Casey Dillard and Richard Speight, Jr. in Driven. Courtesy of Driven
To commemorate the one year anniversary of the day that the upcoming indie thriller Driven wrapped up filming, creators Casey Dillard and Glenn Payne have put together a special treat for fans while they await the movie’s official premiere.
The video, titled 12 Days of Driven, features some fun behind-the-scenes photos and appropriately remixed lyrics from the festive jingle that it is named after.
The world premiere of Driven is scheduled for Feb 9 at the Oxford Film Festival in Mississippi. Tickets are still available, so visit the event’s website to get yours today!
If you cannot make it to the premiere, there will be another special screening of the movie in Tulepo, Mississippi on March 15 at the Link Centre. Tickets for that event are available here.
On this day one year ago, Halestorm’s “I Am The Fire” began to play while a montage of some of the most kickass scenes in the Supernatural series appeared on our screens.
“Wayward Sisters” was a backdoor pilot that brought together some established fan-favorite series characters with newer faces, who were all working together to rescue Sam and Dean from Apocalypse World. It was the first time all six of our Wayward women had been on-screen together, and the chemistry was unmistakable. Claire’s courageous but dangerous no-holds-barred hunting style was tempered by Jody’s sensible wisdom. Donna’s humor and confidence helped to balance Patience’s trepidation and hesitation to embrace her gifts. Kaia was the women’s link to other worlds, and Alex was there to provide medical and technical help when necessary.
Supernatural‘s Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, and Misha Collins each helped promote the episode on social media. The show was watched by 1.87 million viewers, which was higher than the previous episode’s 1.74 million. By many accounts, the episode was a success, and the shocking cliffhanger at the end lent itself to unending storylines and crossover possibilities.
But we all know what happened next.
When The CW announced that they were passing on the series, fans got to work. An online petition, started by Georgia Heapy, blew up and gathered over 80,000 signatures. Campaigns were formed to flood The CW headquarters with letters. Plans were made to send large orders of powdered doughnuts (as a nod to Sheriff Donna Hanscum’s first appearance on Supernatural in “The Purge”) to CW affiliates in cities where Creation EntertainmentSupernatural conventions were being held. (Yes, really!) Many other ingenious ideas were formed, including calls for other networks, such as Netflix and SyFy, to grab the show. But ultimately, the show was not picked up by any network.
Of course, our Wayward women aren’t gone forever; still a part of the Supernatural universe, some of them have already come across our screens since the pilot episode aired last year. This season’s third episode, “The Scar,” welcomed back two of our Wayward women: Sheriff Jody Mills (Kim Rhodes) and Dark!Kaia (Yadira Guevara-Prip). (Granted, Dark!Kaia is not “our” Kaia. But a Dark!Kaia is better than no Kaia at all.) That same episode also confirmed what many had suspected (and hoped for) after watching the bond between Kaia and Claire end brutally in the pilot episode: that their feelings for each other extended beyond friendship:
Images courtesy of The CW/Warner Bros.
The next episode to air on January 24th, called “Damaged Goods,” will welcome back Briana Buckmaster as Sheriff Donna Hanscum. Hopefully, we will get to see Kathryn Newton (Claire Novak), Clark Backo (Patience Turner), and Katherine Ramdeen (Alex Jones) very soon as well.
We might not have gotten our show, but what we accomplished as a fandom should not be overlooked. As our staff editor Tricia pointed out shortly after The CW passed on the potential series, the fact that the pilot episode was made at all is a monumental feat. The spirit of Wayward was borne out of the fandom’s desire to see more positive representations of women on our screens. The writers and show runners of Supernatural listened, and now Wayward is forever woven throughout the Supernatural universe(s). This season, Dark!Kaia’s spear was retrieved to kill archangel Michael, and now that Michael has seemingly destroyed her spear, she will very likely return to collect. And we know from this week’s upcoming promotional material that Sheriff Donna will run into Nick (Mark Pellegrino) and finally meet the boys’ mother, Mary (Sam Smith).
Dark!Kaia handles some vamps. Image courtesy of The CW/Warner Bros.
Outside of Supernatural, our Wayward women have been busy. Wanting to effect positive change within her community, Katherine Ramdeen ran as an Independent for Vancouver City Council last fall. Clark Backo is currently filming mini-series The Hot Zone, and Kathryn Newton can be seen starring alongside Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman in Big Little Lies, and she will also be in Pokémon Detective Pikachu later this year. And in July of last year, Briana Buckmaster released her bluesy, soulful debut album, Begin. It was listed as the #1 Blues album on iTunes on the day it was released.
And the most recent gift given to us by our Wayward women is The Wayward Podcast, a weekly show that tackles anything and everything that hosts Kim Rhodes and Briana Buckmaster think are worthy of discussion. Families, health, beauty, and sex are some of the topics that have been covered so far.
It has been a year since we saw our dream of “Wayward Sisters” come to life. And while the journey did not end up where we had initially hoped, where we are today should make us proud. Kim and Briana have summed this up perfectly, I think, on the front page of their podcast: “We may have wandered off the path, but we are in the right place. We choose to celebrate it. Let’s be messy. Let’s be human. Let’s be Wayward AF.”
David Haydn-Jones is a busy man! Though his latest movie, Love Under The Rainbow, hasn’t been released yet, that has not stopped him from landing a brand new role in The Fiddling Horse.
FortyFPS Films announced via Twitter that Haydn-Jones has been cast as Zachary Rothschild. According to Variety, “the movie also includes Paula Lindberg, Andy Kindler, J. Elvis Winstein, Esther Ku, Allie Mills, Orson Bean, Heather Mattarazzo and musician Fiend will star in the comedy.”
A dark comedy about a woman named Leslie Heart who inherits a horse and, in an attempt to elevate her failing status within her high society circle, trains it to race while secretly executing a long-con with an ex celebrity jockey.
Haydn-Jones is known for his role as Arthur Ketch in Supernatural, several State Farm commercials with Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers, and several Hallmark Christmas movies including Dear Santa and A Bramble House Christmas. His comedic timing is one of the most commented on trademarks of Haydn-Jones’ acting, so being cast in a comedy is both fitting and exciting for his many fans.
We look forward to sharing more information on The Fiddling Horse as it becomes available.
Jason Manns and Justin Guarini teamed up and collaborated on the song “A Change is Gonna Come” – a cover of the famous song by Sam Cooke, which initially debuted in 1964.
The song, which officially releases TODAY and is sold by Stands, will have 100% of the proceeds go to Random Acts to support operational costs of the Jacmel Children’s Center. Jacmel Children’s Center is doing incredible work to change lives and give hope to the young orphans it houses and helps in Haiti.
Based on the graphic novel by Rick Remender and Wes Craig, Deadly Class premiered this past Wednesday, January 16 on the SyFy Channel.
Image courtesy of SyFy/Allen Fraser
San Francisco, 1987. Marcus Lopez Arguello (Benjamin Wadsworth) is an orphan. His parents were killed in front of him as a child when a mentally ill woman jumped from the top of Coit Tower and landed on his parents. After fleeing an abusive boy’s home that mysteriously burned to the ground, Marcus has been living on the streets and on the run ever since.
Image Courtesy of SyFy/Allen Fraser
Following a mugging and being threatened by Rory, a homeless murderer, in his camp, Marcus picks a joint up off the street that is laced with angel dust and stumbles into a ‘Day of the Dead’ street party. While hallucinating, he sees Maria (María Gabriela de Faría) in full sugar skull makeup, who then uses her decorative -and deadly- fans to fight the cops that have tracked Marcus to the party. Willie (Luke Tennie) appears behind Marcus and tells him to run. Fleeing the party, Marcus runs into a parking garage. While he is catching his breath, Saya (Lana Condor) pulls up on her motorcycle, sword on her hip, and tells him to hop on. Instead, he freezes, and cop cars pull in behind her, sirens blazing. She backflips off the bike and in a series of impressive kung fu moves, distracts the cops as Willie and Maria pull Marcus to safety and immediately put a bag over his head.
When they pull the bag off, he is tied to a chair in a meat locker. Master Lin (Benedict Wong) enters and presents him with a surprising opportunity: to join King’s Dominion, a secret school dedicated to training assassins. Extremely mistrustful, Marcus makes several smart aleck remarks and leaves. He returns to his camp where the cops have arrived and seized all of his meager possessions.
In an animated flashback, he describes how when Ronald Reagan cut the funding to state mental hospitals, it released thousands of mentally ill people back on to the streets, one of whom inadvertently killed his parents. These animated flashbacks (in the style of the comic on which the show is based) continues throughout the show to provide the backstory for each of the students that we meet.
Image courtesy of SyFy/Allen Fraser
Back in the present, Marcus is on top of Coit Tower poised to jump when Saya stops him. Luring him in with a kiss, Saya convinces him to go to King’s Dominion. She explains the basic rules of the school: first and foremost, never reveal the school’s location or he will be killed. The other rules are: no murdering your fellow students, no disobedience, no drugs, and no sex. Willie, Maria, and Billy (Liam James) are there to greet him back in the meat locker. They lead him through the back where the hidden, ancient looking, buildings of the school are located. A hooded monk takes over and leads him inside to Master Lin’s chambers. Inside, Lin explains the purpose and foundation of the school.
