Sam didn’t waste any time when it came to coming up with a plan. He quickly devised a plan to seduce his teacher and convince her to reveal all of the secrets about The Devil in hopes of uncovering a way to get out of the deal with The Devil.

Jenny Wade as Nina

I knew Andi wasn’t going to exactly like Sam’s plan because of their relationship, but I was a little surprised when Andi kind of laughed at it because she knows that Sam isn’t much of a seducer. She pointed out the lame way that he got her and it was one of the funnier moments in the episode.

Reaper isn’t entirely a drama. The show is also very funny and I found the story with Sock, Ben, and Nina to be quite entertaining. After some time apart, Nina decided she would get Ben back, but the way she went about doing it was a little crazy. She nearly killed him on multiple occasions.

Sock put himself out there to keep the two of them apart. Nina can be nice, but she’s also very dangerous given the fact that she’s a demon and all. The dream that Sock had about Nina was very funny… not to mention stimulating. I was not expecting to see Jenny Wade (Nina) to strip down to just about nothing to seduce Sock into allowing Nina to get back to Ben. Sock remained loyal and refrained from doing any “demon banging”, as he put it.

“No Reaper Left Behind” ended as I suspected, with Sam not getting what he wanted. He didn’t get help from his teacher and it doesn’t look like Alan is going to be of a whole lot of help given the fact that The Devil tricked him back into Hell with the Vegas trip.

I was surprised by Sam’s dad who decided it was time to go to Hell and do something with his life. His father grew tired of sitting around and doing nothing. I kind of felt sorry for him. There’s not much you can do if you’re half-dead like that.

Rating: 7.6

Sock is something else. He never turns down a chance to hit on a girl and he was the same old Sock this week… hitting on a girl at a funeral of all places. Good lord. This story took quite a while to get interesting, however.

The story with Ben and Nina didn’t go quite as I anticipated it would. Nina wants to be with Ben, but Ben’s a huge wimp and won’t stand up to his grandma who can see that Nina is a demon. Nina did the right thing by talking to her in the garden, but sadly things went bad when the yappy little dog attacked Nina and Ben’s grandma ended up having a heart attack.

Rick Gonzalez as Ben, Bret Harrison as Sam and Missy Peregrym as Andi, Tyler Labine as Bert “Sock” Wysocki, Valarie Rae Miller as Josie and Ray Wise as The Devil

I really liked the idea of Ben’s grandma warming up to Nina. Nina isn’t all bad, after all. That could very well change now that Ben broke up with her… again.

I’m delighted to see Alan has been brought back to the show. He has only been in a few episodes, but I suspect he will be integral to helping Sam get out of Hell. His advice was to beat the Devil at his own game. Since Alan was good at poker, that’s what Alan challenged him at and in return, Alan was let go.

I knew it would be difficult to safely get Alan to Vatican City. I suspected the Devil would just crash the plane to prevent him from getting to Italy. I never expected him to make sure the plane had to set down in Las Vegas for repairs. That was a very nice conclusion to the episode. I have to admit that the writers have done a terrific job of making this Devil an entertaining fellow.

This week’s episode title hit home at the fact that the show is just about over. It’s rather sad considering this is one of the few shows created in the past few years that I absolutely love and it’s already coming to an end.

Rating: 8

As for this week’s soul, I had a tough time getting interested in him. I know Sock and Ben felt bad for him, but I honestly didn’t care if he went back to Hell or not. Instead of sending him back, Sam had to get all whiny and drag his feet with the whole thing.

Eriko Tamura as Kristen

I’m a little tired of the Sam and his constant whining about having to send certain souls. If it got Andi back, that’s fine, but it didn’t work. Sam trying to show Andi that he is good didn’t work at all.

I feel for Ben. I have a fear of heights as well, so the idea of flying with Nina is a tad scary to think of. I like how their relationship is evolving. It isn’t boring by any means. There’s always a conflict of some sort there, but I wonder how long the writers can keep this up.

I loved Gladys this week. She’s one of my favorite characters on Reaper and her stabbing that dodgeball was perfect.

Morgan capturing the soul was the biggest letdown in a while. It was a dreadful idea. It was obvious that he would be the one to capture the guy and rid Sam of any guilt in sending the guy back to hell.

And as for the ending with Alan showing up again, I was surprised by that. I wasn’t sure when we were going to see him again. The series is running out of episodes and they need to get this story moving along at some point. Just how can Sam save his behind and get his soul back?

Rating: 8

The topic of relationships was brought up time after time on this episode. Not only were Sam and Andi having issues because Andi feels Sam is suddenly feeling at home with his job as a reaper, but Sock and Ben are also having problems with their women.

