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Supernatural: Inherit the Earth

This episode felt very much like The End. Except there's still one to go.

It was a predictable finale, too. Jack has been set up as the new God for a long, long time. Okay, they changed it up along the way – he's dead, he's powerless, he's trapped in the Empty, he's a god supernova, etc. etc. – but we always knew that Jack was the ultimate answer to Chuck. The build-up to that ultimate answer was so sad, though. The empty streets, the boys wandering about at a total loss, that remarkable bit of cruelty with the dog.

Adam and Lucifer returned, and they might have been players in all this, but no. Michael wasn't evil like his Apocalypse World counterpart, but he turned out to be a Daddy's boy, after all. Lucifer's surprise arrival and quick departure was fun, especially when he vanished. At least Mark Pellegrino got to come back one more time.

Of course, Dean and Sam would offer to sacrifice themselves, to carry out any ending Chuck wanted in order to save the world, but also, no. The way Chuck went "hands on" and beat Dean and Sam, breaking their bones and bloodying their faces, was really unpleasant but not unexpected. Chuck insulted Dean for the last time, too, calling him a killer. He didn't understand his own creation. Dean saves people. It's what he does. And this was the ultimate save. Dean and Sam were one step ahead of Chuck the whole time. They let Chuck beat them in order to give Jack a power edge.

And now Chuck's fate is to live and die as a human, with no one to care, no one to worship him. He was left behind in the dirt, unable to screw with anyone any more. And yes, again, predictable, but it did work for me. Rob Benedict has done such a fabulous job as Chuck going all the way back to his introduction in one of my very favorite episodes, "The Monster at the End of This Book." As it turned out, Chuck was the ultimate monster at the end of this series.



Jack exhibited such joy when Dean let him drive the Impala. And now Jack is driving the universe. I think he'll be a good God. I got chills for a moment when Jack brought everyone back, although "Get Together" was maybe a little bit in the kumbaya range. What did completely and totally get to me was the table with the letters carved into it. It made me cry, much like Castiel's handprint on Dean's jacket.

And the "Running on Empty" montage at the end was lovely. So many faces from the entire series, ending with the shot of boys closing the trunk from the pilot episode. Dean and Sam can write their own story now. They're free.

(Except I have to bitch a little. We didn't actually get to see Bobby and Charlie and Donna return. And Eileen! But they were part of the Snapture, so we can assume. Right? And Adam Winchester. Did he come back, or is he back in Heaven with his mom? And what about Amara? I'm glad she still exists, but a bit sorry that her connection with Dean was never explained.)

Apparently, "Inherit the Earth" is the season finale, and next week's episode, preceded by a one-hour special, is the series finale. That's intriguing, because I have absolutely no idea what's coming.

Bits:

— The title of God's book was alpha and omega. I didn't catch that last time.

— Ah, Betty the Reaper. We hardly knew ye.

— This week: Hastings, Minnesota, and bits from all over the world. Why Hastings? Anyone?

— "Sammy's Highway CafĂ©" looked familiar. I bet we saw it in another episode.

— The final confrontation with Chuck was in front of the lake we've seen so many times. In fact, it looked a lot like the exact place that Jack was born, minus the tiny house.

— I have to include a wonderful tweet about this episode posted by Rob Benedict.



Quotes:

Dean: (re: the empty football field) "It brings a whole new meaning to the term 'sudden death'."

Chuck: "You know, eternal suffering sounds good on paper, but as a viewing experience, it's just kinda meh. So we're done. I'm canceling your show."

Chuck: "Why are you smiling?"
Sam: "Because. You lose."

Jack: "Chuck put himself in the story. That was his mistake. But I learned from you and my mother and Castiel that when people have to be their best, they can be. And that's what to believe in."

Dean: "To everyone that we lost along the way." Sigh.

I'm not sure how I felt about this episode. Maybe I have to think about it for awhile. What did you all think?

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.

14 comments:

  1. I agree with a lot of what you said, but overall, I enjoyed it very much. I think my only problems with it were the two songs, "Get Together" and "Running on Empty", because I don't really like either of them. Maybe it's because both of them are too upbeat and happy for this show, even in the context of what was happening in their respective scenes. I think something like Bob Seger's "Turn the Page" might have been better for the montage, but maybe that's just because I love that song so much.
    I was wondering what they will do for the series finale, and I suspect it's going to cause me to cry a lot. My daughter has a theory that they will end it in a similar fashion to the finale of the Vampire Diaries, which I've never watched, so that doesn't mean much to me. She told me it showed how their lives continued past the show, up to and including their eventual deaths. Based on that description, I could see them doing that in Supernatural. I am hoping that they have a place for "Carry On Wayward Son" in the episode somewhere (not just in the "Previously on"). I wouldn't even mind a soft cover of it.

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  2. I liked the episode, even the music. Jack is a kumbaya kind of guy, so that one fit and I like Running on Empty, so I was okay. I actually would say this would have been a good series finale, with Sam and Dean's fates in their own hands and we can imagine the rest.

