Supernatural season 15: episodes 16 - 19

If this doesn't make much sense it's because I'm writing the ep recap out of order, starting with the ones that make me happy.  Episode 19 made me happy. Episode 17 DID NOT.

On a different note, I've figured out one of the reasons why season 8 on doesn't work for me.  It's because there are far fewer monster of the week episodes.  I like the monster of the week eps.  It increases the (literal) mythology of the show, world builds and gets to see our boys use their skills.  It distracts from the fucking awful major arcs of the later seasons.

Episode 16 - Drag Me Away (from you)

Ah yes, the one with the weeChesters.  It was OK.  It did feel like the writers/producers (whoever calls the shots on these things) wanted to shoehorn even more bucket list type stuff in, as a last hurrah.  this style of storytelling doesn't work for me and it means that we haven't seen or heard anything from Chuck in quite a few episodes.  Which is a bit ridic if I'm honest.

This is a monster of the week episode, where Baba Yaga is the monster.  We didn't get to see enough of her though.  Dean is not telling Sam about Jack's impending death, which makes him a fucking idiot who hasn't learned anything.  In contrast, Sam calling out Dean's bullshit was very satisfying.

Two more things worth mentioning - the hotel decor is incredibly ugly and as making me feel ill.  The shot of the college guide, knife and gun together made me cringe.  I miss subtlety.

5/10.

Episode 17 - Unity

This episode really upset me.  I may well have been hormonal, I may well have been due to have a bad brain day, but this episode sucked the positivity out of me and left me feeling flat.  At the time it was on the UK was looking like it was going to go into another lockdown (it did the following week), and things felt uncertain and stressful, so it may have been that the episode triggered these negative feelings in me rather than causing them.  

I really, really did not like Dean saying that Jack wasn't family.  I don't believe that Dean thinks that.  I think he has a lot of anger towards Jack, I think he has difficulty trusting him and he doesn't respect him, but I don't think he mentally excludes him from their family.  It is clear that Sam and Cas count Jack as family, so I expect Dean to accept Jack as family-by-proxy.  I really didn't like how Sam didn't argue with Dean.

The title cards were weird and have not been referenced in any other episodes.

The Empty accepted Sam's story with very little questioning, which felt too easy.  Amara was so shocked about the brothers' plan to kill her, and that just didn't sit right either.  Her trouser suit was abominable, conversely Chuck was dressed well.

There was mention of Billie somehow taking hold of Dean with her plan.  If she had psychically affected him, and he had gone off the rails at this point so i wouldn't be surprised if that was the intention, that should have been made explicit.  During the corridor fight, Sam tells Dean that Dean protected him from everyone, including John.  At this point I wanted to scream.

I felt like I was watching a show which didn't explain or justify the character's actions.  We can see they are at the end of their tethers, but we don't see how they got there.  The characters are all behaving slightly off, nearly right, but not quite.  It is possible that Chuck is manipulating all of them to behave in this slightly off manner, to exaggerate personality traits and exacerbate tensions, but this was never confirmed.  Chuck says that he didn't orchestrate Amara/Dean but we don't know that for sure.  The show is so wonky and uncertain at this point that it's hard to take anything at face value.  There's no signalling or narrative prompts.

It wasn't a dull episode, all the components for a good story were there, everything just felt slightly wrong. At some point I'll rewatch it and see if it improves.

Episode 18 - Despair

I could do a proper review of this but quite honestly the lasting impression of this is Castiel's proclamation of love to Dean, which had me howling with laughter.  I know it wasn't meant to be that way, but it had me chuckling all weekend.  Castiel doesn't seem to understand Dean at all.

Dean's reaction to Cas' declaration tickled me, as it's totally in line with his shock/surprise/ uncomfortableness when he meets any gay man.

From my notes, I can see that Dean's concern for Jack is at odds with the previous episode, but it makes more sense.  Billie didn't have enough good lines, and it felt like the actors were phoning it in.  Jack and MegEmpty felt shallow.  Usually I love watching these guys.

Billie's plan to stop people coming back from the dead is a pretty good one.  The Winchesters used to fight for the greater good, beyond their little circle of acquaintances.  Now they fight for their inner circle and themselves.  This upsets me on a storytelling level and a characterisation level.  They may as well be the Men of Letters.

