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Supernatural: Holy Terror

"Virtue is its own punishment."

Sometimes I wonder why I still let this show get to me.

We get attached to a wonderful character like Kevin Tran and get accustomed to him being part of the Supernaturalverse, and bam. He didn't even get to die gloriously in battle taking out demons. He died because Dean made a mistake – and/or/plus Metatron didn't want Kevin translating whatever was on that tablet. It's just too bad. At least we can be certain that he's having fun in heaven, possibly reunited with his unfortunate girlfriend.

Dean has obviously suspected for awhile that "Ezekiel" wasn't keeping his word, but couldn't face it because the alternative was Sam dying. And now Sam is "gone" and Gadreel has taken Sam's body off somewhere to do Metatron's bidding. Where is Sam? Submerged within his own body? Is his soul somewhere else?

I'd never even heard of the angel Gadreel before. If he's been in Heaven Prison since he screwed up the Garden of Eden, he must be nuts. Maybe he's not really evil. Is he just trying to please Metatron, who has acquired actual delusions of actual Godhood, or is he a very bad angel? Maybe Gadreel initially planned to heal Sam…. no, because he's been pretending to be Sam for awhile. I hadn't expected that, so nice twist, guys. But if that's true, why did "Sam" bring up missing time?

Is God the only one who can fix this situation with Metatron? Because I am still waiting for God to show up. Isn't it time? And could God please use John Winchester as a vessel so we can get some Jeffrey Dean Morgan?

At least we got some primo Castiel time, and that is never bad. He was so incredibly cute in that suit (with a blue tie that matched his eyes), playing FBI agent undercover hunter. And then he stole grace from that nasty torturer turncoat angel (was his name really Muriel)? I didn't know you could steal grace. Can any being steal an angel's grace or can it only be another angel?

My favorite moment in this episode was Castiel praying to every sort of higher being there could possibly be. It was a very Castiel thing to do. And the opener had its comical aspects. Born-again bikers versus the Melody Ministry Glee Club? Very Supernatural. Especially since the Glee Club won.

Bits and pieces:

— All of the angel prisoners were set free. I assume that doesn't include Lucifer because he's not in heaven. And Mark Pellegrino is busy doing another show.

— What would Heaven Prison be like? Angels can be awful. I wonder if it's like Hell, only clean?

— The angel Malachi was a bit underwhelming. In fact, I don't have anything to say about him. He was the one with the longish hair, right?

— This week: Caribou, Wyoming. This week's tacky motel room featured a lot of superfluous wood paneling.

Supernatural returns January 14, 2014.


I should have expected that we'd lose someone cool since it was the mid-season finale, because that's when Supernatural kills characters we love. And I am bummed about losing Kevin. Poor Dean. With a single tear, yet.

Three out of four born-again bikers,

Billie
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Billie Doux has been reviewing Supernatural for so long that Dean and Sam Winchester feel like old friends. Courageous, adventurous, gorgeous old friends.

27 comments:

  1. I think Gadreel was just pretending to be Sam for that one scene where Dean confessed to tricking him into being possessed by an angel. I hadn't considered that he might've been faking this whole time.

    Yeah, I didn't get the whole super duper evil, black hat vibe from Gadreel. It just seemed like he wanted to be back in SOMEONE'S good graces after thousands of years in angel prison.

    Cas praying was seriously heartbreaking. I love Cas being a badass angel again, but I really wish they'd explored his humanity more. Why did they even have him turn human if they were only going to address it in a couple episodes and were going to abandon the arc? Disappointing.

    Now that Kevin's dead, I'm sure Mama Tran is alive and she's going to escape wherever Crowley has her and Dean will have to tell her her son is dead. :(

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  2. Yes, Billie, Gadriel was only pretending to be Sam in this episode. I screamed when he murdered Kevin, said Sam wasn't here anymore, and walked away leaving Dean crying. Kevin called it--he got screwed again--and for the last time! I couldn't sleep last night, and kept crying. It really upset me. Dean meant well, but. . . Did you notice how many characters in this ep said "I did what I had to do"?

    Love,
    Robin

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  3. Love your review as I seem to every week. Muriel was actually the female park ranger, not the turncoat whose grace Castiel took. I so look forward to your reviews every week, it's one of the reviews I actually seem to agree with more often than not. Thank you!

