Supernatural s14e2 - a review (with spoilers)

“Gods and Monsters”

Sam and Dean Winchester are the quintessence of “Supernatural” – they were the beginning and they will be the end and there is no point denying it – there is simply no “Supernatural” without them or the actors who play them. However, this season the creators of the show are changing not only the established lore (silver no longer has any effect on werewolves – or anything but decapitation, for that matter, seems to work), but also the very status quo of the show. At least that was the impression that I got as I watched this episode. Do you know why? Well, mainly, because there was so precious little of Sam or Dean in this episode.

Of course, as much as it upsets and pains me to say it, I didn’t expect to be seeing much of Jensen in this episode. However, plot-wise it’s understandable. Dean, currently being possessed by the archangel Michael, is mostly unavailable. Though he did make a nanosecond appearance in the mirror as he attempted to give his possessor an unsuccessful boot – and, of course, he appeared at the end of the episode with some very surprising news indeed. Michael still making his way into the show as the Big Bad with a Plan – despite the writers’ recent announcement (that seems to contradict all their previous statements) that he is not in fact the major Big Bad of the season – would not be taking central stage at this point, of course. But what about Sam? Where did he go? Why was there so little of him? Why was he practically pushed aside (after taking charge so successfully last episode) to make way for other characters and their stories?

Well, I can tell you why. It wasn’t so much a “Supernatural” episode, after all, as an episode of “Dr Phil” on “Supernatural” and Sam just wasn’t part of – er – “the main action”, I suppose. You see, he was off looking for Michael!Dean with Mary and Bobby – but that, I’m afraid, isn’t as interesting or important as following the emotional journey of Nick and Jack, guided with varying degrees of success by Castiel, Angel of the Lord, who could not take part in the search and was obliged to take on the “babysitting duty”, because “his angelic presence would be sensed by Michael, thereby nullifying their hopes of a sneak attack”. Well, he didn’t seem too pleased about that. From a punching bag last week to a nanny/shrink this week there isn’t much of an upgrade for him on this Jack-and-Nick drama hour – though both put him through an emotional wringer all right, throwing into his face that he didn’t understand what they were going through when he was trying to comfort them. Like father, like son…

But let’s start from the beginning, shall we?

At the end of last episode Michael finally found the type of monster he could work with on creating a better world – whatever that is in his understanding – someone whose want he finds simple, pure and clean. I’m still not sure what exactly he is trying to accomplish and I’m afraid the writers don’t have much of a clue either. Personally, I suspect that they never truly planned to have Michael possess Dean for very long and figured that they didn’t really need to think it all the way through, details and all, because they knew that they would be dropping this particular storyline soon enough. In any case, this episode opens with a truly sinister scene: in an abandoned church, which, for all its ruin and decay, provides a beautiful background, Michael is experimenting on vampires. He mixes their blood with his grace – and .discards his failed experiments with chilling calm of scientific detachment. Again, he is disappointed. He is not an easy man to please. His movements are unhurried and precise and his expression is amused and morbidly expectant as he twirls his weapon of choice while selecting his next victim.

This time around the bunker seems to house only Bobby, Mary, Sam, Castiel, Jack and Nick. Sam finds Michael’s bloody trail (the trail that Michael left entirely on purpose for him to find) and together with Bobby and Mary they take off. Bobby looks more like a bumbling old fool than anything else in this iteration with a serious case of foot-in-mouth disease. (Mary obviously finds it endearing, judging by the way she smiles playfully at him and claps him on the shoulder in the morgue later on.) Castiel reluctantly stays behind – he doesn’t really have much of a choice. Jack is lost without his powers and Nick is a mess and they both need supervision. Something in Castiel’s voice when he says this gives Sam a pause. He is once again playing devil’s advocate when he tells Castiel with that piteous look on his face that it isn’t Nick’s fault and that Nick deserves a shot at rebuilding his life now that he isn’t possessed anymore. I’m sure it will come back to bite him later. Oh. Wait. It already did. Jack doesn’t object when they don’t invite him to join them on their search and says that he wants to improve. However, by improving he means researching how long it takes archangel grace to replenish. Very productive.

