Spoilers.

Supernatural Official Site 

The Time: Thursdays, 9:00 PM, The CW

The Show:

Sam
and Dean Winchester are two brothers who roam the back roads of America
in a 1967 Chevy Impala hunting evil.  At first they fought all
of the usual: vampires, ghosts, werewolves and the like, but in recent
yeas they’ve found themselves more and more dealing with the literal
forces of Hell as a demon war has been brewing for decades, with their
family caught in the middle.  Sam has been pre-ordained from
birth by a past foe, the yellow-eyed demon, Azazel, to be a pivotal
figure in the war…on the demon side.  Meanwhile, Dean has
recently been resurrected from Hell by angels because they have the Lord’s work
for him to do.

The Stars:

•  Jared Padalecki – Sam Winchester
•  Jensen Ackles – Dean Winchester

The Episode: “Criss Angel is a Douche Bag”

Sam
and Dean investigate mysterious deaths at a magic convention in Iowa and an over-the-hill magician who’s suddenly able to do impossible magic tricks as a benefit of those deaths.  Meanwhile, Ruby confronts Sam about the steps he needs to take to stop Lilith once and for all. 

The Lowdown:

Invariably I keep going back to either X-Files or Angel in a review of this show.  It’s almost unavoidable at this point.  Supernatural is so good and consistently solid like those shows were in their prime and highly reminiscent of them.  I had to see this particular episode just for the title alone, which is hilarious.  It has several things that are awesome in it, not the least of which is “The Amazing Maleeni” and slight “Humbug” episode vibes of X-Files that “Criss Angel…” has.  Barry Bostwick guest stars as the Amazing Jay, a washed up magician who is suddenly able to pull off the most incredible escape acts in magic, but at the expense of someone else’s life.  Sam and Dean get wind of it and quickly determine that some kind of real magic, centered around tarot cards, is working a death transference spell.  Jay does the act that would kill him, but escapes miraculously, and someone else buys the farm in the manner that Jay would have.  In addition to Jay, there are two suspects, his best friends Charlie (John Rubinstein) and Vernon (Richard Libertini).

The B-story is Ruby showing up to confront Sam about his lack of focus and the willingness to do what really needs to be done in order to stop Lilith.  She berates him for ignoring her while doing this meaningless job at the magic convention.  We also learn that Lilith’s tally of broken seals so far is 34 out of 66, with Lucifer waiting in the bullpen.  Meanwhile, there’s a great side bit where Dean gets sent on a wild gimp chase by Vernon and Charlie:

Dean: “There’s been a misunderstanding.  I think I’ve been had.”

The Chief: “Oh you haven’t been had until you’ve been had by the Chief.  Oh, and before we get started, what’s your safe word?”

Sheer excellence.

Aside from the main investigation, the poignant theme of getting old is explored, and it ways heavily, both on Sam and Dean, who wonder if they’ll even live to become old men, and Jay, who laments the fact that he has.  Rounding out the fun is a Jeb Dexter, the resident douchebag rock and roll goth magician who is a direct jab at Criss Angel, in all the worst ways.  The villain reveal is cool and the way that he’s defeated and the ramifications for Jay at the end ring true for Dean’s prediction: “It all ends bloody or sad.”  “Criss Angel is a Douche Bag” is a great episode, which this show has the annoying habit of cranking out week after week.

9.2 out of 10

Message Board