3/10.

Episode 19 - Inherit the Earth
After episodes 17 and 18 I was dreading this.  I know it's only a show, and I know that linking your moods to a telly show isn't a healthy thing, but I was left feeling pretty low after Unity and I was getting quite agitated and off kilter thinking about ep 19.  Maybe it wasn't the show making me feel edgy, maybe I was feeling edgy anyway (hormones? Lockdown? 2020's apocalyptic nature?).

This episode ended the season and it was satisfactory.  I enjoyed it.  It starts with the boys and Jack being the only people on earth, because Chuck has raptured everyone else.  Which wasn't clear to me from episode 18, but wevs.

Michael arrives, Lucifer arrives (he really could have stayed dead but I guess the writers wanted all the big bads in the finale), Michael kills Lucifer (Sam should have got to kill Lucifer), Michael betrays the boys but the boys have prepared for this.  Then the good stuff starts which is Sam punching Chuck in the face, a clever flashback reveal of the brothers' plan, Chuck beating the boys and the boys refusing to kneel.  Sam drags Dean up to face Chuck and my heart sang.

Sam and Dean are now free to live their lives how they want without interference from a bastard deity.  They have their arms round each other in the bunker.  I LOVE this.  I want loyalty and love and trust and codependence and a lifetime of the bros learning how to live with each other with kindness.  That's what I watch it for, and that's what we got in the early seasons.

The memory montage got me in the heart too.  I have no idea how episode 20 is going to go, I hope it's executed with grace and it doesn't turn this episode on it's head.

9/10 for pure fannish joy.

Supernatural Season 15 - episodes 14 and 15

It's back on air! *does a happy dance*

Episode 14 - The Last Holiday
This got a lot of criticism online for being out of character. I loved it.  I am determined to love it.  The boys discover a wood nymph, Mrs Butters, in the bunker who is a cliched 1950s housewife type of character.  She's been brainwashed by the Men of Letters to be like that.

She sets about making the bunker a home for the boys - lots of holiday celebrations and lots of home made food.  Her magic fires up the bunker properly and they discover they have a monster radar, amongst other things.  She goes bad and tried to kill Jack, because she thinks he's a threat to the boys, but they all talk her down.

It's funny, it's sweet, it's got Dean flashing Sam and Dean throwing Jack through a door to free themselves, some truly gruesome finger torture, Lots of Jack, and lots and lots of feelgood scenes.  It's ends optimistically with everyone happy.

Dean is happy through most of it - he reminds me of how he was when he had memory loss in Regarding Dean. I Have A Theory (we can work it ouuuuuttttttt).  Mrs B's magic includes a glamour to take the angst out of those around them, make them happy and smooth the rough edges in their mindset.

I'm not sure how well this episode would have come across seen straight after Destiny's Child.  that was a fun and frivolous one too.  I think the 6 month break helped this episode come across well.

I like this episode a lot.  10 out of 10.

Episode 15 - Gimme Shelter

The brothers head out to see Amara and convince them to join in their plan to kill God, but decide not to say that means killing her too.  Duuuudes....

I don't think that it's ethical to kill Amara just because Chuck is a bastard, but it's been a while since the show was ethical...

Cas and Jack take on a case about people froma  church being murdered. The Cas'n'Jack crime investigation due always makes me smile.  They get to be delightfully weird together.  I adore Jack.  For some reason a demon wants to ride in the car with them and that bit kind of goes nowhere.  Maybe a scene didn't make the final cut.  Maybe the writers decided to put some odd humour in there.  It doesn't fit.

Jack signs up to this church for research and puts his gender as N, i.e. No.  I love him.  I think I've mentioned that right?!  I have a note about there being a creepy doll in the ep but now I don't remember what that referred to.  There's some awful hand torture - bit too soon after Last Holiday for my taste.

The Pastor's daughter turns out to be the killer, which, to be fair I did not see coming.  the Pastor doesn't seem upset about this though, which is odd.  Bad writing or bad directing, you choose.

Jack reveals that he will die when he kills Chuck and Amara.  What a thing to lay on Cas.  Especially when he's driving and needs to keep his eyes on the fucking road.

