(This review may contain spoilers).
I watched Supernatural fairly regularly up to season six… then I lost seasons seven and eight that I got given on DVD. When I saw season nine was showing on E4, though, I decided to start watching it regularly.
I found it very easy to get back into watching the series. Although there were quite a few characters I didn’t recognise (like Kevin and Metatron), I was able to follow the plot of this series really well.
I thought it was good to have the opportunity to see something of the past of Abbaddon’s host and her connection with Henry Winchester. Seeing Bobby in the first episode was kind of bittersweet… though the exchanges Sam had with his brother and father-figure while stuck in a coma were fairly amusing, if very sad.
One of the things I enjoyed in the first part of this series was the close bond Dean and Sam had with Kevin. Even with the problems they were having between them, it was good to see that they both kept to their morals… well, for most of the time.
It was interesting to see Castiel have to deal with being human and powerless. I felt sorry for him for quite a few of the episodes, as he seemed kind of lost and innocent. Later on, I felt he grew harder… though there was still that core of Cas that makes him such a good character.
I very much enjoyed seeing Crowley in this season. He’s always been fascinating as an antihero, even though his life as a human indicates he wasn’t a nice person. It was also good to get the opportunity to see him display real emotions during at least one of the episodes.
Dean scared me quite a bit later on in this series. I know it wasn’t his fault, but considering how used I am to his personality… yeah. And I really didn’t like the tension between him and Sam.
I found a lot of the supporting characters in this season to be really interesting. I wasn’t especially keen on Hannah by the end of the series, but I did like Charlie. And Kevin. And Cain. And it was also cool to see link-ins with other popular culture, such as the Wizard of Oz.
I did notice there wasn’t as much humour in this season as there have been in previous, but it was cool to see a return of Gabriel. And it was really cool to see Tessa again, even though I was disappointed about what happened to her. And I liked seeing how the angels were trying to cope with what was going on and the battle between the different factions of heaven.
Although there is a part of me that thinks Supernatural is going on too long, I do enjoy watching it and the interactions between Dean and Sam are among my favourites. Plus, no one actually stays dead… so I have hope I’ll get the opportunity to see some of the characters I like again.