Encore
Sep 15, 2009
Thought they had a troublesome season filled with the possibility of cancellation, fan support convinced the powers that be at the CW that this inventive show about monster chasers should get a chance to continue on the airwaves. They succeeded, and this fall will see a fifth and possibly final season on the air. Here's a quick look at what happened during Season Four.
Supernatural Season Four Bluray Recap
By the end of Season Three, Dean (Jensen Ackles) had run out of time in the year he was given before being sent into Hell. As the season finale came to a close, the audience saw Dean restrained in Hell, confined there to be tortured for all eternity, as he calls out to his brother Sam (Jared Padalecki) for help.
Meanwhile, by the start of this season, we meet an utterly depressed Sam, who has been trying to drink himself into oblivion over the loss of his brother. Before things go irreversibly wrong, the helpful demon Ruby (Genevieve Cortese, and previously played by Katie Cassidy in Season Three) visits Sam, and teaches him how to not only use his growing powers of telekinesis and precognition, but also how to increase them considerably.
Also, we see Dean suddenly waking up in his coffin, with no real notion of how much time has passed, and as to why he finds himself released from Hell. As he claws his way out and reconnects with both Sam and their friend Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver), he remains mum as to what it was like to be constantly tortured by demons, in the four months he has been missing (though Dean does later open up and state it felt more like forty years).
And so, slowly but surely, the brothers Winchester and friend go back to their demon exorcising ways, though Dean is growing slowly distrustful of his kid brother, as he starts to exhibit a certain coldness when exacting justice upon demons, as well as displaying unexplained growth in his powers.
When Dean finds out that this increase in powers comes from Sam's drinking of Ruby's demon blood for the past several months, a rift opens between the siblings, which complicates matters as they keep confronting the powerful and dangerous demon Lilith, who had previously held the contract which was to send Dean to Hell.
Both brothers go on to a final confrontation with Lilith, and realize too late that killing her would mean opening one of several seals which may release Lucifer and start Armageddon.
As the season comes to a climactic finale, both Dean and Sam realize how little they knew about the battle they have been waging, and may in fact be the instruments which instigates the End of the World.
Supernatural Season Four Bluray Overall Analysis
For fans who have faithfully kept on watching the show since day one, they will find this season to be a much darker show, both in tone and in storyline. Whereas they spent most episodes of the early seasons chasing everything from vampires to ghosts and demons, they have now moved on to become major players on a much larger game board, that of the one between Heaven and Hell. Granted, this larger scale battle was often implied in earlier episodes, but never at this level of involvement.
Show runner Eric Kripke really outdid himself in this season, which may be because he had no idea whether the CW Network would cancel or renew his show, as it had been teetering on the brink for most of this season. Perhaps the intensity upgrade came from trying to offer the fans a great lead up to a definite powerhouse finale, should the show not continue for a fifth and final season.
As it turns out, the network agreed to a fifth season starting in late September, though it will most likely be the last one.
Notable Actors in Supernatural Season Four
Though we all love the main characters, they wouldn't be anywhere as good were they to play opposite forgettable characters. Thankfully this isn't the case. Of the many angels and demons the Winchester brothers face in this season, the most memorable must be the Angel Castiel, as played by Misha Collins. As the unofficial story goes, Collins had come in to read for the role of a demon, in that Kripke didn't want to let on that he was looking to add some Christian mythology elements to his fourth season.
And so Collins was instead cast as Castiel, a somewhat new and exciting kind of angel on television. This is largely due in part to his portrayal of an entity who doesn't necessarily fall within the Roma Downey or Michael Landon definition of a helping hand from above. His Castiel is much more dangerous, and helps convey the intensity in which the Almighty Himself is committed to the battle against Hell.
The Final Word on Supernatural Season Four Bluray
This is definitely one of the better seasons of the show, and so fans of the series will eat it up. The high definition picture and sound of the Bluray set will greatly benefit the show's array of special and visual effects. The last few episodes are excellent, and offer a great lead-in onto the upcoming fifth season, where it has has been announced that actor Mark Pellegrino (who many saw on the Lost fifth season finale as the elusive and enigmatic Jacob) has joined the cast, as the mighty Lucifer. This should certainly bring the show up another notch, as the series winds down to its conclusion this year.
Look for some decent extras (offered in HD no less), such as an informative audio commentary, helping viewers along, giving depth to the existing storyline. Also included is a gag reel, and many deleted scenes.
8 out of 10 for a worthwhile season, with great storyline, as well as high quality video on disc.
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