Back to the brothers.  They sit on the hood of the car, in the rain, which turns to slushy snow.  No one does that. It's blatantly been done so we get to ogle them looking pretty.  The show didn't used to do that.  Then Amara turns up and Dean and her have a heart to heart.  My main takeaway from this ep is how beautiful Amara is.  She really, really is.

It ends with Cas hinting to Dean that Jack will die.

6 out of 10. Some solid bits but could do better.  I found the monster of the week stuff a bit dull but I enjoyed the character bits.

Supernatural season 15 - a selective episode recap (6 to 13, more or less)

This is selective because I've only got a few episodes available to rewatch.  The final 7 episodes start again tonight. I'm excited. Very very excited. Even though it likely won't end how I want.  I'm not sure how I want it to end.  For the boys to be happy I think.  For Chuck to get his comeuppance.  I'd quite like lots more Jack screen time and some big explosions too.   Maybe not the big explosions.  That could go wrong.  I want the boys being badass but also soft and dorky.  Smart assed.  Capable and clever and competent.  I want them to remain relaxed with each other, and to trust each other.  I want them to enjoy themselves.  I don't think I want them dying.  I def don't want them going to the heaven where they relive their greatest moments.  they don't want that.  I want them to be treated with respect.  I want more fancyChesters too.

15 x 6 - Golden Time

From the credit montage of this just happened I can see that Rowena died in the last episode.  that was actually quite well done and made me sad.  The intro music and the cinematography is pretty good.

Dean makes a vicious circle joke and it's adorable.  The brothers seem so relaxed, so free of hang ups.  It's in their body language and their dialogue and relationship.  It's nice to see.

Eileen turns up as ghost.  I like Shoshanna Stern who plays Eileen, I respect her as an actress, I don't mind Eileen as a character, but I have issues with how she and her Deafness was portrayed when she was first introduced, and I have no idea why they chose to bring Eileen back over other characters.  It doesn't feel like virtue signalling, and maybe there wasn't anyone else it would have made sense to bring back, but nonetheless it's an odd choice.  Thankfully they had Sam learn some ASL. I have no idea if it's correct or not.  Sam becomes a witch and brings Eileen back to life.  Because otherwise she'd return to hell.  Fuck knows why she's in hell, according to the show's ethics she should be in heaven. Unless I've forgotten something awful she's done.

15x 7 - Last Call

In the recap we see that either Cas ditched the brothers earlier in the season, or that Dean ditched Cas. I can't remember which.  I don't want to google it in case I get spoiled for the next episode.

This episode is set partially in a rock bar, with an old hunter friend of Dean's.  Dean gets up and sings with the band.  I get the feeling the writers wanted to shove as many bucket list things in this final season as they could.  I'm all up for seeing Ackles singing, but when you consider how bad DemonDean's karaoke was this is another thing that doesn't make sense.

It turns out that Dean's mate is controlling the monster of the week. Dean kills the monster by cutting off it's head, but we don't see how.  He didn't have a knife or sword in the scene and we don't see the actual kill.  I have a note mentioning the key is for the door to Death's library, which strikes me as an obvious connection to L-space.

Back at the bunker we have the start of Sam/Eileen, in which Sam looks thoroughly uncomfortable and it's not pleasant to watch.  They have no chemistry.  Castiel probes Sam and we meet Sergei, Castiel's hitherto never seen before Russian friend that they have just thrown in with no backstory.  It's maddeningly hilarious.

I have another note saying that Lilith is back although now, a few days later, I don't remember the context.

15 x 8 - Our father, who aren't in heaven

The recap shows Chuck trying out different story endings for our boys.  It's a really lazy god plot with absolutely no subtlety or nuance.  It's a god as a spoiled, petulant child and it's dull.  The idea that you can't kill god without the balance of creation falling apart also irritates me.  Then the brothers decide they should lock god up somewhere... this is so far from the horror stories the early seasons told..

Donatello the soulless prophet comes back, and he's very entertaining.  More Donatello please.  But only in past seasons for me to rewatch, thank you very much.

Gaahhh... then the brothers just walk into hell... way to take all the mystery out of it.  Maybe it was meant to show they are such good hunters that they can do anything.  Maybe it was Chuck fucking with their brains and lending them the skills to do so.  It's bad writing whatever it is.  In hell they find Rowena as Queen.  She's not as warm as she was earthside, and she looks quite different with her hair up.

