A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in February 2018, our panel of staunch Batman and comic book enthusiasts – including moderator Kylie, Hilary, Kyle, Spencer, and Nick – is Around the Water Cooler and discussing Season 4A, covering the arc entitled “A Dark Night,” of Gotham. If you have not watched any of Gotham, be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think in the comments below and check out the blog and YouTube for other TV related discussions, in both podcast and blog format. Also, if there are other shows you’re interested in the blog covering, sound off below! Tell us what you like or don’t like. Keep the discussion going!
Editor: Kylie C. Piette
Logo: Rebecca Wallace
Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Who: “Gotham” is a crime drama centered on events and characters inspired by the Batman franchise/DC Comic Universe, which airs fall through spring, currently on Thursdays at 8:00 PM on Fox.
What: “Gotham,” a crime series developed by Bruno Heller and primarily based upon the characters of to-be Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz), the real life identity of Batman. As originally conceived, the series would have served as a straightforward story of Gordon’s early days on the Gotham City Police Department. The idea evolved not only to include the Wayne character but also to tell the origin stories of several Batman villains, including the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor), the Riddler (Cory Michael Smith), Catwoman (Camren Bicondova), Poison Ivy, Two-Face, the Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Hugo Strange, and the Joker.
SYNOPSIS
A new recruit in the Gotham City Police Department named James Gordon (McKenzie) is paired with veteran detective Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) to solve one of Gotham City’s highest-profile cases: the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne. During his investigation, Gordon meets the Waynes’ son Bruce (Mazouz), who is now in the care of his butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee). Eventually, Gordon is forced to form an unlikely friendship with Bruce, one that will help shape the boy’s future in becoming Batman.
When: Season Four premiered on Thursday, September 21, 2017, at 8:00 PM.
Where: The action is set in the fictional metropolis of Gotham City, the primary setting of the Batman franchise.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the podcast episodes embedded below!
As for CPU! Chief Couch Potato Kylie, I picked up this show when shopping for pilots during the 2014-2015 TV season (a yearly ritual for this viewer and this blog, no matter how far behind I am). I said:
“This is one of the most anticipated pilots of the new season, by critics, fans, and this blogger. First, as a DC girl, Batman is my second favorite of their properties, after Superman, of course. Second, picking up the story from this prequel point is potentially brilliant; this could be must-see TV for a long time to come, folding in a Smallville like examination of the rise of Batman and the foes he fights, all from the perception of to-be Commissioner Gordon. I’m super excited for this one and can’t wait to see a full episode.”
I asked some fellow panelists to join me in evaluating how effective Gotham is in its storytelling muster and how successful it has been serving as the “prequel” it has become. Scroll down, and take a listen!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
If you haven’t caught up on CPU!’s Gotham coverage, which we’ve been covering (more or less) since its auspicious beginnings, listen via the embedded links below:
Seasons 1-2A
Season 2B, The Wrath of the Villains
Season 3A, Mad City
Season 3B, Mad City/Heroes Rise
Our Gotham panel, now consisting of Hilary, Kyle, Spencer, and Nick, previously compared notes on the second half of the third season and spent time in so-called “Mad City” as well as ruminated upon the “Heroes Rise” arc, with various levels of trepidation and frustration, as we considered the success or lack thereof of the following plot developments: the return of Jerome Valeska, the Joker-Not-Joker (we loved it); the Riddler’s embrace of his Riddler identity (we loved it); the Court of Owls releasing the Tetch virus in gaseous form over Gotham City (we hated it); the implosion of the Penguin (we always love him); the introduction of Ra’s al Ghul (Alexander Siddig; we were confused by it); and the continued stagnation of the Jim Gordon character, given all of these other distractions (we struggled with it). We now discuss the first half of Gotham’s fourth season, encompassing the arc entitled “A Dark Knight,” which introduces Sofia Falcone (Crystal Reed), daughter of Carmine Falcone, as a new player vying for control of Gotham City’s criminal underworld, currently under Penguin’s thumb and under the thumb of his “Pax Penguina,” a plan that forces the police to look away from criminals under Penguin’s “official” licenses; the Riddler’s perceived loss of his intellectual sharpness after being melted from the ice in Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge; Bruce Wayne’s dabbling in vigilantism and subsequent spiral into darkness, despite Alfred’s struggle to prevent otherwise; the plots of Ra’s al Ghul, presumably preparing Bruce to be his successor; the new criminal alliance between Selina Kyle, Tabitha Galavan (Jessica Lucas), and Barbara Kean (Erin Richards); Harvey Bullock’s (Donal Logue) fall from grace and Jim Gordon’s ascension to captain of the central office of the GCPD; Lee Thompkins’ (Morena Baccarin) new role as gang boss who also happens to treat her charges medically; the introduction of Solomon Grundy, formerly Butch Gilzean (Drew Powell); and the appearance of new criminal sociopath Professor Pyg (Michael Cerveris). How did the panel like this first half of the fourth season? Listen to the embedded link below to find out
This podcast was recorded in February 2018, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the first half of the fourth season and all episodes that have aired to date. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
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Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Thursday (as we work to return our equipment troubles to peak form), we launch a new panel ready to laugh about the Netflix situation comedy concerning septuagenarians and reluctant friends facing drastic new life changes in Grace and Frankie. Stay tuned!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
Old Questions/Predictions
1) REPEAT QUESTION: Will Penguin and Riddler have a falling out, which motivates them toward their most sociopathically driven selves?
ANSWER AS OF THE END OF SEASON 2: Surprisingly, Penguin and Riddler stayed friends, supporting each other on occasion in this half of the season. Penguin ended up in Arkham after confessing to the murder of Galavan to cover for Jim. Strange brainwashed him (if you want to call it that) into submission; Penguin ended up finding his real dad (played by Paul Reubens), who had fallen victim to a gold-digging former waitress and her sociopathic children. When the presence of a biological son emerged, the new wife poisoned Penguin’s father, who seemed to understand Penguin as no other could. This murder, once discovered by Oswald, brought out the old Penguin, rather suddenly and menacingly. In the meantime, when Lee began to ask questions about the deceased Miss Kringle not picking up her paychecks, making Jim aware that there was a possible crime to solve, Nygma embraced his most Riddler-esque tendencies and staged riddle-filled capers and committed more murders before Jim finally caught him, clearing Jim’s name and landing Nygma in Arkham. The moral is: Penguin and Riddler found their psychoses independently of one another, which is a shame because they are infinitely watchable together.
