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Supernatural: Destiny's Child

"We need to be ready. And vigilant. And not stupid."

Preparation for the fight against Chuck continued, with a pause for a bit of fan service.

Turns out Jack needed to be spiritually strengthened by getting his soul back. Why didn't Billie just tell them that up front? But then the Quest wouldn't have been as interesting. Although honestly, didn't it seem that Jack wasn't all that soulless to begin with? He was a lot less heartless than Sam way back when in season six. Castiel even trusted soulless Jack to bring him back from the Empty.

But if Jack is going to be the standard bearer, the destroyer of God and the Darkness, reacquiring his soul was an important step along the way. When the Serpent asked Jack, "Who are you meant to be?" Jack saw himself with Dean, Sam and Castiel, before he saw the mistakes he had made when he was soulless. Later, he cried with grief and guilt over what he did to Mary Winchester. If Jack is actually able to kill Chuck and Amara and take their place, he'd be a much better universal overlord now, wouldn't he?

While Jack took a solitary trip to Eden, the Winchesters visited Hell and Castiel returned to the Empty. (All this episode needed was Heaven and Purgatory for a grand slam.) It would have been fun to see Meg again if she had been herself, but no. We were reminded of Castiel's terrible bargain with Mr. Empty, and please don't let it happen, or let it happen soon so that it can be resolved before the series finale because the thought of Castiel spending eternity in the Empty is unbearable.

Bringing back Ruby and giving her dialogue with Sister Jo was clearly fan service, but I was fine with it because it was certainly fun. I like what they've done with Sister Jo, and it was actually nice seeing demon Ruby again. I'm glad they didn't resurrect Ruby in some way, although I suppose it's still a possibility if Castiel puts in a word for her.



But the scenes with the Sam and Dean doppelgangers were even better than the ones with the wives. Supernatural opening scenes are usually full of blood and guts and pain and horror. This time, it was silly. Absolutely loved it. Although I wasn't sure what to make of how insensitive Dean and Sam were to their doppelgangers until they actually needed them for something. Would they have left WhiteshirtDean and ManbunSam trapped interdimensionally in the bunker walls forever?

It was the details that made this plot point so enjoyable – the new, tiny import of a car, the trust funds, private planes and "HunterCorp," all of the fawning about their dad who is certainly not the John Winchester we know so well. I especially loved the rock paper scissors. And the fact that the altWinchesters eventually realized that they would much rather have the bunker, the flannel, the Impala and the beer.

One last thing. Production on Supernatural has closed down for now because of the pandemic with no date announced for resumption of the final season, so we'll have to wait a bit. This wasn't a bad place to leave us, though, with the hope that Jack regaining his soul will make a difference in the battle ahead. At least it wasn't a cliffhanger.

Bits:

— Title musings: I'm assuming that Jack is "Destiny's Child"?

— Why do all supernatural beings love junk food? Okay, not Sister Jo. She likes accessories, as long as they're red.

— Was the serpent in Eden the same snake we saw in "Yellow Fever"?

— Who was the young girl in Eden? She reminded me a bit of the girl in the White Room.

— Dean called Sam a "samwitch."

— This week we went to Hell, the Empty, Eden, and wherever Sister Jo was, past and present. And the Winchesters sent the alt-Winchesters to Brazil, because this hemisphere isn't big enough for both of us. Or all four of us.

Quotes:

Sam: "Dean?"
WhiteshirtDean: "Sam?"
Dean: "Sam?"
ManbunSam: "Dean?"
Sam and Dean together: "What the hell?"
WhiteshirtDean and ManbunSam together: "What the heck?"

Billie: "Jack needs to find the Occultum."
Sam: "The Occultum? Occultum, that's Latin for 'hidden.' Where do we find it?"
Billie: (slowly and clearly) "I don't know. It's hidden."

Dean: "When you go up against Chuck, you're gonna what? Bob and weave? Or do you go straight in for the full smite?"

Castiel: "The Occultum is divine in its origin. It was housed for hundreds of years in an ancient temple before it was..."
Dean: "...plundered by pirates."
Castiel: "No."
Dean: "It was dug up by tomb raiders."
Castiel: "No."
Dean: "It was seized by the King of the Dead and his warlords am I close?"
Castiel: "Looted by invading Mongol hordes for trade on the…"
Dean: "...black market. Yeah, that's what I was going to say next."

When this series finally ends, I'm going to miss dialogue like this. Seriously.

Dean: "Next time we fly Air Abracadabra, we're upgrading to first class. I can't take the jet lag."

Dean: "We're looking for your boss, Rowena."
Demon: "She's hosting a reception for newly condemned souls. Because that's a thing we do now."

Rowena is making Hell a better place. I'd say "bless her heart" but maybe not, under the circumstances.

Castiel: "You want them to be you."
Dean: "Well, it's not that hard. Me and Sam do it every day."

WhiteshirtDean: "There's nothing to do but hunt monsters, drink beer and watch porn. They've got it made."

I liked this one. Three out of four amusing doppelgangers,

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. My daughter and I enjoyed this episode. When they found the Occultum and started to read it, I thought for half a second it would say, "I open at the close."

    But my daughter gave me a laugh out loud moment when Jack swallowed the Occultum. The way he smiled when he told them he'd eaten it was funny enough, but then she said, "He's so cute the way he took it literally. He's like a puppy." And I laughed so hard at that, I had to pause it.

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  2. @JBA I was totally reminded too of the golden snitch when I saw the Occultum!

    I thought it was a good episode, and interesting that we got to see the wives (Ruby and Sister Jo) sharing some scenes.

    I'm really happy that Jack got his soul back and the ending was emotional.

    Billie, I've been reading your reviews for a long while and was trying to catch up on episodes after having a break from the show, but I still love the quality it has produced until the end.

    Due to the coronavirus, I guess the episodes will stop at some point as they were still filming?

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  3. GlimmerinGold, thanks for your comment. :) They've filmed up to and including episode 18 (of 20) and have promised they will finish the series, but they hadn't done the production work they need to do yet on the episodes following this one, which was 13.

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  4. My take on Jack's "not quite as emotionless as Sam" condition is because he has both angel grace and a soul; right now he's experiencing life and emotions as an angel does, where they understand emotions and even feel them a little bit, but not as viscerally as a human with a soul does.

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  5. I just wanted to pop in and say two things.

    1. I have read your reviews of Supernatural for quite a while, and they are brilliant.
    2. The title of this episode "Destiny's Child" refers to a famous pop group in the 90's and 2000's, composed of three famous women (Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, and Solange Knowles). That relates to how this episode brought back three popular female Supernatural characters (well, sort of for Meg, since it was the Shadow which might not even have a gender taking on her form, but still).

    Thanks again for all the great reviews!

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  6. thrilldude91, that's so kind -- thank you. And interestingly, I've been thinking recently that there are so many musical titles and references that I never put in my Supernatural reviews. Like what you just mentioned.

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  7. It was a good episode. I of course cried when Jack regained his soul and was truly penitent about causing Mary's death. I'm currently dealing with the loss of a phenomenon that in a lot of respects was a truly remarkable experience to watch and bond with other people over the episodes and legacy that this show leaves behind. 🍃 I'm feeling sad about the upcoming ending but all good things must eventually come to a close, I guess. Just kind of sad that I am 3 to 4 years behind in this regard...

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