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Supernatural: Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven

"Family sucks."

I liked this one. Wish it hadn't ended with a cliffhanger.

Don't you love it when loose ends get tied up? Loose end number one, Rowena. Simply leaving her Hellish fate unknown would have been unsatisfying. Luckily, Rowena landed on her feet and is already the Queen of Hell– she's not Crowley's mother for nothing. I loved what she did with the newly redecorated throne room that matched her red jumpsuit and new infernal hairdo.

Unlike Crowley, "Auntie Rowena" appeared to be more than willing to help the Winchesters anytime, and what a powerful ally she could be. She even did some couples counseling for Dean and Castiel, which was adorable.

And as it turns out with big decade-long loose end number two, Archangel Michael might also turn out to be a powerful ally. I was really happy that Michael and Adam Winchester had become close friends during their long imprisonment in the Cage together. And I particularly liked the Adam/Michael split screen conversations where Michael was treating Adam like an equal, even willing to let him indulge his Dean-like craving for a burger and fries. Jake Abel was great as both characters, and I was happy to see him again. Adam's fate has been unknown for way too long.



Dean did apologize to Adam. It will never be enough to compensate for ten years in the Cage, but maybe it's a start. And Adam believed what Dean and Sam said about Chuck, although it took a Vulcan mind meld from Castiel to bring Archangel Michael around.

While the return of both Rowena and Adam tended to dominate the episode, I have to mention how much I loved Donatello in this one. He made me laugh out loud and was pretty much at his funniest.

And Eileen minded the store while the boys were in Hell and didn't get killed. How adorable is it that Dean is pushing Sam toward Eileen, making the perfectly relevant point that settling down with another hunter is not the same as doing it with a civilian? If only Eileen's friend Sue hadn't turned out to be Chuck in disguise, leaving Sam and Eileen in serious trouble. I assume Chuck has decided his new Winchester strategy is divide and conquer.

To complete the cliffhangerness, Dean has a new quest for completing Michael's anti-Chuck spell, and Michael opened a door to Purgatory for him. I'm not opposed to seeing Purgatory again. Except there's that divide and conquer thing...

Bits:

— It turns out that Metatron made critical annotations in the margins of the demon tablet. Laugh out loud. And Chuck may have shared his greatest fear with Michael. It always seems to come back to Michael, doesn't it?

— Casino scene. Chuck is smiting people left and right now. He's acting a lot like Lucifer, isn't he?

— Lilith stopped by the Jaci's Red Wagon diner with a message from Chuck. Michael wasn't impressed and burned her to ashes with his archangel heat vision. Good riddance.

— Title musings: I thought "Our Father" must mean John Winchester, but John is in heaven with Mary. So of course, it was Chuck. And wouldn't it be "Isn't," not "Aren't"?

— This week: The bunker, Hell, and a number of unidentified locations.

— This episode was directed by former archangel Richard Speight, Jr. I just really love that he's become one of their go-to directors.

— The next new episode airs January 16, 2020.

Quotes:

Sam: "So he has an Achilles heel."
Dean: "Well, I'm saying he has a weak spot."
Sam: "Yeah, that's... that's..."

Dean: "Michael's in Hell."
Castiel: "Yeah. He was possessing Adam, Sam and Dean's half-brother, when he fell into Hell with Sam, who was possessed by Lucifer, and they were all sealed in the Cage."
Donatello: (yelling) "What is it with you people? Can't anything you do be easy?"

Chuck: (via Donatello) "Prophets speak the word of God. Sometimes indirectly, sometimes they're my Bluetooth."

Chuck: (again via Donatello) "Usually, I really love our little… process. I toss something at you guys and you slam it right back. It's fun. Like tennis, with monsters. But this – let this one go."
Or Chuck will hurt Jody, Donna, Eileen. Cowardly, killing women the boys love instead of the boys themselves.

Rowena: "Samuel, please. You killing me was one of the best things that ever happened. Yes, there are things I miss about being alive. Flesh-on-flesh sex, Amazon doesn't deliver here... yet. But lads, I'm queen. My subjects revere me. Well, fear me, which is better. I should have died a long time ago."

Rowena: "I don't have many regrets, but the few I do still haunt me. Making Napoleon so short was just bitchy. Telling Mick Jagger he had no future when I dumped him... and, well, everything with dear Fergus."

Adam: "I met them once. And they let me rot in Hell."
Michael: "Family."
Adam: "Family sucks."

Donatello: "Excuse me. I need bourbon."

Castiel: "Do you remember me?"
Michael: "You called me 'ass-butt' and set me on fire. And then you helped send me to Hell."

Michael: "I exist because he willed it."
Adam: "So he's having a mid-eternity crisis. Or – or! maybe you don't know your dad as well as you think you do."

The best episode of this season, so far. Wouldn't you say? Three out of four returning characters,

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.