NOT SO FAST! ANSWER AS OF MID-SEASON 3: Well…it seems their mutual affection and cordial friendship have taken a controversial turn. Penguin, as it turns out, develops a romantic devotion to Edward after Ed offers Penguin some admiration and validation for achieving victory in running for mayor despite being a well-known criminal mastermind, enthralled as Ed is by Penguin’s ability to manipulate the people of Gotham. In the meantime, Ed only has eyes for women, specifically any and all women who bear more than a passing resemblance to Miss Kringle, the GCPD employee with an affinity for poodle skirts that he strangled in season 2. When Barbara Kean informs Ed of Penguin’s misplaced devotion in an effort to start trouble, a devotion which causes Penguin to order a hit on the Kringle doppelganger Isabella, who could very well have been Ed’s sociopath soulmate, Edward vows to destroy good old Oswald in revenge. I imagine Ed’s penchant for riddles and a war with Penguin are going to get him where he needs to go to be the fully realized Riddler, while Penguin is pretty much Penguin, angling for power and acceptance but struggling to attain and keep it, the thematic undercurrent of this particular antagonist. The panel hopes that a war between these future arch-villains would be great, but we’re more than a little worried about the ability of this show’s writers to capitalize upon their own potential.
ANSWER AS OF END OF SEASON 3: Ed’s gone full-on Riddler, and the two arch-villains’ enmity has peaked. The show allowed the war: Ed works with Barbara, Tabitha Galavan, and Butch Gilzean to try to take down Penguin. Ed eventually gives up on those yokels and shoots Penguin, leaving him for dead, which gives him enough guilt, reluctant confidence, and logic loops to ascend? descend? toward adopting the official moniker of “The Riddler.” Penguin, nursed back to health and the world of the living by a surprisingly botanical Ivy, declares his revenge, complicated by his love and devotion for Ed. Penguin manipulates Ed’s slavish devotion to completeness and detail – and his ego – such that Penguin freezes Ed, with the help of Mr. Freeze, noting that the chunk of ice known as “The Riddler” would feature prominently as a centerpiece in his to-be-opened Iceberg Lounge. The podcast panel generally approves of most of this story-line and can’t wait to see “The Riddler” get out of the ice and cause his puzzling and enigmatic mayhem, with Penguin, Gotham City, and everyone.
ANSWER AS OF MID-SEASON 4: Ed’s number one fan, Myrtle, manages to unfreeze him from the titular iceberg in the Iceberg Lounge, but the effect of being flash frozen leaves Ed somewhat brain-addled himself. He loses his sharpness of wit and intellect, at least temporarily, and cannot seem to evoke muscle memory related to the formulation, remembering, and/or deduction of the answers to the most basic, child-inspired riddles. While Myrtle patiently nurses Ed back to some semblance of health (and pays for her devotion at the end of the barrel of one of Victor Zsasz’s well-aimed guns), Penguin, who reunites with a vengeful Ed fleetingly, decides not to kill him, figuring Ed’s apparent lack of smarts and presumed ensuing suffering, as he grapples with losing what made him arguably exceptional, to be the greater revenge than Ed’s out and out murder. So, I guess that’s something. Also, I think Penguin and Riddler are now, finally and officially, enemies or, at least, competitors… Thus, it may be time to abandon this question.
2) REPEAT QUESTION: Will Riddler’s riddles get more complex and mind-twisting?
ANSWER AS OF THE END OF SEASON 2: Riddler’s caper riddles, as he began to frame Jim for the murder of a police officer, were potentially more complex. Mind-twisting? Eh. Marginally more mind-twisting, perhaps.
NOT SO FAST! ANSWER AS OF MID-SEASON 3: Though Ed told fewer riddles in this half season, his ire has been irked (see above). We can only imagine what a provoked and forlorn Ed might riddle when the riddles finally and continuously come.
ANSWER AS OF END OF SEASON 3: He got there! He just needed a worthy adversary…which he finds in “Foxy” Lucius Fox (Chris Chalk) and secondarily in Penguin. Now, if only Batman was around…
NOT SO FAST! ANSWER AS OF MID-SEASON 4: As stated above, Ed suffers a minor cognitive setback as a result of being frozen by Mr. Freeze’s icy weaponry. Lee informs Edward, however, that there is nothing physically wrong with his brain, and that his condition is presumably psychological, a fact made evident by the reemergence of Edward’s schizophrenic struggle with his Riddler identity, who returns to talk to him from the other side of the mirror again. The panel expects a full return of the Riddler any day now, as long as he is able to sort out his feelings for Lee, even if she sorts them out for him.
3) REPEAT QUESTION: Are the writers going to treat the nascent Ivy character (who the podcast panel presumes will be Poison Ivy) better?
ANSWER AS OF THE END OF SEASON 2: Well…this answer is in the eye of the beholder. Ivy was starting to grow plants in this half of the season and helped Selina and Bruce in some of their escapades, but the pundits have announced that the show is recasting the part. Ivy will apparently be older and sexier, like the Poison Ivy most people know. The panel is at a loss as to how this could be rendered believable in the story, especially as the writers are not batting at any kind of decent percentage right now in terms of consistency with the source material or, even, with following any of the rules they set up for themselves in this version of the Batman mythology.
NOT SO FAST! ANSWER AS OF MID-SEASON 3: Is making her randomly grow into an awkward, teenage sexpot via the touch of an Indian Hill escapee with the power to make things rapidly age and to drain life constitute treating her better? Listen to the podcast episode for our panel’s verdict.
ANSWER AS OF END OF SEASON 3: Ivy’s on the struggle bus; she’s strange, awkward, and not especially better as a teenage sexpot. The panel struggles still…
NOT SO FAST! ANSWER AS OF MID-SEASON 4: Ivy tries to help Penguin in the face of competitors who challenge his position, as the one and only crime boss in Gotham City, and of wavering police involvement, but he mistreats her, owing to the fact that she is kind of needy and not that bright. As a result, Ivy decides to ally with a gang who tries to take down Penguin’s “Pax Penguina” license scheme by taking Penguin down himself and robs some sort of potion store or apothecary, in which the audience sees her drinking some of the inventory. Plus, the producers have announced, through the typical TV pundits, that the part of Ivy is again being recast and will soon be played by Peyton List (Frequency, The Tomorrow People), a dire prospect for this Chief CP. Moreover, panelist Spencer believes that the first episode returning from the mid-season hiatus will address Ivy’s newest transformation. What the hell is going on with this character, you ask? We ask the same question, repeatedly apparently. Sadly, we also currently have no answer, so this particularly question and answer section grows and grows – in confusion and in length – and presumably like Ivy’s plants, if she ever gets that botanically savvy in the end.
