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Throughout season four of SUPERNATURAL, Sam and Dean Winchester strove to prevent Lucifer from escaping Hell and setting off the Apocalypse.  Failing in this mission – actually causing it, to be honest – the boys spend Season Five trying to find a way to send Lucifer back to the Pit.  Lucifer isn’t the only being freed from Hell: he’s brought with him the literal Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who go about wreaking havoc in anticipation of the end of the world.

Season Five was to have been the final one for SUPERNATURAL, but in a bit of a surprising twist, the ratings actually improved over the previous two seasons and as we all now know, the show is back for a sixth season.

The angel Zachariah, played so brilliantly by Kurt Fuller, reveals to Dean that he is to be the vessel of Michael the Archangel and is destined to fight Lucifer for the fate of the world.  Unfortunately, Lucifer’s intended vessel is Sam.  Mark Pellegrino, who just finished playing another God-like figure as “Jacob” in LOST, portrays Lucifer.  As if the brother’s relationship were not strained enough, they now have to avoid killing each other.  Of course, there is just one stipulation: they have to agree of their own free will to be used as the Angel’s vessels.

Dean gets a glimpse of how bad things will get in the episode “The End”.  Zachariah sends Dean five years into the future to see what happens to the world after he refuses to be Michael’s vessel.  The world has been devastated by a plague created by Pestilence, one of the Horseman.  Dean meets his future self, who leads a group of survivors still trying to kill Lucifer.  Despite this experience, Dean refuses to give in to Michael.  “The End” reunites Sam and Dean, who had decided to go their own way a couple of episodes earlier.

Season Five is extremely dark and morose.  Yet despite the heavy overtones, the trademark humor of SUPERNATURAL is never sacrificed.  While the heart of the season is still about stopping the Apocalypse, part of the show’s great appeal is those episodes that stand-alone.  In “I Believe that Children are Our Future” people in a Nebraska town are being killed by what should be harmless novelty items like joy-buzzers – which actually electrocute their victim – and by itching powder that causes one unfortunate person to scratch the skin from his/her own body.

In one of the true comedic highlights of the season, “The Real Ghostbusters” arrive at a hotel that is hosting a SUPERNATURAL fan convention.  There they meet a couple of nerdy copycats and some very real ghosts who don’t want them to leave.  The most poignant episode may have been “Dark Side of the Moon”.  The boys meet Joshua, Heaven’s gardener and the only being that God speaks to directly.  The boys are told that God isn’t going to help and doesn’t consider the impending Apocalypse to be his problem.  It is a crushing moment for Sam and Dean.  It confirms for them that there indeed is a God and he wants them to back off.  Potent and sobering, it was one of the season’s best.  And mention must also be made of the episode “Hammer of the Gods”.  Numerous pagan deities including Odin, Kali, Mercury, Ganesh, and Baron Samedi gather at a motel to figure out how they can halt the Christian Apocalypse.

SUPERNATURAL’s Season Five was nothing if not consistent.  While there was a great deal of brooding, the brother’s relationship was rebuilt and strengthened. There was a nice mix of the serious, the sublime, and the hysterical – one of the reasons that this show is so outstanding.  SUPERNATURAL has always been buoyed by outstanding guest appearances and reoccurring characters.  Richard Speight, Jr. reprised his role as the scheming trickster Loki, who is later revealed to be the angel Gabriel.  While the show could have ridden off into the sunset with its ending, fans are overjoyed to have at least one more season of SUPERNATURAL to enjoy.

Supernatual Season Five (2010) Created by Eric Kripke.  Cast: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padelecki, Jim Beaver, Misha Collins, Mark Pellegrino

Blu-Ray Extras:

There is an interactive feature that allows you to explore Bobby’s house and  click on books or video tapes to see several short featurettes.  These include:

• Ride of the Horseman (11:37) a look at the Book of Revelations and the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.  Includes interviews with priests and religious scholars.
• Kripke’s Guide to the Apocalypse (10:36)  Series creator Eric Kripke talks about the Biblical Apocalypse and how it ties into the show.
• Lucifer & Michael: Brothers? (13:00) a discussion about the relationship between Lucifer and Michael and their parts in the war between Heaven and Hell.
• Apocalypse preparations (16:44) a PBS style broadcast about how to prepare for the Apocalypse
• Demon Visitations (16:00) A documentary style video about demon attacks and visitations
• Search for Lucifer (17:30) a cable public access style fake TV show exploring the origins of Lucifer.
• Ghostfacers Webisodes – There are ten short webisodes of the Ghostfacers which are amusing but have little to do with the show itself.
• Gag Reel (10:00)  The ubiquitous gag reel is generally low on the totem pole when it comes to desired extras but the Supernatural gag reels have always been quite funny.
• Audio Commentary on Episode 4 “The End”