Warning: do not read if you haven’t seen the first season!!  I have some season two spoilers, but I’ll warn before those.  Season one is up for grabs though.

Eric Kripke’s exciting series returns for a second season, picking up at the exact moment season one ended – a torturous cliffhanger in which a semi-truck plows into the Impala, injuring the three Winchester men.  When the story resumes in the premiere episode “In My Time of Dying,” it quickly becomes obvious that Dean, played by the talented Jensen Ackles (Dark Angel, My Bloody Valentine, Smallville), is in the gravest danger.  While younger brother Sam, portrayed by the equally talented Jared Padalecki (Friday the 13th, Gilmore Girls), tries to find a way to save his big brother, father John Winchester (Gray’s Anatomy and P.S. I Love You’s Jeffery Dean Morgan) doesn’t appear to be doing much.  What his sons don’t know is that John has a plan, one that will shape the remainder of the series.

Unlike many writers, Kripke doesn’t give his characters free passes.  Their choices always have consequences and we see this immediately when John yells at Sam for not killing the Yellow-Eyed Demon when he had the chance in season one’s finale.  Sam sees only his father’s obsession with hunting the monster who killed Mary Winchester and Jessica Moore (Sam’s girlfriend).  Even the audience doesn’t know John’s true intentions when he asks Sam to meet up with fellow hunter Bobby Singer (Harper Island’s Jim Beaver) to retrieve the demon-killing Colt and supplies for an unnamed ritual.  The episode ends with a heartbreaking twist that leaves viewers as stunned as the Winchesters.

The second episode sets the tone for the remainder of season two as the Winchester boys – SPOILER ALERT – come to terms with John’s sacrifice and hunting on their own.  SPOILER FINISHED  In the very creepy, “Everybody Loves a Clown,” we are introduced to two new characters: mother and daughter Ellen and Jo Harvelle.  Ellen, played by Samantha Ferris (The 4400), is the widow of a hunter who now runs a place called The Roadhouse where hunters can gather.  Jo (Alona Tal) is her headstrong daughter who wants nothing more than to follow in her father’s footsteps.  Also at The Roadhouse is ex-MIT student and resident genius Ash (Chad Lindberg) who offers the Winchesters assistance in their mission to find and kill the Yellow-Eyed Demon.

While keeping to the original premise of killing things that go bump in the night – this season brings us a killer clown, werewolves, demon viruses, a Djinn, a zombie girlfriend and the usual vampires, demons and ghosts – Kripke weaves in the overall story of the Yellow-Eyed Demon and his plans for Sammy, and the children like him.  Unlike many other television shows, Supernatural doesn’t give all of the answers by the end of the first episode.  Or even by the second.  Example: at the end of the premiere episode, John whispers something in Dean’s ear.  We don’t discover what John said until episode nine, the incredibly interesting “Croatoan.”

While the mythology grows darker, Kripke sticks with his established classic rock soundtrack and patented humor.  This season brings some of the best brotherly banter with exchanges like: Sam - You’re bossy.  And short.  Dean - Are you drunk?  Sam - Yeah.  So?  Stupid.  But, as he showed in season one, Kripke isn’t afraid to hurt his heroes.  Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki give some tear-jerker performances in this series.  One of these I used in my high school drama class as an example of an amazingly acted emotional scene.

Best of all, Kripke proves that he is one of the greatest tv writers of all time with the two-part finale “All Hell Breaks Loose.”  Not only does he tie up plot points that most writers would have dragged out for several more seasons, but he adds new twists that promise a more complex and intense season three.

As with season one, I would have purchased the season two dvds for the episodes alone.  However, we also get several commentaries (some of which are quite amusing due to the brotherly banter between Ackles and Padalecki) as well as previously deleted scenes.  Also included are four specials: fan favorite gag reel, Jared’s original screen test for Sam, the making of the season two finale and an interactive map guide to the urban legends used in this season.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older