5) REPEAT QUESTION: When will Bruce have his inspiration to be Batman? And how will that happen if he didn’t see bats when he fell into the cave?
ANSWER: Still waiting… And it’s concerning. Bruce, after his trials with the Shaman and Ra’s (and his League of Shadows) in Season 3, starts Season 4 by dipping his baby toes into vigilante crime fighting – with billowing black trench coat, balaclava, and the ability to quickly climb sides of buildings to boot – and, with a little help from Lucius Fox, who creates some conveniently fashioned bulletproof armor to protect Bruce’s adolescent bod. Unfortunately, however, Ra’s distracts Bruce via his own side plot to ensure that Bruce will inherit the embalming knife of Demon’s Head status, thereby rendering Bruce Ra’s’ successor. Thus, via manipulation and threat against another adolescent only trying to help and, in so doing, to befriend Bruce, Bruce ends up stabbing Ra’s with the knife, and it seems the seemingly immortal character of Ra’s wastes away into dust and ash as a result of the knife piercing his flesh. Bruce takes his decision to murder Ra’s, even in an attempt to protect his friend (who Ra’s kills anyway), hard and descends into a dark void of guilt, self-pity, and belated grief for his dead parents, replete with hard partying and spoiled billionaire brat behavior. All the while, the young Mr. Wayne turns his back on his initial attempts at vigilantism and all while still seeing no bats, much to the chagrin of the podcast panel (listen to the episode for details…and rants).
6) REPEAT QUESTION: When will Selina have her inspiration to be Catwoman? She can wait awhile, but since everyone is finding themselves much sooner than they should be, the writers might as well give Selina the idea to be a cat. Maybe she’ll take whatever drug Ivy’s got going on and get all sexy feline on us.
ANSWER: Still waiting… but she continues to learn whipping skills from Tabitha and is quite the prodigy with this unusual weapon. Also, she displays cat-like reflexes while walking the edges of rooftops and seems to be significantly smarter than gal pals and partners in crime, Tabitha and Barbara. Yet, inspiration is fleeting for all of our junior Gotham characters so far, and this fleetingness disturbs the CPU! Gotham panel greatly.
7) Is Joker-Not-Joker Jerome really Proto-Joker, and will we see him again in Season 4?
ANSWER: This question forms the subject of some significant debate in this podcast episode. Panelists Kyle and Spencer wholeheartedly believe that the producers, as well as Cameron Monaghan, the portraying actor behind Jerome Valeska, have gone on record to say that Jerome is not the actual Joker, and that the audience is slated to see the character and individual who would become the Joker in the coming half season. Panelist Hilary, with some hesitant agreement by Nick and Kylie, feels that the rumored protesting of Jerome-as-Joker is a red herring or deflection from the fact that he really is the Joker or some early version of him, given the fact that Mr. Monaghan is really one of the best almost-Jokers (and real Jokers) our panel of Batman fans has ever watched. In short, this is still a question, but we will see Jerome in Season 4B because we saw him in Season 4A talking to Penguin through the wall joining their adjacent cells in Arkham.
8) Will Riddler escape his freezing cage? (All panelists predict yes…or there will be hell to pay.)
ANSWER: Owing to the efforts of the so-called “Riddlerette,” Edward’s numero-uno fan Myrtle, the madly-in-love devotee melts the Iceberg ice and breaks Edward free from his frozen entrapment, though the side effects are plentiful, and the risk to Myrtle’s short-lived life astronomically high. In short, Ed’s back in the land of the non-frozen, and Myrtle is pushing up daisies, on order from Penguin to the delightedly homicidal Victor Zsasz.
9) Will Bruce finally see freaking bats already?
ANSWER: As we answer above…no. Not yet. Apparently not ever. We are wondering if the Gotham people realize they are supposed to be making a Batman prequel…
10) Will Ra’s al Ghul be the “Big Bad” of Season 4? What is the prophecy to which he referred, and what does it mean for Bruce?
ANSWER: If there is a Big Bad, or a character who can earn such a moniker, in Season 4, it is most likely Sofia Falcone, who manages to manipulate just about everyone she meets, leading her to steal the reigns of the criminal underworld right out from the volatile clutches of crafty but helplessly lonely Oswald Cobblepot. The aforementioned prophecy, we presume, is one which forecasts Bruce, somehow, as the successor of Ra’s al Ghul, an individual somehow fit to inherit immortality and the powers of the Lazarus Pit from whomever holds the ancient embalming knife. Yet, the word “prophecy” is not mentioned once in this season, and we are not even sure if Ra’s al Ghul is here or gone, so this question may be moot or simply no longer applicable in the end.
11) Will Selina go full on Catgirl in Season 4?
ANSWER: She has not so far, but she has made progress. She’s got ambition, she’s got whip skills, and she’s got brains and survival instinct more finely honed than the brains and instincts of her partners, Babs and Tabby. Except, now the Twisted Sisters are working for Sofia, so who knows what this alliance might mean to Selina’s progress toward feline felon.
12) Is Fish dead once and for all? Is Barbara? Or, are they going to do the detestably unthinkable and change Barbara into Harley Quinn, despite not being named Harleen Quinzell and despite not being a psychiatrist at Arkham (though Joker-Not-Joker Jerome is in Arkham right now…hm…)?
ANSWER: Panelist Spencer remains unconvinced, given Fish’s proclivity for resurrection in prior seasons, that Fish is for good and all dead. Chief CP Kylie’s money is on Fish’s permanent death, rendered final by Jim Gordon in Season 3. In related news, Barbara benefits from an unspoken alliance with Ra’s al Ghul and the almighty Lazarus Pit, which brings her back from the brink after Tabitha electrocutes Babs in Season 3. There was previously a heavily floated rumor that the show was going to introduce a proto-Harley, but so far, the producers and writers have steered clear of such an introduction, likely due to the fact that DC parent company Warner Brothers is developing a film devoted solely to the character of Harley Quinn. The panel breathes heavy sighs of relief and praises Warner Brothers’ interference for once – Gotham does not need nor would it benefit from the skewed introduction-for-the-sake-of-it of Harley Quinn.
13) Where did Hugo Strange end up nowadays?
ANSWER: In the wind, presumably, as he has not appeared so far in Season 4.