His ancestor came to the United States following the ‘American Dream’ but what he found was a lifetime of indentured servitude and abuse. So he taught himself how to kill in order to free himself from his oppressors. He decided to dedicate his life to freeing oppressed peoples, and that this school was founded “to give peasants the skills to dethrone their corrupt masters.” Marcus decides “f—- it” and picks up the school uniform Lin has presented him with, and joins the school.
Image courtesy of SyFy/Allen Fraser
Marcus quickly learns, though, that this school even with its unique purpose, is just like every other high school. “It doesn’t matter where they’re from, kids are all the same: assholes.” He is immediately targeted and threatened by Chico (Michel Duval), leader of the Soto Vatos gang for being friendly with Maria. In ‘AP Black Arts’ Master Lin hands out their first assignment (also worth half of their grade for the semester) – find a person who deserves to die, and kill them. He immediately thinks of Rory, the murderous homeless man from his camp. Later in ‘One on One Combat Class’, Maria partners with him to flirt and interrogate him about his past. Later at lunch, Billy takes him under his mohawked wing and explains the school hierarchy and cliques. There are the Soto Vatos (the most powerful gang in the school, the equivalent of jocks at a normal school), the Preps (rich children of CIA and FBI agents), the Dixie Mob (nazi rednecks), the Hessians (stoners and nerds), the Final World Order (led by Willie, they are the children of the leaders of the Bloods and Crips), the Kuroki Syndicate (led by Saya, they are the children of the Yakuza), and finally Billy, and now Marcus’ clique – “the rats.” The rats are all of the outcasts and loners, the kids that don’t have a family legacy or gang affiliation.
Billy takes Marcus onto the rooftop, aka ‘the graveyard’, where the other rats (Petra and Lex) hang out during lunch. They casually discuss their ‘hit lists’ and Marcus admits that the number one person that he wants to kill is Ronald Reagan. He blames Reagan, indirectly, for the death of his parents. Later, Saya and Marcus discuss his impending fight with Chico. Marcus confesses that despite what the cops and press say, he is not responsible for the fire that killed everyone at the boys school. He hurt some guards escaping, but the fire happened after he left. He is not the mass murderer all of the students think he is. Later, he runs into Maria in the hallway, she is crying and sporting a black eye. This enrages Marcus, who confronts Chico in the yard and punches him in the face. Fed up, Marcus quits the school and heads back to the streets of San Francisco.
Image courtesy of SyFy/Allen Fraser
Skulking in the rain, he is stopped by Willie, who pulls a gun on him and demands Marcus help him finish their homework assignment together. They head to the homeless camp where Willie aims his gun at Rory, but is ultimately unable to pull the trigger. He confesses that he was pushed into this school by his mom –“she’s the real OG”- but he has never killed anyone and is actually a pacifist. Rory catches them and in the ensuing scuffle Marcus picks up a crowbar and murders Rory. They dispose of the body and Marcus agrees to return to King’s Dominion.
Back at the school, Lin meets with Saya hinting that whatever her next assignment is, it has to do with Marcus. Marcus runs into Maria who no longer has a black eye. She confesses that she faked it in order to trick Marcus into disposing of Chico for her. She kisses him and invites him to ‘the graveyard’ for a party. Marcus comes to the realization that “everyone needs family. Even if they are all liars and murders.” and joins her in the rooftop revelry.
Image courtesy of SyFy/Allen Fraser
Deadly Class airs Wednesdays at 10pm on the SyFy Channel.
Confession: I have never watched anime. It is one of those genres that has always seemed intimidating to me, and although I wanted to see what it was about, the choices were overwhelming. Where exactly does one start when it comes to choosing something to watch? This is where it helps to have a friend who knows what you like and can help you find the right place to start.
In my case, my friend recommended I give My Hero Academia a try based on my love of Marvel’s X-Men. My Hero Academia, or MHA, is an anime that tells the story of a group of teenagers with special abilities, or “Quirks”, attending a unique university where they can use those quirks to become professional heroes. Intrigued, I searched online and found that I could watch MHA on Hulu, so I settled down one night and turned it on. Almost immediately, I was drawn to the spiky green-haired main character, Izuku “Deku” Midoriya, a teen who had no quirk himself but still wanted to be a great hero like all of the pros that he fanboyed over. A chance encounter with his personal idol, All Might, gives him the opportunity to be the hero he desires to be and Midoriya finds himself attending the hero university as a member of Class 1-A.
The more I watched, the more I realized that anime was almost exactly like every other genre of television I have encountered. There is the character that draws you in immediately, the ones you decide are your close favorites, the ones you immediately cannot stand, and the ones that you would not be heartbroken to see meet a tragic fate before the end of the first episode. Now that I am over 30 episodes in, I can say that my initial feelings have not changed all too much. While my favorite character is now Shoto Todoroki, most everyone else has remained in the same categories. I still love Midoriya and I still would not be that sad if Katsuki Bakugo fell into a deep pit and never recovered.