8 comments:

  1. So relieved that they brought back Adam! That bothered me for years, that the Winchester brothers weren't even trying - and it's not like they deserve credit for his return, as he kind of got out on his own. The twist that Adam and Michael are getting along explains why Adam isn't as damaged as he could be.

    Loved that Rowena is now Queen of Hell! Makes perfect sense, and she's great in that role.

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  2. One little quibble: Supeernatural is normally so good at continuity, but it was established in s4 that a month in Hell feels like 10 years, and implied that time in the Cage is even longer. And yet they said that Adam spent only 10 years in the Cage, when it should have been 1200 at least, possibly even more.

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    Replies
    1. There are actually alot of continuity issues in this season in particular. I discuss them in my comment below

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  3. I loved this episode as well. Seeing Rowena doing well in hell and Adam and Michael being so chummy was really great. Also loved the editing on that mind hack or whatever is a good name for it that Castiel did to Michael. However, I think the time has come for me to talk about some of the continuity issues that have littered this season, more so than usual. I hate to do it in a comment on one of the best episodes of the season, but just keep in mind Im critiquing all of season 15 so far more than this episode, although it was a few things in this episode that made me decide to address them.

    Okay. So in order to paint Chuck as a greater villain, we learned he sent both Kevin and Eileen to Hell. We learned last season though that God doesn't choose whether people go to heaven or hell, but the people themselves do, through their choices. This is how Lily Sunder ended up in Heaven. Also, we are told souls who have been to hell can't enter heaven, except John, Dean, and Bobby all went to hell and later entered heaven. There are probably others too. In this episode, Michael is able to open a portal to purgatory, something that neither Lucifer nor alternate world Michael could do. Even Chuck can't do it right now, which us why he tried to get Amara to do it for him, but apparently he can stil pull Lilith out of the empty, something I don't think Michael can do. So who is more powerful at present? Is this supposed to leave us in question? Either way Michael's portal opening is broken continuity. So is the use of the demon tablet, which is only supposed to talk primarily talk about shutting the demons in hell, while the ANGEL tablet talks about shutting the gates of heaven. Of course it was destroyed, so I guess using the demon tablet as both is just plot convience. There are others I'm thinking, but those are the problems off the top of my head. I still love this episode and hope the rest of the season is more like it quality wise. I do wish the spell to lock away Chuck was a little less plain. It seems to simple for such a big accomplishment. Even locking the gates of hell and heaven had three especially difficult ingredients each, and locking away Amara required the Mark of Cain to be put on Lucifer. The bloom of the Leviathan is a fine start, but how about at least two other interesting and difficult ingredients? But I guess they are too pressed for time what with only having 12 episodes left to worry about that. Anyway, interested to see where the rest of this season goes.

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  4. Great episode, and great review as always.
    For me coming here is like the desert after the main meal.
    So thank you Billie (and the commenters and you guys who help Billie)

    I was so happy to see Rowena,
    I was so worried that without her soul (or is it her soul?) She would turn evil again.
    She's such a great character and well played. She's the one person that would enjoy dying and getting to hell. (Even though the way she died and stopping a few appocolips should have granted her a fine place in heaven.

    As for Michael wow Adams actor is amazing. And the writers have such an easy life with continuity. Guess there benefits having god and perfect vessels arch angles as part of your plot line.

    As for chuck with the fake vampires seeing friend well he sure works in a mysterious way.

    4 out of four Donatelo returns.

    P. S. The tablets "use in case of emergency" as a sign for weaknesses, more likely a sign for chuck laziness and tendency to take long vacation with limited connectivity.

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  5. Just had a horrible realization,
    RandallJosephSmith is correct.
    To lock "gods" it takes the sign of cabal.

    Please don't force one brother to kill his brother to lock chuck and save the world.

    Does chuck is so board he is committing suicide by Winchester?

    Will he consider it a win if he gets lock up for eternity but Winchester bowl happens?

    Will Dean consider it a win to die from his own free will against chuck plan?

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  6. I agree with RandallJosephSmith - the continuity errors are really starting to bother me. I sympathise, with the show being so huge and long-running, but when it's major stuff that's been the focus of multiple episodes like the time difference in Hell/the Cage, it really bothers me.

    But then, I really don't like the 'God-is-the-villain-now story much either - I expect that's just me and my personal taste! there's nothing objectively wrong with it, I just don't really like it - so I'm kinda watching with sour-tinted glasses. I am enjoying the picking up of old ideas and loose ends though, and I'm so happy we finally saw Adam again, though disappointed the brothers didn't get him out themselves (or try to years ago). And Rowena as Queen of Hell is awesome :)

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  7. Rowena rocked it and her accent was even stronger than ever! Felt bad for Chuck's barmaid, love Eileen and hope she survives, Adam was impressive! Nothing else to add except Cas is great as an honest bad-ass warrior!

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