Sock’s issues aren’t exactly new. He has been trying to get with Kristen ever since he laid eyes on her, but the fact that they’re kind of related is a problem for Kristen… until Sock convinces her to ignore all of that. It’s creepy that they’re together and all, but it was also funny to see Sock tortured by the issue for so many episodes now.

The issue with Ben and Nina really boils down to the fact that Ben is insanely clingy. He’s always calling her, needing constant contact with her and I can’t blame Nina for wanting to spend time apart. Ben is a sensitive guy, but he needs to try and put himself in Nina’s shoes sometimes.

One of the more thrilling parts of this episode was trying to figure out whether or not the sheriff was a good guy or a bad guy. There were times where it looked like it could go either way.

Sam and Andi have been an on again, off again couple for quite a while. Whatever issues they have, I’m sure they will be patched up before long. They always seem to end up together. It’s just silly to constantly break them up, only to see them back together in two or three weeks.

I don’t often say this, but the relationship stuff was the best part of this episode. And that isn’t saying a whole lot. This episode had its moments though.

Rating: 7.7

The opening to this episode was pretty good considering the fact that viewers knew what to expect once Sock learned of Sam’s dad’s condition. The setup to prank Ben was good, but Ben’s initial excuse of where he wanted to be and why had to be one of the lamest ones I’ve heard. He wasn’t convincing in the least bit.

Ken Marino as Tony, Tyler Labine as Sock, Bret Harrison as Sam and Rick Gonzalez as Ben

After getting the soul of the week in about three minutes, Sam, Ben, and Sock were faced with a difficult situation: what would they do with the soul’s newborn child? Obviously they can’t raise the child; they barely take care of themselves.

As luck would have it, Tony (Ken Marino) dropped by and agreed to take care of the child. This wasn’t without its share of problems, however. The Devil demanded that the baby be sent to hell with its mother and Tony wasn’t about to give it up without a fight.

Ben’s idea of baptizing the child was genius. Surely The Devil wouldn’t want it afterwards! Well, he did everything he could to keep that from happening, even taking control of the baby carriage. When I saw that thing begin to roll out of the church and across the street, I rolled my eyes; it was just ridiculous. As much as I like Reaper, this was just too silly to comprehend.

Of all of the developments in this episode, I liked the stuff with Sock and his step-sister the most. It’s been one of the funniest stories the show has had on this season. I can’t believe Sock would resort to chemical castration because of the urges he has. Then again, he was really being tortured by the fact that his hot step-sister was singing sexy songs, doing yoga, etc. It was just wild. I can’t wait to see just where these two go from here. Sock does seem to have realized that his step-sister isn’t just hot; she’s also a good person. Imagine that.

Rating: 8.5

Truth is, there was a heck of a lot going on this week. It seems like usually there’s one character that gets a lot of attention and throw in the soul of the week, and you’ve got an episode, but really just about everyone had stories going and they were all really good.

Armie Hammer as Morgan

Andi is taking her responsibilities as The Work Bench’s new store manager very serious. I don’t blame her. It’s a great opportunity for her to shine, but it wasn’t easy and you can thank Sock for that once again.

Sock saw a golden opportunity to make more money with the reappearance of Ted. They struck a deal where Ted would work some of Sock’s shifts and they would split the money. And of course this was cool at first, but when Andi caught on to Sock’s scheme, she put an end to it.

Despite Ted being creepy and generally uncool, I admit Reaper wouldn’t quite be the same without him. So I was delighted when it was revealed that Ted would be welcomed back to the store on a 6-month trial basis. And the very fact that Ted is now a trainee and Sock a trainer, it just makes the situation even funnier.

Maybe it’s because I’m old fashioned, but when Ben mentioned he was already sleeping with Nina, I was frankly shocked. I didn’t see Ben as that type of person. And with the two of them being different species, there was some concern over whether or not Nina really liked Ben. There were some humorous twists in this story this week, but when it came down to Nina being unsatisfied with Ben, it’s really because she lost someone close to her once and she hasn’t been able to fully commit to someone.

It took quite a while for the Ben and Nina story to unfold, but I thought it was worth it. It was not only entertaining but sweet. As a whole, “The Favorite” was an excellent episode, but the story with the soul and then Sam and Morgan never really wowed me as I expected. That being said, I loved the end of the episode with the revelation that Sam knows that his dad (Mr. Oliver) is alive.

Rating: 8.3

Sam was given the seemingly impossible task of bringing down a prizefighter who escaped from Hell. The guy wasn’t the typical big, hulking beast, but was a decent sized fella who seemed to handle himself in the ring. He sure gave Sam a beat-down.

Poor Ben was in a rough spot when he looked like he had to break it off with Nina. I really like Nina. She seems truthful, but it’s impossible to know what’s really going on in her head. Jenny Wade is adorable in her portrayal of this demonic character. I just hate seeing the demon costume on her. It doesn’t look feminine at all; it’s all very creepy.