14) Is the Court of Owls truly defunct? Or, are they the DC equivalent of Hydra in the Marvel universe?
ANSWER: It was established in Season 3 that Ra’s al Ghul somehow formed the Court. Ra’s now appears to also be defunct, so if there is anyone carrying on the work of the Court of Owls currently, the audience does not know it.
15) If Butch is really Cyrus Gold, how Solomon Grundy will we see him get in the coming season?
ANSWER: We will seem become 100% Solomon Grundy, in fact. Those who found Butch aka Cyrus shot in the head dump him into Slaughter Swamp, a polluted pond forever altered by waste from Indian Hill. When he emerges, he is fully zombie Solomon and later overhears the song that inspires the adoption of his name. Butch is so Solomon, it turns out, that he occasionally experiences flashes of cogent Butch-ness, at least following a few good blows to the head. Tabby discovers this potential pitfall when pitted against Solomon Grundy in what would become Lee’s underground fighting ring and later attempts to test this discovery and return Butch to full Butch flavor by beating Solomon over the head with a few choice solid objects. In fact, when we last see Solomon, he seems to be Butch again and calling after the spent “Tabby,” despite his Solomon Grundy appearance, after she attempts to beat Butch back to the forefront of Grundy’s mind. Listen to the podcast episode for details.
16) What will it mean for Gotham when Penguin opens the Iceberg Lounge?
ANSWER: Mostly, the Lounge provides safe haven for Penguin’s lieutenants and those criminals registered under Penguin’s licenses as well as Penguin’s staunchest allies, chief among them Harvey Bullock. The Lounge is still standing and still flourishing, at least so far, though Penguin is thrown into Arkham during the mid-season finale, and Sofia’s reward for Barbara, Tabitha, and Selina’s alliance is to give her back the Lounge, which was under Babs’ control in Season 3. Barbara essentially sucks at running businesses, though, legitimate or otherwise, so it’s not looking good for the Lounge these days.
17) Is Bruce Clone Batman’s Bizarro equivalent, Batzarro? Or, will he die? Did he die? The panel is universally against crossing DC comic concepts when just the Batman franchise seems difficult for this writing and producing team to wrangle.
ANSWER: Still a question and one we hope never finds an answer. The panel is happy and excited by the prospect of never having to watch Bruce Clone again.
18) Generally speaking, and notably, our Gotham panel is loathe to ask further questions or to make predictions because the writers, in their quest to be unpredictable and “non-canon,” have taken the story to wild places with little satisfying payoff for the viewer in the end. Everyone is sort of bracing themselves for the coming season while cherishing the few truly enjoyable nuggets about this show, mainly in character/performances.
ANSWER: This is still true. Though the panel feels that Season 4A improves upon and corrects for several of the ills of many of Gotham’s past half seasons, the writers and producers have also proven themselves to be less than adept at capitalizing upon story momentum or developments that offer some sense of logic and/or dovetailing with the Batman canon, even as the show and its creators profess to be off canon. This creates strong feelings in our panelists and makes for consistently spicy discussion. Panelist Spencer offers a whole gas tank analogy in the latest podcast episode…
New Questions
1) Where is Scarecrow? Jonathan Crane achieves his full transition in this most recent half season, but what happened to him? Was he caught and returned to Arkham Asylum? Is he at large? Where did he go? Especially since the producers are also re-casting this part. What the hell is going on with the Scarecrow character?
2) How long will it take for Bruce to realize that he is spiraling and circling the drain known as rock bottom. How much time must the audience wait for Bruce to find Alfred again?
3) Will Jim Gordon be able to maintain his position as captain of the Central GCPD without betraying his secret alliance and/or dalliance with the plotting Sofia Falcone?
4) Will we see Fish Mooney again? The panel votes no and hopes she is dead for good and for real.
5) What is Sofia Falcone’s endgame, and how long will she hang onto to her position as leader of the underworld? Will we watch her become her comic-inspired identity, The Hangman?
6) Is Ra’s al Ghul actually dead? What was with his interchange with Barbara in prison? Why did her hand glow? Is his essence in the embalming knife? Is it in Barbara’s hand? Is it actually in Bruce, a reflection of his current darkness? Has Bruce achieved the status of “successor to the Demon’s Head?”
7) Will the Riddler persona reemerge from the vexed and confused Edward Nygma? Soon?
8) Is Jerome Valeska actually the Joker? Or, is he the model for a watchful new individual who will be inspired by and who will adopt a Jerome-esque version of the Joker persona? What will Penguin and Jerome do together after joining forces in Arkham? Will they involve other well-known inmates in their plot(s)?
9) Will Lee and Jim reunite, and how? Will Barbara Gordon be conceived on this show, and who will be her mother – Barbara Kean, even though she is crazy in this show, or Lee?
10) Will Ed make a play for Lee? Will her (inevitable, one would hope) rejection of him lead to the reemergence of the Riddler identity?
11) Is Professor Pyg actually dead? Alternatively, the producers have allegedly said that Michael Cerveris’ Pyg is not the true Pyg. If he is not, who is, and will we see him?
12) What happened to the young orphan cared for by Penguin, the boy known as Martin? Will he become a factor in the future, assuming Victor Zsasz hid him as promised and as requested by Penguin?
13) Will we see Tommy Elliott, Bruce’s old/new friend, show some indication of his future Hush persona?
14) Did Tabitha succeed in jogging what is left of Butch out of Solomon Grundy’s addled brain?
15) Will Jim succeed in bringing Harvey back to the fold?
PARTING SHOTS
The CPU! Gotham panel and all of its panelists continue to identify moments truly loved and moments truly hated while watching and while discussing the first half of Season 4 in this latest podcast episode, though the panel also universally feels that the show and its story progression improved dramatically in this season’s first half compared to what emerged from the third season. Most panelists, in fact, continue to enjoy watching the show, even if reacting to the show in these podcast episodes has repeatedly proven to be the very definition of “cautionary tale.” Panelist Hilary continues to mostly hate the direction of the show but likes to talk about it, so she persists without jumping the shark, reluctantly, and has resolved (finally) to change her mindset, preferring to focus on the moments that giver her positive “Batman” feels. Simultaneously, other panelists, like panelist Nick, grow more impatient with the show’s “two steps forward, four steps back” approach to character progression, an approach which proves more frustrating than titillating or, minimally, entertaining. Still, all panelists persevere, finding our discussions about the controlled disorder of Gotham endlessly engaging, even when the show itself is not, and if we do say so ourselves.
