Supernatural Season 12 Episode 1 Review: “Keep Calm and Carry On”

by Hunter Bishop Published Oct 13, 2016

Amara was the darkest, most powerful villain Supernatural has ever faced off against. She faced off against the only other of her kind, and fought him to standstill, and often had the upper hand. She was unstoppable; she was invincible; she was, or at least related to, the Alpha and Omega.

So, after a season of bloodshed and loss, and of constant despair; after a season in which the most powerful foe was vanquished, Supernatural has gone darker than ever before.

This opening episode, filled with the burned-out eyes of the Lucifer-hopped vessels and the exposed tendons of Sam’s blow-torched foot, is not the Supernatural that I began watching. I don’t say that as a negative, but as a plus in their favor; that they can surprise me, twelve seasons in, is an incredible achievement.

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There’s a certain type of person that should be avoided, whenever possible. This kind of person can be smart or stupid, good or bad; they have never been in a fight. They are the kind of person who, when seeing someone struggle, sneers and says they could do better, without ever attempting their task.

That is the British Men of Letters.

“We have a system,” they proclaim; “you have failed,” they say. We held back, of course, because we did not want to overstep our bounds; better not, they say, to upset the natural order!

Cowardice? Bah! Banish the thought! We weren’t afraid of Lucifer; we weren’t afraid of the Leviathans; we weren’t afraid of Amara! But you, in your handling of it, and the successful banishment of The Darkness, was a failure. We did not try, but you certainly failed.

Man, (curse I can’t say on this site) these people. Send them back to the UK.

You have a system that works, and you don’t share it? You find the one hunter on the planet with intimate, first-person knowledge of the Devil, and you tie him a chair and set him on fire? Congratulations on protecting a country of 64 million; thanks, again, for not sharing that knowledge.

BUT HEY, CONGRATS ON BEING ABLE TO SNATCH UP VAMPIRES!!! CONGRATS ON STOPPING ALL MONSTER THREATS SINCE 1964, YOU UNBELIEVABLE DOUCHEBAGS. CONGRATS ON LETTING THE REST OF THE WORLD ROT. VERY NICE. VERY GOOD. EXCELLENT WORK. THE BIG THREATS YOU LET THOSE LOSERS OVERSEAS DEAL WITH ALOOOOOONE BUT PLEASE, *PLEEASSEE* CONTINUE TO BE SMUG. IT’S VERY NICE, AND COOL, AND GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!

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Should this darkness continue, I think Supernatural could be onto something. I don’t know if it will, or if they actually are onto something. All I can say is that I enjoyed this episode immensely. It’s nice to be back in such a familiar world, in the hands of people who know what they’re doing. There are some concerns; namely, that Supernatural is in that 12th season, and that it has a history of thematic repetition. New show runners this year, though, and a promising first episode; hopefully, they can overcome that history.