Nick is seeing flashbacks of Lucifer’s many killings while possessing him before Castiel brings him some nourishment and they have a heart-to-heart chat – once Castiel can finally make himself look him in the eye. After Castiel tells Nick that his family was murdered, which prompted him to say “yes” to Lucifer, Nick decides to find out who did it. He becomes a man possessed. No pun intended. And is it even considered pun in this case? However, his initial search proves fruitless and when Castiel tries to comfort him and puts a hand on his shoulder – he snaps – like in “he snaps his fingers just like Lucifer did when smiting someone”. He says that he doesn’t know why he did it when Castiel asks him about it. Or does he? There was a look about him that screamed Lucifer. So who is it? What is it? A dangerous side-effect after a prolong exposure to archangel’s possession? Or is it Lucifer himself? Is he still lurking there somewhere, biding his time, waiting to be unleashed? Or is he merely playing us all and there is no Nick to speak of? This is all extremely troubling and confusing and I don’t like it, especially considering the shocking events that took place at the end of the episode.

Jack continues to wallow in self-pity, repeating over and over again that without his grace he has nothing left. Castiel tells him about his own experience as a human and makes some very good points about patience and persistence (using Sam and Dean’s example), past and future, and which one is more important in defining his purposefulness. “What did you have left?” asks Jack when Castiel tells him how hopeless and useless he felt after he lost his wings and grace. “I had Sam and Dean,” replies Castiel simply. “But I had something else that was extremely helpful. I had myself. Just the basic me. As Dean would say without all the bells and whistles.” I understand the importance of such talks and I think Castiel did a very good job there, but it all made it look like family drama rather than a sci-fi/fantasy show “Supernatural” is supposed to be. In the end, Castiel’s pep talk results in Jack seeking his maternal grandparents.

Michael/Dean tuxedo/mirror scene is powerful and poignant and, on a very shallow note, so very, very pretty. I actually jumped when Michael smashed the glass. His voice is low, threatening and enthralling at the same time. He is once again on a prowl, looking for a new, a better monster to recruit – someone who can be improved – werewolves seem to fit the bill. Vampires, apparently, were just a test material. His cruel humour and cold amusement make him even more frightening than before. What is he going to do next? You just don’t know. His smile is as sharp as glass and at any moment there will be that look in his eyes that will freeze your blood. He doesn’t like playing games and gets bored when others do. His attitude is casually suave when dealing with women and carelessly calculated when dealing with men. His goal is becoming more defined as he seeks an audience with the leader of a werewolf pack. “Why be the hunted when you can be the hunter?” he asks him in the end. And isn’t it an interesting choice of phrase, considering that he is possessing one?

But we still don’t know what he’s planning until he pays a visit to Lydia – the vampire who told Sam, Mary and Bobby where to find him. He knows that she was talking with them even though she tries to deny it. “Why do you think I dumped your brothers and sisters in plain sight?” he asks her. “Why do you think I let you escape? Rule №1: you can’t have a trap without bait,” he tells her. “That brings us to Rule №2, which says once the trap has been sprung, you don’t need the bait anymore.” But what is the actual trap? Is it the werewolf ambush or Dean who claims that Michael “just left”? What is going on? Is Dean the equivalent of the Trojan horse? I mean just earlier Michael showed no intentions of wishing to leave the building whatsoever, telling Dean that he owned him and that he should hang on and just enjoy the ride. Well, it was a pretty short ride if he truly left! But did he really? He didn’t, by any chance, invite himself inside Nick to help him take his revenge? (I suppose he would consider wanting revenge pure enough.) I really hope not. I don’t think that it would make much sense. Nick wasn’t even Lucifer’s true vessel. Surely Michael is the strongest when he is wearing Dean?

Jack meets his mother’s parents. It is a touching scene but smacks too much of a soap opera. Castiel is not happy that Jack left the bunker. Jack tells Castiel, “I never knew my mother. I thought the next best thing might be for me to meet the only real family that I have left.” Castiel is visibly hurt by his words. “That is not – ” he all but growls but stops himself before he can say something he might regret. Instead, he controls his emotions and asks Jack if it helped. Jack then tells him about his visit and that he just couldn’t tell them that she died. “I suppose there are worse ways to be human than to be kind,” remarks Castiel.

Funnily enough, Jack’s kindness disappears as abruptly as Nick snapped his fingers in true Lucifer fashion when Castiel tells him that Sam and the others might have found Michael. “So they’re going to try and kill him?” Jack asks all business-like. “No,” replies Castiel, frowning at him; perhaps, wondering about the sudden change. “The plan is to subdue him using angel cuffs and spell work and to get Michael out of Dean.” “And if he doesn’t leave?” demands Jack. “Then they’ll try to drive him out.” “And if that doesn’t work? ... Michael has to be stopped!” Jack's face looks almost savage, showing no sympathy. “I know,” says Castiel patiently, “and he will be, after Dean is – ” “Dean doesn’t matter,” says Jack, cutting Castiel off and scolding him for focusing "so much on saving Dean" – and just like that all my sympathy and partiality for him is gone. It shouldn’t have come as a shock, really, after he all but admitted that he doesn’t consider them his family, but it still did. I’m sorry, Jack. But you’re wrong. Dean matters. Castiel is shocked by Jack’s “Dean has to die” tirade so much that he is rendered speechless - but his stricken expression says it all. “Do you think he’d want it any other way?” Jack throws at Castiel in the end. Castiel doesn't reply. He knows the answer to that. Well, of course not! We all know that Dean would sacrifice himself if he had to. But here’s the thing, Jack: it’s not your call to make. It's not up to you to decide who to sacrifice for the greater good. Dean, Sam, Castiel, they all had their share of “I’m going to sacrifice myself” moments and it was up to their family – their real family – to try and find a way not to let that happen by whatever means possible.

