Erasing Your Accomplishments
But the Winchesters didn’t really have time to lament losing Abaddon because Crowley had put a new plan into effect: he was killing the people the Winchesters had saved in previous stand-alone episodes. It began in the cold open with Tommy Collins from “Wendigo” and then Sam and Dean headed out to find the next victim on Crowley’s orders: Jenny from “Shut Up, Dr. Phil”. Finally, Crowley gave them an opportunity to find the next victim before they died and he sent them to Sarah Blake (from the season 1 Supernatural episode “Provenance”).
Sam, of course, was a bit surprised to see her, but she proved herself adept at impossible circumstances once again, accepting the explanation about Crowley’s plan to kill her and preparing to defend herself along with the Winchesters. She also talked to Sam about her husband and baby and then remarked that Sam seems a bit more grounded now (but she totally misses the season 1 hair!). Then Crowley called and thus began a monologue of epic proportions. You see, Crowley has once again proven himself incredibly crafty and (like deducing the Angel Tablet’s true location in last week’s episode) has realized that the Demon Tablet Trials are all Hell/demon related. So he’s done away with attacking the Winchesters via demon and is, instead, killing their victims through witchcraft. As Sarah lay choking on the floor while the brothers frantically tried to find the responsible hex bag, Crowley ominously told them over speakerphone how he planned on killing each and every person they’ve ever saved. Because he knows that being a part of the Winchester’s lives – even briefly – leaves people with scars. It costs lives and results in collateral damage. But the one thing that gets Sam and Dean through all of this pain is the knowledge that they have saved people.
Now Crowley intends to strip away at the boys until they have nothing left. And he doesn’t plan to stop until they hand over the Demon Tablet he knows Kevin gave to them last week.
Crowley, you diabolical S.O.B. He’s always been an opportunist, but the further Crowley descends into villainy, the more impressed I am with both his ingenuity and the depths of his cruelty. And yet, I love him. I don’t want to let him go. Sure, I want him to die a horrible death for being evil, but I also adore him for it. That’s the mark of a truly effective villain, isn’t it? One with charisma properly conveyed by the actor that is portraying him or her. Don’t ever take Mark Sheppard from me, Supernatural. I don’t think I could survive it.
Unfortunately, Sarah didn’t survive. And the brothers are crushed. Because she doesn’t deserve this and neither does her husband and child. But as much as they are utterly devastated by facing the failure of their ability to simply give in, Dean refuses to crumble to this emotional blackmail. In the end, he told Sam that they’re going to do whatever it takes – whoever it takes – to accomplish their goal. Is Sam with him?
Let’s Call a Family Meeting
Meanwhile, while the Winchesters were off on their own adventure, Castiel was trying to make amends by doing the previously mentioned food run (and picking up Busty Asian Beauties to make peace with Dean). That’s when he got interrupted by Metatron who, for all of his talk of staying under the radar last week, is now not only back in the game, but wants to start making the rules. He’s up to speed on what’s happening in Heaven and with the absence of all archangels (not that they were so great, mind you), he says that Naomi is but one faction fighting for control and what Heaven needs is a big family meeting to hammer out the path going forward.
Castiel thought he could be that path, but his hubris resulted in unspeakable acts against his fellow angels. And yet, he agrees to help Metatron. Metatron’s plan was to have Castiel endure the Angel Tablet Trials in order to shut the Gates of Heaven.
The question we have to ask ourselves, of course, is what are Metatron’s intentions? For someone who spent so long hiding out, he is, perhaps, a bit too enthusiastic about entangling himself in Heavenly politics. Can Castiel trust him? Let’s imagine this, if we will: what if Metatron intends to take over…everything? The Leviathans are locked away in Purgatory, the Winchesters have the chance to close the Gates of Hell and Castiel succeeds in closing the Gates of Heaven and all of a sudden there’s no one left to challenge Metatron’s authority. Maybe he has a God complex, so to speak. Maybe he didn’t run from the archangels all of those years ago because he was worried they would use his knowledge, maybe he ran because he was afraid that he couldn’t challenge them at that time.
