Supernatural: Unforgiven

Posted by: Kyle Tetarenko  •  February 14, 2011 @ 8:28pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

For the past year, Sam's soul was in hell while his body cut down anything or anyone is its path to get the job done but that he's back, Sam must face the consequences for actions he didn't commit.

Roughly a year ago, Sam and Samuel were leaving Bristol, Rhode Island as fast as possible. Sam's arm was bleeding and for a moment it looked as if they were going to get away until they get pulled over by one unlucky cop. With no time to waste, Sam viciously attacks the attacks the officer, beating him so badly it even makes Samuel flinch. It's a year later a number of women have are gone missing in Bristol again but it isn't long before Sam is having flashbacks of his last visit in town. When Dean learns that Sam's memories are returning, he wants to pack up and leave town before the wall in Sam's head crumble but Sam's conscious won't let him get away so easily. Things only get worse when Dean learns that the connection between the women is that Sam slept with them all which leads to one conclusion: it's a trap. With this startling revelation, the brothers not only have to discover who is behind the trap but also save their own asses.

Though it may have sounded like an exciting episode, "Unforgiven" was anything but. While there used to be exciting villains/demons from week to week, that simply no longer seems to be the case. This week's demon was an arachne, an extrapolation from a Greek mythology in a sloppy way. The originality of the arachne didn't have any significance or add to the plot in any way and just seemed pointless at the end of the episode. Why throw a new demon into the show when a vampire/generic demon would have easily sufficed? While I know Supernatural doesn't have the special effects budget of bigger shows like The Event or V, the visual effects have been poor quality as of late. Demons used to released from hosts in a billowing smoke pillars on a weekly basis but now we get cobwebs. It was interesting for Sam to face the consequences for his actions but between that and breaking down the barrier in his mind, there wasn't a clear focus on either.

The flashbacks between Sam and Samuel, while good, were also poorly handled in their execution and inconsistent. At the beginning of the episode the scene between the two of them was in full colour but for whatever reason after that they were in black and white. After it was established at the beginning of the episode it had taken place a year before, was there a need to establish a colour change after that? It felt as if they thought the audience wasn't paying attention during the hour and had to give us a cue that it was in the past. They might as well have used sepia tint to drive the point across.

Overall, "Unforgiven" was a disappointing episode with few redeeming qualities. It's difficult to be excited for next week when a season wide story seems scattered at best. Hopefully Supernatural will get back on track with next week's "Mannequin 3: The Reckoning".

Tags: Supernatural, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki

Related Posts

• Supernatural: A Farewell
• Supernatural: Carry On
• Supernatural: Inherit the Earth
• Supernatural: Despair
• Supernatural: Unity

Comments Posted ()