There were quite a few really great things about this week’s Supernatural and quite a few aspects that could have used some improvement (primarily the mythological aspects of the show), but overall I thought “Taxi Driver” took care of the second trial and moved the overall plot along (if in a rushed manner that probably could have been avoided), while also delivering up quite a few surprises.
The Next Step
Kevin returned this week with a scary new problem: Crowley’s voice inside of his head. While the Winchesters insisted that it was merely a dream or a stress-induced hallucination, Kevin was convinced that Crowley had indeed found a way to communicate with him, which terrified him to no end. It’s somewhat surprising that Sam and Dean seemed so resistant to the idea that demons can communicate with humans via telepathy. We know that angels have appeared in Dean’s dreams, so would it be so surprising that demons could have a similar method of communication?
Despite Kevin’s concerns, he admitted that he had translated the second trial, which involved ferrying an innocent soul from Hell to Heaven. After torturing a Crossroads Demon for information, the boys went looking for a renegade reaper. They found one by the name of Ajay, who spilled the beans that he had stolen Bobby’s soul from its true path towards Heaven and delivered him to Crowley in Hell. Despite Dean’s reluctance to let Sam travel there alone, Sam convinced him that he needed to do this. And off Sam and Ajay went.
The Way In
Only Ajay didn’t book Sam on a one-way ticket to Hell, because he brought him to Purgatory first. Apparently trying to sneak a Winchester straight into Crowley’s domain would have ended badly for Ajay (in fact, it did end badly when Crowley got wind that the reaper was up to something, interrogated him and then killed him). Strangely, despite the fact that Purgatory was actually *connected* to Hell, Crowley and Castiel spent so long searching for it back in season 6. Normally I don’t mind small plot holes (because this is a fantasy show and some leeway is occasionally necessary) and I’m willing to over look the retconning powers of angel blades (which can apparently now kill both demons and reapers), but this whole Purgatory-to-Hell business seems like a glaring plot device. I understand the fact that the show didn’t actually know it would travel to Purgatory back in season 6, but I would have appreciated even a throwaway line to explain this oversight. Maybe only the reaper knew about it, or the way in wasn’t readily available until Castiel broke through the barrier first. I would have accepted any explanation for it, but it would have been nice to hear one. Further, given Sam’s own experiences and knowledge of both Purgatory and Hell, it’s surprising he didn’t remark about this plot hole, or the fact that it seemed so incredibly easy to get in and out of both dimensions. Why didn’t anyone think of hiring a reaper before when Castiel and his angels fought so hard to raise Dean from perdition, for example?
The Welcome Return
The hole aside, let’s focus on the return of Bobby! BOBBY! Normally I don’t like to hold on to grudges, but I will never forgive the Supernatural producers/writers for killing off Bobby…not just once, but twice. To me, Bobby is one of the core characters on the show and his importance cannot be overstated. He filled a huge fatherly hole in the boys’ lives and became a staple of the show. Over the years he’s grown into a character with his own backstory (scarce though it had been until “Death’s Door”) and his own wonderful personality. I’ll admit, I had no idea Jim Beaver was returning. Apparently there were paparazzi photos of him arriving in Vancouver, but I was either sleeping or on vacation that day and honestly thought his so-called “reappearance” in the previews was simply a ruse by Crowley in an attempt to kill or capture the Winchesters.
So imagine my surprise when my beloved Bobby had returned! I’m not too proud to admit that I shrieked in happiness at my television screen. Oh, Bobby, how I missed you and your “balls!” and your love of the boys. But mostly I missed how Bobby would put the boys in their place and makes them fess up when they screwed up. He did it with Dean back in the season 4 finale and now he did it with Sam, calling him out for failing to look for Dean. Bobby was right, he dies and everything goes to Hell (literally). But every time they continue to bring up Sam’s failure to look, I have to wonder if there’s something more to it. Sam’s face during this conversation seemed to give away the presence of another explanation, but if that’s not true, then they should stop bringing it up at this point.
It’s clear that the show isn’t necessarily eager to let Bobby go now. Despite Sam explaining that he needed to return to Heaven in order for him to complete the trial, it’s obvious that Bobby isn’t eager to “retire”, as he said. He wants back in the game. Could the angels find a way to bring him back, despite his burned bones? After all, they returned Anna’s human vessel to her after it was destroyed, so I’m hoping that there’s a way to work Bobby back into the show going forward.
Manipulation of the Highest Order
Naomi also decided to pop in and cause a little bit of trouble this week. After losing Castiel and the Angel Tablet, it’s clear that she’ll go to any lengths to find him and that involved a visit with Dean. She came off as perfectly cordial, even telling Dean that Sam was traveling through Purgatory in an attempt to gain his trust, but it’s clear that Dean doesn’t trust any angel besides Castiel (and, sometimes, even Castiel). Oh, Naomi, you should have done your homework. Please look up “Zachariah” for some history on Dean’s giant trust issues with angels. I thought her attempts to get on Dean’s side were obvious, although I’ll admit she came off as the most pleasant we’ve ever seen her. But will Dean trust her? I’d say no. It’s clear that he’s confused and hurt by Castiel splitting on him with the tablet, but it’s also clear that he suspects Naomi is up to no good when it comes to Cas and has no intention of trusting her, no matter how many nice deeds she does.
