TV episode review
US airdate 24 September 2010 (The CW)

Dean Winchester has it all — the American dream come true. But something is missing; his demon hunter brother Sam…

Suburbia ain’t Dean’s scene… At the opening of Supernatural’s unexpected sixth season, life-long demon hunter Dean Winchester has it all. He finally got the girl, the (surrogate) kid, the house and the job. So, he’s happy right? Nope: in the process he’s lost his brother Sam, and the way of life he’s always known.

Weird happenings and visions of the ol’ yellow-eyed demon see Dean’s hunter instincts resurface — and just as well. The shocks keep coming for poor old (un)contented Dean as Sam returns from the dead (he’s no idea how or why), accompanied by their grandfather (Mitch Pillegi) and previously unknown cousins (including Stargate’s one season wonder Corin Nemec among them).

So, the old gang are back together (well, the brothers), and there’s a trio of Djinn to deal with. However, once that’s all over this opening instalment kinda peters out on a quiet note rather than a triumphant feeling of victory. There’s the mystery of Sam’s return, but other than that there is little to hook this set-up into the next episode. Unlike Smallville, Supernatural’s opener has done little to set up a feeling of an oncoming arc story. Brian J. Robb

VERDICT: 6/10

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