Supernatural (TV Series) Reading is Fundamental (2012) User Reviews

Funny dialog (especially Castiel) with a new unwilling hero.

[mvgranch · 8/10 · 6 May 2012]

Sam and Dean take 'the package' to some dingy room in South Chicago and start to hammer the stone. Each blow brings thunder and lightning. "That sound like somebody saying no, wait, stop to you?" (At this time you would think they would know better than to just start messing around with stuff they know nothing about!) "Yeah, Oh well" As they reveal the tablet inside the rock, poor Kevin Tran seems to get possessed. This action also wakes up Castiel, who has been under the watchful eye of Meg.

The boys don't recognize the writing on the tablet. Kevin is falling in out of whatever has possessed him. Sam and Dean go to see Cas. They find an angel who is not quite acting like himself (what's new about that?) "Pull my finger, what, my finger pull it". Meg has become Castiel's new best friend. Cas knows that the tablet is the hand writing of Metatron (the word of God).

As the boys bicker about Castiel's new attitude, Kevin steals the tablet. Kevin turns out to be a prophet who can read the tablet and translates it for the boys. Except for a couple angels trying to interfere unsuccessfully, that's about it. Oh yeah, turns out that, leviathans are more powerful than angels and Kevin is taken by one. The majority of this episode is enjoyable because of Castiel's bizarre behavior, and the comical dialog. "This looks like a sex torture dungeon, is this a sex torture dungeon?"

A strong episode with some serious philosophical notes, and some returning themes.

[honorhorror · 9/10 · 5 May 2012]

After almost a whole season without much of the old-school Supernatural regulars (Cas, Crowley, Meg among the ones still alive), Reading is Fundamental feels like just the right episode to kick everything into their most comfortable places in this show. It is proof that Supernatural is usually stronger in its well-developed mythological habitat, aka a place where "angels" and "demons" can well fit into the same house.

I once read from a famous pastor's work that "American culture is Calvinism plus business achievements". Oddly enough, a show as unconventional as Supernatural would fit somewhere into this sentence, if you realize how much the show derives from the Biblical view of the world, and how fun it is for this show to continue its pop-culture reference tradition. The newest one of the later is a well-placed reference to the Transformers, which I laughed out loud for quite a while. Speaking of the person who uttered these funny words, Cas' return is somehow reminiscent to his mortal trip back in Season 5. Thus, the show cashed out some capital from the glorious old days by repeating the philosophical mind-bending of dragging an angel down to the human level. It is still unclear how this funky new Cas would fit into the new story arc, since it's not as well planned and masterfully unfolded as the old Eric Kripke story arc. Let's just hope he will make as much fun as he gives exposition in later episodes. Anyway, some moments worked out great, especially the scene between Cas and Dean when they played a board game with metaphoric undertones. It feels like an assessment of the old theological question about predestination from the universe of Supernatural. And this episode on its own is an excellent example of TV entertainment.

As far as the show's big statements go, this episode may have reached some new heights in claiming that "angels are incapable to care" and many recurring accusations about God. From Season 4 and 5 we already knew that the chosen prophets in Supernatural universe can be really wimpy, unfortunate in their gritty predicaments, yet the show knew how to wrap things up in a relatively graceful way by concluding the story with a big exclamation mark that "Oh, I see. So everything WAS in God's plan after all despite so many crazy and sad things happened." My point, same as last week, is that it seems meaningless to write a story where God is a jerk (or irresponsible) since the writers are essentially the God of the story and will take the final blame, especially when the story turns out to be a bad one. So as a fan of the show, I wish Supernatural good luck for this and next season.

Crazy Cass and Kevin

[shwetafabm · 8/10 · 24 June 2020]

I liked the characters, even Meg, though i feel their presence was forced this episode seems organic enough. Kevin was great and a different addition. It was okay and a change in the series.

Did't Understand 1 Thing though ?

[rwhatslife · 9/10 · 12 May 2012]

Been a Die hard Fan of Supernatural have observed one thing in this episode that made me confused like anything that is its end.As we all know in the previous episode when there was a Prophet and when his life is in danger the heavens most Furious Wrath will fall upon that evil or anyone who is trying to harm that prophet right ... So when this time the Prophet was in danger as Lavaithan came and killed angels and took that prophet ? what was that i still was thinking as the next episode shocked me...as threatening to Prophet was continued hope you guys will cover up this by nice explanation in upcoming episodes please keep this going and :| please don't mess up Supernatural Team, love your work till the end ;)

Start of a pretty compelling storyline

[CubsandCulture · 9/10 · 7 May 2020]

The tablet storyline-it really takes off in season 8 and later-was first introduced in this episode. Kevin-a fun and compelling side character-also made his first appearance here. Overall this an episode that tries up so loose ends nicely-crazy Cas is an endearing character-while forwarding the show in a different direction.

Great pairing of angel and demon

[fredit-43004 · 9/10 · 6 April 2022]

The team of Castiel as psychiatric patient and Meg as psychiatric nurse was refreshing. It made me wonder what story we had missed in the interval. Meg was supposedly hired by the hospital and was not a private-duty nurse. I can imagine how she handled the other patients.

Also, I agree with another comment, that in another episode we were told that the archangels guard the prophets from any harm, so Kevin's capture by Dick was inexplicable.

Leviathan Beats Angels

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 17 March 2013]

Dean and Sam break the stone they took from Dick with a hammer and their action awakes Castiel; affects pregnant women; and somehow affects a sixteen year-old teenager called Kevin Tran that has visions. They find a carved tablet inside the stone and soon the senseless Castiel that is insane informs that they have the Word of God, but he can not read it and he breaks the tablet. Out of the blue, Kevin steals the pieces of the Word of God and his touch fixes the tablet. Further, he is able to read the tablet and tells that it is about the Leviathans. Soon the angels Hester and Inias appear and tell that Kevin is the prophet of God. However Dean uses a symbol to get rid off the angels to give time to Kevin to translate the tablet. When two angels bring Kevin back home, there is a surprise waiting for them.

"Reading is Fundamental" is a reasonable episode but with boring moments with Castiel's foolishness. Let's seen if the Winchester brothers will be able to vanquish the powerful Dick Roman and his army of Leviathans until the end of this season. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Reading Is Fundamental"

Disappointing!

[mm-39 · 3/10 · 5 May 2012]

A disappointing episode! After last weeks great episode with Dick Roman the show goes back to last seasons storyline! Reading is Fundamental has the redundant Angels and Demons soap opera theme of who is in whose group. There was no Dick Roman and his creatures in this episode. A big let down and the viewer is left out on the new plot. Reading is Fundamental is a filler episode, which reintroduces the old characters for the season finale. I could have missed this episode and still follow the series. The new Ruby actress is a downer. I wish they would have used the same actress for the character as you forget who she is. I give this episode a three out of ten. The end of the show has a twist, which is the only bright spot.