Supernatural "Alex Annie Alexis Ann": Family Issues

I honestly don't know what to say about Alex Annie Alexis Ann, other than it's strange and long title. It was nice to see Supernatural bring back the good old hunt free of arcs and Castiel. Wait sorry, Castiel in an episode in a good thing not a bad. It seem though that Cas' character is just used in the main arc since hr became an angel again. Despite no Cas, we saw Jody Mills return to Supernatural as she calls the boys in for a vampire hunt. A hunt involving a young woman named Alex, or Annie. By all purposes and intent, Alex Annie Alexis Ann was a filler episode that gave Jody Mills to touch on her arc a little bit. In addition to seeing Dean becoming a bit more blood thirsty. As you recall from last week, Castiel warned Sam to watch Dean due to the mark of Cain. For you Bitten fans, you may have noticed a less bearded Greyston Holt in the episode. Just a fun fact. The hour I have to say, it really belonged to Jody Mills and her backstory, in addition to being one of the longest surviving Winchester ally at the moment.

Alex Annie Alexis Ann began with a young woman being arrested and locked up in a holding area at the Sioux Falls Police Station. A fake B&E is called in so her "brother" could knock out the officer and get her from the station. When her "brother" shows his fang, Jody Mills comes in like a wecking ball and saves her. After the vamp kill, she calls in the Winchesters for help since she believes the girl has something to do with the vampire. After talking to Alex, they realize there is a vampire nest in town but Alex refuses to give them up. So the Winchesters decide to look for the nest while Jody takes care of Alex and somewhere people won't get hurt. Meanwhile, the vampires begin looking for Alex who has gone missing. The Winchesters find out that Alexis has actually been the bait for luring people to her "family" and that Jody could be next.

Despite it's filler and Meh nature, Alex Annie Alexis Ann was more about the themes then the jokes and action that Supernatural is used to. The main theme was family overall whether it was finding it or losing it. Furthermore the hero of the hour has to be Jody Mills. Unlike the Winchesters, she isn't as jaded to thinking of the worst of every situation. Yes, her son ate her husband and Sam had to put him down, but Jody has tried to move on. But that wound doesn't heal and it's things like that makes hunters in the first place. Jody is still good and she connects with Alex, who has also seen the brutal supernatural world. In a way they complete each other. As for Alex, you kinda can't blame her for giving in to her "mother". You remember being a teenager once and trying to get your parents approval. Heck, you could still be doing that today. The overall theme is though, what we do for family and how sometimes we can't let them down. As for the Dean arc, he is kinda tipping towards like all those crazy hunters we have seen in the past who just kill rather than save. The positive, this will be the very thing to bring them back together. If anything makes Winchesters bond, its when they are on the verge of demise.

So other than the weird title of Alex Annie Alexis Ann is a bit on the weird side? You know, if it weren't for Jody Mills and her obvious strong female presence, this episode was a bit dull. Sure it was a good old hunt, but it felt like a re-hash which Supernatural is going to fight with in it's old age. Which is why I think Supernatural should end with season 10. End it on a good note rather than a sigh. As for the Dean arc, it really was like the writers needed a way to connect it to the rest of the series. You really could just skip Alex Annie Alexis Ann and not miss anything. Unless you like Jody Mills. I mean there was no witty one liners or touching moments between brothers. Filler episode everyone.

Alex Annie Alexis Ann wasn't a terrible episode, but it really did nothing for Supernatural. It makes you wonder if Supernatural would benefit from a smaller episode order since television has made recent successes with smaller episode orders. Sleepy Hollow and Haven is an excellent example of this. Although it would be longer wait for Supernatural to come out and less opportunities to be creative. On topic, it was nice to see Jody Mills back and Supernatural didn't write her off this season, so the Winchesters still have another ally. Next week it's the pilot episode for the Supernatural spin off Supernatural: Bloodlines. Not sure what to think of it right now, but my current opinion for the spin off is not positive. I mean it's not Supernatural without Sam and Dean right? The spin off is going need to borrow some of the star power from Supernatural favorites to gain footing. Well that and some good writing. Next week will tell.

What did you think of Alex Annie Alexis Ann? Where do you think Dean's arc is headed? You think Alex and Jody will bond?