Further, the previous unrest among the panelists, given the writers’ track record to date, still produces a variety of emotions and trust issues, preventing most if not all panel members from being able to recommend watching the show, in good conscience, to anyone, at least for now. The panel is still open to a story that seems to follow a consistent set of rules, no matter how much of a deviation it might be from the Batman comics or franchise proper, as long as the writers do not continue to change the direction of the show to compensate for “Twitter reaction.” In fact, most of the panel finds this half of the fourth season to be the show’s new high point, even as it, still, contained some low points. The panelists, as such, continue to advise the writers to revisit not only the Batman comics but also their original blueprint for the show and to adhere to a structure and story continuity for the show that rightly capitalizes upon the amazing – and the strongest – performances of the cast, which the panel universally agrees are good if not phenomenal. Also, the writers should continue to track their own continuity and not turn what is one of the tightest and most enjoyed (and most widely known) comic book properties into an absurdist’s take on the story, or they will alienate viewers and, thereafter, cause declining ratings and waning network support. Finally, the panelists encourage the writers/producers not to squander the story momentum of the first half of Season 4 – or the goodwill the story’s better direction earned with many of the show’s loyal viewers. After all, there is something to be said for retaining a loyal and devoted audience in this competitive age of a saturated entertainment complex, on big and on small screens alike, and the Gotham writers and producers would do well to keep these concepts in mind when writing for the next go-round – particularly considering the core base of Batman fans no doubt following the show’s progress.
LOOKING AHEAD
Gotham returns from mid-Season 4 hiatus on March 1, 2018. The Gothampodcast panel will next reconvene following the fourth season finale, which will likely air in or around May 2018. The network’s decision about whether or not Gotham will be renewed has not yet been announced as of the publication of this post, but pundits see a 50/50 chance for renewal (and rightly so) based upon current ratings and show progress. As always, CPU! will keep you informed of news and additional Gotham coverage. Until then!
This week: we rerun this episode, originally published in 2016, to refresh your memories concerning the auspicious beginnings of Broadchurch, specifically the British drama’s first two series. This episode also includes the panel’s thoughts about the American version of the same show, entitled Gracepoint, and hails from CPU!’s first year of episodes – our auspicious beginnings! In the meantime, we’re preparing to record and to publish a long-advertised new episode about the final series of Broadchurch, the third, which aired on BBC America in Summer 2017. Did you watch?
In the meantime, we’ve replaced our failed equipment, we’re getting ready to replace some lost sound files (it’s crushing, isn’t it?), and hope to be back with a new episode next week. Stay tuned!
—Original Synopsis—
A new episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded on May 22, 2016, our panel of familiar voices – including Moderator Kylie, Kristen, Nick, Hilary, Kyle, and Krista – are Around the Water Cooler and discussing series one and two of British mystery/crime drama Broadchurch and the one-season American remake, Gracepoint, which was canceled. If you have not watched either show, be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think in the comments below and check out the blog and YouTube for other TV related discussions, in both podcast and blog format. Also, if there are other shows you’re interested in the blog covering, sound off below! Tell us what you like or don’t like. Keep the discussion going!
This is a rerun from 2017 – as we prepare to publish a spicy new episode about The 100. All of our panelists jumped the shark, and only your main moderator Kylie remains behind, prepared to discuss praimfaya and the success of this post-apocalyptic sci-fi series to date. Yet, I interviewed most of the departing panelists to get their final thoughts on why they stopped watching. Stay tuned…our first “Shark Jumpers Anonymous” feature will publish in due course and will cover The 100, Season 4
—Original Synopsis—
A new (and, yet again, unusually long!) podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in December 2016, our panel of CPU! Skaikru – including moderator Kylie, Allie, Kelsey, and Selene – is Around the Water Cooler and catching up on Seasons 1-3, with particular emphasis on Seasons 2 and 3, of The 100. We discuss everything from the 100 teen criminals banding together to fend off Grounder attacks, to the introduction of the Grounder clans (and their leader, Lexa), to the exploration of Mount Weather and those humans sheltered from the apocalypse (and the war for the ground), to proliferation of ALIE and the effect that this particularly aggressive artificial intelligence has on Skaikru and Grounder and Mountain Man alike. If you have not watched any of The 100, be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think in the comments below and check out the blog and YouTube for other TV related discussions, in both podcast and blog format. Also, if there are other shows you’re interested in the blog covering, sound off below! Tell us what you like or don’t like. Keep the discussion going!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in January 2018, we are down to half a panel, as one panelist departed CPU! for life’s greater journeys, and two panelists are taking personal “Supernatural” hiatuses until the end of season. Thus, our (now half) panel of unabashed Super-Fans – including moderator Kylie, Nick, and Jen – is Around the Water Cooler and discussing Season 13A (following the mid-season finale) of Supernatural, including the brothers (and mother) Winchester, angel Castiel, devil’s spawn Jack, and the ongoing shenanigans of Lucifer. If you have not watched any of Supernatural, be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think in the comments below and check out the blog and YouTube for other TV related discussions, in both podcast and blog format. Also, if there are other shows you’re interested in the blog covering, sound off below! Tell us what you like or don’t like. Keep the discussion going!
Editor: Kylie C. Piette
Logo: Rebecca Wallace
Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Who: “Supernatural” airs on network TV, specifically on the CW; this season, the show airs on Thursdays at 8:00 PM.
What: “Supernatural,” a drama depicting the tale of two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, respectively), who are “hunters” of all supernatural ilk, be they demons, monsters, or angels on high, in a quest to save the world from things that go bump in the night, things that cause apocalypses, and things that are generally just out to get them (for a more detailed Synopsis, read here: http://www.aceshowbiz.com/tv/supernatural/summary.html).
When: Season 13 premiered on October 12, 2017, at 8:00 PM on the CW.
Where: The show is set in no specific locale; the brothers ride all over the country in a 1967 Chevrolet Impala and live out of hotel rooms via fake identities and money scams, though the Winchesters are originally from Lawrence, Kansas, and have, as late, holed up in a bunker, somewhere near their home town, formerly run by the Men of Letters, an organization of which they are legacy members. The time is present day.
