Welcome back, everyone, to the second half of the tenth season of Supernatural. It’s good to be back, at least for me, because this show is, to quote Grandpa Simpson, “like slipping into a warm, familiar bath” (I’m pretty sure Grandpa Simpson said this. I think I read it in the Simpsons comic series but I googled the phrase and nothing came up. Just go with it, and this long parenthetical).
Unfortunately, because we’ve been watching for so long, we can see the end of every path before they even start. It’s kind of like being an omniscient god; we’ve seen every path, and only the details change. It was pretty clear by the midpoint of this episode that Claire and Castiel were going to reconcile, which is a little bleh. I get it, because keeping Claire around means involving her in storylines in which she is dead weight (and also paying an actor for that many guest appearances is expensive [even though women come cheaper because sexism]), but it’s still a little predictable.
Likewise, the Dean/Mark stuff ended in a predictable way, and totally put the Winchesters in a bind now that Metatron’s help is off the table (for now, anyways). Who didn’t see Dean cutting Metatron into little pieces? I mean, what else is he supposed to do? Also, the idea that Sam would let Dean out of his sight for so long is ludicrous. Come on. Even the Rowena/Crowley dynamic proceeded along a lanes with gutter rails.
But, having said that, this was still really strong television.
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. It’s impossible for Supernatural to really surprise us, partially because we’re all so familiar with the show. But this episode took that limitation and really made the best of it. In terms of plotting, the episode was near perfect; the only slip-up was the idea that Crowley would just mention to the Winchesters where his bones were, as well as the exact country of location. It was obviously just a setup, and it was disappointing. Plus, I think that Crowley would have his mother watched much more closely than she was.
In terms of character, I thought it was was solid. I thought they could’ve easily shuffled Claire off but chose to deal with her now, which is always commendable. Castiel was a little too Dopey!Cas for me, but that’s a complaint that I have nearly every episode. Sam was good, underwritten as always. Dean was Dean.
The character that I really loved was Curtis Armstrong’s Metatron. He took dialogue that could come off so cartoonishly and really imbued it with a terror and a fury that was so strong and so subtle. I was blown away. Armstrong is such a good actor and has always elevated the material of the show. I always leave his scenes wanting a whole lot more.
Supernatural has already been renewed for an eleventh season, which is just ludicrous; eleven seasons is too much, too long, and yet here the show is. I do not want it to go away, because it is so familiar, but I also think that maybe it’ll be good for the show to approach its end. I think that seeing the end point, the light at the end of tunnel, would give the show a frantic energy that it hasn’t had in a long time.
This has come off more negative than I intended. I want to reiterate; this is good television. I just wish that it were fresher television as well.
Stray Thoughts:
– I wish that Sam had more to do.
– The Crowley/Rowena stuff is rapidly becoming my favorite thing about this season.
– I wish Supernatural would have a big battle scene. No particular reason; just not enough of those in my life.
– Jensen Ackles’ little smile before he said “slugger” to Metatron was perfect acting. Love love loved it.
[Photo via The CW]
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Sam has the same role that Dean had at the end of Season 8, the supportive role. If it was good enough for Dean back then, it should be good enough for Sam now.
That’s a matter of opinion. Dean has never been a support role; he’s always been a focal point. Season 8 was very much about Dean’s perspective and how he felt about what Sam did in regards to not looking for him or Kevin. Since Season 7, Sam has been continually marginalized, and you could argue that even as far back as Season 6 he’s been marginalized.
That’s a matter of opinion. What you’re stating isn’t factual anymore than your claims that my comment isn’t factual. To say that Dean has never been in a support role is just your opinion, not a fact. I believe Dean has been relegated to a support role, when his only role in the last half of season 8 was that of Sam’s caretaker, providing Sam food, etc. Dean had no storyline of his own, it was all about Sam.
You could argue that Dean has been continually marginalized since mid-Season 5, when he was knocked out of the mytharc and hasn’t had much of an actual, proactive storyline that’s about him since then. The one storyline he did get, Purgatory, was shown in flashbacks and then dropped. Sam has been the focal point of the storylines since mid-season 5…until now.