Rick Gonzalez as Ben and Jenny Wade as Nina

At The Work Bench, we all learn that Andi has been promoted to Store Manager, filling the vacancy brought forth when Ted was fired for making advances on a secret shopper. She did a great job of trying to be friends with the fellas, but also being responsible for the store. When it was clear that Sock invented a person to help him collect twice his normal paycheck, Andi pulled a sneaky little move and basically announced that this unknown person was dead, thus ending Sock’s extra paycheck.

I loved that, but even this failed to compare to what The Devil was up to. Those scenes where he was heading up the AA-like meetings were hysterical. It was impossible not to laugh during those. There he was, tempting those poor bastards with booze and they fell for it without even thinking. Unbelievable.

There aren’t any shows on television that make me laugh as much as Reaper does. It’s the funniest thing on TV. Nothing even comes close.

Rating: 9.1

Andi and Sam set out to track down Alan, but he made himself difficult to find because he wants nothing to do with Sam or The Devil. After escaping, Alan has tried to resist any and all temptations in an attempt to stay clear of The Devil.

That being said, The Devil made a great effort of making Alan wary of Sam. He made it look like Sam was trying to kill Alan. If it weren’t for Ben in one instance, Sam may have been killed by one of the demons sent to kill him.

Bret Harrison as Sam

Speaking of that demon, the demon turned out to be a woman, a very attractive woman, at that. The demon costumes and makeup don’t give away the demon’s gender, so I thought that that attacker was a guy. I was quite surprised by the revelation that it was a girl all this time.

And she likes Ben, or so it seems. It’s not entirely clear whether or not she really admires Ben or is using him to get to his friends. He even asked her, but it’s not easy to know if she’s being truthful.

As for the soul of the week, it was a lame one. An escaped Mongolian is back and is going from community to community, leaving the place a wreck. I was very disappointed by the way the Mongol somehow embraced the 21st century. I laughed in disbelief when he was shown wearing a cellphone earpiece. It was just ridiculous.

Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Ben stepped up in a major way to not only save Sam, but track down the Mongol. And now he’s got a secret demon girlfriend.

Rating: 7.5

Following the apparent death of Sam’s father, Sam, Sock, and Ben took off from work for an entire month, only to find out that they’ve been fired, evicted from their apartment, and Andi is pissed at Sam because he didn’t tell her about where he was or what he was doing.  Sam stupidly left that task up to Sock.

Eriko Tamura as Kristen

Since they can’t return to their apartment, the boys crash at Sock’s mom’s place.  As it turns out she and her Japanese husband are on their honeymoon and they have a housesitter, a hot Japanese girl who is sort of Sock’s new sister and he’s fallen for her.  It’s hard not to like Kristen, quite frankly.

Sam, Sock, and Ben manage to get their jobs back at The Work Bench when they blackmail their boss, Ted, who has been buying items and reselling them at a markup.  What a silly guy.

Despite their ability to get their job back, Sam has a rough go with Andi.  She remains upset with him because of his lack of communication.  She’s entirely right about this.  Sock’s great and all, but he’s not really someone I would rely on every time.

Even though Sam may be The Devil’s son, he didn’t get a break from his job when he returned. He was tasked with catching 40 souls with a cattle prod. I liked how this scene of events turned out. I figured out how it would play out, but it took me a while.

The biggest surprise of this episode was the introduction of Alan (Sean Patrick Thomas), who not only managed to escape Hell, but got out of his deal with The Devil somehow. Sam’s attitude immediately changed after he met Alan.

The season premiere was very entertaining, as the series always is. It’s one of the best shows on television. It’s too bad it’s on a network like The CW; no one watches that network.

Rating: 8.1

I really enjoyed Sock’s little story this week. He doesn’t always get a story of his own, but he had a funny one in “Cancun”. He and a special demon had some fun kissing, but Sock blew it when he asked her if she could kiss Ben too. This was a sadly predictable conclusion.

Sock’s kiss came in handy when he and Sam were going after a Tarot card reader. Sock’s burst of energy and strength allowed him to save Sam and catch the soul at the same time. I thought this was a little silly though, even for this show.

I enjoyed the stuff with Tony and Steve. It was cute to see that Steve made it back to heaven. I wonder if Tony will too since he also has been fighting against The Devil.

Tony’s plan to catch Sam and put him into that huge cage was strange and I couldn’t believe it when Sam’s father ended up being buried.

This was only made stranger when it was shown that his father managed to survive the event. Just who is this man? Or better yet, what is he? No ordinary human would have been able to survive such an event.

I’m looking forward to season two of Reaper, which starts tonight on The CW. Check your local listings.

Rating: 8.7