But the archangels are gone and everyone seems too eager to trust a “pencil pusher” they don’t even know. Will he betray them, in the end? And could there be something more behind his insistence that Castiel undertake the Trials (the first of which involved killing a nephilim) because there is an end result to these particular Trials that he wishes to avoid? What if, like with Sam, the Angel Table Trials changes Castiel? There’s a great deal of speculation that he will “fall” and become human for season 9. Perhaps Metatron knows what happens to the people/angels who endure the Trials and doesn’t want it to mess up his plan.
Not only that, but how do we even know that Castel is actually competing THE Angel Trials? All we have right now is Metatron’s word on what those Trials involve. And we didn’t see him recite any text at the end. Sure, it could have been a matter of timing, but all of this could be fake.
Then again, maybe Metatron has the best of intentions at heart. But if he doesn’t, Dean is going to be even more reluctant to trust any angels again. Ever.
Looking Ahead
This week’s Supernatural was a great look back at some memorable moments and themes of the show, constantly weaving in flashbacks instead of just having the characters reference past events. It’s clear from the preview for the season finale that Crowley has forced the Winchesters’ hand and his attempts to keep demons away from them might result in his downfall, because it looks like the Winchesters are going to try and cure Crowley himself.
What happens next is anyone’s guess. Can Castiel complete the last two Angel Tablet Trials in a single episode (if they even are the right Trials)? Will Metatron betray everyone? Will Sam and Dean lock away demons for good? On a side note, the slight (and sometimes not-so-slight) discrepancies in canon and continuity have seemed to happen far too often this season to be a mere coincidence. Here’s some food for thought: Jeremy Carver said that season 8 is about perception. What if that theme didn’t just apply to what happened with Dean and Castiel in Purgatory? What if something far deeper is going on here? What if many events are not real? What if history has, in some way, been changed?
Think about that. Think about what it could mean. And then come tell me, because I have no idea.
Don’t miss the season finale of Supernatural on May 15 and don’t forget to check out our newest Supernatural Slide-Show: One-Off Characters We’d Like to See Again.
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Loved your review, Clarissa!
I agree with pretty much all of what you had to say. Crowley… Oh Crowley, he has proved himself a penultimate villain. I hate him so much, while at the same time I adore him. It’s quite a conundrum.
And the relationship between Dean and Cas… ouch! Like you, I can understand where both parties are coming from. I’m just hoping, praying, and crossing my fingers that they will have a reconciliation at some point. I couldn’t stand for there to be a permanent wedge between Dean and Cas, or between Dean and Sam, or between Sam and Cas. I really, really hope Season 9 will bring us lots of the three of them working together towards a common goal, like in Season 5. I miss Team Free Will being cohesive and kicking butt together.
I agree with Minion (and awesome article again, Clarissa!) that Team Free Will was a really good dynamic and I miss that. If Metatron betrays Cas and, like you said, he becomes “purified” would that strip him of his grace? Could it actually bring Jimmy back? (that’s out-there, I know) but human Cas is the better Cas….Cas being torn between Heaven and his penance and Dean is kind of been-there-done-that. Obviously Cas is very naive, and I love his innocence, but please don’t make him stupid. I think if Sam and Cas form some kind of deeper friendship or kinship, that might make Dean come around. I don’t blame Dean for being angry, but as Sam said, “It’s Cas.” I am hoping that Season 9 and 10 (hopefully) is that Team Free Will have to work together towards the common goal of reopening Heaven and Hell. As it has been pointed out, where do the souls who die go now if their destinations are locked? And Death might still be pretty pissed off…again.
Of course the “ultimate” deceiver, the one person who could literally be manipulating this whole thing is Lucifer. If true, and he succeeds in getting rid of the beings who give him the most trouble i.e. demons and angels, then he can get back to his original goal….conquer and destroy humans. Abbadon was pretty surprised and furious that Crowley was now King of Hell. After all, she is a Knight of Hell…she might know how to break Lucifer free as well.
