Supernatural 13x16 "ScoobyNatural"

Well, my friends, after much brouhaha about the Scooby Doo episode, it has finally arrived. Was it everything you hoped it would be? Personally, I didn't watch much Scooby Doo on my own growing up, but some of my brothers were super into it, so yeah, I've seen an episode or two! What was fun about this episode is that one of the original voices from way back when Scooby first started, Frank Welker, reprised the voices again here! Zoinks!

Anyway, on to the actual story... basically Sam and Dean are working a strange case wherein they end up kind of blowing up a maniacal stuffed dinosaur. To thank them for their help, the owner of the store that was being terrorized by said dinosaur lets them have something from the store. So Dean, naturally, takes a flat screen TV to complete his Dean cave. Of course, not before running into the most obvious villain ever, but perhaps it was supposed to be obvious, who knows. Anywayz, they turn on the TV and are immediately sucked into none other than an episode of Scooby Doo.

Now, it's not clear why Scooby Doo necessarily, as they hadn't really been talking about it (unless I was just zoning, which is entirely possible), but I guess we're not supposed to care about that, or about how a ghost can take them into a cartoon TV show, but I'm getting ahead of myself. They get dropped into the cartoon, and meet up with the Scooby gang. Dean recognizes pretty early on which episode they are in, but things start to deviate from the actual episode when, you know, some people start turning up dead.

Castiel also shows up because when he got back from getting some forbidden fruit, he got sucked into the TV too. Sure! They split up into mini teams to try to figure out what's going on, which basically amounts to them having to tell the gang that ghosts and stuff are real, which leads to a mini meltdown as they are awash in their own meaninglessness, but let's not dwell on that too long, because Dean perks them right back up to get them rearing to fight a real ghost.

Luckily, once they actually do manage to trap the ghost, only Sam, Dean, and Castiel are in the room, so the Scoobys don't actually see that the scary ghost was really a little kid ghost who was taken advantage of by that obvious real world villain. There's a whole story about a pocketknife being put into objects and the ghost then possessing said objects. Whatever, the point is they decide to lie to the gang and tell them that it wasn't a ghost haunting after all. You know, so they can stay all innocent.

The ghost kid agrees to take them back to the real world if they'll set him free, which they do easily enough by blasting the pocketknife with a torch. They then confront the obvious villain and save the day, dun da da da! There were also some storylines about Dean trying to get it on with Daphne, who was oblivious, and Velma having a crush on Sam, ultimately leading to her kissing him.

Random Thoughts:

- There were some fun nods to the real Scooby Doo throughout the episode, it was cute. But there were some real logic leaps when it comes to the actual ghost story of the episode. Oh well.

- Matthew Lillard, who played the live-action version of Shaggy, also did the voice for him here. On another note, have any of you been watching Good Girls (he's in it)? It's pretty good! I'd recommend it.

- Does this rank into the favorite episodes ever? Probably not for me, but it was still fun. It's nice to have some fun amidst all the melodrama.

Quotes:

Dean: ...killing Barney?
Sam: Yeah.
Dean: Was pretty satisfying though, wasn't it?

Dean: Behold...the Dean Cave. Or the Fortress of Deanitude, still trying to figure that one out.

Dean: I don't know... Cas is like a talking dog.

Sam: Did you just get beat by a microvan?

Velma: Jinkies!
Daphne: Jeepers!
Shaggy: Zoinks!
Scooby: Ruh-roh!
Dean: Son of a bitch.

Castiel: Wonderful, I once led armies and now I'm paired with a scruffy philistine and a talking dog.

Sam: Ok. That was...something.
Dean: That was the coolest thing that's ever happened to me. And that includes the Cartwright twins.
Castiel: What did you do with the Cartwright twins?
Dean: Oh....ha heh... I'll be right back.
Sam: I don't think I wanna know.

Castiel: Dean, you're not a talking dog.

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Book Review: Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3) by Morgan Rhodes

Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes

Published: December 9, 2014

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Hardcover Pages: 416

Synopsis: In GATHERING DARKNESS, book three of the New York Times bestselling Falling Kingdoms series, the stakes have never been higher as three teams push forward on a race to find the Kindred, the four elemental crystals possessing ancient all-powerful magic, first:

Prince Magnus has just witnessed torture, death, and miracles during the bloody confrontation that decimated the rebel forces. Now he must choose between family and justice as his father, the cruel King Gaius, sets out to conquer all of Mytica. All Gaius needs now are the Kindred - the four elemental crystals that give godlike powers to their owner. But the King of Blood is not the only one hunting for this ancient, storied magic...

• THE KRAESHIANS join the hunt. Ashur and Amara, the royal siblings from the wealthy kingdom across the Silver Sea, charm and manipulate their way to the Kindred, proving to be more ruthless than perhaps even the King of Blood himself.

