Supernatural: The Rupture

"That's my boy."

No spoilers on the front page...

Rowena has become a big part of the Winchester evil-fighting team. I am going to miss her. In fact, I'm almost embarrassed to admit how much I cried when she fell into that rupture, echoing what happened to Sam in "Swan Song." If I'm this upset about losing a long running supporting character, how am I going to deal with the end of the series? Seriously, I'm actually getting worried. Maybe I'd better start hitting the Xanax now.

Can I say how much I loved that it was Sam with Rowena in her final moments? They've bonded so much over the last couple of seasons because of what Lucifer did to them both, and the prophecy that Sam would be the one to kill Rowena could have put paid to that closeness. Maybe Rowena had some idea that this was where things would ultimately go in the end. Maybe she had already made her peace with it; she didn't seem surprised. It was Sam who was surprised. Ruth Connell and Jared Padalecki did a lovely job with her final scenes. Beautiful.

Rowena has been in 32 episodes, starting back in season ten. At first a convincingly evil adversary and then as a counterpoint for her son Crowley, Rowena has slowly moved into a believable redemption arc as she has reluctantly, then willingly helped the Winchesters fight evil. Her blood, her final breath… when her body breaks down, the ghosts will be released right there in Hell. Does this mean she has just trapped herself in Hell forever? Is the massive thing she just did enough in the way of redemption after three hundred years of evil? Will we ever know?

As I said in last week's review, Rowena and Ketch were both evil characters that I initially disliked who turned, who became major assets to Team Winchester, even though they always managed to retain their original evil flavor. While it was overshadowed by Rowena's passing, Ketch also died for the Winchesters, for the forces of good. The first time through this episode, I cried for Rowena – but the second time, I couldn't help crying for Ketch in his final moments, too. And I have the same question as I did for Rowena. Did Ketch redeem himself? Was it enough? Is he in Hell now? Will we ever know?

Belphegor's secret game was so not a surprise. He wanted to rule Hell, as well as everything else. Of course he did. And I won't miss him. But Castiel burning out Jack's body was upsetting. Even more upsetting is that Dean didn't seem to care about the possibility of Castiel being trapped in Hell. Would Dean have simply left him there to rot? Please say it isn't so.

Chuck's "ghostpocalypse" is over, and the Winchesters won, but at a heavy cost. All of this death does leave the story with Dean and Sam alone again, though, and since it's the last season, I can't be too upset about that. Although I totally expect that we'll see Castiel again. And Jack. The Empty would be too big a dropped plot thread. I'm sure it is going to come back into the story before the End.

Bits:

— The mentions of Crowley made me sad. A little reminder that he was Rowena's son. As if we could forget. There was also mention of Lilith; it was her horn thingy that Belphegor wanted.

— The hospital was told that Ketch was injured in a hunting accident. One could call it that.

— They spent a lot of time in a crypt with the name Carver on it. Since all of you reading this review are fans, I don't have to tell you who that is.

— I wish we'd heard more of Castiel singing Enochian.

— This week: Harlan again, and the MoL bunker.

— Rowena's swan song mauve dress was pretty impressive. Just the sort of thing you'd want to spend eternity wearing.

— We're getting an early break, maybe so that we could stop crying. The next episode airs November 7.

Quotes:

Rowena: "We're all going to die."
When she said that, I thought, is that going to be the way they end the series?

Dean: "This whole mess, you know, this sloppy ass ghostpocalypse, that's Chuck's ending? No. No, I don't think so. After everything that he has put us through? I'll be damned if I'm going to let some glorified fanboy get the last word."

Belphegor: "That's the longest you've ever looked me in the eyes."
Castiel: "You don't have eyes."
Belphegor: "True."

Ardat: "Such valor. And for what? One profoundly irritating demon? No. I think you're protecting others. Humans. Your friends. And you won't give them up? Not for any price?"
Ketch: "Not at any price."
As last words go, Ketch, not bad at all.

Castiel: (entering Hell) "It's awfully quiet down here."
Belphegor: "Yeah. Too quiet. (Castiel looks at him) Sorry, I thought we were doing a bit."

Rowena: "I know we've gotten quite fond of each other, haven't we? But will you let the world die, let your brother die, just so I can live?"

Castiel: "Jack's dead. Chuck's gone. You and Sam have each other. I think it's time for me to move on."
Please, no.

Any episode that makes me cry gets four out of four resurrection sachets. Since this episode made me outright sob… well, you get my drift,

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.

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