And then there is that open door in Purgatory….
Excellent review, Clarissa. I agree with a lot of what you said. In all honesty, I can’t say that I was surprised at Dean’s reaction to Cas. But it seems to me that Dean’s anger at Cas is more than just about betrayal. Yes, Dean was justifiably upset about that. But primarily, he’s upset that Cas has, for the most part, been ignoring him. Dean has been shouldering the weight of everything alone these last few months, but even more than that, Sam is in danger and Cas has been MIA. Dean has been watching his little brother slowly die and the one person Dean really needs hasn’t been there. I get that Cas was running from Naomi, but one of the things he should’ve learned from everything that went down in S6 is that turning your back on and/or running away from Dean Winchester does not help your situation at all. I don’t think Dean would be as angry if (1) Sam weren’t dying, (2) this weren’t almost exactly the same thing Cas did back in S6 (with the exact same justification), and (3) Dean didn’t love Cas so much.
At the beginning of this season, I had a feeling we were going to see a much more sinister Crowley than we’ve seen before. He’s not just more sinister though. He’s brutally evil. The Winchesters turned him into a desperate man when they undertook the trials to close the gates and kill him. Desperate people do deadly things. Prior to this season, Crowley never seemed like a guy who could really command Big Bad status. He always seemed more like upper middle management. However, this season he has proven that he is more than capable of being the Big Bad. Not only is he one of the most clever adversaries the Winchesters have ever faced, he’s one of the cruelest. Not to mention that he knows them. Not just because of Chuck’s books (which once again came back to bite the Boys in the rear) but because he’s been watching them for years. He understands them. He knows their weaknesses and he believes he knows their limits. What I don’t think Crowley realizes is that just like the Winchesters made him desperate when they undertook the trials, he is making them desperate by wiping out all the good they’ve ever done. When the Winchesters get desperate, demons die.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t trust Metatron. I can’t really put my finger on it, but he’s obviously not being entirely forthcoming. I could be wrong, but I thought when Kevin was reading the demon tablet back in ‘A Little Slice of Kevin’ he said that Metatron signed the tablet as the Archangel Metatron. What if Metatron truly is an archangel but he’s been on earth so long that he’s sort of powered down and he needs Cas to help him power up again? What if he ran from heaven because he did challenge the other archangels and lost? Or, what if Metatron is exactly who he professes to be and is just trying to help? So many questions!
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode and it set up great things for the season finale. I don’t know what you’re talking about with the continuity issues in this episode though. If you mean about Crowley killing Jenny Klein because she’s not in Chuck’s books, I don’t have an issue with that. Crowley said that the Boys always leave messes behind whenever they go work a job, so it wouldn’t be all that hard for Crowley to find where they’ve been recently. If he knows what he’s looking for. So I don’t have a problem with that. Great review and I can’t wait for next week’s episode!
I’m afraid Lucifer is out of the picture, I suspect that Michael and he killed each other in the Cage, this is what happens in a power vacuum, Naomi trying to gain control of Heaven, vs Metatron, Abaddon now in a fight with Crowley over Hell.
The best thing about this episode, reinforcing that Saving People is what Winchesters do. This season was a lot about the supernatural – but meet and greets with other supernatural beings, and with the exception of Aaron and his Golem, I couldn’t care less, I had no investment in these creatures. We have to take the show back to it’s roots in this regard, or it is a series of events with no anchor for the audience to relate to.
After all, the strength of Dean and Sam as characters is that they are human, they have no superpowers, but they take on and beat an adversary. (and when I say no superpowers, its because Sam’s telepathy and ability to excorsize, as well as Dean having a profound bond with an angel ally has always come at a price.)
Also can I say, a kick ass season for female characters – Linda (hopefully not dead) Tran, Charlie Bradbury, Naomi and Abaddon.