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  4. Yes, Robin I noticed the whole "i did what I had to do" theme this episode. Makes you wonder what that means for Cas!
    Wow, what a heartbreaking end to Kevin.
    I suspected that Kevin was going to be the one in trouble from the episode preview, I didn't expect him to die.
    What really got me was his concern about Dean and that being the last thing he said. I had a flashback to Sam' death in S1, his last word uttered being his call out to Dean before being knifed seconds later. Kevin died without knowing what was going on or why, taken by surprise, by the angels that were supposed to protect him. He was their prophet. And his line to Dean "I do trust you. And I always get screwed" well, what can you say?
    Plunge the knife deeper, please.
    And I can't really explain why this is the case, but I was glad that Dean didn't chase after Sam in that last scene. (I don't know why I have expected him to chase him up the staircase) He turned his attention to Kevin, whom he'd finally come to see as family.
    Dean has sent Cas away, gotten Kevin killed and has now "lost" Sam. Has this most recent plan backfired, or what? Poor Dean.
    And, Gadriel walked off with the Angel AND DEMON tablet- any smell a deal attempt with Gadriel/Crowley coming up?
    I sensed that Gadriel wasn't decided about Metatron's assassin request until he found out that Dean was "double crossing him". Not that I want to defend him, but think about it- if he's been locked up, he has NO IDEA how humans work. I don't think hanging out with the Winchesters gives an recently-released-from-prison-angel" a balanced look on humans.
    The ebb and flow of human emotions of this family is intense. I feel like it set him over the edge.

    Questions-
    Does this mean that Sam might become an angel? If he takes over, can he use the powers? Can he take over heaven? Close the gates of hell? Bring back John Winchester and Bobby from Heaven? I'm getting ahead of myself.
    If Gadriel was the guardian of the Garden, does he have special powers? I also think it is ironic that Gadriel is considered "different" having made a mistake that cost the "garden". The parallels with Sam are very interesting.
    Why was Gadriel insistent that Dean was going to be fine? Remember how he said when he first appeared that he still believed in Cas and Dean? Or was that all a lie too.
    Damn, I wanted to like Zeke!
    Lastly, a quote from Dean, S6 “When crap like this comes around we deal with it, Like we always deal with it. What we don’t do is go out and make a deal with the devil.” Dean is so right.
    RIP KevinFreakinSolo

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  5. I felt strangely non-emotional about this episode. I guess it's because lately Kevins character hasn't really been there anyway.
    Still, of course, what a sad way to go - killed by someone he thought he could trust.
    I wonder who the new prophet will be?

    Abby: Very interesting thought about Sam/Gadriel taking over heaven!

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  6. From the moment Dean made his decision at the beginning of the season, the inevitability of it being something he would regret was obvious. It never occurred to me that the consequences would be this severe.

    Like sunbunny, I thought Gadriel was only pretending to be Sam for that final scene. I hope so, because if Sam is gone… I can't go there.

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  7. Don't worry, Chris! Sam was able to fight off Lucifer. Gadreel isn't even an archangel. I don't like his chances.

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  8. I agree that once Sam knows what's going on... look out Gadriel. Sam may be weak... but it's true, he did fight off Lucifer. I sort of hope that newly re-graced Castiel can bring Kevin back. But I agree with many that when Supernatural "cheats" in this way, it could take away from the meaning and consequences of the death. And I never considered that God could come back and use John Winchester as a vessel. That would be AMAZING!!

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  9. Heather1, I can't remember which episode but we were having a discussion in the comments at some point about them finally bringing in God, and someone posted that if they did, it should be in the form of John Winchester. I don't remember whose idea it was but I just loved it. It's pretty much perfect.

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  10. Wasn't there an episode at some point where someone said that John and Mary Winchester had gone missing from Heaven? That no one knew where they were? I always sort of thought maybe that God had taken them off somewhere for a particular purpose. Maybe to protect them so that they couldn't be used against Sam and Dean? At any rate, I always wonder if they are wherever God has gone off to, and will come back into play somewhere down the line.

    I liked this episode a whole lot better than last week's, but I'm very sad that Kevin is gone. I should have seen that coming, but I was completely surprised when Gadriel killed him. I thought Metatron was sending his new dupe after his old dupe, Cas. The card on Kevin's chest was such a sad moment.

    I agree with several other commenters that Gadriel was just "playing" Sam during Dean's confession. I also agree that Gadriel doesn't appear to be an inherently bad guy. He was the fall guy for the "serpent entering" issue, and after all his time in prison, he's desperate to prove his worth again. So very susceptible to Metatron's manipulations. Maybe at some point, he and Sam can reach some kind of understanding and be a team in the continuing war. They can forge a new kind of joint angel-host bond.

    I noticed the "I did what I had to do" theme, too. That kind of move just never goes well in this 'verse, does it? I'm not expecting Cas's latest "what I had to do" move to work out any better than his last several. Sigh.

    The angel he stole the grace from (and then killed) was called Theo, I believe.

