As someone else mentioned in their review, this has been a weird season of Supernatural- which is more than a little disappointing for the final season. The pacing has felt wrong. The first 3 episodes were surprisingly lackluster for being a new apocalypse and the tension really didn't kick in till around episodes 4 and 5. Then they dialed it back again for 6 and 7. But this episode? This was a true return to form.
From that twistedly funny opening with the poor server girl walking amongst a plethora of dead bodies to serve Chuck a drink in the casino I was hoping we'd be in for a treat and I wasn't wrong! From there, we got the boys figuring out Chuck has a weakness or else he wouldn't have created failsafes such as the demon and angel tablets (excellent way to bring back some middle season lore!) and realizing with the help of Donatello that Metatron had made some notes in the margins about God telling his "dark secret" to his favorite at the time- the archangel Michael. Unfortunately, since Donatello is a prophet, essentially the voice of God, this makes him Chuck's bluetooth speaker. Chuck warns them that if they attempt to use Michael against him he will go after Jodie, Eileen and literally everyone on Winchester speed dial. The boys decide Chuck will kill them anyway eventually just to torment them and decide to try and enlist Michael's help. This leads the boys and Cas to hell where they
unsuccessfully battle 3 demon chicks (Dean shouting "are any of us winning?" had me in stitches) until the new Queen Of Hell, Rowena(!) calls them off and helps the boys locate Michael- who is no longer in the cage after Chuck's apocalypse opened all the doors to Hell. Along the way, she tries to get Dean and Cas to work thru their issues, which will hopefully finally get resolved in the midseason premiere.
But Michael's no longer in Hell at all. He and Adam have become bosom buddies after 10 years spent in the cage and are still sharing Adam's body as they eat a burger and pizza and contemplate their next move. Enter Lilith, who gets vaporized for trying to force Michael to answer God's invitation for a meeting (is she really gone tho? Cause that would be kinda disappointing honestly. I wanted the boys to have the pleasure of finally killing her the right way). This use of his archangel powers puts him on Donatello's radar and, with help from Cas, they lure Michael into a trap (sidenote: Richard Speight Jr. is an excellent director. The whole trap scene is shot in such a badass style). With enochian cuffs to keep him from teleporting away, the boys and Cas ask Michael for his help stopping Daddy. But Michael, who refuses to believe God could have lied to him about literally EVERYTHING, isn't having it. He gives Adam control of their shared body to tell the boys as much and then genuinely seems to mean it when Dean says there's nothing that can make right the fact they trapped him in the cage for 10 years and he tells Dean with sad smile on his face "You could say 'I'm sorry.'"
Michael and Adam have a back and forth with each other in yet another exceptionally directed scene where Adam admits that yea, the Winchesters trapped them in the cage, but they pretty much always do things for what they believe is the right reason- and 9 times out of 10 it IS the right reason. He posits that maybe God is having a "mid-eternity crisis" but Michael just can't bring himself to entertain the notion of betraying his Father. Needing to cut thru the bs and get Michael on their side, Cas hits Michael with the hard truth- he was never God's favorite. No one was. Lucifer was the only one smart enough to see that (how messed up is that revelation? More of this please, as it throws the whole series into chaos that really makes you think!). They have a scuffle and Cas uses the contact to forcefully show Michael the events of the past few years with definitive proof of Chuck manipulating them all. This breaks Michael for a brief time as he realizes the extent of God's lies. "I'm not even the only Michael" is the devastating thought that finally convinces him to help the Winchesters seal away God (they can't kill him, lest all of Creation crumble into nothingness. Damn, show! Like I said earlier, more of these lofty ideas!). He gives them a spell and a list of ingredients for it- all of which are easy except for one: a Leviathan blossom that can only be found in Purgatory.
Meanwhile, Eileen was hit up by a fellow hunter named Sue who is looking for help taking down a vampire nest. Since Eileen and Sam have been getting close, she let's him know what she's heading out to do and he decides to go with her. Good thing too, as it turns out Sue is just Chuck in disguise! Honestly, I did see that twist coming from a mile away but it was one of only 2 minor quibbles in a truly awesome episode. The only other quibble being Michael just conveniently opening a 12 hour portal into Purgatory that looks identical to the rift into Apocalypse World. You know- the world that Michael just found out existed and nearly broke his psyche? But whatever, it's all worth it for the final exchange where Dean asks to speak to Adam before Michael leaves to find his own path away from God. Dean tells Adam they are truly sorry for leaving him locked up in the cage and never coming back for him, saying he's a good man who didn't deserve it. Adam smiles wistfully and says with zero trace of malice "since when do we get what we deserve?"
And with that, Dean and Cas get ready to travel to Purgatory to find the Leviathan blossom (and hopefully fix their friendship) and the show leaves us on 2 incredibly ambiguous cliffhangers until it returns in mid January. Damn...
I love a good emotional rollercoaster and that's exactly what this episode was. Light on action, sure, but it wasn't needed. This was a perfect cocktail of drama, humor, tension, and remorse. The return of Adam did not disappoint. There were so many ways they could have gone with this storyline, but this was by far the best choice. My faith in the show has been renewed for what must be the 12th time or more over the course of its 15 year run and I am genuinely excited to see where the back half of this season goes. Please iron out the wacky pacing issues that plagued the front half of this final run and let my faith be rewarded!
10 out of 15 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink