Supernatural (Warning: Spoilers)

I'm just so pleased they showed Metatron with the books. I mean, it was brilliant when Crowley read them the first time around. But I couldn't believe it with all the books and stories Metatron has acquired, he didn't already have them in his library.

MY DVR DIDN'T RECORD THE EPISODE. WOE IS ME.

Hulu, also!

I enjoyed the episode. It had a very different vibe from most of the last several seasons. It actually seemed to be going somewhere and to remember the past several seasons. Thank Chuck (haha) they reminded us that the Supernatural books--and CHUCK--exist. And it was nice to see Gabriel, even if it was a fake-out. I hope this means they'll be tying things in as the series comes to a close. They need to circle back to previous seasons to make it fulfilling. The parallels between Metatron and Chuck made me very happy and hints that they are starting to think seriously about building that final arc. That story arc has been woefully absent since the end of season 5.

Finally saw it! **kicks DVR; gives thanks to online streaming**

Can I just say I literally cried out "YAY!!!" when Gabriel appeared? I was pretty sure it would turn out as it did, but even so, YAY!!!

And Metatron as Anti-Chuck? Fantastic!

I'm also not quite sure what the endpoint is supposed to be here; Metatron's got the angel tablet and the key to Heaven, with no other angels there to bother him. So...now what? Is Metatron just bored, like any writer would be after finishing a story? Is all of this just because he has to tell a story, and he's picked up the Winchesters because it's what Chuck had done? (Pulp stuff, indeed; loved the "God published His first draft" comment -- if that's not a nod to Chuck, I don't know what is.)

So, recap:

Abbadon and Crowley are fighting over the keys to Hell.

Cas is gathering an army to fight for the keys to Heaven.

The Winchesters are going to help Crowley and Cas because A) Abbadon is capital-e Evil and Metatron has a God complex that's leaving angels and humans slaughtered in his wake.

Okay, got it.

I'm still hopeful that this season will end with Dean/Cain -- insane from wielding the First Blade -- killing Sam, and Sam waking up back in the Cage. Fingers, toes, and halos crossed...

(Pulp stuff, indeed; loved the "God published His first draft" comment -- if that's not a nod to Chuck, I don't know what is.)

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This was pretty brilliant.

I'm still hopeful that this season will end with Dean/Cain -- insane from wielding the First Blade -- killing Sam, and Sam waking up back in the Cage. Fingers, toes, and halos crossed...

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I'm not sure Sam's going to wake up there, but I do think we are going to get Lucifer back down the road. It could be wishful thinking, but I think they're setting up to bring the Hell arc (season 1-5) in a head-to-head with the Heaven arc for the final season. Imagine, though--if Sam were to die, he can't currently get into Heaven. He wouldn't go to Purgatory. What if he returns to the Cage because it was a cheat that he got out in the first place?

**I just answered one of my own "why do they care?" questions from my previous post, when it comes to Heaven's doors locked. No keys to Heaven = more angry spirits.

katiemac said:

Imagine, though--if Sam were to die, he can't currently get into Heaven. He wouldn't go to Purgatory. What if he returns to the Cage because it was a cheat that he got out in the first place?

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What I'm hoping for is that seasons 6 - 9 were all in Sam's mind, trying to keep him sane while imprisoned in the Cage -- but when Dean would kill him (end of season 9, I hope, in the "Cain Slew Abel" theme), Sam would wake up in the Cage, because he never left. And so season 10 would take place right after season 5, with Chuck still the prophet, Bobby still alive, and Dean happy with Lisa...until Something Happens that gets Sam out of the Cage...along with Lucifer and Michael and Adam. (Probably won't happen; I really like your thoughts around seasons 1 - 5 focusing on Hell and seasons 6 - 9 focusing on Heaven, with season 10 bringing it all to a head. But still, a fan and writer can hope!)

I honestly think anything is possible at this point. I mean, Gabriel may or may not be dead, but God brought Cas back from the dead once. The fact they referenced Chuck in this episode and judging by the conversations between Cas and Gabriel about good ole Dad make me think God will be important to endgame.

Yeah, I remarked a while back that I missed the occasional monster of the week epis, but that was remarkably ho-hum.

Calla Lily said:

???

Was that anything more than 42 minutes of filler? One throwaway line about Dean enjoying killing a little too much, and another of the "You'd do the same for me."

I'm surprised--pleasantly--that **snip**
But, overall, nothing. and next week is the pilot for the Chicago spinoff, so I'm guessing another 42 minutes of nothing.

Pessimism, I has it tonight.

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Me too. Ugh. That episode was a disappointment. And agreed about expectations for next week.

Calla Lily said:

Opinionated opinion: In S1 and S2, they still kept the "searching for dad" story arc in the monster of the week eps. They seem to have forgotten how to do this.

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Agreed. Since the end of season 5, there has really only been a vague impression of an overall arc. The whole soul-less Sam or leviathan things were nothing more than plot devices--they didn't really hold together the season(s). In the first several seasons, we had monster-of-the-week, but we were still moving slowly along the arc of "where's Dad?" or "how do we keep Dean from going to hell?" or "how do we stop the Apocalypse we unleashed?" We also got deeper into a mythology that was leading us towards the Apocalypse.

I'm just holding out hope that they circle back around and bring back Chuck or other story lines they let drop. That would be very satisfying to me.

Calla Lily said:

Opinionated opinion: In S1 and S2, they still kept the "searching for dad" story arc in the monster of the week eps. They seem to have forgotten how to do this.

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Agreed. Although despite this episode being underwhelming, thematically I did appreciate the culty-family undertones. That said, isn't the spin-off supposed to be about monster families? So maybe this was an intro to the intro, although I really doubt I'll be watching that show and disappointed the pilot is already next week. Give me forward momentum! Do not give me spinoff!

And dear lord. Sam is the worst hunter alive. I'd need twenty hands to count the number of times he's been snuck up on, knocked out, tied up--and in the most recent seasons alone. I get we're in aggressive-Dean-saves-the-day mode, but SAM IS BETTER THAN THIS.

Is it because he's so tall, he's easier to spot? But then I've always wondered how the bad guys manage to lug his giant moose body around while unconscious and get him into chairs and stuff. If he gets knocked out one more time, I would like to see that. For comedy. (Yes, I know he wasn't technically knocked out in this episode, but this is what I think about during disappointing filler episodes.)

By the way, what was up with both boys being all "Let's kill the girl! YAY!!" ??

... Am I the only one who remembers why you're not supposed to shove a shotgun right up against a person's back?

Sam has forgotten all of his training.

Also, are vampires like a lot weaker than they were in Season 1? Or have Dean and Sam just gotten supernaturally strong these last several years?

Been watching right along but not saying much, but I am so nervous for Dean! He's becoming quite the emotionless killer, isn't he?

At this point, don't really care what they do as long as I get the satisfying brother relationship back.

Yeah, this new show looks kind of sad.

CrastersBabies said:

Yeah, this new show looks kind of sad.

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Is the CW owned by James Frey? They seem to be suffering from the Dorothy Must Die syndrome.

I haven't watched it yet. Been dreading it. **sigh**