Midoriya competes against Shoto Todoroki in the school’s sports festival. Image Courtesy: IMDB.
The depth of the characters was also surprising. These are not one dimensional children who simply show up and fight every day. They each have their own backstory, some more dramatic than others, and layers that make you care about them even more once they are revealed. There is also the comedic element, such as when hot-tempered Bakugo has to be chained up to accept a first place medal after a battle he does not feel was worthy of him.
One of the biggest challenges I faced was deciding if I wanted to watch the show in Japanese with English subtitles or if I wanted the English dubbed version. For the experience, I chose the former. Four episodes in it became clear that I was not nearly focused enough so I restarted the series and went for the English dubbed version. That made all the difference. Now, I could actually concentrate on the show and not the box of words at the bottom of my screen. If you are new to anime and have the option of a dubbed version I recommend you start there. Choose the one that makes it easiest for you to enjoy.
What surprised me the most was how intensely I began to enjoy MHA. How much I wanted Midoriya and his friends to succeed in every episode. And how much I wanted all of the MHA merchandise I could get my hands on. Luckily for my wallet, I limited myself to a Todoroki t-shirt and some new stickers for my laptop. I have also begun planning a gender bent Todoroki cosplay costume. Cosplay is also something that is brand new to me, but the more I watch MHA the more I want to dress up as my favorite hero-in-training.
I am positive that MHA will not be the last anime I ever watch, but I am happy that it was my first. I am not sure any other would have been nearly as perfect for my getting my feet wet in the world of anime. If you have ever been curious about anime but unsure of where to begin, I highly recommend giving My Hero Academia a try.
Disney is not stopping anytime soon with the continuation of their quest to recreate the magic with filming live action versions of Disney classics. Next up on the list of announcements is The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This movie is one that does not get the attention it deserves with the beautiful message and lessons it teaches us.
Courtesy to Buritius
The story follows Quasimodo, a bell ringer in a church, as he tries to defy the evil man who raised him, the minister, who keeps him hidden. He meets Esmeralda and the two have a special friendship connection. Quasimodo has to find the courage and the strength to leave the tower, and go against the minister in order to save Esmeralda and the town.
According to Entertainment Weekly, they will create the script from the 1996 movie and Victor Hugo’s novel. Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz will be crafting the music for this new adventure. No news yet on casting news, but stay tuned!
On this episode of Catfish, Nev’s co-host is Slick Woods, an American fashion model. She starts the show off by saying she is going to cut right through the crap and talk about red flags as soon as she sees them, which Nev is on board with.
Nev Schulman and Slick Woods on MTV’s ‘Catfish.’ Photo courtesy of US Weekly.
They have an email from Janisa, titled, “Asking for a friend.” Janisa is a freshman at a university in Texas and believes one of her three roommates is being catfished. Her roommate’s name is Aubri and she has been talking to this guy, Brian, on Snapchat for more than two months. At first, Janisa thought Aubri had found a really nice guy, but now she is suspicious considering they have not met yet they live on the same campus. Janisa got nosy after that and discovered they have never spoken on the phone or video chatted either.
Congratulations, Janisa, you caught yourself a catfish.
Nev and Slick get Janisa up on a video call, and she explains Brian added Aubri to Snapchat by username, which is interesting because Aubri does not have her Snapchat name on any of her other social media. Janisa thinks somebody else must have given it to Brian. She says Brian does post pictures of himself on his Snapchat Story, but it is a very small campus and it does not really make sense that they have not bumped into him yet. She says Aubri is very sweet and does not want to make a big deal out of it, but as Janisa says, “Everybody’s busy, but you make time if you want to.”
Exactly!
They end the video call and head to Texas where they find Janisa and Aubri at a huge but adorable mansion-like house. Aubri agrees that something seems a little off with Brian, and Janisa takes off to go to class, leaving Aubri alone with Nev and Slick. She fills them in a bit more, telling them they started talking initially after she posted a selfie snap and he responded with heart eyes. They have been talking ever since. The two clicked for the first time when she told Brian that she broke up with her ex because he cheated on her and he was a really great listener with a good heart.
Aubri on MTV’s ‘Catfish.’ Photo courtesy of MTV.
Nev asks how Brian got her username, but Aubri says she does not know. Slick asks if she ever just asked him but Aubri has not. Brian does have a long list of excuses for why they have not gotten any closer though. They cannot talk on the phone because he does not have any minutes, they cannot video chat because there is no wi-fi, and they cannot meet up because he keeps leaving campus to go home.
