Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Supernatural: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie Review

While the series had yet to hit its stride, 'Supernatural's second season remains a blast...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown June 25, 2011

After crawling out of Hell in Season Four, surviving the Apocalypse in Season Five and being leveled with the most shocking, game-changing Supernatural sucker punch to date in the jaw-cracking Season Six finale, the Winchester brothers' first and second season demon hunts and beastie battles seem positively tame. Don't get me wrong, Season Two's primary baddie, the Yellow-Eyed Demon Azazel (Fredric Lehne), remains as sinister a hellspawn as ever, but compared to Crowley, Lilith, Death, Raphael, Zachariah, the Mother, Lucifer and all the forces of Heaven and Hell combined, ol' Yellow Eyes and the rest of Season Two's night-bumpers have a hard time measuring up. Thankfully, series creator Eric Kripke and his writers were as talented in 2006 as they proved to be in the years that followed, and Supernatural's second season is still a wildly entertaining, smartly penned, genre-eviscerating twenty-two episode stretch in the Winchesters' soon-to-be seven-season run.

When last we left the blue-collared Winchester boys, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) had acquired the legendary Colt (a weapon capable of stopping any monstrosity cold), tracked down their mother's killer -- the Yellow-Eyed Demon -- nearly killed the Big Bad with a shot from the Colt and, subsequently, were nearly killed themselves by a possessed truck driver. Season Two picks up right where Season One left off as the Winchesters race a mortally wounded Dean to a Memphis hospital. There, the brothers' father (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has to make a tough choice, albeit a choice that keeps Dean's heart kicking. Over the course of the remaining twenty-one episodes, the brothers deal with the consequences of that decision, become more determined than ever to put a bullet between Azazel's yellow eyes, and encounter all sorts of abominations. What toothy horrors and ancient evils do Sam and Dean have to contend with this season? Reapers, vampires, ghosts, ghouls, demons, hellhounds, vindictive spirits, demigods, tricksters, werewolves, bloodthirsty djinn, Crossroads demons... whew. Long story short, Sam and Dean make good use of the weapon stash in their '67 Impala's trunk; shotguns, rock salt, holy water, silver and all.

If that sounds like standard-issue genre drivel, you haven't watched many episodes of Supernatural. One of the series' charms -- I stress one of the series' charms -- is the clever twists Kripke and crew apply to familiar creatures, monsters and urban legends. They not only exhume mythological freaks you've never heard of, they separate other creepy critters from the pack. True Blood may get more press, but Supernatural's vampires are more unnerving and memorable. Demons may be horror-film fodder, but you've never seen demons as wily, unpredictable and crafty as Supernatural's snarky demons. Werewolves, ghosts, zombies... you name it, Kripke and his writers brand their beasties with a signature all their own and rarely take their cues from anyone outside of their writer's room. And the dark streak of humor that runs through the series? Kripke strikes a near-perfect balance between character-driven drama, episodic creature-feature horror, and serrated comedy sure to draw blood from anyone who gives themselves over to the series' biting banter and unexpected levity.

The series' other charms? Kripke dumps buckets of blood and spills gallons of gore, threads a taut meta-narrative from beginning to end, juggles standalone episodes and grand mythos entries with equal aplomb, almost always delivers a satisfying payoff, serves up solid scare after hearty laugh, and proves himself a master when it comes to casting. In fact, many of the character actors Kripke taps for the various demons and bloodsuckers that pop up throughout Season Two are as crucial to the success of each episode as Padalecki and Ackles. Not to take anything away from Jared or Jensen. As the Winchester brothers step out of their father's shadow more and more with each passing hunt, Padalecki and Ackles sink into their roles with increasing ease. Bickering only as true brothers can, launching laser-guided one-liners with uncanny precision, and walking the ever-fine line between genre camp and intense realism with nary a misstep, the resilient upstarts grab the series' reigns and leave little doubt as to whether they can hold their own without Jeffrey Dean Morgan on the roster as a regular. It only helps that Jim Beaver's role as southern-drawled veteran hunter Bobby Singer is expanded over the course of Season Two, laying further groundwork for one of the show's best and most beloved characters.

There are a few early-series bumps in the Winchester's winding road. Many of the show's visual effects haven't aged very well (recent seasons feature far better FX), a handful of episodes are uncharacteristically underdeveloped and inconsequential ("Playthings," "Roadkill" and "No Exit"), some of the monsters the brothers encounter inspire both intended and, unfortunately, unintended laughs ("Everybody Loves a Clown" giggles to mind) and, again, Kripke's second season lacks the scope, scale and audacity of later seasons. Even so, it's hard to resist Supernatural. The more you watch, the more you'll want to watch. The more you enjoy yourself, the more you'll be willing to overlook the occasional shortcoming. The more you anchor yourself to Sam and Dean, the more you'll invest in their journey as they come into their own. In many ways, Season Two is an even better series launchpad than Season One, if for no other reason than it doesn't have as many growing pains to contend with. But regardless of where you begin (or began, as it were), Supernatural is worth watching. Its sixth season was one of the best hours on television this fall, and its upcoming seventh season looks to be even more irresistible.

