Supernatural Season 10 Episode 16 Review: Paint It Black
Sean McKenna
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Remember those first few episodes of Supernatural Season 10, especially Supernatural Season 10 Episode 2? Where Dean was a chilling and scary demon?
Or how about a little more recently with Supernatural Season 10 Episode 14? That exciting hour where Dean faced off against the fantastic Cain?
I’d love to get back to moments like those, and get less of something like Supernatural Season 10 Episode 16.
I hate saying I felt bored by a Supernatural episode, but the longer the hour went on, the more I became disinterested in what was going on.
Was it necessary to show so much backstory for the ghost? I just didn’t really care, and we kept going back to it even when I thought we were done.
And then there was the cutting away to Rowena torturing a coven member to learn that she needs to get at Sam and Dean because they happen to be at the one Men of Letters bunker that has what she wants.
Really? It just felt like such a forced way to push her story and presence towards the main characters after hanging out at Crowley’s for pretty much the entire season.
It’s disappointing Rowena has felt like such a squandered villain, and one that I have a hard time believing Crowley would put up with, even if she is his mother. He’s the King of Hell!
And no matter how powerful she claims she can become soon enough, she just hasn’t given off the presence of a big bad. A season finale showdown against Rowena isn’t the title fight I’m looking for, but it feels like that’s where we’re headed.
It also seems like with all this magic going around that that might be the one thing that can rid Dean of his Mark of Cain (which I thought would do something when the nun ghost had him pinned against the wall).
Even the case of the week left much to be desired, (Sam and Dean seemed not as hyped up for this case), and I think that the intercutting of Rowena and the ghosts tale really slowed everything down.
The best part of the hour had to be Dean’s confession. Going from chatting about girls to suddenly getting serious about not wanting to die and still keep on fighting was good to hear. He’s certainly battling his inner demons, enhanced with the Mark of Cain situation, but he wants to live just a little more deeply.
It is nice to get some opening up from a character that prefers to use jokes and one-liners in more serious situations.
While I think the bigger story has felt rather lacking this season, not every episode has to be a larger mythology hour. I get that. But if it’s going to be a case of the week, it shouldn’t be one that plods along and will eventually be forgotten.
There are plenty of enjoyable cases of the week. Just take the very fun and well paced Supernatural Season 10 Episode 12 where Dean turned young again.
Or look at Cole’s return in Supernatural Season 10 Episode 15. Not necessarily one of the top contenders for best case of the week, but there were plenty of decent moments during the hour and some very nasty Khan worms to top that off.
I’m just hoping Supernatural Season 10 can shift it up a notch. We’re pretty close to heading into the home stretch, and I’d like to see the series recapture some of that spark that got this season of to such a great start.
What did you think of the hour? Sound off below, and get plenty of exciting Sam and Dean cases when you watch Supernatural online now.
Sean McKenna was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. He retired in May of 2017. Follow him on Twitter.