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  11. I did miss some of the angel stuff. I usually watch the episode twice and just didn't have the time this week. Maybe I thought the angel was called Muriel because the name ends in "el". :)

    Mary was in the Heaven episode "Dark Side of the Moon" but I don't think it was actually her. I don't think they've ever said where John is -- have they? Nine seasons, it's starting to blur.

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  12. One more thing -- Osric Chau did a post about the episode. It's very sweet.

    http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1rsre07

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  13. I'm pretty sure "Muriel" is a Keltic name and it's just a coincidence that it looks like one of the angelic names derived from Hebrew. Knowing the Kelts, the original spelling was probably something like "Mourgheal" (or worse).

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  14. Awww, that was a really sweet and touching post from Osric Chau. Now I'm even sadder about losing Kevin.

    I wish I could remember what episode I thought I heard that bit about John and Mary in. I don't even recall what else might have been going on in the episode, or why it came up, so I can't go back and check. (The "nine seasons blur" affects us all.) I just seem to remember it being said at one point, and it was something my mind latched onto and can't let go of, because I thought it was a fascinating tidbit. But maybe I imagined the whole thing. I cooked up something intriguing in a stray thought and now my crazy mind thinks it actually happened on the show. Erg.

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  15. Maybe it was in a comment, Jess.

    At least SPN is pretty consistent with their mythology. If it weren't, nine seasons would be much harder to track. Actually, if they hadn't been so careful with their continuity, the show probably would have ended by now. And if their two leads hadn't started so young.

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  16. I checked on one of the wikis, and it says that in 'Dark Side of the Moon,' Ash tells Dean and Sam that he hasn't been able to locate John, Mary, Ellen, or Jo in Heaven. (Of course, he was just finding out that Jo and Ellen had died, so he wouldn't have been looking for them.) Maybe that's what I interpreted or internalized as "they are missing." The wiki doesn't note any subsequent references to where John and Mary might be.

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  17. Boy, the music was especially bad this episode. It kept bumping me out of it constantly.

    Not a good one. I feel like they killed Kevin because they had to do something big being a mid season finale. Not looking good.

    At least we won't have any more "Zeke saves of the week". Abot time.

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  18. By the way:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadreel

    and

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadriel

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  19. Those wikipedia links are fascinating. Particularly since the "Gadriel" one redirects to "Azazel" --- a name already used very prominently on the show --- but the descriptions for that particular biblical figure seem to better fit the story they gave "Gadreel" in the show. The "scapegoat," being responsible for original sin, etc. Very, very interesting.

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  20. I have to say something about an episode I just re-watched that has me kinda flippin out.
    Season 5
    Episode - THE END

    It was set in 2014 (that was the future 5 years ago) and "Sam" was possessed by an angel. Granted it was a Lucifer, but he was kicked out of heaven got locked up---umm like Gadreel!! and hello, isn't Lucifer the one who is considered to have been the snake in the GARDEN that tempted Adam and Even???

    Ok, last of all, anyone remember what "Sam?Lucifer said to PastDean after killing FutureDean??
    "No matter the details you alter, what decisions you make, we will always end up here, in this garden."

    Jan 2014...Sam is possessed by the angel that couldn't defend the garden and was locked up in heaven for it..............
    Ok, I feel better now.

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  21. Krysty - I'm so, so glad you brought that up! I can totally see that the writers might be doing that...Cas in this ep totally reminded me of him in "The End." I really hope they aren't going to do it, though. Season five was all about being able to choose your own path and buck destiny. So, if Lucifer ends up being right after all, it's sort of like the whole season 4/season 5 arc (which was my favorite) will be meaningless. And I will be very upset. I'm actually actively worrying about it.

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  22. For some strange reason Gadriel's name always makes me smile (maybe because it makes me think of LotR and I start seeing him in a long, blond wig...) but this episode was a wrench to watch.
    Poor Kevin, Poor Dean, Poor Sam!

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  23. Billie, I had the same thoughts about God - should show up any time because the situation is even more messed up than usual. I thought this was a really interesting way to split the boys up. This happens every season and I was wondering how they were going to do it this time. I am very annoyed by the loss of Kevin. The number of innocents that go down on this show is incredible.

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  24. Does the fact that the whole Garden of Eden story happened mean that in the Supernatural universe the Garden of Eden story is how creation happened and there's no evolution? Boo!

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  25. Marianna, I have chosen to believe that the Supernaturalverse exists in conjunction with the real world of science somehow, so evolution is still a thing. :)

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  26. As a Christian who has no problem with evolution (God set it all in motion, easy solution) I can assure you they are not mutually incompatible :) (Not that I necessarily buy the Garden of Eden if I'm honest, not literally, but still).

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  27. In the room with the spell Gadreel was pretending to be Sam as he said he played sam convincing, but what the fudge poor kevin :(

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