Just yesterday, he messaged her and said he was playing basketball at the REC center and she should stop by. Of course she did stop by, but surprise, surprise, Brian was not there. Or, as Nev points out, he was there and she just was not looking for the real him. Unlike what they usually do on Catfish, Nev says that since they are already there and there is not much to go off of, he and Slick will just do a quick search now instead of going back to their hotel.
The first thing they do is a Google search for his username on Snapchat, but it does not return any results, meaning that he does not use the same handle on any other social media platforms. They know he plays basketball, so they do a search for his first and last names + basketball + the school they are at, and they come back with a hit including a photo of a man who works on the basketball team as an assistant trainer.
Slick realizes it is slightly suspicious that Janisa never mentioned there was a man named Brian who works with the basketball team considering she got her scholarship to go to this school for basketball management. Nev says Janisa might know more than she wants us to think she does. Interesting. Aubri mentions how if you are a coach for sports teams you probably are not allowed to be talking to students the way Brian has been talking to her since he would be significantly older.
Next, they do an image search on some of the photos Aubri saved from Brian’s Snapchat. The first one they search leads them to a Twitter page which is also linked to an Instagram account. There, “Brian’s” name is Isaias and he has over twenty thousand followers. All of the photos there are undoubtedly of “Brian,” which pretty much proves Brian is not who he says he is. Aubri’s understandably freaked out, saying, “This is getting creepy. Who have I been talking to?”
Nev tells her it is now her choice what they do next. She could just walk away and leave it alone, but Aubri wants to know who it is and why they did this to her in the first place. Nev says they have a few things they can check into, and they will talk to her again later. Back in the car, Nev tells Slick anytime a friend writes into the show, alarm bells start going off for him. He thinks Janisa probably knows more than she is letting on, and Slick agrees, going so far to say she knows a lot more. Maybe Janisa is trying to get the basketball trainer fired because she wants his job? That would be an intriguing twist and one I cannot remember seeing in the past!
The next day, Nev and Slick meet up and Nev explains the plan he came up with overnight. He thinks they should go to the dorm where they know the Brian impersonator lives and ask around if anybody knows somebody named Brian who has been talking about a girl named Aubri. They find a young lady named Frances who is the resident assistant for the dorm (also known as a RA) and they start quizzing her. She says that she does not know every student but she has never heard of this Brian, but she has a friend who works at the REC center who might be able to help.
Frances hops in the car with Nev and Slick and they head to the REC center where she runs in to bring her friend out. Nev points out that it is not a very big REC center so if there is somebody in there often and you work there, you are going to know. Frances’ friend is Steve, who says he is there five days a week and has never heard of that name. Nev asks about the trainer, but he says no, that does not ring a bell either.
On their way back, Frances gets a text message that says, “If they ask you, Courtney doesn’t know anything about Brian.” Frances says she knows who the text is from but does not want to say. However, she does not know who Courtney is. They drop Frances off after that and give Aubri a call to ask if she knows somebody named Courtney.
She does, because it is one of her roommates.
She says they are not buddy-buddy or anything, but they have simple conversations, and Nev decides to head back to their place. As Nev says to Slick, Courtney either knows what is going on or she is who Aubri’s been talking to all along. Once at Aubri’s, they explain the situation to her. Aubri says she wants to know who sent that text to Frances, and Slick suggests they search the number. Nev seems confused because they do not know who sent it, but that is when Slick reminds him they took a video of the text message, so they can take the number from that.
Nev says they have never done that before, but after checking the handheld camera footage, they get Aubri to check the number against her contact list but come up with nothing. Nev says they should just call the number to see who answers, which is exactly what they do. A man answers the phone who introduces himself as Patrick, which has Aubri in the background whispering, “That’s my R.A!”
Nev explains that they know he sent the text message to Frances, but Patrick says he was just reminding her that the guidelines of an R.A. are not to disclose information about residents. Slick looks just as skeptical about all of this as I feel, and when Nev hangs up, she says, “Not that believable.” Nev starts quizzing Aubri about her relationship with Patrick, but Aubri says there is nothing. He does not flirt with her or anything and he is not her type.
Now at a dead-end, Nev does something he has never done before on Catfish and uses Snapchat to reach out to Brian. Brian writes back almost immediately, asking if this is really Nev and admitting that he is kind of freaking out if it is because he knows Nev is looking for him and he is scared! Brian confirms that he is in the town they are in, but when prompted, admits his real name is not Brian.
Nev asks what they should call him then, and Not-Brian replies, “I’m not ready to tell you that. Sorry. Maybe if we do this in person.” With that, they make plans to meet up tomorrow morning at 11 at the park.