• THE REBELS forge ahead. Princess Cleo and vengeful Jonas lead them, slaying with sweetness, skill, and a secret that can control Lucia's overpowering magic - all so they can use the Kindred to win back their fallen kingdoms.

• THE WATCHERS follow Melenia out of the Sanctuary. They ally in the flesh with King Gaius, who vows to use Lucia's powers to unveil the Kindred.

The only certainty in the dark times is that whoever finds the magic first will control the fate of Mytica... but fate can be fickle when magic is involved.

Thoughts: I feel bad posting reviews for books that are not the first in a series when I haven't done the review of the first book in said series. But oh well, here we are. Eventually that will stop happening, I suppose, as I review more and more books.

All that being said, I quite enjoyed this next book in the Falling Kingdoms series. What I find interesting about these books is that not a lot necessarily actually happens, yet I am still intrigued and want to know more. Does that even make sense?! In a way, these books are sort of like the continuation of a TV series, with each book making up a season. Stuff happens, but not so much that it feels like the story is anywhere near ending.

Basically, if you liked the first two, you'll probably like this one. I would say out of the three, it's probably my favorite thus far, mostly because the characters are starting to grow and change more than they were in the previous installations. I've been waiting for a couple things to happen, and they finally have started to, so of course that's exciting.

I've heard that there will be six books total in the series, which I didn't even know when I first started reading. Would I have started had I known there were that many? I can't say for sure, but I'm glad that I have now. Although it may have taken me just as long to read this one as the last book, it didn't feel long, and honestly I've been incredibly busy, so I haven't been reading as much as normal. These books are quick reads, and although I didn't like the beginning of the first one a lot, it eventually picked up the pace, and now I enjoy the series and (most) of the characters.

I mean, let's be honest, there are always going to be certain characters you like more than others in a series. If you want to know my favorites, they are Magnus and Cleo.

Anyway, if you like a fantasy series with magic, romance, and some nice twists and turns, you might want to try out the Falling Kingdoms series!

Rating: 4/5

Buy on Amazon

What I'm Reading Next: Iron Gold by Pierce Brown

Supernatural 13x15 "A Most Holy Man"

Oh man, guys, I don't know about you, but that was one of the more boring episodes of the show, ever. When the end of the season comes around and I start thinking about my favorite episodes of the season, I'll be like "wtf even was that episode?" and will have to go back to the recap just to figure it out.

I mean, not much happened that really mattered. I'll just be honest here, I was only half paying attention. Basically, the guys are out to find the blood of a most holy man for the spell to get the portal open. Sam finds some online deals going around for religious relics, they make a shady deal with some people to steal a stolen skull in order to trade for the blood of a saint, blah blah.

A whole lot of yada yada happens where there are, like, mobsters, and a lot of the word chicanery thrown about. They run into a priest who is also looking for the skull, but he wants it because it was stolen from his church or whatever in Spain or something. Sam wants to help him out because he feels all the feels for his plight and his ideals, so their plan is to get the skull for him or some such. It works out for them, though, because he just happens to have a lot of money, which is really what these skull brokers are looking for in the grand scheme.

As one would expect, a shootout happens at the big meet at the end, where the two different parties the guys were supposedly working for are all trying to vie for the skull. The priest guy gets shot, but only grazed, thanks I guess to all of the praying he was doing during that rather silly musical montage of the fight scene. I suppose it was an homage to some mobster movie, maybe? Sure, we'll go with that. Otherwise it's just plain cheesy mccheese.

It turns out that the dude they were going to trade the skull for the blood was lying about the blood. Yep, no saint's blood around these parts. But my goodness, what's this? The priest you happened to meet just happened to be, like, blessed by the Pope or something, and the title essentially means a most holy man? Well, I never! That's just what you boys need!

They get some of the dude's blood and send him back off to Spain or wherever, and have a heartfelt chat there at the end of the episode. You know, the patented bro chat that happens almost always at this point each week. The gist of this chat is basically that last quote down there. And...scene.

Random Thoughts:

- There are a couple weeks off, then the show is back on 3/29 with the animated Scooby Doo episode that has been much the talk of things for some time now. Finally some levity in this rather dark season.

- Lots of familiar faces on tonight's episode, a guy who's been on The Flash a couple times, and a girl who was on iZombie for a while. Keeping it in the CW family, I see. Now those are two shows I am actually still enjoying in comparison.

Quotes:

Dean: Ah, the internet. Not just for porn anymore.

Dean: I know that Disney princess hair gives you some padding.

Sam: If someone stole the Impala, what would you do?
Dean: Murder. I'd murder them all.
Sam: Right.
...
Dean: If I can't have it, nobody can.

Sam: You think we could ever change things, really change things? Stop all the monsters, all the bad.
Dean: That'd be nice.