Concluded on next page…
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Hi Clarissa. Interesting review. I’m with you that I shrieked like a teenager at a Justin Bieber concert when Bobby came back. I can’t begin to say how much I’ve missed Bobby and I’m still kind of ticked about the fact that he was killed off in the first place. But that’s another discussion for another day.
I get what you’re saying about the writing on this episode, but I didn’t think it was all that bad. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t painful either. I tend to not be a fan of Buckner and Ross-Leming’s scripts as they tend to be very much hit or miss. But this one was ok. The actors’ performances significantly helped though. Jensen Ackles and Ty Olsson especially were outstanding. Their goodbye scene and Benny’s ultimate sacrifice were wonderfully done.
I also didn’t have a problem with the Purgatory plot hole as you put it. It’s not unreasonable to assume that back in S6 when Crowley and Cas were searching for Purgatory that they wouldn’t know all the ins and outs of it. It’s also not unreasonable to assume that even now Crowley doesn’t know all the back doors and rabbit holes to get into and out of Hell. And I wouldn’t say that it’s necessarily easy to get into and out of Purgatory either. Reapers can do it because, well, they’re Reapers. They are the only beings that can easily move between dimensions. It’s also not unreasonable that Cas and Crowley wouldn’t have called on a rogue Reaper to help them out back in S6 because they didn’t just want to get into and/or out of Purgatory. They wanted to bring all the souls in Purgatory back to this dimension.
I remember thinking at the beginning of the season when Sam was so angry about Dean’s relationship with Benny, that part of the problem was that Sam truly could not understand where Dean was coming from with Benny. Sam hadn’t gone through what they went through together, so there’s no possible way he could’ve understood. Since he was an outsider looking in, he was never going to be able to understand no matter how much Dean tried to explain it to him. I was kind of glad in this episode that Sam got a chance to get an extremely small taste of what Dean went through for the last year. He was only there for a few hours, but I think even that short amount of time changed his perspective. It also gave him a chance to see for himself the kind of guy that Benny is. I was so angry with Sam at the end of ‘Citizen Fang’ because he never really opened his mind to the possibility that Dean was right about Benny. A lot of what happened in ‘Fang’ was because Sam truly did not understand the Dean/Benny relationship and, at that point, I don’t think he really wanted to understand. He’s in a different place now though and it’s just sad that Benny had to die (maybe?) in order for Sam to see that Benny really was one of the good guys.
I agree with you that this was an excellent character showcase, and that’s one of the things that Supernatural does best. I’m still holding out hope that one day we’ll get Bobby back permanently because I don’t think I’ll ever be completely over the fact that he’s gone. Dean doesn’t trust Naomi and neither do I. Everything she did in this episode was to benefit herself. The fact that it helped the Winchesters and Bobby was simply a means to an end for her. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode and it looks like the next one should be fun. Really good review.
The rape of continuity and weight of past sufferings in hell and Purgatory, by cheapening how difficult both were in the past, made this unwatchable and unforgiveable. Jensen & Ty were great in their scene together, but that’s in spite of it all.
Very good point on Kevin disappearance. I thought about the glasses too but I thought Crowley had fixed it somehow. But the more I think about it, the more I think that it wasn’t the real Crowley.
First of all, Crowley says he needed to torture Mama Tran, then killed her & get the info from her phone. If that is so, why waste time torturing her? Just kill her and get the info straight away. This seems more like Kevin imagining Crowley hurting his mom. Anyway, I don’t think Mama Tran too stupid to get caught.
Another thing, the floor is also littered with devils trap. Would be quite impossible for Crowley to leave the boat or use his power.
And Kevins’ notes are gone. Why would Crowley takes Kevins’ note when he got half of the tablet? He can always force Kevin to read the tablet properly after repairing it.
Well , I hope its just hallucinations. I like Kevin & I like Osric. Don’t hurt him too much. lol!
I’d say Benny found Sam so easily because he was killed and sent to purgatory at the same point on Earth that Sam was taken there by the Reaper, therefore appearing at the same spot. Great review!
Just an aside…was there not a review for episode 18?
@supersheltie – no, there wasn’t a review for last week’s episode. I was on vacation in Los Angeles. But I enjoyed the episode. It was obviously filler, but I liked the guest star and was happy to see her again.