The next day, Nev and Slick pick up Aubri, and they go to the park to find out who “Brian” really is. Before they can even leave the driveway, though, a redheaded young lady comes running out after them. Aubri exclaims, “That’s Courtney!” and then we hear Courtney say, “Aubri, come here. I have to tell you something.”
Not surprisingly, the next thing out of her mouth is, “I don’t want you to go to the park and Brian not show up… because I’m Brian.”
Courtney comes clean and admits she’s actually “Brian.” Photo courtesy of MTV.
Aubri is appropriately shocked, and Nev jumps in to confirm that there is no Brian, only Courtney. Courtney begins by apologizing, saying that she has all of these feelings for Aubri and just did not know what to do. Aubri says she could have just told her, that they live together, but Courtney explains she was talking to Janisa about her feelings and Janisa is the one who came up with the idea and created the Brian Snapchat.
Nev says this confuses him, because how does pretending to be a random guy help? Courtney reveals Janisa said it would be a good idea so she could get to know Aubri’s likes and dislikes before she tried approaching her as herself. When asked why she decided to come clean now, Courtney says Janisa came up with the idea of reaching out to Catfish and they both decided it was a good way to do it.
Now, though, Courtney says she feels awkward and scared since she is basically coming out to everybody on TV. Since Aubri’s been extremely quiet, Slick asks her how she is feeling, and she says she feels betrayed. Courtney and Janisa are her roommates, so she never thought they would do that to her. Nev asks Courtney to go get Janisa since they now know she was in on the whole thing too, and once Janisa comes out she immediately apologizes and explains she was not trying to hurt anybody or be evil or anything like that, she just wanted both of her friends to be happy.
Aubri cuts right through the crap and says, “You could have told me, though!”
Nev asks them to give he and Slick a few minutes with Aubri, so the girls go back inside and the three of them get back into the car. Nev says he feels gross knowing that Janisa has been puppeteering the whole situation from the beginning. Aubri says she just needs a little bit of time on her own, so she takes off in her own car after promising to meet up with them again later.
They cut to a cafe next where Nev, Slick, and Aubri are sitting together. Aubri says the two girls tried to talk to her while she was gone, but she just deleted the thread entirely. Slick seems proud of Aubri, but Nev says they really do have to find a resolution because they all live together. Janisa and Courtney show up then and Nev immediately goes after Janisa, saying how he gets the impression she managed to get both Courtney and Aubri into a situation neither of them wanted to be in and wants to know how she came to the conclusion that Catfish was the best option.
She says that bringing up Catfish was actually for her, because she did not want to just walk up to Aubri and confess what she did, but she knows from watching the show that Nev is a good mediator and she wanted his help. Slick is offended, saying she doesn’t like the response because Janisa is always going on about “I, I, I” and she is not here for that.
Nev interrupts to say it would probably be helpful for Aubri if Courtney would explain how she is feeling right now. Courtney says coming on Catfish probably was not the best choice, but everything happens for a reason. This is a lesson learned for her, and she has come to realize that they should probably just be friends to keep everything calm around the house. She admits she still has feelings for Aubri, but it is really hard right now with everything that is going on.
Aubri hops in to say that right now, she cannot be friends with Janisa. Maybe in the future it is something they can work on, but not at the moment. As for Courtney, Aubri says if she really had feelings for her she could have just told her, but now she is sure there will never be a friendship between them, though she is willing to be cordial since they live together. After shots of each girl looking like they are trying not to cry, the screen fades to black and we get the update on how things are going now.
Two months later, Nev and Slick catch up with Aubri where she explains she needed some time at home before she could go back to living with Courtney and Janisa, but since then they have all gone to the movies together and she thinks they might be able to salvage a friendship. They speak to Courtney briefly as well, and she confirms it is no longer awkward in the house and she is still trying to deal with coming out and being attracted to women.
Honestly, the entire situation seemed to clear itself up a lot easier than I would expect from three eighteen year old girls, but as they say, all’s well that ends well!
Supernatural returned from its winter hiatus with an outstanding episode full of action, hilarious moments, several references to the show and cast, and heartbreaking scenes. From start to finish, “Nihilism” never dulled for a moment.
Courtesy of the CW
The show opens on a stuffed squirrel around a beer bottle, which may very well be the most ‘Dean Winchester’ thing ever seen; we know another ‘squirrel’ that likes his beer, too. The references in the bar got even better as it pans up to the sign: Rocky’s Bar. It was a neat nod to Rocky and Bullwinkle, better known as ‘moose’ and ‘squirrel,’ the loveable nicknames Crowley once gave Sam and Dean. And just when you thought it surely could not get better, the camera then pans to a giant moose head on the wall. One could surely spend hours noting the many little references in Rocky’s Bar!
