This Supernatural review contains spoilers.
“What is it with you people? Can’t anything you do be easy?” Donatello asked the Winchesters this episode. It would seem not, as they had to visit Hell, find Adam and Michael, and continue their drastic last-ditch efforts to spurn a vengeful Chuck in his world ending plans. The Winchesters’ lives are full of crazy scenarios and death defying odds, and there’s no slowing down on that now.
The mid-season finale brought back some notable characters, the biggest being Adam, Michael, and Rowena. The episode encapsulates the mission statement of this season to bring back fan favorites and tie up important loose ends.
Rowena’s scene in Hell was beautiful. She is completely in her element, commanding the forces of Hell and still helping the Winchesters as she intones them to “Tell Aunt Rowena” what was wrong. She also got several fantastic lines, especially when she’s talking about the downsides of being dead in Hell: “Amazon doesn’t deliver here… yet.”
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Bringing back Adam/Michael for the mid-season finale? Great idea. Plus we got a little re-intro into these characters since we haven’t seen them in so long. Adam is also still very sore about Sam and Dean leaving him in the Pit — which is very fair, considering the fans have been screaming for his return and redemption for years.
Michael and Adam are the perfect matchup, having both experienced problems in their families and with their brothers. Just as Adam is still mad at the Winchesters for their inaction on his imprisonment, Michael is also sore at Castiel. “You called me assbutt and set me on fire,” Michael remarked to Cass about their first true meeting. A classic moment and a fan favorite line. All the fan service is coming out this season and I am here for it.
Another interesting twist on the Adam/Michael switcheroo is the fact that they equally share the vessel, something that other angels would never think of doing. It’s a partnership that we haven’t seen before. Jake Abel did a great job switching between his personalities as Adam and as Michael, smoothly transitioning between the two as the Winchesters try to convince them to help fight Chuck. The actor also excelled in acting against himself, as evidenced in the scenes in the diner and in the bunker. It’s not easy to act in a vacuum like that, literally responding to a person who is not there that he then has to portray separately.
Adam’s sendoff this episode helped finally put a cap on his story that has been waiting years to come back. The fact that Dean could finally say sorry to him, and Adam accepted that apology? It does good things for the heart. Even if Adam doesn’t appear in any future episodes this final season, this moment perfectly ended his story and tied up some serious loose ends.
The budding relationship between Sam and Eileen is very sweet, whether the intention is simply friendship or something much more.Dean giving his blessing on a potential relationship was also a nice moment. For the Winchesters, having any semblance of a real life is hard — it seems every time they tried, whether it was with Lisa for Dean or with Sam’s girlfriends, things ended disastrously. But Eileen is in the business, and she understands this line of work. It would be very fulfilling to see Sam’s love life come full circle, from Jessica in the pilot to potentially Eileen in the end.
God/Chuck’s appearances this episode, though brief, were truly menacing. The intro of the episode just showed Chuck played an endless slot machine, winning every time as a waitress stepped over the dead bodies of her casino employees to search him drinks. It’s so sinister and tells a lot about what Chuck does when he’s bored and has no you-know-what’s left to give. Plus the way he took over the prophet Donatello’s body when Sam and Dean were searching for a way to fight God was scary. There is no place they can hide from an almighty creator, and this scene illustrated that.
This was a solid episode to end the year on. The fans finally got closure on Adam, Rowena is in her happy place, and the boys have inched closer to finding Chuck’s Achilles heel. Next stop, Purgatory.
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