Supernatural: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like the Blu-ray releases of later seasons, Supernatural: The Complete Second Season features a strong 1080p/VC-1 encoded presentation that captures every fleck of grime, sliver of rust, speck of blood and grizzled hair that crawls out of the series' ever-oppressive shadows. Kripke's visuals are, as always, a bleak, somber affair, and primaries are often as cold as skintones are pale. But it's entirely intentional, and not without exception. Blood, in particular, packs a visceral red punch. The occasional sunlit scene is suitably warm and relatively lifelike. And greens and blues make their presence known, if only for fleeting moments. When darkness descends, black levels are thick and inky, delineation reveals as much or as little as Kripke intends, and a veneer of grain rests overtop the image. Through it all, detail is excellent. Textures are well-resolved (especially for a TV series release), pores and textiles are crisp and clean, edge definition is sharp and refined, overall clarity is remarkable, and the Blu-ray edition drives a stake into its DVD counterpart's heart. Yes, detail is lost whenever the lights go out, and yes, several shots suffer from a variety of inconsistencies. But in almost every instance, the clear culprit is the series' original source; not a faulty encode. Minor artifacting, banding and aberrant noise appear throughout but are kept to a bare minimum, and crush is a common issue, albeit one that's inherent to the show's photography. All in all, aside from its lesser quirks, Supernatural's second season looks as good as its later-season brethren. Fans will be most pleased.

Supernatural: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Supernatural offers a serviceable... scratch that... reasonably impressive 640kbps Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track that does well despite its lossy nature. Dialogue is clean and clear throughout, and only takes a hit when roaring vortexes, shotgun blasts and full-throttle muscle-car engines flood the soundscape. Prioritization is noteworthy, even when all manner of nightmares converge on the Winchesters, and very few lines or effects are buried in the mix. The LFE channel doesn't exhibit the kind of prowess I was hoping for, but it sinks its teeth into the series' more chaotic scenes and earns it stripes on more than one occasion. Likewise, the rear speakers aren't as precise as I have a feeling they could be, but they still create a suitably immersive soundfield that boasts aggressive activity and deadly directionality. Even dynamics, cramped as they may very well be, are commendable. But it's hard to say how much a lossless track would have improved the proceedings. Unfortunately, the studio continues to arm its television series with lossy audio; a trend Nikita looks to buck. Hopefully, future TV releases from Warner will follow suit. Maybe, just maybe, Supernatural's upcoming sixth or eventual seventh season release will offer a DTS-HD Master Audio track. A boy can dream, I suppose...

Supernatural: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4-disc Blu-ray release of Supernatural: The Complete Second Season conjures up three audio commentaries, an interactive "Road Map" experience (with numerous interviews and behind-the-scenes featurettes), deleted scenes and other extras. It isn't as overwhelming a supplemental package as series junkies might be hoping for, but it is a solid one.

• Audio Commentaries: While I would have loved to sit through more, three excellent commentaries are included: "In My Time of Dying" with executive producer/director Kim Manners, producer Cyrus Yavneh and actors Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles; "What Is and What Should Never Be" with creator/executive producer/director Eric Kripke; and "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 1" with Kripke, executive producer/director Robert Singer and writer Sera Gamble. All are worth listening to, and Kripke's solo track is as fine a Supernatural commentary as any the crafty creator has recorded.
• The Devil's Road Map (HD/SD): An interactive Season Two guide that features an impressive collection of cast and crew interviews (new and old), episode-by-episode behind-the-scenes featurettes, additional info on Harvelle's Roadhouse and its regulars, stories of real supernatural sightings and details on urban legends, and a hidden bonus that's unlocked if you click on three yellow-eyed demon icons over the course of the experience. (Don't worry, I won't spoil the devilishly delicious surprise.) In all, it amounts to a near-two-hour tour of the production, and a terrific supplemental suite primed for fans and newcomers alike.
• Unaired Scenes (SD, 8 minutes): Deleted scenes are also available for four episodes: "In My Time Dying," "Bloodlust," "The Usual Suspects" and "Hunted."
• Webisode Gallery (SD, 13 minutes): A trio of brief promotional featurettes, only one of which -- "Inside the Writer's Room" -- offers any worthwhile insight.
• Jared's Original Screen Test (SD, 8 minutes): Padalecki's original screen test. (Hint: he nails it.)
• Gag Reel (SD, 9 minutes): Juvenile hijinks aside, this Season Two gag reel delivers a few decent laughs.
• BD-Live Functionality

Supernatural: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While it isn't the best the series has to offer, Supernatural: The Complete Second Season is a scrappy 22-episode scuffle in the Winchesters' duel with all the creatures Heaven, Hell and Myth have seen fit to parade in front of their crosshairs. With Kripke at the helm, it's a sharply written season that holds a number of surprises for newcomers and a variety of familiar treats for series regulars. The Blu-ray edition is worth owning as well. Its able-bodied video transfer outclasses its DVD counterpart in every way, its Dolby Digital audio is decidedly decent, and its supplemental package serves up a generous helping of content, new and old. Neither the second season nor its Blu-ray release are perfect, but fans will find their money has been well spent.