"Bitten"

Supernatural

Season 8 Episode 4

“Bitten”

Well, they get an “A” for effort, but a “C-” for execution in this week’s “Monster-of-the-Week” installment of Supernatural. Yes, you read that right. Two weeks in a row. At least they went for something a little different this time. Ambitious. Experimental. But flawed. I’m a fan of the stylistic potential of  “found footage” storytelling and Supernatural’s approach to it in Bitten was damn close to being, dare I say, awesome. It’s ultimate failure for me comes down to the guest cast. Kate was mostly annoying, though shined by story’s end, while I never warmed to Mike or Brian. And don’t get me started on the Alpha Prof. I hope these people didn’t pay for acting lessons because they got ripped off.

“Time to hit the books and feed the monster.”
— Dean Winchester

Too little Sam and Dean didn’t do the episode any favors, but when they were highlighted the whole thing seemed to pop. They have presence. Something our trio of soon to be werewolves never really had, at least until Kate’s heartfelt plea to be left alone at the end of her video.

I do hope that the writers are planning on bringing Kate back later in the season. It would give “Bitten” a little more bite, and I think that, overall, the actress earned another go around.

Next week Supernatural fittingly airs on Halloween night and we are treated to the return of Benny the Vamp, Dean’s Purgatory Blood Brother. That means, I assume, that this will also mark a return to the season’s thematic story arc. After two steps backward a step forward will make for a nice change of pace.