TVSquad

(S02E02) I was really looking forward to this episode after the dramatic end to the premiere. How would they deal with the death of John? To me, this was almost two separate episodes. On the one hand we had the mystery/adventure story, and on the other we have Dean and Sam starting to work through the loss of their dad. And both of these arcs played out very well.

First, the clowns. I started to get whigged out when I saw the title of this episode. I read "It" at far too young an age, so clowns have always bugged me. There's just something not right with a clown. And there is really something not right with the clown in this episode. Very creepy. This was probably the scariest episode of the series since "Bloody Mary."

The mystery part of the episode was set up really well. And it's interesting just how scary they can make things by not actually showing it to us. We know what the clown did, but we never see it. The shot before the break from the second murder, when the dad looks up at the clown, was perfect. They really get how to make this genre of show. I'll admit, I blew it and fingered Cooper early on. So I was rather shocked when Dean turned up the clown costume in the crate. That was an excellent reveal scene that followed. "You?" ... "Me."

A little off topic, but I'm curious. When Cooper started in on his speech about the freak-show, did anyone else flash back to the "Humbug" episode of X-Files?

I'm happy to see Dean getting the car back together, but it was very funny to see them driving around in the mini-van. A nice touch that they had Captain and Tenille playing on the radio. And what about our new friends at the ROADHOUSE? It's like they peeked at a list of my most favorite shows and started casting people. Alona Tal (Jo) was on Veronica Mars, Samantha Farris (Ellen) was on Beggars and Choosers, and Chad Lindberg (Ash) was on Buffy. Plus, you always have to love an Evil Dead shoutout, right?

Great casting all around. And three great new characters I'm already looking forward to seeing more from. Ellen clearly holds some secrets to John's past. Ash is just great in that crazed genius way. "Getting struck by lightning...it ain't fun." And the budding romance between Jo and Dean holds interesting possibilities. I'm just hoping it's not going to end up being a Luke and Leia kind of thing.

In the other arc of the show we have Dean and Sam both struggling to deal with John's death. I thought this was handled very well. It built up through the whole episode. Both of them trying to get by without actually dealing with it. Trying to fool themselves and everyone else into thinking they were ok. That final scene when Sam admits that Dean was right was so good. And Dean's reaction afterwords topped it off perfectly. I don't think Supernatural gets enough credit for the family drama aspect of the show. Sure, it's an unconventional family, but the relationship between Dean and Sam is really written well.

Overall, another really good episode. Another baddy dealt with, some forward progress with the demon hunt (the Ash laptop is badass), and a new door opens to explore more of the mystery of John. What more can you ask for?