I agree that the writers really need to work on developing the relationship between Sam and Cas. At this point, it is simply silly that their relationship has not really been explored.
I really don’t see any reason that Cas has to only be Dean’s “special” friend. Sam is constantly the one defending Cas to Dean. Sam has prayed to Cas, and put his faith in Cas when Dean couldn’t or wouldn’t.
It just baffles me that the writers have not bothered to delve in to their relationship. Cas is a friend to both Dean AND Sam. I think it would help to balance the show a little bit more, especially with Cas around as a regular next season.
Totally agree with you about Dean and Cas. We, the viewers, know a lot more than they do about their feelings. Dean exposed his raw emotions in the crypt scene and then Castiel vanished. Dean’s got abandonment issues, Castiel keeps disappearing, while Castiel seems to feel his own worthiness lies only in being useful and heroic. It was necessary for Dean’s character, and for Dean and Castiel’s relationship, for Dean to voice his anger and worries to Cas. I note he did tell Cas stay here and heal up–Dean isn’t rejecting Castiel. But there are issues they both need to deal with, and both seem like they can’t see what’s staring them both in the face, they still don’t quite see how strong their own profound bond is.
I loved seeing Sam and Dean and Castiel together in the MoL, this found family unit of theirs.
It was disappointing they brought back Sarah only to kill her off. But Crowley was effectively brutal in this ep, going after the core of Sam and Dean’s sense of worthiness, saving people. Abaddon is also a badass villain. Also I really liked the mythology of the ep, the old film clips.
Like you, I’m not sure I trust Metatron either. He doesn’t seem like the best guide for Castiel–and I think this will come down to Castiel making decisions for himself and becoming less confused about what’s right. I’m not sure where this is headed, except I’m also speculating Castiel may lose at least some of his power, hopefully by his own choice in the course of doing the right thing.
Interesting point, Clarissa, about the time travel theory….time travel of various sorts has been done on this show many times. They serve as both ways to see how it all started (i.e. Dean going back to learn that his mother, not his father, was the hunter, and Azazel in the nursery), see how it would have been had XXX not happened (i.e. not sinking the Titanic), and the inevitable future (Croatoan and Sam saying yes)…and then we have Henry Winchester coming to the future to find his son, John. I’m pretty sure that tidbit of knowledge is in the bunker somewhere.
I so hope there isn’t any sort of mind-wipe or “it was all a dream, honey” scenario. The writers and Carver have more intelligence than that.
However, no matter if it was a delusion caused by Zachariah, time travel by them pesky angels (Zach and Cas or Balthazar) as well as Henry, the story always returned to the present, the job at hand, and nothing was averted, and everything went back to the way it was. Knowledge was gained though, which was important to the story.
I am intrigued that the spoilers have Cas proclaiming that they were shutting down everything, heaven and hell. I am hoping that the conviction in his voice was because he, Dean and Sam now know what is necessary to do, and are doing it together on the same side.
Also, what would Crowley be like if his “taint” was removed and how awesome would Mark Shepperd play that? lol!
I also had this wild thought while watching this episode. What if Sam can’t complete the last trial because he’s got demon blood in him? The priest who developed the “curing” exorcism said he had to purify his blood before he could cure the demon. What if Sam can’t purify his blood? I know he said he believed the trials were purifying him, but what if they aren’t? I wonder what the effect would be if you’re trying to cure a demon with blood that you think is purified, but is actually impure. Would it make the demon stronger? Would it mean that they’d have to start the trials over with someone else (that someone else being Dean) completing each one? Would Sam still have to suffer those horrible side effects until the trials are ultimately completed? Could they use Dean’s blood as the purified blood but still have Sam somehow complete the trial? I mean, it was mentioned way back in S4 that Dean is a righteous man? I don’t know that the show would go that route, and I know it’s kind of a far-fetched idea but it’s just a thought that popped in my head.