The surprises continued as Pamela Barnes, a psychic friend of the Winchesters who died in season 4, walks into the bar with a bag of limes for Dean. She throws the limes onto the bar over “Daphne Loves Fred” carved into the wood, a sweet little nod to “Scoobynatural.” Dean mentions that Sam and Cas are out hunting a ghoul in Wichita as he cuts up the limes and makes Pamela the “house special” (a shot and a beer), before a woman in a suit walks in. She wants to buy the bar, a bar that is dead except for one passed out patron, but Dean will not sell. “This bar. I’ve never had anything this nice.” Dean even notes in a quick scene after that while drinking shots with Pamela, “this bar? This is my dream.”
Of course, even in Dean’s head there are monsters as a vampire enters to get revenge for when Dean and Sam killed his nest. With that, the unconscious patron wakes up, also a vampire, but Dean and Pamela take them out smoothly.
While Dean lives out his happy place in Rocky’s Bar, mere minutes have passed from the previous episode as Sam, Castiel, and Jack face off with Michael. Michael, using his powers, shows that he has the upper hand as he brings them to their knees. Cas fights through it as Sam struggles to get his lighter out. Their plan works, as Castiel gets knocked to the side by Michael, Sam lights and throws the lighter. The flames encase Michael, and it is enough of a distraction for Cas to get the warded handcuffs onto Michael. As much as he fights it, Michael has no power with them on.
Maggie calls in, reporting that monsters everywhere are not killing, just biting and scratching. Michael’s plan is in action, but the danger is still very close by for Sam, Castiel, and Jack as Michael’s calvary comes to help him. With no way out and horribly outnumbered, Sam calls for desperate measures. In this case, the reaper assigned to look out for them, Jessica. Instead of Jessica, it is Violet, the current reaper on shift to watch the Winchesters that shows up. She refuses to help as it would be considered intervening, but as she listens to someone not seen, they are all teleported back to bunker.
Now that they are back at the home-base, Sam, Castiel, and Jack discuss what to do with Michael, who is chained up in the war room. Sam mentions about the time he was possessed by Gadreel, trapped in his own mind, and how Crowley entered his mind to save him. But, trying to enter into Dean’s mind is not all they have to worry about. Maggie calls in once again to report that the monsters have stopped attacking. Instead, they are heading in the bunker’s direction.
As Castiel and Jack try to lock the bunker down, Sam is left with Michael. He threatens Sam that one way or another, everyone will die. “And Sam, the last thing you’ll see is this pretty smile as I rip you apart.” Jensen Ackles delivers that line so devilishly delicious, with a smirk that was far from angelic.
Courtesy of the CW
Sam brings out the machine the Men of Letters used to get inside people’s minds, and quite possibly the same one Dean used in the season 12 episode “Who We Are” to get inside Mary’s mind. The scene flips back to Dean’s mind and shows how he is reliving the same night at the bar in a Groundhog Day sort of way, and reminiscent of another Supernatural episode, “Mystery Spot.”
It is heartbreaking to see Dean trapped in his own mind, but not as heartbreaking as the scene to follow. Jack talks to Michael, standing up for Dean and believing that Dean will eventually take down Michael. He claims Michael does not know Dean, but Michael counteracts with saying that he knows everything because he is in Dean’s head. He messes with Jack, telling him Dean was only sad on the outside when Jack died. Inside, Dean did not care that Jack died because he no longer had him as the burden Michael tries to claim Jack is. Castiel steps in, though, confirming what viewers already knew about how Michael is lying and Jack should not believe him.
Maggie and the hunters she rallied to help her block the road to try and stop the monster from coming as Cas and Michael discuss one major topic, God. Michael explains his reason for distruction and chaos. He wanted God to come back in his world, but quite like the Winchester’s world, God never showed. And thanks to Dean’s mind he knows that Chuck is a writer and claims the world is just failed draft after failed draft. Michael thinks Chuck does not care about anything, and Michael wanted to be more God than him at first. Now, he just wants to burn everything and every world until he finally catches up to God. Michael concludes his plan with one chilling remark: “Even God can die.”
It appears the monsters manage to get past the hunters and are heading for the bunker just as Sam gets the machine ready. Cas hooks it up to Michael and Sam, while Sam explains that Cas will be hitching a ride with him into Dean’s mind. Jack is designated the lookout, making sure no one is killed.
Courtesy of the CW
Once the machine clicks on, Sam and Cas are transported into Dean’s mind. It is reminiscent of The Empty, completely black with nothing around, not even a sound. That is until Cas uses his power for them to hear Dean’s thoughts, countless quotes, both horrible and happy, that have been said over the past 14 seasons. Cas plans to wade through all the traumatic moments, but Sam has the clever idea that this time those moments would not be the ones Dean would be drowning in. If Michael wanted Dean to stop fighting back, it would be something he has never had before, contentment. More quotes are heard until Sam hears something he has not heard before, Dean running his own bar.
