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Supernatural: Unfinished Business

Dean: "I thought this story had porn stars."
Gabriel: "Good catch. My bad."

Finally. The backstory we've all been waiting for.

How long has Gabriel been a fan favorite, even after his character was written out? He supposedly died in "Hammer of the Gods," which was eight years ago and back in season five. Before that, he was only in "Tall Tales," "Mystery Spot" and "Changing Channels," except that they're three of the best Supernatural episodes ever. (Richard Speight also directed five Supernatural episodes, including this one.)

So the whole Norse pantheon is its own thing, good to know. I particularly loved the facial effects and the plaid suit, and the high noon duel with the flamenco music, the bullet explosions in the dark, and the whistling. (I understand that's from Kill Bill, a movie that I watched years ago and very reluctantly, and mostly with my hands over my eyes.)

I've always loved Gabriel's style. I've also always wondered about the Trickster thing. (And aren't you curious about what Gabriel really looks like, since the Trickster face is a disguise?) Here, we found out that Gabriel saved Loki from a bound-in-a-cave, snake-in-the-eye thing and later impersonated him, only to have Loki and family betray and sell him out to the "Kentucky fried B-hole" in Hell, where he has languished ever since. And what a fun ending, with the boys and Gabriel emerging together into the bright, bright sunlight. The Winchesters have just acquired an incredibly powerful friend and ally.

And yet, it wasn't happy happy joy joy, not that anything on Supernatural ever is. Gabriel and Dean acknowledged almost nonverbally that revenge isn't as satisfying as it's cracked up to be. It was followed by that intense little brotherly discussion at the end, where Sam confronted Dean about going off and trying to do the dangerous stuff alone, leaving Sam behind at the kid's table. Dean is very aware that they are heading into a repeat of the Lucifer versus Michael showdown that originally ended with Sam dying and going to Hell. Dean doesn't care if he himself dies – he never did – but he most definitely cares about keeping Sam alive. Sam is on a completely different page, insisting that if they die, the two of them will die together.

What's upsetting is that we're getting hint anvils that Dean won't live through this season's finale. Yes, we've been through this before; I can't even count the number of times Dean has died during the run of the series. Why is this bothering me? What can they do to us that they haven't already done?


Meanwhile in Apocalypse World, Jack and Mary have partnered up and are beating Michael and his angels and winning, to the point where Michael resorted to some heavy duty trickery. He deserted his fortress, leaving Kevin Tran behind... with a people-killing sigil secretly carved into his chest. So sad. All Kevin wanted was to be with his mother Linda in Heaven, only we all know, as Mary said, that Heaven doesn't work like that. Heaven may even have an expiration date on it now. Oh, Kevin. It was so nice to see him again, but that's all we're getting, isn't it?

Considering archangel Michael's importance as this season's big bad, we haven't seen much of him this season, and we didn't see him this time, either. But he and his armies are heading for a spot in the southeastern U.S. where the wall between the worlds is paper thin. Or at least that's what Michael wants Jack and Mary to think, since he left them a great big clue in the form of a map with a bunch of soldiers on it. Not exactly subtle. Would Michael do that?

It does make me happy that Mary and Jack have become close, and that she referred to Jack as one of her boys. Although that makes me worried that we're going to lose Jack. Or Mary. Or both of them. Hey, the finale approaches. Bad things happen.

Bits:

-- Jack killed Apocalypse World's Balthazar. I'm sorry we didn't get to see him. Fortunately, Apocalypse World's Bobby didn't show up in time to get fried by Kevin's sigil.

-- Really loved the case of half-used lollipops. And the elevator muzak scene.

-- I also really enjoyed the scene where Dean was enjoying the porn star story while Sam grew increasingly impatient.

-- This week: Central City, Colorado, which is a tiny touristy place I have visited more than once; and the extremely seedy Ophidian Hotel that had many clashing wallpapers. Castiel, whom we didn't see, was in Amarillo. I think.

-- Why did I ever start tracking locations in my Supernatural reviews? Because I didn't think I'd be doing it for thirteen years, I suppose.

Quotes:

Dean: "How'd you know we were here?"
Gabriel: "Come on. Felt your witch's tracking spell the second she laid it on me. Tasted like haggis."

Kevin: "I never used to believe in anything. Well, scratch that -- science, quantum mechanical unpredictability."
Ah, Kevin. Sigh.

Gabriel: "It's not a fun story."
Dean: "Well, we just broke into a junkyard and stuffed the body of a demigod into a car crusher, so I think you owe us some answers."
Is that what the boys do with all of those random dead bodies they end up with?

Sam: "Since you're low on grace, you have to do it the old fashioned way -- with wood."
Gabriel: "Don't let anybody ever tell you you're just a pretty face."
What was funny about this was the way Dean looked confused, and then shook his head.

Dean: "All right, Uma, what's the plan?"
Gabriel: "Well, Sleipnir is a lot of things, but mainly he's a coward. I will bet all the personal lubricant in the SFV that, after we killed Narfi, that he ran straight back to papa's skirt."

Dean: "And you didn't go after him. Why?"
Gabriel: "'Cause that's... for the most satisfying retributive experience, everyone knows you don't take on the big bad from the jump. You work up to him."

Loki: "Face it, old friend, you're a joke. You're a failure. You live for pleasure, you stand for nothing. And in the end, that's exactly what you'll die for."
Gabriel: "You first."

Sam: "Wait. You're actually gonna help us?"
Dean: "Yeah. No tricks?"
Gabriel: "A deal is a deal. And if I'm being perfectly honest, tricks are for kids."

Another good one. Three out of four Norse demigods,

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. Billie, up to this episode, and counting some thing that may or may not be technically deaths (I count all excursions to Heaven, Hell or Purgatory, regardless of whether or not they actually died), here is the death count for all three of the main cast.
    Sam - 12
    Dean - 166(13 not counting Mystery Spot)
    Castiel - 7

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  2. Dragonfire, lol. :) Maybe we shouldn't count "Mystery Spot." If so, it's Sam's turn, isn't it?

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  3. Probably. Also, have you heard about the fact that Jensen is going to be playing a character that isn't Dean but that we've also seen before? My theory is that it's Michael, which would tie in to all the death foreshadowing you've mentioned (letting an angel possess you seems similar to suicide or something).

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  4. The fact that Kevin was sacrificed like that means that he was not capable to open another rif and became useless. Michael needs Archangel's blood, so his plan is to lure Jack into an ambush and try to use his blood somehow, right?

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    Replies
    1. The spell needs grace. Michael can use his own archangel grace.

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  5. Seting up the final confrontiation with a bit of fun mixed in. I bet those were the last laughs we get this season.

    Too bad we won't see more Osric Chau, but at least they gave him 2 episodes as an apology for fridging him before.

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  6. Miss Billie, you made me laugh with your comment about tracking the locations, very funny! Makes me think of Mish Collins and the voice issues.

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