Thanks Clarissa….really thought I was losing my mind there for a while LOL…Hope you had a nice vacay….!
i loved the episode! :) but seeing sam in the purgatory-woods made it pretty obvious that it’s no longer really scary on it’s own the way they show it, we’re just expecting it to be because we know the story. for newbies it’s just a desaturated forest with easy to beat enemies showing up once in a while. :( that’s really sad, because the first scene with dean in that dark purgatory with the lurking red eyes and the ominous sounds was totally frightening! i know shooting night scenes is tough for the crew, but…. *sigh
I’m so glad I’m not the only one seeing these huge holes in the stories. I’d say the writers are getting worn out except it’s a whole new staff practically. Which means they’re just lazy, it would seem. I’m a huge fan of the show, and I’ve tried to stay positive. I’ve tried to keep my mouth shut when I couldn’t be positive, but this season is lacking on a lot of fronts. I think Sam’s face when he was talking to Bobby about not looking for Dean showed that he didn’t want to tell Bobby that he didn’t even try to save his brother just because he was shacked up with a girl. At least I’m hoping at this point he’s feeling at least a little shame over that finally. Not that I expect he’ll apologize for it still. (And for those who will respond with the same tired excuse of “Sam finally had something….” I have one word for you: Jessica. I’m offended FOR Sam and the ENTIRE canon that came before because she was so easily swept aside.) I was desperately hoping Sam would get some sort of understanding of how horrible it was for Dean to be trapped down there FOR A YEAR. He had such an easy time of it, though, that he’s probably wondering what Dean was whining about. Typical. I miss their brotherhood. I remember a Sam who summoned a crossroads daemon and tried to trade himself for his brother. Sure, it was a stupid stunt, and by this time they know full well deals never work, but at least it showed he loved his brother enough to try. He didn’t have to try to make another deal, but he should have tried something.
There are so many plot holes and considering how much sera gamble messed up over the period of seasons 6 and 7 i think jeremy carver is doing a good job mending some of those mistakes. i hope they show a flash back of castiel getting out because really the only things that could kill angels there is leviathins and eve.
A few comments on the plot holes….
First, I doubt Cas had any angel powers in Purgatory, so potentially, everything could have killed him…he could have slipped on a rock and drowned in the stream for that matter. It would be nice to see how it happened, because the biggest plot hole really was the search for the doors to Purgatory in season 6. There really could be just a one- or two-line explanation on this one to close that hole. And yes, Carver is doing a good job of it, but I guess there are so many and he needs to just deal with selected ones moving forward.
I think the major points are that some of the myth-arc is being altered to fit the means to the end. Rogue Reapers? This is a new one. I can see this as a way to bring the character Bobby Singer back into the show as an entity in Heaven, either angel or good Obi-Wan type ghost.
I watched the episode again and I truly believe that Metatron has Kevin (the ship was warded against demons, not angels). Metatron is the long-overdue Archangel protector of the prophet. That plot hole never made sense from the jump. Chuck’s protector came pretty damn fast as soon as he was threatened…but not so Kevin Tran? Maybe Kevin is not a true prophet? I know Cas was crazy at the time, but it was the angels from the garrison who said Kevin was the prophet, but if all the names of the prophets including those not born yet are seared into the angel hard-wiring, why didn’t Cas know about Kevin? Cas looked pretty shifty too when stating that Chuck was perhaps dead. So hopefully when Metatron appears, a lot of these plot holes can be patched.
I don’t mind that Sam didn’t try to find Dean….it was what they agreed upon (even if they never actually did it in the past), but to Sam’s defense, he had nobody, absolutely nobody…and I think he just snapped. He is guilty now for not doing what he needed to do to at least try to protect Kevin. I think this will be dealt with probably at the end of this season. There is a reason why it seems to be a running gag that everybody says, “you didn’t look for him?” or “me” in the case of Meg. With the creation of Rogue Reapers, Carver could come up with another creature or process or “didn’t happen the way we saw it” type of thing where Meg can return….I really did want to see her as Queen of Hell. Benny should also come back. They left that door open. And that girl in Hell was there for a reason, so was leaving the rabbit hole open.
I just really hope that the next episode (which has filler written all over it, although I think it will be a fun episode), at least ties up some of the loose ends as the season ends. Then comes the long drawn out summer of boredom….
thats a really good theory on metatron taking kevin but i have doubts because he wrote the tablets he should know everything about them. with the chuck thing wish some belive him to be god (which i think would be a load of rubbish) my theory is there are two types of prophets ones that document and ones who can decipher tablets. The whole rogue reaper was a little ridiculous seeing as death created another lunar eclipse to get the door to purgurtory to reopen where this reaper only had to go down an alley way.
With bobby i was so glad they gave a little bit more closure than last season but the thing that bothered me the most was demons are twisted human souls if you burn a demons bones they die. Also that most likely means their mom and dad are back in hell.
and does anyone know who the shadowy firgure watching sam at the start of the season was?
sorry for the bad grammar, punctuation and spelling lol