    I'm actually worried about next episode,because there are so many ways to mess it up (I'm still not over How I Met Your Mother's ending). I've seen theories that would totally ruin the show for me and others that would be okay. I'm halfway leaning toward waiting and watching after I find out where it goes, because if it goes too far off what I want, then I can just call this the end of the show. I probably won't but maybe.

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  3. I kept noticing how amazingly gorgeous the score for this episode was - it drew me in again and again.

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  4. When they go into that bar Dean turns off a running beer tap that says "FB" on the handle. A nod to Ackles' Family Business brewing perhaps?

    And thanks again, Billie, for all the great reviews. It's been a blast to follow along with you.

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  5. Wheew, the scenes of every one returning and there's traveling, eating at restaurants, and gathering together certainly hit different in these COVID times.

    My hope for the end of the show is that the boys would drive off into the sunset and I could imagine they lived happier lives. I had to triple check this wasn't the finale cause it felt a bit like one. I doubt I'm getting my wish since this episode ended this way!

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  6. Jack was the best thing that happen to this show on the last years, i am glad he is now God

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  7. I felt so proud and emotional when Chuck was beating the boys. How, no matter what they kept getting back up. And if that’s not the whole mission statement of supernatural I don’t know what is. I’m nervous about the series finale (been burned by a lot of shows in the last year and a half) but I’m trying to remain hopeful. I could even maybe deal with the brothers dying if it showed them in a happy joint afterlife with all the people they lost along the way. 15yrs is such a legacy for a show I’ve been with once 2005 - I’m so proud of Jared and Jensen and the whole cast and crew. Thanks for all the reviews Billie.

    SmilesP

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  8. Nice, but way too fast. They should have ditched some of this season's episodes and built it better, with more time. They did a Lost, even if this at least was what was expected and not a POS.

    They were a bit careless. In the supposedly empty world, you could see cars moving at the end of the shot.

    No idea either what's coming next week, but boy has this been a long trip. It's amazing to think that I've been reading Billie's reviews even longer that Supernatural has been on. Just thinking about how my life was different back in 2005 gives me shudders.

    Now, only a "Carry On Wayward Son" needed and we can go forward. And bring those Wayward Sisters back, please.

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  9. Straight into fanfic territory

    But am I the only one who wants it to end with chuck realizing he’s an asshat and enjoys the life that was given him idk why I just love the whole villian gets some closure kinda thing

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  10. I agree with JBA--I think/hope the last episode will be a glimpse into the rest of the Winchesters' lives.

    I'd give this episode 3.5 out of 4 miracle dogs. I really enjoyed it once I'd watched it, but I spent most of the episode worried that:

    1. It was the series finale and it was going to end horribly
    2. It wasn't the series finale and somehow things would get worse (that fear came when Chuck broke Dean's leg)
    3. They wouldn't wrap things up neatly at all, or somehow too neatly

    By the end of the episode--and after confirming we do get one more--I'm pleased.

    The dog thing really messed with me, though. Chuck was an asshole.

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  11. I knew coming in that they would beat Chuck in this episode, and I was worried it would feel rushed. Turns out I was right. They could have stretched things out more, done away with some of the later filler episodes. I think the two biggest issues for me was that they never show nor acknowledge any of the characters we care about returning. You'd think they'd at least have had Sam get a text from Eileen or something to let us know. But instead we get the toast to everyone they lost along the way which in the context of the ambiguity about who returned, kind of loops everyone that was snapped away into those losses even if it was unintentional. Also Becky and her family were snapped away earlier in the season. Do they come back? Sometimes I think the writers forget their alot of their own plot developments after a few episodes. I also didn't like what they did with Michael. I can see how some might appreciate it in a tragic sort of way, but I don't think they ever utilized Michael as well as they should have. And considering he had gotten so close to Adam and had mutual respect for him, I think it makes more sense he would have ultimately favored the humans despite any feelings over his father. And if Adam didn't come back that will also be disappointing to me. I'm honestly quite peeved at how they always treated both of those characters. But after 15 years there are quite alot of characters that were mistreated and tossed aside in favor of the golden few. I know it might seem like I hated the episode, but it really wasn't bad. I just thought it was rather average and quite rushed. A few brilliant flashes in there, but not as many as I was hoping for. Here's hoping the finale makes up for the shortcomings of this episode and season. I've been watching this show with my family for a little over half my life. It's one of the only things my brother and I both like to watch. I really do love it. I don't expect a perfect ending, but I want it to do justice to the past 15 years as much as possible.

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  12. The way it ended was a pretty good finale, so it's hard to picture what will happen next week. Some kind of downer ending, maybe?

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  13. Oddly enough, I drove through Hastings yesterday.

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  14. I initially thought it was Hastings, NE. I am Mourning my show now and Chuck was an Asshat in terms of what he did with the dog! Such EGO! Glad that Jack received his power the way he did and I loved the Winchesters ingenuity with how they "played" everyone! Felt bad for Michael but dud, could you be anymore of a "Daddy's boy"! Specially after he eliminated Adam..

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