Review

Crossroad starts back in the 1930s with a blues guitarist playing them funky tunes in some backwoods bar. Something this way comes, and it ain’t Bambi; blues guy flees to an isolated cabin, ’cause that’s got to work. Seems he is being stalked by one vicious canine that no one else can see. The prologue ends with the dude pretty much rooted, though I wasn’t quite sure what was going down there, a seizure or something? Later we learn he choked on his own blood, and it’s all to do with the legend of Robert Johnson. Okay, writer Sera Gamble may have taken a few liberties there.

We flash forward to the present where Dean has found a newspaper account of some Architect who did a deep six off the top of an apartment building he designed. The Winchesters investigate, and discover the Architect couldn’t design a “pup tent” till ten years ago, when he suddenly got great. A local hospital Chief of Medicine also had a rise in fortune ten years ago and is currently on the run from what Sam surmises to be “black dogs”. All roads lead to an isolated tavern situated on a crossroads. Dean is onto it pretty quick and surmises someone made a deal with the devil. A box has been buried in the middle of the crossroads, and the brothers discover, amongst other things, a photo of a black guy.

One thing leads to another, and Sam is protecting some dude called Evan from hell hounds while Dean is after his own deal with the unholy. Ready to make a pact with this episode?

Writer Sera Gamble has done the one thing so blatantly obvious in Supernatural that it took someone with talent to actually conceive of how to work it into an episode. One of those “of course” moments where you are left wondering why no one else thought of it sooner. Deals with the devil, at a crossroads, at midnight – come on down, Southern voodoo, your time is now. Given the whole construct and plot arcs raging away through seasons one and two of Supernatural, we’re on a winner here. The Winchesters can summon demons, but not the yellowed eyed one; this is really going to ramp up the odds later in the season. On top of this summoning goodness we get one hell, no pun intended, of a good episode with Crossroad. Calling it the single best episode of the entire run of Supernatural thus far. Let’s get down to it.

Simply loved the retelling of the Robert Johnson legend based around supposed events in 1938 Greenwood, Mississippi. Gamble splits that into two flashbacks to get the whole “deals you shouldn’t make” idea fixed in the mind of the viewer. Notably, both flashbacks are filmed in black and white, and are as authentic as anything I’ve seen based on that period of time. Director Boyum nails it and you are really wondering what sort of episode you may be getting based on the opening prologue piece. Go on, admit it, you were slightly disappointed you weren’t getting a werewolf outing. Know I was, but the episode ended up winning me over regardless.

What also floated my boat was the fact that both Winchester Bros got the notion of what they are dealing with completely wrong. Initially, Sam surmises they are facing “black dogs”, whatever the hell they are; anyone else note the concept is recurrent through various episodes of Supernatural without it having taken centre stage at any time? Dean finally joins the dots and we learn we are facing “hell hounds”, sort of hell’s version of Lassie out to bring the wayward home. As Dean put it: "deals with the devil – that always works out fine".

During Crossroads you get the feeling that Dean is well aware that John Winchester, see entry for episode one In My Time of Dying, made his own deal with a demon in order to save Dean’s life. Reference that to Dean’s mantra of “what’s dead should stay dead” in Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things and you are left with the notion that the elder Winchester brother has some issues he needs to sort out in quick order. This particularly resonates when the demon he summons offers him a deal on John Winchester’s soul. The crucible of Crossroad is whether or not Dean takes the offer of John Winchester’s resurrection over saving Evan, someone he barely knows. Jensen Ackles nails the inner turmoil Dean is feeling during that scene. Full marks also to director Boyum for hitting the close ups as required and adding atmosphere that you can almost smell. One of the heavier scenes to have made a Supernatural episode.

Demonic deals, I would sooner trust a Liberal party work cover policy ... to about the same result!

Director Boyum, debuting here on Supernatural, handles the supernatural elements of Crossroad to perfection. The “hell hounds” are never seen but in Boyum’s hands they still remain menacing – anyone else conjure up a mental picture of those bad boys? During Sam’s defence of Evan we get sound, scratch marks on wood, and an unearthly wind going down. Boyum layers on the tension there and you are slightly concerned that this time Sam may have bitten off more than he can chew and is about to become mince meat. What’s working here is that what you don’t see is often times far more scary then what you do see. Eli Roth and Rob Zombie please take note – your arses are being owned by a first time television Director.

