Supernatural, Episode 277 “Wayward Sisters”
Written by Robert Berens & Andrew Dabb
Directed by Phil Sgriccia
Then: The past appearances of Patience Turner, Jody Mills, Donna Hanscum, Claire Novak, and Alex Jones are shown with them fighting and killing various monsters. Jack shows Dean and Sam that their mother is alive, in Hell, and is in danger. Using Kaia Nieves, a dreamwalker (one who can open doorways to other places), with Jack giving her a supernatural boost, opens a door for Sam and Dean. Something goes wrong and the brothers get zapped somewhere else, Kaia is blasted unconscious to the side of a road, and Jack is in Hell with Mary Winchester.
Now: In Idaho, Claire arrives at a secluded house to rescue a preteen girl. After this mini-adventure, she gets a call from Jody telling her that Sam and Dean are missing. The scene moves to the boys, wondering where the hell they are while standing in a Godzilla sized footprint. The story returns to Jody who tells Claire, “It’s time for you to come home.” The opening title card then appears.
This was flippin’ fantastic! This is a backdoor pilot for the Wayward Sisters spin-off series and it’s exactly what it should be! Every character gets some solid screen time, allowing long-time viewers to remember these characters and introduce them to new viewers. Claire is the bad girl Hunter, the Dean of the group. She’ll rush in and think she can handle things, even though she gets in over her head. Alex has a job which brings a skill to this group that Sam and Dean lack. Her relationship with Claire is like sisters, with each able to push the other’s buttons, but completely loyal to the other. Patience is a psychic introduced a few months ago, who has a strained relationship with her father and is still getting used to sorting out what her visions mean. Jody is the mother figure, she’s a sheriff, and just flat out awesomeness. She’s incredibly protective of the girls, but knows that sometimes she’s just going to have to let them go out on their own. Everytime Kim Rhodes winces I felt her pain.
The opening action sequence with Claire is great, with some terrific effects, and a great shot by Director Sgriccia with some light falling on a character’s eyes. The way in which Claire gets into the house is hilarious. The action scene outside the hospital is okay, but ended on a high note. What’s done with the antagonist’s body is more in line with something one would see on The X-Files, but is incredible: the make-up staff gets incredibly high marks for what’s shown. The action scenes in the final locale are okay, nothing amazing, but typical Supernatural “Where’s the monster?” moments. The device that gets two females out of a car was awesome/funny/incredible. A terrific job from the special effects department.
The Winchesters are in this, but not much, as they’re really on the ropes in this episode. There’s some great humor with them as they try to survive in this hostile dimension, encountering foes small and large. Big props go out to the props department for the massive skeletal remains that serves as a dinner bell.
The episode ends well, with a solid justification for why Claire is going to stick with the group, I really love the closing narration. The tease of whom they’re going to fight in their series was very, very cool. Love the smile.
The good: The director, the script, the actors, the special effects department, the props department, and, heck, just everything!
Fun lines: “Knock, knock,” “Your name is right on the box,” “You’re wearing my sweatshirt,” “Baby,” “You look like Biker Barbie,” and “Okay, you too, Rainbow Brite.” Please note, I kept a lot of the good lines out of this so as not to spoil them, and quoted nothing from Sam and Dean.
The bad: I have to wait until who-knows-when-this-series-will-air for more. Congratulations, CW, you’ve got another winning series on the way.
The final line: Everything I could have hoped for. I need Wayward Sisters weekly, now! Overall grade: A
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