Supernatural Review: “What’s Up, Tiger Mommy?” (Season 8, Episode 2)

Things are shaping up to be very promising. After my lukewarm reception to the season premiere, I was scared as to where this season would eventually turn. It isn’t far from what I initially thought with all the demons and angels coming back – thank god – but I feared there would be a lack of continuity that Supernatural does so well.

This show never forgets their characters and where they’ve been, which not only keeps things consistent, but rewards long time fans who do remember the journey these brothers have been through. This episode brought back elements of all previous seasons so effortlessly that I told myself that Supernatural was back, for now.

We begin with the usual suspects: a mysterious person with an innocent civilian just doing their job. There is always a hint of flair and a hint of camp with these short quips, which always end up being very successful in its construction. This time, an old creepy man withdraws a finger bone from a safety deposit box and kills the chipper young woman helping him. Now if you watched this episode, nothing else really came out of this….monster? What is he? Well, I had no problem with it. In fact, it helped to give this episode some flavor that might have been lacking without this tiny old man and his quirks. Besides, he got Sam to use Mjölnir. How much more awesome can that be?

Then comes the character that the title of this episode refers to, mommy. Kevin tells the Winchesters that he needs to see his mother. They reluctantly agree knowing that they’re biting the bait that has been thrown to them. They arrive at the house, dispose of the demons, and inform Kevin’s mother – who for Friends fans, was Julie in season 2 – of Kevin’s ultimate fate as a prophet. She pulls the mother thing and decides to join along in finding the word of God.

We all knew where this episode was going with Kevin’s mother. She’s the tough-talking, unflinching, somehow useful companion who will find a way to aid the Winchesters in their time of need. The whole tattoo scene was actually pretty great in my humble opinion. Expected, but great. When she opened her mouth in the pawn shop – which we all knew she was going to do – she solidified herself as a character who will not be annoying. That’s honestly the best compliment that can be given to a character who up to this point, shows no promise in longevity as with most females in this show. Tying in a little of season 1, Sam responds with a very smartly placed mathematical response, something we haven’t seen in a while. Oh yeah…Sam is actually really smart!

We also get our first look at Purgatory for this episode in the interrogation scene with the brand new Dean who has no time for chatter. He kills a monster after it reveals Cas’ location with a haunting parallel to the real world criminal they’re interrogating. Benny looks on with a look of slight disapproval though no one can be really sure. What changed in Dean is still a mystery, but I hope he doesn’t go insane and have say Michael talking to him through hallucination just like Lucifer did with Sam – though that would be interesting now that I think about it.

We finally get to the meat of the episode as it’s revealed that the word of God has been put up for auction by Plutus, the Greek god of wealth. Sam, Dean, Kevin, and Kevin’s mother attend the auction, which has been promised to be the safest place on Earth complete with warding spells galore. They intend to have Kevin memorize the text and leave, only to find that the tablet has been blocked. If matters couldn’t get any worse, they’re visited by an old friend….

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