'Supernatural' Review/Recap: "The Hunter Games"
Emily Dunbar ’17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
First off, Dean’s character arc this episode was especially well done. In the aftermath of the bloodbath he laid in at the end of the last episode, it was simultaneously surprising and not surprising at all that the eldest Winchester (Jensen Ackles) dug deep to find a calming place to live in for the majority of the action. He forsook the Mark of Cain, realizing that there is no way he can continue living with the power it possesses over him. This is the kind of behavior that dates back to the earliest documented Winchester sagas—their whole family has a history of going bonkers when they catch wind of the possibility of a loved one getting hurt, yet they can hardly muster a shrug when it’s their own life on the line. This is especially true of Dean, so it was very refreshing to see his characteristics in back-to-basics mode, after being forced to watch him kill for sport. He made it clear that his mindset’s changed: he’d do anything to get rid of the Mark—he even went so far as to convince Sam (Jared Padalecki) that they should listen to what Metatron (Curtis Armstrong) had to say.
Most importantly, Claire Novak (Kathryn Newton) appeared in this episode. While her role was fairly small, the continuation of her story meant that she didn’t disappear without a trace. It’s a shame that it’s become a win for them to do the only thing that makes sense, but unfortunately, it’s been the writers’ style, in the past couple seasons, to drop plot points with off-handed remarks about a character “taking off” or “going AWOL” rather than tying up their stories in a meaningful way. Claire was one of the biggest loose ends from last episode, and her continued existence absolutely had to be addressed. It was also great that she had her own arc! However, looking at that arc, one part of it that wasn’t as strong was the two drifters she found and shacked up with for a few days. When she mentioned her hatred for Cas and Dean, the men who killed her real and surrogate fathers, her two new friends had shifty eyes that suggested they had more in mind than just helping their new pal. Then, they ran off at first sight of Dean with an axe in his hand—while that’s an understandably terrifying image, this behavior doesn’t match the vibes they’d been giving off the whole time they were on screen. Hopefully we hear back from them in the coming weeks, since otherwise, their suspicious behavior would be even more suspicious.
Definitely don’t miss next week’s episode. Fan favorite Charlie (played by other fan favorite Felicia Day) is resurfacing from her untimely journey to Oz. Tune in to see “There’s No Place Like Home” next Tuesday at 9 pm.
Overall Episode Grade: A-
I thought the fact that Crowley believed ANYTHING that Rowena told him was not consistent with the characterization he had for all the previous seasons. He is supposedly smart enough to make himself king. Rowena is a great character but this set up was poorly thought out. You can’t ask your audience to change their opinion of Crowley for no reason. Disappointing.
Well you never know….Crowley hasn’t fallen for anything yet.