For Dean, it is like the night has never changed. To him, Sam and Cas are just back from their hunt. He offers them “this great IPA from Austin: Cosmic Cowboy,” a nod to Ackles’ Family Business Beer Company, one of many Easter eggs and shout-outs to the brewery.
Courtesy of the CW
Sam and Cas try their best to get Dean to realize it is all a dream, which is hard to do as Dean’s mind keeps jumping from moment to moment. The dream loop begins to falter as they mention that Pamela is not just blind, but dead. Dean has flashes of those memories, but what really breaks through Dean’s mind is Sam saying “Poughkeepsie,” a code word the Winchesters use when they are in danger.
Courtesy of the CW
With Dean’s memories restored and the dream broken, Michael enters the bar. Michael tries to claim once again he knows Dean and what he wants. That he only tolerates Cas because he owes him. Because Cas “gripped you tight and raised you from perdition, or whatever,” Micheal mocks. He states Dean was happiest when Sam quit hunting. He says those are the reasons why Dean said yes to Michael. Cas points out, though, that Michael is just stalling for his monsters to arrive at the bunker.
Dean provokes Michael to fight, but one by one, Michael knocks them all down. Even without powers, Michael is strong and skilled. Meanwhile, the monsters are already at the bunker. Things are not looking good for the hunters either as they are getting knocked down, too. So Jack makes a decision and uses his nephilim powers to blast the monsters, easily defeating them.
Courtesy of the CW
Meanwhile, Team Free Will gets their own upper hand as Dean too makes a decision. He decides that instead of kicking Michael out of Dean’s mind, they keep him in. He is locked away, and with no powers and with Dean in control of his own mind, there is no way for Michael to get out. As he says, Dean is the cage now.
Courtesy of the CW
Back to reality, Cas scolds Jack for using his powers because it burns off parts of his soul. At the heart of it, Cas is worried that Jack needs to stay himself. He does not want to see Jack without a soul. Jack promises it will not happen again, but as Supernatural goes, this moment has an undertone of foreshadowing leading us to believe that something similar will happen again.
Courtesy of the CW
The episode ends back in Dean’s room. He is repeating a mantra of “it’s just you” as Michael pounds at the door inside Dean’s head. Dean’s attempts to quiet the noise is interrupted by Billie showing up in his room. It answers the question of who transported Cas, Sam, Jack, and Michael from earlier in the episode, but that is not why she was there. She dropped much bigger news for Dean. Jumping from the AU and back, and saying yes to Michael has had its consequences. Billie tells Dean that every single book telling of the many ways Dean could die have been rewritten. Now they all say Dean’s death will be Michael escaping Dean’s mind and burning down their world. Except one. She hands Dean that book, and with nothing revealed, Dean questions what he is supposed to do with it. Billie tells Dean it is up to him and disappears, leaving Dean pondering his fate.
Courtesy of the CW
It is another worrying scene of foreshadowing, leaving viewers wondering what potential demise is in store for Dean. Even with Michael locked away, things are not looking up for Team Free Will 2.0. What did you think of the episode, and what fun references did you spot? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts!
Supernatural airs on the CW on Thursdays at 8pm EST.
Chris Evans and Tom Holland will share the screen again, albeit the this time, it will be the small one. Moving away from blockbuster cinema, the two Marvel stars are signed on to one of Netflix’s most prestigious and star-studded movie projects. The project also includes big names like Robert Pattinson, Bill Skarsgård, Eliza Scanlen and Mia Wasikowska.
Production on the movie will start next month according to Nerdist.com and is based on the novel The Devil All The Time by Donald Ray Pollock, which according to Goodreads combines “the twisted intensity of Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers with the religious and Gothic overtones of Flannery O’Connor” and tells the story of several characters in rural Ohio – next to a team of serial killers, there is also an eccentric preacher and a corrupt local sherif.
Pollock is known for re-inventing the American gothic novel and has been highly praised by critics for his crass storytelling and creation of twisted, conflicted characters. It should be interesting to see what this cast of actors will make of such a base.
Chris Evans will play the role of the sherif, while Tom Holland will play Arvin, a character suffering under his veteran father. Robert Pattinson will take on the role of the preacher. There is no confirmation on who Skarsgård will play, but given his role in the recent IT remake, a chilling delivery of any kind of twisted role can be expected.
It will be interesting to see Holland move away from a clean and family-friendly character like Spider-Man to a more serious role.
Netflix’s recent releases like Birdbox or Roma have shown the streaming service’s road to a more serious competitor to the big screen and The Devil All The Time will definitely be a project to look forward to in the coming months.
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