Why: Oh so many seasons ago now, Chief CP Kylie followed Jensen Ackles–a fine, fine man–from Smallville to his new gig, which, at the time, seemed like a different spin on the X-Files, with two brothers versus two sexually tense FBI agents. From the opening frames of the pilot, though, I knew that it was oh so much more or, at least, vastly dissimilar to the X-Files, and this show has surpassed so many expectations, including mustering the incredible ability to remain relevant and engaging long past the expiration of the initial story arc mapped out by creator Eric Kripke. For CPU!’s ever-expanding podcast coverage of a growing number of shows, several CPU! members, all familiar voices to the CPU! loyal, jumped up to participate on this panel, even though many of them also express fatigue with the show from time to time. How do they feel the show is faring nowadays, into its double digits’ worth of seasons? Take a listen below.
How – as in How’s It Going? (THOUGHTS…at present)
To catch up on our Super-coverage, click the embedded links below, or find the audio equivalents on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, and Google Play (links further below):
Our Super-CPU! panel experienced some changes since its last meeting. One panelist departed the podcast for life’s greater journeys, and two panelists are taking a temporary hiatus from this panel for personal reasons (what phase of the moon is it again?). The remaining two panelists proved eager to talk about the first half of this unluckily numbered season and returned to the Water Cooler with gusto. Thus, Nick and Jen, along with your trusty Chief CP and moderator, hop into our ’67 Chevy Impala, always ready to ride until we, or Supernatural, die(s), as we discuss major plot points from, and ruminate upon the success of, the first half of Season Thirteen. While our panel’s particular devotion and/or brotherly bond continues to be sometimes tested in Supernatural’s later seasons, we still have lots to think and to talk about and to gush over whilst pining for the brothers and/or Cas (well, I don’t think Nick is pining…unless there’s something we don’t know). Give us a listen, with your salt guns and holy water on standby, and see if you agree or disagree with our thoughts.
This podcast was recorded in January 2018, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the first half of Season Thirteen of this long-running series. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
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Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! In our next episode, our Once Upon a Time panel definitively returns to the Water Cooler to digest the first half of the “softly rebooted” seventh season. Stay tuned!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
Old Questions
1) REPEAT QUESTION: How many miles are on the Impala after all this time?
REPEAT ANSWER: Still unknown.
2) REPEAT QUESTION: Will they ever get their happy ending?
REPEAT ANSWER: While the panel is in no particular rush for a series finale, although maybe that’s less true nowadays, it’s likely the brothers will not find peace until they are done. That’s why Kansas tells them to Carry On, Wayward Sons. “Lay your weary head to rest; don’t you cry no more.”
3) REPEAT QUESTION: If Lucifer (Mark Pelligrino) is out of the Cage, why can’t the archangel Michael, currently housed within long lost Winchester half brother Adam, escape from the Cage? Will we ever see Adam/Michael again?
NEW ANSWER: Well…we see a version of Michael this season, namely the Michael from “Apocalypse World,” where the archangel offed his brother Lucifer and now leads all angels in a war against demons and humans. Does this mean we will also see a return of Adam/Michael in this dimension? Chances of this being a tease are high, but the introduction of this New Michael could foretell a convergence of some heavenly forces we have previously met in order to stay the zealous New Michael’s blood lust.
4) REPEAT QUESTION: The Billie the Reaper question remains a question: is she aiming to be New Death? What is her true intention? Or, is she a dutiful bureaucrat, operating status quo in the absence of her boss? Will she be successful in reaping Mary’s newly returned soul? The brothers’?
ANSWER: We repeat this question because we found out the answer this half season. All along, the Reapers seem to have been acting as dutiful bureaucrats, operating without a marshal or a supervisor in the wake of the death of Death. Yet, Billie, who returns this season after Castiel (Misha Collins) permanently ends her reaping duties to save the brothers and Mary Winchester in Season Twelve, informs a temporarily dead Dean (listen to the podcast episode for details) that the first Reaper to die following the death of Death becomes the New Death. So, Billie is now Death, presumably the Horseman Of, and fully comprehends new and old truths about which she had only presumptions and opinions before. One of those truths: the Winchesters are “important,” according to all lore collected by her predecessor. In fact, Death has a whole library about the Winchesters. What does it all mean? Only time will tell. In the meantime, Billie is committed to helping the Winchesters stay alive until their purpose, whatever that may be, is fulfilled.
5) Let’s talk about cosmic consequences. At the end of the season, Castiel is stabbed in the back, in a karmic boomerang of epic proportion, by Lucifer, who uses Cas’ angel blade to get the drop on Cas, as Cas did on Billie the Reaper. We assume Cas will be back, even if his return is predictable and less impacting than it could be, given all of the deaths and rebirths on this show. We just do not know how or if he will be the same Cas. Will we meet our Castiel again, resurrected once more by some force unknown? Or, will we be watching an alternate universe version of him, since that universe has been blinked into existence by Jack the Nephilim (Alexander Calvert)? Or, will Jack, who seems connected to Cas thanks to his in utero interaction with the angel, revive Cas himself?
ANSWER: The third guess is the charm. Jack resurrects the Castiel we know and love with the sheer force of his awesome nephilim abilities. In fact, Sam mentions, almost in an off-handed manner during one episode, that he learns “in the lore” that nephilim can become more powerful than the angels that sire them. And since Jack is Lucifer’s offspring, and since Lucifer is one of the four archangels, Jack is especially full of juice of an unknown, mysterious, and highly dangerous proportion and power. While sometimes his unfathomable power is difficult for him to control and causes Jack to do unspeakable things as he attempts to suss out whatever part of him is human, it also allows him to accomplish great and somewhat miraculous feats. One such feat: in an effort to please Dean, from whom Jack seems determined to gain his trust and approval (in fact, Dean becomes Jack’s surrogate father in some respects, though Dean wants none of that), Jack awakens Cas, whose angel remains reside, sleeping, in The Empty, i.e. the nothingness where angels and demons go to die and where their essences remain in eternal slumber. Cas then encounters the Keeper of the Empty, who dresses up like a Muppet-sounding version of Cas and who is also very annoyed by the fact that one of his charges is awake. Cas, however, is crafty enough to know that the Keeper has a short fuse and works to irk him just enough that the Keeper acquiesces and bounces Cas out of the Empty and back into the Normal World, much to the brothers’ relief. To that end, for right now, Cas seems to be the Cas we all know and love. Will his brush with the Empty change him long-term? The (half) panel predicts that he will be too distracted by Lucifer to meditate existentially on his brush with Angel Death. Listen to the podcast episode for details.
6) Lucifer and Mary are currently trapped in that alternate universe. Will we see them immediately in the next half season, or will we have to wait, as the producers and cast have confirmed that they live on in the world of a permanent war between angels and demons and mostly extinct humans? Will we get to see Lucifer and Mary, the “buddy cop” years? Will Mary punch Lucifer bunches, as panelist Kelsey wishes? Will they survive? What will happen to them?