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Book Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Published: February 28, 2017

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Hardcover Pages: 464

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Thoughts: This book is important. It deals with racially charged issues such as police violence against innocent people, as well as gang violence within poor neighborhoods. I wouldn't be surprised if this book is soon taught in schools around the country.

With all of that being said, it took me much longer than it should have to finish it. It's a bit on the long side for what the book is, and moves at a rather slow pace, despite what you may think from the official synopsis above. I felt like I should like it more than I actually did like it, if that makes any sense.

If I had to pinpoint what about it made it harder than normal for me to get through, I guess it may boil down to the main character, Starr, not having a lot of agency within her own story. Yes, part of the story is about her coming into her own and deciding for herself that she wants to speak up about what happened to her friend. But it does take her a long time to get there, and before that happens, she isn't necessarily the pilot of her own story. What does she want? What are her goals? I'm not entirely sure, and that's what bothered me.

What's interesting, though, is that I could see this somehow being more effective as a film. And I believe it is already being developed. That sounds super strange, I know. I guess what it all boils down to is that it was missing something for me. Certainly it's an important story, and very of the moment, but just because it is all of those things doesn't mean it gripped me and took me into it like other books have.

Rating: 3.5/5

Buy on Amazon

What I'm Reading Next: Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes

Supernatural 13x14 "Good Intentions"

The Winter Olympics are over, which means regular season TV is back in full force this week, including our Supernatural. Last we left things, Mary and Jack were in apocalypse world, Lucifer is now up in Heaven ruling things, and Sam, Dean and Castiel have the prophet Donatello working on translating the angel tablet, as it can tell them what they need to open a portal to the other dimension. Got it? Okay!

After many weeks, we finally get to see what Jack and Mary have been up to in the other world, so I'll just recap their side of things first. Michael has Zachariah working mind games on Jack to try to get him to open a rift, but it's not working. So, they stick him in with Mary. She rightly assesses that they're only done this so they can then kill her in front of him, thus getting him to do what they want. Now we're all wondering, why can't Jack just get them out of there with all of his mighty powers? There's some kind of massive warding that's dampening his powers and giving everyone headaches. But hey, wouldn't you know that there just happens to be a special spot in Mary's cell where there's a hole in the dampening field thingamajig?! How nice!

Thus, Jack gets them out of there, and they run into their world's Bobby, who takes them back to his human camp. He and Mary reminisce a little, and she finds out that because she didn't take that demon deal on this world, Sam and Dean were never born, so they weren't able to stop the end of the world. So, you know, she doesn't have to feel as guilty over that anymore. But, once Bobby finds out that Jack is a nephilim, he wants none of it. Of course, before Jack can leave, the angels find them, but duh, Jack's back at full power now, and he incinerates a bunch of angels as if they're nothing. His next goal? Kill Michael, because that's what Sam and Dean would do.

But what are Sam and Dean actually up to? Well, they are trying to encourage Donny to translate the angel tablet. But Donny boy is starting to act a bit strange. Is it just because Asmodeus put some kind of spell on him? It's unclear in the beginning, but it soon becomes clear. After he tells them he's translated the tablet and given them some stuff they need to find, Dean and Castiel go off to get the hearts of Gog and Magog. All you really need to know is that these dudes don't have any hearts, so Donny was lying to them.

Indeed, he tries to kill Sam back at the bunker, but even though he manages to bang Sam on the head a couple times, Sam does manage to get him locked up before Dean and Castiel get back. They figure out that because Donatello doesn't have a soul, he isn't able to withstand the corruption of the tablets. There's not much they can do, as he won't cooperate and is just downright dangerous. But Cas has had enough, and decides to take things into his own hands. He uses some angel powers to basically take the information from Donny's brain, which leaves him braindead in the process, which honestly may be better for him in the end since he's not himself anymore.

Sam and Dean aren't too happy with Castiel, but they can't argue with his results. And I guess we know what some goals are now for some more of the season. Just, you know, get some fruit from the tree of life, find the seal of Solomon, get some blood from a most holy man, and oh yes the part we already knew, get the blood of an archangel, of which right now they only know Lucifer is around, though we know better.

Random Thoughts:

- On my way home today, I saw a car with a sticker of the tattoos the boys have, you know the anti-possession tattoo, and I was like oh hey a fellow Supernatural fan!

- They lay it on pretty thick that Jack will eventually go bad because he has no choice, but I'm not sure I believe that give just how thick it's been laid on. He may very well sacrifice himself to save everyone, which seems more in line with how the show does things.

Quotes:

Dean: If bacon's what kills me, then I win.

Donatello: Now, where do you keep your virgin lambs blood?

Castiel: This is serious.
Dean: I know, but... they're wearing loinclothes.

Magog: I will kill the pretty one.
Gog: They are equally pretty.
Magog: The small one, then.

Alt-Bobby: I thought you were a damn ghost, but turns out you're just from a whole different world. Which is... weirder, when you think about it.

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