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Supernatural: Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox

"This only ends one way."

The tragically short and depressing lives of hunters is an underlying theme in this series. But combining a hunter's wake with an Agatha Christie-like house party murder mystery? That was fun.

Loved all the hunter stuff, all the detail. The mention of Ellen and the roadhouse (sigh), the home brewed beer, the wendigo drinking game, the parking lot full of old cars. Loved the names: Bucky Sims, Randy Bull, Elvis Katz. Jael the crossroads demon made no impression on me at all since he/she/it was really just there to propel the plot, but it was fun to see the hunters deal with Jael by acting like hunters, pairing up and carefully searching for whomever was possessed instead of acting like helpless characters in a horror movie. I really enjoyed the creation of the huge devil's trap and the way they passed the exorcism chant from one to another. It made sense.

But my favorite thing about the wake was the fact that the boys are justifiably famous in the hunter community – especially Sam for being possessed by Lucifer. Even though hunters see the fantastic all the time, the Winchesters are special. They stand out in a crowd. Of course they do.


Bringing together the boys' real mom with their substitute mom was lovely, too. Jody Mills has become family. The way the boys dropped in on her for an unexpected visit made me think of how often they must have dropped in on her in the past that of course we never saw. Jody even has a love life; she had a thing with Asa. And thankfully, Jody survived another episode. Her future did not look promising when she was the one who was possessed.

I must say, though, that I hated that Mary didn't know her sons were going to be at the wake. The way they're keeping Mary away from Dean and Sam feels like artificial plotting to me. I would really like her to be in their lives permanently, but we're not going to get that, are we? She feels like she doesn't belong on earth anymore. I wonder if Mary turned down Billie's offer simply because she couldn't do it in front of Dean and Sam? It's just too sad that Amara's gift to Dean will eventually cause him even more pain. Dean's had enough pain.

While I like Billie the reaper (mostly I love that there's a continuing Supernatural character with my name), I'm always nervous and uncomfortable when she stops by. And now Dean owes her one. This can't be good.

It's interesting that they continue to describe hunting as if it were an addiction. Asa Fox nearly lost his young life to a werewolf, and spent his rest of his time on earth obsessed with hunting. Loraine, Asa's mother, would hide his hunting gear in an attempt to keep him at home, just as if he was an alcoholic and she was hiding his booze. Even Mary, who desperately wanted her sons not to grow up to be hunters, couldn't help fitting in a hunting trip after she married John and had Dean and supposedly gave it up. It was nice and circular that Asa's mother Loraine acknowledged in the end that Asa did something worthwhile and important with his life, and that other hunters everywhere were family. And of course, it was even better when the visiting witch twins were revealed to be her grandchildren. Alicia and her brother were fun. I wouldn't mind seeing them again.

We've sort of dipped our toes into this kind of episode before in the appropriately titled "And Then There Were None," and there was also the tea cozy mystery episode, "Ask Jeeves." But "Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox" still felt different and new. John told the boys to steer clear of hunter gatherings because they're trouble. This one certainly was.


Bits:

— Elvis Katz, the guy who was fanboying Sam, had a particularly gruesome and very Exorcist head-twisting death. Poor guy.

— Note that Mary wasn't driving the Impala during the 1980 flashback. I wonder what she told John that she was doing?

— Did Kim Rhodes look especially good for some reason, or was it just me? Was it her haircut? Maybe I just missed her.

— This week: Wherever Jody lives (Sioux Falls, I think?) and Emerson, Manitoba, both present day and 1980. Loved the little in joke of Dean saying "O Canada."

— We're getting a break for Thanksgiving. The next episode will air on December 1, 2016.

Quotes:

Dean: "Since the last time we saw you, I killed Hitler."
Jody: "Thank you?"
Dean: "You're welcome."

Dean: "Jody, are you watching some kind of chick flick here?"
Jody: "Well, Dean, I'm a chick."
Dean: "No, you're a bad ass sheriff chick. You're not a rom com chick. Wait, are you a rom com chick?"
Jody: "Are you?"
Sam: "He’s more of an animated Japanese erotica chick."

Sam: "Did you know people tell stories about us?"
Dean: "Yeah. Apparently, we're a little bit legendary."
And they're cute, too.

Jody: "You okay?"
Dean: "Swell."
Jody: "Is that why you spent the entire ride up here telling me in extreme excruciating detail that you killed Hitler, but neglected to mention the fact your mom is back from the dead?"

Bucky: "He died on the job. No better way to go."

Mary: "Everywhere I go and everything I do just ... feels wrong."

Jody: "I don't know what's going on between you and your boys, but I gotta tell you, mom to mom, they're good men. Best I've ever met."

Three out of four home brewed beers,

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

7 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed this episode, Billie. The gathering of the hunters to mourn Asa Fox, the foreshadowing of how Asa became a hunter after Mary saved him from a supernatural entity when he was a boy, and the exciting demon invasion of Asa's home. Watching all the hunters scrambling for their lives made for a suspenseful episode, and I always love seeing Jody. Her "motherly" interaction with Mary made me well up once or twice, and I agree that it's time for Mary to stick around and hunt with her sons. But she's still got her issues, it seems. I give this ep four out of four burning hunter corpses. Love, Robin

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  2. Seems to me this resurrection thing is always a long and troublesome process. Remember Dean and his issues back in ss 4 and 5, and how Plague called him dead inside. However after being shot and sent to heaven Sam and Dean didn't suffer much, so maybe it's all the matter of practice lol. Let's hope that Mary'll get used to her live status, though to me she looks like a designated non-survivor. Will be happy to be wrong - let Mary live!

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  3. Lots to love about this episode, I just wish that Sam and Dean had told Jody about Mary. You'd have thought that they would have talked to her about it. They should have also invited Jody to breakfast at the end. That was kind of rude to leave her behind. Mary seems to be very secretive, what is she doing with her time alone, and why won't she hang out with her boys more? That reminds me of when John wouldn't talk to his boys when he was at Missouri's place in "Home." She might have a secret agenda that we don't know about yet.

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  4. Yeah, maybe they'll surprise us and Mary will stick around. They've surprised us before. Mallena, good point about a possible hidden agenda.

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  5. I haven't seen this episode yet, but I'm relieved to know going in that Jody doesn't die. Jody Mills must make it to the end of the series!! I think it would be the one thing I would find unforgivable in the Supernatural universe.

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  6. I loved this episode so much. Every scene just got better.

    I had to pause it when it looked like Mary was going to accept Billie's deal. That would just break Dean and I'm not sure I'd ever be ready to see him so devastated.

    Maybe Mary needs a week or two at Jody's House for Wayward Girls.

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  7. I too was scared that Jody would die, and was mightily relieved that she survived! I also loved when she was "possessed" all of the "truths" that were spilled on all! Plus the actress who portrayed Jody always did a fantastic job! Speaking of "mothers " I feel that both Mary and Jody share more grief in common, than what's been spoken aloud...both lost important things, children and loves, yet somehow, have to pick up the pieces and keep going on.
    I know everyone does in this Universe but somehow the "mothers" seem more tragic? Maybe, it's because as a running rule of life, moms, are suppose to be the ones to keep the home/hearth moving along, regardless, of their own pain, weariness and sorrows.

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