Of course, the other elements Boyum is handling are the demons; we get two of them presented as sultry chicks. That whole temptation thing that has been going down since Eve decided apples were looking real good one day. In both cases, someone buries something in the middle of a crossroad at midnight and for a few seconds nothing happens. Then the demon is simply there. No preview shoot, nothing leading up to it: wham bam, it’s happening. Nicely handled, adding that air of unease. Full marks also have to go to actress Jeannette Sousa, playing the demon Dean summons. Ms Sousa has to play the tempting role, then the slightly miffed but still out to make a deal role, the angry role, before finally after the demon is vanquished (what the hell happened there), the totally confused chick waking up in the middle of nowhere with no idea what’s been going down. Full marks to Sousa for nailing the various moods there, get this chick into a motion picture stat!

Sera Gamble is the best in the business when it comes to handling the relationship between the brothers Winchester. Plenty of one-liners and banter coming at you during the course of Crossroad.

I didn’t pick up on any obvious references to other horror output, see I’m being very nice here as this is simply the best ever episode of the franchise. The whole deal with the Devil thing has been floating around since the advent of horror as a genre separate from its older parent Science Fiction. Actually been a while since we have had a movie dealing with this subject matter, the last I can remember is the 2000 remake of Bedazzled, which is only memorable for an outstanding performance by Elizabeth Hurly in some flimsy outfits. Just knew the lass had some talent. Tongue removed from cheek, let’s check the episode music.

Well okay, colour me impressed, Crossroad hits the afterburners on the blues. We get “Crossroad Blues” by Robert Johnson, “Key to the Highway” by Big Bill Broonzy/Little Walter, and Son House hitting it with “Downhearted Blues”. Now you just have to say your dance card is filled up with that amount of blues going down. But if you think you are going to escape an episode of Supernatural without some mullet rock, think again – Nazareth blast in with “Hair of the Dog” in the soon promo played at the end of Crossroad.

Speaking of those rather intrusive “Soon” promos, what the hell is up with those things? Sure I get the whole “then” and “now” bridging devices being used to kick off each episode, slight recaps in the “then” ones to bring people up to speed with the plot arcs, but why exactly am I getting “soon” going down? This is a DVD box set, you don’t need to sell me on the future episodes as I have already purchased them. Slightly miffed here, the manufacturer should have canned those “soon” things.

Did I enjoy Crossroad Blues? – bet your sweet ass I did. Director Boyum and writer Gamble deliver the best ever episode of Supernatural, and that’s saying something considering the number of episodes in seasons one and two that really are superior to the medium they are playing in. We get drama, personal angst (surprisingly from Dean rather then overly emo Sam), and enough of that good horror gravy to have you asking for seconds. I was simply bouncing up and down on the sofa as the end credits rolled. Yes, I know, horrible mental image I’ve served up there, but what the heck, have a nice day citizen. Liked every single aspect of this episode and in particular the resorting to blues music. Note at the end when Dean switches the car radio from a blues number to a rock number, nice nod to the fact that rock music has its origins in Southern Blues music.

So here we are, one third or so through season two of Supernatural. What have I thought of the season thus far? Was slightly disappointed in the opening five episodes, in particular the nadir of the abysmally bad Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things, which has received my worse ever rating of a Supernatural episode. I was starting to have my doubts about the show and if it wasn’t for a completist attitude to the episode guide would have skipped a few episodes. Glad I didn’t as we have had three outstanding episodes in a row with 6 to 8. Overall I’m running with an average rating of 8.12 over the first eight episodes, which is pretty solid for a second season.

If there is one episode of Supernatural that is a must see, then Crossroad Blues is that episode. Outstanding achievement in terms of drama, plot arcs, and of course the supernatural basis of the episode. One for the fans of the show and also the non fans, there’s something in here for everyone. Almost worth making your own deal to get a copy of the episode.