Adam is back earthside too... Michael is riding him but they have equal shares in the body.  I adore Jake Abel playing Adam/Michael.  He's wonderful.  He is the shining light in this episode.  Lilith is back in a very incongruous-to-the-setting meat suit.  She's all bubbles and brights.

Dean keeps trying to push Sam to Eileen and argh I want to shake him.  Sam is not into this Dean, so just stop it.

There's a bit in this episode where someone is talking and Eileen can't see to lip read, yet there's no acknowledgement that this is an issue or that she will have missed the conversation.  That infuriates me.  Eileen receives a case from an old friend who turns out to be Chuck in disguise, and he captures the two of them.

That's a quite a lot in one episode, but it worked.

15 x 9 - The Trap

In the recap we see dead Jack with those shades.  I love Alexander Culvert and I love Jack, in all his forms.  We also see the absolutely awful town of ghosts, walking in daylight.  The least scary thing I have ever seen. Awful.  I think it shows Jack taking lots of souls in and Cas probing him.

Sam is tied to a chair and Chuck is torturing him by making Eileen drive a knife into him.  Sam looks so kindly at Eileen while she's doing it.  Chuck has admitted he was pushing the romance angle between them, which might explain why Sam looked so unsettled with it all.

Cas and Dean have gone to purgatory to get a flower to incapacitate god.  There is a dreadful prayer from Dean begging for Cas forgiveness and saying sorry to him, and it just came out of nowhere.  Or I wasn't paying attention.  Either is possible.

Dean and Cas get back earthside and Eileen manages to call Dean's phone for help.  Dean shouts Eileen into the phone.  Repeatedly.  Dude, she's Deaf, she can't hear you.  There is nothing on screen to suggest a speech to text app on her phone so that is really fucking stupid.

15 x 10 - Heroes Journey

Oh christ. Possibly the worst episode they've made.  Everything starts going wrong for the brothers.  Dean get toothache, Sam trips, the car doesn't start, their credit cards don't work etc etc.  The in episode explanation, given by Garth, is that god has removed all divine assistance he has been given them all their lives.  Without that divine luck they cannot do anything.  That undermines the characters and everything we have believed in for 15 seasons.  It's insulting.

So my headcanon is that Chuck has cursed them and blessed Garth.  Garth is suddenly really strong, can do everything the brothers can't, and is somehow a qualified dentist.  Just... no.  Then there's a hallucination where Dean and Garth tap dance.  It's not cool, it's not iconic, it's not funny, it's terrible and it falls really flat.

And then Chuck shows Dean the brothers possible endings and Dean is turned into a vampire and he hisses.  It's awful. It looks like an outtake.

15 x 11  The Gamblers

The boys hear of a place where they can play pool for luck.  This feels like a bad rehash of the season 4 (?) episode where they gambled for years.  Fortuna is running the tavern and, I will give credit where credit is due, her explanation of god creating the world and humanity creating all other gods does sit right with me.

The gambling den serves as a lessons to the boys that they can be heroes without fancy skills or god's blessing.  Unfortunately the bit where this is proved to them, when the bar folk are released, is supremely unsatisfying.

15 x 13 - Destiny's Child

Now this episode is gold.  It's so much fun.  Things I like:

Dean's wtf reaction to Cas calling Sergei.  I know Dean, we don't know who the dude is either.

Our boys reactions to the FancyChesters.

Fancy Dean's love of the bunker life and FancySam's horror at it.

FancyChesters playing rock paper scissors.

FancyChesters' car.

EmptyMeg.

Billie.

Jack.

Jo's amazing green leopard print trews and gold lame top.

All the pizza in the opening credits, for one pizza reference later on.

World's being destroyed in the recap.

The whole multiversal shenanigans.

Savage Garden introducing the FancyChesters.

Hammy FancySam with his little finger out when he drinks beer, and his goreous effete manner.

Sam fighting the door! Alone!

Jack swallowing the occulum.  Soulless Jack is just darn good fun.

I like all of it. It's wonderful.  Best episode of the season.  Easy.

Bring on episode 14.