Carry on my way ward sons--oh, just kidding. It's no where near time for that song yet. Can you have PTSD from listening to a song? I'm not sure, but I think I do have it with that one. So many hurtful things follow that song. This episode was no real exception. The only brighter side was we got to reunite with an old friend, and nobody died! Minus that last part, that was a lie. Maybe I should say nobody important died. Yeah, that sounds less like lying and more like telling the truth...ish. Well, last week the boys were hitting their search hard for any way to save Dean from the Mark of Cain. It would seem this is like chasing a dream...when they stumble upon a series of people having been beaten by a very familiar face. Charlie is back from Oz, but it seems she's up to no good. So far a few people have felt her wrath, and the boys go off to investigate as to why their sweet Charlie is being so...not sweet.

One run in with her leaves Dean a bit beaten up, and that just doesn't fly. When did Charlie learn to fight!? And like that no less!? Turns out she's not really all of Charlie, just the Dark parts. Good Charlie shows up not too long after and explains how the Wizard of Oz used one of the keys to split her in two so they could win the war in Emerald City. Confused yet? I was a bit, but it oddly made some weird sense. The key Charlie has was broken upon their arrival back to this realm and that means they're stuck here and separate. Dark Charlie is out to get revenge on the people who helped cover up her parents murder. A drunk driver slammed into their car on their way to pick Charlie up from a sleep over. Good Charlie blames herself completely, while Dark Charlie wants the driver dead. With Good Charlie's help the boys track down the next victim in Dark Charlie's rampage. Dean goes to "protect" the guy, and it takes all day for the little ball of hate to show up. When she does, she convinces Dean that she just wants to talk to the guy. He allows this, and one tear filled confession later, all seems almost well. Until Dark Charlie slams and locks the door, giving her enough time to stab and kill the guy before fleeing. 

Dean blames himself, Good Charlie blames herself, and Sam is just Moose. He and Good Charlie track down a former Men of Letters member and discover that not only had he been to Oz, he too had been split into "Good and Dark." Only, his Dark part became the Wizard of Oz. One side effect of being split into two is that whatever happens to one happens to the other. Dean makes it to the target man's house and is shocked to find Dark Charlie there too. Did I mention she stole Baby? Because she did. Dean won't let her anywhere near Good Charlie and the two are thrown into a fight while Good Charlie and Sam figure out how to get a Key to Oz. The Good half of the Wizard decides the only way to get the Wizard here is to be mortally wounded. That would give them a key and a way to put Charlie back together again. 

The plan works until the Wizard does show up. Sam attempts to get the keys from him, but he wasn't expecting the Wizard to have actual powers. Charlie watches as the Wizard force chokes the life out of Sam. There's only one thing to do and that's to shoot the Good Wizard, so she goes. Both die, and Good Charlie is left on the floor, beaten horribly. Sam carries her outside and stops Dean from beating Dark Charlie any further. The two are finally reunited into one, and the guilt Dean has for beating any version of Charlie is palpable. After all is said and done, Charlie heads off to investigate a possible lead on removing the Mark from Dean. It's heavy to see them all like that, but Charlie didn't die and Dean is somewhat in more control....

This weeks episode looks kind of spectacular, I'm rather excited...

There are few directors in this world that to me, are master storytellers. It's not an insult to the men and women that work hard to make great films, it's just that, there are people who truly understand motion pictures and are able to put together an incredible film time and time again.  One of the directors that I firmly believe has that magic touch when it comes to movies is who we will be talking about at length today, George A. Romero.  

Romero is of course best known for completely updating and evolving the zombie genre with his groundbreaking film, Night of the Living Dead, but his work goes far beyond turning the dead into a pop culture phenomenon. He has managed to touch multiple genres in his career, from fantasy films grounded in reality like Knightriders to even trying his hand at a serious drama with his mostly forgotten film, There's Always Vanilla. But Romero's finest work always comes when he tries to terrify us and I'd thought I'd take a few minutes today to talk about what makes his work so incredibly vibrant.

First and foremost, he has a unique and appealing visual style as a director that is fluidic and engrossing. Every shot that Romero puts together is a feast for the eyes. You'll find all kinds of motion within the frame, bringing multiple dimensions to his films. But what matters most is his ability to make you feel as though you're not watching a film. His cuts are oh so quick and done in such a smooth fashion that you never quite notice it. It allows the viewer a comfortable experience, which is a good thing because well...the man knows how to scare the hell out of you.

He is able to do that, because of the fact he is a master storyteller. Romero's greatest strength is his writing because of how uniquely he crafts a story and a screenplay.  His work is designed to be completely accessible to anyone who watches it. A great example of this is the Dead saga. All six films are connected, but you wouldn't know it if you picked up Diary of the Dead as your first Romero zombie film to watch. He is also a master of making sure there is something that appeals to everyone in his films. In fact he is the only writer I am aware of that can craft a screenplay that leaves you thinking and purely entertains you all at once. If you want to just kick back and enjoy the ride you can, but all the while are engrossing concepts about our humanity, waiting to be discovered.  But when it comes to the scares, George preys upon our most primal fears. Death, our loss of identity and even what it means to lose one's mind are some of his common themes and when he brings those fears to the screen, they reach the darkest parts of our soul and leave us shivering in terror.

He truly is a master of horror and a master of film and the fact that we are still discussing his work speaks to this fact. Because the greatest test of film is the test of time and Romero's movies are in fact timeless, since they were truly ahead of the game, recognizing conflicts in mankind that were yet to arrive or still plague us today and I certainly hope we get more from George before he decides to retire, after all, it would be quite the achievement to see the Dead saga find an ending, and see what incredible part of our psyche he can uncover next.