So… at the end of this episode there are two burning questions that I want answers to: “Is it Dean or is it Michael?” and “Is it Nick or is it Lucifer?”

I will say this: it wasn't a bad episode altogether (I enjoyed Castiel scenes and Michael!Dean scenes a great deal) and it was definitely much better than the premiere, which, I think, was one of the worst in the history of the show. But here's the thing that's bugging me: I don't understand why we should be spending so much time on Jack and Nick. Why are they taking up so much screen time? Why do we get to see more of them than the main characters? Why are their stories and emotional tribulations more important that Sam and Dean's? I didn't sign up for "Jack and Nick" show, and as far as secondary characters go, they are definitely not the characters I would wish to spend more time with than strictly necessary. I will give the writers points for one thing though (if it was their intention, of course): the whole episode was heavy on building up sympathy for both Jack and Nick - and then, in a rather shocking turn of events, they pretty much smashed it all with a few blows of an ax, both literally and figuratively.

Supernatural s14e1: a review (with spoilers)

“Stranger In A Strange Land”

There was so precious little I liked about this episode, I think I’ll start with that. I really liked the very first shot of Sam, alone, struggling with grief, intent on the mission ahead, driving Impala along a dark, deserted, rain-washed road, a classic rock tune blaring from the radio until he softly switches it off; it’s too painful to listen to without Dean not steering the wheel by his side, drumming and humming along, maybe even cracking a joke or two. It was a very poignant and powerful visual – a lighter shade of blue on the horizon as a hint of hope, perhaps? – a perfect setting… for about a second... We later find out that his errand turned out to be a bust.

The next scene is Michael scene and it is riveting. I have never had any doubts about Jensen’s acting skills and yet I was not prepared for how different it would be to look at his face and see no trace of Dean anywhere. Michael is cold, calm and collected. He shows no emotions. He has no emotions. He smiles but he is not amused. He is in no hurry. He takes his time. He has a question and he seeks the answer that will not disappoint, that will gratify, that will serve his purpose. But what is his purpose? A better world. Well, that’s what he says. But is it truly? “What do you want?” he asks. But what do you want, Michael? His scenes, however short and episodic, are phenomenal. I could watch the whole episode just of Michael asking different people what they want.

And then comes the title card and it is… so very disappointing. It looks like something a five-year-old would have patched up with minimum skills and resources: splotchy and clumsy and so very unrealistic.

Then the first glimpse of the bunker and it is a scene of much activity, all very business- and military-like. But Dean’s absence feels like a void and it seems that the writer is trying to fill it with other hunters – but mostly with Bobby and his old man’s ramblings and lectures. It doesn’t work. I have to confess that I found him annoying and unsympathetic in this episode. “Life is a little different when you can’t just zap people around, eh?” he tells Jack, who is struggling with the loss of his powers, that have never been truly explored or delved into on the show. Jack, lost and hurt, is lying at his feet after he has knocked him down and told him with a chuckle to “watch for that left”. There were so many things that one could say to Jack on that occasion, I thought; so many parallels that one could make about people who lost certain physical abilities due to disease or in an accident and had to learn to live and deal with it – instead of a bunch of commonplace nothings.

Mary is often hovering uncertainly over Sam as though on the brink of breaking into a mother mode, but after two seasons, during one of which she was actively distancing herself from her sons, it doesn’t come easily or naturally. Their interaction is hollow and strained, filled with Mary’s platitudes and empty promises, and it’s almost as though Sam wants to say “don’t bother on my account now”. Of course, without his brother by his side nothing looks right anymore. Dean must be here. But he isn’t.

