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Supernatural: Game Night

"Nobody stays dead anymore. You know that."

The traditional opening scene with the gruesome deaths and awfulness doesn't usually feature someone we care about. That should have given me my first clue.

Communication, or the lack of it, was a theme. Nick used Donatello to communicate with Lucifer in the Empty while Castiel was attempting to place a phone call to God. During much of this episode, Dean and Sam had critical information they were momentarily unable to share with each other. And in the end, Mary kept telling Jack the awful truth when she should have lied. I kept going, please lie to Jack, Mary. He's going to cremate you alive if you don't.

So did he? Did Jack kill Mary? (And did they have to leave us with a cliffhanger like that?) It certainly felt that way because there was a ton of foreshadowing that Mary was about to die. First, in the car with Dean when she apologized for being emotionally closed off, and that she was grateful for every day she got to spend with her sons. Later, in the bunker, Mary told Sam he was a good man and she was proud of him. Honestly, there should have been flaming subtitles saying, "Pay attention, Mary is about to die."

I really hope not. I'm way too invested in Mary now, and losing her, especially to Jack, would kill Dean and Sam. It would be irredeemably awful. Is that what we're going to get in our last year of Supernatural? Irredeemable awfulness?

Speaking of dead characters, is Nick finally, finally, finally gone? Probably not. And I get why they keep him in the series. Mark Pellegrino is terrific and both Nick and Lucifer are strong, terrible characters; they certainly pull an emotional response from me. But I was so ready for Nick to be gone and Lucifer, too, and they're not, are they?

When we first saw that black Terminator-like skull opening its eyes in the Empty back in "Unhuman Nature," I thought it was Lucifer. An episode later, when Jack went to Heaven, it instead appeared to be that creature from the Empty that tormented Castiel. I was confused. But okay, I accept that it's Lucifer and that the angel-shaped cloud of blackness is his real appearance. Super creepy, by the way.

And Nick was, of course, right that everyone comes back from the dead on Supernatural – except that if Jack just killed Mary, I'm sure she won't return. If Lucifer does come back, though, would he even bother with Nick if he could have Sam? Is it possible for Lucifer to possess his son Jack, a being with even more power than Lucifer had? Is that where they're going?

I kept hoping Sam would shoot Nick already, but no. After how many times the boys have died, I was surprised by how upset I was when Sam was on the ground. And that his last words to Dean were, "You always put me first. Your whole life." Jack to the rescue. Is it even possible that Jack's soul is completely gone when he was quick and so anxious to save Sam's life, to heal him?


The Castiel/Anael B-plot was very good for a B plot, and not just because of the absolutely perfect mythology reveal that the Samulet was forged by Joshua after the fall in an attempt to communicate with God. I also liked the other reveal that Anael is angry at God for allowing people to suffer, and that healing people makes her happy. I'm happy that I can like Anael. She's Jensen's wife, after all.

And I would love it if Chuck returned, and not just because only God can restore a soul and could theoretically give us Jack back. How about that symmetry? Amara can remove a soul, and Chuck is the only one who can restore them? If we're getting souls back, it would be nice if Donatello got his, too.

I know, I know. Too optimistic of me. There are only three more episodes this season, and I don't think they're going to be fun.

Bits:

— Dean playing Mousetrap was adorable. It might have been fun to watch the Winchesters actually have a game night, as in real board games or cards.


— When Dean and Mary arrived at Donatello's house and Nick came out wearing an apron, I thought Nick had cooked and eaten Donatello.

— Donatello's clue of Peter 5:8 in ancient Hebrew was apt, telling Sam to be vigilant because Satan was on the prowl.

— What Jack did to Nick's fingers was massively creepy.

— Cindy's Wafflette. Why do angels meet at restaurants when they don't eat? What about a library or a hotel lobby, or a department store? Or even a bar when they can pretend to nurse a drink?

— There was a moment when Mary walked past the part of the table where the boys had carved their initials. That was a bit sad, especially if we just lost her.

— New character Methuselah looked and acted like a mean, fatalistic college student.

— Actual snow. Doesn't happen often. And no place names for a change, so I don't know where they all went.

Quotes:

Dean: "Winchester game night is a go. As soon as Sammy gets back here with two double pepperoni meat blasters… and a pineapple."
Jack: "I like it."
Dean: "Yeah, it's like a crime against humanity."
Geez, no foreshadowing there at all.

Sam: (phone message) "You've reached Sam Winchester. If this is an emergency, call my brother."

Anael: "The Winchesters. They don't know you're here, do they?"
Castiel: "Why do you say that?"
Anael: "Oh, I don't know. Just a general reek of ill-conceived lone wolf desperation."

Nick: "Kermit the prophet told me all about your sitch. What's it like not having a soul? Must be relaxing."

Nick: (to Lucifer) "Make me strong again. Make me you."

A strong but upsetting episode, please don't let Mary be dead, three out of four Samulets. I wonder how many Samulets there are out there?

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.

9 comments:

  1. Oh Thank God! Somebody else who doesn't hate Mary! I too don't want her to be dead. I'm hoping that Jack just had a two-year-old temper tantrum, told her to "Go Away!" and combined with Nephilim power, he actually sent her somewhere, but maybe doesn't know where she actually ended up? I don't want Jack to be irredeemable. I don't want Mary to be dead. I'm keeping good thoughts until we know for sure one way or the other.

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  2. ive seen alot of toxic responses from the fandom almost 90% saying please be dead or finally shes gone now to kill off jack

    why cant a fan base be respectful and not toxic :(

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  3. percysowner and matthew stromberg, I don't get why anyone would hate Mary. There was a lot of hate for other female characters on the show, too. Which was sort of why I was rooting for Wayward even though it wasn't as wonderful as I wanted it to be.

    And of course, I remember how much I hated Dawn on Buffy. Not to the level of toxic, I hope. :)

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  4. "only God can restore a soul"

    When she said that line, my first thought was, "Geez, Gypsies could do it on Buffy. Have you tried asking them?"

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  5. TheShadowKnows, good one. :) Let's get Willow down here with an orb of Thessala.

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  6. Sam's almost death literally had me going "no no no no no" at the TV, and I think that's a testament to how good Jensen and Jared are, that they can take a scene we all know is going to end up with Sam alive and well and make it so emotionally heavy.

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  7. I really like Mary, but I thought her idea about playing Mousetrap was sort of sad: she says it used to be Dean's favorite game, but that's because she died when he was four. Something about that broke my heart a little.

    When Dean and Mary arrived at Donatello's house and Nick came out wearing an apron, I thought Nick had cooked and eaten Donatello.

    I didn't think that, but now that you bring it up, I don't understand why I didn't think that. :-)

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  8. This whole episode is just screaming with both sadness and crushing foreshadowing about the future. Now that I'm physically getting closer to the end of the series, I'm starting to feel all weepy. Yes, it took me 3 years to get here but I'm not ready for it...

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  9. Billie, I’m re-reading your reviews and caught a mistake.

    That wasn’t the actual Samulet. Methuselah said Joshua created it AFTER the Fall, that was in S8. Sam gave Dean the Samulet long, long before the Fall. So what they found in the Emporium was a replica created by Joshua just a few years prior to S14.

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