ANSWER: We see glimpses of the “Lucifer and Mary: The Buddy Cop Years” show in Apocalypse World, almost immediately, until Lucifer and Mary encounter Apocalypse World’s version of Michael. Lucifer has big plans to use Mary as leverage to bargain for his son, should he and Mary ever return to the land of the living, but Michael throws a wrench in that proceeding when Apocalypse World’s version of Prophet Kevin Tran, on Michael’s orders (and under duress), casts a heady prophet spell that siphons off much of Lucifer’s grace in order to reopen the rift between that world and Supernatural Prime world. Lucifer, thinking quickly like the devil he is, jumps through the rift opening, which is available only temporarily, while Michael traps Mary in a body cage as he plans his next attempt at infiltrating this dimension. Until fourth Prince of Hell Asmodeus interferes, Lucifer, on this side of the rift, appeals to Cas, talking tall tales of the new Michael, while Mary, still alive, remains trapped, at least until the mid-season finale cliffhanger. Listen to the podcast episode for further details.
7) Crowley is dead as well, sacrificing his own life in exchange for a spell cast in an attempt to trap Lucifer in the alternate universe – only with Crowley’s death, Mark A. Sheppard also announced his departure from the show, so it seems the King of Hell is permanently pushing up demonic daisies. Is this why Rowena is killed off? Is she, in fact, killed off? Or, did Rowena make a deal with the devil that allows her to survive? She’s been quite the survivor so far, after all.
ANSWER: Based upon a sizable clue from the improbably still alive Arthur Ketch, former British Man of Letters, who informs Sam and Dean that he was able to cheat death using a spell of the erstwhile King of Hell’s mum, we expect to see Rowena’s return any day now – and without the aid of Lucifer, as it turns out.
8) Jack the Nephilim – is he good, or is he evil? Is he angel, or is he demon? Is he a yellow eyed demon? Is he a “prince of hell?” Is he the “anti-Christ?” What does it mean to be a prince of hell? We expect that Dean will want to lay him to waste immediately, while Sam will probably argue for the gray area and the possibility that he is not evil, given his angel grace and half humanness. Will Jack have an effect on Sam? Will Jack induce a return of Sam’s demonic abilities, originally imbued to him by a yellow eyed demon/Prince of Hell? How will Jack affect the world at large, given that mere contractions bringing him into the world ripped a hole in space and time?
ANSWER: The panel believes that Jack is Chaotic Neutral, a sponge ready to soak up the next good or evil influence he encounters. Fortunately, his first alliance is with the Winchester brothers, and though Dean wants anything but to waste time chasing after Lucifer’s spawn, Sam sees Jack as a means to an end and is willing to put in the time to ensure that Jack remains a force for good. As far as we know, Jack is a nephilim: half angel, half human. He could be a prince of hell; he could be an anti-Christ. We do not know the full extent or the answers to the mystery of what exactly Jack is other than an archangel-sired nephilim with the potential to be even more powerful than his dad. We also do not know what whatever he is in the end might mean to all of our beloved characters. The panel was previously correct about the brothers’ initial reactions: Dean wants to off Jack in the off, while Sam plays the old “he’s just a kid” chestnut – a kid with tremendous ability to destroy the world, probably, but not without the compass-aligning influence of the Winchesters themselves. The only effect Jack seems to have on either brother is to divide, at least temporarily. Jack has not magically or divinely influenced Sam or Dean directly, though he is using his considerable abilities to, first, revive Cas from permanent Angel Death and, second, to find Mary. Also, so far, Jack’s effect on the rest of the world is to cause a lot of fire and brimstone; he cannot control his abilities, and sometimes, his influence leads to dire consequences, such as accidental death of innocent bystanders. Jack is trying to understand his new surroundings, and Sam does his best to help him. Dean reluctantly comes around, but the panel is convinced that we are only getting a taste of what this all might mean in the end.
9) Will Jack be next season’s Big Bad? Will Lucifer? If neither of them are, who will be?
ANSWER: The panel predicts that Apocalypse World Michael will be the leading Big Bad, should he break through the dimensional barrier(s), though Asmodeus and his quest to break the Shedim, “Hell’s darkest creatures,” out of the pits will serve as a nice runner-up B-villain in the meantime, resemblance to Colonel Sanders be damned. For now, Lucifer is taking a hiatus from pure evil in an attempt to warn the world or, specifically, Castiel about Michael and in an attempt to find and to take back his son.
10) The perennial question: will we see John Winchester this season? And played by whom? And will he be alive or dead?
ANSWER: Perennially unanswered…
11) How much of this alternate universe will we be dealing with, overall? Will we continue to see alterna-Bobby (Jim Beaver)? Will the apocalypse of that world spill into this one? Will it cause another apocalypse on this side of the space/time tear?
ANSWER: So far, we’ve seen little of it, but we expect that the alternate universe’s influence on the regular universe will be felt in due course, if Apocalypse World’s Michael has any success in executing his invasion plans. We’ll call this “still a question” and revisit it at the end of the season.
12) The Supernatural production team is currently in the process of creating another backdoor pilot and potential spin-off in the Wayward Sisters, featuring Jody the Sheriff as the lead character. How will the road to producing that show, provided that the network approves a full season order, affect current Super events?
ANSWER: Episode 10, entitled “Wayward Sisters,” is the backdoor pilot in question, and the show devotes a sizable portion of the first half of the season to introducing previously unknown characters to the Supernatural universe, characters who will be “Wayward Sisters” themselves. The ham-fisted introduction of these characters spurred some measure of disgust from present panelists, but, for the most part, we are holding our considerably judgmental opinions until we view the spin-off pilot and evolution of its story thereafter. We will judge (of course we will!) at that time.
13) What is the current status of the American hunter system? It seems that the Brits with mole mother Mary make efficient work of eliminating known hunters. Does this mean that Sam and Dean will have to pick up the pieces by recruiting new hunters? Training them? Are we about to see a hunter training montage? Speaking of picking up the pieces, how will Sam and Dean go on? Where will they be when the season premieres?
ANSWER: Sam and Dean still hunt but also find themselves babysitting Jack – or bringing him for Baby ride-along missions. They have not encountered many other hunters but for Sheriff Jody and maybe one other. In fact, they seem less concerned about the fates of hunters right now, though Dean, when the season begins, is left shaken and numb following the presumed deaths of Castiel and mother Mary. Dean, as Dean does, continues hunting because it is what he knows and is with what he feels comfortable. Sam hunts to support Dean but also because the world continues to turn, threatened by monsters, demons, and angels. Seriously, though, Jack takes up quite a bit of Sam and Dean’s time. One does not encounter the child of the Devil every day.
14) Panelist Jen asks again: where are God, aka Chuck the Prophet, and Amara, the Sister Darkness of God? How are they doing? Talk going well? Hashed out their deity problems much? Seeking some therapy? Panelist Allie votes for getting a glimpse of some family counseling session with Chuck and Amara.
ANSWER: Though Jen still holds these questions near and dear to her heart, she says (in the podcast episode) that she has resigned herself to the idea that she probably will not see revisits from Chuck/God and Amara until the show’s final season, whenever that may be.
15) A Prince of Hell named Ramiel held in his possession two intriguing items: Archangel Michael’s Spear or Lance and (wait for it) the Colt. The Colt is currently broken, snapped in two by another Prince of Hell named Dagon, who Cas later snuffed. Can the Colt be repaired? By Sam? How is the Colt powered? Didn’t the Colt have a fixed number of bullets once upon a time? More importantly, **where did the Colt go after Season 6?** How did Ramiel get a hold of it? Why has the show not addressed the continuity of this gun? Why was it brought back only to be broken? WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS THING?!
ANSWER: All questions currently without answers, though the remnants of Michael’s spear/lance may come into play with the return of a version of Michael to the show, eh?
16) Also, the Spear/Lance is broken, I believe with Crowley’s help in that instance. Will it be repaired, since Dean pockets the fragments? Is it usable by anyone besides Michael? Dean is still a predestined Michael vessel – can he use it? We repeat – will we ever see Michael out of the Cage again?
ANSWER: See answer #15. These are all questions currently without answers – though the answers may be coming…
17) The Vampire Alpha dies in this season, owing to some clever British Men of Letter work. Does this mean that all vampires die? I know this is not The Originals, but what happens to the rest of the vampires in the event of the death of their alpha?
ANSWER: The panel assumes all vampires are dead; for the record, we have seen no vampires. The only “old school” monsters the boys encounter this season are a shape-shifter, ghouls, ghosts, and witches. We will call this “still a question,” though, because the show may later address the lack of vampires or other monster Alphas. “May,” I said.
New Questions
1) Where is the “Bad Place?” Are there really dinosaurs, Big-Feet, or Godzillas making footprints over there? What made the giant lizard footprint in the mid-season finale? How will Sam and Dean get back to the dimension/world they call home? Will the “Wayward Sisters” have to be the ones to rescue them?
2) What side will Jack fall on in the end? Will he defend the Winchesters until he cannot defend them anymore? Or, will he align with his dad? Or, will he align with a wild card third party, like Castiel, Apocalypse World Michael, or Asmodeus?
3) Just how much of the “Wayward Sisters” will we be watching on the parent show? The panel votes, hopefully, not so much.
4) Is Michael from Apocalypse World truly the Big Bad of the season? Will he break through to this dimension? Will he run up against Jack? Will he break the “Shedim” out of hell?
5) Will Lucifer encounter his son? Will Jack have to battle his dad? Will Jack be wooed by the lure of being with his actual father? Or, will he remain true to Sam, Dean, and Cas?
6) What point or purpose does Prince of Hell Asmodeus really serve, if any at all?
7) Is the show trying to suggest that Jack might be Chuck/God’s successor, capable of creating other life, such as new angels, who are apparently becoming extinct? How many angels, exactly, are left? And why do they stupidly keep going after the Winchesters, Cas, or anyone else related to them?
8) Will Sam’s powers return? He continues to obliquely reference them…
9) How will Jack return to this dimension, if at all? Will he save mother Mary? Will Mary keep him on the good side of “chaotic neutral?” Will Sam and Dean reunite with their mother? Will Mary survive all that Supernatural throws at her?
10) How much should we continue to care about the Empty? Will it come back to haunt Castiel or any of the rest of our characters because Cas escaped?
11) How will Lucifer and Cas escape Asmodeus’ captivity – we assume they will?
12) Has Death, as in The Horseman Of, died before the Winchesters killed off the Death we knew and awoke the Darkness? Is Billie the second “Death” or one of many?
13) Why are the Winchesters “important,” in the end and apart from what we already know, as Billie aka Death told Dean this half season?
14) When we will see Bobby and Rowena return (because, frankly, the question of “if” has been spoiled by the characters’ portraying actors)?
15) How are Jack and the previous “anti-Christ” who appeared in Season 5 related, if at all? Is Jack truly an “anti-Christ?”
PARTING SHOTS
Our small but robust Supernatural half panel – i.e. those present in this latest episode, Nick and Jen – is encouraged by the mysteries, story threads, and new spins on some old horror tropes that we are viewing in Season Thirteen, after struggling with the show during what the panel deemed to be a choppy and somewhat disjointed twelfth season. In fact, Season 13 offers enjoyable and even modestly fresh new aspects to this long-running story, including the interactions between mother Mary and Lucifer, the wild card that is Lucifer’s son Jack, and the return of a version of archangel Michael who, in no small way, resembles the Lucifer with which we have grown acquainted over eight or more seasons. All of these fresh takes are then coupled with the usual elements that keep Super fans coming back for more; therefore, it seems that the show is rebounding from the lulls of Season 12 quite nicely. As such, the panel members all still agree that Supernatural could never be completely unwatchable, owing to the writing, acting, and quirks of the mythology (and the sheer beauty of its cast). Though we are in the acknowledged winter of the program’s longevity, there remains nothing like Supernatural on TV right now, and despite the panel members’ individual gripes and barbs about things that strike us as strange – even for such a strange world as we have been watching for thirteen seasons – all members feel that the show is still entertaining, even this late in its lifetime. Carry On, Wayward Sons, as we prepare to move into the second half of Season 13!
LOOKING AHEAD
Supernatural was automatically ordered for a full season upon renewal and returned from its mid-season hiatus on January 18, 2018. Will it be renewed for a fourteenth season? The February sweeps will no doubt provide a clear answer to that question. In the meantime, our Supernatural podcast panel (and hopefully the entire panel) will next reconvene following the thirteenth season finale, which will likely air in or around May 2018. As always, CPU! will keep you informed of news and additional Supernatural coverage. Stay tuned! Until then!
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