Almost as though it is inevitable, we are introduced to another King of Hell wannabe – or, to be more precise, another Crowley wannabe – another copycat demon who uses fancy lingo and silly endearments that sound off and has a penchant for unnecessary drama. I suppose it would be too much to ask to bring in another Queen of Hell for a change. Personally, I think Rowena would have been a much better choice, not to mention that it would be a rather interesting turn of events. However, instead we are subjected to this demon’s popinjay ways and long-winded prattle and it is boring as hell and just as trite and it wastes precious screen time. I thought back in S12 that Crowley had outlived his usefulness as a character, that he had become too soft to return to his more nefarious ways, but looking at these poor substitutes and their failed attempts to emulate him I wish he were back.

Mary is once again hovering uncertainly in the doorway when Sam and Jack are having a conversation about strength and faith that she interrupts in order to tell Sam that “he’s awake”. Jack is visibly disappointed and hurt when Sam leaves. The “he” in question comes as a shock. It is incredible, unbelievable. Mary says that she can barely look at “him” and hastily retreats (I wonder what happened to that badass hunter that she was so persistently shown to be throughout the last two seasons), leaving Sam on his own to take care of – wait for it – Lucifer’s vessel! Miraculously, after all this time, the man – Nick – Lucifer was possessing is alive. I must say that this was an unexpected turn of events that I thoroughly failed to appreciate. I hoped never to see Lucifer or his vessel ever again. I thought that Dean’s sacrifice put an end to that long-winding saga. Alas, no. Apparently, “the archangel blades were meant to kill the archangel inside and not the person they possess…” Is it just me or does it sound a little too far-fetched – and extremely convenient? Just another gimmick. It rather reminded me of that cock-an-bull story that Arthur Ketch was spinning last season about his twin brother Alexander. Of course, that, at least, was later confirmed to be untrue.

Sam steels himself before entering the room and you can see a whole range of emotions playing across his face. It seems to be a recurring theme recently, isn’t it? Last season Sam had to take care of Gabriel – the archangel who killed his brother over and over and over again to teach him a lesson – and this season he has to take care of the vessel of the archangel who possessed him, tortured his soul in hell and, in the end, forced his brother to say “yes” to Michael in order to defeat him once and for all. “I’m glad Lucifer is dead,” says Sam through a lump in his throat. “Me too,” replies Nick. I hope it’s true; otherwise Dean’s sacrifice was all for naught, wasn’t it? A real slap in the face, if you ask me. When Sam finally leaves the room, you can see how much it took of him to be inside that room with Nick.

However, he doesn’t get a break for the very next moment he receives a call from this week’s king-of-hell-wannabe who wants to make a deal with him in order to become one (what a bewildering concept!) and who took Castiel hostage in order to have some leverage during the negotiations. Sam instantly assembles a team, knowing full well that it’s a trap, comprising himself, Mary, Bobby, Jack, and, bizarrely enough, out of all the seasoned hunters in the bunker… Maggie? I was pleased that (despite the inevitable danger) Sam showed Jack that he had faith in him not only through empty words but through his own actions by allowing him to join them. But why take Maggie? I do not recall her being a hunter in the first place – and at the start of the episode she could barely handle staring at blood. What a strange decision on the writer’s part – to put another young and wide-eyed girl in harm’s way!

The fight that ensued was quite brutal and for a while it seemed that our side was going to lose. I’m sorry to say that Castiel had very little to do throughout the episode. He somehow managed to miss the fact that he walked into a demon-infested bar, was then instantly overpowered, beaten up and, finally, forced to impersonate a trussed-up turkey, while the others fought all around him. At one point Mary gives Maggie an angel blade with the help of which she later saves Mary’s hide. And yet, for whatever reason, no one thought to teach Jack to use something other than his fists in order to defend himself, considering how badly he was doing. Is this another bone carelessly thrown into the “girl power” camp? I’ve noticed that it has become this writer’s staple to make the girls look stronger by deliberately making the boys look weaker.

I appreciated Castiel's speech - self-deprecating ("To be fair, we've all got punched in the face"), sympathetic, encouraging and rallying - to Jack after the fight when he felt even more useless than before and believed that without his powers he had nothing: "You've got your family. And we are going to find Dean. And we are going to beat Michael. And we are going to do it together. Because that's what we do." I think it is something Dean would say if he were there and I want to believe that Castiel learned it from him. 

It was a right decision to end the episode with another Michael scene. He might be cruel and calculating but he is also enigmatic and mesmerizing and it is simply fascinating to watch him move and hear him talk.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: this show needs writers who know how to craft stories instead of going at them with a butcher knife. I don't usually do this but I have to say one more thing: Andrew Dabb has to go. His writing is lazy and incompetent, it is devoid of imagination, consistency, subtlety and finesse, and he is simply an awful storyteller.