TV Review: Supernatural 1.05

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

From WB: In suburban Ohio, a group of partying high school teens jokingly dare their friend Charlie (guest star Marnette Patterson) to look into the mirror and repeat 'Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary," not knowing this will unleash a series of mysterious murders. Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) realize that Bloody Mary has the power to travel through all reflective surfaces when she is hunting a victim. Worried that teens are accidentally summoning Bloody Mary, Sam and Dean race to destroy the violent spirit before she can kill again.

My Rating:

Wow this show came back hard for me this week. Last week, I wasn't all that enthused by the episode, but it was enjoyable. Just not the best in my opinion. However, this week's episode is probably my favorite of the season so far. This week, Sam and Dean venture to Toledo, Ohio after another unexplained death. In the opening moments of the episode, we see a small group of teen girls at a slumber party playing truth or dare. One of the girls is dared to say the name of Bloody Mary three times in the dark bathroom while she stares in the mirror. When nothing happens, the girls are relieved, but their relief is short lived because the older sister returns home to find their father dead in the bathroom with his eyes having been liquefied.

The Winchester brothers go to investigate, once again using their lying ways and a little bit of bribery allow them entrance into the morgue to see the body. They then go to the funeral in order to see the family and ask questions. The youngest daughter blurts out about Bloody Mary, and Sam and Dean are definitely interested. They meet a friend of the daughter's and use her in order to look into the case further. When the girl's friend is also mysteriously murdered after saying Mary's name into her bathroom mirror, she turns to the two brothers convinced about Bloody Mary.

Charlie, the young girl, goes to tell her friend about Bloody Mary, but she thinks her friend has lost it. She says the dreaded name three times, and Charlie knows Bloody Mary will come for her. At first it seems that Bloody Mary has no rhyme or reason for choosing her victims. However, the brothers soon figure out that she is going after those that have a secret that involved a death. Anyone with such a secret is fair game for the spirit. Charlie knows she has a secret such as this in her own past. Sam and Dean then make a plan in order to kill the spirit, but in order to do that they need to know who she is and what mirror is her mirror.

With the invention of the Internet and a little searching, Sam and Dean discover Mary's identity and where the mirror is. Now all they have to end up doing is to lure her out and into her mirror. Sam decides it will be him. Throughout the episode, and in past episodes, Sam has been plagued with nightmares of his girlfriend Jessica's unexplained death. The nightmares worsen in this episode, and Sam tells his brother he wasn't exactly forthcoming with all the facts surrounding her death. He has a secret of his own, so he would be the ideal one to lure her out.

The two brothers go to location where the mirror is located and Sam says the needed words, but just as he does so the two brothers get some company and this takes Dean away to handle it. This leaves Sam alone with the spirit, and the spirit fills us in on just what Sam's secret is. He had dreamt of Jessica's death before it actually happened, and he hadn't warned her. Even more than that he left her alone to run off with Dean. This is the why he has been feeling really guilty since her death. However, he decides to not tell Sam the secret. Once Dean comes back, they shatter a few mirrors, but this doesn't kill the spirit. Dean focuses one of the mirrors on the spirit herself, and she sees her own reflection and dies in the same manner as all those she has killed. Bloody Mary is dead, and is well. As the two leave town, Sam is watching out the car window and he sees Jessica in spirit form. Another chilling end for this episode.

I am really loving this show. It is like watching Halloween every week. Each and every week, we have a different urban legend dissected and destroyed by the Winchester brothers. Now who hasn't at least heard of Bloody Mary? She is probably as popular as The Lady in White legend, which was featured on this show's premiere episode. Bloody Mary is one of those legends that scares everyone - kind of like Candyman. Another legend with a similar result. If you want read more about this legend you can go to this website.

The scare factor isn't the only thing I love about this show though. The characters have pulled me in. Each week, we see the two brothers get closer to each other. They are mending fences, and that is obvious as time paces. I also like how they slowly unravel the legends over the hour long episodes. My only complaint with this show is that they do seem to wrap up the legends really quickly in the end. It is too tidy. Also another thought, the end scene with Bloody Mary was very Ring like. Her coming out of the mirror immediately made me think of the young girl coming out of the television. Fans of the show will be happy to know that the WB network has ordered a full season of this show. I can't wait for next week.